A Dragon's Love (Young Justice)

Remembering

(Emma's POV:)

It's been a few hours, with the moon now high in the sky. I've been sitting by the Atlantian the whole time, the little animal sitting on my lap as I stroke his fur, thinking. I don't know why he brought me to this unconscious Atlantian, but it's obvious that he wants me to stay by him, and protect him.

The boy keeps mumbling from time to time, in Atlantian of course, so I can barely understand him. But I have caught a few words, here and there. Apparently, he's dreaming about some girl by the name of Tula, or at least, that's what I think from the words I could understand. Atlantian was a language that I never learned, but I think I will now, so that maybe I'll understand better next time something like this happens.

Suddenly, I hear 4 hearts, beating louder and louder in my ears as they come closer. I stand up, my little friend falling down to the sand, with my claws at the ready as I prepare to face whoever's to come. Then, 3 humans and a martian come walking around a sand dune. "Stay where you are!" I call out. They all stop and stare at the sight of me. Then, the martian girl takes a step forward, hands raised slightly.

"Dracona. It's okay, we're friends." She calls to me. "I've never seen any of you before in my life. And who's this Dracona?" I question, not letting my guard down. "Please, Dracona. You lost your memories. Trust us, we're your friends." The girl tries again. "Oh yeah, prove it. And don't try to sneak through my mind, I know how it feels to have someone going through my head." I tell her.

The boy with black hair, Robin, from my knowledge of the Justice League, steps up, stating, "You're real name is Esmeralda, and you're the banished princess of the dragon kingdom of fire and air." He states quickly. "Your eyes are crimson red and you get your white hair from your mother's father." My eyes widen. "How would you know that? Only Kent and Dr.Fate would know that, and they promised to never tell." I yell.

"You lost your memories, Dracona. Please, we can help you get them back." The martian says. I sigh, lowering my arms from their defensive pose. "Fine. But if you go anywhere other than where I lost my memories, it will turn ugly between us." I warn, closing my eyes as I sit down. Instantly, I feel the intruding presence of all four of their minds in mine.

'"Dracona to Aqualad. Where are you? State your coordinates." I say, pressing my comm as I'm flying. "I'm coming, Dracona. Get back with the others." He tells me. "Just tell me where you are." I say, rather exasperated. "I'm at the edge of a cliff climbing up." He tells me. I look down, and sure enough I see him reaching the top of the cliff. "I see you. Get ready to jump." I say, going to swoop down. "Why-" He's cut off by a loud roar, and turns to see two jaguars stalking towards him, out from behind the trees. Just as they're about to pounce on him, I yell over the wind, "Jump!" He does as told, arms sticking high in the air, and I grab onto both his arms before pulling us up higher into the sky. Both jaguars roar in irritation as we fly further away from the cliff. "Thank you for the save," He tells me, looking up as I look down, "But how did you know that the jaguars would be there?" He asks. "It's just a feeling I have." I say.'

'My vision is black, but I can hear a heart beat; I can hear breathing despite the wind in my ears. It's actually quite... soothing. I actually feel peaceful, not the usual numbness, annoyance, or anger that I've been burying deep inside for so long. I take a deep breath, my grip tightening around the person. Either he doesn't notice, or he doesn't care, but I hear his heart beat quicken slightly. "Dracona?" He asks, it sounds like Kaldur'ahm. I shush him. "I'm listening to your breathing and your heart. It's really soothing." I tell him. I sense him nod, sending a look back at me.'

'Two hands grab mine, and I look down to see Kaldur's holding one, and Megan's holding the other. Superboy grabs Megan's other one. I look up searchingly into Kaldur's eyes, and he nods. Maybe even a monster like me can have friends.'

'"Well, well. Little miss dragon scales here has been holding out on us." Artemis states. Confused, I turn to face her. "What do you mean?" I ask. "Leave it to the quietest girl on the team to be the prettiest one." She states, "Even with blood red eyes." I look down to hide my darkening blush. "No. No, there are plenty of Draconic girls in my kingdom who are much prettier than me." I say. "Not by much, I'd say." Wally states, getting up off the floor to sit on a couch. I smile, changing my eyes from their red slits to their human grey-ish color, before looking over at Kaldur. He hasn't said anything since my mask came off. He shakes his head, snapping out of whatever he was in. "Esmeralda?" He asks. "Yes?" I question back. He walks up to me, grabs my hand, and places a small kiss upon it. "As pretty as you are, Esmeralda, you look beautiful with your dragon eyes." He tells me, before letting go of me, sending a small goodnight to us all, and walking out of the room. My cheeks turn a rosy pink once more. He called me... beautiful.'