Chapter 12:

Despite the castle being very large. It was also very empty. Apart from Nestor, Sparks, Spyro, and I.. No one else lived here.

Now that wasn't to say that it wasn't a lonely little place. Over dinner Spyro told me stories about how there would be meeting held within the dining room, and parties in the ballroom. Though I asked why no one else lived here since it was such a large and spacious place.

"I'm not really sure honestly." he said. "I guess we've always just seen this place as a gathering spot, and less of a home."

So I spent that morning exploring the castle. Seeing if there was anything interesting to find. I had woken early that morning, which wasn't abnormal for me, I've always been an early bird. I then left the room I was staying in, which instead of sharing a room with Spyro, last night I slept in the room across from him. The room was mostly empty say besides a dresser with a mirror and a large bed.

The hallways were bathed in an orange and pink glow, that slowly began to fade as time went on. I had only explored the second floor, which was mostly just made up of different empty bed rooms and a library. So I made my journey to the first floor in hopes of finding something more interesting.

I stood in the main room. I decided to admire the paintings on the walls. Many depicted different dragons which I concluded were previous rulers of the dragon realm. Some were of monsters I hadn't seen before, but were painted in such a menacing light I guessed they weren't all to friendly.

And then there was one that really caught my eye.

It was another painting of a dragon, but this one was different from the others. The others were painted in a much more... positive light I guess you could say. All painted with light colors and all looking friendly and yet also powerful, like a proper leader should. Some were even smiling.

But not this one.

This one looked powerful and threatening. He was a dark purple, with a hint of red. Set of five horns sat on his head almost like a crown. He held an ugly scowl and his yellow eyes seemed to stare into my soul. There was something… oddly terrifying about him. I mean yes he looked threatening, but there was nothing that directly said he was an actual threat. He just looked like a very aggressive leader.

But there was something about his eyes. His eyes that said he shouldn't be trusted.

I jumped when I suddenly heard the massive front doors to the castle Creek open. Half expecting it to be someone come to get me. No it was Bianca. She looked around the main hall before her eyes landed on me and she took a step back. Guess I jumped her too.

"Oh, good morning!" She said with a smile.

"Morning." I responded back. "Did you need something?"

"Well to be honest I didn't expect that you'd be up, but since you are I guess this works out." She said walking towards me. " Yesterday, you said you wanted to know how to defend yourself, right?" She asked.

"Yes." I said with a nod.

" Well maybe I could help you with that. Maybe we can use your magic as a means of self defense."

"Thats.. Not a bad idea." I said.

"Great!" She smiled. "Follow me into the courtyard."

The courtyard was a large grassy field surrounded by a large concrete wall on all sides. Off to the side sat a decorative hedge maze, to my left was a small pod, and scattered all around the yard were different dragon shaped hedges.

"Alright! Show me what you got!" Bianca said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Your magic. Show me how strong your powers are."

I shrugged. Turning off to the side I lift my hands up and…

Nothing. To be honest I really didn't know what I was supposed to do. Was I supposed to focus on something, like a rock or a plant?

So that's what I did. I aimed my hands at a rock on the ground a few feet away. I focused on that and…

Still nothing. By this point I was frustrated, and a bit flustered. I looked at Bianca, " How?" I asked.

"How what?" She responded.

"How do I get my magic to work?" I asked, looking at my hands.

"Didn't you get them to work before?"

"Well yes but.." I thought about it. " That was more so a.. Spur of the moment thing. The only time I actually used my magic, I wasn't meaning to. I was just reacting to something happening and.. Then my magic showed up."

Bianca rested her hand on her chin as she looked off to the side. She let out a hum, " I guess since your magic hasn't been used in a while, you've forgot how to activate it." She turned her back to me. Taking a few step. " That's a shame. I was hoping to see what you've GOT!" She turned back around a threw something at me. Before I could even processes anything I lifted my hands up to protect my face, and my magic caught it.

The blue aurora surrounded my hands again as the little blue orb I cast held the small, apple sized rock in mid air.

"Ah ha." She mused, walking around me as she observed my magic. " Since you haven't used your magic in years you've forgotten how to activate it at will. Now it only appears when you feel a sudden emotion. Such as fear or surprise. "

"I see.." I respond. I put my hands to my sides, breaking the spell, and the rock fell to the soft earth with a thud. " But was the rock necessary?"

" I admit it was bit out of line, but it worked didn't it?" She smiled sheepishly. "Anyways, our next course of act now, is to get you to knowingly use your magic."