Ch. 10: Jewelry

Spyro looked around and noticed a fireplace with an open fire, except that there was no wood. He looked out towards the ocean, with waves crashing upon a distant shore. Cynder looked at Spyro, looking happier than ever, and started to get closer to him. Spyro didn't seem to notice and Cynder continued to get closer.

Spyro then ruined the moment when he asked "Are you sure you saw a ring glowing?"

Cynder was a bit surprised when he asked this. "Yes…I'm sure. But maybe I can see things that others can't. Besides, I have been exposed to the darkness…" Cynder looked down, ashamed of what she had done in the past.

"Don't think about it, Cynder. The past is all behind us now. You are a totally different dragoness…" said Spyro. As he said this, he started to get closer to Cynder, to her surprise. Spyro then gave her a quick little kiss. Cynder blushed a little. "Come on, Flame and Ember are probably waiting for us."

In the same time but a different place:

"What is it now, Terrador?" asked Rock, even though nobody was around him.

Do you know where Spyro is? Is he okay or alive? I haven't gotten any news about him here in the Dragon Realms, and I thought it would be a good idea to check over there, just in case…

"Yes. Spyro is okay. In fact, he is here right now in Stone Hill" said Rock.

He is? That's a huge relief. I thought for a moment there that Malefor might've succeeded… But how is he going to come back?

"He's determined to cross the ocean to come back to the Dragon Realms. I won't stop him, but he'll need all his strength to make that journey. He was pretty exhausted when he came to Stone Hill, though" said Rock.

Well, just make sure that he is fit for the journey. I'm sure that Malefor's forces are still out there, really angry at Spyro.

"Alright. I'll make sure he is ready for the journey. It was nice hearing from you Terrador" said Rock.

You too. I'll send you a message once Spyro gets here.

The ring that had been glowing stopped after that sentence.

"Whoever knew that jewelry could allow me to communicate all the way to the Dragon Realms?" said Rock. "Too bad Terrador will never get to send that message…" Rock started to chuckle under his breath.

Spyro and Cynder came out of the building and walked into the plaza, where they found Flame and Ember talking.

"So, are you two lovebirds ready to give us a tour?" asked Spyro, smiling and laughing at the same time.

"Wasn't that a little uncalled for?" said Flame. "I'll show you around, but don't start talking about us again like that"

"Alright" said Spyro. Cynder and Ember were both smiling at the comments of the other two dragons.

Flame started to walk out of the plaza, towards the pathway that they used earlier to enter Stone Hill. He walked out toward the outer part of the town and took a left down a pathway that lead to a stone house that was separate from all the others.
"This is where I live. It may not seem like much, but it's all I ever wanted" said Flame. Flame was right when he said that there wasn't much, because there were only stones surrounding the house, and what appeared to be a sidewalk that surrounded the house. The house was really small, so small in fact that there was only one room inside. Flame walked inside and greeted his mother, a much older fire dragon that bared some resemblance to Spyro. She was much taller, however, and slimmer like Cynder. Scars and cuts covered her arms and legs.

"I didn't even see you coming, Flame, and…" said Flame's mom until she saw Spyro. "Is…that…Spyro?"

"Right here in the flesh" said Spyro.

"I…I didn't even get ready for any visitors. I need t-"

"Don't worry. We're not staying" said Spyro. Spyro looked around at the fairly empty room and started to feel sorry for Flame. He didn't even have a bed in his own house. "I…I was just wondering if Flame could come over to our room for the night."

Cynder looked at Spyro. Her jaw dropped.

"Well, as long as he doesn't get into any trouble, then I'm fine with that. … What happened, Flame? I was so worried about you when you didn't return last night" said Flame's mom.

Flame told the story about what he experienced to his mother, while Spyro and Cynder waited outside.

"Isn't it just a little weird that Flame's mom looks really similar to you?" asked Cynder.

"It is weird. But she can't be related. I mean, how would it be possible if she's been in the Forgotten Realms?" asked Spyro.

"Well, you and Flame could share the same distant ancestor…" said Cynder.

"I guess it is possible" said Spyro.

Ember, Flame and his mom came out of the house after a while.

"I never introduced myself, but my name is Spark" said Spark. "And it was nice meeting you Spyro"

"It was nice meeting you too, Spark" said Spyro.

Flame walked out to the center of the area and started to walk back to the plaza.

"To be honest with you, I don't really know what to show you. I'm sure you've realized that this isn't really the biggest place so there isn't that much to see. I wasn't really thinking when I offered a tour to you…" said Flame.

"Oh come on. There's gotta be someplace that you can show us" said Spyro. Flame thought for a few moments.

"Oh yeah. There's a market that appears once in a while, but I'm not sure if they're here now" said Flame.

"Well it wouldn't hurt to check, would it?" asked Cynder.

"Come on, Flame. Maybe there's some jewelry on sale…" said Ember, once again thinking about the jewelry on Rock.

The 4 dragons walked past the plaza to an open area in the town. But there wasn't anything on sale or anybody selling anything. Flame looked around, disappointed. Cynder looked up at the sky and noticed that the sun had almost set.

"It's getting late already, Spyro. How about we go back to our room?" asked Cynder.

"Can I come? You asked Spark if I could come over to your place tonight, right?" asked Flame.

"Of course you can, Flame" said Spyro.

"Can Ember come too?" asked Flame.

Cynder rolled her eyes and whispered to Spyro "Please don't say yes."

Spyro thought for a few seconds and then said "Well, I'm not sure if I want to let Ember into our room."

Flame's smile started to fade away as it turned into a frown. "Oh. Okay." He looked at Ember's back. "Sorry, Ember, but I guess only I can come with Spyro and Cynder"

Ember slowly turned her head around, with tears coming down from her eyes. "Please, Spyro. Can't I come into your room? I thought we were friends. Please don't separate me from Flame."

"Uggh. What a drama queen" said Cynder.

Ember quickly walked up to Cynder's face; her tears stopped flowing from her face. "What did you just say?" screamed Ember.

"Not again…" said Spyro. "Alright, Ember. You can come with us to our room. But if you even put one paw on Cynder, the-"

"Don't worry. I won't touch her" said Ember.

"Good" said Spyro. Cynder started to walk back to the plaza and back to their room. Spyro strayed a little bit behind her while Flame and Ember walked together behind both of them.

"Spyro, I don't want to stay here for very long. How long are you planning on staying here?" asked Cynder.

"I was thinking about staying for the feast at least. Do you want to leave after we eat?" asked Spyro.

"Well, not after we eat, but maybe the next day" said Cynder.

"Alright. Whatever you want, Cynder" said Spyro. Cynder smiled and Spyro looked up. Cynder didn't even realize that they were already in the building. Spyro and Cynder both flew up at the same time and went into their room. Spyro grabbed the stone and flew back down to meet Flame and Ember. Both of them touched the stone and the stone emitted a green glow twice. The 3 dragons entered the room where Cynder was still waiting. Cynder was looking at the night sky at a constellation that looked like a dragon with its wings extended out.