Chapter 12: Grace

Grover arrived into a room, with all the other Bloody Five present. He explained to them all that happened.

Durio smirked when he heard the griffon's story. "Let me get this straight, you made a blunder and got an entire lab destroyed? That is the funniest thing I have ever heard."

Grover snapped back. "Shut up; I underestimated them."

Azurion chimed in on their argument. "It is unlike you to underestimate someone."

"You too, Azurion?" Grover asked.

Grover and Durio continued to bicker, Azurion went back to his room to train, Limona rested, and Robusto did nothing.

Now, there were 48 hours left.

(*****)

Two dragons dashed through the forest, the sun shining upon them. One was tall with vermilion scales, the other short with emerald green scales.

"Sure this is the right way, Drayce?" The big dragon asked

"Of course, Porr; I have spied on them a lot," Drayce said. "Umm, you have a plan once we get there."

"Of course, we will force our way in."

"Seriously? You sure about that?"

"Why wouldn't we?"

Drayce shut his mouth and thought about what Porr said. Though he was confident in Porr's strength, he didn't believe that it was enough, as the bandits numbered over fifty. What he didn't know was that Porr was even stronger than he had thought.

Time passed, and a large camp with watchtowers appeared in front of them.

Before they went any further, Porr asked an unexpected question. "What is your sister like?"

"She is the most beautiful dragoness you will ever see," Drayce said, "She even has a unique ability, which you will see once I find her."

"I see." Drayce pointed towards a nearby bush. "How about we hide in that bush for a while."

Porr and Drayce disappeared behind the woods, looking attentively at the large gates ahead of them. Porr then grabbed a nearby rock and walked right in the open.

Two ponies on a watchtower watched the dragon walk out in the open.

"Huh, who's that?" a brown pony asked.

"Maybe a visitor." another brown pony asked.

"With a giant rock? We should report this."

"Hey, he's doing something..."

Porr winded up his arm and tossed the rock in his claws.

SMASH

Before the bandits could react, the boulder smashed into the gates. Because of the sudden turn of events, it took a few seconds for the most attentive to panic and rang the warning bell.

"Intruders! Intruders!" the panicked bandit on the watchtower said.

It didn't take long for rest to react, and once they did, the thieves ran to their battle positions. They have never heard of someone invading them. Usually, it is them doing the invading.

All the bandits finally arrived at their positions as a fat, scarred pony walked out from a tent and moved towards the destroyed gate.

"What's going on?" the interim leader asked.

"Umm... acting head, a rock destroyed our gates. We are all on high alert, as it may be an invasion," a random bandit said.

"Invasion? Aren't we the ones who invade?" the fat pony asked

"Yes, but there is always a possibility that it is an invasion."

The anger in the interim leader's eyes flashed with brutality. "Invasion or not, who would dare mess with one of Death's Grasps' branches?"

Just before the bandit could reply, an emerald-green dragon appeared in front of the gate and moved towards the center, showing his dignified demeanor.

When the interim leader figured out who it was, he laughed in disdain. "Calm down every pony; it's just the pansy brother of that dragon we captured. What's he going to do?"

It was then that another dragon appeared, but this one didn't look friendly. With a menacing look, his aura pierced through each bandit, making them collapse from fear. When the interim leader stared at the dragon, he didn't faint like the others. However, beads of sweat rolled down his face as he tried to keep awake. 'What the heck is this guy, why is he so intimidating?'

Drayce widened his eyes. "Damn, to think your eyes are enough to take care of them. Oh wait, there is still one more."

Porr ignored the conscious pony. "With this bunch of rabble, there is no need for violence when intimidation is enough."

Shortly after the scare, one of the ponies on the watchtower slowly moved to a loaded bow aimed at Porr. The pony then fired the arrow.

The projectile darted towards Porr, but before the arrow could hit, his tail reached out and grabbed it. The next moment, his eyes stared at the pony.

He swung his tail like a whip which made the arrow fly like a bullet. It passed by millimeters from the bandit's skin, making him faint.

"Now, to find the map."

"You go ahead; I will try to find my sister."

The two dragons separated.

Moments later, Drayce grabbed a torch and walked into a dark prison. He checked all the rooms one by one, but his sister was nowhere in sight. Finally, he walked up to the final room and opened the door. What he found, startled him to the core.

There, lying in front of him, was the skeleton of a dragon emitting a foul stench. Tears filled Drayce's eyes, but when he took a closer look, the pain in his mind slowly resided.

Suddenly, a weak voice sounded from the side. "Drayce? Drayce, is that you?"

Drayce turned his head toward the voice. "Grace? Grace, you're okay."

With torch in claws, Drayce ran as fast as he could. When he waved the light in front of Grace, it revealed the stunning features of the dragoness. With even darker green scales and a beautiful body, it was no wonder the bandits took her. She even looks like Drayce, signaling their sibling status.

Drayce then crushed the shackles holding Grayce. The moment he freed her, the dragoness embrace him into a hug.

Tears also filled her eyes. "Oh, brother, you came to save me, but how did you get past the guards outside."

"I managed to find some help. The helper's name is Porr, and he is powerful. He defeated all the bandits outside; even their leader was no match."

"Oh? Where is he now?"

"He should be outside. I will introduce him to you."

Grace nodded and walked outside with Drayce. Her eyes widened in surprise when they left the prison. All those bandits, who gave her nightmares, laid on the ground unmoving.

Drayce scanned the entire site and saw a big tent with noise coming from inside it. He discerned that Porr was there.

The two siblings walked p to the tent and snuck a peek inside. A big dragon rummaged through the entire tent, turning everything upside down.

"Umm, Porr?" Drayce asked.

Porr stopped searching and turned toward the voice. He saw two dragons at the entrance, one who he didn't know.

Drayce walked inside the tent. "Porr, let me introduce you; This is my sister Grace."

When Grace walked inside and saw Porr, her heart sped up. Her snout turned a rosy pink as she laid eyes on his physique and devilishly good looks.

She stepped forward and lowered her head. "H-H-Hello, thank you for helping my brother. I appreciate it."

"No worries. Now, I need to get back to investigating." Porr then turned his head to Porr. "Now that you have your sister, you can go now."

"Nope, I decided to stay. I want you to train me how to become stronger."

"You expect me to teach you?"

Drayce rapidly nodded his head.

Drayce gave an expected answer. "No."

Disappointment flashed with Drayce, but that didn't stop him from asking again, this time with confidence and vigor.

Drayce's eyes showed resolution. "Please train me."

Porr was about to answer but stopped when he saw Grace heading towards a particular location.

Grace searched through a drawer and pulled out an old looking parchment. She then walked back towards Porr.

She shoved the map in Porr's face. "Now will you train my brother."

When Porr saw the membrane, a feeling in his gut exploded forth. This map was what he was looking for this entire time.

He hastily snatched the map from Grace's claws. "How did you find this."

Drayce jumped for joy. "Didn't I tell you that she had a unique ability. My sister can magically find essential things for others, by connecting with their souls."

Porr gave it some thought. 'Should I take an apprentice? I have taught others how to fight before, and Drayce has much potential.'

"Very well, I shall train you, but there are conditions," Porr said.

Drayce's disappointment disappeared like a residing tide. "Thank you, sis." He then turned towards Porr. "Name them."

Porr held up three claws. "One, you will do what I say. Two, Do not get in my way. Three, you will call me teacher. Got it?"

Drayce saluted. "Yes sir, teacher sir."

With a dragoness tagging along, they left the camp.

The sun was still up, so Porr started to teach the young dragon. "Alright, for our first lesson, you will do 150 push-ups and 150 sit-ups. You are fast, but you need to build body strength before we start fighting."

"Yes, Teacher." Drayce got down and began the training.

Porr stared at the green dragon then sat down in meditation while Grace watched him.

Time passed, and Drayce just completed his workout. He dashed up to Porr and asked what to do next, waking the meditating dragon up.

"Good." Porr pointed at a boulder. "Now carry that rock and jump for 30 minutes."

Drayce grimaced when he heard his teacher. "Yes, teacher."

After that, Porr told his student to do many things, but not one of them was about fighting. Before they knew it, night fell.

Three dragons sat around a blazing campfire, each one of them doing their own thing. Drayce did body training while Porr watched and Grace just stared at Porr.

"Not ye yet, 100 more push ups then you can sleep." Porr acted like a drill sergeant.

Sweat dripped down Drayce scales. "Yes... Teacher."

Porr nodded and walked toward Grace.

Grace noticed Porr coming. 'Oh, he is coming here. What should I say to him.'

"You like the fire?" Porr asked while sitting down.

"Umm... it's bright and warm."

Porr didn't say anything and stared at the fire in a trance.

"So... how did you lose your arm?" Grace asked, hoping to break the ice.

"I lost it to a powerful foe named Azurion. It was a great blow to my pride." Sadness and anger then filled Porr's eyes "Not only that, he killed my grandfather."

Grayce almost cried. "That's horrible. Why would this Azurion fellow do such a thing."

"I don't know the details, but my grandfather tried to fight him off. Although I didn't see Azurion kill him, I felt it in the depths of my soul. Immediately after, I rushed toward the fight with uncontrollable anger; I overreacted and almost got myself killed."

Grayce noticed the hatred in Porr's eyes. Without even realizing it, she hugged him. Moments later, she immediately let go, embarrassed by her actions. Porr coughed and stirred at the fire.

"Teacher, I have finished my push..." Drayce tried to tell his teacher something, but he collapsed before he could so.

Grace then asked an unexpected question. "Do you know what its like to have parents?"

Porr stopped what he was doing when he heard those words. He opened his mouth but did not say anything. His expression instantly went cold.

"I can tell you don't know anything; you are just like us. To tell the truth, we are orphans."

Porr didn't know what happened within his mind when Grace said those words. The coldness in his heart resided, and he did not feel as angry anymore.

"Our parents died shortly after our hatching, ever since then, we have lived on our own."

"At least you knew them; I don't have any recollection of my biological parents. I asked my foster grandfather many times, but he kept changing the topic."

"Enough talking, we should go to sleep."

Grace lied down and said, "Yeah."

Porr contemplated a little more, but before he could go to sleep, a terrifying omen swept through his mind, making him shiver. After an hour, he finally went to sleep.

(To Be Continued.)