I sat there frozen to the spot as I watched you edge away from me out of the corner of my eye. I felt my face swell up as if it was about to glow red. You started to nibble at the remainders of your frozen pile with a slight smirk on your face before breaking the silence.

"So when do you think we should head back?" You cocked your head to one side and looked at me.

"I...I...Urr..." I started to get frustrated with myself. Why couldn't I speak? It was just a kiss on the cheek. It doesn't mean anything. Does it?

"Cynder are you OK?"

I had to take three deep breaths before answering.

"I'm...I'm fine" Your smirk had gone and you were now looking slightly concerned. I then noticed that sweat marks had started to appear on my forehead. I couldn't help but curse myself. Damn it Cynder, get your act together!

"Where...Back where?" I stuttered.

"Back to Dragon city"

"Oh...yeah, of course"

"Are you sure you are OK?"

I'm fine...Don't worry" You didn't look convinced. You still had that concerned look on your face. Five minutes past before you broke the silence.

"So when should we head back?"

"I don't know, maybe we should stay here for a while...You know, until we get our strength back." Well at least I was getting my sentences out now.

"Sounds good to me." Another five minutes passed and once again it was you who broke the silence.

"How long do you think we will need?"

"However long it takes." I smiled and you gave a weak smile back. I felt sorry for you. You must have been dying to get back and see everyone again. I could tell you missed them. I couldn't blame you, so did I. Even Sparx, and of course Ignitus. I felt a tear trickle down my face so I quickly wiped it away before you could see.

"Cynder?" I looked up to see that you had finished your frozen pile and were now looking at me intensively.

"Yes, Spyro?" The intensity in your voice made my slightly nervous.

"Back when the world was falling apart...And I was trying to fix it, you said something just as I was about to give up. It gave me the strength to carry on. Somehow... You saved me, and I just wanted to say thank you." You paused, waiting for me to speak. When I didn't you continued.

"The thing is though, I can't remember what it was that you said. Can you?" I could feel the redness coming back, and the sweat marks soon following. I had hoped that you would never bring that up. I had hoped that however true it was, you had not heard me say those three small words. "I love you..." Those three words echoedaround in my head, threatening to swallow me up into the darkness. Why does it have to be like this, I thought to myself, why do even the most simple things have to turn in a mess of complicated lies?

"I'm...I'm sorry, I can't remember either" I lied. But of course I remembered. How could I not?

"My memory is probably more pathetic than Sparx's bravery, and that's saying something" I tired my best to change the subject, but the words still echoed in my head like a sad, helpless song. But my efforts we not all lost, the disappointment that had spread across your face vanished as soon as I said this. The thought of your glowing little friend put a loving smile on your face.

"Wow, that really is saying something." You nudged me with the tip of your wing. I giggled and nudged you back, harder than I intended to. You started topple, but I caught you just in the nick of time.

"Sorry Spyro, I didn't mean to do that quite so hard." You started to laugh when I said this.

"Don't worry Cynder, I guess I am weaker than I make out to be."

"That will soon change Spyro, I'll make sure of it." The confidence in my words surprised both of us. You smiled warmly at me and let me help you get your balance back.

"We should go find some proper shelter...A cave maybe" You suggested.

"Good idea."

We walked slowly, enjoying the fresh air and the calming buzz of the nature around us. After about 20 minutes of plodding along, we came to a small opening of a tunnel on the side of a large hill. You insisted to go in first to check if it was safe. I was too tired to argue so I reluctantly tagged along behind you. Neither of us was prepared for what we saw. On the other side of the tunnel was the most beautiful place I had ever seen. The sky was a stunning crystal blue and the sound of the crashing waterfall was like music to my ears. I turned to see your jaw hanging open in astonishment.

"It's...It's just so...So beautiful." I found it hard to get my words out right. Beautiful didn't do that place justice.

"I have something more beautiful standing right next to me." You were gone before the words really sank in. You had disappeared under the waterfall and out of sight. Had you just called me...Beautiful? I didn't move for at least a couple of minutes. This time the sweat came in buckets. It took all my might to move from where I was standing and drag myself to follow you over to the wild waterfall that felt like heaven crashing on top of me.

After a while of reluctant walking we found a small but spacious cave not too far away and settled down for what we hoped, a good night sleep. You fell asleep about a metre away from me so I carefully shuffled over and curled up next to you. Just before my exhaustion took over I heard you mumble something sweetly in your sleep. Although your words were barely a whisper, they fell like fire on my ears. "I love you cynder..."