Hmm, I'm rather disappointed. I was more expecting some crazy theories being spouted about after what happened. Oh well. I guess it is a little hard for most people to remember what happened nearly three weeks ago.
So for the fun of it, for those of you who want to know what I was talking about in my last author's note, I suggest you look through chapter 4 and see what Greven has to say, and then again in chapter 6. That's all I'll say on the matter.
Cynder was perched atop the flat roof of her home, staring off towards the dragon temple. She had been inside before, and while she wasn't aware of all its secrets, she knew it housed so many things.
It's where young dragons are taught how to use their elements, and it was where the guardians both lived and worked. According to her mother, that was its original purpose but at some point that changed so that everyone could have a use for it.
And so a small hospital, along with an extensive partly underground prison was implemented. They even added a side building that housed several of the city guards inside of it. Why they added all those things was beyond both Cynder and Mildred understanding. Cynder just assumed it was due to bad planning.
Cynder also knew there was more to that building that she had not seen yet, as her mother had done her best to keep her away from the east side of the temple. Why? She wasn't really sure, but she had a feeling that this tugging sensation that pulled against her chest was pointing her to something over there.
Her mother had kept a lot about her father, Malefor, a secret to her. Cynder snorted at the thought. She knew why her mom did this, but she still hated that she was doing it regardless. A part of her just wanted to know who he was, while another hoped that she could find the answers to questions her mother was trying to suppress. What was this second heartbeat? Who does it belong to? Why did she have elements that no one else had?
Now she found herself asking about this strange pulling sensation. What was it and where did it want her to go? More importantly, who was pulling her, and why?
Cynder was planning on training more tonight after her mother slept, but maybe it would be better to investigate the temple instead. The thought of running off to explore was both existing yet scary at the same time. She might get some of her questions answered finally, however she would be putting both herself and her mom at risk.
What if she got caught? What if people found out that she had control over four elements like a purple dragon? It could even be worse than she feared. Once they find out that she controls four completely original elements, who knows what will happen to her or Mildred. What would happen to her and her mom then? Would they be run out of town, would they be hunted? Where would they live, where would they go?
It was always these kinds of questions that halted Cynder from doing as she pleased. They kept her home bound. It's why she only trained at night, and it's why she feared learning more about her dad from anyone besides from her mother. Before Cynder could dwell more on what she should do, she heard someone landing on the roof behind her.
"What are you doing up here?" Mildred asked as she landed, sounding confused. Most of the time, while she was away, her daughter would be inside.
Cynder turned around and looked up at the adult fire dragoness, looking just as confused. She had a small frown on her face, as she made no attempt to hide her sorrows from the dragoness in front of her. "Sorry mom, I just have a lot on my mind right now."
Mildred raised a brow. She set aside a folded up piece of cloth she had brought with her, before approaching the black dragoness. Mildred sat down beside Cynder and coiled her large red tail around her daughter with ease. She followed this up with a gently placed paw on Cynder's back before she spoke. "I'm sorry you feel that way. Is there something I can do to help sort any of that out?"
Cynder stayed silent for a moment, unsure how to approach the subject. She wanted to tell her mom that she was starting to feel as if something was pulling against her chest. If she explained it like that though, then her mother would probably just tell her not to worry about it or something along those lines.
While Cynder hated how secretive her mother was, she could never hold a grudge against the older dragoness. Mildred would always put her daughter first above all else, and it was for that reason that Cynder knew that her mother was just trying to protect her.
Cynder felt her moms warm snout as it nuzzled against her neck, making Cynder purr just a little. Her frown cleared away in seconds, being replaced by a tender smile. Cynder happily nuzzled her mother back. Feeling a little better, she spoke what was on her mind.
"I'm just not feeling good right now. Did dad ever have one of those days where he felt like something was bugging him but he couldn't figure out what was wrong?" Cynder didn't want to flat out tell her what was wrong. She hoped that by easing her mother into the topic that she would be more willing to give her an answer.
Mildred pulled her head back a bit, giving Cynder a bit of breathing room. She had to think hard about that one. Did her missing mate have such an experience?
"Hmm, well I do know that there was one day where I was trying to hint that I was pregnant with your egg. For the life of me, he never got the clues I gave him." She softly chuckled at the memory of how mad her mate got that day. "That whole day he was grumpy the more and more I dropped clues about something that he couldn't figure out. It wasn't until I told him bluntly that we were expecting you that he figured it out."
Cynder snickered at this. While that story was rather funny to her, it wasn't exactly what she was looking for. "Was he always that mindless?" Though she didn't get the answer she was asking for, at least she got her mom to talk about her dad. That was a rarity on its own sometimes.
"Eh, here and there he was." She shrugged a little. "A part of me wants to assume that he did know and was just acting like a grump for my own expense."
Cynder slowly nodded. She began to picture her father in her head, and thought about just who he was. A small smile grew along her muzzle, as she pictured this big hulking dragon who held such a pristine reputation in people's eyes, becoming so upset by her mother. She rather liked her mother's theory, and that her dad always knew.
Her smile started to fade. She started to imagine more of her father, and how things might have been had she grown up with him. Images of Malefor playing with her while she was just a hatchling danced in her mind. Not just that, but thoughts of not having to live a life in such secrecy sounded like a dream come true for her. Right now she could have been out traveling the world with her dad, helping out wherever they were needed. She'd then come home and learn to hunt like her mom, and when she got the chance, she would have shown off just how much she learned to Malefor. He would be so happy, so proud of his daughter. He would have hugged her, felt proud of her, and shown nothing but all the love in the world for her.
Tears started to form in her eyes, as she started to cry. She was never going to know more about him. He was gone forever, and her mom rarely spoke about him. As far as she could tell, Malefor was an amazing dragon, and yet her mom would rather her daughter forget him. How could she? That was so unfair! She was grateful for all her mother had done for her, but that does not fill the absence of her father.
Cynder felt her mother's tail wipe away some of her tears, while the embrace they shared grew tighter. She looked up and saw that her mother was also crying. Seeing this, made a question pop into her head that needed to be answered. "Do you miss him mom?"
Mildred nuzzled Cynder's neck as she spoke. "I do, everyday. I see so much of him in you Cynder. You are a perfect blend of both of us. You have his power and his strong heart, while also my beauty." Her voice trembled as she spoke. "I know he would have loved you with every fiber of his being."
Cynder assumed that years ago, but just hearing about it was enough to make her a crying mess. She felt a mix and happiness and sorrow, and she wasn't sure which emotion was winning. Her mother spoke so little about Malefor that even this could spark joy in the black dragoness, however there was still the knowledge that he was long gone, and she would never see him. She would never get to feel the warm of his love as he would cradle her close.
The black dragoness wasn't sure how long she and her mother held that embrace, but she didn't mind. However someone else felt differently.
Bu-bum, bu-bum, bu-bum, bu-bum, bu-bum bu-bum, bu-bum, bu-bum
As if the heartbeat was trying to claw at her mind, Cynder heard it again as she and her mother hugged. Alongside this reminder, came the pulling sensation once more. It tugged and yanked at her chest, demanding she leave towards the temple. She wanted to ignore it, to forget herself in the loving embrace she shared with her mom again, but the heartbeat wasn't going to let her. It didn't beat louder, but it did stick to her mind. Like a buzzing fly, she couldn't shake the sound from her head.
"Mom, what's in the temple that you are trying to hide from me?" Cynder had to ask. She didn't want to ruin this moment, but she felt that until this question was sated, the heartbeat would bug her till she succumbed to its demands.
Mildred was confused by the sudden question. Pulling her head away and giving her daughter a bit of room, she did her best to pretend like she didn't know.
"I'm not sure what you mean, Cynder, i've never hid anything at the temple from you."
Cynder didn't believe her, and gave her mom a disappointed look. "Then why have we never been to the east side of the temple?"
The red dragoness wasn't exactly sure what she should do. She knew Cynder would find out about what her father had done to people, but she still wanted to wait till she was older before showing her the Sanctum. So she continued her lie.
"We haven't been over there because there is nothing over there for us. It's filled with guest rooms for when important people from other cities come to visit."
Cynder wasn't sure if she believed this or not, and yet then again what did she expect was going to happen?
"Ok, then can you tell me if dad ever felt like something was pulling at his chest?
Mildred looked at her daughter confused again. "What do you mean? Is someone pulling you right now?" She watched as her daughter withdrew herself a little, which only made her mom worry about her.
Cynder looked up at her mother, with an uncertain look in her eyes "It's… hard to explain. All I know is that whoevers heartbeat I'm hearing… it wants me to go somewhere. And I think it wants me to go to the temple." It sounded so crazy saying that outloud. Even though her mother knew about this other heartbeat, the addition of this tugging made the black dragoness question her own sanity.
Her mom just looked at her worriedly. "I don't think so... Are you feeling ok Cynder?" She really didn't have any clue what her daughter was talking about, but it did scare her to hear this. Was someone trying to manipulate Cynder? If so, what could be over there that is so important?
Mildred froze. In that split moment she made a slight realization.
The Sanctum.
The place where they housed everyone trapped in the black crystal. A reminder of what Malefor has done. She had intentionally guided Cynder away from that place whenever they were at the temple. She didn't want her to learn what Malefor did to people, fearing that she too might one day follow her father's footsteps. Cynder hardly showed any sort of aggression to random strangers however neither did Malefor, and he still went crazy.
"Are you ok mom?" Cynder noticed that her mom had a worried look on her face. She almost looked like she was about to panic. Did she remember something about her dad? Did he also feel a similar pulling sensation?
Mildred shook her head, setting aside her thoughts. She needed to check something before she made any rash decisions. "Sorry Cynder I just remember that I need to speak with Winifred nearly in the morning tomorrow." She said hastily. She turned and handed Cynder the folded cloth that she had brought with her. "Here are some of the elk that I didn't sell off. I'm not too hungry right now, so feel free to make dinner whenever you are hungry."
Cynder opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, her mom had already turned around and spread her wings. She watched as the large fire dragon leapt off their roof, and used her wings to catch herself before hitting the ground. Their front door opened up, and was slammed shut a moment after that.
Cynder sat there bewildered. She knew her mom was hiding stuff from her, but normally she at least tried to hide that fact. She was tempted to follow her, and see what she was doing, but before she did, she heard the other heart beating in her head again.
Bu-bum, bu-bum, bu-bum, bu-bum, bu-bum bu-bum, bu-bum, bu-bum
Cynder craned her neck and stared off towards the temple, before letting out a deep huff. Something was over there, and it was calling for her. She was tempted to leave right now, but she stopped herself. As much as she wanted to know what was going on, she was more worried about people finding out who she was. There was a reason her mom never took her over there, and it probably had something to do with her father.
She growled, growing irritated by a lot of things. The secrets her mom kept from her, this sensation of being tugged on by an invisible rope, and the fear that held her back. Maybe tonight she would finally toss aside those worries, but now was not the time. She would wait for her mom to fall asleep first. She didn't want Mildred stopping her.
Her stomach rumbled, giving her a reason to tear her gaze away from the temple. Cynder turned around and walked over to the ledge of their roof. Following her mother's example, Cynder spread her wings and leapt off the roof. She walked back inside her home, and tried her best to ignore whoever was pulling on her.
Mildred rushed into her room and quickly closed the door behind her. She didn't want Cynder to sneak in here without alerting her first. She sighed and pressed her forehead against her door. She hated doing this. Acting this way. Cynder was her daughter for the ancestors sake, and yet she was acting like Cynder was the enemy of all dragon kind…
Kind of like how Malefor turned out to be…
Mildred bit her tongue. She didn't want to ruin her mate's good image. People all around her have done that enough. She pulled herself away from the door and walked over to her bed. She crouched down and reached under her bed. She cursed at herself as she struggled to pull something out from under. Had she had hands instead of paws, something like this would have been easy to do.
It took her a few moments before she managed to pull out a leather bound book. It was clearly hand crafted. If it wasn't for the three strings that tie all the pages, and cover, together the content inside would have spilt all over the floor. She let out a small sigh as she held the book in her paws. It had been so long since she went through it.
She walked over to a desk in her room, and set the book down atop it. The window provided some light, however night would fall soon, so she pulled out a candle and set it next to her. With careful paws, Mildred opened up the book and started to read its content. She couldn't help but smile as she did, even though she had to hold back the swelling sorrow that began to build inside her.
Day 174, 709
This is stupid. I don't understand why mom wants me to write in this thing. Who cares anyways?
I'm the freaking purple dragon! They'll be writing stories about me till the end of time. I'll be flying through the skies saving damsels, beating up gangs of thieves and monsters, I'll be a hero!
So why write in this crappy book? Mom couldnt even have bought me a nice journal! She just had to make me one herself. I'm not even sure how to hold this thing. It feels like it's going to fall part in my paws.
I wonder I'll figure out who this heartbeat belongs to when I get older. When I do find them, I wonder what I'll ask them. Like why do I hear their heart beat, and why shouldn't I clobber them for making it hard to sleep!
I guess I don't have much else to write about. We'll see if I even decide to write in this thing again. I might, just to get mom off my back about it.
Mildred stopped before moving onto the next page. This first page always made her smile to read. It was rather funny how much of a brat Malefor was when he was younger. Granted was she really any better when she was small?
She turned to the next page, hoping to find something regarding this new pulling feeling Cynder felt. She prayed to her ancestors that she would find something.
Maybe it was her just being a worried mother, or maybe it was her hunter's instinct, but something about that made her worry. What did it have to do with those poor trapped people? Was Cynder about to trap people in dark crystals as well? What does it all mean, and why now? Whatever the answer, this whole thing scared her.
Kind of a short chapter. I figured that since I screw things up and all you guys who are following this story won't get an update on when I'm posting this chapter, I'd keep it short and simple.
To make up for this however I promise you that something big is about to go down in the next chapter.