Ember's tale chapter 2

Two red dragons sat in the center of a broad, cavernous chamber, in between the dragons was a boulder. One of the dragons sat on the left side of the large obsidian boulder, while the older dragon sat on the right side. Many small, ash covered pebbles were scattered across the smooth surface of the boulder. The pebbles were pieces in a game the two dragons were trying to play. The object of the game was to construct a goal out of the pebbles, once the goal was constructed, the players would use the remaining pebbles to demolish the other persons goal. Who ever destroyed their opponent's goal first won.

The tall red dragon on the right side of the makeshift table grabbed a pebble and positioned it between two of his claws, he then flicked the pebble towards his younger brother's goal. Flame watched in satisfaction as the pebbles on the other side scattered.

The red dragon on the left side of the boulder widened his eyes, and his mouth dropped open. Flame was afraid his little brother was going to cry.

"Are you alright Magma?" Flame asked nervously, unable to drag his gaze away from the wide, pale blue eyes of his little brother.

"How did you do that?" Magma asked in awe. Flame smiled at the five year old dragon, giving thanks that the young boy was in his life.

"It's easy; I can show you how to score if you want me to." Flame said.

"Teach me, teach me!" Magma cried out enthusiastically.

Flame walked to the left side of the boulder, and sat beside his brother. He then picked one of the pebbles off of the ash covered floor. He lightly blew the ashes off of the pebble, and gently placed it on the table, Magma's eyes stared intently at Flame's actions.

"You see this pebble?" Flame asked. Magma nodded his head. "Well in order to aim it properly you have to get a good grip on it with your claws." With those words Flame grasped the pebble between two of his claws. Once he made certain that his grip on the pebble wouldn't falter he continued to instruct his brother.

"The next step is to flick the pebble with the claw that it is resting on top of." With those words Flame flicked the pebble with his back claw. Magma gazed in amazement as the pebble sailed over the boulder, and collided with the stack of pebbles on the other side.

"That was amazing!" Magma exclaimed. Flame smiled once more at Magma, his golden eyes radiant with happiness.

"Do you want to give it a try?" Flame questioned. He knew the answer though, Magma tried to do everything his older brother did.

Magma nodded happily, and picked a pebble off the ground. He then blew on the pebble and gently put it on the boulder table. "See this pebble?" Magma asked Flame. Flame nodded.

Magma then tried to properly position the pebble in his claws, unfortunately he couldn't align his claws correctly, and the pebble slipped to the floor, sending a loud clattering sound around the cavern that he and Flame rested in.

Tears filled Magma's eyes, and Flame spoke up.

"Don't feel bad, it took me months to align my claws properly. Often times I had to get Ember to help me."

Magma smiled, and said, "Emby!"

"Yes Emby." Flame chuckled. The sound of stone grating against the floor caused Flame to look away from his brother.

"Magma stay close to me!" Flame ordered tensely. Flame relaxed slightly as Magma leaned against him; he then wrapped his wing around his brother in a gesture of protection.

Light steps fell on the ash covered stone floor, and Flame sighed with relief as he watched his sister Skylara approach; he thought that his father had come to beat him and Magma.

"Skylara, thank God… I thought you were father." Flame whispered.

Skylara's only reply was a weak smile.

"Lara!" Magma exclaimed, rushing away from Flame, and over to his sister. The crimson dragon leapt at the glacier blue dragoness, and wrapped his tiny paws around her. Skylara returned the child's embrace by wrapping her bat like wings around him.

Magma nuzzled his sister, until a cool drop of water hit his head, causing him to draw back slightly.

"Lara you're raining!" Magma stated in confusion. Skylara gave her younger brother an odd expression.

Flame was taken aback by his brother's odd comment, until he noticed tears gleaming in his sister's night black gaze, sorrow swirling in their glassy depths.

"What's wrong Sky?" Flame asked concern for his sister flooding him.

"I got in to a fight with Ember." Skylara sighed sadly, lowing herself to the burning ground.

"What was it about?" Flame questioned, wanting to know what was bothering his sisters.

"Ember was beaten today, and when I went to check up on she snapped at me. She said that it wasn't my job to look after her, she said that I'm not mother…" Skylara's voice fell to an agonized whisper as she finished her explanation. Flame's eyes glazed over in sorrow as he remembered his mother.

He remembered the soft blue light in her eyes, and her beautiful smile. He recalled the way her elegant violet scales gleamed in the sunlight, and the sweet bell like sound of her laughter. A cold drop of water hit the ground, causing it to sizzle. This caused Flame to realize he was crying.

Magma looked up at his sorrowful siblings and whimpered. "I killed Mama…" Tears filled his pale blue eyes, and splattered on to the burning ground.

"You didn't kill her." Flame choked out. Magma didn't reply.

A harsh thumping sound echoing off the cave walls catching the siblings' attention. Powerful vibrations ran through the floor and clawed at Flame, causing him to tremble. The stone door to the cavern was flung open and a tall orange dragon stormed in, his amber eyes blazing with outrage.

"So Skylara you decided to sit with my sons instead of the slut Ember, I suppose I should approve of that." Magsirius grumbled.

"The slut Ember, as you called her, is your daughter!" Skylara snapped, fury at her father's comment toward her sister flowing through her veins.

Skylara was swept backwards as a spiked club struck her. She struck a boulder harshly and fell to the floor. Sparks of pain shot through her spine, and hazy stars danced in her vision. Skylara curled inward, in an effort to protect herself. Flame watched in horror as his sister curled up, and lie still.

"Flame, Magma, you will leave this tunnel at once!" Magsirius snarled.

"What about Lara?" Magma asked, his voice filled with fear.

Magsirius blew smoke at him and Flame, causing the two dragons to run out of the chamber they played in. Flame turned back, catching sight of the stone door closing. He instinctively moved himself close to Magma. Fear tore at Flame's heart as he felt his younger brother trembling beside him. Flame wrapped his paws around Magma, and carried him to a spare room.


The room that Flame and his brother stood in was nowhere near as large as the chamber they had been at before.

It had narrow stone walls that rested on top of one another. Cracks covered the stone walls, some combined and created images.

Much like everything else in Flame's volcanic home, the stone walls and floor were covered in ash. Many small boulders were stored in this tunnel. These boulders were used to train Flame and his siblings on fighting techniques. Flame looked around the room, and gazed at a small boulder that sat in the corner of the room. To the bare eye there was nothing unusual about the boulder, however Flame noticed small prints in the ash that covered the boulder. A few minutes passed before Flame realized that there were foot prints in the ash.

"Who's there?" Flame called out, circling Magma protectively. Flame stiffened as he heard a gasp.

A small dragoness poked her head out from behind the boulder. She had a black face, and glowing green eyes. The lower part of her body was dingy gray color. Her stomach was protected by pale yellow scales. Flame felt his stomach twist as he recognized his older sister Ember.

"Ember, what happened? Why are you such a mess?" Flame questioned.

"I had to hide behind this boulder since dawn. Father broke my wings, and two of my legs. One front leg and one back leg." Ember explained.

Flame nodded to his sister, and approached her. He then lay beside her, and gently started to lick the ash off of her face. Magma rushed up to his siblings, and began to clean the ash off his sister's stomach.

"I could get used to this…" Ember sighed in contentment.

Flame didn't respond, he simply continued to clean Ember. After a few minutes of intensive grooming, Flame and Magma stepped back to inspect their work, and were satisfied to see that Ember's scales glowed a soft pink coloration. Ember smiled at her brothers as a way to express her gratitude. Flame and Magma nodded in reply.

A soft clicking sound on the ground caught their attention, and Ember darted behind the boulder. Flame watched as Skylara walked in to the room, he gasped at his sister's appearance, and covered Magma's eyes.

There were bruises and bite marks all over Skylara. Her right wing hung at an awkward angle, and her tail dragged on the ash covered ground. She had a weak smile on her face, but there were tears of anguish in her eyes. Skylara collapsed to the floor.

"Lara what's wrong? What did father do to you?" Flame questioned.

"Take Magma away, he doesn't need to know…" Skylara rasped.

"We can't risk running in to father…" Flame muttered, misery tearing at him as he contemplated his choices.

"Then cover Magma's ears, he doesn't need to hear." Skylara replied.

Flame did as his sister instructed.

"Ahhhhh!" Magma screamed, wondering why the sounds around him were muffled.

"What did father do?" Flame repeated.

Skylara looked at her brother with terror in her eyes before saying, "He raped me."

Flame felt himself go limp, and he fell to the floor, Skylara's words echoing in his ears. His father had raped his sister. Flame opened his mouth to reply, but all that came out was an odd gurgling sound, he was so shocked by what he had heard that he couldn't even speak.

"Why?" Flame gasped.

"As punishment. He called Ember a slut and I yelled at him. Now I'm the slut." Skylara replied in a choked voice.

"What's a slut?" Magma asked. In that moment Flame realized that when he fell to the floor, Magma had regained his hearing.

"It's nothing; you're too young to know." Flame said. Magma stuck his tongue out at his older brother.

Skylara curled up and wept bitterly, Flame wrapped his wings around her in an effort to comfort her. Magma began to cry as well, for he picked up on his sister's distress, tears soon began to fill Flame's eyes. He couldn't believe that his father had raped Skylara. Magsirius had raped his own daughter. Those words swirled in Flame's mind, causing his legs to shake violently. He began to hyperventilate as he imagined the torment Skylara had been through. All the injustice he and his siblings were forced to live with tore at Flame's heart, and once again he yearned to fly away from it all.

Meanwhile behind a boulder a pink dragoness sat. Her two brothers had completely forgotten she was in the room. Ember gasped as she heard what had happened to Skylara. Guilt tore at Ember as she realized that Skylara had been punished because of her, her legs began to shake, and she collapsed. In that moment she realized she had to find a way to save her older sister, after all Skylara would save her if it was possible. With those thoughts Ember came up with a plan.