I believe in us

The same evening, Arja received the first letter. The letter was written with a delicate feather and slipped under her door. When she discovered it she tried to open the door as fast as possible but she could see nobody.

"As the mountain remains solid,

As the forest dances in the tempest,

You are the wind that moves my world,

And on a cold night,

I feel warm."

Arja took the letter to her bed, she hugged the letter against her with all her force. A warm feeling invaded her. She received another one the month following, then another and another. She received letters every month on the same day. She was waiting for this day with excitement. When the evenings were coming, she was sitting behind her door to receive the letter without trying to open it.

The joy and surprise to read these letters were so intense that she had no curiosity anymore to know the author. She collected them under her mattress and she was reading them every night to fall asleep. Sometimes she was reading them out loud to her little star.

"Don't fade in the unknown land,

As I am the light waiting.

Promise me to always return,

As I need you to keep me lit.

If you lose yourself, never worry,

I'll lose my soul searching for you.

And I will always find you."

These letters became her oxygen and her life could not be more beautiful. After the fall of the Kingdom, she would never expect such joy.

****

The general called them in an emergency on a nice sunny morning in spring. Arja rushed to the office followed closely by Typhon. They felt like the general was anxious and they didn't dare to make him wait.

"Arja, Typhon, you leave immediately. We sent a team to Rika's desert a few weeks ago. Yesterday, one of our sentinels saw the emergency signal. This is a rescue mission. You have to find them and bring them back home. Leave now."

It was nothing to ask. Nothing to understand. They rushed to prepare their material and left immediately as they were ordered. Rika's desert was the hardest area in the world. There was no rain or any water there for almost a thousand years and very few people dared to go there. Even less came back alive. There was nothing in this zone to explore for them. The partners were tense, they almost ran to the destination and had only a few hours of sleep during the three days of travel.

They arrived at the vanguard post. They found incredible chaos. Everything was broken like a tornado rushed over them. None of the sentinels survived it. They found a half body on a roof, another part of another body smashed on a wall. The cadavers were not fresh. The smell was terrific as they already started to rot. Arja noticed immediately that something was wrong but Typhon caught her by the arm first.

"If they sent the message yesterday they wouldn't be in this state. Even with the heat. These men are dead for much longer."

It meant that the message was sent by someone else, which was impossible as the general would never make a mistake. Arja freed her arm and walked into this desolate place. She watched the roofs, the walls, the floor. She seemed to understand something.

"What are you thinking Arja?"

She raised her head, she was livid.

"It was a dragon."

Typhon seemed to be paler at the moment too. He laughed nervously.

"It doesn't exist. Nobody ever saw a dragon. Why do you say that?"

She pointed at him the traces on the floor, the ravages on the walls. For her, there was no doubt. It was exactly how they were described in the books she had to read during her education at the palace. Forgotten and imaginary creatures were part of a princess's culture. She was sure of her at this moment and she was sure the rescue mission was already a failure. If she was right, then, there was nobody to save anymore.

They turned in the direction of the desert and Typhon took her hand. He seemed terrified to go there. The night was overhanging the desert, and if this desert was the worst place in the known world it is also because... the night there was eternal…

Typhon never was so scared to go on a mission. He squeezed her hand tightly.

"Arja, if something happens. Leave me there and run."

She smiled at him and did the first step. In her shirt, close to her heart, the first letter she received was giving her the force to come back home. She was also terrified but after watching her partner she was confident.

"I believe in us, we will make this mission as good as the others. You will see."

And then, they walked into the desert for good. Above them the clouds were thick and behind them, the light was disappearing slowly. They entered Rika's long night.