Fire and Ice
Written by: ahnigurL
c", Okay, here we go! This story is only… 9 chapters long, epilogue included, and so, we will finish this in nine days. Okay? Okay. Go.
Disclaimer: Original plot from Dragons: Fire and Ice. Improvised plot from me. Original characters and names from me. Saku and Syao are NOT from me. ToT
To Meet
"Yeeeaaaaah!"
Little Prince Xiao Lang yelled as Valgorn soared higher and higher up the sky. The Prince thoughtlessly and trustfully let go of the dragon's reins and raised his hands up to the sky, his knees gripping the dragon's neck a little tighter for well-trained balance.
The little boy's laughter tinkled pleasantly into the dragon's ears and he snorted, soaring in large, gaping circles around the Li Empire's lands, making the people down in the bustling city below look up to the gaily Prince.
Xiao Lang grinned from ear to ear as he examined the whole of Dragon Country, his eyes scanning the lands below him expertly. He eyed the dry desert, and the big circle right in the middle of the dividing line between the Li Empire and the Kinomoto Kingdom's lands.
"That's the Circle of Raffha…" he muttered silently, eyeing it.
Legend has it that centuries ago, when the dragons were still here, the Circle of Raffha was the official place of the dragons, underneath it was the home of hundreds of dragons in a volcanic cave, and around it was the Dragon City, the dragon territory. The dragons occupied the Taif Desert, the desert in the very heart of the country. It was like a triangle; the Kinomoto in the West, the Li in the East and the Circle of Raffha in the North. And in the very middle was the Rub Al Khali, the circle where the three kingdoms met, the circle only the King Dragon could open and seal.
The dragons long ago protected the then undivided land and aided the people in their endeavors, but in return, the people would honor the dragons and treat them as equals and with respect. It was a peaceful, united country back then, and a solid alliance between the Li and the Kinomoto was present.
But a dispute broke out when dragon killings started. One by one, the dragons of both the Kinomoto and the Li started dying or disappearing mysteriously. Each party thought it was the other, and there started the war that ravaged and divided the whole country.
As Xiao Lang eyed the Raffha, he noticed the glinting metal weapons embedded deep in the sandy ground, the setting sun making it look like there were jewels glimmering down there. The Raffha had always been the battlefield when there was a charge. Dead bodies, armors and weapons littered the place, and the walls were partially decimated, having no one to maintain it.
The dragons had departed, seeing as the war was getting nowhere. They had promised that they would come back once sense was knocked into the people's minds and everything was set back into place as it had always been… but now that idea seemed far-fetched.
Xiao Lang sighed.
He wanted nothing more for everything to stop and for the dragons to come back.
Sakura giggled gleefully as the Frigga soared low over the gardens her mother had made before she died. She admired the beauty of the cherry blossom trees from above, wondering once again how her mother had managed to make the tree grow in the hostile and hot environment their country sported. From what she'd read, cherry blossoms grow somewhere cold.
Come to think of it, inside the garden, it was cooler than outside. Greener too.
She giggled again, as the dragon skimmed low over the sea, and Sakura leaned down, one hand on the rein, and brushed the water as they rushed forward. The dragon tilted to the side, brushing it's wing against the water, before soaring in a high, tight circle, making Sakura scream in part delight, part thrill and part terror.
She squealed in absolute glee as dolphins started leaping out of the water and swimming along the skimming dragon.
"Cute!"
She had read that the dolphins had a language of themselves. They could communicate just like humans do, it was just a different tongue.
Just like the two divisions.
Different.
She sighed as her fingers brushed the head of one dolphin slightly. The two countries had different languages: Kinomoto sported Nihonggo, and Li sported Mandarin. But all the residents of the whole country could speak both. They were taught both in school.
She frowned.
Even though there's unavoidable difference, there shouldn't be division leading to decadence. That's what mother's diary told me.She let go of the reins, gripped her legs against the dragon's neck, and slid sideward, hanging upside down by the neck of the dragon, the tip of her hair touching the sea water. The dragon snorted, reaching one of it's clawed front feet to steady the hanging girl. Sakura touched the snout of the dolphin and she laughed gaily as the dolphin nuzzled her hand for a while, before sinking low into the water abruptly.
"Huh? What's—" she said, baffled.
Then there was a sudden lurch, making her screech. She pulled herself back upright with the help of Frigga's front feet and swayed slightly, a little dizzy from all the blood draining out of her head.
There was another lurch, and she realized Frigga was flapping her wings extra-vigorously, almost frantically, and they were soaring upwards in a terrifying speed.
Then she saw it.
"What's happening, Valgorn?" Xiao Lang shouted over the rushing wind, as the dragon lurched hurriedly upward towards the darkening sky. "Let's go back now, there's gonna be a storm!"
The dragon snorted impatiently and flew higher and higher. Xiao Lang gasped.
There was a growing ball of fire in the middle of the sky, growing and growing hotter every second, larger than ever. Then it formed a large, dragon eye, an eye that had a slit for an iris, and a dimensional portal slowly opened in from the middle of the eye.
"What's going oooon, Friggaaaaaa!" another voice yelled from across him.
His eyes narrowed. Another dragon, a gray one, with a struggling girl about his age on it, had stopped right in front of them. She looked Japanese. Kinomoto.
He growled. The fact that they were exactly under the ring of fire surrounding a newly opened portal was not helping the situation. He could feel his skin heating up, and he didn't know if it was because of his rage for the Kinomoto who had caused the war as he was told, or because of the searing hot fire above them.
The girl's startled eyes met his, and he watched as they slowly changed from being terrified to being angry. The girl hissed at him, glaring sharply. "Back off, Li!"
"I should be saying that, Kinomoto!"
"I don't care, just BACK OFF!" Sakura yelled.
"I was here first, IDIOT!"
"Why you—"
There was a sudden explosion from above them and a streaking black blurry figure emerged from the portal, the momentum and the air pressure knocking the dragons they were riding out of balance and taking them down.
There was a huge crash, and they landed right in the middle of the Circle of Raffha.
Fujitaka watched in horror as Frigga approached the ball of fire forming an eye.
"Sakura!" he shouted in vain. He gritted his teeth in anger. "You had better not be behind this, Li…" he grumbled, facing Touya, who was as concerned as he was about his sister. "Touya, get the troops ready. We're heading for Raffha."
"Right away, father."
Yelan's eyes widened as Valgorn streak rapidly towards the ground, the impact shaking the earth menacingly.
"Kinomoto, you can harm me, but not my son!" she shrieked. She eyed the army troops lining out of Kinomoto City. "Wei! Get the troops ready in 5 minutes!"
Wei bowed before his fuming mistress and walked away.
There was a mighty roar that echoed through the practically decimated Circle of Raffha.
Valgorn and Frigga both cleared their senses and faced an enormous black dragon, looking injured and weak. Xiao Lang and Sakura were both knocked out, lying on the ground, side by side, right in front of the black dragon.
There was a beautiful jewel, colored emerald with hints of amber, attached to the dragon's neck. According to legend, each dragon had a jewel like this on their necks and it served as the channeling item of their power. Frigga and Valgorn had their own.
Frigga and Valgorn looked at each other, before bowing down before the black dragon, snorting and roaring. The black dragon snorted and roared a little, and the two other smaller dragons nodded and backed off a little.
With a mighty roar, the beautiful jewel on the dragon's neck seeped into the dragon's torso.
Then he roared out and a tear trickled down from one eye, dripping down on Xiao Lang's face. The tear seared against his skin, and left a burn mark streaking from his left eye, across his nose and left cheek, and ending just above the left side of his jaw. The tear simply seeped back into his burned skin, disappearing and leaving the burn mark several shades darker than his natural skin tone.
Another tear tricked down from another eye of his, and it dripped down on Sakura's face. The tear seared and burned the skin on the right side of her turned face, the mark just like a bolt of straight lightning. It was a sharp, straight mark from just above her right eyebrow, ending in the middle of her right cheek, just beside her nose. Miraculously, the tear didn't burn her brow.
Frigga and Valgorn looked at each other and shared a message within that glance, before growling low and bowing before the black dragon. The dragon roared just one last time, before he tipped over and landed with a thump on his back, disappearing as the earth opened up and swallowed him into hot, molten rock cave.
The earth closed up again, only leaving a small crack in the earth near the northern side of the circle.
Two armies closed in on the Circle of Raffha, behind them trailing dust.
Another charge.
Xiao Lang groaned slightly, opening his eyes slightly and squeezing them shut again as the sunset's yellow-orange lights rushed into his iris. He slowly let the burning subside before opening them slowly again and sat up.
Sakura moaned, rolling over. Her back hit a protruding bit of rock and she cried out, her eyes snapping open. There was a strange tingling in her right eye and cheek, but she ignore it and sat up, glancing around.
As they caught sight of each other, both leapt back, giving a meter's distance between them and facing each other bravely in fighting stances.
"Kinomoto."
"Li."
Flashes of what had happened ran in both of their minds, but not one had remembered the black dragon or the tears.
"Why don't you just surrender, sniveling girl?"
"Why should I surrender, brat? And to you, nonetheless?"
"You are the reason why this war won't stop!"
"Not me. You! Don't accuse me of your sins!"
They glared at each other, Xiao Lang growling deep and Sakura hissing slowly. Both of them bared their unusually long canines.
Wait.
Unusually long canines?Both of their foreheads crumpled in deep thought.
I don't have long canines.
Frigga and Valgorn snorted from one side. Both dragons were sitting on their haunches, watching the two kids seethe and glare at each other. For them, it was an amusing sight. They had to get used to it, since they were to protect these two and keep everything a secret until the right time comes.
Both of them threw a withering glance at each other, before turning to the dragons.
"What are you laughing at?" snapped Xiao Lang and Sakura at the same time. Their heads snapped back to each other, growling.
"Don't copy my words, Kinomoto."
"If you haven't noticed, I haven't copied. I said."
"Smart little mouth for a dumb little girl."
"Look who's speaking."
Both of them reared and were about to strike and lash out, their training kicking into them, but something interrupted them.
"Xiao Lang!"
"Sakura!"
There came two voices from opposite sides of the circles, making the two children look at their parents. Dressed in armors, backed by armies, ready to fight.
The two looked back at each other, and Syaoran launched a roundhouse kick at Sakura, which she evaded. Sakura counterattacked with a strong punch, but Xiao Lang effectively blocked and caught her hand, spinning her around. But she spun along with it, taking the both of them down and they rolled and wrestled on the ground.
"Soldiers of the Li Kingdom! Watch! Our young heir already shows true potential as a leader and a fighter, and shows complete willingness to fight the battle among us! Let us not disappoint him and bring victory tonight!" Yelan shouted.
There was loud shouting and cheering for the young Prince, who was still struggling with the girl. The two were rolling around the dusty ground, punching and kicking and scratching.
"Kinomoto fleet! We should not let the enemy dampen our spirits, just like our young Princess is showing and standing against the Li heir! We should follow after her leading example and steal the victory for our kingdom!" Fujitaka yelled.
Sakura and Xiao Lang jumped back up from the ground, still facing each other.
"YOU'RE NO MATCH FOR ME, LITTLE GIRL!" charged Xiao Lang.
"YOU'LL EAT YOUR WORDS SOON, BRATTY PRINCE!" retorted Sakura.
They both charged with a roar and behind them, their armies started charging as well. Both Frigga and Valgorn was alarmed. The two could be seriously hurt if they were to be included in the grown-up's war.
Before the two kids could even hit each other, Frigga bit Sakura's training outfit and hauled the struggling girl onto her back. Valgorn did the same with a protesting Xiao Lang and the two dragons lifted off into the sky, letting the war rage on, returning the children to the safety of their castles.
Deep inside the castles and caverns of ice, a sinister voice chuckled as he picked up a white crystal and watched as the war raged on once again.
"Interesting…"
Tsuzuku
c", There. Done.
ahnigurL : ViPeR aLcHeMisT
Lady Kiasidira Ixari
04.14.06
