It's been a while and I do apologize, but I have had some serious issues with life. My Aunt passed away at the young age of 57, and I needed to get down to Florida and take care of some family business. So, I would like to dedicate this chapter to Regina Lavallee, who was as strong as a dragon. She took on Cancer 8 years ago and beat it. However, when this evil enemy showed up a second time, even she was not strong enough to fight it off again.

Chapter 11 The Future Looks Bright To Me

The conversation Tempest and Garnet had lasted halfway through the night and left both dragons with feelings of pain and comfort. They knew what they did the day before was right, as the two continued giving reasons to one another of how and why things will get better now.

However, one thing kept taking the joy from their hearts.

How would Joey feel?

The question was asked by both, and though neither could produce an answer to satisfy completely, the couple understood that they could no longer blame Cynder for what happened.

Now, as the first hints of light begin seeping through the window of Tempest's temporary dwelling, the Earth breather, with his arm and wing wrapped securely around the blue dragoness he is spooning, sneaks a kiss to the back of her neck.

"Are you still awake, baby?"

She squeezes his paw softly, answering the green drake without speaking.

"Me too..."

Garnet takes a moment, wondering if he should say what is on his mind, knowing it will no doubt start another long conversation with strong feelings. But wanting to know how she feels, the green dragon says what is on his mind.

"I think Joey will rest better now, knowing his sister will start the day without the hatred that has blinded her eyes for so long."

Tempest squeezes his paw tighter, hushing the green dragon for a moment, believing she is upset by his words. However, as the blue dragoness lifts it to her muzzle, giving his solid paw a gentle kiss, Garnet realizes he will not upset her with this conversation.

"And because of that... He is giving you this beautiful sunrise as a gift."

They both say nothing after this thought, just staring out the window together, watching the sun rise on a new day...a day they never saw coming.

"Oh Garnet... What do I do now?" Tempest asks with an odd tone in her voice, making her boyfriend feel the pain she feels. However, to his surprise, Joey is not what she was thinking about this time.

"You need to take time, Temp. Try to let what happened sink in..." Garnet sneaks another gentle kiss to the spot behind her left horn, where she loves. However, the blue dragoness turns her head, making him back away from being skewered.

"I meant, what am I gonna do for work?"

A smile crosses her face, making Garnet smile as well, seeing his love is already starting to move forward.

"I'm sure Titan will let you come back if you want..."

Tempest shows a sour expression, stopping the green dragon's words, but he quickly regroups his thought.

"Or you could try looking into another field of work. I would think the Guardians could find something in the city for an able bodied dragoness, like yourself."

Garnet pauses to slowly stroke his paw from her side, down her waist and around to her back side, which he gives a little squeeze.

"As well as a smoking hot body."

Tempest blushes and returns a sensual gesture by wrapping her tail around his backside and pulling him tightly against her. She smothers her muzzle against his, unleashing years of pent up emotions, suffocating Garnet with a love she has never felt free enough to give til now.

"I really don't care what I do anymore as long as I am with you." she says after finally giving her boyfriend a chance to breath. Tempest looks deep into the green eyes that have kept her paws planted on the ground and always moving forward, suddenly feeling the worse she has in a while.

"But I promise from here on out, that I will be more supportive of you."

"Tempest... You are my foundation." he quickly replies, taking the words from her mouth and placing her heart in her throat. Garnet gently tightens his hold on the thin blue dragoness, getting closer to every part of her firm body, but not in a sexual way.

"You need to know that I have never, ever felt taken advantage of."

Garnet places his paw over her mouth, seeing Tempest was about to dispute him.

"I know what you are going to say, and I don't care how much gold and silver I have paid out over the last year to keep a roof over your head and food in your stomach." he can see her eyes turn sour, so he leaves his paw clamped tightly upon the blue dragoness' muzzle.

"It's just money, and I make more than enough for both of us. So, if I chose to spoil the one I love by making sure she remains healthy in body and mind, waiting for her soul to finally be free. Well, that's my prerogative."

Tempest's eyes soften slightly, allowing the Earth dragon to release his grip upon her mouth. She smiles at him, and after a second gives the reply he was expecting to hear.

"You are so full of shit."

The green dragon just smiles back, understanding her sarcasm well and knowing at this moment, his wait is over.

"You know me so well." Garnet smothers Tempest with his muzzle, showing her how full of shit he is.

The two take each other to a new level, feeling the love they never truly set free before, unleashing a passion that neither have felt before. The moment lasts only a few seconds, of course, but in those few seconds, Tempest and Garnet understand what they truly mean to each other.

"I love you so much..." the green dragon pauses to take a breath, still exhausted from a solid climax. He then looks over to the blue dragoness, who also struggles to catch her breath. "...and I was hoping I could convince you to let me provide for you...forever."

Tempest stops breathing and looks over at Garnet with a gaze of pure fear.

"You mean... you want to...?"

The small grin he always shows when he is serious suddenly crosses Garnet's face, as he too is terrified of an unknown, but promising future. The Earth dragon then pulls the white bonding-ribbon, he hid earlier, out from under the cushions, stunning Tempest as he reveals it to her.

"If you will have me?"

Tempest leaps to her paws, then leaps on Garnet, smothering him with kisses and 'yeses'.

Garnet struggles to tie the ribbon to her right paw, as he is so excited, but still manages to secure it tightly. He then uses his power to produce a stone bracelet, which he wraps around the ceremonial garment, making sure it never comes off.

The two test it's stability, rolling around on their pile of cushions, physically showing their love once again.

If only for a few seconds.

However, this time the fun is ended by a knock at the door.

"Ms. Tempest... Are you awake? It's Spyro."

Meanwhile, just down the road, in the only private structure larger than Spyro's home, a red whelping also watches the sun rising on a new day, his first in Warfang's new orphanage.

This special home was made to be the largest, allowing for it to accommodate the misplaced children of Warfang with ample space. However, because of an overwhelming amount of adoptions by every single race on Avalar, little more than half a dozen children remain to call this massive dwelling their home. And even more surprisingly, only two rooms in this mansion are occupied at the moment, and that will become one after tomorrow.

Four young bear cubs stay nestled together for warmth in one room, awaiting the mother and father that came forward the day before. With their dwelling finally finished on the south side of Warfang, the four boys will find a new home today with a dragon couple, who also lost everything.

Hoping to provide the love these children were deprived of, when their parents were killed during the war, the pair came to the orphanage for the same reason. Their son, who fought bravely against a horde of ape warriors, helping them get away to safety, made the ultimate sacrifice, and now they only hope to receive the same comfort and love these four young bears will need.

In the other room are three dragons of very different ages. And though the couple had come looking for a whelpling child, they decided it best to take the quartet of brothers, as they were among the few in Warfang that could provide the space and the means in which to care for a family that could not be separated.

There were other reasons that also arose, as they looked upon the three drakes available to adopt, and only other orphans remaining in Warfang.

Jacob, a completely blind adolescent male Ice dragon of fourteen years, was quickly dismissed, knowing they would only have a year or two to care for this strong, very independent, blue dragon.

A hatchling Fire dragoness, who had not even been born when her parents were killed.

She was their second choice, until Blazer, the elder drake who runs this orphanage, finally asked them to take on an entire family. They thought long and hard about this choice, understanding that she would have a better chance to be adopted by a single mother or father, hoping to rebuild, and that is why the older couple decided the way they did.

Then there's Scorch, a wingless Fire breather who turns seven next week.

Born without the ability to fly, the young drake was actually their first choice, even with this handicap. However, they were not expecting the attitude that came with him. And after a very defiant confrontation between he and his possible family, they knew Scorch was not right for them.

The couple then found a welcome reception when they entered the room with four boisterous bears, who quickly incorporated the dragon couple into their play time, and the decision came easy after that.

Now, in the early morning hours, as the four young cubs sleep comfortably in their bed for the last time, Scorch does his best to distract his thoughts of losing this opportunity.

"Easy girl...there's nothing left in there." he whispers, trying to gently pull a small bottle from the red hatchling in his other paw. He quickly gives her a stupid little smile, which always makes the tiny dragon in his paw giggle, and this allows him to take the bottle away.

"I can't bewieve you finished all of dat, you wittle fireball " the small dragon of nearly the same color lowers his nose down to the baby in his palm, rubbing it gently against the tiny muzzle of his newest roommate, and getting a plume of warm smoke burped back in his face.

"Oh you're, so cute you wittle fing...

"Scorch, would ya stop it already!"

An angered voice startles the young red whelp to look over towards another pile of cushions in the large sleeping chamber, and the other roommate he has, who is now awake and annoyed.

The teenaged drake turns his attention towards the pair, scaring the tiny red hatchling with his opaque colored eyes. She quickly starts crying and struggling to get out of Scorch's paw, wanting only to hide.

"I'm sorry, Jacob..." the younger dragon replies, placing the small red hatchling down, so she can run away. "I didn't mean to wake you...

"I don't mean that, you Idiot! I always up before the sun." The other dragon barks, getting up on his paws and padding over to his roommate and best friend.

Jacob lowers his nose to the ground, sniffing a path to the red drake he has roomed with for almost a year now. He sweeps his tail across the ground, clearing anything that may be laying where he plans resting his butt and slowly sits down.

The teal blue Ice breather then lifts a paw, searching for the small red dragon to his right and finding the spot between his horns that Scorch enjoys being scratched.

"If you keep playing with that hatchling, she will bond with you, and it will be nearly impossible for Blazer to separate her from you when someone comes to adopt her."

The small Fire dragon nods his head up and down, but still replies vocally for his friend.

"I will try..." he says somberly, looking towards the small pile of cushions where the young dragoness just burrowed herself. A smile fills his face seeing her little eyes watching cautiously, gazing back to see if her friend is in trouble.

"...but it will be hard."

After a moment, Scorch realizes something is out of place, noticing his best friend is still in the room as the sun begins rising.

"What are you doing here anyway?" he finally asks, and Jacob takes a deep breath, knowing he is going to get an ear full.

"Cynder was ambushed yesterday, so I won't be going to work today..." Jacob pauses, then slaps the young red dragon in the back of the head.

"And get that damn smirk off your face!"

"She deserves it, Jake..." the red dragon returns, hopping up on his hind paws to get eye to eye with his taller friend. And even though he is blind as a bat, Scorch becomes very physical with his paw as he speaks, pointing a talon in the blue dragon's face. "...so don't you go telling me not to be happy, when someone finally gets their revenge."

Jacob just stares blankly at his friend, then annoyingly shakes his head.

"You are pretty stupid? Huh."

Scorch frowns, and feeling this slightest movement of muscle through the youngster's paw, the blind dragon knows this, making him grin.

"I just don't understand you sometimes." Jacob continues, looking away from Scorch towards the window which he cannot see, but still feels the first rays of the sun's warmth.

"You think she meant to be taken from the Rookery, forced into slavery, and made to kill her own kind, because she wanted to?"

The young dragon stops his aggressive posturing, sitting back down as he begins hearing the tone of voice that always comes with a lesson from his best friend.

And Jacob, feeling the one he protects like a little brother calming down, start's another story while scratching the young dragon upon the head.

"I am one of the few she trusts as much as Spyro, because, in my eyes, her past began when the Terror of the Sky was killed."

The blue dragon continues talking of the Shadow dragon's courage, and how she and Spyro took on an army of devout apes, as well as the entire Grublin race, to try and stop the Dark Master's reign.

"Cynder is the reason your hero was able to beat Malefor, Scorch. And if you ever get the chance to meet Spyro, like I have on many occasions, I guarantee you that he says the same thing."

Scorch frowns, hearing his best friend brag about how he and Spyro are practically buddies, and of course, being the most observant dragon in the room, Jacob notices this scowl.

He scoops the red whelp in his paws, walking him over to the balcony of their second floor room, just as the sun itself begins peeking over the homes across the road.

"We get to see the sunrise everyday, because of her." he whispers softly, placing the wingless child upon the railing, but holding him tightly so he has no fear of falling.

His blind eyes focus out on the sliver of brightness as it climbs higher into the sky, and the only thing his limited vision can see now.

A smile fills his illuminating face.

"And I get to personally thank her for this, everyday...until today."

Scorch can now see the depression that overtakes his friend, and for the first time, he realizes how much the black dragon really means to him.

"I didn't know you actually cared about her like that." he says in a somber tone, which makes Jacob hold him tighter.

"As much as I care about you, little guy."

Hearing this comment, from the dragon who has watched over him like a hawk since losing his mother, only depresses Scorch further, suddenly understanding that he may be wrong about Cynder. He holds everything this blue dragon says in high regard, as if his father was speaking to him, and this only makes him feel worse.

The youngster remembers the countless moments he has given Cynder an angry look in the Town Center, while out with Blazer and the other orphans. The stupid remarks he made while in Jacob's presence about the Shadow dragon, and the pain it would cause his friend, as he would be forced to bite his tongue in public.

But mostly, it's the way he barked at the black dragoness last week, making her feel very uncomfortable in a crowd simply by calling her by her old name. He knew she would run away from the confrontation with a wingless whelpling, but he didn't expect to feel so horrible seeing her cry as she ran.

"I don't know why I act like that towards Cynder...she didn't do anything to me."

"I do!" Jacob's voice scalds the Fire dragon, making him recall the reason he does. But trying to make a point, the older and wiser blue dragon tells Scorch why.

"That asshole you've been hanging out with lately...what's his name...Justin."

"Jasper."

Jacob's eyes close with anger, as he has warned his young friend to stop hanging around with this trouble-making adolescent Earth dragon.

"I really wish you would stop talking to him, Scorch...He's a bad influence on you."

"But Jake..."

"But nothing! He's turning you into a little asshole, and I don't like it." The teal blue dragon tightens his grip on the boy, as he has felt him slipping through his paws lately.

"He uses you, Scorch, and his attitude has been rubbing off on you too."

The little red dragon wriggles around in the tight grip his friend has, allowing him to look up into his useless eyes, eyes that have never lied to him.

"What do you mean, Jake? Who but Cynder have I been rude to?"

Jacob looks down at the young dragon, showing the anger he has in those eyes.

"That couple that came to adopt you, yesterday." Jacob grumbles, as he heard Scorch act rudely in their presence. "You ruined any chance of having a home with them."

Scorch grins, and this draws an angered reaction from Jacob. However, before he can crack the small red dragon across the back of his head, Scorch gives a reason that shocks the blind Ice drake.

"Blazer told me to be a jerk to them."

"What!?"

Scorch shrugs his shoulders, as he too was confused by his guardian's request.

"Yeah...I was as shocked as you are, when Blazer asked me to be rude to them. But then he told me he wanted them to adopt the quartet of cubs, so I did what I did. That, and he also said he has someone else in mind for me."

Jacob just stares at him dumbfounded, knowing the boy is telling the truth, as his pulse never changed.

"Oh...ahhhh, Who?"

"I don't know, Jake, but Blazer said I would be happier if I wait a little longer."

The blue dragon takes a moment to think, wondering who their guardian has decided on taking the young fireball of a whelpling, however, he knows one dragon that he wants Scorch to stay away from.

"Well, no one will come looking to adopt you if you keep getting in trouble, while hanging out with Casper."

"Jasper."

"You know who I mean, Damn it!"

"Listen, bro, I know he's using me and my handicap, to get things cheaper in the North market... then sell them across town at the regular price." the young dragon pauses for only a second, seeing a very angered look in Jacob's opaque eyes.

"But he gave me two gold pieces for doing that!"

"What an asshole." Jacob whispers with digust, then looks out the window again, hoping the sun's rays can warm the cold chill he just felt run down his spine.

"He probably made ten times that amount on the stuff he had you squander for him."

Jacob shakes his head with a deep feeling of failure, making Scorch feel his guilt as well.

"I don't want to keep asking Blazer for silver, just so I can buy some candy. It's degrading to me, Jake."

"Why? It's called an allowance. He gives you six pieces every week, Right?"

Scorch nods his head, but Jacob quickly feels extra weight on the youngster's shoulders.

"Then what is it, Bud? You can tell me."

Scorch looks over at the small pile of cushions across from them, where the little red dragoness has climbed back atop and fallen asleep after her early morning meal.

"I want to get... Ember, a Fire Crystal."

Jacob shakes his head once more.

"Oh good... You named her."

Scorch is struck in the back of the head by Jacob's tail again, but this time it puts a little smile on his face, as it was not a very hard impact.

"If I give you a couple of pieces of gold, to get Ember a crystal, will you stop talking with that jerk, Harper."

"Jasper."

"Whatever!"

The young red dragon nods his head in agreement, but again a guilty feeling overcomes him, and again Jacob notices.

"So what is the problem now?"

"I owe you a lot already, Jake...and now I just feel like I'm being a leach."

The blue dragon takes a deep breath after hearing the pain in the little red whelpling's voice. He looks out towards the Sun and tries to give the warmth he feels on his face to his best friend.

"You are far from a leach, Scorch. And when I give you my help, or my advise, or even my money, it is always my pleasure...do you understand?"

Again the small wingless dragon nods, but still feeling guilty, Jacob ensures the youngster he is not taking a lot from him.

"Besides, five pieces of gold will not break me, I promise you that."

Scorch wipes a tear from his eye, then looks back at the one he considers a brother, noticing the smile that smugly sits upon his face.

"Really?

"I have only been working with Cynder for a month or two, but I have been hunting truffles for Samuel for three years." the blind Ice drake places a paw over Scorch's head, rubbing the spot behind his right horn where he loves.

"I have almost two thousand pieces of gold saved up now."

"By the Ancestors!"

Jacob smiles and rubs Scorch's head a little harder.

"That's not that much, buddy."

"No, Jake! Look!" the red whelpling yelps, pointing his paw out towards the city, which takes Jacob's attention in that direction. His nose immediately picks up the scent of two inbound dragons, shocking him even further as he recognizes both, never believing they would be flying in tandem.

"It's Spyro..." Scorch says with great excitement. However, as his voice suddenly dips down, revealing the other flying along side his hero, the blind dragon understands his nose is working fine.

"...and he is with Tempest!"

"I wish I could see this, so I could believe it."

"I think you'll get a chance..." the youngster adds, leaping off the balcony's rail, allowing the two dragons that approach a place to land.

"...cause they're coming over here."

"Thanks for doing this, Tempest." Spyro shows a smile to the blue dragoness, as they depart from Cynder's room in the palace infirmary.

She quickly returns the gesture, as her excitement level is higher than the clouds themselves.

"I can't believe she asked me, Spyro..." Tempest replies, as she has only been kind to the black dragoness for a few hours. "...I would have thought she would ask a friend to take her place."

The green dragon beside her, his wing draped over her back, simply kisses Tempest on the cheek.

"Well you have fun picking those smelly, disgusting mushrooms, Baby...I gotta go do work that requires a meat eater's power."

Spyro stares at the much larger dragon he has had several fights with over the past weeks and only increases his grin.

"You really should have vegetables too...they build up your strength."

Garnet can hear the completely sarcastic tone in Spyro's voice, and shows him his own grin.

"I can teach you a lesson about strength in the arena, later on tonight if you wish."

His voice is also playful, and Spyro puts out his paw.

"You're on, Pebbles."

Garnet gives his beautiful blue fiancee a nasty look, while shaking Spyro's paw, as her pet nickname is used against him.

"I am so pissed at you for calling me that in front of him, Temp..." he opens his wings, readying to depart, then looks at Spyro with the only real anger he has shown in the past day. "...and I will take that anger out on you tonight, tiny hero."

Spyro's brow raises, suddenly feeling the stone crushing power Garnet has in his grip. However, he takes it like a dragon and gives his own show of strength, by electrifying himself.

Garnet's paw immediately opens and his grin becomes wider, feeling the purple dragon actually using his powers to defend himself.

"Oh boy...I cannot wait to test my skills against you for real." he says, his excitement uncontainable as he bows in respect to Spyro. "Good day to you, friend, and make sure you get your rest... cause you'll need it!"

Garnet then leans down to his fiancee and gives a very soft kiss to her cheek.

"You too, Sweetie..." he whispers, then taps his tail against her backside. "...Cause I don't plan on being so quick tonight."

The blue dragoness turns her head, watching as Garnet leaves in the opposite direction for the granite quarry. She becomes slightly depressed, watching him leave, wanting to spend this entire day alone with him. However, Tempest also knows he must go to work, as does she.

A coy smile suddenly crosses her face, knowing she will never have to go back to that job, now that she has been given a new one.

"To answer your question from before...Cynder has very few friends," Spyro returns, taking Tempest attention back to him. "And she felt bad that you had to leave your other job, because of her."

Tempest gives a little snort of laughter, recalling the reason she was 'forced' to leave her job.

"That wasn't her fault, Spyro. In fact, Titan was not even gonna dock my pay for being late, because I helped Cynder."

Tempest grins as Spyro shows confusion, wondering why the blue dragoness had said she was fired from her job earlier.

"So..."

"I knocked out a co-worker."

The purple dragon stops in mid air, staring at the blue dragoness with even more confusion.

"Wait a minute...you told Cynder you had to leave your job for defending her."

Tempest's smile becomes a more smug-like grin, as half of her story from the night before was the truth.

"I didn't appreciate the way someone spoke about her, or myself, for being a friend to her all of a sudden." the blue dragon's eyes now show anger, as she recalls the exact moment she was compelled to 'quit her job'.

"And then he said something about my baby brother, Joey, and that's when I took his head off."

Tempest resumes her course, heading towards the largest dwelling in Warfang.

Spyro quickly tails her.

"Who!?"

His voice makes Tempest ease up on her pace, hearing his genuine curiosity, allowing Spyro to get beside her much longer frame. A slight grin crosses the blue dragoness' muzzle, knowing the name she will reveal will almost certainly brighten the hero's day.

"Stone."

Spyro starts laughing immediately, pleased to hear a dragon he has wanted to knockout himself, has been given a taste of what he deserves.

"Oh... How I wish I could have seen that!"

The two continue talking about the fight inside the quarry, while flying side by side just a few feet above the roof tops, enjoying the sun as it begin filling the entire city with it's warmth.

"So you used that uppercut combo you caught me with too?" the purple dragon asks with a funny tone in his voice, making Tempest balk as he mentions one of the many fights they have had in a comical way.

He chuckles, seeing redness fill the blue dragon's cheeks, so he continues.

"I tell you, Tempest, I was not expecting that kinda impact from a Wind dragoness. My teeth vibrated for like ten seconds straight and my jaw hurt for a week and a half."

Her face only gets brighter, and she keeps her eyes forward, so Spyro presses on.

"I don't even think Malefor hit me that hard..."

"Okay! Really!?" Tempest stops short and stares at the purple dragon, who desperately tries to keep the smile from his face.

"Are you trying to make me feel bad?" Spyro continues, holding in the laughter he wants to release, until Tempest continues with a more stern tone and a dead look in her eyes.

"Or do you want to see if I can hit you like that again?"

Spyro shows total shock, as the larger dragoness squares up before him, like she has done many times in the past few weeks.

"I was only kidding, Tempest... Please settle down."

His voice is reduced to a whimper and the blue dragon gets nose to nose with him.

"If you are going to try taunting me... you had better learn how to hold that smile of yours better."

Tempest pecks his nose with a quick little kiss, then continues on her journey.

Spyro follows the laughing dragoness a second later, realizing how well she just played him.

"Wow, you're good..." The purple dragon admits, as even Sparx would have been impressed with her ability to keep a serious face, while being silly. "...I really thought you were gonna cracking me across the jaw."

"Well the day is far from over, Spyro."

She says it with a smile this time, but it still bugs the purple dragon, as her smirk is very smug. So, he decides to try again.

"You know... I've never hit you back before."

His voice is now as serious as hers, and it brings Tempest to a stop again. She turns around and stares dead into Spyro's purple eyes, trying her hardest to make him flinch.

He doesn't.

"That's much better."

Spyro can see and hear a bit of worry in her eyes and voice, and quickly strengthens his stare. However, Tempest whips her tail around at this moment, softly clocking Spyro across the jaw.

"Don't try that hard...cause now I can tell your full of it!"

"Damn!"

The purple dragon and his new friend share another laugh in mid air, understanding how alike they are. But after a few seconds, Tempest shows a sour expression.

"What is it?"

Spyro's question makes the blue dragoness shake her head. She looks back at the infirmary, before turning her eyes to the purple dragon, not understanding how she has attacked him on several occasions. And every time with the intent to kill.

"I feel so stupid..." she says, then looks up to the stars, begging forgiveness from the ancestors and her brother.

"I was such a bitch to you and Cynder, never truly understanding how you both fought for everyone on Avalar...including my brother, Joey."

Tempest then looks toward the orphanage, where she was told to meet up with a blind blue dragon for a very lucrative day of work.

"And now I'm being given a chance to make my future better, by the same dragon I wanted to kill only yesterday."

Spyro takes Tempest by the paw, steadying her with just a simple touch.

"Like I have told my wife on countless occasions... You cannot feel guilty for anything that happened in the past, or it will effect your future."

With his paw still grasping hers, Tempest pulls Spyro in to her chest, hugging him as tightly as she would Garnet.

"You are a better dragon than I could have ever imagined. And I'm sorry for everything I have done that made you and Cynder suffer more."

Spyro folds his wings in, allowing Tempest to hold him as long as she wishes. He can feel the relief she is getting from this embrace and adds more by wrapping his own arms around her.

"My suffering ended the day Malefor died..." Spyro backs away from the embrace, allowing Tempest to see the seriousness in his eyes. "...which was the same day Cynder said she loved me."

Tempest smiles then gazes down at her paw and the ribbon tied upon her wrist. She looks at Spyro with a certain understanding, as she felt her suffering end the moment Garnet proposed.

The blue dragoness returns the purple hero to her chest, hugging him tighter than before.

"Thank you, my hero."

After a few more moments of feeling the compassion and love this beautiful blue dragon has for life now, Spyro finally breaks the embrace.

"Come friend..." he says, looking towards the orphanage, and a young blind dragon he cannot wait to introduce Tempest to. "...I want you to meet someone I believe to be much better than myself."

The blue dragoness is stunned as Spyro sounds convincing and quickly she follows him towards the balcony of the large dwelling, where a pair of young drakes await their future in the dawning of this new day.

I would normally write something about what you read, and ask you to review. However, today, I ask you to say a prayer for my Aunt, and her family, who have been stronger than any hero you will read about on this sight.

I will miss you, Regina, but I know your pain is over now.
May God bless you and keep you. "IN NOMINE PATRIS ET FILII ET SPIRITUS SANCTI"