Chapter 7

Elektra walked towards the dining hall. She had just healed the injuries of a guard who was involved in a training exercise that went wrong.

"All done." She said after healing his broken foreleg.

The ice dragon rose to his feet and tested his forelimb, "Thank you."

"Just doing my job." Elektra chirped as she went to the sink and washed her claws.

The ice dragon eyed her and said, "You're a very beautiful dragoness."

Elektra turned in surprise and blushed, "W-well…thank you."

"Yeah…it's a pity your stupid enough to defend a monster."

Elektra gaped at the dragon as he left the room.

"What the hell is wrong with us?" She asked herself in frustration, "How are we supposed to prove to him that dragons aren't…'bloodthirsty animals' when we act like that." She stopped in place and shot a lightning bolt into the air in anger, "Maybe in order to change Leon…we need to change ourselves first."

Leon speed-walked up the stairs and into his room. He was thankful that Elektra was not there, "Sin!" he called.

"You sound frustrated." Sin sneered as he manifested in the room.

"What the hell were you doing?"

"Killing the dragons…the same task that you are obviously to weak to complete."

"Screw you!" Leon shouted frustrated, "You almost killed me in the process…and you almost killed me this morning as well!"

"Oh please, I wasn't going to kill you…I was just trying to get my point across…which reminds me, have you figured out the answer to my question?"

"And w-what q-question would that b-be?" Sin and Leon turned to see Sting had entered the room.

"This is no concern of yours, dragon." Leon stated.

"I-it is my concern when i-it endangers my f-friends."

"I suggest that you leave before something unfortunate happens." Sin said maliciously.

"N-not until I g-get some answers."

"As you wish." Sin stated before lunging forward and kicking the black dragon. Sting yelled as his back crashed against the wall and left a large crack in the stone. Sin approached the black dragon but Leon blocked his path, "Defending dragons again?" Sin asked glaring at Leon.

"I will deal with them in time…but it will be on my own, not with some damned entity that looks like me." Leon said drawing his javelin.

Sin laughed maliciously, "You fool."

Leon struck with his javelin, but the dark crystal simply passed through Sin as if he wasn't there "Shit!" Sin grabbed Leon by the throat and lifted him into the air. Leon dropped his javelin, which retracted when it hit the floor, and tried to break Sin's hold, but his hands passed through just like his javelin. Sin smiled and shocked Leon with dark lightning. Leon yelled as the lightning coursed through his body and threatened to rip him apart from the inside out.

"I'm so disappointed in you." Sin said.

"B-back off!." Sting yelled. He leaped forward but only managed to pass through Sin's chest. Sin kicked backwards and sent Sting rolling across the ground, before turning his attention back to Leon.

"You know, I grow tired of dealing with you…so, I'm going to leave now…but, I'll be back in due time...with help." He then threw Leon into the wall and disappeared. Leon and Sting picked themselves up off the floor. They were bruised but not seriously injured.

"You shouldn't have interfered!" Leon snapped at Sting.

"I-I was t-trying to help!" Sting snapped back.

"For the last time, I don't need help!" Leon was losing his temper from having help offered to him when he constantly made it clear that he did not need, nor want it from anyone, especially dragons.

"Y-you will eventually, and y-you'll open up t-to us one d-day s-soon." Sting said.

"Oh really…and what makes you so sure of that?"

"B-because, I've s-seen it." Sting said before sinking into shadow.

"Hmph," Leon scoffed, "what the hell does that stuttering fool know?" He walked to his cushions and lay on his back, staring at the ceiling. He felt his lids become heavy and he drifted off.

The vanguards sat with Elektra, who told them about her recent patient. "How could someone say that to the one who just healed them?" Charlotte asked disgusted.

"I'm not sure," Elektra said. She then thought for a moment and then smiled evilly "but, I think I know how to teach them a lesson." She then noticed the concerned looks on the faces of the vanguards and quickly added, "non-violently, of course."

"Are you gonna tell us what your planning?" Twitch asked.

"You'll see…but I'm going to need a certain someone's assistance." She said. Cynder was about to question her, but Charlotte's gasp interrupted her. Sting approached the table and the vanguards immediately noticed the purple bruises that shown through his black scales.

"What the hell happened to you?" Fang asked, genuinely concerned about his brother.

"I-I flew into a b-building." Sting lied.

"You really expect me to believe that?" Fang narrowed his eyes at his twin.

"I-it's nothing."

"Wow," Elektra said, "you're starting to sound like Le-" She clamped her hands over her maw, but it was too late.

"Did he do this to you?" Fang asked with a disgusted snort.

"N-no, it wasn't h-him." Sting said.

"Are you lying?" Fang asked.

"N-no…Now j-just drop i-it." Sting replied.

Fang continued to stare at his twin for a moment before backing down, "Fine…but if he hurts you in front of me…" He then glanced at the other dragons "or any of you for that matter, I will kill him." The other vanguards didn't know whether to snap at him, or thank him.

"Well, anyway…come on, Sting." Elektra said patting her paw on the stone bench. Sting jumped up next to her and she healed his wounds. The vanguards finished their meals in about an hour and headed back towards the temple.

"I guess Leon wasn't hungry." Elektra stated.

"Has he eaten anything today?" Cynder asked.

"I don't think so."

"He might be trying to avoid the dragons as much as possible." Flare stated.

"Or he might be trying to avoid us as much as possible." Twitch said.

"He won't be able to avoid us much longer." Spyro observed, "We'll be spending a lot of time together on our mission."

"And we need to use all of that time to try and get him to talk." Cynder said. The other vanguards nodded, except for Fang.

"Fang…I would really like your help with this." Cynder said.

Fang turned to her and sighed, "I can't do it…I just can't trust him to be around us."

"Well, can you trust me?" Charlotte asked. It was the first time she had said a word to the black dragon since the incident in the dining hall.

Fang looked at her for a moment before letting out a pained sigh, "I do…but I still don't like it."

"Neither do I," Charlotte said, "but I do trust that you'll protect me, if it should come to that…but you shouldn't fight if you don't have to."

Fang thought for a moment, "I suppose your right."

"Aren't I always?" Charlotte asked smiling.

Fang chuckled, it was the first time in days since he had found something funny, "Normally." He then turned to Cynder, "I'm not sorry for being untrusting towards…Leon," It was the first time he hadn't referred to Leon as a monster or a murderer, "but I really never meant to hurt your feelings… so I am sorry for making you cry."

"I understand." Cynder said. "Thank you." Fang nodded in response. The vanguards ascended the stairs and separated into their rooms.

"Mind if I sleep in your room?" Charlotte asked.

"But I never said I that I was comfortable traveling with Leon." Fang said.

"I'm in this for Cynder…not him."

Fang looked at her for a moment, "In that case I would be honored." He said smiling.

Elektra entered her and Leon's room. Leon was fast asleep and Elektra walked on her pads to avoid waking him. She felt her foot hit a cold object and looked down to see Leon's javelin at her feet. She gingerly picked it up, "A fine weapon." She observed as she examined the javelin. She neglected to notice that she her talons were getting close to the button on the hilt until it was too late. Without warning, the javelin extended again and stabbed into her inner thigh. She screamed in pain and fell against the wall, causing Leon to jolt awake.

"What's going on?" Spyro asked as he and the other vanguards bolted into the room. Cynder gasped when she saw the bloody javelin and Elektra's wound, now turning purple from the dark crystal.

"It's…not what…it looks like." Elektra said through the burning pain that was coursing up her leg.

"What the hell's going on?" Leon asked as he came to his senses. He too saw the javelin and wound on Elektra's thigh and immediately realized the lightning dragoness's dyer situation.

"I can't heal it!" She cried, trying her best to get the purple wound to close.

"You've been poisoned," Leon explained, "your healing magic won't work on that."

The veins around the wound began to turn purple and the burning pain was only increasing in intensity. Tears began running down Elektra's face when she realized what was going to happen, "So…this is it?" She asked through her crying. The other dragons looked down in dismay. Leon was quickly scanning his mind for possible answers. One popped into his head…it wasn't a pleasant idea, but it was the only plausible solution he could think of.

"Maybe not…" Leon said, causing the dragons to turn to him, "I need you nine young dragons to see if you can find me some more of that draconic brandy," He said, "but hold the poison this time." Fang glared at Leon, but he ignored the dragon as he carefully examined Elektra's wound.

"Got it." Spyro nodded. He left the room with the vanguards close behind. Cynder glanced at Leon one more time before exiting.

"What do you need…brandy for?" Elektra asked, gritting her teeth in pain.

"One; to get them out of the room, and two; because I'm going to need a drink after this." Leon said. Then, without warning, he put his lips around the wound on Elektra's inner thigh and began sucking. Elektra's face immediately turned beet red at the sensation. Leon's mouth quickly filled with poisoned blood and he spat it on the floor before going back and getting another mouthful. The purple color in Elektra's veins slowly began receding back into the wound. After several minutes, Leon finally tasted untainted dragon's blood. He spat it on the floor before sitting back examining the wound again. The vanguards ran back into the room; a bottle was in Flare's mouth.

"What now?" Spyro asked.

"I still can't heal it." Elektra said.

"It will have to heal naturally." Leon stated, "Did you find that brandy?" Flare walked up to him and handed him the bottle. Leon popped the cork, "This will hurt." He poured some of the brandy into the wound and Elektra yelped in pain.

"What did you do?" Twitch asked noticing the glowing purple blood on the floor.

"Hopefully…you'll never find out." Leon said before taking a long drought of the brandy.

"Careful, " Flare warned, "that stuff will make you forget your own name."

"Trust me, I don't want to remember the moment I just had." Leon then rose to his feet and picked up his javelin, "Be more carful next time." He said retracting the Javelin and placing it next to his satchel.

"We should bind this." Zephyr said looking at the wound.

"We can't," Elektra began, "I used the last cloth bandage on that obnoxious ice dragon, and the next shipment doesn't come in for another two days."

"Well, we can't leave it like this." Crystal stated.

Leon looked at his satchel and thought again. After a few moments, he sighed, "I have something we can use." The dragons watched as Leon rummaged through his satchel and pulled out a red cape with the symbol of a wolf with the rising sun at its back embroidered in gold thread.

"Your father's cape." Cynder said, recognizing the cape from the chronicler's book.

"Indeed." Leon said, not really caring how she knew about it.

"Are you sure?" Elektra asked.

"Nope." Leon said plainly before ripping the tattered cape in half. He walked over and wrapped the fabric around Elektra's leg. "I'm sorry father." He whispered softly to himself as he tied the cape tightly around the wound.

"Will she be okay?" Crystal asked.

"She'll live…but I expect she'll be limping for a week or two."

"I suppose it could be much worse." Elektra said slowly getting to her feet.

"In that case, we'll leave you." Spyro said before turning to the vanguards, "You guys have your last lesson before we leave tomorrow, and the ball is that evening, so we should be resting up."

"Right." The vanguards said simultaneously.

"Thank you all." Elektra said slowly lying down on her cushions.

"Anytime." Flare said before the vanguards left the room. Leon sighed and lay on his cushions.

"I take it you wouldn't like me to thank you." Elektra stated.

"It's about time someone figured it out." Leon stated, "I also never want my mouth that close to…you know, ever again."

"Trust me…it wasn't pleasant for me either."

"Oh really…it looked to me like you were enjoying it."

"I…you…I…it…" Elektra stumbled over her own words.

"Kidding." Leon said plainly.

Elektra glared at him for a moment, but then realized something, "He just made a joke." She thought to herself smiling on one side of her face, "I'd say that's a step in the right direction." She laid her head in her paws and went to sleep.