Disclaimer: I do not own nor claim to own the characters involved in the Bastard! series, they belong to Kazushi Hagiwara. I only claim ownership of Elira as she is of my own creation as well as any spells that are read here.

Haunting Melodies

Chapter 6 - Dungeon Days

Lars and Elira spent more time in the gardens whenever they could, they would share the scent of flowers, and the prince would answer any of her questions she had about other kingdoms. He found her curiosity with everything fascinating, as if she had never encountered some things before. It was a rare moment for them to sit there and enjoy one another's company, Elira closed her eyes to listen to the wind that played through the leaves, and he watched her with his pale green eyes. He wore a content expression as the wind decided to tease those silvery aqua strands as well, this brought her out of her reverie, and she chuckled. Immediately she tried to braid her hair but was unsuccessful which caused Lars to laugh, she only smiled at him, and he offered to braid it for her. Elira turned around so that the prince could run his fingers through her hair and braid it for her.

She noticed that he was gentle, she wore a smile, "How do you know how to braid?"

"I used to do it for Sheila when we were small. I'm a little rusty but I'll do my best."

"I don't mind if it's messy."

Lars grinned as he began to braid it, "Just let me know if I hurt you."

"Zephyr will let you know." The prince laughed as the young dragon sat on his shoulder to watch him work, the Argonite had taken a liking to the prince, and he didn't mind when the regal creature decided to sit on his shoulder. Lars finished, he looked around for something it tie it off with but found nothing until Zephyr squeaked. Lars looked at a piece of leather from a bag at his waist, he nodded, and praised the little dragon. He pulled the leather free, wove some of it into her braid, and wrapped the rest around the end of the braid and made a knot. "Finished?"

"Yes." Elira got up, pulled the braid over her shoulder, and smiled at the work while Zephyr took flight to land on her shoulders. He made sure to wind his way around her braid so that he wouldn't mess up all the work that Lars had done.

"It's lovely, thank you so much Lars." The prince nodded, stood up as well, and Elira stated, "I suppose we need to part."

"Yes, it's been a little while and I'm sure that Princess Stella is combing the castle for me."

"Why don't you tell your father that you want to choose your own bride?"

Lars chuckled, "I have but he said that he wants a name before he agrees to it so until I find someone then I have to deal with all these pairings."

Elira leaned up and whispered, "Tell him my name." Lars stood shocked as she winked at him and kissed him on his cheek. "For fun. Just to see what he says."

The prince leaned down as she moved away from him and whispered in return, "If I tell him and he agrees, you know that you'll have to marry me. How would you feel about that?" She slipped out of his grasp, moved towards the entrance of the gardens, looked over her shoulder at him with her braid hanging over her torso, and she curtsied to him. Green irises watched her closely as she looked at him with her ruby eyes.

"I will be just fine with that, my prince." Lars stood shocked as she left the gardens, he put a hand over his mouth to hide the grin that was there. The prince waited a few minutes for the grin to abate but he knew there was no way of that happening so he headed back into the castle to find Stella just so he could tell her that he wasn't interested.

"Maybe I should post something about not being interested in women any longer since I already have one that I like...hmm..." Lars mumbled to himself while he scoured the castle for the princess that seemed to like to drink too much. He could hear her loud voice in the kitchen, "Oh dear. Time to save the kitchen staff." He immediately picked up his pace in order to reach the kitchen before disaster struck.

-::::::-

Elira stepped out of Geo's office as it was empty and the priest was nowhere to be found, Zephyr perched on her left shoulder with his tail wound around her upper arm although his tail was now twice as long as his body so it wound down her arm to her wrist. He watched everything with those vibrant orange eyes, he immediately stiffened which made Elira pause in her steps. "What's wrong Zephyr?" He bristled and began to hiss, Elira flipped through her spell book to find something small for defense, when she found what she was looking for, the amnesic held it on the tip of her thoughts. "Who's there?" Sheila emerged from the shadows, Elira curtsied to her but she did notice that Zephyr never put his guard down. "Princess, how may I help you today?"

"Well it seems that there is a rumor going around that you've been seeing my brother behind everyone's back." Elira stayed silent while Zephyr had ceased his hissing, the princess eyed her coyly, "So you're not going to tell me? I'm his sister, you can tell me anything."

"Your highness there is nothing to tell as rumors are rumors and should be taken with a grain of salt."

"I see. But you're not denying the fact that you do like him."

"My lady, my feelings are my own and I am free to like whomever I choose. The heart wants what the heart wants."

"Uh-huh. So you do like my brother." Elira kept silent and this only made Sheila angry, "You can't have him! No one is going to have my brother! Especially some wierd person who can't even remember anything about herself." Sheila leaned forward, "You'll never get to see him again, I'll make sure of that. And you'll never get to be his bride. You offer no value to Metallicana and therefore are worthless even if you are a healer, you're still worthless."

Elira only gave a small smile, "Threats are petty even for you, your highness. You should never state anything of the sort as it taints your character."

Sheila gasped at her audacity and Elira could care less, if there was one thing that she hated, it was being threatened for no reason. Immediately the princess hollered for guards and Zephyr was about to shoot a jet of water, but Sheila put a collar on his neck. It was attached to a chain and a smaller clamp went around his mouth and claws so that he couldn't pull them off. Zephyr was screeching with his mouth closed, Elira yelled at her to release him. "Maybe when you're in the dungeon for a few days, you'll think about what you've said to me, and apologize. Put her in a cell and take this guy there as well. No food and no water until I say so."

Elira was dragged away while biting her lower lip to stay silent, the Argonite only looked at her with his orange eyes, she could see they were blazing with hatred. She smiled at her friend and was soon shoved down steps that lead into the cold and dark dungeon. As the healer was pushed into a cell, she could hear Zephyr's screeches, she closed her eyes, and listened to see how far away he was. Luckily he was within ear shot, just barely, but this made her happy as she was going to sing to him until her voice went hoarse. The soldiers left, she sat down on the cold floor, and focused on the ocean, there was no voice down here so she would have to make up her own song.

Dripping water echoed in the dark, it was damp, smelly, and Elira wanted to cry but she held herself together. Zephyr's screeches had turned into whining, she opened her mouth, "Zephyr." The whining stopped followed by the sound of moving chains, "It's alright little one. We'll be out soon and until then I'll sing for you. Would that make you happy?" There was rapid movement of the chains and she laughed, "Alright then." She was searching for something to sing about and she could only think of a song about Zephyr, immediately her body began to thrum in response. "Odd but it's okay. I'll sing to Zephyr and maybe someone outside will hear." Elira cleared her throat and began, "In the dark of night, you came into my sight. To protect me in all your glory, this is only the beginning of your story. Some people will call you evil, some people will call you weak, some people will call you useless. But always know that you are mine and I love you so. In the dark of night, you came into my sight. To protect me in all your glory, this is only the beginning of your story. Blues and greens made of scales, there are many tales. Stories that none know for sure, you are my only cure to...the mythos of the Argonite! In the dark of night, you came into my sight. To protect me in all your glory, this is only the beginning of your story." Her voice faded out, she felt drained, as if something had sapped her energy, and she attributed it to the dungeon air. It wasn't much of a real song but she could hear Zephyr flapping his wings, the beats themselves sounded much larger than she remembered. But she kept singing to him, the only song that she was able to come up with, and the only one that he seemed to like.

Her voice grew hoarse, she wasn't able to sing, but she made sure to tell Zephyr about her predicament, and when she got her voice back again; she would continue. Elira leaned back against the bars and her mind sparked to life. I could just read a spell that will weaken these bars and release me and Zephyr. Why should I stay down here for something that I never said was true or false? Does she love her brother that much that she would rather see the lineage disappear than to have him be happy? But...does he even like me in that way? I'm not sure and it's not my place to ask, at least, not yet. Elira sighed, she flipped through her book to find a spell that would break the bars around her so she could escape. Ah, here's one. Her mind read the spell, trickles of water gathered around the shackles on her hands, she could see them damaging the iron, and immediately her mind focused on the bars. The same trickles appeared and were rusting the iron away; it took many hours before it worked, and the chains fell from her wrists. Red orbs stared at the marks on her wrist, they were raw but she would heal them later; instead she squeezed out of the opening, and darted towards the direction of Zephyr.

When she found him, she was shocked, he was larger than before, nearly bursting out of the chains, he whined at her, and she immediately used a spell that tore the chains from him. The Argonite stretched his legs, jaw, and neck while glaring at the entrance of the dungeon. She approached him, he was now the size of a large dog and came up to her waist when he stood on all fours, "It's alright." Her voice was still hoarse and he looked at her with worried eyes, "I'm okay. Let's go and tell Lars or Geo." He nodded and began to walk along her since he was too big to sit on her shoulders any more. "How did you..." she stopped, rubbed her throat, and continued, "how did you get so big?" He smiled at her, "Ah so you do know. I wonder when I'll be able to teach you to talk or if you'll just start spouting words at me." Zephyr grinned which made her laugh but that made her cough loudly. "Oh no...I don't have a voice..." With that her voice gave out, she shook her head but kept her hand on Zephyr's head as they walked through the dungeon.

The moment that they made it up the stairs, the guards hurried towards them, the Argonite hissed at them, put himself between Elira and the soldiers, and positioned his tail as a weapon. It was sharp with the barbed ends, the amnesic would have said something but she had no voice. Zephyr glared at the soldiers when they made a move to come closer he stated in a guttural tongue, "No." They paused in shock, Elira smiled at him, patted his head in approval, and watched as the soldiers told others to get Princess Sheila. Zephyr growled, "No." Once more, Elira stroked his head, which left them speechless, she looked at them and pointed to her voice to show that she could not speak. She could see that they kind of understood but that didn't mean they were going to let her go. When the Argonite turned one orange eye on her, she shook her head, and indicated that she was too tired and hungry to use another spell.

Zephyr growled once more but the soldiers didn't move, instead more came to help them, and Elira leaned down. She whispered something in his ear, he looked at her with a concerned expression, and she mouthed, 'I'll be alright. I'll wait for you.' He nodded, shifted his wings so that they were more streamlined against his body, and took off down a random hall. Soldiers yelled and were sent after him but he was far more quicker than humans. Elira was grabbed and thrown in another cell with shackles on her hands and her feet this time. The princess glared at her, "You'll never escape from here. Stay here and rot!" Elira sighed, leaned against the wall, and closed her eyes; she was too tired to argue and she still couldn't figure out why.

-::::::-

It felt like days had passed by but she knew it could only be a few hours, the sound that awoke her was an icy noise. She blinked her eyes open to see Kall-su standing there with the iron gate missing from her cell. He used his sword to cut the shackles free of her hands and legs, once his sword was sheathed, he scooped her up in his arms. The Ice Lord wore an angry face, she leaned her head against his shoulder, and dozed off while listening the pitter patter of Zephyr's feet on the stone floor. Although she had no idea where they were going, she knew that Kall would take care of her and that Zephyr would protect her. It wasn't long before she was placed on her familiar bed, sheets were pulled over her, and she could feel the weight of Zephyr next to her. His head was snaked around the top of hers, she could feel his scales rubbing on her scalp, it made her smile, she reached out a hand, grabbed his closest foot, and held onto it. He smiled at her, turned his gaze onto Kall-su, and the man nodded to show that he understood what the dragon wanted. Zephyr nodded in return and dozed lightly, listening to everything while his female companion slept comfortably in her own bed.

Her mind was swirling through strong currents of water, being pushed onward with something powerful wrapped around her feet, and it was strange but familiar all at once. She wore a smile on her face, happy to be in the water, happy to have the liquid caressing her skin. Elira paused in her movement, she looked towards the surface of the water, and swam towards the large ship that blocked out the sun. When she broke the surface, Elira's crimson eyes snapped open, and she sighed. The woman sat up, she looked to her left and noticed that Zephyr was there dozing, she rubbed his neck, his eyes immediately opened up, he lifted his regal head, and stared at her. "I'm alright now. You found the first person you knew would help me right?" He nodded, "You're such a good boy Zephyr!" She rubbed his chin and received that purring sound once more, he closed his eyes happily, and wore a grin on his draconian face. "Now I wonder how many words you know."

She stopped rubbing and he looked at her, "A few." Elira stared at him in shock, "More than others. Not good yet."

"You can make sentences with three words right now." He nodded, she smiled at him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and nuzzled him affectionately, "It's alright. I'm going to teach you but for right now I need to get some food and so do you." When she released him, he nodded, and allowed her to get up but she decided that a bath would be a good idea. She undressed herself but she noticed that Zephyr looked away which made her smile, "You're so sweet my little Zephyr." She could see that he was beaming at her praise and she quickly used a spell to clean herself off, then heal the wounds on her wrists, and grabbed another dress. This time it was a crimson one, longer than her usual ones as it touched the tops of her feet, the top of the dress came straight across her chest, just above her bust, the sleeves were very short, barely there as they were a few inches of fabric that wrapped around her upper arm, and the sash was lighter than the dress but she wouldn't have it any other way, she was angry. "What do you think about this?" The Argonite looked at it and nodded his approval, "I thought I should show my anger today and maybe make a few princesses jealous?"

"Yes! Yes!" Zephyr agreed and got up to walk next to her, "Blue better one. You have blue?" She thought for a moment and shook her head, "Okay red fine. But get blue."

"I will little one, I will. You like long dresses?" He nodded, "Alright then, I will be sure to get more for winter then. It is coming up and I know that you'll keep me warm." Zephyr laughed which made her smile and the pair left her room to find the kitchen in order to get some food and to find Kall so that she could thank him. When they entered the kitchen, the cook immediately hugged her, she was dumbfounded but he quickly explained that she had saved his daughter a while back from berries, she smiled and replied, "I'm glad that I could help."

"If you need anything at all, come and ask me. What would you like?"

"Umm..whatever your cooking is fine, I'm not a picky eater."

"Ah, alright then. I'll add in something special for you!" She smiled and thanked him while he had her sit down at a table with Zephyr next to her, he jumped up, and sat down as well while waiting for the cook to return. She stroked his back which made him happy and when the cook returned, he put down a plate of sautéed kelp. The aroma was intoxicating to her and she nearly drooled but Zephyr decided to drool instead which made her laugh. "Here you are! I heard that you like the grassy pieces of food so I was able to procure this just for you. I do hope you like it."

She took a bite and smiled at the cook, "I love it!"

"Very good then! I will make it with every dish that you ask for! For now, since I heard about the dungeon incident, just eat this. It's soft and will give you plenty of energy!" She nodded, thanked him once more and he brushed it off, "You saved my daughter's life. I owe you my own. Now," he turned to Zephyr. "For you, I'm afraid I cannot give you anything." The dragon lowered his head to show that it was alright but the cook leaned in, "But I do know of a place in the forest, there's a big lake connected to a river, you can't miss it. There are some nice deer out there, waiting for a predator to catch them." The cook winked at him, Zephyr looked at his mother and she nodded while the dragon left to hunt his own meals.

"Thank you so much. He'll probably bring you one back just to thank you."

"Aww, I'll make jerky out of it and pass it around to those that you like."

"Well, the knights that go out on patrols, they need it most."

"It's settled then! Whatever Zephyr returns with, I shall make into jerky and distribute among the patrol unit." Elira nodded and the cook grinned, "By the way, my name is Santos. My daughter is Mira and my wife is Kara. Do not hesitate to ask us for anything. Even if it means procuring something particular for you, we have our ways." He winked at her which made her laugh.

"Okay Santos. I'll keep that in mind. Thank you again." He nodded and returned to work while she ate her steamed kelp. The taste was even familiar to her but she could already feel her energy being restored, and she began to wonder exactly where she came from. She knew the dream was a memory but she put it away for now, finished her food, and was told that they would take care of her plate. She nodded, thanked them once more but was handed a fresh bread roll, she smelled it, and nodded them. But she looked and said, "Santos?" The cook looked at her, "Perhaps some herbs in the bread will be better, thyme or rosemary." She winked at him, he was shocked but soon nodded.

"Of course! Next time we have rosemary rolls!" There was silence in the kitchen, "I like that ring! Yes! Rosemary Rolls it is! Thank you Elira." She smiled at him, happy that someone had called her by her name, and thanked them once more and left the kitchen while they were singing about Rosemary Rolls. She laughed and headed for Geo's office to explain to him what occurred the prior day and nibbled on the fresh bread.

-::::::-

The priest was glaring at no one in particular after the healer had recounted her story but when she got to Zephyr growing, he became more interested in that. "He's out hunting now but he'll be back soon after he drops off a gift for Santos."

He smiled, "You're getting to know people. That's good."

"Well I saved his daughter Mira from some nightshade berries and he said that he and his wife Kara would be able to procure anything I asked of them but for now I'm content with kelp."

"Kelp?"

She nodded, "I really love it. Especially when Santos steams it." They chuckled together but that soon faded as she continued. "I don't understand what Princess Sheila has against me and I can understand that she loves her brother but Prince Lars and I are friends."

"Now I know that's not true. You can tell me anything you want Elira. I won't tell anyone unless it pertains to Metallicana has a whole."

"Okay. I do like him, I really like him and I feel very sad when we're apart but it's something that I can deal with since I wear his gift all the time." Elira showed Geo the necklace that he bought her, the priest smiled at her, and she continued. "I told him in the gardens that if he wanted to he could tell his father my name as his bride. When he explained to me that I would really have to marry him, I only told him that I would be fine with it."

Geo sat there silent, "Are you sure?" She looked at him, "Marriage is not a joke to be taken lightly Elira."

"I know. I wasn't joking to him, it may have seemed like that but I know that he understood what I meant. Is it alright to have told him that?" Her brow furrowed in worry but Geo patted her shoulder and embraced her. She returned it and mentioned, "Kall was the one who got me out of the cell the second time. I was hoping to find him so that I could thank him but I haven't been able to find him as of yet."

"He's out releasing his anger, him and his friends are playing war games. But remember, there is a war coming and I don't want you get to hurt."

When they parted she smiled, "I will do my best as a healer to help those that need it. It's only proper to repay my debt to you and Yoko. If that means healing the knights in the middle of a war then so be it." He sighed and nodded while Elira continued, "I do hope that I haven't gotten any one in trouble with my escape."

"No, you didn't. I'll go tell the king myself of what transpired and if he asks, I'll tell him of your feelings." She nodded while he said, "You're free today and do try to find Lars." She tilted her head at him, "You look lovely in long dresses Elira." She nodded at him, left his quarters, and he leaned back in his chair. "Eating kelp huh? Well she's getting there, I hope." With that he left his room to tell the king of what really happened with the dungeon incident.

Elira was in the gardens once more, she kept her hair braided, and listened for Zephyr's wing beats but she knew that he was hunting, he needed his strength. She turned around to see if Lars was there but the entrance was empty, she sighed, and continued to comb through the gardens. Hours had passed and she sighed once more, she walked through the castle, hoping to find Kall or Lars but neither appeared to her. The healer sighed again, exited the castle, and asked a knight if there was a trail that would lead to the sea. He pointed it to her and she thanked him, her steps were shaky as she found the sea, the waves lapped gently against the surface of the water, and she felt calm around it. She found a piece of driftwood, strong and large, and took a seat on it. "What is it you want from me?"

The sea was silent for a short while but that voice resounded once more, stronger since she was closer to the sea, but this time she was able to understand it. The words were the same language as her spells and she listened to it. "I understand. I will protect him with everything I have, I will let no harm come to Zephyr. He's my little one." The voice gave a warm reply, happy at her choice of words, and became still once more. Elira smiled, "At least I can understand you now." She got up from her spot and heard the familiar wing beats, Zephyr landed in front of her, he looked up at her while she stroked his head. "I can understand that voice in the sea now. Let's go, there's supposed to be a harvest festival tomorrow." He grinned while they walked away but he glanced up at the balcony, Lars was standing there, and they both nodded to one another since Zephyr knew that Lars would not have been able to control himself if he had been around Elira that day wearing that dress so he had warned him about it. However the prince had no idea that she would have more dresses like them in various colors for the coming winter.