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 and Rosalia as they are of my own creation as well as any spells that are read here.

Haunting Melodies

Chapter 8 - Descent into Darkness

Each day Elira bumped into Sheila, she tried many different paths but they all ended up with her, and the princess always berated her about her memory. Elira began to fall into a depression which was unusual for her but she still wore her cheery smile that seemed to fool everyone but Zephyr. His scaly brow knit with concern for his lady, she reassured him that she was fine, but he knew better; the dragon sighed while walking next to her. "You should not listen to her my lady."

"I know sweetie but she's bent on making my life miserable but I'll just have to try harder to make things happier here." The dragon nodded and continued to watch her closely, he could see her depression easing into her mind, and her soul. Zephyr growled quietly, the water in his belly churned once more, but he stopped. Elira paused with him, both turned towards the ocean, there was that voice there again, so the Argonite lead her to the stairwell window. She pulled herself up to look out at the ocean while Zephyr scaled the wall to glance out with one eye. "I understand that voice, so soothing." Zephyr nodded, a small smile gracing Elira's lips, he watched her as she took a deep breath, and began to sing to that voice. That mysterious voice urged her to sing to calm the raging waves and the creatures beneath the sea, the creatures that people only thought of as myths, and the creatures that had the power to crush ships.

Her voice faded out, she removed herself from the window, and Zephyr dislodged himself from the window, she looked down at him, and realized that he had grown once more. Instead of standing at her waist when he was on all fours, now his head reached to her chest. He nuzzled her there, she smiled, and rubbed his head with her fingers. "Your residual energy from singing allows me to grow my lady. I will always protect you from harm."

"Thank you Zephyr." She kissed him on his forehead and his scales shimmered in response, they strolled through the castle once more, the color of his scales were bouncing onto the stone walls of the castle. He looked to see that she still wore the gift from Lars, the woven trinket of a mermaid, and the dragon grinned to himself as he could feel his body's strength increase with each step. Elira parted ways with Zephyr so that she could get to work with Geo, he nodded, bounded through the castle halls, he avoided crashing into anyone as he was more agile than humans, he ran across walls, and even used his wings for lift if the area was large enough. He jumped through a window, spread out his wings, and flew through the sky towards the sea; when he reached a good distance, he dove into the waters.

The day progressed smoothly but Geo noticed her demeanor was not there, she explained to him about Sheila, and Geo sighed. "I had a hunch this was going to happen but ignore her. I know it's hard but you're going to have to do that. You see, she's been promised to another prince, one that she doesn't like, and that's what has her angry." Elira nodded, "But I'm not saying to forgive her just believe in yourself and you'll find a way back to you." She smiled, hugged Geo, and they parted ways for the day. She exited his room, meandered through the halls, and towards the gardens. Geo sighed, "Princess Sheila...what is she trying to accomplish?"

Wind toyed with the ends of her hair as she stood flabbergasted at the rose gardens that had been destroyed. She stepped carefully, there were tears in her eyes, and she felt her heart ache for the loss of life and flowers. Rose petals had fallen to the ground, crimson irises could not stand the carnage that had spread through her sanctuary. Elira knelt down, picked up a broken bud, and sniffled; to her it was unfair as the roses were there for everyone's enjoyment. Her crimson eyes allowed those tears to fall but she sniffled and her eyes hardened as a another section of that book of spells opened up. A section that toyed with life and death, spells that could bring back the dead for a price, and she found one for foliage. "Water is the essence of all life," she whispered. Those words held power when she spoke them, her eyes began to change from crimson to purple, and finally to a striking glowing blue. As the spell was read in her mind, water erupted in rivulets all around her body, they spread out in all directions, branching out even more until the whole garden area was covered in a web of water with her at the center. Her eyes held that glow for as long as the spell was active, the ribbons of water planted the fallen bushes back into place, and reverted everything to what it had been before. As the final rose bud was lifted from her hand, her blue eyes faded to purple then to their familiar red, and she collapsed on the ground. She was breathing heavily, the power that came with the spell made her quiver with anxiety, she had never felt such power before, and then she heard the wingbeats.

Zephyr landed, ran up to her, and nuzzled her face, she wrapped her arms around him and quivered. "There there my lady. That was a powerful spell. I can tell that you have unlocked another part of that book you hold." She nodded, "That power comes from deep in the ocean, those spells use the most powerful of water magic." Elira leaned back and wiped her eyes clean, she looked into those glowing amber orbs that twinkled with untold knowledge. "They use the water currents as a source of energy and will never cease as the water currents continue to flow."

"They're very powerful spells."

"Not many people can even wield them for very long."

"Then how can I?"

"You have evolved. The more you use your ability, the more you are able to control larger portions of that power. It is as it has been for eons." She smiled, hugged Zephyr, and got up, "Be careful my lady. You are weak yes?" She nodded and he placed his nose in her hand, "Allow me to give you some of my energy."

"Can you do that?"

"Yes, you are my lady and I can transfer energy from me to you and vice versa. I have plenty of reserve to share with you." She nodded while wearing a warm smile on her face, Zephyr let out a breath from his open mouth, a pale blue mist traveled from his open mouth onto her arm, it wrapped around it, glowed bright blue for a brief second before entering her skin. Immediately she felt the effect, her energy had been restored, and she hugged her Argonite. "You are welcome my lady." She continued to praise him which caused his scales to glimmer in the sunshine, he glanced over to see a shocked princess, and the dragon only grinned at her as she stormed off.

Elira heard those footsteps but Zephyr reassured her that it was no one important, she smiled at her companion, and the pair left the gardens to visit the lower town. As they strolled through the castle, she began to hear that voice once more, the voice from the sea but it was different. The Argonite watched as she tilted her head to the side, there was something different about that voice, she looked down at Zephyr, "Can you hear it?"

He listened, "I hear something my lady. It is not the voice of the sea."

"Who is it?"

"I do not know."

"Let's go find out. They may need our help." The dragon nodded as the pair moved through the castle more quickly, they entered the market, she could still hear that voice, it was coming from beyond the walls, and so she headed for the gate. She was stopped by the guards, they told her that no one was to leave the castle because of roaming enemies. Elira nodded, walked with Zephyr in another direction, he looked up at her quizzically. She smiled, "We're going to find Gara." Just as she had promised, they scoured the castle grounds for the elusive Ninja Master but to no avail, she sighed, and thought of something else. "Let's find Kall! He'll be able to find Gara." Zephyr grinned as they renewed their search for the Ice Lord but, as it was proven before, he could not be found either. She huffed and looked down at Zephyr, "Any chance you can fly us over the wall?"

"I can try my lady. I give no guarantees as to your safe landing."

"Let's try it!" He chuckled as they headed to the rose gardens, it was the closest to the forest, and she took in a deep breath. "Alright. Give it your best shot Zephyr!" The Argonite allowed her to mount his back, he felt the extra weight but he also felt just strong enough to test this endeavor. He spread his wings and beat them hard to gain the altitude he needed. It was arduous for him but he made it over the wall, he floated down to the ground, and Elira immediately hopped off a few feet from the surface. He was breathing heavily but she stroked his nose and praised him greatly with many kisses. "Thank you so much Zephyr. I will definitely sing a very enthusiastic song for you." He smiled and walked beside her as she hummed to herself, listening to that voice grow. As they entered the forest, she paused, "That voice holds power." He nodded as they pressed forward, they reached a crystalline lake in the forest, and on a smooth rock was an interesting creature. Elira had never seen such a thing before, not that she could recall, but it held the appearance of a young woman with long hair that was made of leaves, her skin held the texture of bark, and her eyes were a vibrant green. "Fascinating."

She paused in her singing to look over her shoulder, eyes widened as they stared at Elira, and she watched as the woman with silver hair edged closer. "You are out of your domain." Zephyr appeared next to Elira and the creature smiled, "I see you have a very powerful friend." The dragon nodded and tapped his cranium to show that there was something wrong and the strange tree creature nodded. "I understand, she has amnesia."

"Who are you?"

"Rosalia."

"I'm Elira and this is Zephyr."

"Pleased to meet you."

"Pleased to meet your acquaintance as well."

Rosalia patted the spot next to her, "Come sit with me." Elira was delighted to sit next to such a strange creature, "I take it that you don't know what I am." She looked bashfully away, "I'm a Dryad." Elira was shocked and Rosalia laughed, "I know. Dryads are as rare as any creature including dragons especially Argonites." Zephyr bowed to her as she looked out at the lake, "I always sit here and sing, it soothes the soul."

"I agree, it truly does."

"Shall you sing for the lake?"

"I'd be honored to!" Rosalia motioned for her to start when she was comfortable and when she had the perfect song for the lake, she began to weave her magic. The Dryad could clearly see that the effect took instantly on Zephyr, his body grew, it swelled like a rain cloud, and she could hear his bones lengthening and getting stronger. The pain didn't seem to mind the Argonite and Rosalia watched as Elira finished. "That was beautiful and it seems that Zephyr is a very strong Argonite." Elira looked next to her and squeaked her surprise as her water dragon was now the size of a standard draft horse. The Dryad laughed heartily, "It seems that you have a lot to remember or to be taught but you know that he grows when you sing."

"I know but I didn't expect him to grow so much!"

Zephyr chuckled, "My lady, the residual energy that you release when you sing is absorbed by me as long as I am near you and that makes my own power evolve, the more powerful your song the stronger and larger I grow." Elira smiled and kissed his head to praise him, his scales shimmered, and Rosalia smiled a the pair. "Thank you my lady."

"You are a pair that I have not seen in a very long time." Elira grinned at the Dryad, "I am glad that you came out here. I tend to get lonely as Dryads are far and between with human cities but I do like Metallicana."

"Can you leave the forest?" The Dryad laughed and began to explain that she cannot be taken from her forest nor can she leave beyond the edge. "Why?" When she said that she would turn into a single white flower that would bloom for one eve, Elira became sad. "I would not want that for you at all Rosalia. If you are ever in need of any help just yell. Zephyr and I will hear you and come to your aid now that he's bigger."

"Thank you Elira. You are truly a good friend to me." She smiled and leaned over to hug her newfound friend, the Dryad smiled, and returned the embrace. Elira could feel some of her energy enter Rosalia, "You can now feel if I am ever in any danger and I you. I may not be able to leave the forest but I certainly can extend vines a great distance." She winked at Elira who laughed happily and said that she had to return to the castle, "I understand. Be safe my friend and your memories will return. I just know it."

"Thank you Rosalia. I will see you again!" She nodded as they parted ways, Elira looked at Zephyr who eyed her with suspicion but it was soon forgotten as she mounted his back, and he bounded through the forest. The moment that he reached open territory, he leapt into the sky, spread his wings, and beat them fast to gain leverage. Elira squealed in joy as she clung to his spikes, he flew up over the ocean, and she gazed down at its wonder. "So beautiful." Zephyr nodded before turning towards the castle once more, he landed in the market square behind all of the buildings, she dismounted, and kissed his cheek which made his scales shimmer once more. "Thank you my little one." He beamed and followed her around through the streets and into the castle once more where they were faced with Sheila. Immediately she started berating Elira and Zephyr could see that she was falling fast into that darkness she had attempted to avoid, he tried to intervene but Sheila continued. He wasn't sure what to do so he bounded through the castle to find someone, the moment that he left, Sheila said that Zephyr had abandoned her.

Immediately Elira felt the darkness envelope her, the depression, and her eyes changed from crimson to pale gold, this change went unnoticed by the princess but it activated another part of the spell book that Elira held in her mind. Spells flew through her mind, spells that were even more dangerous than the prior section as these spells relied on the abilities of the creatures that hid in the darkest parts of the ocean. Elira's gold eyes still went unnoticed as Sheila berated her, the amnesic smirked, which caused her to stop, a spell went through her mind, and the princess was immediately wrapped by tentacles. They squirmed across her face which only caused Elira to grin at her predicament while she pleaded with her to stop.

"I don't think so. You've berated me long enough princess and I will not have it." The tentacles began to trail down her legs, her arms, and underneath her dress. Sheila squirmed and was going to yell so one gooey tentacle covered her mouth to prevent her from yelling. "I don't think so. I'm going to teach you a lesson, never put me into a depression, it bodes ill for the one berating me. You see that now right?" She nodded but still felt that one tentacle going up her leg underneath her clothing, Elira chuckled, "Now now, don't scare her." The tentacle immediately retreated as Gara showed up with Zephyr, the Ninja Master was shocked to see her golden eyes, and how she was treating the princess.

"Hiya little lady."

Gold eyes looked upon Gara and she smiled, "Hello Gara. So nice to see you."

"You too. What are you doing?"

"Torture of some sort."

"I would reserve it for someone better. It's completely wasted on Sheila."

Elira looked back at the princess who was about to faint, "Hmm..I suppose you're right." She released the spell, the tentacles disappeared, and her golden eyes faded away to crimson. Immediately Elira fell unconscious, Gara intervened to catch her while Sheila collapsed on the floor.

"Phew! That was close right Zephy."

The dragon nodded, "Yes sir. Too close. It is not wise for her to wallow in depression, things like this will happen again but perhaps much worse than just tentacles from the deep."

"I actually like those things."

The dragon smirked, "I do too." Sheila was shocked at their demeanor and immediately ran off to tell her father. "We should get her back to her room before any one finds out what happened. I doubt that they will believe her about something like this. My lady is far too kind to others."

Gara nodded and lifted her up, he followed Zephyr through the castle to her room, she was placed on her bed, and he asked, "Is she going to remember this?" The dragon nodded, "Well I hope you don't let her think that she did something wrong. Sheila had it coming for the way she was treating Elira. Take care of her Zephy. She's going to need all the companionship now and I'll come by tomorrow with Kall, that would make her happy right?"

"Yes. My lady tends to speak with him about her nightmares so it will be good if he came by."

"Alright then, tomorrow with Kall it is!" Gara was about to leave but paused, "Hey Zephy?" The dragon looked at him as he curled up along Elira's body, "Why did you come to find me? Out of every one in the castle, why me?"

His amber eyes twinkled, "Because you are the most suited for this kind of thing." Gara laughed heartily as he left the healer's chambers. Zephyr grinned at the ninja master and didn't mind the new nickname he had acquired. The Argonite snaked his head around Elira's so that he could protect her, his eyes locked onto the door, and he sat still; he could have been mistaken for a statue if not for his light breathing.

-::::::-

Elira sat up, she wiped her eyes, and felt a body near her, she looked down to see Zephyr curled around her, she smiled at him, but didn't notice that he was awake. "I'm sorry that I did that..."

"No need to be sorry my lady."

"Were you up all night?"

"Yes, I did not want you to be harmed during the night."

"Thank you so much my little one." She snuggled his head on her chest, he purred in response, while there was a knock on her door. "Come in." Kall pushed the door open with Gara behind him, they entered, Kall handed her some soup, while the two men took a seat after Gara closed the door behind them. "Thank you for yesterday Gara."

"Don't mention it. At least I got to see Sheila tied up in tentacles! That was pretty awesome." Elira smirked while sipping her soup, she thanked Kall for it, and relished in the seaweed that was there along with some snails. "Snails?"

"I like things from the ocean."

"Ah ha! I see now." Gara winked at her while she chuckled and continued to drink the soup that was brought by the Ice Lord. The Ninja Master glanced at Zephyr who grinned at them, Gara couldn't help but return that grin as it was contagious. "Well, how are you feeling?"

Elira finished her soup, placed the bowl down, and sighed, "Much better though those spells...they're very dangerous even more so than the others that were unlocked."

"What kind?" asked Kall.

"All kinds. Spells that can bring things to life in exchange for another, powerful water spells that can fix or destroy cities. Just yesterday someone destroyed the rose gardens and I felt so sad that it was unfair to the roses as they were there for everyone's pleasure and not just mine. Something clicked in my mind, a section of that spell book in my mind opened. I found a spell for foliage and this web of water fixed everything."

Gara nodded, "I remember seeing those gardens thrashed and then fixed. That's amazing."

She nodded, "It takes a lot of energy from me but Zephyr was kind enough to give me some of his." The dragon beamed at the praise and Kall nodded while she sighed, "Yesterday...that depression I fell into changed me...it was...so dark and awful. All I wanted to do was to hurt Sheila in a way that wasn't physical and that's when..."

"The tentacles appeared," finished Kall. She nodded, "It's alright. Everyone gets depressed but very few have spells that cater to getting revenge. Are there other spells like that?" She nodded with a concerned expression on her face, "Are there some that are worse than that?" Elira nodded again while Gara rubbed the back of his neck.

"But..I made a friend yesterday." They looked at her as Zephyr smiled as she became happy once more. "Her name is Rosalia and she lives in the forest next to Metallicana."

"You should invite her here," stated Kall.

"I cannot because she cannot leave her forest. You see Rosalia is a Dryad." The Ninja Master and Ice Lord sat there in shock while she smiled. "She's very nice to me and I gave her some of my energy so I'll know when she's in danger and vice versa. I really like her, she's so friendly, and maybe you two should come and meet her sometime!"

"It would be an honor," replied Kall and Gara murmured the same thing. "I have never seen a Dryad before."

"What about dragons?" asked Elira.

He gave a small smile, "I am a dragon." She sat there dumbfounded while the Argonite chuckled, "I'm half Ice dragon so I can transform into one if need be."

"That's awesome!" Kall smiled at her while Gara grinned, "I didn't know. Now that Zephyr is bigger we should all go flying sometime!" Gara hooted with joy as Kall agreed to it and as their conversation came to an end, Gara excused himself; the moment that he left, Elira sighed. "Those nightmares are back. Always with bubbles, water, and something large over head. I'm not sure what it is but it's big."

"Is it possible that it's a ship." Zephyr eyed him closely while she thought about it and nodded, "If it's a ship and you see bubbles then perhaps you're underwater."

"Yes! That's it! I'm swimming underwater and I see a large ship above me but something's wrong with it. There are muffled sounds but I can't make it out and sometimes I see the dead faces of men I don't recognize." She shivered while Kall took a seat next to her to comfort her, she hugged Zephyr's head to her chest. "After that I wake up. It's the same dream but now that I know what it really is perhaps I can figure out more."

"That's good that you learned something." She nodded, "Let me know when we can meet Rosalia." She nodded again while he rubbed her back, "If you're feeling better, I'm sure there are some villagers that would love to see you." Elira smiled and nodded her head, "Alright that's good. I'll let you get dressed and wait for you outside." She tilted her head, "You need to visit one of the out lying villages and the soldiers will not allow you to leave unless accompanied by someone with magic. I'll take you there." When she asked him why he replied, "Because you're the only one who wants to help people." Elira smiled as he left and she began to dress in a short lavender dress with a dark ribbon, she tied it behind her, grabbed her cloak, and her medicine bag that Geo had given her for such occasions. Elira braided her hair, tied it off with a matching ribbon, and motioned for Zephyr to come with her. She exited her room and followed Kall down through the castle and towards the market place.

They left the area and he mounted up his horse, he looked at her as she mounted Zephyr, and he smirked as they progressed towards the gates. The guards halted them but when Elira informed them that Kall would be guiding her to the out lying village, they allowed her to pass, but couldn't say a word as they saw her mounted on Zephyr. The amnesic woman rode on the back of her dragon who was now the size of a standard horse next to the Ice Lord, the pair turned down the dirt path that would lead them to the out lying village. They conversed and she was always cheerful with him, laughing, and pointing to the surroundings while the dragon chimed in once in a while, and the Ice Lord gave those hidden smirks.

Zephyr thought, Her depression seems to have abated for now as long as she can do something that makes her happy. I will be sure to get Gara and Kall if something similar should occur once more. I will not have my lady falling into that darkness, it was only tentacles this time, next time...it could be far worse. I will need to monitor her carefully from now on. That darkness will return in full force should something like that occur. Perhaps next time will be too late...I will not let that happen! I love my lady and I will give my life to make sure that her power does not gain control of her. The Argonite made those promises to himself as he mapped out the road that they were taking in case of an emergency.