Aguila part one, By Vivian Hadding, from Songs for the Dragon King

And he began to fade
Or rather her memory of him
For in the Moon's shadow the trees had begun to sing
Their voices blended with her dreams
Their sweet breath soothed her troubled soul
Echoes, tigers roaring pulled at the edges of her dreams
And their cries lifted her spirit

She realized they were a part of her now
They had always been
Waiting and watching for her sign
A tenderness began to settle over her being
Melting her fears and her sorrows
Setting her free

Night drifted
A swift breeze teased her
She woke wondering
At the blanket of fragrant needles
Spread across her legs
For the trees had covered her with their branches,
Had patched her soul while she slept
She felt a stillness like no other
Her heart swelled with gratitude and love

Standing, she took a silver token from her necklace
A tiny bird in a battered cage
She walked to the roots of the youngest tree
Kissed its trunk and slipped a ribbon from her hair
She turned the latch
Opened the door of the cage
Reached as high as she could
Whispered a prayer and tied the token to its branch

She walked to the river's edge slowly
Wondering if it was wise
She was quite thirsty
She had been running till she collapsed last night
She drank and wash her face
She averted her eyes
Lest she see the Dragon's face
She dared not look into his eyes
For they had turned cold
They seemed to lack the love
They had once held for her
And she knew deep inside
She had to force her heart to let him go

But She needn't have worried
For the Dragon King had not stirred
He slept in the depths of his watery kingdom
During the night the ancient trees had moved closer to the river
They had positioned themselves as a shield for their sister
They had spread their branches
So as to block the sun from the Dragon King's eyes
And he was not aware of Shulynn
Her heart she now kept from him
And she danced once again for her family of trees
Not him
And hearing a melody of steps she turned
And the tigers came forth and asked her
"Were you the Dragon King's mistress?"
"Only in spirit." she replied
For in truth he had never touched her
Except with his heart.