10. Competition and a New Fire Guardian
Flame paced backwards and forwards agitatedly, his claws tapping a rhythm on the cobblestones of the courtyard. Terrador sat stiffly at the edge of the courtyard, looking skywards, waiting for something. Not far from him sat Ember, her blue eyes following Flame as he continued his tetchy pacing. The silence was so severe that she could hear every step he took with startling clarity. His paws were slowly clenching, his patience wearing thin, but Terrador didn't seem to notice. The tapping of his claws continued their rhythm, almost hypnotising the watching Ember.
"Argh, why should we have to wait for them anyway?" Flame snapped, causing Ember to jump in surprise.
Terrador turned his calm eyes on the agitated red dragon, "Patience, Flame. The midday bell has yet to toll. They'll be here."
Flame's scowl deepened, "I wasn't asking confirmation for whether they would come or not, I was asking why we have to wait for them!"
Terrador didn't reply, instead he turned his eyes back towards the sky, aggravating Flame even further. Flame snarled, baring his teeth, and resumed his pacing with renewed gusto. Back and forth, Ember watched her friend until she could no longer stand the clacking of his claws against the stones.
"Stop pacing, Flame," she pleaded, approaching him, "you'll make yourself dizzy. I'm sure we won't have to wait for much longer."
Flame paused in his pacing and opened his mouth to argue, but was cut off by Terrador's booming voice.
"There, see?" he called, still gazing skywards. "Here they come now."
"Huh?" Flame craned his head to the sky as Ember did the same.
Sure enough, soaring towards them from out of the clouds were the forms of two dragons. Flying closer, the two dragons circled above the courtyard before floating to a graceful landing in front of Terrador. The Earth Guardian smiled, pleased, as Spyro and Cynder alighted before him with Sparx between them. The purple dragon grinned, somewhat sheepishly.
"Sorry we're late," he offered.
"Late?" Terrador questioned and then smiled. "Not at all, young dragon. If I'm correct, you are in fact…"
He paused as the deep tolling of the main bell declared midday.
"…right on time," he finished as the knells of the bell died away.
Spyro and Cynder exchanged triumphant grins as Flame gave a huff of annoyance. Ember nudged him, but he only swished his tail and supplied her with a look of impatience. Terrador beamed at the two young dragons.
"I gather you enjoyed your stay at the Valley?"
Spyro nodded quickly, "Of course, it was great to see it again, and to relax."
"But Hunter had us up at the crack of dawn to make sure we got back here on time," Cynder added with a soft laugh.
Terrador nodded slowly, the hint of an amused smirk on his muzzle, "Well, I'm glad you have had time to relax. Now, though, it's time to begin your training. Or rather, in your case, continue it. Are you ready, Spyro, Cynder?"
The two dragons barely hesitated before replying with confidence, "We are."
Terrador gave a satisfied nod, "Very well then. Firstly, I want to see what you are capable of. Spyro, Cynder, you will verse each other. I do not want any usage of any element of any form, do you understand? This is a physical fight. However, if things should get out of hand, I will call a stop to it instantly. Is that clear?"
Spyro hesitated and cast Cynder a nervous glance, but she only smiled reassuringly at him, an odd glint in her eyes. He didn't want to fight her, but if that was what Terrador insisted on, he had no choice. Suppressing a sigh, Spyro turned his determined glance on the Earth Guardian.
"Alright. I'm ready."
"Me too," Cynder added, nudging Spyro playfully, "I'm ready, too."
"Good," Terrador beckoned to the other two dragons, "Flame, Ember, clear the ring. I want you to observe this and see how Spyro and Cynder handle themselves. All right, you two, into the ring. Good luck."
The two pairs of young dragons passed each other as Spyro and Cynder moved into the ring, and Flame and Ember moved out. Ember winked at the purple dragon, flashing him a grin and, surprisingly, Flame grinned too. But his was a smirk that said quite clearly 'I hope you lose.' Spyro returned Flame's smirk with a glare, before flashing a confident grin.
'You wish.'
Flame's smirk vanished and he scowled at the purple dragon before tossing his head and stalking to the edge of the ring. With Flame and Ember out of the ring, Spyro and Cynder took their positions facing each other. As they began to circle one another, Spyro was reminded of a similar situation in the arena of a fleet of pirates three years earlier. They hadn't ended up fighting in that arena, but Spyro still remembered the blood-curdling cries of the watching crowd as they waited for the two dragons to fight to the death.
Ironically, Spyro remembered, it was partly thanks to Malefor's forces that had stopped him from having to fight Cynder in the pirates' arena. Shaking the memories out of his head, Spyro focused his gaze on the black dragoness.
"Don't go easy on me just because I'm a girl," Cynder insisted slyly, smirking. "I certainly won't go easy on you, purple boy."
Spyro allowed a grin to creep onto his face, "Don't start getting cocky yet, Cynder. You have no idea what I am capable of."
"Oh?" Cynder winked at him, grinning. "We'll see about that, Spyro."
"You may begin," Terrador called.
For a moment nothing happened. Sparx turned away, covering his eyes and muttering about being unable to watch. The two dragons continued to slowly circle one another, watching and waiting. Cynder's eyes glinted with amusement.
"Not going to attack, Spyro?"
"After you," he grinned, winking.
"Gladly," Cynder took the invitation without hesitation.
Ember barely stifled a gasp as Cynder shot towards Spyro with such speed that she appeared but a black blur of scales. The purple dragon hadn't been expecting such a swift attack, but reacted just as swiftly, leaping into the air before she could strike him. Her horns clipped the underside of his tail as she shot beneath him, and she was forced to snap her wings open and take flight to keep from tumbling across the ground.
Spyro circled behind her, taking advantage of her momentary defencelessness before she had time to recover from her missed strike. Cynder yelped as Spyro collided feet-first with her back, sending her thudding to the ground as he sprang off her.
Managing to land on her feet, Cynder winced as the force with which she hit the ground sent painful vibrations up her legs. She stood staggering for a moment as Spyro circled above her, conscious that the purple dragon was reluctant to finish her off. Taking advantage of his hesitation, Cynder sprang swiftly upwards and caught Spyro in the midriff with her horns, tossing him higher into the air as though he was little more than a lifeless sack of scales.
Spyro felt the wind rush out of him as Cynder's horns connected with his vulnerable belly scales, and realised after a moment that his short ascent had halted and he was now plummeting towards the ground. Blinking out of his momentary stun, Spyro twisted himself around and caught himself before he hit the ground, spreading his wings to catch the air and halt his descent.
Cynder hurtled towards him again before he could catch his breath and, startled, Spyro twisted sharply away from her. His tail whipped around, catching her in the side of the head and sending her spiralling to the ground.
Her body bounced across the cobblestones, coming to a rest at the edge of the ring, and Cynder raised her head with a dazed expression. Spyro halted and gazed down at her, concerned, but he had no need to be. The black dragoness quickly snapped her gaze back to him and pushed herself to her feet as the purple dragon alighted in front of her. She leapt over him, much to his surprise, and landed behind him, using her tail to knock his legs out from under him. Spyro grunted in pain as his chin collided with the ground, jarring his bones and rattling his brains.
He was startled from his momentary daze as Cynder leapt onto his back, wrapping her paws around his chest in an attempt to pin him down. Gathering the strength in his back legs, Spyro heaved upright, tossing his head back and causing Cynder to fall back onto the cobblestones. She landed with a yelp, sprawled on her back with her wings pinned beneath her.
Spyro turned swiftly, preparing to jump on her and pin her down, but she had already recovered and propelled herself forwards into his chest. He was thrown backwards and spread his wings to stop himself from crashing to the ground.
As he winged higher into the air, Cynder tensed the muscles in her legs and took off after him. Neither of them seemed aware of the watching dragons below, or the fact that a crowd was slowly being drawn to the courtyard to watch their fight. Ember's eyes were wide with awe and amazement as she witnessed the swift moves of Spyro and Cynder, and even Flame couldn't keep the admiration off his face.
The red dragon was just itching to show off his own skills against Spyro, but he knew that with Terrador there he had little chance of doing so.
Spyro climbed higher and higher into the sky, conscious of the black dragoness hard on his tail. A mischievous grin etched its way onto his face as he prepared for his next move. He waited for the right moment, making sure that Cynder was still on his tail, and suddenly spun back towards her. Cynder gasped in shock as Spyro shot back down towards her.
She had been so close to him that she had no chance of dodging his kamikaze attack, and could only screw her eyes shut as he barrelled into her and wrapped his paws around her. The next thing she became conscious of was the fact that they were hurtling very fast towards the ground.
Spyro shot towards the ground, taking Cynder with him, watching as the stones of the courtyard quickly rose up to meet them. Gasps from the growing crowd didn't reach their ears as their audience beheld them hurtling towards the cobblestones. Moments before they hit, Spyro snapped his wings opened and caught the wind in an attempt to slow his descent. But the ground still seemed to be coming up rather fast. Acting quickly, Spyro spun his body to the side and crashed landed on his shoulder instead of crushing Cynder beneath him. The two dragons tumbled over one another before coming to a slow stop near the far edge of the ring in which they had been fighting.
Silence fell as the crowd exchanged anxious glances and Sparx peeked out from between his fingers. Ember took a worried step forwards, wondering if they were okay, while Flame merely looked on with apathy. Terrador hesitated and was about to hurry over to them, when Spyro raised his head.
The purple dragon blinked, slightly dazed, and shook the dizziness from his head. Cynder gazed up at him, looking just as dazed, and seemingly unaware of the position in which she was in. It dawned slowly on Spyro that he had managed to pin her beneath him in the short scuffle after their crash landing. He scrambled off her remarkable quickly, blushing, but she remained lying dazed on the ground.
"Are…are you okay, Cynder?" Spyro asked hesitantly, leaning over her again.
The black dragoness blinked her large, emerald eyes as she recovered from her stun, and supplied him with a reassuring smile.
"That was a daring move, Spyro," she teased and he stepped away to allow her to get up.
The purple dragon grinned, "And it worked, too! …Mostly."
The sound of applause reached their ears and they turned in shock to find a small crowd had gathered behind Terrador, consisting both of dragons and moles. The dragons stamped their feet in approval and the moles clapped their tiny hands furiously. Ember grinned at the two of them and Terrador nodded with approval, but Flame only rewarded them with a glare. Ignoring the red dragon, Cynder and Spyro exchanged embarrassed-yet-pleased glances.
"That was well done, young dragons," Terrador praised, calling them out of the ring, "Your efforts in the war have certainly bestowed you with much skill. But do not think that this excludes you from any further training. A warrior never stops training. Every new battle is a chance to hone one's skills. You don't want to lose those skills by becoming lazy, now do you? Very good, very good, young dragons. You have much to be proud of."
The two young dragons smiled gratefully at the Earth Guardian, pleased by his praise. Vaguely, Spyro wondered what Ignitus would think if he could see them now. He was sure that the former Fire Guardian would be just as proud of them. With that comforting thought in mind, Spyro thanked Terrador and the watching crowd and moved to stand next to Flame and Ember. The pink dragoness instantly smothered him with praise.
"That was brilliant!" she breathed, her tail quivering with excitement. "How do you fight like that? I've never seen someone with such skill! It's no wonder the Dark Master was no match for you!"
Flame growled in annoyance, but Ember ignored him. Spyro blushed sheepishly and shuffled his paws in embarrassment.
"I didn't defeat Malefor alone," he mumbled, "I had help…I couldn't have done it without Cynder."
Cynder cast him a grateful glance; she had been slightly aggravated with the way in which Ember had focused all her praise on Spyro. The pink dragoness nodded in understanding and gave Cynder a friendly look.
"I can understand why," she said, surprising Cynder. "You're a brilliant fighter, too. I've never seen someone so quick. How do you two do it?"
Cynder and Spyro exchanged amused grins and replied, "With lots of practice."
"Now then," Terrador interrupted, "Flame, Ember, now that you have witnessed the skills of two more experienced warriors,"—Spyro and Cynder grinned at this description of them—"I think it's time for you to give it a try. Are you ready?"
"What?" Ember yelped, glancing nervously at the growing crowd, "In front of everyone?"
"Come on, Ember!" Naxos roared from the crowd, "Show us what you've got!"
"Yeah!" Delos added, agreeing with Naxos for once. "Kick Flame's scrawny ass!"
Flame snarled at the larger red dragon, looking like he was about to respond, until Chios cut him off. She pushed her way between Delos and Naxos, ignoring their complaints and addressed Ember.
"Don't be nervous, Ember," the green dragoness insisted. "You can do this! We're just here to cheer you on. Go on, show us how the girls do it! And show Flame he's not the only one hot enough to be a warrior!"
The crowd roared in agreement and Ember felt her scales heat up in embarrassment. Flame snorted and turned away from the crowd, coming face to face with Spyro. The purple dragon almost stepped back from the ferocity in the red dragon's eyes, but stood his ground without batting an eyelid. Flame glared at Spyro as behind him the crowd encouraged Ember.
"Let me show you how a real dragon fights," Flame hissed, narrowing his eyes.
"I'd like to see you try," Spyro shot back, irritated, as Flame pushed past him and headed for the centre of the ring.
"Just ignore him, Spyro," Cynder murmured, nudging him, "he's only trying to get on your nerves."
Spyro didn't reply. At last, after a lot of encouraging words from both Terrador and the watching crowd, Ember was brave enough to enter the ring. She grimaced at Spyro and Cynder as she passed and Spyro noticed that she was shaking with nervousness. Terrador waited until both dragons had taken their positions, facing one another, in the middle of the courtyard.
"You ready, Ember?" Flame whispered, trying to look supportive although he was longing to show off his skills.
"No," she hissed back, "but I'll do what I can."
"Remember, no using your elements. This is a physical fight, understood? Then, you may begin," called Terrador's booming voice.
"Go!" yelled Sparx, punching a tiny fist in the air.
Flame made the first move, eager as he was to begin. Ember stumbled backwards in shock as Flame leapt the distance between them and swung his tail around to knock her forelegs out from under her. She only just managed to keep her balance and almost fell back onto her hindquarters, startled. Flame ducked low and charged forward, catching her in the chest with his horns, hard enough to knock her backwards but with not as much of his usual force.
Ember yelped as she was knocked onto her back. Scrambling with her hind legs, Ember found a foothold and pushed off with all her might, springing into the air above Flame.
The red dragon craned his head upwards as Ember hovered above him and tensed his legs to spring up after her. She winged away from him before he could barrel into her from below and he missed her by a scale. The crowd began to shout, yelling encouragement to the pink dragoness and raising her morale. Flame turned towards her.
"Come on, Ember," he insisted, "show me what you've got. I don't want to fight a one-sided battle."
The pink dragoness hesitated momentarily, before narrowing her eyes and shooting towards him. Flame winged backwards, but wasn't able to avoid Ember's charge as she cannoned into his midriff, knocking the wind out of him. Coughing, he flew lower, away from her, attempting to regain his lost wind.
Ember saw her chance and spiralled down towards him, paws first, crashing into him from above. Flame was pushed to the ground as Ember landed on his back and sprang off again, in an almost exact replica of the move Spyro had previously pulled.
But Flame recovered quicker than Cynder had, perhaps because Ember's weight hadn't been quite enough to stun him. He pushed off the ground almost the instant he touched it and caught Ember from below before she had a chance to realise her opponent had recovered. She emitted a cry of pain as she was thrown upwards and then tumbled down to land sprawled on the cobblestones.
For a moment she didn't get up and Flame circled above her, anxiously waiting. Moments passed and Flame hovered lower, concerned. On the ground, Ember gave a small moan.
"Ember?" Flame cried, landing beside her. "Are you okay? I didn't mean to hurt you, I'm sorry! Ember?"
The pink dragon blinked, staring at him through half-closed eyes, and an unnoticed smirk etched its way onto her muzzle. Flame edged closer, worried that she wasn't responding, when she suddenly leapt to her feet and swung her tail in a wide whipping motion. Flame's legs were knocked out from under him and he landed sprawled, painfully on the ground, startled by the sneak attack.
He scrambled to get up, but Ember's horns caught him suddenly in the chest and he was thrown backwards across the cobblestones like a puppet with its strings cut.
"Very effective," Terrador commented from the sidelines, "the feint attack. Ember seems to have gotten the advantage over our hot-headed Flame."
But Flame wasn't quite done yet. He scrambled to his feet as Ember charged again and leapt into the air, causing her to miss by an inch as she shot beneath him. Ember skidded to a halt as she missed her target and, emboldened by her recent success, leapt into the air after him. But Flame was quite ready this time and also rather irritated at being fooled by her. He whipped his tail around with such force that, when it hit her, she was tossed from the air and shot towards the ground like a meteor.
Spyro yelped in surprise as the pink dragoness crash-landed into him, sending the both of them tumbling across the ground and into the crowd. The dragons quickly scrambled out of the way to avoid being bowled over, as Spyro and Ember skidded to a halt.
Anxiously, Cynder and Sparx hurried towards them to find the pink dragoness lying sprawled on top of the stunned purple dragon. Jealousy instantly filled Cynder's heart and she almost stalked over to them right then and there to tear the pink dragoness away from Spyro. But the large crowd that had gathered around them was enough to deter her from any rash actions.
Ember raised her head slowly, groaning as she shook the dizziness from her head. After a moment, she realised her position and felt her scales heat up in embarrassment. Spyro stared up at her, slightly stunned and unable to get up because she was pinning him down. A deep blush spread across her cheeks as she stared at him.
"Oops," she whispered, a small smile tugging at her lips.
"You okay?" Spyro asked, sitting up as she crawled off him and averted her eyes.
She was about to reply when Flame suddenly skidded to a halt between her and Spyro, his golden eyes blazing with fury towards the purple dragon.
"Get the hell away from her!" He snarled, raising his voice, smoking beginning to rise from his nostrils.
Anger rose within Spyro's chest and he retorted, "You're the one who threw her into me!"
"Shut the hell up!" Flame roared, moving to slash at Spyro with his lethal claws.
But Terrador interfered at just the right moment, knocking Flame off balance as he planted himself firmly between the two young dragons. Ember cringed away from him, trembling at the anger in the Earth Guardian's face.
"That will do!" he ordered, startling even the crowd. "There will be none of that during my training sessions!"
Flame snarled and turned his face away, still trembling with anger from some unknown source. Spyro glared at him before apologising to Terrador, slightly confused by Flame's sudden and unprovoked animosity. Cynder and Sparx hurried towards them, the former still feeling slightly jealous as she stared somewhat icily at Ember.
"That will do," Terrador repeated, quieter. "Ember, are you hurt?"
The pink dragoness shook her head, although she was slightly shaken up, "N-No, I'm fine. It's a good thing I managed to land on Spyro, or I might have been hurt. I let my guard down…sorry."
But the Earth Guardian wouldn't hear her apology, "Do not apologise, young dragoness. This training is for your benefit, to help you learn. I would be surprised if you didn't make any mistakes."
Ember nodded, staring at the ground, still embarrassed by what had occurred. The crowd, however, seemed to have found it most interesting. Naxos and Delos were still chuckling about the way in which Ember had managed to trick Flame during the fight. Ignoring them, Flame edged hesitantly closer to the pink dragoness.
"Ember…" he murmured, "I'm…sorry. I'll…go easier on you next time, if you want?"
She looked up in surprise and to his astonishment, shook her head, "No, it's my fault that I let my guard down! I just need to keep practicing and so do you! We need to practice together and become better fighters together. I don't want you to hold back because of me!"
"Alright, Ember," Flame replied, a smile tugging at his mouth, "if you insist."
"That's enough fighting for today, I think," Terrador announced, catching their attention. "Flame, Ember, you fought well, however there is still much room for improvement. I want you both to remain behind for practice. Spyro and Cynder, you may go."
Spyro nodded gratefully, exhaustion finally catching up to him after both the flight from Avalar and the fight with Cynder. Beckoning to the black dragoness, he led her away from the courtyard as Flame and Ember stayed behind with Terrador. Much of the next few hours for them were spent practicing on dummies as Terrador instructed them. The crowd slowly waned, bored, until the Earth Guardian finally dismissed his two tired pupils.
Spyro woke the next morning to find someone waiting outside his door. The purple dragon almost jumped backwards from shock when he opened the door to find Ember standing right on the other side, gazing at him with startling blue eyes. The shock must have shown on his face, because Ember quickly took a step back and apologised.
"Sorry!" she gasped. "I didn't mean to startle you!"
"I-It's fine…" Spyro stuttered, blinking in confusion, "but why are you here? Did you need something?"
The smallest of blushes crept across Ember's cheeks and she turned her eyes bashfully to the floor, "I, well…I was just wondering if you wanted to go for a walk with me. I don't know the city all that well, so I thought I'd ask someone to go with me. Would you?"
Surprise showed clearly on Spyro's face, "Why don't you ask Flame to go with you?"
Her blush deepened, much to his surprise, "He…he wouldn't want to. Would you, Spyro?"
The purple dragon hesitated, looking behind to silently ask Sparx his opinion, but the yellow dragonfly merely shrugged his tiny shoulders. Spyro sighed inwardly. He'd already planned to find out where Cynder's room was and ask her to take a walk with him, but he felt like it would be rude to refuse Ember's request, especially when she had asked so nicely. So, with a little reluctance, Spyro accepted.
"All right," he smiled, "I'll show you around the city, but just for a little while. I'm kind of hungry."
Ember's face lit up like a spirit gem, "You will? Oh, thank you!"
Practically bouncing on her heels, Ember followed Spyro out into the streets of the city. Sparx hesitated for a moment and decided instead to head for Cynder's room, a little voice in his head telling him that the black dragoness may want to know about this. The dragonfly was a natural snoop and had already figured out where Cynder's room was. He found her lying on her balcony, soaking up the morning sun as it reflected off her black scales. Cynder looked up when Sparx hovered towards her.
"What are you doing here?" she asked in surprise.
"What?" Sparx asked, feigning offence. "Can't a dragonfly visit his she-dragon friend once in a while?"
"I don't see why you'd want to," Cynder muttered dryly. "Spit it out, Sparx, what's up?"
"Alright, alright," Sparx sighed, "You got me. I just thought you'd want to know…"
"What?"
"Ember popped up outside Spyro's room and he's agreed to take her for a walk," Sparx shrugged. "Don't know why, but I thought you'd wanna know."
A frowned etched its way onto Cynder's face, "Ember? Why would Spyro take her for a walk?"
"Look, I'm just the messenger," Sparx insisted, holding his hands up defensively. "She asked, he agreed, that's that. Okay?"
Cynder's frown didn't disappear, "Well, okay…"
She clambered to her feet, stretching like a cat and yawning wide, before turning for the door. Sparx hovered after her, wringing his hands anxiously.
"Hey, where are you going?" the dragonfly called after her.
"To find Spyro," Cynder replied, knocking one of her red cushions out of her way.
She paused just as she reached the door and looked back at Sparx, "Thanks for telling me, Sparx."
"Any time," Sparx replied, slightly confused, waving as she left the room.
Cynder left Sparx alone in her room without a second thought as she dashed off to find the purple dragon. She wasn't sure exactly where he could be, but knew that he couldn't have gone too far from his room yet. At least, that was what she hoped, as she headed for Spyro's room without stopping to think. All she knew was that she wanted to keep that pink dragoness away from him. She wasn't the only one thinking that.
Up on his own balcony, a couple of buildings away from Cynder's room, Flame was woken by the sound of voices below him. Aggravating at being woken from his slumber, Flame cracked open one golden eye and gazed around the balcony for the source of the voices. There was no one there, though, and he grumbled as he pushed himself to his feet.
Moving to the edge of the balcony, Flame looked down at the streets below. They were empty, except for a pair of young dragons talking and laughing together. Something was familiar about them, thought Flame, still half asleep. It was the colour of their scales that made him finally realise what he was seeing.
Ember and Spyro were walking together, talking and laughing together, as though they'd been friends for life. Instantly a variety of emotions rose within Flame's chest, but the one that was most prominent was rage. Anger filled his entire being, spreading throughout his body as his muscles tensed subconsciously and smoke began to pour from his nostrils.
He spread his golden wings, determined to fly down there and give Spyro a piece of his mind, but his thoughts were interrupted as the two dragons took to the sky and winged away. He hadn't expected them to leave so suddenly and he sat, slightly stunned, for a moment before his anger returned. Without a second thought, he leapt from his balcony and soared after them.
Cynder was standing on Spyro's empty balcony when she saw the red dragon take flight a little way away. If Flame was going anywhere, Cynder surmised it would be to go after Spyro and Ember. Sure that he was her best bet for finding Spyro, Cynder took to the air and flew after him.
Spyro and Ember were heading for the main courtyard, situated near the gardens at the centre of the city. The purple dragon wasn't exactly sure where Ember wanted him to take her, so he decided to take her to see the courtyard and the gardens, unaware that she'd already explored the gardens just the other day with Flame. He was completely unaware that, at that moment, both Flame and Cynder were separately following them. Ember, however, kept looking behind her as though she knew or suspected that someone was following.
"That's the courtyard down there," Spyro called, pointing to the large empty space surrounded by miniature gardens. From in the air, the stones of the courtyard seemed to flow into swirling, spiralling patterns.
Ember followed close as Spyro landed in the courtyard, gazing around at their surroundings. There was a large stage at one end of the courtyard and behind it, rising far into the sky, was the main bell tower. The purple dragon shrugged.
"It's not much. This is just where we hold meetings," he told her. "Well, that's what Terrador said anyway. I think the Atrium is used for that sort of stuff as well. You'd probably find the gardens more interesting…"
"Oh, it's alright," Ember smiled, who didn't seem to notice her surroundings at all, "I've seen the gardens."
The pink dragoness gazed around the courtyard, her eyes raking the sky as though expecting something to happen. Spyro heaved a sigh and wished he were with Cynder instead. He wasn't even sure why Ember had wanted to walk with him. She didn't seem remotely interested in the city at all. And where had Sparx gone?
The sound of flapping wings reached his ears, catching his attention and causing him to gaze skyward.
"Look," Ember called, pointing, "is that Flame?"
Spyro stared closer, trying to make out the colour of the dragon's scales. As he came closer, Spyro saw that it was indeed Flame. Spyro's muscles clenched for action. If his past encounters with the red dragon were anything to judge by, things were about to get a little messy. He was startled, however, by the sound of a dragon landing behind him.
Cynder had spotted Ember and Spyro as they headed for the courtyard and had circled around from the back. Being a much faster flier than Flame, the black dragoness had reached them first. Spyro spun around when she alighted behind him, startled at being snuck up on. She stared accusingly at him and flashed Ember a swift glare.
"I was looking for you," she told the purple dragon.
Spyro instantly looked uncomfortable, "Y-You were? I just…Ember asked me to go for a walk. I…didn't want to refuse."
"Oh?" Cynder shifted her gaze to the pink dragoness. "I see."
An uncomfortable silence fell, broken only when Flame landed heavily behind them. Cynder saw instantly the ferocity in his eyes and decided her best course of action was to get Spyro away. She hurried to his side and extended a wing over his shoulders.
"Come on, Spyro," Cynder insisted. "Let's head back to the main hall."
"Cynder?" the purple dragon blinked in confusion, but she wouldn't take no for an answer.
"Hold it," Flame snarled as the two dragons attempted to walk away, "There's something I need to say to you, Spyro."
Fear found its way into Ember's expression and she hurried to Flame's side, attempting to dissuade him, "Come on, Flame, we should head for the hall, too. You must be hungry."
"Not yet," Flame growled, brushing her aside. "Spyro!"
Spyro pushed away from Cynder's wing and turned to face the red dragon, ready in case he tried to attack. But Flame made no move to start a physical argument. Instead, he attacked Spyro verbally.
"I said it before," the red dragon growled, "stay away from Ember! Don't talk to her, don't look at her, don't come anywhere near her, you got that?"
"That hardly seems fair," Spyro retorted, his anger rising, "to both me and Ember. Perhaps we want to be friends, did that thought ever cross your mind?"
Flame trembled with what could only be rage. He turned his scowl on Ember and forcibly ordered her to leave. She hesitated at first, until Spyro convinced Cynder to take the pink dragoness to the main hall, saying he'd catch up. The black dragoness hesitated, but knew she'd be no help in an argument between the two males. When the girls had left, Flame made no attempt to restrain his anger.
"Listen, purple freak," he hissed, circling Spyro like a shark, "Ember is my friend. She's been my friend ever since we were hatchlings and it's going to stay that way. No dragon like yourself—even if think you're better than everyone else with your purple scales—no dragon like you is going to take her away from me! You got that?"
Spyro snorted, glaring as Flame halted his circling and stood in front of him, "Say want you want, Flame, but even if I agree, you can't stop Ember from trying to be friends with me. I'm not interested in 'taking her away from you', but I'm not going to ignore her just because of your selfishness and jealousy. What you need, Flame, is to wake up and stop thinking about only yourself for once. Now if you'll excuse me, I think Cynder's waiting for me."
With that said, Spyro took flight and headed for the main hall. Flame stood in the courtyard for a while, glaring after the purple dragon as he mulled over his words. At last, after what seemed like hours, the red dragon vacated the courtyard and followed the others to the main hall.
What both he and Spyro didn't realise, however, was that Spyro's words couldn't be truer. Even if Spyro did try to ignore Ember, there was no stopping her from pursuing a friendship with him.
"Thasos, can I talk with you?" Terrador asked the orange dragon, pulling him away from the crowd.
Thasos turned towards the Earth Guardian, surprised, "Of course, Terrador. But what for?"
Terrador gazed at the faces of several dragons as they turned to look at him, waiting for an answer. It was midday and many of the dragons had gathered in the hall for lunch. The Earth Guardian turned his gaze back to Thasos.
"In private," he said, quite seriously, intriguing both Thasos and the crowd around him.
The orange dragon considered it for a moment and finally nodded, "Very well."
Terrador guided Thasos out of the main hall and began heading towards the Atrium at a swift pace. The orange dragon hurried to keep up with him, slightly confused.
"Where are we going?" he asked, curious.
"Somewhere where we won't be interrupted," Terrador replied gruffly, not stopping and saying nothing more.
Thasos shrugged to himself and quickly fell into step beside the Earth Guardian. Through the streets, under archways and beneath balconies, the two dragons hurried. At last Terrador slowed to a stop, in an open hallway not far from the Atrium. There were no dragons around, although Terrador made sure to check first, and Thasos stood wondering just what it was he wanted. The Earth Guardian fixed him with a solemn look and Thasos felt nerves spring up in his stomach.
"Hear me out, Thasos," Terrador ordered, "although you may be a little shocked by what I'm about to ask."
Thasos stared, bewildered, "Ask away, Terrador. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious."
The green dragon looked around carefully again, until he was absolutely sure that no one was watching. He turned his green eyes on Thasos once more and spoke, quite clearly.
"I want you to consider the position of Fire Guardian."
Spyro and Cynder had spent the rest of the morning walking in the gardens, both deciding to ignore what had happened with Ember and Flame. The black dragoness was still jealous and concerned that she may have unexpected competition in her race to win Spyro's heart. She was determined, however, to be the winner no matter what. What she didn't realise, though, was that she had already won. Only, Spyro was too shy to say it.
Reminiscing in past memories together, the two dragons hadn't realised they'd strayed from the gardens and were heading towards the atrium until Cynder spotted the two older dragons. They were standing under an open hallway and Terrador was looking very edgy, as though he was afraid that someone was spying on him. She nudged Spyro and pointed them out.
"Look, it's Terrador and Thasos," she murmured, "What do you think they're doing?"
The purple dragon looked up, surprised, "Who knows? Let's go ask them. C'mon, Cynder."
"Hey, wait up!" Cynder called as Spyro cantered away from her.
Spyro approached the two older dragons slowly and came to a halt. Something inside him was telling him not to interrupt this conversation, to hide and listen to what they were saying. Perhaps it was the edgy look in Terrador's eyes, or the bewilderment in Thasos' expression, but something intrigued the purple dragon. He slipped around the corner of a nearby building, beckoned to Cynder, and strained to listen to what they were saying.
Cynder slid to his side, raising an eyebrow questioningly, but he made a hushing sound and she remained silent. Together, the two young dragons eavesdropped on their elders.
"…can't do that, Terrador!" Thasos was saying, sounding both surprised and somewhat grieved, "I can't possibly…"
"You are the best dragon for it," Terrador insisted, "and it wont be permanent. Just until we train a new generation to take on the mantel. It's only an unofficial title."
"But I haven't had the training!" Thasos insisted. "I wasn't chosen as the apprentice and I don't deserve that title!"
Spyro felt a heavy weight descend in his gut as he listened, realisation of what they were talking about beginning to dawn on him. He pressed against the wall, listening harder.
"You've had more than enough training, Thasos," Terrador countered, not taking no for an answer. "You've lived through the entire war. And if you've managed to train Flame this well without having undergone the training yourself, I think you deserve to bear the title of unofficial Fire Guardian!"
Thasos hesitated, "I…I've always wanted to become the Fire Guardian. But…that position belongs to Ignitus, not me, how can I…?"
"Ignitus has passed," Terrador sighed, "and we cannot continue without a Fire Guardian. We need someone who can train the next generation. If and when the third search party returns, there may be younger dragons that will need training to become the next guardians. And we need a Guardian of Fire to help train them! With Ignitus gone, you are our best hope to take up his position."
"I suppose, Terrador, if you put it that way—" Thasos sighed, finally giving in, but Spyro didn't hear any more.
The purple dragon felt the weight that had settled in his stomach harden as both horror and anger filled his veins. He felt both hot and cold at the same time and his limbs trembled as though he'd just run a thousand miles without stopping. His heart was beating so loud he could hear it himself and was sure that Cynder could hear it too. Without thinking twice, Spyro sprang out of hiding, surprising the two elders.
"You can't replace Ignitus!" he yelled, the words tearing themselves from his throat before he had a chance to realise what he was saying. "No one can simply replace him like that!"
Terrador turned in shock, surprised that the young dragon had sprung seemingly out of nowhere, "Spyro! What are you doing here? Were you listening?"
But Spyro didn't seem to hear him, "What do you think you're doing, conspiring to replace Ignitus? No one could be the Fire Guardian like he was, no one! Not even you!"
Thasos took a step back, surprised at the anger in the purple dragon's voice. Spyro was yelling at him without thinking, his judgement clouded by anger and grief.
"You claim to have been his best friend!" Spyro yelled, his voice catching. "But you can't even hope to measure up to what he was! Ignitus was like a father to me! He was the greatest Fire Guardian there ever was, and no one can possibly replace that! How can you stand here and talk about him as though he was just a column that crumbled and needs to be replaced? How can you stand here and even consider that you could take over from him, when you know yourself that no one could possibly be the guardian that he was?"
Hot tears began to stream from his eyes, unnoticed by him as he glared heatedly at the two elder dragons. Cynder cowered behind him, shocked by his sudden ferocity and wishing to comfort him, but afraid that he would reject her. A pained look had entered Terrador's expression, but he didn't tear his gaze away from Spyro. Thasos, however, turned his eyes to the ground in shame. Spyro clenched his paws, his claws scraping against the cobblestones.
"How can you even think about that?" he screeched, his tears pattering the ground. "Answer me!"
Terrador swallowed the lump in his throat and slowly approached the young purple dragon, "Calm down, Spyro, it's alright. We're not trying to replace Ignitus. We just want to find someone who can fill in as a temporary Guardian until we can train another to become Fire Guardian. No one is trying to replace Ignitus and no one will ever be able to replace him, I understand that. Thasos isn't trying to replace who his best friend was. But this is a job that we need someone to fill and he's the best dragon for it."
Spyro shook his head furiously, sending tears flying, "No! I don't believe that! No one is going to become Fire Guardian! That was Ignitus's job and it will always be his job! He can't become Fire Guardian, he just can't! I won't let you replace Ignitus!"
"Spyro!" Cynder cried, as the purple dragon yelled at Terrador with as much anger as he could muster.
The Earth Guardian stepped back, unable to find anything to say to calm the young dragon down. Thasos said nothing, trembling with sorrow and shame as he stared at the ground. Cynder closed the gap between her and Spyro with a single bound, knocking him over and pinning him beneath her, startling him. He struggled to get up, but Cynder held him fast, pinning his wings beneath her paws.
"Spyro!" she cried. "Stop this! Just stop and listen to me!"
Tears streamed down his muzzle and he stopped struggling, his chest heaving as he sobbed. Cynder stared into his tear-filled eyes and felt her heart ache to see him in such pain, her own eyes watering.
"Just stop," she begged, trembling, and nuzzled beneath his chin, "please."
Spyro lay for a while, blinking away the tears in his eyes as he suddenly realised he had been crying, coming back to his senses. Cynder lay against his chest, her own tears rolling onto his scales. Shame filled him and he raised his paw to stroke the scales along her neck.
"Cynder," he murmured, his voice still quivering, "I'm sorry. I just got…carried away. I just don't want them to…replace Ignitus."
"I know, Spyro, I know," Cynder whispered, muffled against his chest, "but that's not what they're trying to do. They just need another guardian to fill in for him. No one is trying to replace who he was; no one can ever do that. You have to understand, Spyro, just because he was the Fire Guardian…it doesn't mean that no one can ever become Fire Guardian again. Life goes on and he's already come to the end of his time. He'll always live on in our hearts but…we have to move on, too."
She crawled away from him, blinking away tears. He got up slowly, brushing tears from his muzzle, and managed a small smile.
"I know, Cynder," he replied, bowing his head, "I understand. Terrador, Thasos, I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say such horrible things. I know you're not trying to replace Ignitus."
Terrador let out a sigh of relief, "Thank you, Spyro. I apologise for not telling you, but I was unsure whether Thasos would accept or not. I hadn't meant for you to find out like this. Forgive me."
Spyro shook his head, "It's alright. I understand that you need a new Fire Guardian. And Thasos…"
The orange dragon looked up, shame still prominent in his expression. Spyro smiled apologetically at him.
"For what it's worth," the purple dragon said, "I think you'd make a great Fire Guardian."
If there was anything said that day that made Thasos make up his mind to accept the title, it was those words from the purple dragon.
Days merged into weeks as the dragon city fell into a rhythm of peaceful life. Spyro had never known such a life, where every day wasn't a struggle to survive and he could spend his hours walking the gardens with Cynder. But even as the peace set in, new challenges he'd never experienced before began to arise. His feelings for Cynder seemed to strengthen by the day and yet he couldn't find a way to express them to her. His relationship with Flame was worse than ever, to the point that he'd almost attack upon sight.
And making that worse was Ember.
The pink dragoness seemed to be everywhere he went, hanging on his tail and never leaving him alone. She was there when he wanted time alone with Cynder, and whenever he went down to the hall for mealtimes. He had noticed, too, that when Flame was around she stuck to him all the more, like one of those annoying grove mites. Not only did it aggravate Flame, but it made Cynder terribly jealous and Spyro could barely handle it anymore.
The news that Thasos would be filling in as the unofficial Fire Guardian was received well by the rest of the dragons, much to Terrador's relief. Not only that, but Spyro had heard that Seriphos had been officially appointed to the title of Captain of the Guard, a guard which, unfortunately, didn't exist as of yet.
With renovations to the damaged parts of the city coming along nicely, everything in Warfang seemed to have finally settled down. Spyro had almost forgotten about the yet-to-return third search party. That, however, was about to change.
Spyro had just managed to shake off Ember after training and had snuck away with Cynder, leaving Sparx to distract the pink dragoness, which the dragonfly did so surprisingly willingly. Laughing together, the two young dragons scampered towards the gardens, racing each other to see who could get there first. Spyro had just caught sight of the white-blossom tree in the gardens and picked up his pace, Cynder hard on his tail, when the sound of voices stopped him in his tracks.
He skidded to a halt, beckoned to Cynder, and crept over to the nearby building. He poked his head around the corner to see the four guardians, including Thasos, walking slowly in the opposite direction.
The guardians were talking in hushed, urgent voices, and Spyro strained to hear what they were saying.
"It's been two weeks, Terrador!" Volteer was saying. "And they have yet to return!"
"I know, I know," the Earth Guardian replied, "I hadn't expected them to have been gone so long."
"It is most unusual," Cyril agreed, shaking his head, "perhaps they have gotten lost?"
"Preposterous," Terrador disagreed, "I've never known a dragon to get lost coming back to Warfang. I had expected them to send back a scout at least to tell us of their whereabouts, but we have heard nothing."
Spyro's eyes widened in realisation and he nudged Cynder, "They're talking about the other search party!"
Cynder nodded quickly, her eyes equally as wide, and they continued to listen. Thasos was speaking now.
"Perhaps something has befallen them," Thasos suggested, shrugging, "we have no way of knowing if there are any of our enemies left over from the war, still living in groups, in hiding, waiting to attack any unsuspecting dragons."
"That's a possibility that I'd have hoped to rule out," Terrador sighed, shaking his head, "but I fear you are right. Something horrible may indeed have befallen Feldun and his search party."
Cyril and Volteer exchanged anxious glances.
"What do you propose we do?" the Ice Guardian asked, hoping that Terrador had the answer.
Terrador looked at each of his fellow guardians and heaved a sigh.
"What do you think, Volteer?" the Earth Guardian asked, relying on the Electricity Guardian's quick thinking.
"Perhaps we ought to send out a scout group to locate them?" Volteer suggested, the answer rolling off his tongue with ease. Sometimes his quick thinking surprised even himself.
"I'd agree with that," Thasos nodded, "Seriphos should be able to lead a small group out to find this missing search party. What do you think, Terrador?"
The Earth Guardian mulled it over for a while, his brow furrowed as he thought. Spyro and Cynder exchanged glances and edged closer, sticking close to the wall to avoid being seen. Terrador nodded slowly.
"Alright, it seems we have no other choice," the Earth Guardian sighed. "If something has indeed befallen our comrades, we cannot afford to waste time. Thasos, find Seriphos and ask him if he will comply. Volteer, Cyril, we will gather a small group to help find them."
"And what of the young ones?" Volteer questioned, suddenly. Spyro and Cynder leaned in closer, listening.
Terrador paused, thinking, until he replied, "Spyro and Cynder have had enough to deal with lately. I don't want to worry them. We can do this without having to trouble them."
"So you're planning to hide this from us?"
The guardians emitted synchronised gasps as they spun around to face the two young dragons they had just spoken of. Spyro stood calmly staring at them, although it had been in annoyance that he had confronted them. Cynder stood beside them, her green eyes hard and accusing. Volteer spluttered in surprise, while Cyril and Thasos stood looking shocked.
"S-Spyro!" Terrador stuttered, sheepishly, "…You heard?"
"Every word," Spyro replied, a slight edge to his voice, "and so did Cynder."
The Guardians exchanged anxious glances, their plans to keep this news hidden from the young dragons now completely ruined. Cynder swished her tail in agitation.
"You wanted to keep this hidden from us, didn't you?" she accused, irritated.
"I…well," Volteer seemed to have lost his voice for once and looked to Terrador for help. The Earth Guardian only stared helplessly at the purple dragon.
"Tell us," Spyro ordered, with more authority than he intended, "everything you know about what's happened to the third search party."
A/N: Chapter 10! And over 100 pages on Microsoft Word...I write too much. Thank you, thank you for all of the reviews! I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. ^.^