Mira listened to the prince as he spoke to her, telling her what she could do if she were to ever run across any woodland thieves and such. It was very kind of him to look out for her like this. Did he do this with all of his people? If so, maybe this prince would be a much better ruler than his father. Maybe through this prince things could change for the Spellcasters. She smiled at him when he spoke to her and she nodded, giving another curtsy, holding Grounii close to her, "Thank you, Destrian. I will be sure to do that." She smiled at him once more and then turned, heading back into the deeper parts of the woods, toward her home. As she walked along, she looked down at Grounii and smiled, giving a shrug, "Well, that was.....interesting, don't you think?" The cat merely meowed and she nodded, "Certainly not the way I expected a human, especially the prince and son of a horrible king, to act, even toward someone as obviously low class as me, with or without knowing about what I really am." She looked over her shoulder as they went along, looking back in the direction they had come from, "It was nice, though." he smiled more and th two slipped through the trees, Mira letting them in through the protection barrier. Immediately the small cat that was Grounii shifted, changing back into the large dragon he liked being so much and rubbed his head against Mira, making her laugh, "Okay, you big lumux, let's get back inside before mother--" **"Before mother does what?"** Wide eyed, Mira looked to see her mother, standing in the yard by one fo the large trees, a furious look on her face as Mira scrambled to think of something to say, "I-I..." Before she could even word anything her mother was upon her, grabbing her arm and dragging her into the cottage, flinging her inside so hard that she hit the floor rather roughly. **"Why did you to obey Mirabella?! What make you think you could just run off into the woods like that?! HUH?!"** "But mother, I--" Her mother turned to her, the fury very obvious in her gaze, "Didn't I tell you not to go out there?!" Mira was silent a moment as she gazed down at the floor before she dared to look up at her mother, "It was so lonely here mother..." "I was not company enough?" Her gaze was cold as she looked down at her daughter and that made Mira feel even worse. Mira looked up now from where she sat on the floor, speaking to her mother, her own gaze begging for her to understand, "I'm not a child anymore mother! I wish to see the world!" **"What world Mira?! The world in these!"** It was then that Mira realized, much to her despair, that her mother had found her old story books left behind by her father. She had kept them hidden in her room, but now her mother had them all out on the table and had picked one up, gripping it angrily in her grasp, **"Get your head out of the clouds child! The world in these books doesn't exist! Yes, princes may be out there in the world, but so are humans! They will never understand us! And if they find out what we are, who _you_ are, they will not hesitate to kill you. Not even any prince you meet out there will want to keep you alive after knowing what you are. He'd rather see you burned at the stake like your father!"** By now, Mira was sobbing and her mother moved to kneel down in front of her, taking her hands, **"Stay with me Mira. Here in the cottage. Never go into those woods again. Do I make myself clear?"** Mira looked up at her mother and swallowed hard before nodding, "Yes Mother." **"Good."** Smiling, her mother kissed her forehead and stood up, pulling Mira to her feet, **"Now, let's fix some supper and forget this whole thing."** ... Yet, Mira couldn't forget it. All night, and even the next morning as she sat out in their yard staring out into the woods, she found herself thinking about those woods and the human Prince she had met there. She had gone out there and met a human, and he hadn't harmed her. In fact, he had been very kind to her. What if her mother was wrong? What if maybe her mother just hadn't met a human in so long that she didn't know humans had changed. Had humans changed? Mira wasn't sure. But how could she know whether they had or not if she didn't see so for herself? Needless to say, after her mother left, Grounii didn't look too happy to see Mira putting on that cloak again and preparing to leave. He even nudged her, trying to make her go back into the house to take it off, but she shook her head, "Grounii. Stop it." Taking the dragon's head in her hands she spoke, "I have to do this Grounii. Please. I just have to go back into those woods." The dragon at this huffed, and backing up, changed into a cat once more, determined to follow Mira out again. She smiled at him and made her way past the barrier and into the woods once more, a huge smile on her face. As she walked along, she found herself passing the time, humming, and even when they got a little further, found herself singing, lost in her own little world. ... [The Call](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgUL3ut4gyQ) "It started out as a feeling Which then grew into a hope Which then turned into a quiet thought Which then turned into a quiet word And then that word grew louder and louder 'Til it was a battle cry I'll come back when you call me No need to say goodbye ~ Just because everything's changing Doesn't mean it's never been this way before All you can do is try to know who your friends are As you head off to the war Pick a star on the dark horizon and follow the light You'll come back when it's over No need to say goodbye You'll come back when it's over No need to say goodbye ~ Now we're back to the beginning It's just a feeling and no one knows yet But just because they can't feel it too Doesn't mean that you have to forget Let your memories grow stronger and stronger 'Til they're before your eyes You'll come back when they call you No need to say goodbye You'll come back when they call you No need to say goodbye"