Catch the Falling Sky
Prologue
The thought had been bouncing around in Arthur's brain for hours, but no matter how hard the ten year old thought about it, the idea of being an orphan wasn't registering. He knew what an orphan was and he had often read about them in books that were in the library at his house which he would probably never see again. Two guards had tried to explain that his mom and dad were gone and never coming back as gently as possible, but the grim looks of pity made it very clear what they were trying to say without actually saying it. But Arthur knew exactly what that meant. "Never coming back" had only one meaning and that meaning was death. They didn't give Arthur up. They didn't run away. They didn't go missing. They were dead. And there was no way to bring back the dead, thus the use of "never" before the "coming back" part.
Arthur hadn't even cried. He probably would have by now if the shock hadn't rendered his body useless. It was weird, not being able to control your actions as you'd like. Arthur felt like a spectator in his own body, watching as things went by without really being able to respond to it. He had been asked questions, but he only managed to nod or shake his head in reply. The guards had tried to get Arthur to talk by asking things like "What's your name?" or "How old are you?" but Arthur either didn't answer or just stared at them. Eventually they gave up, deciding it was better to let the ten year old keep to himself since that's what he wanted. Another odd thing Arthur found out about shock was he didn't cry. He had to be the most upset he had been in his entire life, but he couldn't cry. This was probably the worst thing about shock Arthur hated. He wanted to cry. He wanted to cry for his parents. It felt wrong that he wasn't crying or screaming or yelling for his parents to come back to him even though he knew it wouldn't do anything. Shouldn't he be crying the hardest he ever had in his entire life? He lost everything that meant anything to him: his home, his books, his toys, and most of all his parents. Shouldn't he be able to shed one little tear for everything he loved that was now lost?
A hand on Arthur's shoulder pulled him out of his thoughts. It was not a hand of one of the armored guards that had taken Arthur. No. This hand was more feminine and was ungloved. His eyes traveled up the hand to an arm, which he passed over briefly to the face of a middle-aged, dark haired woman with her hair pinned back and harshly kept in place. Arthur turned his head to the guard closest to him, who sent him a weak smile.
"Don't worry." he said, "She's going to take care of you now, so don't be afraid." Arthur wasn't afraid, he'd say this but his vocal chords were still refusing to work. The guard put his big hands under Arthur's arms-they nearly covered his entire side Arthur noticed-and lifted the tiny boy up and off of his mount, which Arthur just noticed was a large yellow bird type creature with bright green eyes. Arthur stared at it, wondering how on earth he hadn't noticed it before. The middle-aged woman grabbed Arthur's hand and attempted to get his attention, he stared at her face so she'd stop making such a fuss, but he was still way more interested in the bright yellow creature that carried him here. Was the woman unaware there was a giant yellow bird standing right next to her? What if it attacked her or pecked at her head? Maybe he was hallucinating and the bird wasn't real and that's why she wasn't acknowledging the weird beast.
"What's your name?" she asked. Arthur just stared at her. He still couldn't get his voice to work. She frowned at his despondence. "Little boy, I asked your name." Arthur continued to stare at her. She let out a sigh.
"He hasn't made a sound at all, Miss." the guard explained. "The shock should wear off soon. But his name is Arthur."
"Very well." Miss sighed again, straightening back up, still holding onto Arthur's hand. She asked a few more questions, mainly about Arthur, before they said their goodbyes. The yellow bird kept fidgeting the entire time and Arthur was beginning to get the feeling that it might be hungry. The young boy grabbed a hold of Miss' (Arthur wasn't sure of her name. Perhaps it was Miss or perhaps it wasn't. Miss seemed like an odd name to have after all, but he was going to refer to her as Miss until she introduced herself) skirt and positioned himself behind her in hopes that it would stop the bird from staring at him. He was happy when the guard got back on it and rode away. Arthur really didn't feel like becoming dinner. Miss pulled Arthur's arm and led him towards the large building the guards dropped him off at. She explained that it was an orphanage and Arthur's new home.
"Are you hungry at all?" Arthur shook his head. He felt sick and the idea of food made him want to throw up. Miss didn't say anything, but lead Arthur to a tiny room with a little wooden desk. He figured it must have been an office, albeit uncomfortable and very very small. Miss pulled a paper out of one of the drawers in the little wooden desk. "We'll take care of your papers in the morning, but I think it's best if you get some sleep. It's late and I don't want to keep you up, especially since you aren't talking to me." Miss seemed a little irritated, but that was probably because she was tired too Arthur guessed. She looked at a paper briefly, using her finger to lead her eyes down the list before letting out an "Ah-ha!" sound and putting the list away. She looked like a really nice woman, Arthur concluded, with her dark brown hair and little wrinkles. The way she talked sounded nice and warm too. She got up from the desk and kneeled in front of Arthur again. "I'm going to give you a room right now, okay? You aren't going to be alone, but you're going to be in there with a little boy named Alfred, okay? He's about your age and I think you two will get along just fine." Arthur didn't say anything in return, but he nodded to acknowledge what Miss said. Miss smiled and stood back up, wrapping Arthur's hand in her own and leading him out of the office and back into the narrow hallway.
The hallway was long and not very decorated. Doors lined the walls and little name tags were on each one to identify the occupants, but other than that, decoration was sparse and limited. Miss continued to talk at Arthur, hoping he'd warm up to her and talk back, but he didn't. He never talked much to begin with anyways. She explained the schedule and that she'd have to enroll Arthur in lessons. She tried to ask his age in hopes of figuring out where he needed to be put, but again Arthur didn't answer her. He was relieved when they arrived at the door marked "Alfred." Arthur suddenly became very aware of how tired he was.
THUMP!
"Alfred!" Miss screeched, "You should be asleep! Do you have any idea how late it is?" Arthur poked his head out from behind Miss to get a better look inside the room.
"It's not late enough, Miss Lizzy." replied a child that Arthur supposed was Alfred. He had honey blond hair and baby blue eyes and a fair complexion that complimented both colors and he was standing in the middle of the small room, also with very little decoration. He sported a very wide, mischievous smile that he beamed at Miss, whom began to lecture Alfred about bed times. The boy spotted Arthur and grinned, a bit more warmly, ignoring Miss Lizzy.
"Miss Lizzy! Who's that?" Alfred bounded over and put his hands on Miss Lizzy's front, pointing around the woman. Arthur grabbed the back of Miss' dress and tried to hide from view, but it was too late. He had already been spotted and this boy seemed keener on knowing whom his new roommate would be. Miss Lizzy let out a grumble at Alfred's inability to listen to her, but he ignored her.
"Who's that?" he repeated. He made a move to get behind Miss, but Arthur went around to her front. When Alfred tried to get to her front, Arthur went back to the back and vice versa.
"This is Arthur-Alfred will you stop chasing him around?" Alfred tried to fake Arthur out by pretending to go to the left, but he quickly changed direction and went to the right. Arthur scurried away, almost tripping over his own two feet.
"I'm not chasing him! He's running away!" Alfred whined. Arthur glared at the blue-eyed blond and stepped into the room, crossing his arms and pouting a little bit. Alfred smiled and stumbled in after him. "What's up with his eyebrows? They look like caterpillars!" Alfred shouted, pointing at Arthur's forehead. Arthur reflexively slapped both hands to his forehead in an attempt to cover his face.
"Alfred, that's not a nice thing to say." Miss said tiredly.
"I didn't mean it in a bad way." Alfred whined. He gave Arthur a look. "I was surprised by it. I didn't mean anything by it. Honest." Arthur gave the kid a glare.
"Alfred. You have to be more careful about what you say to people." Miss Lizzy sighed. "One of these days, someone's going to get very upset with you. Now apologize to Arthur." Alfred crossed his arms.
"I'm sorry for saying you had big eyebrows." Alfred recited. Arthur continued to stare at the boy. "What was the point in that, Miss Lizzy? He won't even say he forgives me."
"Give him some time, Alfred. I'm sure he'll warm up to you eventually." Miss said, though Arthur disagreed with that. Alfred seemed very obnoxious and loud which was a direct contradiction to Arthur's quiet nature. Alfred seemed to share this thought, though it probably made Arthur sound like the rude one in his head. The two boys stared at each other for a moment before Alfred turned back to Miss. "Just…try to get along. If it doesn't work out, I'll move Arthur to a different room, okay? Try introducing yourself." Miss left after that, closing the door behind herself, leaving Arthur alone with the blue-eyed blond. Alfred shuffled his feet before looking at his new roommate.
"I'm Alfred." he said, extending his hand. Arthur stared at it as if it were some kind of disease-ridden piece of flesh and bone. "I said, my name's Alfred. That usually means you say your name too, y'know." Arthur glared at Alfred. Alfred frowned. "If you're not gonna talk to me, I'll make up a name for you. I can call you Mute since you won't talk. Or Brows since your eyebrows are really b-"
"Arthur." he mumbled.
"Hmm?"
"Arthur." Arthur said a bit louder.
"Arthur then. Was that so hard?" Arthur shook his head out of annoyance. They stood in silence again. "Well. Aren't you gonna ask me where you're gonna sleep?" Arthur stared at the boy. Alfred huffed and pointed to a bed next to the window, "That's where I sleep. You can sleep on the one on the other side of the room." Arthur immediately walked towards the bed and kicked off his shoes to crawl on top. Alfred climbed into his own bed, humming some random tune as he did so. "So how old are you?"
Silence. Alfred let out a frustrated huff.
"I said, how old are you?"
Arthur grunted.
" I'm gonna keep on asking til you answer so get it over with."
"Ten."
"You're a year older than me! I thought you were younger!" Alfred laughed. "But I guess you seem older too. Old people don't like to talk to me and it seems like you're the same." Another frustrated glare was sent at Alfred, who again ignored it. "So what do you like to do besides the obvious talking?"
"Reading, I guess." Arthur replied, not really wanting to deal with Alfred asking again and again until he answered.
"I'm up to three word answers already! Awesome!" Alfred cheered. "I like to play outside a lot. Reading's always so boring and it seems like a waste of time!"
"How so?" Arthur huffed, a bit annoyed with Alfred. Arthur liked reading and to be honest he really didn't like this boy very much right now, and he did not appreciate the thing he didn't like making fun of the thing he did.
"Because. Why should I read when I could be out there making my own adventures?" Alfred grinned, giving Arthur a wink. "And don't go thinkin I don't like to read because I don't know how. I know how to read just fine. Have you ever heard of a hero that couldn't read anyways?" Arthur shook his head. "Exactly." Alfred lay back on his pillow and closed his eyes. "Night, Arthur."
Everything was quiet.
"I said night, Arthur."
"Good night." Alfred started to snore lightly after that, leaving Arthur to dwell on his thoughts a bit before he fell into a dreamless sleep.
It was now three months since Arthur arrived at the orphanage and he was now spending almost every waking second with Alfred. The younger boy was finally able to get Arthur to talk to him normally, though he still kept to himself, but that was fine. Arthur didn't really like to talk anyways, not even before he became an orphan. The light blond often preferred reading in his spare time over talking to Alfred. Arthur was extremely happy when Alfred showed him the library, even though a majority of the books in the library were children's books, but a few were informational and Arthur enjoyed reading those more than he thought he would. He found out the bright yellow bird he arrived on was called a Chocobo and he learned about different crystals and the properties behind the different colors. He picked up one about different classes people took on as they got older that had detailed pictures and explanations of each one inside. Alfred pointed at one labeled "Dragoon."
"That's what I'm gonna be." he said proudly. Arthur snorted.
"You? With a dragon? What makes you think they'd give you an egg?" Arthur laughed. Alfred started to pout.
"Why wouldn't they? I think I could take care of a dragon pretty good!" Alfred huffed.
"Pretty well."
"So you agree!"
"No-I was correcting you." Arthur smiled again when Alfred pushed him.
"You're just mad 'cause you can't be as cool as me." Alfred claimed.
"Probably. But if I have to give up proper grammar to be cool, then I'd rather be lame." Arthur teased. Alfred pat Arthur's shoulder sympathetically.
"Don't worry. When I get a dragon, I'll make sure it doesn't eat you. Even if you deserve it."
"That's very reassuring, Alfred. If you ever get a dragon, I'll make sure it doesn't eat you either. Even if you're annoying."
Digging through the few bookcases the library had, it was decided that new books were needed, though there were a few rare finds in the many stack of simple rhyme books. Arthur managed to find a book on airships and he instantly fell in love. The complicated mechanisms used to keep such a big ship in the air were interesting and the idea of sailing the clouds was something of a dream. He loved the intricate designs of ships and the different kinds of woods that were used to build a ship. Arthur learned that wood had a very big effect on the speed, strength, and durability of a boat and each type of wood had its own tradeoffs. The lighter the wood, the faster the ship, though it often could not handle an attack. Heavier woods often meant the ship was heavier and therefore slower. There were tons of formulas and possible designs and mixtures of materials that could go into making a ship. Arthur also loved how massive some of the ships actually got. Some had up to four motors just to stay afloat! Not that Arthur wanted a ship that big. A smaller one would be just as fine and he doubted he even wanted a crew. He just wanted the boat. Arthur tried to share this magnificent find with Alfred, but he wasn't very interested.
"Who needs an airship when you have a dragon anyways?" Alfred snickered, flipping through the pages of the book without looking at the pages.
"How about the person that doesn't have a dragon?" Arthur argued.
"I'd let you ride my dragon, Arthur." Alfred grinned. Needless to say, Arthur kept his love of airships to himself after that.
Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months and before Arthur knew it, he had been staying at the orphanage for a little over three years. He now had no problem talking to people, or yelling at people that made him mad for that matter. Alfred used to have to tell people off for him, but that had changed thank God. He was a lot healthier now as he spent more time outside playing than reading, though he still spent most of his time buried in a book. Arthur also noticed he was a lot taller too. He was slightly taller than the twelve year old Alfred, but it wasn't by a lot. He figured Alfred would probably be a taller than him in a few months, however disappointing that was. Arthur was older so why couldn't he stay taller for just a little bit longer?
Alfred was enrolled in a kind of training program. He was learning to fight and use swords and was well on his way to becoming a knight of some sort. He took to the sword fighting like a fish takes to water. He was a natural as his instructors bragged, very proud that they could have such an enthusiastic and gifted individual like Alfred under their wing. He had been and still did practice his moves with random sticks, ducking, dodging, and diving at invisible enemies until he was exhausted as Arthur watched from the sidelines with water and a book. Alfred tried to get Arthur to join the program with him, but Arthur declined.
"I don't want to wave around pieces of metal and wear one of those personal ovens when I grow up."
"Just come and watch for one! Please, Arty?" Alfred begged, clinging to Arthur's tunic.
"No. It's your thing so you enjoy it." Arthur huffed. And that was final. This made Alfred a little upset and he refused to talk to Arthur for the rest of the day, but Arthur liked the silence. Alfred caught on that the older boy was enjoying his "punishment" and spent the next three days filling every waking second with annoying questions and stories and whatever else to make sure Arthur suffered to the fullest extent of his wrath.
Since Alfred was no longer around the orphanage all the time, Arthur had to find some way to keep himself entertained. He could make other friends, but he didn't want to be with anyone but Alfred. He would read, but he had read every book in the library and knew a vast majority of them by heart, specifically the ones that had useful information such as the book that had Dragoons in it along with the airship book. Miss Lizzy must have sensed Arthur's obvious boredom and managed to get Arthur some new books, just for him that he didn't have to share with any of the other kids that might rip and damage them.
"There's all sorts I was able to get for you. Ones on dragons and magic and anything else your little head could possibly think of. I figured you liked these kinds of books since you always read those." Miss Lizzy said as she gave Arthur the paper bag. Arthur would have hugged the woman if he wasn't so shy about doing so. He was a little skeptical on the magic books she got for him. It was interesting, yes, but he doubted he had an affinity for it. That and he figured it was a book on myths and legends and silly stories meant to scare little kids or sucker people into wasting their time of something that wasn't real. He was pleasantly surprised when he opened the book to find that it took quite a bit of logic in conjunction with an open mind to make spells work. He kept his nose buried inside for hours, intent on learning the secrets behind actually performing a spell. The more and more he read, the more and more Arthur thought he could do it. Sure, some spells might be a little more difficult to master than others, such as conjuring or manipulating shadows, but others looked fairly simple. It was decided. Arthur was going to be a mage in-training. There were no mages around that could teach Arthur tricks or loopholes, but that's what made the whole idea exciting. He'd be completely self-taught and he could find loopholes by himself. He decided he'd try it in secret first. That way, if he couldn't do it, he'd disappoint nobody but himself. Arthur hid the books underneath his pillow and decided to read one of the other books Miss Lizzy had bought for him until Alfred got back.
Alfred was excelling in his training. He went to class early and came home later than when he first started. He was extremely proud that one of the masters already wanted to take him on as an apprentice, though that meant tougher training and harder work. The very first day, Alfred was so sore that he barely made it to his bed to go to sleep, but he still got up the next day, wincing with every step he took. He couldn't afford to take a day off. Alfred wanted to learn as much as possible before he got kicked out of the orphanage and could no longer go as often as he would like. Arthur reminded him that that was still a few years away, but Alfred didn't listen. More days than not, Alfred insisted on showing Arthur all the cool moves he learned and tried to teach Arthur a few as well, whom wasn't very keen on learning.
"C'mon! Even you need to learn how to fight a little bit! You have to be able to defend yourself when I'm not here! Plus, all guys like to fight!"
"How about I learn when you've mastered the moves?" Arthur suggested. "Then you can make sure I learn them right."
Alfred thought about it for a moment. "I don't want you to learn it as well as me. Then you won't need me around anymore." Arthur snorted at Alfred's logic, trying to assure him that he wouldn't know the moves as well as Alfred, but the younger boy didn't want to hear anything of it, though he decided on not trying to teach Arthur the moves for a little while longer.
When Alfred left bright and early the next morning to go to class, Arthur too got up to start his own training. The first week was frustrating as Arthur couldn't figure out how to get a spell to work and couldn't tell anyone about all the progress he wasn't making. He had almost decided to give the thing up until he reread the sentence about how magic is dependent on how much you focus. Focus too little and the spell won't get enough energy. Focus too much and the spell will fizzle out before it gets the chance to do anything. This took three days to even begin to get right. He tried to focus on different levels, but he couldn't seem to get into the bracket of "just right." He was about to give up until it finally happened. He felt a chill in the gap between his hands as he tried to focus his energy into the hollow space between them to make a ball of energy. (This was the easiest way to focus your energy at the beginning said the book, but you can't give up if you don't get it right away. It's a very tough skill to master.) Arthur thought it was just the wind, even though there was no breeze. It was a very warm, sunny day actually. Arthur glanced around before trying again. He focused everything he had on that little space between his hands, trying to get back into the same mindset. 1…2…3…the chill happened again! There was no way it was a coincidence! For the rest of the day, Arthur could not wipe the smile off his face. After nearly two weeks of trying to master this focus-thing, he'd finally been able to do it! Even if it was just a little gust of cold air, but he did it!
He tried his hardest not to let Alfred know how happy he was that he was getting the hang of spells, but Alfred seemed to be rather suspicious. Out of everyone Arthur knew, Alfred knew how to read him the best and it wasn't that hard to tell he suddenly went from two weeks of crabbiness to sudden joy.
"Is there something you're not telling me?" Alfred asked, sitting at the edge of Arthur's bed. Arthur jolted upright in response, crinkling one of the pages in his book about dragons.
"No. Why would you think that?" Arthur hummed.
"No reason. Just thought that since we're best friends and all, you'd be willing to tell me what's been going on." the honey blond replied. Alfred was staring straight into Arthur's green eyes. Arthur was the first to avert his gaze.
"Nope. I've just been reading. What would I do anyways? You're the one with the special classes anyways."
"I guess you're right." Alfred, much to Arthur's relief, had left the conversation at that and went to bed. It was a little odd and Arthur felt guilty for not telling the whole truth to his best friend, but he wanted to keep his own training a secret just a little bit longer.
Two weeks passed before Arthur made any bit of progress, and even then it wasn't by a lot. It was getting extremely frustrating, and he was even more frustrated when Alfred wanted nothing more that to play with him when he got back from his class every day. Arthur kept saying no, but Alfred just would not take the hint.
"You're always reading." Alfred complained.
"And you're never here." Arthur replied, not looking up from his book. Alfred hooked his index finger on the top, trying to get Arthur's attention.
"C'mon! If I'm never here, then stop reading that book and play with me!"
"I don't feel like it." Arthur sighed, pulling his book away from Alfred, whom Arthur could tell was not very happy that he kept saying no. He snapped his book shut and got to his feet to start walking back to his room. Alfred followed suit, chasing after like a puppy.
"Please! I've been working my butt off and I just want to have some fun with you."
"I don't want to, Alfred." Arthur growled out. Alfred crossed his arms and stuck out his lower lip.
"But, Artyyy! How am I supposed to entertain myself if you won't play with me?" Alfred whined. Arthur snapped. He spun around on his heel and flung the heavy book in his hand straight at Alfred's face. It made contact and Arthur didn't know how to feel.
"Here's an idea: why don't you try opening a book and reading for once, hmm?" he said, his voice dripping in venom. He spun back around and marched back to his and Alfred's room, leaving the honey blond standing there with a look of complete bewilderment on his face. There was a funny thing about anger, Arthur observed. You really only felt better during the actual yelling at people, but afterwards you felt horrible and you couldn't believe you said those things in a blind rage. He wondered when he and Alfred would have their first fight, and now he felt bad that it finally happened. Alfred had taken the hint and hadn't come into the room until bed time, and even then he stayed quiet as Arthur pretended to be asleep to avoid conversation. He would apologize in the morning when he could manage to cool his temper. Arthur decided he didn't like to fight with Alfred. It was a bad feeling knowing it was your fault that you shut up the kid that could literally talk your ears off.
Alfred was gone earlier than usual the next morning, probably thinking Arthur was still mad at him. Arthur felt guilty, but Alfred couldn't avoid him forever. He could apologize when Alfred got back. Well, he could always go to the training grounds, but he didn't want Alfred to get in trouble with the masters. Who knew what they'd make him do? More exercise for missing valuable practice time? Arthur knew very well that Alfred's teachers weren't that heartless, but he had to have some kind of excuse for not visiting. He had his own training to worry about anyways.
It was about time for Arthur to start seeing results. Instead of little gusts of cold air, Arthur could make a tiny little swirl of snow last for about six seconds until he got too excited that he lost concentration. Now it looked like he'd be able to show Alfred what he had been teaching himself for almost a month now, assuming they were still friends after Arthur apologized of course. He tried to think of the best way to say he was sorry, but that was very difficult since he never had to apologize to Alfred before. He continued to make the little miniature flurries until he saw his friend walking up the long, dirt road that he walked every day when he got back from practice. Arthur ran up to greet him, but Alfred ignored him, only sending Arthur a quick glance before staring back down at his feet. A little twinge of guilt pulled at Arthur's heart and he almost wanted to cry. Almost.
"Alfred! You aren't going to believe this! I have the coolest thing to show you!" Arthur explained. Alfred hummed a little 'hmm?' in reply. Arthur pursed his lips, but ignored it. "You could at least act excited, you know." he huffed, trying to mimic the way Alfred talked to him on a daily basis. He was apparently failing at it. Alfred didn't say anything, which only made Arthur angrier, but he kept his cool. He kind of deserved the cold shoulder he supposed. Throwing a book at someone's face wasn't exactly the friendliest thing one could do. He should apologize. That's probably what Alfred was waiting for after all. "Alfred?" Alfred continued to walk. Either he didn't hear Arthur, or he was ignoring him still. The green eyed boy sighed and grabbed Alfred's sleeve. "Alfred…"
"What?"
"I'm sorry…f-for throwing the book at you and calling you stupid. I didn't really mean it. I was just mad." Arthur said a bit embarrassed. He was never very good at apologies. Alfred stayed quiet before he pulled Arthur into an extremely tight hug that Arthur swore cracked his spine, burying his face in Arthur's shoulder. Arthur pat Alfred's back briefly and the younger boy quickly let go. Well someone seemed happy to be apologized to.
"I can't stay mad at you." Alfred grinned, ruffling Arthur's already messy blond hair. He was the same height as Arthur now he noticed. How much longer until Alfred was actually taller than him? Would they both hit growth spurts? Maybe Arthur would hit one before Alfred and be taller for a little bit longer. Alfred was also a lot…bigger lately too. Any hints of baby fat that he still had when they first met were almost completely gone, replaced with growing muscles and the beginnings of puberty. His fair complexion had also been replaced with a light tan that showed how much time he spent outdoors nowadays. Arthur let out a huff. It wasn't fair that Alfred was starting to grow up faster. "So what's this awesomely amazing thing you wanted to show me?" Alfred asked, looking at Arthur as if he was a puppy and Arthur had a treat for him.
"I-I'll show you after dinner…" Arthur promised. Alfred clapped him on the back.
" 'Kay. Oh! You'll never guess what I found out! There's a dragon's cave up in that mountain! I heard some of the older kids talking about how that's where they get the eggs for the hatchery!"
"Really now?"
"Yea. Wouldn't it be cool to go up there and see what it looks like? I've always wondered what a dragon's cave would look like."
"I read that they were filled with treasure since dragons are supposed to be greedy." Arthur offered.
"It might be! It'd be weird seeing a bunch of treasure up there though! I've never really seen much of it in my life after all."
"Nor I." Arthur agreed.
"Man. I'm hungry too. Its dinner time, right?"
"About that time, I think. You're looking forward to stew?"
"You aren't?"
"It's the same stew we've been eating for three years."
"And Miss Lizzy knows the way to a man's heart." Alfred grinned.
"Last time I checked, men weren't twelve."
"They weren't thirteen either, so you can be quiet."
Just like Arthur promised, he was going to show Alfred what he learned over the past month. "Promise you won't laugh. I'm not very good yet since I'm teaching myself, but I figured I could show you it now." Arthur admitted shyly.
"I'm not gonna laugh. Just show me!"
"Okay! Just be quiet for a second!" Arthur shushed his friend and cupped his own hands together. He followed the steps he'd been following. He cleared his head and then focused on making a ball of energy in his hand. Then he made the ball swirl and slowly drop in temperature. He felt his hands start to get cold with the dropping temperature inside, but he didn't let go quite yet. He focused harder, trying to make it bigger and faster and then allowed his hands to fly open so that they were a good six inches away from each other and the tiny tornado danced in his hands for a few seconds. It was enough to impress Alfred, who clapped Arthur on the back and congratulated him for learning how to do that much in such a short amount of time, which made his face heat up from embarrassment and pride.
"Just think how much better you'll be if you were able to get that far in a month! You'll have it mastered in no time!" Alfred said with a thumbs-up. Alfred admitted later that he was happy that it was the magic Arthur was hiding from him and not some secret girlfriend or something else, which made Arthur too embarrassed to move for a few seconds.
Years seemed to be passing by too quickly for Arthur. It seemed like only yesterday Arthur was making tiny tornadoes dance in his palms and Alfred was only just learning the basics of any fight in his own classes. Maybe Arthur was feeling nostalgic because it had been so long since he had come here, though five years hardly seemed like a long time in the long run. It had been two years since he discovered magic. Two years since Alfred was playing with sticks in the courtyard and showing off what seemed to be such a small amount of knowledge compared to everything he knew now. They had both grown so much, both in mind and body. Arthur was no longer the four foot eight inches thirteen year old. He was now a full five foot five inches fifteen year old. Alfred had also hit his own growth spurts and was now a good two inches taller than his older companion. Arthur realized the days of being the tallest were gone forever, but for some reason he didn't really care. Alfred had to be taller with all the muscle he had gained. He now had two years of extremely thorough training under his belt and he definitely had the body to prove it-he hardly looked like he was only fourteen. He was still a little thin and lanky as his growth spurts seemed to hit as a few inches over night and then he stopped growing, but he was by no means the tiny little thing Arthur had met five years ago. Alfred had also started reading more. His teachers convinced him that on top of the on-hand learning that he'd been doing, he'd also have to have book-smarts and start figuring out what his fighting technique was.
"You don't want to be a brute, do you? All muscle and no brain?" Arthur teased.
"No! None of the awesome heroes are brutes!" Alfred would panic a little after that and furiously flip through the pages of the book, as if the faster he read, the chances of him being a brute would be lessened. Arthur didn't have the heart to tell him that it didn't happen that way so he let Alfred read how he wanted.
Just like how Alfred was getting more involved into Arthur's interests, Arthur was getting more involved in Alfred's interests. Fighting was a great way to relieve the stress of being a wizard, and it helped give Arthur a sense of muscle too. Just like being a brute was a bad thing, having only book smarts was equally as bad. Alfred would go easy on Arthur as he obviously wasn't as trained as the taller male, but others they would just rough house and play around.
Alfred usually won, go figure. Arthur would usually try to dodge Alfred for as long as possible, but he did not have the stamina that Alfred did and would get tackled and pinned to the ground when his speed started to fall. Usually he would try and squirm away, but they fell to ground and Arthur wasn't moving as he usually did. A huge smile was on his face as Alfred pinned his arms above his head. They were both out of breath now.
"You're getting better." Alfred said between breaths, his dark blond hair clinging to his forehead.
"Or maybe you're slacking." Arthur panted out. "But I know something you don't know."
"And what would that be?" the taller boy was breathing close to normal again and he was starting to pull his guard back up. Arthur smirked before glancing up at his hands briefly. Alfred had his hands on his wrists just low enough that he could curl his hands up to grab Alfred's lower forearm. "Wait a second-!" Too late. Alfred couldn't snatch his arms away fast enough to avoid the cold shock that just passed into his arms. He yelped in surprise and leapt off his friend. "That's cheating!"
"Is not!"
"Is so! You can't just go and use magic in a rough housing match!"
"I believe I just proved I very well can." Arthur practically sang. He was so close to mastering this spell and he was incredibly proud of himself. Alfred got to show off new things every day, but Arthur's skills took lots of training and self discipline to get right, and that took weeks!
"Okay. I think I'm okay with losing one out of like the 600 times we've fought." Alfred grinned. "But seriously! Do you know how cold that was? You coulda toned it down a bit y'know!"
"I did tone it down. The spell isn't called Blizzard for no reason, Alfred." Arthur grinned.
"Coulda toned it down more then."
"But where's the fun in that?"
Alfred didn't reply and instead mumbled something under his breath. Arthur didn't bother asking what it was. He was too happy with himself to have almost completely mastered this spell. His first spell. Wizards knew tons of spells though now that Arthur thought about it. His books didn't have many spells in them as they were often very expensive and the books he had were for beginners, but he would have to make do with what he had until he started earning his own money. Fire looked like a fairly simple spell too, and it would contrast with Blizzard. That might also make it a little more difficult to learn though. At least he wouldn't have to learn how to focus his energy, just manipulate it into fire.
"You start working next year…" Alfred suddenly said.
"What?"
"You'll be sixteen, meaning you'll have to get a job. The orphanage isn't going to take care of you anymore…" Alfred sighed.
"Oh-yes. I guess so." Arthur hadn't been thinking about that. "Don't worry. It's not like I'll be going far."
"I'm going with you." Alfred stated. Arthur raised his impressive eyebrows. "I'm not going to let you go out there by yourself. Plus, it'd be easier for you to get a job that way too. No offence but you aren't very strong and most of the people around here need people that can pull twice their weight and you…can't."
Arthur let out a huff. "And I suppose Miss Lizzy's just going to let you leave at the ripe old age of fifteen?"
"I'm not that much younger than you! It's only a couple months! Plus, she knows better than anyone that I can do it!" Alfred explained.
"Alfred-I really don't think-"
"It's not like we don't plan on working together anyways, so what's the harm?"
"Al-"
"C'mon! Please, Arthur! Pretty please!"
"On one condition then. I want you to prove to me that it's beneficial to me to let you tag along. If not, you're staying here the full ten months we're apart until you're allowed to leave. Got it?" It was kind of an ultimatum, but Arthur wanted to make it difficult for Alfred. Alfred was his best friend and he didn't want to let him suffer if they couldn't make enough money to feed themselves or pay for his training. Alfred seemed to be thinking this over very carefully until it looked like a light went off behind his blue eyes.
"I have the perfect way to prove it to you then! But it will have to wait until Saturday when I don't have class, okay?"
"Okay…" Alfred let out a very loud cheer and hugged Arthur, squeezing him so hard that he couldn't breathe.
The next three days passed the slowest they ever had in Arthur's entire life. Alfred wouldn't give him any clues to what his big plan was, but anytime he was around, Arthur was constantly reminded of Saturday. If Alfred wasn't around, Arthur thought about him which made him think about Saturday even more! He contemplated freezing Alfred with Blizzard until he gave in and told Arthur what the big plan was, but Arthur had a sense of decency and within that was stated that giving your best friend frostbite was an incredibly rude thing to do. Arthur was extremely happy when he woke up that Saturday to an equally happy Alfred whom was getting ready for the plan. "Dress comfortably! It's a little bit of a walk!" Alfred grinned, throwing some random clothes at Arthur.
Two hours later, Arthur regretted waking up. They had been hiking uphill and his legs were hurting from all the walking. He tripped over tree roots and rocks a couple times already and Alfred would just laugh at him. There was a nagging feeling going off in the back of Arthur's head, but he couldn't figure out what it was trying to say so he ignored it.
"I could carry you, y'know."
"And only prove that I need you so easily? I don't think so." Arthur would breathe out. Alfred would shrug and keep leading Arthur up. Thirty minutes later, Arthur finally figured out why the alert was sounding in his head. "Alfred!"
"What?"
"Are we going where I think you're taking us? I swear to God if we are-"
"That depends on where you think we're going." Alfred said, picking up his pace. Arthur chased after him.
"Alfred! You know we can't be up here! Do you seriously want to become dragon lunch?"
"I'm not going to become lunch!" Alfred argued.
"You're being a complete idiot! Get back down here! We can't go up there!"
"Make me!" Alfred laughed, climbing up with ease. Arthur trailed behind him. The trees were getting thicker and he was losing sight of his friend. Arthur continued to chase Alfred down, yelling insults and threats that went ignored by his companion. Alfred finally stopped and Arthur took this as an invitation to speed up and catch up with his friend. He scrambled uphill and slapped Alfred as hard as he could on the back of Alfred's head, but Alfred only flinched. He was too busy staring ahead. Arthur followed his gave to the mouth of a cave, overgrown with weeds and vines. "Let's go!" Arthur grabbed the back of Alfred's tunic. "Arthur! C'mon! I only wanna go inside for a minute and look around! You can stay here if you want, but I'm going." Alfred pried Arthur's hands off and marched towards the cave entrance. He didn't even look back as he entered, leaving Arthur all by himself. Arthur could sit here and do nothing while his best friend in the entire world was potentially risking his life in a possible dragon's cave and hope that Alfred would come out safely or he could march inside the cave and be just as stupid as Alfred.
"I must be out of my mind." Arthur groaned as he sprinted towards the cave. He was blasted with a gust of warm air upon entrance that made his hair fly off of his forehead briefly before falling back in place. He sprinted down the tunnel after his friend. Alfred couldn't be that deep in the cave right? How deep was the cave? Was there even a dragon in here? What was Alfred hoping to accomplish by taking Arthur here? Arthur's thoughts came to a halt as his foot caught something, sending him to the ground face first. He looked over his shoulder to see Alfred, grinning at him with a smile that just screamed "I knew you'd be after me eventually."
"Shut up."
"I didn't say anything." Alfred hummed, grabbing Arthur's arm and helping him up.
"Great. You've been in here long enough, let's go."
"There's still more cave! Don't tell me you're chicken."
"I'm not chicken! I just don't want to get eaten by a dragon!" Alfred raised his eyebrows at Arthur in a way that seemed to challenge the shorter male. It was the type of unspoken challenge that one boy issued against another that just could not be declined, no matter how wrong you knew it was. Arthur knew that and Alfred knew that. "Fine. But if we're in too deep, we're turning back." he growled. Alfred smiled. The continued forward in the cave, Alfred leading the way with Arthur following close enough that he stepped on Alfred's heels. Instead of getting colder and damper, the cave slowly became warmer and the air became very stuffy and stale, making it harder to breathe.
"Hey! Look at that!" Alfred made a dive for a pile of rocks near the cave's wall. He picked it up. "This is a pretty cool lookin' rock! I didn't think they could get so smooth and stuff!" he mused, turning the thing over and over again in his hands. Arthur had to agree. He had only seen a rock this smooth in rivers where water passed over the rock to wear them down. Alfred set it back down, losing interest. "Let's go deeper!" Alfred suggested. Before Arthur had a chance to think about it, Alfred was already dragging him further into the rocky cavern. There were more strange rocks Arthur noticed, mainly in groups and bundles in little areas. There was something fishy about them and Arthur felt like he'd seen them somewhere before. "Whoa! Arthur! Look at that!" Alfred hollered. He dashed forward, towards another nest of rocks. They were the same shape and texture as the ones Arthur had been seeing, but these were shinier, prettier, and very nicely arranged on what looked like a bed. Alfred went to investigate while Arthur stayed behind.
If this was a dragon's cave, it was a lot different than what Arthur was expecting. He expected there to be a sleeping dragon atop piles upon piles of gold and priceless gems. He didn't think it would look like an average cave with weird looking rocks. It was unbearably hot too. Arthur felt like he was going to die, the heavy air getting extremely hard to take in and out of his lungs.
"Arthur! Look at this!" Alfred yelled. Arthur spun around to see the taller blond right next to him, holding a rock in Arthur's face. "Can I keep it? Pleaaase?" It was one of the pretty ones that Alfred had looked at. That shape was still-
"Alfred! Put that back! That's an egg!" Alfred held it to his chest protectively.
"But Artyyy!"
"No."
"Pleaaase?"
"No!"
"But she looks just like me!"
"Alfred, it's an egg."
Alfred glanced down at the egg. It shined a light blue with darker blue speckles. It was pretty cute for an egg, Arthur supposed. "But she will look just like me when she hatches!"
"You don't even know how long it's been here!"
"I have a feeling."
"And what if that feeling is wrong?"
"It's not! This is how a Dragoon is supposed to get his dragon! You go off instinct! It all comes down to destiny! When I'm this close-" Alfred made a gesture with his index finger and thumb, making about an inch gap, "-to becoming a Dragoon, it hatches! I have this feeling and I can't ignore it!"
"…where on earth did you hear that?"
"In that book you threw at my face that long ago." Alfred said flatly, petting his egg. Arthur choked on air.
"You actually read it?"
Grrrrrrrrrrooooowwwwwlllllll.
"…was that your stomach, Alfred?"
"No…at least I don't think it was." A gust of hot, pungent air blasted across the boys.
They very slowly turned their heads, and when they made their spin, they were face to face with a full-grown, humongous, red scaly face with two tons of teeth, bright green eyes and what looked to be an expression of complete and total anger. A massive tongue flicked out, tasting the air in front of Alfred and Arthur before returning to the mouth from which it came. The face began to rise and Arthur noted it was attached to a very long neck, at the base of which tow large, leathery wings sprouted. That whole part was attacked to a colossal, bulky body of muscle and scales. A dragon. Apparently, a mother dragon. The monster opened her mouth, unveiling the many rows of sharp, pointy teeth and let out an earsplitting roar that reverberated off the rocky walls of the cave, knocking debris loose from the ceiling and sent tumbling all around the cavern. Alfred and Arthur screamed along with it, Arthur grabbing hold of Alfred as if he were a life-preserver. The cry seemed to go on forever, but when it did stop, the two boys were still screaming, their ears still ringing. Alfred was the first to stop and when he recovered, he slapped one hand over Arthur's mouth, holding onto the blue egg with his other hand. The dragon stared at the two boys incredulously.
"A-Arthur. I have an idea." Alfred whispered.
"W-what?"
"You distract the dragon with…Blizzard or whatever…and I'll run away."
"EXCUSE ME?" Arthur screamed. Wrong thing to do. The dragon immediately perked up, baring its teeth into a sneer as it glared down with its green, cat-like eyes.
"RUN!" Alfred managed to holler before the giant red beast let out another ear-shattering bellow. The taller boy grabbed a hold of Arthur's hand and made a mad dash for the archway they entered in, bolting around rocks that had fallen from the top of the cave and obstructed their path and leaping over tremendous cracks and crevices that widened as sound waves beat mercilessly upon them. Arthur felt an intense heat emitting from behind himself. He looked to see the last fizzles of fire go out with a puff of smoke before the dragon breathed more. And then Arthur found himself back in the tunnel he and Alfred walked down to get in there. Luckily it was just one tunnel that didn't branch off into other ones, but it was still a lengthy tunnel. He could still hear the dragon clearly, its roar making the entire passage shudder and shake. It didn't take as long getting out of the tunnel as it did getting in, and even after they hit the first patch of grass and sunlight, they didn't stop running. They raced and stumbled down the mountain, avoiding trees, roots, sticks, and whatever else that could send the two tumbling. They didn't stop running when they reached the base of the mountain. They didn't stop running when they reached the little village. They only stopped when they made it to the courtyard of the orphanage, both of them collapsing to the ground as they tried to fill their burning lungs with oxygen.
"I hate you…so…much…" Arthur breathed out after five minutes of heavy breathing. "If you ever…do anything…as dumb as…this ever…again…I'm going to kill you." Alfred coughed in reply. They continued to lie in the grass, trying to catch their breath and squirming in the grass in hopes that it would help their screaming lungs fill faster. Arthur felt as if his entire body was made of lead. He had never run so fast or long in his entire life and he hoped he would never have to do it again. A shadow fell over his face and he opened his eyes, unaware that they were even closed. Alfred was hovering over him, a triumphant smile on his red face. Arthur narrowed his eyes. The honey blond was holding something above his head as well. A rather large, smooth blue stone with speckled dotted around the entire object.
"You actually kept…the egg…" Arthur groaned. "If I wasn't so sore, I would slap you across the face."
"Of course I kept it. We went through all that trouble." Alfred tumbled to the ground, lying shoulder to shoulder with his friend. Arthur closed his eyes again.
"We only went through all of that because you led us up there."
"On the challenge you made. Speaking of which…" they both stayed silent for what seemed like forever. Arthur managed to force himself to sit up and star Alfred directly in the eye, hovering over his face as Alfred had done earlier.
"There is no way I'm letting you out of my sight after what happened today."
Alfred smiled. "That's what I was hoping you would say."
Miss Lizzy was not happy the first time Alfred told her he was leaving with Arthur. It took convincing all the way up to the final week of Arthur's sixteenth birthday until she finally cracked and allowed Alfred to leave with the older boy. She was sad to see both of them go, but if Alfred wanted to go out and make a living for himself already, then she wouldn't try to stop him anymore.
They both managed to land jobs at a small farm in the countryside on the other side of town. An elderly couple used to run it with their sons, but they all left to travel or become a knight for the kingdom or whatever else. The couple would close it down, but this was the only place they had called home since they were children and they just couldn't stand to leave. They decided hiring somebody to keep the farm going was the best thing to do. The man liked Alfred right off the bat, but seriously, who wouldn't? Alfred was eager, strong, and always did what he was asked. Not to mention he certainly looked like he could more than handle himself. It was Arthur the man had trouble warming up to; little Arthur who had tiny muscles, an attitude, and affection for books and magic over manly things like fighting and garden tools. But the man accepted them both in the end, not wanting to lose Alfred because he didn't want Arthur. The farmer's wife was different. Sure she liked Alfred, but she preferred Arthur's help and knowledge, always saying it was more practical to know how to use a needle over farming equipment. Arthur was good at organization and he was exceptionally useful in the housework that couldn't be kept up with by the old couple. Needless to say he felt a lot more welcomed by the farmer's wife than the farmer.
Since the couple was rather old, they didn't have much money, but they did have a small fortune in savings that they used now that they couldn't work. The wage they were able to offer wasn't the highest in the world, but Alfred and Arthur preferred working in the same place for the minimum than separately for higher pay. There weren't many animals on the farm either. A few chickens and a cow, but that was it. That meant there was no donkey. And because there was no donkey, the strongest boy had to pull the plow anytime a new crop had to be planted. Alfred had stared at the plow, wondering how on earth he was supposed to pull this, Arthur snickering behind him as the farmer clapped Alfred on one of his broad shoulders, saying it wasn't as heavy as it looked. Alfred whimpered, not entirely sure if he would be able to do what was asked of him this time. Arthur somehow managed to convince Alfred to take it as a challenge. The more he was able to plow in one day, the less he would have to do the next day. Alfred liked that idea and had managed to plow the entire field that day, but not without getting a nasty sunburn and straining a muscle in his back. Arthur tried to make Alfred feel better that night by putting some aloe on his burn, but that hurt the strained muscle and when he tried to rub at the muscle, he hurt Alfred's sunburn. Arthur felt horrible that he couldn't help his friend (and felt that he had caused it), but Alfred tried to assure the older boy that he would feel better in the morning. At least Alfred had managed to finish the entire field and didn't have to do much until it was time to plant the seeds, but even the little jobs he had made him wince in pain. Alfred did his best to cover it up, but Arthur wasn't fooled so easily.
Alfred was no longer that boy anymore though. He was very close to six feet tall, if not over six foot. He was probably almost done growing as he was now seventeen years old, but then you never can tell with boys. He might sprout up a few more inches, he might not. Since he did most of the manual labor, any hint of fat that he might have had was pretty much gone. In conjunction with his training, he had grown even more defined muscles. They were big, but not comically so. His biceps strained slightly against his tunic when he flexed, assuming he'd actually wear one when he worked. He didn't sunburn as easily anymore either and he sported a nice, even tan across his entire body. Arthur tried many times to convince Alfred to wear a hat and tunic while he worked to avoid making his skin leathery, but Alfred refused.
"Even you know that only happens if you put fat on your skin, and even then it takes a lot of time outside." Alfred laughed, slapping Arthur's shoulder.
Arthur had grown taller as well, but not as tall as Alfred. He was nowhere near being as big as Alfred, in height or muscles. While Alfred worked fields, Arthur was indoors, patching clothes and doing laundry. He also noticed that in comparison to Alfred, he was extremely pale. Alfred would often times make fun of him, saying he was turning into a girl.
"But then again, most girls know how to cook…" Alfred thought, bringing his mug of lemonade halfway to his lips, "But then again you do everything else a girl does too." Alfred took a very a deep drink of the yellow liquid, some of if spilling from the cup and running down his jaw.
"Except flirt with you." Alfred choked, coughing and sputtering until Arthur managed to stop laughing and slapped him on the back to clear his lungs. They left that conversation alone after that, though Alfred still occasionally teased Arthur about his slow and steady transformation into a female.
When the two boys, now very close to being men, were not working on the farm, they were continuing their own training. Alfred no longer went to practice every day and now only went four days a week if he could manage it and Arthur barely had time to practice his magic. He hadn't learned a fire spell yet. He just wasn't able to get into the mindset after Blizzard. Learning a spell of the completely opposite element was way too hard, so he settled for learning the sleep spell instead. Sleep was easier to learn over Fire, but it was still hard to find time to practice. At least after two years of deciding on learning it, he had mastered the spell almost as well as he had Blizzard down when he had only two years of experience (by now he'd been working on it for four years and it was a whole lot more powerful) , which made him extremely proud. Maybe now he would have the confidence to learn Fire.
SPLASH!
Alfred cannonballed into the lake for the tenth time that day. "C'mon, Arthur! Why don't you join me?" he called, wiping his wet hair from his forehead. The little piece that always seemed to defy gravity was still sticking up, even though it was drenched with lake water.
"I'm busy!" Arthur huffed. He'd been at this Fire spell for over a month and he still had not even managed to conjure a single spark. He'd keep on practicing until he learned how to do this, even if it took him a ridiculous amount of time.
"But, Arthurrr!" Alfred whined.
"Alfred, bother me one more time and I swear to God I will freeze that lake. And I will make sure you don't get out until I learn Fire." Arthur threatened. And he could do it too. Alfred took the hint and started splashing around on his own, singing some random song way off key to keep himself entertained. Arthur rolled his eyes and went back to his spell. Fire was a lot different than Blizzard. You had to approach the spell with a totally different perspective and that was very hard to do when you had mastered and had been using the same spell your entire magical career. Well, okay, he knew Sleep now, but that didn't mean he forgot Blizzard. Sleep had a similar approach as Blizzard so it was easier to learn. While those spells needed you to focus on fluid and calm emotions, Fire needed you to fuel your energies with desires and drive. It was difficult to place the emotions needed for Fire. Hate and rage and anger were uncontrollable and raw and made fire difficult to control and could even cause it to backfire and explode, but if you focused on a weak emotion, then you couldn't get a spark. It was all about drive. You needed a reason to learn Fire. A good reason to learn. This was hard as Arthur didn't have a mentor to give him an example. He was on his own. Being a good mage wasn't a good enough reason as it proved. It was too vague, too meaningless and insignificant and it didn't mean enough to Arthur.
Think.
What means to most to me? What is the one thing I'd be willing to die to protect? What is the single thing that drives me to do better in everything?
"Arthurrr! Are you done yet? I'm bored!" Alfred whined.
"NO!" Arthur yelled. Alfred started to pout and sank into the water, letting bubbles reach the surface as he completely submerged himself in the lake. Arthur rolled his eyes. If Alfred wanted to drown himself, so be it. Then a little idea made itself into his head that made Arthur's entire face heat up. But it was ridiculous. There was no way it would work. It seemed like a really silly reason. But then again…it wasn't that farfetched. It could work. He didn't really have anything to lose. "I'm crazy for trying this." Arthur mumbled. He focused everything he had on that one little thought, clearing his head of everything but the idea and closed his eyes. He sat there for a few minutes, hands pointed at a leaf he had been trying to ignite for the past hour. There was no way it was working. It was silly to think this would work. Then he felt something warm beneath his hands. He opened one of his eyes to peek down, not really expecting anything. He almost didn't believe it and he was staring straight at it. The leaf was crinkling, bright orange flames engulfing it from the center outwards, leaving behind a trail of ash, a small amount of smoke rising up to tickle Arthur's nostrils. This was amazing! The thought actually worked! Arthur was finally able to conjure flames. The one magical thing he had put off because it was too difficult was finally allowing Arthur to manipulate it.
SPLASH!
Water drenched Arthur and everything around him, the flame going out with a soft sizzle as the clear liquid engulfed it. A month of frustration and hard work disappeared with the tiny flame. Arthur almost wanted to cry. "Alfred." he said sweetly, not looking away from the mostly-burned leaf. Alfred let out a hum. "You have ten seconds to get out of that water before I freeze it and give you a very literal case of blue balls."
"Wha-" Alfred started, a little concerned at first, but he took the threat as a joke and began to laugh. "You're funny, Arty. Real funny." Arthur stayed silent. Alfred's laughter faded. "What? Why? Because I splashed you?"
"You put out my fire!"
"I put out that little candle you had going there."
"Six."
"Huh?"
"Five."
"Arthur. Don't do anything brash."
"Four."
"Okay! I'm moving!" Alfred stumbled out of the water, clumsily getting back on dry land and scurrying to his clothes. Arthur still hadn't moved, mourning his poor little flame's death. He wanted nothing more than to beat Alfred's head into a tree multiple times. He supposed he would have to forgive him though. Alfred was the reason Arthur could even start to use Fire, even if Arthur didn't want to admit it. "Do you smell smoke?" Alfred asked, pulling on his pants. Arthur sniffed the air. There was the faint smell of smoke. It smelled as if it were far off and heavy.
"Maybe someone has a fire pit going in town?" Arthur offered. Alfred shrugged before putting on his tunic.
"You ready to go? I'm tired." Alfred asked, letting out a yawn. Arthur nodded and gathered his things, stuffing his books into the leather bag he carried with him. "Betsy should appreciate being back in her crate at least." Alfred said, patting his own bag.
"I've told you a million times, you don't even know if Betsy's a girl or not. And your dragon is an egg. I don't think it really cares where it's stored as long as it doesn't crack."
"Betsy cares." Alfred argued through pursed lips. Arthur stuck out his tongue and Alfred did the same. "But just you watch. She's so close to hatching. I know she is."
"Let's just go." Arthur sighed, starting down the path he and Alfred had discovered to get to this lake. They continued to talk, mainly about dragons, but they also talked about what they planned on doing now that they were pretty much all grown up. Arthur was eighteen and could leave, now able to buy potions and spell books without getting weird looks, and, well Alfred looked like he was old enough to do all of those things.
"There's nothing stopping us! We have the money and we can leave anytime we want! It's not like we have anything waiting for us here." Alfred reasoned. A twinge of hurt struck Arthur. Alfred was right. There was nothing there for them, no family holding them back. They only had each other.
"I suppose you're right. It is about time to start making plans for bigger things." As much as Arthur liked it here, but Alfred was ready to move on and Arthur didn't want Alfred to leave him behind. Alfred suddenly stopped moving. "Al?" No response. "Alfred?" he stayed silent, staring straight ahead, his blue eyes wide as if he had just seen a ghost. Arthur followed his gaze. They were on the top of a hill that overlooked their tiny town-or at least what was left. Fires raged, causing devastation to every corner of the village. Buildings that weren't on fire were scorched black and it was nearly impossible to tell what it was before the destruction. The stables where Alfred trained were nothing but rubble. The orphanage where Alfred and Arthur spent their childhood was still burning, the stone walls falling as the flames licked at every square inch of the building; the wooden parts slowly crumbled into ash and fell to the ground. Even the farm that Alfred and Arthur had spent the last two years was nearly gone, the fields that were so close to maturity now dead and blackened and useless. Everything was gone. Everything Arthur and Alfred had grown up seeing and playing with and spending their time was dead or gone. And it wasn't coming back.
Whether they were ready to leave or not, now it was time to go and start their new lives.
A/N
And there you have it! The prologue! Mainly Alfred and Arthur (get used to this lol) Not a lot to say about it (heh)
Thanks to foofie88 for cowriting this with me! Foofie's just as much to blame for this as me. =w=/
I hope you all enjoy! Hope to see you next chapter!
