I LIIIIIIVE!

Oddly enough, I was watching Mulan while writing this chapter.

Chapter 4 - Take it from Moneybags

Moneybags was a bear of few goals in life since his main mindset is always focused on making more money. He would do anything just to gain another gem—aside from maybe giving his own life. But he was even willing to affiliate with one of Avalar's newest and most dangerous threats: Ripto. But after hearing what his two henchmen had to say, Moneybags' view on the tyrant quickly went from intimidating to downright confusing.

"Let me get this straight," Moneybags began as he waited in Summer Forest for certain purple dragon to come back, and ask for more lessons in a another feat he would probably need for later, "You're saying that Ripto—your master, evil wizard, and tyrannical king that threatens to destroy everything—needs friendship advice? And not only that, but you're asking me for said advice?"

Crush and Gulp nodded in sync, hoping that they've pleaded their case well enough for the greedy bear to understand the situation.

"Why in all the realms would Ripto want to make a friend when he's far more advanced in making enemies?" Moneybags questioned in disbelief.

The two henchmen exchanged glances before growling and grunting something about a curse.

"A curse, eh? And I presume the curse needs to be broken by Ripto's 'friend'?"

Crush and Gulp nodded once more, this time with more desperation.

Moneybags grinned, "Well—I am fairly skilled at smooth talking people into getting what I want, so perhaps I could convince Ripto and this 'friend' to see eye to eye. For a small fee, of course."

Ripto was merely roaming the halls while searching for Crush and Gulp, who seemed to have mysteriously disappeared, when he stepped out onto a balcony that has been baking in the warm and bright midday sun. He had to admit that the warmth and gentle breeze felt nice against his rough skin, which had been battered and worn through dark deeds years back.

But when Ripto opened his eyes and glanced down at the courtyard, he noticed Esther trotting about the grass and picking flowers, even bundling them up into a bouquet in one of her paws. He couldn't recall asking her to perform any outdoor chores, so he hurried to the nearest set of stairs.

Meanwhile, Esther was picking a small bunch of violet lilacs, and took a gentle whiff of their sweet smell. She turned around to head back into the castle, but was immediately greeted by Ripto's cold glare and grossed arms.

"What're you doing?" Ripto sneered.

"Oh, sorry! I was picking flowers to put around the castle," Esther replied nervously.

"Why?"

"Well, the air inside is a little—stagnant, so I thought I'd bring some flowers in to freshen it up."

"I wish I could appreciate your offer, but flowers are demeaning for a powerful king like me. Get rid of them."

Esther stuttered as she watched Ripto turn to leave, "B-But-."

"Now!" Ripto scolded while whipping back around to bare his teeth, which shocked Esther. She stood in silence as they locked eyes, and she shuddered when she saw his grip on his scepter tighten.

"Fine," Esther squeaked in fear, and set the flowers down in a heap before walking back into the castle with her head hung low. Once she was gone, Ripto angry expression transformed to that of remorse, as he sighed let his shoulder droop a little.

"That's not how you speak to a lady, you know." Ripto's eyes popped wide at the sudden and stuck up voice, to which he turned and saw the infamous Moneybags approaching with Crush and Gulp. Instead of focusing on Moneybags' intrusion, Ripto instantly set his fiery gaze on Crush and Gulp.

"Where have you two been?!" Ripto snapped.

"They went out looking for me, and for good reason. I hear you need help, Mr. Ripto," Moneybags cut in as carefully as he could, as to not anger Ripto even more.

"What makes you think I'd want your help, fat bear?" Ripto growled and prepared to use his scepter.

"Negativities aside, these two have informed me that you are struggling with a friendship problem."

"Who died and made you the princess of friendship?"

"They also mentioned that you need her to break a curse."

Ripto's glare widened into surprise for a mere second, before he glared daggers at Crush and Gulp again, "You told him?!"

"Relax, they didn't say what the curse did or who cast it. They only said that you need help," Moneybags was quick to defend them, "And I can help you."

Ripto sneered, "I'm not asking how because I'm curious, but so I can judge your pathetic idea."

Moneybags rolled his eyes, "Be that as it may, I'm quite active in my social life, and my powers of persuasion are uncanny—just ask my countless patrons."

"Can you stop gloating over your little tax collection, and just tell me what your stupid plan is already?"

"Certainly," Moneybags mused with a grin, "But just remember that when me plan works-."

"If it works!" Ripto hissed while pushing the glowing crystal on his scepter into Moneybags' face.

The said bear merely poked the crystal away, "If it works, you will owe me."

After Moneybags had explained to Ripto that he must begin with a more gentle approach, he became quite reluctant when he found out that Crush and Gulp had prepared the dining table for a fancy dinner.

"What's all this pansy stuff for? I'm not trying to woo her," Ripto grumbled and grimaced at the fancy candles and silverware.

"The best way to get onto a lady's good side is to treat her like a beautiful and delicate flower. Courtship isn't always necessary when trying to appeal to someone's better nature," Moneybags explained firmly, "And since you are the one trying to prove to her that you are not a monster-I mean, brute—I-I mean…um…"

"That's not exactly helping my image," Ripto deadpanned.

"Right, well—ahem! I was going to say that you should invite her to dinner. Show her that you have good hospitality."

"I already gave her a good room. Why do I have to give her a better dietary plan, too?"

"It just means that you have kindness."

Ripto's face scrunched up into another scowl, "Kindness didn't help me get what I wanted in life."

Moneybags stared back nonchalantly, "It certainly isn't what got into this situation."

Crush and Gulp's eyes went wide at Moneybags' remark, for they knew Ripto wasn't happy to hear that. It only served as a reminder of what he did in the past. But he remained calm nonetheless.

"Fine," Ripto growled before making his way down the hall and up the stairs to Esther's bedroom, but he stood in silence and fear when he reached his destination. After the way he treated her today, albeit not a surprise, was still quite rude. He didn't want to admit it, but Ripto felt guilty and even more worried with how she would react to seeing him again.

But he eventually gathered his courage, took a deep breath in, and gently knocked on the door, "Um…Dragon, I was wondering…well, you know, despite what happened today…oh, this isn't working. Look, I just wanted to see if you…i-if you wanted…to…oh, just answer me already!"

Ripto pushed the door open violently, but was shocked when he found that Esther was nowhere in sight. What he did see, though, was that the bed sheets and blankets had been tied into a long rope, one end attached to the frame of the bed, and the other hanging out of the window. He rushed to the window, and just he expected, the other end of the makeshift rope reached the ground below.

It wasn't easy to see much now that night had fallen, but Ripto could still see a portal in the distance. If his instincts were correct, then that was exactly where Esther went. But what really scared him was that he knew how dangerous the world on the other side of that portal could be.

Esther sprinted until her lungs burned and her claws dug grooves in the ground, even when she entered a portal that led to a new world called "Colossus." The ground was ice cold and covered in many large mounds of snow, and large icicles hung from the structures built here.

If she wasn't running for her life, she would be able to marvel at how the snow twinkled perfectly under the light of the moon and stars. But she knew she could have more time for that later. She had to find Spyro first. After Ripto had yelled at her earlier that day, she sulked in her room but saw Spyro run across the yard and enter the portal. So, she escaped and followed him, hoping to find him and get rescued.

But after searching for a while, and not having found any trace of Spyro, Esther began to lose hope and fear that it may be too late. And if she doesn't find a way out soon, Ripto was sure to find her. Finding a way out would be easier said than done, though, for her vision hadn't adjusted to the dark yet, despite the moon's illumination. She squinted in an attempt to see the large objects lying still in the distance, but there was a large gap in the way. Normally, gliding would be the best option for getting over it, but Esther hadn't forgotten about the magical ring keeping her wings bound to her sides.

But she remembered how Spyro complimented her charging skills, so she backed up quite a bit before running as fast as she could. She jumped with all her might, and just barely made it as she clung to the other edge. She clawed at the icy wall with her back feet until she pulled herself up, and slowly approached the large objects ahead.

"Hello?" Esther called out and took another step closer, only to stop dead in her tracks when the largest object stood up and revealed itself to be a yak, while the two smaller objects around it were rams with giant sets of horns. She could tell that they did like her company, due to the way their nostrils flared and hooves stomped.

Esther immediately turned tail and ran away, but the Yak and goats didn't hesitate to chase after her. They chased her out onto a huge lake that had been completely frozen over, and she skid across when she tried to stop. She hoped that their hooves would make them slide across the ice just as far, but they knew the land better than she did and easily caught up.

She tried to run away, but her claws slid across the slippery ice, allowing the yak to catch up first and ram her. The momentum sent her flying across the lake, and bouncing over the short wooden barrier. Once again, she just barely avoided falling by clinging to the edge, and she didn't dare to look down at her cloudy doom below.

The yak soon approached the edge, and threatened to stomp at her claws to make her let go. But just as he raised one hoof, a powerful blast hit him from the side, sending him colliding into a nearby wall and knocking him unconscious.

Esther quickly began climbing back up to see who her savior was, but was both thankful and fearful when she saw none other than Ripto, scepter blazing with power, preparing to fight the angry rams. He hastily fired at the first one to charge, knocking it out cold as it slid to the other side of the lake. But while he was distracted with the first ram, the other one used the opportunity to ram him into another wall. The impact wasn't strong enough to make Ripto knock him unconscious, but it was enough to make his skull rattle and blur his vision.

The remaining ram scraped its hoof on the ice before charging, horns lowered and breath heaving. But just as the ram began to pick up speed, Esther had already managed to pull herself to safety and jumped up onto the ram's back. She bit down hard on the ram's ear, causing it to cry in pain and avert its attention from Ripto to Esther. It did what it could to buck her off, and she jumped off just before the ram failed to notice that it was heading right for another wall.

Before the ram could comprehend what was happening, it ran into the wall with full-on speed and accidentally lodged its horns deep into the wall. It tried to dislodge itself, but soon gave up and bleated in defeat.

Esther then realized that this was her chance to escape, and she was just about to get back to her original goal of finding a way back to Summer Forest when she looked back at Ripto. He was still struggling to regain his bearings, as he shakily attempted to stand back up, only to collapse back down.

Esther looked up and noticed dark and thick clouds approaching, which could only mean that there was likely going to be a snowstorm. And there were likely going to be more territorial yaks and rams around as well. She couldn't just leave him here. She wouldn't.

She made her way over to Ripto, and gently took one of his hands in her claws. Although his eyes still rolled around uncontrollably, Ripto could barely make out Esther's shape as she looked him right in the eyes.

"I'm going to help you, but you need to get up," Esther whispered softly, to which Ripto understood. He said nothing as he grunted, grasping Esther's paw even tighter as he wobbly stood back up. But he instantly lost balance again, so Esther had to let him lean against her. She picked up his scepter in her jaws, and carefully and slowly led Ripto back to Summer Forest, all while holding his hand.

When Esther and Ripto returned, the sky had been blanketed by the blue and purple colors of twilight. Moneybags had left by now, but Crush and Gulp had been waiting up for their master ever since he disappeared. They were both surprised to see him limping alongside Esther, as he groaned and gripped his head in pain.

Gulp was quick to take Ripto off of Esther's shoulder, and carry him the rest of the way to his chambers. Gulp carefully laid Ripto flat in his bed, but the latter was still groaning in pain.

"Get…out…" Ripto grumbled while rolling onto his side, and turned his back to the others.

Gulp and Crush were just about to leave when Esther stepped forward, and placed her front paws on the bed. The two were fearful as to how Ripto would react to Esther's disobedience.

"Where does it hurt most?" Esther finally spoke, as she scanned Ripto for any major injuries. Luckily, she found none.

"I-I said…get out…ugh!" Ripto grunted before gripping his forehead in immense pain. Esther took that as a surefire sign that his head was causing the most pain, so she carefully placed one paw on his shoulder to roll him back over, and the other paw on his forehead. She closed her eyes and concentrated solely on resonating magic.

Soon enough, Esther's claws glowed with a soft green aura, and it engulfed Ripto's head with a few shimmering sparkles. Gulp and Crush watched in bewilderment, as Ripto's grunting soon turned into sighs of relief. He lowered his hand and stared up at the ceiling, his eyes no longer rolling, his vision much clearer, and his head no longer throbbing.

He looked at Esther when she removed her paw and the green glow dissipated, but immediately sat up and turned away when he realized his moment of weakness.

"How did you do that?" he growled without facing her.

"It's something I learned from some wizards in Magic Crafters. I'm not nearly as good as them, though. I can only heal simple things, like scrapes and bruises," Esther gently explained while examining the paw she used to heal Ripto, "It's a good thing that ram didn't cause more damage. And, well…"

Ripto cocked a brow at Esther's awkward pause, and he hopped off of his bed and grabbed his scepter, "Well, what?"

"Thank you for saving me. And I'm sorry. You wouldn't have gotten hurt if I hadn't run away in the first place."

Ripto stared with a softer expression. He couldn't understand why she was apologizing after the way he treated her earlier.

"Why did you go to Colossus anyway?" Ripto couldn't help but ask.

"I saw Spyro go through the portal, so I tried to follow him," Esther sighed while sitting on her haunches.

"So that you could be rescued," Ripto added matter-of-factly, to which Esther nodded in response, "Look, I—regret how I acted towards you. I hope we can put it behind us."

Crush and Gulp couldn't believe it. That was the closest thing to a willing apology they had ever heard from their brutal master. Esther looked up at Ripto, and although it wasn't much, she could see the tiniest twinge of remorse in his eyes.

So, she smiled a little and lifted her head, "I think I can do that, but only if you promise to take it easy for a little while. I won't be able to heal you if you hurt yourself even more."

Ripto scoffed, "I didn't ask for your concern."

"You don't need to." Esther then started to leave the room, but stopped in the doorway and looked back at Ripto. "Goodnight."

Without another word, she disappeared out the doorway, and left Ripto and his cronies in stunned silence. It was just so amazing how forgiving she could be. But despite everything that happened today, Ripto felt that he made progress. He also felt that Crush and Gulp have over welcomed their stay during the whole conversation.

"What're you buffoons looking at?" Ripto growled and sent cold glares towards his minions, to which they immediately scurried out of his room. At least Ripto got the push they were hoping for.

I couldn't write this without making a chapter in homage to the classic scene from Beauty and the Beast, where Beast saves Belle from the wolves. It's just too brilliant not to be inspired by it. Right?

Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!