Here is the next chapter! I would like to thank everyone who reviewed/followed/favorited once again! Please enjoy! :)
"O, Father and Son in Holy Heaven, please have mercy on my poor soul!" Silas forced out between short, ragged breaths. The only thing that he heard over his feet heavily pounding into the earthen soil was the frantic beating of his terrified heart.
Fleeing from an unknown terror in his blind panic, the young knight gasped as his swift pace broke rhythm. A dull thud resonated in the dark forest as Silas fell face first into the ground. The young man dared not move. The only noise that Silas emitted was the labored strain of catching his breath, a cold sweat covered his skin like a film upon thinking that his beating heart might burst.
Silas' fingers dug into the ground as his body told him to run, to flee, to survive. But instead the young knight closed his eyes, awaiting the demon as his body had refused to move any farther, his energy reserves completely drained.
Silas' heart continued to pound wildly, eyes yet closed. Still, nothing had arrived to end the humans life. Opening his eyes, Silas slowly, shakingly looked around the forest, the moonlight casting shadows that danced from the shifting of the trees on the wind. Yet despite the fact that the forest was alive, not a soul broke the silence in the darkness. Nothing was there.
"It...it cannot be...nothing?" Silas stuttered, slowly rising to his feet, body shaking as he looked in every direction, nearly tripping over himself.
"No...it cannot be...show yourself, demon!" Silas dared the beast, glancing around, but finding nothing.
"Come! Show me your damning eyes, coward!"
Silence reigned throughout the forest as Silas breathed in air, shaking his head in a deep sigh as he looked at his trembling hands.
"A dream? Yes, it...was all a dream." Silas stated, voice hollow as his fingers did twitch.
"I do not find these hands familiar. These hands are not the clean hands from my youth. They are red and covered in blood. Yet for all my sins they are clean of one: Desire. Or was my vision the truth? No, no I am sure it is not. For all my sins, I have never stolen my Duchess' virtue." Silas stated slowly, thoughtfully.
"It is just the wishes of my darkest desires. Yet...why am I plagued by such demons? O, Lord forsake me not. Have you forsaken me? Was the darkness seeping from your eyes like tears a sign that I have lost your love? My darling Duchess, how rests your soul? Is it a sign? Is your soul suffering because of me, is your sweet spirit held here on this plane against your will?" Silas asked, as if awaiting an answer.
"Whatever evil I have done in this world, I shall seek redemption for them. I promise you, my lady. I shall never forsake you, and I shall try to set my wrongs until death." Silas spoke, sighing deeply.
"I lust for after that no disaster can touch us anymore, but I see that it is too late. And more than ever I hope to never fall, Anaya. It is just not the same as we were children, hiding in the larder, playing little children's games, pestering our fathers, running whilst our laughter echoed under cerulean skies. It is all gone. More than ever I hope to never fall, for enough is not the same it was before."
Silas breathed deeply, unconsciously reaching to grab his hilt only to grasp thin air. A cold wave of terror briefly overwhelmed his body as he glanced down upon his sheath to it empty, his blade gone.
"Oh, Father, forgive your ashamed son." Silas muttered, thinking to what his father would say upon finding out his own son had lost his sword. A knight was nothing without his sword, even a dishonored knight.
Grunting slightly, Silas turned to head back to the clearing only to find himself vexed. He had absolutely no idea which direction he had come from in his blind panic.
Silas looked around, hoping to find some kind of trail he might have followed but found none. He seemed to be completely in the heart of the forest.
"Oh, Lord, where to do?" Silas asked himself, at a loss.
Deciding to walk in the direction he thought he came from, Silas made sure his shield was strapped tightly to his arm. If an animal or cutthroat attacked, Silas could always bash them with his shield and daze them. If he was lucky they would be deterred from the blow, or completely ignore the knight.
Putting one foot slowly in front of the other, Silas cautiously walked among the forest floor, his senses heightened in the dull light. While his eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, Silas relied on his hearing, listening for any presence of another, be it animal or man. He heard nothing but the calls of an owl perched in a tree.
Looking up at the owl, Silas couldn't help but get a sense of dread upon seeing the large bird's piercing yellow eyes stare at him through the darkness. The way it watched him move as Silas walked by disturbed him. Head slowly turning, eyes unmoving and unblinking. He knew it was just the owl's natural way of looking, but to Silas, it seemed unnatural, as if the golden eyed beast from his dream was lurking in the dark.
Silas gulped as he carefully picked his way in the darkness, cursing every time the moon went behind a cloud. Silas couldn't help but let his mind wander, couldn't help but think that the demon, whatever it truly was, was with him, stalking him in the darkness. He just couldn't help it. Soon, Silas found himself looking over his shoulder, at times turning completely around, expecting a pair of demonic eyes to look at him, followed closely by the blood stained maw.
Turning around, Silas gasped as he walked into a tree. Startled, Silas quickly stepped back, heart pounding against his rib cage in start. Upon realizing it was just a tree, Silas calmed some, face flushing at being bested by a tree.
Moving to walk past the tree, Silas paused as his steel eyes looked upon the ground, chuckling softly.
"It is funny, is it not? That you were the one that needed protection from the darkness, and I was your light. Now, however, it is I that needs protection from the demons in the murk." Silas commented, laughing, voice shaking as he looked to his side and saw Anaya standing by him.
"Are you lost? I think you are lost. You should not be here." Silas commented quickly, shaking slightly as Anaya frowned largely in confusion.
"You are too light for this darkness. If you were a grey, you would be allowed to stay, but since you are white I think you are lost." Silas spoke, flinching away as Anaya tried to touch him. Startled, Anaya pulled her hand away, eyes hurt and pained from the rejection.
"I saw your eyes bleed! You, whom had taunted me daily unknowingly for years you-you still taunt me in my dreams! I saw you and that-that demon! You are not my Duchess. You are too light for the shadows of this word and do not belong here! Begone, spirit! Stop torturing me so!" Silas hissed, Anaya shaking her head profusely.
"Lies! You are just a puppet for that monster that has forsaken Christ and caused his eyes to bleed like tears!" Silas whimpered, flinching away violently as Anaya approached, the woman retracting her hand once more.
"Do not touch me, shade! I-I shall have no more of your vile taint!" Silas spoke, frantic as his back pressed tightly against a tree.
"Touch me not! Your flesh is poison! Vile, sinful poison!" Silas spat, visibly shaking as closed his eyes as the woman's small hand approached his face, breath ragged.
"Vile treachery!" Silas cried weakly, feeling the warmth of her small hand gently caress his face, a deep breath escaping the man as he slowly opened his eyes.
"I see your face. I know your face." Silas mustered, breath hitching slightly as Anaya smiled, eyes shining brightly, as if blue stars among the moon's light.
"Why do you weep, m'lady?" Silas asked, Anaya smiling sadly as she claps his face gently with her small hands and shook her head.
"Anaya, why do you despair?" Silas asked once again, voice soft as he gently brushed a tear from her pale cheek.
"I can fix it, my lady. By God, whatever it is I have done wrong I shall mend it in your honor." Silas whispered softly, gently tilting Anaya's chin up so that she could look at him.
"This I promise you, Anaya."
At this, Anaya sighed softly, smiling sadly as she shook her head, and tenderly kissed her champion's cheek before stepping away.
"Anaya? My Duchess, do not walk away! Do not walk away and leave my heart yearning! O, horror!" Silas cried in dismay, struggling to follow his Duchess into the darkness, his eyes barely able to see the white of her dress through the murk.
"Do not forsake me, my sweet lady! Do not forsake me! Please! Please, I implore you!" Silas cried, wild in his desperation to keep up with her.
Pausing to gasp for breath, Silas looked around to see nothing but darkness in the forest and the slivers of moonlight. He knew that wherever Anaya had went, he had long lost her.
"I do not understand. Why do you come and give me faith only to oh, so, cruelly rip it out of my chest? Have I displeased you that much?" Silas asked, looking around desperately for any sign of Anaya, but found none. He could feel his very heart break.
Sighing in defeat, Silas continued to walk through the forest, occasionally stumbling over a rock or branch.
Passing a tree, Silas jumped slightly upon seeing a shadowed figure, and panicking, instinctively reached for his sword that just wasn't there. It was then Silas had noticed that the figure was indeed Anaya, her white dress hazy and worn.
"My lady! Oh, you gave me quite a freight! I had thought that you were a banshee." Silas admitted, Anaya making a breathless laugh as she shook her head, and gently grabbed Silas' hand.
"Where are you leading me?" Silas asked, allowing the woman to lead him gently.
"I am confused. How can you feel so...warm, so alive yet you are...dead? Are you a spirit? Is that what you are?" Silas asked, receiving no answer but a reassuring smile.
Silas had no idea how long she had led him, but had known that by the shifting of the moon that it must have lasted for an hour.
The pair had wondered until the sound of running water had reached Silas' ears, and his nostrils flared upon smelling a scent that was yet too faint to define. Among the sound of running water, Silas could swear that he heard voices, hushed and panicked.
"Where are we, Anaya?" Silas asked, Anaya pointing toward the small creek. It was then the smell hit him. The most horrid smell that stayed on one for weeks even if they had just encountered it once. The smell of death.
"What is the meaning of this?" Silas looked at Anaya, looking for any sign of deceit, but could find none.
"Not mine...this blood is not mine..."
Silas ears perked up upon hearing the voice, and it took him only a second to realize who it was.
"Rorek...you brought me to Rorek?" Silas asked, Anaya nodding, pointing once more toward the stream. Though Silas couldn't see Rorek, he guessed that the Necromancer was just around the bend.
"And what do you w-" Silas was cut off upon finding Anaya gone once more.
"I wish I had my sword." Silas muttered, cautiously approaching the man.
Emerging from the forest, Silas' eyes fell upon the man kneeling on the edge of the stream, washing his hands in the water in a constant, frantic motion.
"Not mine...not mine..."
"...Rorek?" Silas asked, Rorek halting in his actions as his head snapped up towards the knight.
"...What are you doing?"
"Washing the taint from my hands. But they will not come clean, much to my dismay!" Rorek answered, Silas unsure how to react.
"You appear...troubled. Like you are a corpse." Silas commented, noticing the large bags under his eyes.
"Troubled? That is one way to put it." Rorek muttered, Silas keeping his distance.
"I do not like the tone in your voice."
"Yours is no better. You are on the verge of cracking, boy." Rorek stated, resuming to clean his hands. They appeared as if they they were rubbed raw.
"I assume Ember is safe?"
"That is correct." Silas stated. "And there is another."
"The one that started that forest fire?"
"Yes." Silas answered, hearing Rorek grunt.
"And are you going to slay that one as well?"
"No. Though he has reason to slay me."
"How so?"
"The dragon I murdered was his mate. And he knows not."
"Keep it that way." Rorek commented, Silas falling silent as he stared at the man.
"You have a lot in common with him, but I see one major difference: you do not mourn the loss of your love. Tell me: why do you not mourn?" Silas asked, Rorek falling silent.
"Because now is not the time to mourn. Have you heard the wolves of war howling? They are the harbingers, and they shall bring upon us death."
"You speak madness..."
"Madness? I speak the truth. A war is coming, Silas. The Duke shall not let his daughter's death go unpunished. As we speak, he is planning to attack Regensburg and dethrone the King."
"The King is letting him build an army?"
"Your King is sadistic. The moment he begins to see William as a threat, the sooner he will squash the rebel forces like a bug under his heel. William needs more men, Silas. He cannot win this war by himself."
"You...want to join?"
"I am guilty as much as you are. My actions have caused all this, and I shall not abandon these people, shall not forsake them. Can you get the dragons on our side? With the drakes on our side, we would surely defeat Eamon's forces."
"I...no. It is too risky. Ember is too weak, and Spyro...does not care for humans." Silas answered, Rorek sighing.
"They we are on our own."
"We?"
"Yes. Shall you not fight?"
"I wish, but...I do not have my sword..."
"I was wondering when you would realize that you have lost your blade." Rorek muttered, Silas looking at the man with skepticism.
"I beg your pardon?"
"I believe this is yours." Rorek spoke, Silas' eyes widening in disbelief as Rorek had removed the blade from under his robe.
"You...how?"
"I looked for you, and you were not there. Instead, I found this."
"You unnerve me." Silas faltered, quickly grabbing his sword and pointing the blade toward Rorek.
"And this is how you show gratitude? How rude."
"Quiet! I saw...I saw what you have done to that man! You-you tore him open like an animal!" Silas spat, Rorek's eyes showing some for of understanding.
"So you fear me?"
"I do. I fear you. I fear you because I do not know where your loyalties lie. I fear you because you do not mourn like a man. I fear you because I saw something from the moment we met-something in your eyes that was not right. And now I see that the darkness in your eyes has grown stronger. Why is that? What devilry has possessed you?!"
"My loyalties are to Anaya. And since she was loyal to you in life, I shall be loyal to you. I have proved my loyalty and shall continue to do so by fighting in this war. I refuse...to have Anaya, my child, become injustices of history." Rorek spoke, voice calm, though containing a hidden venom.
"You, however, choose to aid dragons rather your own countrymen."
"No. You lie."
"I do not lie unlike you, who have fallen into hypocrisy." Rorek hissed, Silas' sword arm shaking as he diverted his gaze.
"You shame me." Silas whispered, drawing back his sword as Rorek got up, his knees cracking, which caused Silas to flinch.
"I am sorry for questioning your loyalties." Silas apologized, Rorek sighing as he shrugged his shoulders.
"I forgive you, my friend. I shall follow you until the bitter end, wherever that may lead us."
"I am glad, friend." Silas smiled, Rorek void of emotion.
"Silas?"
"Yes?"
"I...was not myself today. What I was when I killed Mordred...that was not me. Would you care to carry out a task for me?" Rorek asked, Silas hesitant.
"What is it, may I ask?"
"If I ever lose myself..." Silas became uncomfortable as Rorek approached him. "You do not waist any time in ending my life." Rorek whispered, pointing Silas' sword over his heart.
"Make this black heart cease to beat, my friend, before it stops yours."
"Why...why are you saying this?"
"Because I fear the next time I see you, it shall not be me." Rorek stated, Silas greatly disturbed as Rorek turned and casually walked away.
"Good Lord, what have I gotten myself into?" Silas asked, following Rorek, who seemed to know where he was going. Silas, however, never dared to turn his gaze from the man.
Ember's eyes darted from side to side in worry, her posture rigid and alert as she waited with anxiety and worry for her friend to return.
"Ohh, where are you, Silas?" Ember asked, noticing how the moon had almost fully retreated behind the mountains.
"I hope Silas is okay. Something seemed to have really frightened him." Ember voiced her worries aloud. Ever Since her friend had run off she had not been able to fall back to sleep. She would have followed the human, but her wounds slowed her down, and the knight quickly ran out of her sight. Who knew someone in full armor could run so fast.
Ember stood there, ever vigilant as she nervously awaited his return. Who knew what horrible, evil creatures Silas ran into in the dark? What if he was injured and needed help? The thoughts plagued Ember's mind, filling the dragoness with guilt.
"Oh, Ancestors! Spyro, I thi...Spyro?" Ember asked, confused to find the purple dragon nowhere in sight.
"Spyro? Spyro! Ancestors, where did he go?" Ember wondered aloud, the thought briefly crossing her mind that Spyro had gone after Silas in the darkness, to hunt him. She couldn't help the feeling of cold fear strike her chest.
"No, no. Spyro would never do that..." Ember muttered, laughing nervously as she shook her head.
Looking around, Ember noticed a small cave at the base of a rocky slope.
"Strange...was that always there?" Ember asked, but mentally scolded herself for asking such a stupid question.
Curiously, Ember approached the mouth of the cave, sniffing around the entrance. Ember's eyes lit up upon smelling Spyro's familiar scent, the dragoness looking behind herself briefly incase Silas emerged from the wood. Upon finding no one, Ember descended into the cave.
The dragoness' eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness as she followed the path, Ember's curiosity growing upon seeing a growing flame around the rocky corner.
Reaching the end of the cave, Ember walked into a rather large opening, and in the center of the cavern, was a nest.
"Oh, my goodness!" Ember gasped, smiling upon seeing several eggs underneath a layer rock, the rocks burning and smoldering to provide the eggs heat, yet to protect them from the full brunt of the flame. Laying curled around the nest, was Spyro.
In joy and curiosity, Ember approached the nest, Spyro's head snapping up as he growled, baring his fangs as his pupils gained a predatory sharpness.
"Spyro, it's okay! It's me, Ember!" Ember spoke, voice quavering as she backed up. She could feel the air thicken in the small cave from the dangerous situation.
"Oh...Ember? I...I'm sorry." Spyro replied, his pupils returning to a more docile look as he lowered his head.
"H-how many do you have?"
"Two. Three didn't make it." Spyro replied sadly, shutting his eyes tightly.
"Dead? H...How?"
"When Cynder never came back, I decided to look for her. I thought I wouldn't be gone long, that the eggs would be safe, but...the flame died."
"But...the two eggs are okay, right? They'll live?" Ember asked, not understanding how such a horrible fate could befallen on life that had not been born yet.
"They're heartbeats are weak, Ember." Spyro replied, making a movement as if to nuzzle the nest.
"I didn't want to bring him here, but I couldn't stay away from the nest any longer."
"Him? You mean Silas? Why?"
"He's human, Ember. I don't want my children in any danger."
"Silas is no threat to us!"
"To you, maybe, but not my family!" Spyro hissed.
"You don't know him." Ember resorted, a calmness to her voice as smoke flowed from Spyro's maw.
"You didn't see what they did to Cynder. If you did, then you would understand why humans cannot be trusted." Spyro growled, a knot of dread forming in the dragoness' stomach.
"Wha...what did he do?"
"He?"
"What? I mean...have you ever seen any female humans hunting us? They are all males. Is something wrong?" Ember quickly asked, hoping her kin didn't detect the quaver in her voice.
"It's...nothing. It just sounded like...you knew...the human that killed her."
"Oh, well I did! He was the one that was hunting me. I forget his name...it was one of those funny human names. It started with an M. But, anyway, we don't have to worry about him hunting us anymore, because he died in that nasty forest fire."
"The one human that was burned in the clearing?" Spyro asked, Ember nodding.
"So...what did he...do?" Ember asked, quickly adding, "You don't have to tell me if it is too painful."
"They...they severed her wing, and cut off her talons. I saw a human dead first, and then I saw others. Many others with their riding animals. The...the ground was so thick with blood it was hard to move. And in the center of it all...I saw her. I saw my Cynder, covered in blood and desecrated like she was an animal!" Spyro roared, his voice rising in anger as hot tears poured down his snout.
"N...no..." Ember breathed, her voice barely but a whisper as her eyes welled, the dams breaking.
"They...they robbed me of my love, Ember. But worst of all...the took away the mother of my children, the one that had bore my children out of love, the-the one that was looking forward to their hatching, and their elements, and their flying lessons." Spyro broke off, sucking in air.
"But now...that future is gone."
"No. No, it isn't. Do you hear that?" Ember asked softly, Spyro looking at the dragoness in confusion.
"Hear what?"
"Life." Ember answered, lowering her head down to the ground to hear the chicks beginning to squeak, Spyro's eyes going wide.
"No...i-impossible..."
The flame began to die down on the rocky nest as the cries became more frequent, Spyro now standing up in excitement.
"Oh, Ancestors, what do I do!? If only Cynder were here!"
"Patience, silly. We wait." Ember replied, giggling slightly as the pair anxiously waited, Spyro pacing around the small cavern nervously.
A half hour passed, and the eggs had still yet to fully hatch. By now, the two eggs had been cracked open, the egg tooth on the drakeling's snouts breaking through their eggshells.
"W-what if they can't get out on their own? What if they are stuck in there?" Spyro asked, frantic as Ember shhed him.
"Be quiet, Spyro. This takes time."
A full hour passed until the chicks fully busted out of their prisons, the hatchlings crying and snapping at one another.
"My...my babies..." Spyro muttered in disbelief as he lowered his head toward them.
The hatchlings playfully bit at their father, their sharp teeth drawing blood as Spyro pulled away.
"Ow!" Spyro cried, Ember laughing as footsteps resounded off the walls of the cave.
Instantly, Spyro's pupils turned sharp and narrow as he roared, his hatchlings flailing in distress.
"Spyro, stop! It's only Silas! It's only Silas!"
"I told you they were in here!" Rorek exclaimed, Silas following closeby, shaken by the male dragon's roar.
"I do not understand how you are not fazed."
"When you travel, you learn to lack fear."
"Ember?" Silas called out, hearing the dragoness' shouts, but unable to understand them.
"Are you two doing any...dragonly...things?" Silas asked, now taking small, almost baby like steps as the thought came across him mind that he might be interrupting something.
"Dragonly is not a word." Rorek stated dryly.
"I know dragonly is not a word. I made it up." Silas whispered swiftly.
"But I do not know how to...say it otherwise." Silas admitted softly, Rorek rolling his eyes.
"Oh, for the love of-are you two mating?!" Rorek asked, his voice echoing off the walls and amplifying his voice. He was answered back by a shrill roar, which he had to guess was from the male dragon.
"...that is either an answer for 'no' or an answer for 'yes'."
"Well, are not you a genius." Rorek responded, sarcasm dripping off his voice.
"Wait! Do you hear that?" Silas asked, the pair falling silent.
"It sounds like...running? Their claws are scraping against the stone but it sounds...uneven."
The men looked at each other oddly, both tensing as the odd noise got closer. Before either men could react, a small, lizard like creature emerged from the shadows and lunged.
"Good God, they had BABIES!" Silas cried, Rorek screaming as the chick bit into his calf.
"Get it off! Get it off!" Rorek cried, flailing his leg around as the hatchling refused to let go, growling in play.
"Play dead! It will not eat you if you play dead!"
"Silas, this...is not a bear!"
"It might work!" Silas shouted, eyes widening as another chick emerged from the shadows.
"Cy...Cynder?" Silas barely stuttered, feeling all the blood drain from his face in cold fear as the chick lunged.
Attack of the baby dragons! Yay! On a serious note, am I the only one that thinks Ember is siding with Silas a little too much? All of the characters are turning into liars. Also, I'm not sure what the fate of Spyro's children will be, and I cannot see him being friends with Silas or Rorek(or any human) anytime soon. Well, that's all for now. Thank you for reading thus far and please review! :)