CHAPTER 5

Xenith and his family immediately followed the elders to the temple to see what could be done about his daughter. A normal schoolyard scrap was one thing, but a massive display of dark power was quite different. Xenith walked quickly to the elders and demanded to know when his daughter would be released.

"Elder Kairo is evaluating her now. We will not allow evil in our village. If found, it must be purged immediately." Gafron sneered, the concern for his daughters wellbeing now no more than an afterthought.

"She is not evil!"

Just as Xenith was held back by his wife and son, Kairo entered the room and addressed her concerned parents.

"She appears to have befriended an apparition only visible to herself. She claims that you also acknowledged the existence of a 'Mr. B'?" He asked

"Well yes, but it was just her imaginary friend." He reasoned

"She said that this 'Mr. B' told her it would be ok to attack Gafrons daughter."

"It looks like an unstable home life is responsible for this." Gafron interjected to the increasing anger of Xenith.

He lunged at him but was caught by his son, who was struggling to keep him from tearing Gafron apart.

He flinched but recovered and commented

"This type of anger cannot be accepted if he is to be our leader. A good leader must keep a level head at all times." He said smiling as the elders nodded.

"This is ridiculous! Let me see my daughter at once!"

Elder Trias entered the room and hostilities ceased.

"There will be an examination of the girl at sunset. If she has darkness in her soul, we will find it." He spoke softly. It was said to be an honor to hear him speak at all, but no consolation to the injustice being done here.

The towns dwellers were terrified of evil spirits, and anything aligned with the darkness. A plague had descended on the dragon species two generations before, thought to be caused by dark magic and those associated with it. During the mass hysteria, as the public searched for someone to blame, the outcasts and undesirables were killed en mass to try and appease the Creator. Thousands died from the plague and pestilence. Though order had long since been restored, fear and chaos of another outbreak rested just beneath the surface of the minds of all dragons old enough to remember its horrors. Evil, even if in the form of a child, must be purged from society, lest they anger the Creator and repeat the hell of years past.

RIA (after talking with Kairo)

The rest of that morning was just a sobful blur as Ria was interrogated and then taken to the temple. She was locked in a small cell that was barely fit for a hardened criminal, let alone a little girl. There was a small barred window, high above her where dim light managed to filter through. Ria huddled in the cleanest part of the cell, alone and confused as every now and then, one of the guards would peer into her cell and wonder why they had been ordered to imprison a child. Rats were her only companion, and they were easily the length and twice the width of her tail. Thankfully, they paid her no attention as they seemed more concerned with eating what appeared to be the previous occupant of her current residence. She could barely stand the smell as she covered her sensitive nose with her wings. Tears stained her face as she closed her eyes, flushing out ever more as she heard a familiar voice.

"Hello Ria..."

She opened her eyes and saw that Mr. B was standing in front of her with a look of guilt on his face.

"Where did you go? How come you didn't stop those mean people from taking me here?" She asked angrily through her fear.

He sighed and looked away from her face, pausing and strode closer.

"Ria...I had to go...because..." He trailed off before holding out his open paw to her then covering it with his other as he stood on his hind legs.

"I had to get you this!" He said happily as he opened his claws to reveal a silver necklace with a gold star and red gem charm in the center.

Even though she was in a dank, dingy prison cell, she smiled widely as he put it around her neck. No one had ever given her a gift like this before, not even her parents! Despite his mysterious disappearance, she dropped her anger with him the way only a child could after getting a gift and addressed the situation at hand.

"Now what?" She asked, her tears drying now that her friend had come back.

His face changed back to the same somber expression he wore upon entering.

"I don't want to scare you Ria, but the Elders are going...to kill you for being friends with me." He lied.

She was so shocked her jaw nearly hit the floor.

"K...kill me...?" She stammered.

"Yes Ria, that's why I'm only your friend and no one elses. Everyone else hates me, and tries to hurt the people I care about..." He frowned, there was even the glint of a tear in the corner of his eye.

"But daddy wouldn't..." She stopped mid sentence. Up until now, she knew her parents wouldnt let anything like this happen to her, but she was just arrested and thrown in jail without so much as a struggle from her mother or father. Who knows what they would let happen to her now, which scared her more than ever.

"W-what are we gonna do?" She asked beginning to cry again.

"We are busting out of here!" He said grinning mischievously.

Ria was weary of Mr. B's plans at this point, as they were the reason she was here in the first place.

"I don't know Mr. B..."

He looked at her reassuringly and spoke.

"Ria I'm your friend, I know I made a mistake here, but at least let me make it up to you. Dont you trust me?" He said grinning.

There were daggers in his smile.

She nodded.

"Good, I know exactly how to escape."

"How?"

"Just close your eyes, and we'll be outside!" He said happily.

She was reluctant, but closed them. After all, what did she have to lose?

His tail tip glowed purple once more, and he grinned sadisticly as before.

"So it begins..." He whispered.

As he was about to enter her body when the door lock clanged open and he looked at the door. A guard was coming through it. He cursed his luck and disappeared as Ria opened her eyes.

"...Mr. B...?"

"Time for your trial." He said keeping his spear trained on her. He had been told he would die if he so much as touched her.

"Come quickly. The Inquisitors await!"

Ria slowly walked on her shaking legs out the door, kept at spears length from her escorts. She was immediately shackled and led to the ritualistic council chambers as the trial began. For those who remembered the heresy trials of years past, no one accused was ever found innocent...

Her life was now in the claws of four paid off, superstitious elders, an old head elder whose time for sensible rule had long since passed, and one evil megalomaniac. If a miracle was to come, it had better come quickly.

xXx

Jerrath couldn't eat. he sat and stared blankly at the food before him, as his parents did in silence. You never realize how important someone is in your life until they are gone, and for him, he was slowly realizing this. His parents had always gotten onto him about being nicer to his sister, or even recognizing her as his sibling, but he never did. He never tried, not in the least in fact. It was cold outside as winter began to set in. The sun was still high in the sky, and unbeknownst to them, little Ria's trial for heresy would soon begin.

Jerrath excused himself and went to his room and sat down on his bed. How could this have happened? There was no way his sister was evil, and no way she knew how to use dark magic. Something didn't seem right about all this. He looked out of his window and onto the town before feeling tired as he then laid on his bed. He felt himself drift off to sleep, the worry for his little sister heavy on his mind for the first time he could remember. He began to sleep, but the dream this day would be quite different from any other he had experienced before.

I love dream sequences huh? sorry for the shortness of the chap, but a lot of them may be short. anyway, spyro makes his appearence next chap! and maybe even cynder! anyway, a trial for heresy! for a little girl! how could the townspeople allow this? ppl go to extreme lengths to avoid evil. stay tuned for the results! see ya!