Rune hit the floor hard, his sword crashing a short distance away. The prince grunted in pain as another sword-blade was pointed at his neck, a mere inch away from piercing his flesh. The wielder of the sword sighed sadly and stepped back a bit.
"Sixty seconds, prince." Apella said with disappointment. "It took me sixty seconds to disarm you and render you helpless."
Rune sighed and picked himself up. "Sorry, Apella."
The two were in the center of the training arena of the Dragon Spire. The arena was of massive size, and completely circular. Various statues of ancient dragons, five in all, stood on various sides of the room, each one an almost exact likeness of one of the ancient dragon Guardians who used to teach in the temple. Ignitus, Terrador, Volteer and Cyril seemed to stare down in judgment at the prince, ashamed that one such as him would be such a poor student. Rune shuddered and looked away from them… only to find himself gazing at the biggest statue of all at the far wall: The one of Lord Spyro. The ominous amethyst structure had such an imposing and cold face; Rune could feel a shiver run down his spine just looking at his ancestor.
"Prince?" Apella asked as she prodded his shoulder. "Hello? Dragon realms to Prince Rune?"
Rune grunted and blinked his eyes before looking up at the Deep Shadow. "S-Sorry, Apella."
"Sorry?" Apella repeated, an eye ridge raised. "Your highness, there is no 'sorry' on the battlefield." She walked across the arena and adjusted her stance. "If I were a real opponent, you would be long dead by now."
Rune sighed sadly as he picked his sword up with his jaws. Many stories were shared by the Deep Shadows of how the sword's previous owner, the late King Baneth, could use his dark magic to make the sword levitate and fly through the air. Rune was nowhere near that level of mastery of his magic; thus, he had to learn to fight with it in his maw. And boy did the hilt taste awful.
Apella held a patient face as she stood at the ready. "Prince Rune, I know very well that you haven't spent much of your life training to wield a blade. Few dragons do these days. That's why I don't expect you to manage to defeat me in a training duel any time soon."
"I know, I know…" Rune slurred around his sword.
"However, I at least expect you to put up a decent fight." Apella declared. "I don't want to simply gain the upper hand in under a minute."
"Well, can't you go easy on me?" The prince asked.
"I have been 'going easy' on you." The dragoness declared. "I've adapted my fighting style to accommodate a being of your lack of prior training."
"No, I mean, why don't you let me win every once in a while?" Rune demanded.
"Certainly not." Apella scolded and wrinkled her muzzle. "My primary objective is to make you a master swordsman. And mastery takes great work and discipline. I may alter the challenges to match your level of skill, but I won't give you free passes to success." She fanned out her wings. "If and when you defeat me, it will be of your own efforts. Do you understand, Your Highness?"
"Yes, I understand." Rune said glumly.
"Good. Now then, we shall begin once again." Apella turned her gaze toward the upper row of seats. "Wraith, if you please…"
The crimson dragon had been watching the training the whole time. He rose up from his cushion and stretched out his wing. "Alright, alright. Hold on a sec…"
Wraith waved a forepaw through the air for a moment. As he did this, Apella's and Rune's swords became surrounded by a thick, black aura. Rune spread his wings and lifted himself into the air, and turned his head from side to side to prepare for the training.
"What are we using these auras for again?" He asked. Apella lifted herself into the air while Wraith spoke.
"The spell creates a small shield of energy around the blades." He began. "It allows you two to strike each other with the swords, without cutting each other into bloody stumps."
"Aye." Apella agreed, getting into a fighting stance similar to Rune's. "Now then, before we begin, I want you to review and recite the basics of your swordplay that I've taught you up until now."
"Again?" Rune grimaced.
"Yes, again." Apella nodded insistently.
"Okay…" Rune said glumly. He cleared his throat as he recited what he learned. "Never point your sword at something you don't intent to attack. Be mindful of those around you, allies and enemies alike."
"Correct." Apella nodded.
"Also, a sword-wielder must be always moving, lest you give the enemy an opening."
"Mhm." Apella smiled.
"And most importantly…" Rune sighed. "A sword-wielder must never stop learning. There's always a new tactic or strategy that they can add to their repertoire… or something."
"Close enough." Apella clicked her tongue. "Now, let's move on to the next part of the training for the day."
"Okay…" Rune forced himself into one of the various practiced stances she'd taught him.
"We'll have the standard training duel." Apella said. "Your goal is to disarm me, and only disarm. No using your magic, no horns, and no talons; you need to focus entirely on fighting with your sword. Understood?"
"Yes, ma'am." Rune nodded.
"Good." Apella looked at Wraith. "You know what to do."
"Right." The Crimson dragon stated. He cleared his throat, and made his voice as loud as he could. "Three... Two... One... BEGIN!"
In a flash of movement, Rune and Apella charged at each other. The sounds of steel hitting steel filled the air. Apella was, naturally, a bit faster than the prince, though she mostly preferred to fight on the defensive. Rune, meanwhile, dashed around the Deep Shadow as he tried to slash his sword at her. Several times his blows were blocked, and more than once he was pushed backward.
Time and time again, Rune circled around Apella. He tried everything he could to knock that sword out of her maw. But she was just too fast; every single blew he tried to deal was blocked or parried.
Nothing I do is working! Rune scowled as their blades clashed again. This is so frustrating! I swear, she's just toying with me!
Or you just suck, Runefor chided. Rune hissed and charged forward with greater speed. But this only resulted in him being deflected and blocked even faster.
"Come now, Prince." The dragoness scolded. "Relying on berserker tactics will get you nowhere."
"Well, what else am I supposed to do?" Rune demanded. "I can't win without my magic!"
"Hey, calm down." Apella said. "This is only a training exercise; it's not a life or death fight."
The more Rune and Apella clashed their swords, the more frustrated Rune became. Sure, he wasn't disarmed, but he never came any closer to dislodging Apella's sword from her maw.
"How are you able to remain calm?" He demanded as he attacked again.
"One must remain calm when wielding a bladed weapon of this size." The Deep Shadow replied, deflecting the blow. "Also, one must keep their mind clear of distractions on the battlefield, including practice battles. For example, pay no attention to that nasty wound you have."
"Huh?" Rune stopped to look himself over. "What wound?"
Apella bonked the prince's forepaw with the flat end of her sword, making him yelp in pain. The black sword fell from Rune's maw and clattered on the ground. Apella then backed up and pointed her own sword at Rune's neck, making him flinch in fright.
"You're dead again, prince." Apella scolded.
"Oh, come on!" Rune snapped. "You cheated!"
"I warned you about distractions, prince." The Deep Shadow declared.
"Yeah, I have to side with the prince on this one." Wraith said.
"Excuse me?" Apella stuck her snout in the air.
"Intentionally misdirecting your student is more than a little cheap, Apella." The crimson drake snapped.
"The method I use to teach the prince is no concern of yours, Wraith." Apella said with a huff.
"Yes it is." Wraith snapped. "Don't get me wrong: I understand how you're trying to show the Prince that success isn't handed out on a silver platter, but now you're just hitting him with the platter."
"This is how MY teacher taught me swordplay, Wraith." Apella snapped at him. "There was plenty of warning to the deception beforehand; the point was for the prince to make note of that and-"
The prince smacked the sword out of Apella's maw. She gasped as it fell onto the floor by her forepaws. While she wasn't looking, the prince had picked up his own sword to strike again.
"I did it!" The prince declared. "Finally!"
"Uh…" Apella fell back onto her haunches. "Good work?"
"Ah, I get it now!" Wraith chuckled. "You created your OWN distraction so that Rune could learn from his own mistakes!" He clapped his forepaws. "Not bad."
"Gah… err…" Apella became quite flustered. She took a deep breath and stood on all fours. "I'll consider that a victory on your part, my prince… Good work."
"Are we done with this for the day, then?" Rune asked. He placed his sword in his hilt, and then picked up the other sword to present it to her. She took the blade from him and snorted in slight annoyance.
"Very well…" Apella put her sword in her hilt and sighed. "For the day, at least."
With a wave of Wraith's forepaws, the magic surrounding the drakes' swords vanished. Rune wasted no time turning around to get out of that blasted arena.
"Are you just going to leave without saying goodbye?" Wraith snorted.
Rune lowered his head and groaned. He then turned around and took a regal pose. "I, uh… I bid farewell for the day. Thank you for the… uh, training, Apella."
"You're welcome." Apella put on a patient smiled. "Go retrieve your belongings and be on your way. I'll see if I can schedule another sword-training session with you before you leave for Glenhaven."
"Uh, okay…" Rune bowed his head toward his teacher. He put his own sword in the scabbard on the side. "I'll be on my way, then."
"Be sure to be back here in a few hours with your brother for your Magic training." Wraith called after him. Rune slowed to a stop and sighed with his head low.
"Okay, Wraith…" Rune said beside himself. He then picked up the pace to trot out of the arena before either Deep Shadow said anything else.
Once the prince was gone, Wraith spread his wings to glide down to the arena. Apella cast him a slight sneer before walking forward out the opposite gate. As the two left, the floor rumbled and opened up. A massive statue of Lord Spyro emerged to fill up the arena; it was rather gaudy, in Wraith's opinion.
"You're rather brutal, you know that?" Wraith said with a snort.
"How so?" Apella demanded.
"The way you train the prince in swordsmanship hasn't been too easy for him." Wraith snorted. "I don't see why you need to resort to cheap tricks in order to make him fail."
"I'm not making him fail; I'm testing his awareness." The red dragoness snapped. "in a fight, there's always a chance that one's opponent is trying to get the better of you." She flapped her wings indignantly. "The prince needs to be aware of that, of he could get himself killed."
"Yeah, sure." Wraith rolled his eyes. "Next you'll tell me that you only pretended to be distracted so he had a chance to smack your sword out of your chops."
"That was an accident on my part." Apella huffed. "I can't believe I let you distract me with an argument…" She glared at him. "Speaking of which, I'd appreciate it if you didn't make snide comments about my teaching methods right in front of him."
"At the very least, he can see that even the most highly-trained of warriors can still make slight mistakes here and there." Wraith declared.
"Like the mistake of angering a dragoness skilled in fire magic?" Apella looked down her snout at the crimson drake. Wraith could only laugh at that.
"Calm down, lady." Wraith flapped his wings. "Maybe next time you smack the prince around I'll keep my trap shout… if you promise to give him more windows of success every now and then. The kid needs some morale boosts every now and then."
"I'll think about it…" Apella sighed. She came to a stop at a hallway that went in two directions. "I've got work to do elsewhere. Good day, Wraith."
"Yeah…" Wraith nodded. "I've got a class to teach in about an hour myself. See ya around, Apella."
Wraith snapped his fingers and vanished in a cloud of smoke. Apella, meanwhile, sighed and made her way out the western doorway. What a day.
~~…~~
Rune didn't want to admit it. But the truth was, Rune's days in Warfang had become routine.
After eating lunch in the cafeteria, he tried to blend in with the crowd of students going about their own days. Unfortunately, being a black dragon, a lot of eyes were always upon him. He'd walk near the walls, keep his head low, and still there'd be young dragons trying to draw his attention. For the most part he'd smile, wave, and even have polite conversation. But more often than not, Rune wished he could go back to the days when he wore a shroud of darkness, and pretend he was only an average fire dragon.
Why can't they just leave me be? Rune grimaced Can't they see I need to get to class?
"Hey, Rune!" Someone called. The prince was about to glare in their direction, but he blinked in surprise when he realized it was Chalice. Rune sighed a bit and stood up to smile as they came to a stop before him and grinned.
"The others were wondering where you'd gotten off to." Chalice said. "Why are you all alone over here?"
"Just trying to keep myself scarce, like always." Rune shrugged.
"Well maybe other students would leave you be if you stuck to a group." Chalice snorted. They moved to Rune's side and brushed a bit of mane out of their face. "Come on, Rune. The others are halfway to the gym."
"Okay…" Rune gave a sigh and followed Chalice down the corridor. "So, where is Cyrus?"
"He's right down the hall." Chalice nodded. "He was waiting for you to-"
A water dragon slammed against the wall and rubbed his face. Rune and Chalice gasped as they turned toward the downed dragon. The blue drake looked up worriedly at Cyrus, who stood with his limbs spread out and his wings flapping. Cyrus growled as he loomed over the down fire dragon. Rune and Chalice exchanged uneasy glances before rushing toward the scene as a crowd formed nearby.
"Still think I'm a girl, chump?!" Cyrus hissed.
"It was an honest mistake!" The water dragon pleaded. "I'm still new around here! I didn't mean anything bad by it, Princess-"
Cyrus gave a deathly glare, which made the water dragon yelp in fright.
"Prince, Prince!" The water drake said quickly. "I meant Prince, I swear!"
"Yeah, sure you did." Cyrus snorted.
"Cyrus, cool it!" Someone yelled from across the way. It was Tina, who was scrambling to rush to Cyrus's side.
"Give the guy a break, will ya?!" She snapped.
Cyrus glanced over at Tina, and then down at the water dragon. Cyrus snorted again and stepped back.
"Fine, I'm done with this guy…" Cyrus turned to make his way down the hall. He stopped beside Tina and glared back at the water dragon, only to roll his eyes and make his way down the hall. Tina followed after the prince, while the water dragon stood up and nervously walked in the other direction. Before long, murmurs and laughter spread throughout the student body. Rune and Chalice made their way through the crowd to be to join Cyrus and Tina.
"Oh, hey, guys." Tina waved a wing toward the two.
"Hi…" Cyrus said through gritted fangs.
"What was that all about?" Rune asked. He made to walk alongside his brother "What did that guy do to you?"
Cyrus's face flushed with anger. He took a deep breath and sat back on his haunches. Cyrus brought his voice to a low whisper as he tried to keep his anger in control.
"He… asked me on a date."
Rune and Chalice blinked in surprise. They exchanged incredulous glances, and then looked at Cyrus… and struggled not to laugh. Cyrus sucked in a breath and blew smoke out of his nostrils.
"It's not funny." Cyrus snapped. "He's the third new student in less than a week to think that I'm a girl."
"Look, I'm sorry Cy…" Rune smiled at his brother. "But after a while, it just starts getting goofy how often it happens."
"You wouldn't be laughing if it happened to either of you two." Cyrus snapped.
"I suppose you're right about that…" Chalice gave a shrug. "But still, exploding at new students isn't going to endear anybody to you. You need to learn to chill out."
"I'll chill out when people stop being so STUPID." Cyrus snapped. "Listen to my voice! Do I even SOUND like a girl?! What is WRONG with some people?!"
Chalice just sighed and made to keep walking. Rune frowned at his brother; he extended a wing to pat him on the back, but Cyrus shook it away. Rune gave a sigh and kept walking; if his brother didn't want comfort, there wasn't much else the older prince could do.
~~…~~
The gym was quiet as all of the students sat in the bleachers. Rune and Cyrus sat at the very top, out of view of most of the other students. Rune hoped that this would give him some time to relax and read a book before he had to get his scales dirty. Tina and Chalice sat down below them and chatted happily with the other students in hushed tones.
"Hey Cyrus…" Rune whispered with a wing over his muzzle. "Do you know anything about a dragon named Runileon?"
"How should I know?" Cyrus shrugged. "You're the big history buff, not me."
"Well, it was worth a shot…" Rune sighed. "I really need to get to asking mom about him when we see him next."
Cyrus gave his brother an odd look, but soon just turned to try speaking with a few of the dragonesses below him. Rune, however, just shrugged and looked into his history book. He wasn't sure what he was looking for; he's already read most of what this book had to say. And besides, there wasn't any information about Runileon in here; he'd checked twice today. Still, it was better than having nothing to read at all, he supposed. Stories about the exploits of Spyro and Cynder were always marginally entertaining these days.
The doors were abruptly pushed open, and all of the students went silent. Grail had arrived, and his footfalls were heavy.
"Everyone, shut up and pay attention." The Deep Shadow bellowed. Rune quickly put his book away and hoped that Grail hadn't noticed him reading.
Grail strode into the room with a slow gait. He came to a stop before the bleachers and glanced around at the students with his steely gaze.
"Today, you will all demonstrate your physical prowess in a Gauntlet." Grail spoke aloud. "You are all to face off in the arena against waves of training dummies. So make your way to the center of the arena and prepare for battle."
Rune and the other students stood up from their seats to make their way down to the arena floor. Rune had to admit; he liked how Grail would often be direct and blunt about his orders. Just as long as the General didn't draw attention to him by-
"Oh, and I forgot to mention: NO MAGIC." Grail grinned. "You'll all need to fight with your wits and talons alone. Here's hoping that some among you don't have trouble with that handicap."
It wasn't long before all eyes were on Rune and Cyrus. Rune just sighed and held his head low; that's what he got for thinking too soon. Cyrus, meanwhile, just glowered and fluttered his wings to glide to the arena floor ahead of everyone else.
But before Cyrus could come to a landing, Grail suddenly stepped in his path. The shorter prince gasped as he bumped into the General's chest and fell to the floor, much to the laughter of the other students.
"Hey, what gives?" Cyrus demanded. Grail held his forepaw out toward Cyrus, who balked at the gesture.
"I said NO MAGIC." Grail said seriously. He pointed at the convexity crystal around Cyrus's neck. "Take it off."
Cyrus balked, and then snorted and rolled his eyes. "Whatever. It's not like I use it much anyway…"
The prince removed his necklace and placed it in Grail's grasp. Cyrus then grumbled and stepped around the General to join Rune.
"Why do you wear that thing around if you don't use it, anyway?" Rune asked him.
Cyrus just snorted. "The same reason you still have that sword."
Rune just sighed and looked away. Perhaps he was right; what else did Cyrus have to remember their father Baneth?
A moment later, Rune and Cyrus stood in the middle of the arena as the other students got into position around them. Rune took careful breaths as he prepared for the oncoming fight. Chalice and Tina stopped themselves across from the princes and gave them smiles of encouragement. No doubt they'd rush to help the boys fight off the training dummies; it was just something the crew did together. Rune smiled back; he could rest easy that they would be on his-
"WATCH OUT." A gruff voice said suddenly. Rune looked up and was surprised to see Prince Lantel make his way through the crowd. The red prince stood tall and proud as he came to a stop between Rune and Cyrus. He'd left his cape and most of his belongings in a pile up in the bleachers, though the prince still posed as if he were dressed for a regal event.
"Ugh…" Cyrus groaned as he stepped out of the way of the bigger prince. "Just WHY do you have to come over HERE, Lantel?"
"There's no rules saying where I can and can't stand to prepare for the exercise." Lantel snorted. "So pardon this humble dragon for wanting to be ready to prove his worth..." He cast a glare toward Rune. "Because I'm NOT moving from this spot."
Rune just sighed. "I don't care where you stand. We're all in this together anyway."
Grail took his seat beside the control console and fanned out his wings. He gave everyone another steely gaze from his eye as his forepaws grasped the controls.
"You'd all better be ready…" He said with a snort. "Because the exercise will begin without warni-NOW!"
Grail flipped the switch suddenly, and a foreboding aura appeared around the perimeter of the ring. All of the young dragons gasped and groaned as the anti-magic field roared into life. Rune winced and struggled to keep standing; he felt as though every drop of magic was suppressed into near nothingness. Rune couldn't complain aloud, but he HATED this feeling; it brought back terrible memories of the last time magic was forcibly stripped from him. And he didn't like thinking about the reasons WHY…
Look behind you, skippy! Runefor shouted.
Rune snapped to attention and quickly whirled around. Sure enough, the wooden blade of an axe came swinging down at him. Rune tuck-and-rolled to the side as the axe crashed into the floor. The ape that wielded the weapon growled in anger as it tried to pry its weapon free. Rune wasted no time charging forward to crash into the ape's chest to knock it to the floor.
As the big ape fell down, three more apes rose up to join it. Then came six more across the way. And then another DOZEN surrounded the other students on the northern side. Soon, a perfect ring of wood, straw, and angry snarls formed on all sides around the students.
"By the way: Anyone who tries flying overhead gets extra homework tonight!" Grail quickly yelled over the crowd. "Three minutes on the clock to beat all the waves! GO!"
A buzzer sounded overhead, and all of the dummies lurched forward to attack. There were panicked cries from the students as they scrambled to avoid being hit.
It wasn't long before a chaotic frenzy filled the arena. Rune did his best to stay by Cyrus's side as the smaller prince did battle with the nearest dummy. Talons crashed against wood. Rune struggled to pay attention to what was directly in front of him, but it was difficult thanks to the constant barrage of the chaos of battle.
Ugh, my ear frills are ringing… he thought as he dashed around the side of a small ape. He swatted it away, only to have to dodge a blow from a larger ape seconds later. Jerks.
Pick the pace, idiot. Runefor growled in his head. Do you want Grail to think you're slacking in your training?
Soon enough, Tina and Chalice finally arrived beside Rune and Cyrus. They defended the princes' flanks, while Rune and Cyrus worked together to slash and claw at a large ape's legs. It crashed onto the ground and howled in pain as Cyrus leaped onto its chest and dug his talons into its throat. Throughout all of this, Lantel still insisted on staying up close to the black dragons. He gave a hearty roar and slashed and clawed at any ape that dared stray too close to him. The red prince howled and growled like a beast; he even managed to scare some of the smaller apes away to go attack some of the other students instead.
"You know, you could just deal with those smaller ones yourself instead of having someone else deal with them." Cyrus snapped at Lantel.
"What does it matter? Just as long as SOMEBODY smashes them, it's fine." Lantel scoffed.
"That's not the point!" Cyrus yelled.
"Then what IS, Princess?" Lantel snorted. Cyrus's eyes flashed with anger; he would have attacked Lantel right then and there if Rune didn't leap in his way.
"Focus on the dummies, Cyrus!" Rune snapped and whirled around.
Cyrus rumbled under his breath as he turned away. "Which ones?"
The apes just kept coming; wave after wave. An alarm went off when the two minute mark had been reached. Rune panted as he tried to keep himself going. Enemy after enemy… just what was the point of this? How many more waves could there possibly be? Was Grail just trying to kill them or something?
I'm so tired of this… Rune growled.
Oh, quit complaining. Runefor snapped. At least you get to fight. All I can do is watch!
"Maybe we need a plan of action…" Rune turned around. "Chalice, head to my right and…"
Rune blinked: Chalice and Tina weren't behind him anymore. Somehow they were forced further away by a particularly large ape. He swung his axe at them horizontally, but they ducked beneath it. Once there was an opening, Chalice charged against the ape and forced it onto its back, while Tina leaped over and slashed at its throat with her talons. But while Tina and Chalice weren't looking, two more of the dummies crept up from behind and hefted up their axes to strike. Rune gasped and whirled around.
"Guys! Look out for-!"
Lantel came charged in and smashed against the first ape. Not only did it drop its own axe on its head, but Lantel sent it smashing against the second ape with the momentum of his charge. Both apes collapsed into a heap of straw and metal on the floor behind Tina and Chalice. They heard the commotion and whirled around to see Lantel smirking over them.
"You're welcome." He said, before whirling around to charge toward another ape nearby. Tina and Chalice just rolled their eyes together before returning to fight.
An alarm sounded to announce the start of the one minute mark, and it still seemed like there was no end to the waves of dummies. How many dummies had been taken out? Fifty? A hundred? Rune had lost count somewhere in between.
Rune's muscles ached, and his panted heavily. He was lucky that he was still standing; a few of the other students had passed out after losing the battle of attrition. Soon, only a dozen were left standing. Rune was beginning to wonder if he might as well just give up and let the timer run out. All of this was just a physical exercise, right? It's not like it was really a life or death situation.
And yet, as he dwelled on this thought, he could feel eyes start to bear into his chest. The students who had already given up and turned to watch him and the other princes fight. And Grail especially was glaring at him and Cyrus the entire time. It was clear as crystal; they expected Rune to keep fighting. He had to push on; he dodged around attacks, ran around the edge of the arena, and struck when he got an opening. It was all for the other students. He was a prince of Warfang, and the future king. He couldn't just give up; what kind of example would he set for his future subjects? What would they-?
Rune's thoughts were interrupted when something struck him in the head. He howled as he was knocked onto his side across the way. As Rune was struggling to stand back up, he was kicked over so that he lay on his back and faced the ceiling. The ape lumbered over the prince and cackled as it pinned him down with a foot to the neck. Rune gagged as he clawed at the ape's foot with his talons and fangs, but it did little to free him.
"Rune!" A few of the others shouted in alarm (with the notable exception of Prince Lantel). They raced over to try and help him, only to be blocked off by more of the dummies.
Rune instinctively tried to open up his shadow to sink inside, but of course all he got was a stinging headache from the anti-magic field. The ape gave a holler of sadistic glee as it pinned Rune even harder to the floor. The ape pointed its axe blade at Rune's face, right between the eyes.
Get up, you idiot! Runefor snapped.
I'm trying! Rune hissed as he wriggled. But as the prince wracked his brain, he just couldn't think of a means to free himself. He was pinned down… trapped… doomed.
And then the final alarm sounded.
All at once, the ape dummies came to a stop and dropped their weapons. The ape who had Rune pinned down dropped his axe to the side. It then slumped over, finally giving Rune the freedom to roll over and dash away. Rune panted as he got onto his feet and coughed a few times; that boot on his throat felt all too real. But while Rune wasn't looking, a large shadow loomed over him. The prince shivered as he heard familiar talons tapping the floor in a rhythmic tone.
"Congratulations." Grail said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "If this had been a REAL combat scenario, you'd be dead."
Rune sighed as he turned around and looked up at the General; he couldn't think of any kind of response that would appease him. Still, he couldn't just stare blankly at him…
"I'm sorry." Rune bowed his head. "I'll… I'll do better next time."
"Hmph. Not just YOU, I hope." Grail spun around and gazed out amongst the crowd of tired younglings. "The whole lot of you could stand to learn to deal with combat situations when magic is being negated." When the students grumbles, the General snorted. "Oh, don't give me that. You all need to be prepared if the day ever comes again when your magic is stripped away."
"As if you'd know what that's like." Lantel said under his breath across from Rune.
Rune was about to snap at the red prince to watch his tone around Grail… but the General made his anger clear right away. He whirled around to sneer at Lantel, but the red prince stood his ground.
"If you have something to say, say it out loud, Prince." Grail snapped.
"Well, what I have to say is that I'll bet you've never had your magic forcibly taken away in combat before." Lantel said loudly. He stood up and unfurled his wings. "In fact, four years ago, you had the exact OPPOSITE happen to you!"
Rune and a few of the other dark dragons gasped at the outburst, while the other students held an awkward silence. Grail, however, fell back onto his haunches and blew little red smoke clouds from his nostrils.
"You're not wrong." Grail said. "I and a lot of dark dragons became practically drunk with power thanks to that eclipse way back when." He wracked his talons on the floor as he gave a sardonic grin. "That level of power… It's something I'll never forget."
Almost as soon as it came, Grail's smirk was gone. He gave a serious face as he leaned his head over Lantel's. "However, I've had the opposite happen to me more times than you can count."
"What are you talking about?" Lantel snapped.
"You think that anti-magic field is some fancy new toy we have here in Warfang?" Grail snorted. "And do you honestly think I got this big, muscular physique by spewing magic out of my face constantly?"
The General rose up onto all fours and walked around Lantel. He made imposing stomps as he trudged around the arena; his shadow loomed over the students in an eerie way.
"My people, the Fear dragons, used anti-magic fields to train younglings to fight with only their wits and bodies from an early age." Grail declared. He stomped his forepaws on the arena, sending small vibrations through the area. "A dragon shouldn't rely solely on his magic when in battle. If you put all of your faith into magic, only to have it stripped away, then you have next to NOTHING!"
"But magic has its uses beyond just combat!" Lantel snapped. "My fire can light dark places! I can provide warmth in the cold! It can cook food! It can-"
"You're missing the point, boy!" Grail snapped. "You are here to learn to fight, and you must learn to fight without magic!" He glanced around at the students, making them flinch. "All of you need to learn not to rely on magic!"
Grail cast his gaze directly at Rune, who flinched. The General then pointed a talon off toward the side where Cyrus stood. "Especially the two of you."
"Hey, why are you signaling out us?" Cyrus demanded.
"You two of all dragons should be prepared, if and when your magic is stripped away." The General sneered. "You need a plan of action. You need to know how to best to protect your subjects. You need…"
Rune groaned; he hated it when Grail got like this. He was tempted to ask him if having no magic would be effective when fighting someone like Runileon. But then some aches and pains flared up across his body, and he shook his head to get rid of the idea. He looked around; plenty of the other students were getting tired of the General's rants as well. Eventually Rune locked eyes with Chalice, who nodded at the prince and rose to their feet.
"Hey, Granddad?" Chalice asked as they approached the General. They poked Grail in the foreleg several times. "Granddad!"
"…And that's not even getting into the…" Grail blinked and cast a glance at Chalice. "What is it, Chalice?"
"Didn't the Queen tell you to keep your lectures brief?" Chalice asked. "I'm pretty sure the next class needs to use the arena in, like, five minutes."
Grail froze. He cast his gaze at the nearest wall-clock, and immediately tensed up. He rubbed his head with a wing-thumb and grumbled while a few of the students snickered.
"Alright, fine." Grail huffed. "The combat training is completed for the day. Get out of here, the lot of you."
There were sighs of relief all across the arena, and Rune was no exception. He turned on his feet to get out of the arena as soon as possible. And as he left, he cast a glance toward Chalice and mouthed a "thank you" their way. He could feel his magic returning to full form as he stepped out of the anti-magic barrier.
Rune's muscles ached when he finally got out into the hallway. His limbs felt heavy, and his tail practically dragged the ground He gave a low yawn and lumbered forward while the other students walked around him.
"You did well today, my prince…" A wind dragon said quietly.
"You were incredible…" A poison dragoness replied as she passed by. Rune tried to give thanks, but could only groan from the soreness.
Rune didn't get far before he heard the tell-tale signs of his brother following from behind. The shorter prince just got done adjusting his crystal on his necklace, and could barely stay standing as he approached.
"Thank the ancestors that's over…" Cyrus declared. "If I didn't know any better, I'd swear that Grail's trying to work us to death."
"You doing okay, Cy?" Rune asked worriedly.
"N-Nothing that black dragons can't handle…" Cyrus chuckled. He then winced as pain flared in his back. "Oww…"
"You need some help?" Rune asked. He approached give some support to his brother, but Cyrus pushed him back with a wing.
"I'm fine…" Cyrus grumbled. "No need to get all touchy-feely, Rune."
Rune just scrunched up his muzzle. "If you say so."
"Well, sounds like you two look ready to pass out…" A gruff voice said from behind. Rune and Cyrus turned around to see Prince Lantel leave through the doors. The burly prince loomed over them with a sly grin; he looked like he wasn't tired in the slightest.
"Here I was thinking that black dragons were invincible." Lantel snorted. "Guess I was wrong."
"Oh, shut up." Cyrus snapped. He made to walk down the hallway with a proud stride, only for the aches in his back to flare up again. "Damnit."
"Oh dear, is the princess tired?" Lantel pursed his lips and faked a shocked expression. "Does Cyrus need a big, strong dragon to carry her around?"
Cyrus snarled, which made Lantel smirk. When the black prince tried to whirl around to snap at him, Cyrus lost control of his limbs and collapsed onto the floor. The fire prince had himself a big, hearty laugh at the sight, while Cyrus struggled to stand back up.
"I hate you so fucking much, Lantel!" Cyrus growled.
"You're ugly when you're angry, princess." Lantel chided. "Maybe you should just go to your room for some beauty sleep.
"Being your usual annoying self, I see." Said Chalice from behind. Lantel whirled around in surprise, while Rune and Cyrus looked over to see Chalice emerge from the doorway. They stepped forward and glared up at Lantel.
"Oh, what do YOU want?" Lantel said bitterly.
"Why do you keep messing with those two, huh?" Chalice demanded. "You think anyone's impressed by the way you antagonize them?"
"It's none of your business, Chal." Lantel stuck his muzzle in the air.
"Oh yes it is." Chalice pointed a talon in Lantel's face. "You might be a prince, too, but that doesn't give you the okay to torment my friends."
"They're big boys; they don't need someone standing up for them." Lantel snorted. "So butt out of it."
"One of these days, that mouth of yours is going to get you into trouble, Lantel." Chalice stuck their own muzzle in the air and walked around the burly red prince. "Your Daddy won't like it if you try to pick a fight with a black dragon."
Lantel flinched, and then growled. "Don't bring him into this!"
"I say let him pick a fight!" Cyrus declared. Chalice and Lantel turned toward the shorter prince; who struggled to stand tall and proud as he fanned out his wings.
"If you want to start something, then do it." Cyrus declared. "I'm not scared of you, Lantel."
"Scared of me?" Lantel tilted his head. "Who said I was trying to scare you, fair princess?"
"That's really getting old!" Cyrus growled. He tried to step forward, but lost his footing and collapsed onto the floor. Chalice gasped and rushed to help Cyrus up, while Lantel gave a hearty laugh.
"You're a pest, Lantel." Chalice snapped. "One of these days, that attitude is going to get you in trouble."
"Yeah, right." Lantel snorted.
Rune just stepped back as Cyrus and Chalice glared at Lantel. He looked at a wall clock; he didn't have all day to stand around in that hallway. Rune should have just turned and walked off… but when he glanced at Lantel's grinning face, the black prince felt fire burn in his chest. He almost growled, but he caught himself and shook his head.
Chalice is right, you know. Runefor said. You have the means to teach that big idiot a lesson he'll never forget.
That's not happening. Rune snapped. I'm not about to risk damaging the good standing my mother has with King Horus.
Hmm, I'm not hearing any cries of "violence is wrong." Runefor snickered. Could it be that you're just trying to make excuses for yourself? Trying to hide your… violent urges?
Rune growled in anger at the voice in his head; he dug his talons into the floor and shook in place a bit. It was bad enough being mocked on the outside by Lantel; having to deal with it on the inside was even worse.
But while Rune was trying to keep from getting to angry, the others suddenly all turned to look at him funny.
"Cyrus, we need to get going." Rune said. "Come on; we should shadow-jump to save time."
"Fine, fine…" Cyrus sighed. He stepped away from Chalice to stand beside Rune. "We'll see you later, Chalice."
"Alright…" Chalice nodded. They cast another glare at Lantel before walking around the princes to make their way down the hall. "I've got stuff to do on my own."
~~…~~
It was later in the afternoon. Rune and Cyrus had finished all of their classes, and had taken the time to get washed off after exerting themselves so much in training. Once they were back up to full energy, it was time for one thing left.
The doors were pushed open, and the two princes strode inside. They looked around the interior of the large study as several dragonesses looked up at them with warm smiles.
"Good day, Prince Rune." A lot of the dragonesses said cheerily.
"Uh, hi…" Rune put on an awkward smile. "It's nice to-"
"Good day to YOU, ladies!" Cyrus exclaimed with a grin and a flourish of his wings. "Sorry that we ran a bit late!"
Immediately the dragonesses in the room grimaced. They backed out of the way as Cyrus strode forward into the room and spun on his heels. He looked left and right, hoping to be showered in affection and praise… which the dragonesses gave to RUNE instead. As the taller prince walked across the floor, the dragonesses followed behind and circled around him.
"We were waiting for ages for you to study with us, my prince." A wind dragoness batted her eyes.
"Yeah, where have you been?" A lightning dragoness demanded. "It's so boring without you."
"Well, we had to deal with some private lessons with our grandfather." Rune scratched his head with a wing-thumb. "Grandpa Urobos can get long-winded at times."
Rune walked about the room take a seat, the dragonesses hot on his heels. Cyrus, meanwhile, just grimaced as he stood alone across the way.
The royal study group was something started up by Queen Elenar. She had hoped to reinvigorate the idea of monarchs from across the realms having their heirs meet up to get to know each other. But with the dark dragons having fewer royal heirs, coupled with the change in governing bodies across the realms after the war ended… Elenar felt they should meet up more often. Thus, heirs from across the realms came to live and study in the Dragon Spire. And this study group was started for Rune and Cyrus to interact with them.
Rune sat down at a table and got out his books. He intended to help the others through their courses on Dragon History, his favorite subject. It didn't take long for Princess Sandra to sit down at his left, while a lightning dragoness sat down at his right. She rested her head on Rune's shoulder, which made him blush a bit.
"It's about time you got here." Sandra snickered. "The two of us have a bit of catching up to do on…" She put a forepaw on his and leaned in to whisper into his ear frill. "History."
"R-Right…" Rune stammered a bit. He turned the pages and cleared his throat. "So, what do you need… help on?"
"We've had some concerns regarding the expansion of trade routes during the first twenty-five years of Lord Spyro's reign." The lightning dragoness chimed in. She turned the book to a specific page and pointed at a highlighted paragraph. "You know about that stuff, right?"
Sandra balked at the declaration, which made Rune chuckle a bit. Soon, the prince was reading the textbook with the girls and helping to explain a few things along the way.
Meanwhile, Cyrus took a breath and looked around to find a place to sit. There were quite a few open seats beside some of the noble dragonesses all across the study. But whenever he approached, they scrambled to fill up all the seats, even if that meant going across the room. They then talked amongst themselves in exaggerated tones, all to keep Cyrus from picking up on the conversation. They didn't even glare at him or tell him to go away. They just… ignored him.
Cyrus sighed and sat at the end of the table beside the front doors. He tapped his quill pen on the surface of the wood and struggled to think of what to do. Cyrus glanced back at Rune, who was surrounded on both sides by dragonesses. Even the ones at their own tables were clambering to get a good look at the taller prince. Cyrus slammed his head onto the table and groaned. Every time they came here, it was the same thing. Once again, Cyrus was all by himself. Not even Tina was around to keep him company today.
A few minutes later, the doors to the study were pushed open again. In strode Chalice, who fluttered their wings and strode through the crowd of surprise dragonesses. Chalice nodded pleasantly toward Cyrus, who just frowned.
"I've got to say, this is a rather nice room…" Chalice said as they looked around. Chalice sat down across from Rune, much to the incredulous on-looks of Sandra and the lightning dragoness.
"And just what are YOU doing here?" The lightning dragoness demanded.
Chalice snorted. "My grandfather is the General of the army. I'm technically a noble, too, you know." They opened up one of their textbooks.
"If you say so…" the dragoness looked Chalice up and down. "Uh…"
"What?" Chalice raised an eye ridge.
"Nothing, nothing…" The dragoness turned and walked away.
Cyrus grumbled as Chalice began chatting with Rune on the topic of dragon history. He gritted his fangs and wracked his talons on the table.
Soon the doors opened up again, and Cyrus hoped that somebody would finally sit with him. But his eyes lit up in horror as the familiar face of Lantel strode inside.
"Ah, finally I have time to join the study group." The red prince smirked. He cast his gaze around at the tables in search of an open spot. Cyrus grumbled and grasped a textbook to prop it up and bury his face in it.
Not here, not here, not here, no here… He growled internally. But to Cyrus's horror, he heard Lantel approach and sit down on the opposite side of his table.
"Looks like we just can't escape each other today, princess." Lantel snorted.
Cyrus gripped onto his textbook all the harder; he refused to even dignify Lantel by looking at his smug face.
"So, are you giving me the silent treatment now, princess?" Lantel chided.
Cyrus shook his book all the more. "What are you doing here, Lantel?"
"It's the ROYAL study group, isn't it?" Lantel snorted. "Am I not ROYAL enough for you?"
"I mean what are you doing HERE? Bothering ME?" Cyrus snapped. "Don't you have anyone else to annoy today?"
"Well, how could I leave you sitting here all on your own?" Lantel asked cheekily. "You just looked so lonely. It must suck not having any of the other girls talking to you."
Black smoke billowed from Cyrus's nostrils; it was so tempting to just take his book and slam it against Lantel's face. But that's when Cyrus got a cheeky idea. He put his book down and looked Lantel right in the eyes.
"Ah, there you are." Lantel snickered. "Finally come out of hiding?"
"Yes, I have." Cyrus said. "And so has Sandra."
Lantel blinked. "What?"
"Didn't you see her when you came in?" Cyrus grinned and gestured toward Rune's table with a wing. "She's getting real friendly with my brother today."
Lantel's eyes widened in surprise. He stood up and walked around the table to listen in on the conversation Sandra was having with the other dragonesses around Rune.
"I'll bet Rune has seen his fair share of battles." Sandra chuckled as she ran fore forepaw up and down his leg. "I mean, just look at all these scars. It wouldn't be wise to pick a fight with him."
"Uh…" Rune blushed a bit.
Were it not for Lantel's red scales, Cyrus could tell he was fuming with anger. Cyrus held a forepaw over his mouth to hide his laughter as he watched the burly red prince stomp over toward Rune's table. A few of the dragonesses on the opposite side gasped upon seeing Lantel's approach, and quickly yelled at Rune to look out. Rune yelped and slid down into his shadow to get out of the way of a swipe from Lantel's talons.
"Lantel!" Sandra shrieked. "What in the fuck is wrong with you?!"
"What's wrong with ME?!" Lantel yelled. "What's wrong with YOU?!"
Rune resurfaced from his shadow on the other side of the table. The dragonesses on that side rushed to stand on either side of him for support, while Sandra got up from the table to glare at her brother.
"What I do with Rune is none of your business." Sandra snapped. "You don't get to tell me who I can and can't spend quality time with."
"Uh…" Rune stammered.
"Well I can still offer you some brotherly advice." Lantel snapped. "And my advice is-"
"How about I advise you to mind where you stick your snout?" Sandra flicked him on the muzzle. "I'd rather not have it shoved up my arse all day."
The other dragoness balked at the crass comment. Lantel just snorted and glared in Rune's direction. The black prince just shrugged and grasped his book.
"Uh… I don't control what your sister does, Lantel." He said awkwardly. "I don't want any trouble."
Lantel looked like he wanted to get in Rune's face. But his sister blocked his path no matter where he stepped. Eventually just snorted and turned to leave.
"You know what? Fine. I can't stop Sandra from doing stupid things if she wants to." He said in a huff. He made his way across the room, picked up a large tome, and stuffed it into his satchel. "I'm going to do some light reading in a private study; the estrogen in this room his clogging up my nose."
Everyone watched as the burly prince left the study. As the dragonesses returned their attention to their own books, Rune cast a glance over in Cyrus's direction. The shorter prince quickly turned and gave an innocent whistle as he propped up his book again. Rune just sighed and focused on his own book, while Sandra took her seat beside him again.
"Now, let's back to those trade routes." Sandra chuckled as she cuddled up with Rune again.
"Yeah, okay." Rune smiled.
And so the taller prince started going over the subject with his group of dragonesses, all of whom seemed inexplicably drawn to him. And Cyrus was left all alone, with his own boring set of instructions to read about.
At one point a dragoness accidentally knocked her quill onto the floor beside Cyrus's seat as she walked over to get a book from a shelf. Cyrus spotted the accident and quickly made to pick it up and present it to her.
"Hey, you dropped-" He began to say, only for the dragoness to snatch it away and return to her spot at her desk. His ear frills drooped. "… This."
No reply came from the dragoness; she just got to work reading her book. Cyrus snorted in frustration and sat down at his desk.
You're WELCOME… His talons dug into his book as he thought. You ungrateful BITCH!
~~…~~
After the study group ended, Rune and Cyrus went to have dinner in the grand hall. Unfortunately Albanion and Elza were away tending to their oncoming eggs. And Urobos and Elenar were away tending to matters on the northern side of the city that night. And even Dona was busy spending time with Riven. So there wasn't a single person Rune could ask about Runileon, much to his increasing frustration.
After dinner, came a nice relaxing bath. After the bath, Rune retired to his bedroom for the night. And after the sun sank beneath the distant horizon, the prince tossed and turned atop his mattress.
Rune's thoughts drifted from one topic to another frequently. He was excited to head to Glenhaven soon to enjoy the Day of the Bonds. But he was also worried about the young white dragons kept hidden deep in the Nexus. And there was also the constant looming threat of the Sons of Culmubrae wreaking havoc across Warfang. And no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't get a moment to stop and speak with his mother about Runileon. She was too busy… always too busy.
The least of his worries were all of his studies, though even those loomed here and there. The Elders of Glenhaven had their own expectations of Rune whenever he was in the desert city. He never officially left his Guardian apprenticeship behind when he returned to the life of a prince. And that meant they wanted him to be in top shape all the time to one day become a Guardian if Cyrus takes the throne of Warfang ahead of him.
So much stress, so much going on… Rune couldn't take it sometimes. He just wanted to get away from it all. He just wanted to cast off his title as a prince, and just relax with someone.
Rune growled and groaned as he shifted in bed. Something was loosening in his mind; restraints were being lifted, and his subconscious thoughts were shifted around. There was another set of growls soon after; Runefor's growls.
The prince opened his eyes, and he stood up on all fours. He turned toward the mirror, where a set of sickly-yellow eyes looked back at him. A smirk spread across Rune's muzzle, which made Rune gasp in horror in his mind.
"Looks like I'm finally taking the reins." Rune said aloud. But it wasn't his voice.
What in the… HOW? Rune yelled in his own head. How did you do this?!
"Looks like the stress finally got to you." Runefor snickered. He fluttered his wings and wracked his talons on the floor. "Ah, it's nice to have a body again."
Give me back control! Rune hissed. I won't let you hurt anyone!
"Oh, relax. You think I'm about to go on a rampage or something?" Runefor rolled his eyes. "I'm just going to go out and take a stroll. No harm in that, right?"
I don't believe you! Rune growled. You're up to something. I know it!
The prince just rolled his eyes and opened the door to his balcony. "Fine. Then DON'T believe me. Doesn't matter either way: I'M in control now!"
He strode out with a steady gait and gazed up at the brilliant lights of the stars. The evening air was cool and soothing on his scales, and the wind blew through his mane just right. Everything was perfect for an evening flight… but as he extended his wings and put on a grin, the prince wasn't in the mood for spiraling around any rooftops or diving for lakes. Oh no… the prince had something else mind. Or rather, someone.
We've been ignoring her obvious invitations for long enough. Runefor grinned. He spread his wings and took off into the air. Let's pay her a visit.
Who are you talking abou…? Rune began to ask. But then thoughts of certain, carnal nature began to flow from their subconscious. And a certain dragoness was at the center of it all. Oh… Oh no…
The prince flew through the air to fly around the Dragon Spire; the cold air sent ripples of sensation through his scales. But during his flight, the prince spotted more than a few dragon soldiers patrolling through the skies around the Dragon Spire. No doubt they were searching for the Sons of Culmubrae, or the dark dragon extremists. Either way, they'd give the prince trouble if they spotted him.
Looks like its shadow time, Runefor snorted. The prince pressed against the side of the outer wall of the Spire and summoned forth his shadow. He slid inside the shadow, and it sped along the surface of the walls to avoid being seen by the soldiers.
After dancing around the guards, the prince finally arrived at the balcony connected to the bedroom of a very special dragoness. He emerged from his shadows and stood up tall and regally to peer through the glass on the door.
And there she was; standing before her mirror and brushing her mane of hair. Sandra kept her tail wrapped about her hind legs as she groomed herself. The fiery princess wasn't able to get sleep at night most days; Rune could relate. Besides, It worked perfectly for what the prince had in store tonight.
Oh, she's so beautiful, Runefor sighed. How can you take your eyes away from her during the day, Rune?
I… I have to focus on my studies. Rune snapped.
Yeah, sure you do.
The prince held his confident smirk as he wracked his forepaw against the window. It was just loud enough to alert Sandra to his presence. She nearly dropped her brush as she turned around to face the window. She stood in surprise at first… but that soon gave way to delight. Sandra rushed toward the window and wasted no time opening it up to gawk at the prince.
"Rune?" She asked curiously.
"Hey." Rune smiled. "I hope you don't mind the interruption."
"Of course I don't mind." Sandra snorted. "I'm just surprised to see you coming around at this time of night, like, at all." She wracked her talons on the windowsill. "What brought you around?"
"Oh, I was just taking a little stroll around the Dragon Spire…" Rune wracked his talons on the windowsill as well; they were inches away from Sandra's. "As I was passing by, I couldn't help but swing around to give a little…" He leaned in to whisper into Sandra's ear frill. "…Visit."
Sandra shivered a bit. She backed up and looked Rune up and down. "So, does this mean that you've finally come around?"
"Well, I guess that depends…" Rune stepped a bit into Sandra's room. "Is the offer still open?"
"Well, I have to admit that this is rather sudden." Sandra put on a sly expression as she scratched her chin. "You've caught me a bit off-guard. I'm not entirely sure I'm ready for this kind of proposition."
"Well, that's a shame…" Rune stepped closer and planted a kiss on Sandra's forehead, making her gasp in surprise. "Because I'm in the mood regardless."
The prince planted another kiss on Sandra, this time square on the muzzle. Her face flushed red, and when he pulled back, she gave a little moan of frustration. She then looked Rune up and down, gulped, and fluttered her eyes.
"I suppose I can't deny the future High King what he wants…" Sandra fluttered her wings. She then turned toward her mattress, gave a way to her hips, and led the way with a playful smirk. "I'm all yours, Rune."
Sandra climbed up onto her bed and got down on her back. Rune followed her atop it, and kept his limbs on either side of her body. He kept going until he loomed over the princess, with his eyes bearing into hers. Sandra fluttered her eyes at Rune, and turned her head to the side to give him full access to her. And without a moment's hesitation, Rune descended.
He wrapped his forelegs about Sandra and pressed his muzzle against her neck. He nuzzled hear heartily as he ran his forepaws up and down her shapely form. Sandra gave a low, musical moan, and lifted up her own forepaws to grasp onto the prince. And as the two planted kisses on each other, Rune cried out inside the prince's mind.
Stop this! He hissed. You can't just take advantage of her!
cc
Take advantage of her?! Runefor exclaimed. Look at her! She wants this! I even asked for fucking PERMISSION, and she said YES! Stop acting like this is against anyone's will!
It's against MY will! Rune growled. I don't want this from her!
And why NOT?!
The prince rose his head up to look at the ceiling as he growled.
Sandra has expressed romantic interest in us for weeks! She's always flirting and giving signals that she wants to be our girlfriend!
But I'm not interested.
LIAR! The prince growled again. I can see your thoughts as clear as day, you idiot! You're attracted to her. It's why you've never once outwardly rejected any of her advances! Even in your DREAMS you think of her. So why do you keep acting like you don't want this kind of intimacy?!
"Rune, what's wrong?" Sandra asked.
The prince blinked in surprise. He looked down and saw the fiery princess looking at him in confusion.
"Uh…" He stammered.
"You've just been growling and staring at nothing." Sanda raised an eye ridge. "What's gotten into you tonight?"
The prince wracked his talons on the bed as he tried to think of a reply.
"Um… S-Sorry about that, Sandy." The prince chuckled awkwardly. "I've just had a lot on my mind lately. Training has been rather stressful, you know?"
"Well then, quit focusing on the stress and make out with me already." Sandra scoffed. "I didn't give up on brushing my mane for nothing."
The prince blew smoke from his nostrils as he laughed. He then lowered himself back down to proceed with kissing her. But in the prince's head, Rune continued to growl at his other half.
I'm not ready for this! I've been trying to make myself comfortable to approach a dragoness to-
There you go again making excuses. Runefor snapped. You've been angry at yourself ever since you blew it with Roxanne.
Rune hissed. Don't you DARE bring her up!
Oh, but don't I dare? Runefor chided. All that girl ever wanted was to make you happy. You strung her along and led her to believe she had a chance of being yours. But then you went and threw that in her face by rejecting her. And now you're setting poor Sandra up to suffer the same fate! Nobody's going to love you if you keep pussyfooting around with pursuing romance!
SHUT UP!
The prince growled louder than ever as he suddenly flung himself over and onto the floor. He crashed with a thud as a throbbing pain erupted in his mind. He clasped his head and rolled about as the black and white dragons hissed and growled at each other in his mind.
"Rune, what the fuck?!" Sandra screamed. She sprang out of bed and stood by his side as he rolled over and panted heavily.
The prince panted heavily as he finally shifted onto his belly. He slowly and calmly rose up onto his paws and forced himself into a standing position. He then fell back onto his haunches and continued to pant to calm himself down. He was finally back in control; Rune was himself again.
No, no no, damnit NO! Runefor howled with fury.
Rune fanned out his wings and wriggled his talons just to be sure everything was back in place. His head ached a bit from the little tumble he had, but otherwise he was okay. But when he glanced at Sandra, he saw that she looked at him as if he'd broken all of his horns on the floor.
"Rune, what's gotten into you?" Sandra demanded. "You're really freaking me out tonight."
Rune sucked in a harsh breath; he couldn't just up and admit that he'd temporarily lost control of himself to a violent inner personality. No… no, he'd have to handle this delicately.
"I… I'm sorry, Sandra." Rune whispered to the princess. "I… I guess I just can't get over my… stress."
Sandra just sighed. She walked around the prince and nuzzled his shoulder. "It's alright. The Deep Shadows have been driving you crazy with all of this last-minute training they've forced on you." The princess looked Rune in the eyes and smiled. "I guess I can be a bit more patient with-"
There came a harsh knocking on the door, making both the teenage dragons yelp in surprise.
"Sandra?" Came the voice of a guard. "Princess Sandra, are you alright?"
Immediately Rune opened up the shadow beneath his paws and sank into it. He then pushed his shadow to hide beneath the princess's bed. Sandra, meanwhile, struggled to get her composure back as she pushed her mane out of her eyes. There was another pounding, followed by the doorknob rattling.
Rune shivered as he saw a pair of wind dragon guards step into the bedroom. They looked all around for signs of anything out of the ordinary.
"That's really not necessary." Sandra protested.
"We heard two gasps in here." A guard said. "Who came in here with you?"
"N-Nobody." The princess declared. She stepped around the first guard and made to position herself in front of the closet on the side of her room. "There's nobody in here at all."
The two guards just exchanged glances; their faces weren't convinced in the slightest. They then immediately pushed past the princess to investigate the interior of the closet.
"Hey! Stop that!" The princess exclaimed. Of course, as she made a minimum effort to pull the guards away from her closet, she used her tail to point toward the partially-open doorway to the balcony. That was Rune's queue to send his shadow along the floor to slip outside.
This is just great… Runefor grumbled in Rune's head. You ruined our night of intimacy!
Oh, shut up! Rune hissed internally.
Soon Rune was on the outside of the bedroom. He poked his head out just enough to make sure that Sandra was okay. She winked in his direction as the two guards continued to investigate the now-open closet.
"It's just clothes…" One guard said. "Nothing but clothes."
"See? I told you!" Sandra declared haughtily. "Now stop rummaging through my royal outfits."
"Hey, what's going on over here?" Demanded a voice from outside. Sandra shuddered and groaned as who else but her brother Lantel came lumbering down the hallway.
"Oh, ancestors help me…" She rumbled in frustration. She blocked off her brother just as he was coming into her bedroom. "You're not invited!"
"Invited to WHAT?" Lantel demanded. He glanced at the two guard and snorted. "Why are they messing with your clothes?"
"We weren't prince." The other wind dragon said. He stepped back and closed the door to the closet. "We were just investigating a strange noise."
"Strange noise?" Lantel repeated suspiciously.
"I fell out of bed; that's all." Sandra snorted. "Why do you all have to be so nosy?"
"There was another voice in here; we swear it." The first guard said. "We've been standing watch for hours. There was a loud thump a short while ago, and two distinct gasps."
"I see…" Lantel glanced around the room with a suspicious look on his muzzle. Rune winced and his in his shadows, hoping and praying that he wasn't spotted. Lantel pushed past his sister and did a walk around the room.
"What? You think you're going to just look around and spot something?" Sandra snorted.
Eventually Lantel came to a stop in the center of the room. His talons fidgeted around on the floor as he shifted to look his sister in the eyes. "Who are you protecting?"
"Nobody." She snorted. "Now go to bed, Lantel."
Lantel clicked his tongue and snorted back, while the two guards sighed in exasperation.
"Princess, we can't keep going back and forth like this." The second guard said. "There have been strange occurrences all across Warfang. We can't risk something unsavory happening right under the High Queen's roof. If anyone came in here-"
"You know what? I'm too tired for this." Lantel declared. He walked past his sister and made to head out into the hallway. "Clearly nothing's amiss. I'm going to bed. Goodnight, Sis."
"Hmph…." Sandra pouted as he left. "Goodnight, Bro." She turned to glare at the guards. "Could YOU leave, too? I'm getting tired."
The two guards just sighed and made to follow the prince. They both bowed their heads to Sandra. "Goodnight, Princess."
Sandra waited for the guards to stand outside the doorway before she closed it. She then sighed and made her way over to her balcony door to close it just enough to be ajar.
"I really need to sleep…" She whispered into Rune's shadows as quietly as she could. "Let's pick this up again tomorrow, Rune. Goodnight."
"Goodnight…" He whispered out to her.
As Sandra closed and locked her balcony door, Rune shifted his shadowy pool to make its way across the surface of the stones of the Dragon Spire. After a brush with trouble, he needed to just get some sleep.
You ruined everything. Runefor snarled. We were so close, and you RUINED IT!
Rune just snorted and focused on his magic. Along the way to his bedroom, two things came to his attention. Firstly, there was a storm brewing off to the far east; he could even distinctly hear sounds of thunder. There sure have been a number of strange and erratic thunderstorms the last few days in that direction; it made Rune wonder if it would ever find its way to the west.
And the second thing Rune noticed… was that something didn't feel right. His head felt just a tad more lob-sided. Not a lot to throw disorient him, but just enough to be noticeable. But whenever he tried to reach out to where it felt like was, he just couldn't reach that far; neither with his talons nor his wing-thumbs.
But that could wait to be investigated in the morning; for now, he needed to sleep off this predicament. Besides, it was probably nothing.
~~…~~
Greetings, Friends and Loved ones.
We're now halfway through Act 1. And honestly I didn't think Tyrrany and company would still be in Faeshrine by the halfway point. I guess I ended up coming up with more build-up for future events than I'd anticipated. But they should definitely be on the move by next chapter. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed this series of events that I'm sure won't end up badly for Rune at all. XD
Tenebra ecce Veritas.
