As Cynder slowly opened her eyes all she could focus on was the splitting headache in the back of her skull, as her surroundings slowly came into focus.
"Ugh, where am I?" She asked, looking around to see she was in the center of Doxantha, the dragon city. As she tried to stand up she found her legs shackled together. "What's going on?!" She asked as she frantically tried to free herself, when suddenly another voice spoke up,
"It would appear the beast has awoken."
Cynder recognized the voice and quickly looked up in horror. "Ignitus, what's happening?! Why am I chained up?!" she asked, now on the verge of tears.
Ignoring her question Ignitus turned to the large crowd of dragons that Cynder only just now noticed.
"Everyone, we are here today to see that The Terror of The Skies pays for her crimes against all of dragonkind, and that the countless lives she took are avenged!" He spoke, as the crowd erupted into cheers.
"B-but that wasn't my fault, I-I was being controlled, I never wanted to hurt anyone!" She pleaded, tears now rolling freely down her face.
"Guards, prepare the guillotine." Ignitus commanded, as two dragons dressed in metal armor pushed a large wooden guillotine onto the stage where Cynder lay helpless, and her eyes widened in horror.
"No, no please, it wasn't my fault, IT WASN'T MY FAULT!" She sobbed, trying to break free of her chains, but to no avail.
She continued to try and fight as the guards picked her up by the wings and carried her to the guillotine, but it was no use. Once again Ignitus spoke.
"Everyone, we have a very special guest joining us for this monumental occasion, it is an honor to welcome the Purple Dragon himself, Spyro!"
The crowd roared even louder as Cynder's fear and confusion turned to pure heartbreak as she saw the dragon that saved her life just a few weeks ago, the dragon she had secretly fallen in love with, look at her with pure disgust for just a brief second before turning and bowing his head to Ignitus.
"Thank you, Ignitus. When I first defeated this monster I thought she might have been redeemed, but I know better now. I know that someone who has done the things she has can never truly change."
"Spyro, please…" Was all Cynder could manage to say, too quiet for anyone but herself to hear.
"Well then, young dragon, would you like to do the honors?" Ignitus asked, an almost sickening grin on his usually stoic face.
"It would be my pleasure." Spyro said as he slowly walked over to Cynder, who looked up at him with bloodshot eyes, too tired to even cry anymore.
"Spyro please, don't do this…" She made one last plea, knowing it would be in vain. Spyro looked down at her one last time before raising his claw to the rope holding the guillotine blade in place.
"May the Ancestors forgive you, because I don't." And with that his claw slashed the rope, sending the blade down towards Cynder's neck.
"NOOOOOOOO-"
Cynder awoke with a scream, sitting up and gasping for breath, with fresh tears running down her face. Looking around she saw that she was back in her room at the Dragon Temple, and looking out the window confirmed it was still late at night. As she tried to calm herself down a sudden knock on her door startled her.
"Cynder, are you okay? I heard you scream."
Of course Spyro would hear her and want to make sure she's okay, that's just the type of dragon he was. His insistence on helping others was just one of the many things that had made Cynder fall in love with him, not that she could ever muster up the courage to actually tell him.
'Maybe if I stay quiet he'll leave', Cynder thought. She really didn't want anyone to see her like this, especially not Spyro.
"Cynder, are you in there? Please just let me know you're okay?"
Cynder sighed in frustration, Spyro's insistence to help may have been something she loved about him normally, but right this second it was really getting on her nerves. After wiping away her tears she took a deep breath and finally spoke.
"I'm here Spyro, I'm okay."
"Can I come in?" He responded.
"Yeah, you can come in."
The door slowly creaked open, and Spyro peaked his head in.
"Cynder, what's wrong?" He asked, worry in his voice as he walked over to Cynder's bed and sat down.
"It's nothing Spyro, really I'm fine."
"Nothing? Cynder I could hear you scream from down the hall, and I can tell that you've been crying. Please, just tell me what's wrong."
"Fine," Cynder sighed, "I just, had a little nightmare, that's it. It's not a big deal, honestly."
"Do you wanna talk about it?" Spyro asked, still concerned for his friend. "What was it about?"
"I, I don't remember, really."
"Cynder, has anyone ever told you you're a terrible liar?" Spyro replied with a chuckle, happy to see a small smile form on Cynder's face for just a brief moment.
"Promise you won't be upset at me?" Cynder asked, as the smile on her face disappeared.
"Of course, why would I be upset with you?"
"Well, the nightmare was about you…" She said, looking down in shame.
"Oh." Spyro replied, a bit stunned by her answer. "Uh, what did I do in this nightmare?"
"..."
"Cynder?"
Cynder raised her head to look at Spyro, tears once again flowing down her face. "You s-said that someone l-like me couldn't really ch-change, a-and that you w-would never forgive m-me for what I d-did, and then y-you killed m-me!" She sobbed, wrapping her arms around Spyro and burying her head in his chest.
Not sure what else to do Spyro began to rub her back in an attempt to comfort her. "Shh, it's okay Cynder, it was just a dream, it wasn't real."
"All those dragons I killed were real though…" She said, barley above a whisper. "I'm so sorry, I never wanted to hurt anyone…"
"Cynder, listen to me, what happened wasn't your fault, that blood is on Malefor's claws. I know that, the Guardians know that, and deep down I think you know that too. And if anyone ever tries to tell you otherwise you find me and I'll set them straight real quick, okay?"
"Okay…" She responded. "I still feel horrible though…"
"I know you do, but you know what that means? It means you aren't the monster you think you are, because a true monster wouldn't feel any remorse for what they've done. You can't change the past but what you can do is fight to make sure Malefor can't hurt anyone else."
"I… suppose you're right, thanks Spyro." Cynder said, before letting out a yawn.
"Getting tired?" Spyro asked with a chuckle, and Cynder responded with a small nod. "Well I better let you get some sleep then." He said, getting up to leave.
"Wait, Spyro!" Cynder called out. "Um… do you think you could, maybe… stay with me tonight?"
"Sure." Spyro replied with a smile, turning around and walking over to the end of Cynder's bed, preparing to lie down. The floor certainly didn't look like the most comfortable place in the world to sleep, but for Cynder he didn't mind.
"Actually…" Cynder said with a sheepish grin, "I was hoping maybe you could sleep WITH me, in my bed?"
"Uh…" Spyro's face turned beet red, "I don't really think-"
"Please Spyro?" She asked, "I just really don't want to be alone tonight."
Finding himself unable to say no to the sad look on her face Spyro got up and climbed onto the bed next to Cynder, a blush still visible on his face.
"Thank you." She said, nuzzling him slightly.
"N-no problem." He replied. Truth be told, ever since he rescued her from the Convexity a few weeks ago he had developed a secret crush on Cynder. For the most part he had been able to hide his feelings (he hoped), but actually sharing a bed with her made his heart race so much it felt like it would burst out of his chest. The two of them laid down, with Spyro trying his hardest to focus on falling asleep, and not his crush laying in the same bed with him. Suddenly he felt a small peck on his cheek.
"Goodnight, Spyro." Cynder said, before resting her head on his shoulder.
"Yeah… goodnight…" Was all he could manage to say, in disbelief at what just happened.
'Does she…? No, there's no way.' Spyro thought to himself. 'But what if she does? Maybe one day I'll be brave enough to find out…'
By now Cynder had fallen asleep, and Spyro could feel her chest slowly rise and fall as she slept.
"Sleep tight, Cynder." He said as he wrapped a wing around her before drifting off to sleep himself.
Author's Note: Thank you for reading! After 10+ years of reading fanfics I finally decided to write my own, I'm sure this story can be improved, so please if you have any constructive criticism be sure to leave a review.