Chapter Four: Gifts and Commitment

(Thirty Minutes Later)

Flame grunted as his body collided face first on the clearing ground of the training room while a purple dragon was weighing on the back of his entire body, his wings included, pinning him down and grasping his right arm in a tight submission lock.

Flame clenched his teeth tightly to keep from screaming as he could almost feel the slight cracking bones in his shoulder, which will ultimately lead to the point of dislocation. Nonetheless, the orange dragon started struggling from this predicament while droplets of sweat stained his face.

Momentarily, he tried to use his tail as a means of escaping this submission grip, but the purple dragon used his own tail to remedy that problem.

Meanwhile, Spyro, with droplets of sweats staining his face as well upon the thirty minute workout, was having himself a pleasurable time in this exercise, yet he tried not to get too aggressive in this task by snapping the bones in his friend's arm. In training, he believed in merciful surrender.

"Yield, Flame." He spoke.

But in Flame's case, that wasn't something that he was keened of doing.

"Hell, no!" He spoke as the struggled resumed.

Watching from the large entryway of the room were Ignitus, Cynder, and Ember. The other guardians were clearly absence at the time as the three that were presence grew impressed by both competitors.

"Well, they are both competitive and resilience, I'll give them that." Ember complimented.

Cynder nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. How long do you think they've been going at it, Ignitus?"

"For the better part of thirty minutes." He responded after a chuckle escaped his maw.

Cynder grew briefly stunned by the comment.

"Huh. Wow. And they showed no signs of giving up either. However, seeing Flame's predicament, I'm beginning to think that ceases to be true at the moment."

With her gaze fixated on the competitors, Ember shook her head.

"Nah, Flame never gives up."

Although unconvinced, Cynder shrugged her shoulders, her wings flapping slightly to that gesture, upon the comment.

"Neither does Spyro, but, um…" She started before issuing her gaze and competitive smile to Ember, who returned the gaze out of curiosity. "Five gems says that Flame punks out before or after the snap of his arm."

Feeling a bit competitive herself, Ember issued a smile and nodded.

"I'll take that bet." Ember answered.

Cynder nodded in response before they, along with Ignitus, directed their attention back to the training area.

Meanwhile, Spyro, with his hold still on the struggling orange dragon, managed to steal a glance towards the direction of Cynder and Ember and, judging by the body language originating from the two dragoness', took note of an exchange developing between them.

And upon that notice, a wide smirk appeared on the purple dragon's facial feature before directing his attention to Flame.

"Yield!" He spoke.

While struggling, Flame shook his head.

"No, no way." He spoke, defiantly. "Heroes never yield."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah."

Seeking proof of that statement, Spyro applied pressure on the submission hold while Flame cries out from the pain, yet he refused to give in to the purple dragon of prophecy.

"How 'bout now, huh?"

Once again, Flame shook his head.

"No!"

At the entryway, during the watch, Ignitus looked to the left where a medium-sized hourglass was positioned on the stand of the sidewall.

Upon notice of that last drop of sand to the bottom of the contraption, Ignitus directed his attention back to the two dragons in the training field.

"Time's up, you two!" He spoke much to the orange dragon's relief.

Yet, to Flame's notice, Spyro refused to release the hold.

"You heard him, Spyro. Time's up." Flame spoke.

Spyro shook his head.

"Nuh-uh, no, not until you yield."

With a grunt of pain escaping his maw, Flame spoke.

"Why?"

With a mischievous smirk on his face, Spyro spoke.

"Because five gems are stacked on us."

"What?!" Flame spoke, out of surprise.

And in that moment, Flame's loosened his struggle, which provided the purple dragon to apply swift pressure to the arm. And then…

SNAP!

Cynder and Ember cringed upon the resounding snap issuing from the arm followed by the painful yelp of the orange dragon while the purple dragon kept his smirk.

"Your mistake." Spyro spoke while Flame was heavily breathing in panic upon the feeling of numbness from the dislocated arm.

"Okay. Okay, I submit." He spoke in a soft tone, yet it was beyond earshot of the purple dragon.

"What?"

"I submit!!" He shouted.

Instantly, Spyro released his hold on him, which gave Flame a reprieve.

As Spyro stood up on his hind legs, he, with his left grasp to the orange dragon's good left arm, helped Flame to his feet.

At the moment, the orange dragon, still feeling the effect of numbness, was caressing his dislocated arm while issuing his defeated glare towards the purple dragon.

Spyro, with the smirk intact, took note of it and decided to speak on the matter.

"The most important rule of training is to never let your guard down." He spoke in a singsong tone.

Before Flame could speak his words, a strong, yet physical jab issued to the orange dragon's right shoulder, which as a result, relocated his arm.

Flame flinched and grunted painfully upon the action as he turned and saw that it was Ember who applied the attack. And judging by the disappointed look in her eyes, the physical attack was for a possible good reason.

"'Heroes never yield,' my ass." She spoke as Cynder, with a chuckle escaping her maw, was by Spyro's side as they watched. "I mean, really, Flame, what have you got to say for yourself?"

"Yeah, Flame, what have you got to say for yourself, huh?" Spyro teased.

Immediately, Ember pointed in his direction while the purple dragon, upon notice, instantly raised both his paws up defenselessly.

"Y-You keep out of this, Spyro." She spoke before lowering her pointing paw from his level.

"Alright, sorry." He apologized, lowering his paws afterwards before the pink dragoness directed her attention back to Flame.

"Well?" She pressed.

Panting a bit, Flame, while bracing his relocated shoulder, swallowed a bit of saliva and spoke.

"Firstly, ouch! Secondly, thank you. And finally, you and Cynder bet on us?!"

Ember nodded.

"Yeah. Now thanks to you, I'm out five gems."

"Yeah, t-to which I would expect to have whenever you get it." Cynder pointed out, with the smug smile intact.

With a nod and a gesture of her paw to indicate that she was aware of her situation, Ember spoke while her acknowledgment was intact to Flame.

"Yeah, yeah, now do me a favor and leave us, please."

Respectfully, Cynder issued a curt bow to her before she and Spyro made their leave from the training area alongside Ignitus while Ember and Flame were left to argue on today's disappointing loss.

As the three dragons, positioned on all four, waltzed the corridor, both Spyro and Cynder chuckled upon hearing the argument take place inside the training area as Ignitus took note of this with a smile.

"It appears that you two have enjoyed this."

"Ha-Ha, I'll say." Cynder spoke. "Ember might think that I'll never let her live this bet loss down."

"Likewise with Flame on the training exercise." Spyro spoke with a chuckle escaping his maw before a recent thought crossed his mind as he directed his pondering gaze to the fire guardian. "Oh, Ignitus, I've been meaning to ask you, where are the other guardians? I haven't seen them around since this morning."

"Hey, yeah, I haven't seen them either." Cynder spoke, her pondering gaze directed to the fire guardian and her thoughts mirroring her purple companion.

Ignitus issued a snicker from his maw nefore acknowledging them.

"You need not worry yourselves, young ones. Terrador and his grandson, Terradon, are spending time with each other outside of the village for the day."

Cynder nodded.

"That part was kind of obvious. What about the others?"

"Cyril and Volteer had other matters to attend to at the moment."

"Anything urgent?" Spyro questioned out of concern.

Ignitus shook his head.

"Nothing of that nature that I am aware of, no."

With a breath of relief escaping their maw in unison, Spyro and Cynder diverted their gaze forward.

"Thanks the ancestors. The last thing that I need is another trip to save the world." Spyro spoke.

Instantly, to Cynder's notice, Ignitus issued his gaze to the purple dragon with a creased right brow as the purple dragon noticed and got on subject on the matter.

"I mean, don't get me wrong. I do not doubt my destiny. It's great and all, but it can also be tiring at times."

"Okay, see, that I agree on." Cynder spoke.

With his attention directed forward, Ignitus issued a nod.

"Perhaps you are right. Maybe you two are in need of rest."

Spyro and Cynder directed their gaze forward and nodded in agreement.

"Maybe you're right." They both spoke as they resumed down the corridor.

It was the beginning of the evening as Spyro and Cynder, whom has recently separated themselves from Ignitus in the corridor a few hours ago, were standing in the middle of their quarters in silence with common thoughts protruding in their minds.

It was time for the two lovers to administer their surprising gifts to each other; neither one knowing what gift is granted to them at the moment, yet were excited to see otherwise.

"So where is it?" Cynder asked, excitement masking her facial feature.

Silence occupied the purple dragon's maw as well as the smile that graced his feature.

"Close your eyes." He spoke softly.

Although slightly disappointed, Cynder complied by slowing closing her eyes.

At that moment, Spyro quietly made his way towards the nearby cabinet where the small box was occupied in.

Spyro opened the box and, with his left paw, took out the golden necklace hidden inside. Afterwards, he closed the box, placed it inside the cabinet and silently closed the double doors before making his way back to his beloved.

As he advanced quietly towards her, he slowly, yet silently positioned the necklace delicately around her neck.

The cold sensation of the jewelry caused the black dragoness to shiver at the moment, yet she kept her eyes closed as Spyro, upon close observation of the necklace around his beloved, took a few steps back from her position.

"Okay. Open your eyes."

As soon as Cynder opened her eyes and looked down, a surprising gasp escaped her maw upon the sight of the sparkling jewelry around her neck. Although, she noticed that it seems identical to the one that she will present to him momentarily, she was still marveled over the feature of the jewelry.

"By the ancestors." She spoke softly.

She took the pendant of the jewelry by her left paw and could clearly see the moonlight gracing itself around the golden pendant.

The sight of that made her glitter with tears, yet she managed to hold it back before issuing her delightful gaze towards her one true love.

"Thank you." She spoke in the same tone as before.

With a graceful smile, Spyro nodded.

"Welcome."

Then, his expression changed to one of excitement.

"Now it's my turn. Where's my gift?" He spoke in a child-like manner.

Cynder managed a snicker upon Spyro's child-like demeanor. Perhaps it was part of the reason why she loves him so much.

"You are so silly. Okay, close your eyes." She spoke.

Seeing that this was same method used on her, Spyro complied and closed his eyes before Cynder departed from his position to retrieve his surprise gift.

Slight sounds nearby have caught the purple dragon's sense of hearing, yet he kept his eyes closed.

After a while, Cynder made her way back to him and provided the necklace to Spyro in the same slow and silent fashion that the purple dragon has done for her.

However, as soon as the cold sensation caressed his purple scales, Spyro, out of instinct, flinched and inadvertedly opened his eyes, much to Cynder's dismay.

"Hey, no peeking!" She spoke with a grimace in her expression.

Yet, it was too late as the purple dragon's expression grew of stunned surprise and confusion upon sight of the familiar jewelry around his neck. Didn't he give one like that to her? He thought he did, but when he issued his brief gaze to his beloved, he noticed the necklace still gracing around her neck before returning his gaze to the necklace in his paw.

"Sorry." He eventually spoke, absent-mindedly with his expression intact towards the jewelry, which took on the similarity of the one that he presented to her.

But regardless, he slowly changed his expression to a delightful smile nonetheless as Cynder noticed.

"You like it?"

"Despite the similar looks, it's beautiful."

Then, with the smile intact, his purple gaze droned onto sapphire blue as Cynder did likewise with a common expression.

"It's beautiful just like your eyes, shining in the moonlight of the night." Spyro complimented, which provided silence from the black dragoness, yet her smile remained.

"Likewise and thank you." She spoke softly.

Spyro nodded.

"Look behind the pendant."

In compliance, Cynder slowly grasped the pendant in her left paw, diverted it clockwise, and saw engraved writing on the golden object.

Her expression grew of admiration as she started to read while Spyro started to perform the same method.

"'To my one true love. You are my heart to beat; you are my soul to keep. You are my bright sun; you are my everlasting moon. You are my love.'" She spoke softly before slowly issuing her attention to Spyro, who issued his gaze to her with a loving smile and a common expression on his face.

"'To my one true love. You are my salvation from the pit of darkness; you are my angel of light from the heavens. You are my love.'" He memorized while his attention was droned to the black beauty in front of him.

It became a heartwarming silence between the two as their expressions and smiles brightened with happiness and joy. Neither knew what to say to the other for pass seconds, yet two words came out in unison from both parties.

"Thank you."

Both snickered from their maw upon issuing the same comment at the same time, yet halted as they looked into each other's eyes. Purple staring into sapphire blue with such love, devotion, and affection.

Slowly, they started approaching each other as Spyro and Cynder embraced one another into a passionate kiss. Their tongues wrestling amongst their maws, as they tasted one another while their paws caressed softly against each other's scales, their wings slightly flapping in reaction to their soft embraces.

Momentarily, they slowly lowered themselves down onto the nearby cushion in the room while resuming their romantic lovemaking.

Ten minutes has came to pass as Spyro and Cynder, with their loving gazes droned on each other, were laid comfortably on the cushion while catching their breath from their recent romance.

"That was the most romantic gift that anyone could present to me." Cynder spoke, while softly caressing the proud golden chest of her purple lover.

A slight growl of affection emitted from his throat from the warm touch as Spyro spoke while performing the same action with Cynder's ruby red chest.

"Yeah, took a while to engrave those little words into the gold."

With a same slight growl of pleasure escaping her maw from the recent warm touch, Cynder nodded.

"Yeah, me too…But the necklace isn't what this is about."

Spyro creased his right brow in curiosity.

"Oh? What is it?"

Silence occupied the black dragoness' maw, yet the smile remained along with her loving gaze to the purple dragon.

"This." She spoke while gesturing her right paw to herself and Spyro in indication to her statement. "The, uh...the love that we shared last year, the one just now, and the gift of a hatchling on the way is nothing short as one of the greatest and loving gifts a dragoness could ask for. And for that, I thank you."

"Cynder…" Spyro started delicately as he sat up in a sitting position while gently pulling his beloved to his length by the grasp of his right paw to her left.

Momentarily, he managed to issue a gentle grasp of both the black dragoness' paws into the cup of his own paws before resuming with the loving smile present on his feature while Cynder listened intently with the same expression present on her face.

"Cynder, you are fate's gift to me. More than that, you are destiny's gift to me. You've kept me whole, you kept me fighting to the bitter end, and more importantly, you kept me alive and breathing. Even when you were away for a couple of years during my young days of adventure seeking, you still kept me going. You have always given me something to believe in…something to fight for…something to live for. You gave that to me. And whatever future lies before us, I swear to you on my life that we will live together, and we will die together. That is a promise."

Cynder's expression throughout that heartwarming speech grew of stunned surprise towards the purple dragon, yet hearing those words brought walls of heartfelt tears to her eyes.

"Oh, Spyro…" He spokes softly before embracing her purple lover into a hug while Spyro returned the affection in kind. "We will live together, we will die together. I love you so much."

Spyro could feel a droplet of her tears staining down his back to the membrane of his right wing, yet disregarded it and kept the embrace with the loving smile gracing his feature.

"I love you, too." He spoke, softly.

As Spyro and Cynder's wings softly graced around each other's feature, their affectionate embrace lasted for minutes, yet it felt like eternity as the gentle moonlight dawned upon them from the outside through the room's glass-less window.

Well, it looks like Spyro and Cynder are enjoying their romantic night, but this was just the beginning. Until next chap! Ciao!

Next chap: A romantic night under the moon's light turns into a night of tragedy.