She was so distracted by the sight that she almost didn't notice the skeleton lying only a few yards further along. When she did she nearly jumped. It was unmistakably the skeleton of a dragon, one perhaps half again her size. The skull was crowned with horns, so it was probably a male mountain dragon. She stepped a little closer, and something crunched oddly under her foot. She looked down to see that the ground was littered with golden scales. Golden scales. It went through her like a shock. The skeleton wasn't old enough to be some distant ancestor of hers, the bones were bleached but not decomposed and hardly scattered at all. And then she saw the second skeleton, lying just beyond the first. She circled around to look at it. It was about the same size, though it bore no horns. The ground beneath it was also littered with gold and... the skeleton's bare white arm reached out to the first, which reached out as well, their claws locked together.

She sat down hard. There could be no other explanation. These were her parents. Pain and relief shocked through her together. They were dead, and she would never know them. But... they were dead. They had not abandoned her because they didn't want her, or because she wasn't good enough. If they had lived they might well have come back for her. Tears gathered in her eyes as she sat there between the two skulls.

Eventually she picked herself up and went a little further along the pass. She was a little startled to find a third skeleton only a bit beyond those of her parents. It was a male mountain dragon too, a little smaller but still much larger than she. The scales scattered around it were green. A few moment's inspection turned up two more skeletons, both also large male mountain dragons. One was a bronze, the other a copper. She inspected the ground, looking for any other clue to what had happened. There were scales all over the ground here. Most were golden, and of course many were green, copper and bronze, but she found here and there scales of other colors. Brass, blue, red and... she found one large red scale that was edged with gold. She hunted further and managed to turn up three more such. She would have to ask, but as far as she knew there were no other royal red dragons currently living. And even if there were, she was sure of the owner of those few scales. She had no doubt. She thought of her parents again, and of the story of her birth. They had been fleeing something, had come here hoping that they wouldn't be found, but they had been. Skrissish had come after them, with his bullies, and had killed them.

She stood there for a long time before continuing on. She flew out of the mountains and over rolling foothills. A green valley stretched before her. It was ringed by mountains and the ones on the far side were blue and dim in the distance. Near the center of the valley was a sparkling lake, and the road ran across the valley to end there on the shore. The valley floor was covered in green grass and dotted with clumps of trees. It looked like paradise. Then she turned her head and gazed at the skeleton strewn pass. Finding paradise hasn't saved her parents. Staying here wouldn't solve any of her problems either. What was she supposed to do? Just fly home and continue like nothing had happened? Or head north and challenge Skrissish? All that would accomplish would be to get her killed. She sighed. I suppose if I did that, then I wouldn't have to outlive my family. But somehow I don't think that's the best solution to that problem. There really isn't any solution to it. I can't stop them from aging, and I can't learn to age myself. I'm not sure I would if I could. I feel like there's so much I still need to do. Land's End is starting to become what I always dreamed of. Humans and dragons, living together, not hating or fearing each other. But it's small yet, so very small. Most of humanity and most of dragon kind don't even know about it. It will take a dragon's lifetime to try and change the whole world they way I want to change it.

She landed by the shore of the lake. The water was blue, and she saw a fish jump some distance out. She sat down and continued her thoughts. Changing the world... and I guess it's because of my parents, my dragon parents for making me human to save my life, my human parents for raising and loving me even though I wasn't really theirs, that I want to change it. I suppose that whatever I do will be their legacy. Even after they're all dead, that will live on. It may live on after I am gone as well. I suppose that's not really so bad. Most children lose their parents eventually. I've had many loving years with mine, and I know now that my dragon parents loved me too.