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Spyro had made it to the temple and landed on the balcony. He turned and waited for Ember to reach him. She flapped her wings fast while trying to land. "Are you okay, Ember?"

She struggled. "I never got the hang of landing. Whoa!" She dropped ten feet and almost hit the floor, but Spyro caught her in his arms. "Wow. That was a close one! Thanks!" She gratefully told Spyro.

Spyro smiled. "No problem." He helped Ember get on her feet. "Come on, you look like you could go for a nice bath," he said.

"A what?" Ember asked.

Spyro thumped himself on the head. "Oh, that's right. You've been in the wilds your whole life. A bath is something that will clean you and make you look and smell nicer. You'll also feel better," he explained.

Ember formed a weak smile. "That sounds great. Thank you so much." They walked together and the big doors opened as they passed. Ember saw a large statue of a dragon in the next room. She was amazed by the sight. "Wow. This place is beautiful."

"This is the training room. Dragons test their abilities here." They continued and and in the next room found Terrador, Cyril, and Volteer watching the Pool of Visions.

Cyril turned and saw the two. He smiled and said, "Ahh, Spyro! Good to see you again!"

"Who's your friend?" Volteer asked.

"This is Ember. She was lost so I brought her here."

Ember spoke shyly. "Hello. This... This is a beautiful place."

"Welcome, Ember," said Terrador. He was focused greatly on her for some reason.

"I'm taking Ember to get cleaned up," said Spyro. "Sorry, but we need to get going," He and Ember left through another gate.

"Farewell, Spyro!" they all said.

"They seem nice," said Ember.

Spyro smirked. "Yeah, when they don't need me."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Those guys are way too dependent. They can't even wipe their own asses without my help."

"What?" she asked confused.

"Nothing," Spyro said quickly.

They kept walking until they turned the corner. Cynder had popped up from the other side surprised. She stood there with a bottle of fizz in her mouth and was surprised to meet a new dragon. She put down the bottle and said, "Hi, Spyro. I just came from the pantry. Who's your friend?"

Ember shyly extended her tail to Cynder. "Hello. I'm Ember."

Cynder smiled and put her tail forward and shook with Ember. "Nice to meet you! My name's Cynder. Where are you from?"

"Umm. I... Umm..." Ember looked down at her paws, unsure of how to answer her question.

Spyro spoke for her. "Umm, Ember's homeless, Cynder."

Cynder gasped. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't know!"

"It's okay. This is a big place! How do you not get lost in here?" the pink dragon asked trying to change the subject.

"You get familiar after a while," Cynder said.

"Glad you two are getting along," Spyro said happily. "We gotta go, Cynder. We'll talk more later."

"Oh, alright," said Cynder. "I need to get back to my room anyway. Bye, guys!" She picked up the bottle and continued.

"Bye!" Spyro and Ember both started walking again.

"She's really nice!" said Ember.

"Yeah, she is. She's been through a lot though," Spyro said with a slight look of sadness on his face.

"What happened to her? Did she have an accident?" Ember asked curiously.

Spyro shook his head. "No. Nothing like that. She was a slave to a really bad man years ago. He made her do horrible things."

"What kind of things?"

"Killing, stealing, genocide..."

"That's awful!"

"Yeah. We killed the man who made her these things not too long ago."

"Well, it's good that now she doesn't have to do those bad things any more," Ember said with a smile.

Spyro smiled with her. "That's true." They reached a door that opened for them as they passed. "This way." They both entered a semi-large room that had a big tub made of wood in the middle. A large pipe hang from the ceiling with a metal plate covering the opening. Spyro reached into the tub and put a cork in the drain, then he pulled a cord connected to the big pipe. The metal plate opened up and water began pouring into the wooden tub.

"What's that?" Ember asked.

"It's a bath tub. It'll help me clean you," said Spyro. "I need you to take off your choker for now though."

Ember put her hand on her choker. "Take it off? But I never take it off."

"Just trust me, Ember. I need you to remove it so I can clean your neck. Nothing will happen to it. I promise."

Ember thought about it for a moment. "Well, you haven't given me any reason not to trust you. Okay. I trust you, Spyro." She smiled and and put her claw behind her neck. She unfastened the strap and put both the necklace and the note on a table next to the tub. "Okay. Now what?"

"Just wait for the water to fill up." They waited for five minutes. Once the tub was full, Spyro pulled the cord again. The metal plate snapped back into place and the water stopped. "Okay, jump in."

Ember happily positioned her legs and hopped into the tub of water. The water splashed out and Spyro was soaked. Ember laughed. "That was fun!"

Spyro was coughing and laughing. "I didn't mean literally jump in, but oh well." He wiped the water from his face. "How's the temperature, Ember? Do you need it hotter or colder?"

"Hhmmmm. A little warmer please."

"Arlight. Tell me when to stop." Spyro started breathing a small flame into the water.

"That's fine right there," said Ember once she was satisfied.

Spyro ceased his breath and grabbed a salt rock. "This will make you feel better." He dipped the smooth rock to let it get moist. He then grabbed Ember's arm and began scrubbing softly.

"What are you doing?" Ember asked.

"I'm cleaning you. Water alone isn't enough."

Ember was amazed by the kindness Spyro as showing her. "Are you always this nice, Spyro?"

Spyro started scrubbing her other arm. "I'm just looking out for people. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

"You're very sweet, Spyro. I wish all people were like you."

"It's a civil thing, but it's not what a lot of people do, unfortunately." He had already finished scrubbing her wings and was now cleaning her neck. He had to get a lot of dirt that her necklace was collecting for years. "Close your eyes." Ember did so as Spyro cleaned her face and head. He started scrubbing her chest.

"It's too bad you can't read that letter. I really wonder what it says."

Spyro did not answer. He didn't want to think about the letter. He scrubbed her stomach and started with her hind legs. "Ember, if you want, you're more than welcome to live here."

Her eyes lit up. "Really?! I can live here?" Spyro nodded. Ember hugged him and got him wet again. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

"No problem," he said. He began scrubbing in between her legs. Being a gentleman, he looked away as he cleaned her down there. He then pulled his arm out and set down the salt rock. "There! All done!" He pulled the cork and the water slowly drained.

Ember got out and Spyro dried her with a towel. "Thank you so much, Spyro. I wish I could repay you for your kindness."

Spyro put her choker back on for her. "Don't mention it. Follow me." Ember followed Spyro to a large mirror in the room. "Look at the new you."

Ember looked in the mirror and gasped. She found herself looking at a beautiful pink dragon with no smudges and no signs of dirt. Her body was perfectly clean and she barely recognized herself. "Is... Is that me?"

"That's right, Ember." Spyro said smiling.

Ember put her paw on her face. She amazed. "Look at me! I'm so smooth! This is wonderful! Thank you a thousand times, Spyro!" She gave the purple dragon a hug snd cried tears of joy.

Spyro couldn't help but hug back. "Anytime, Ember. Anytime."

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