Hi dear readers, here we have a new chapter. It was planned to be a bit longer but in the end I decided to cut the last part, in order to use it for the next chapter. I want also thank all the new followers and the reviewers who left their opinion on this story. Hope you will enjoy this new chapter. Also this could be the last publication for a little while. I plan to resume fully by the end of February.
-Azotac
After a couple of minutes the group of youngsters landed in front of the infirmary building, bursting the door open.
"HELP!"Screamed Cynder, her voice raising over the loud sounds of her partner. Seconds later a bunch of moles showed up with a stretcher, with Aramis following them suit. The moles took Spyro and ran along the corridor, disappearing behind a turn.
"You young ones stay here, I'll come back as soon as we discover what's the problem."Said Aramis in a commanding tone, not leaving space for any kind of 'but',then she walked away in the same direction which the moles went.
Cynder dropped down her shoulder, sighing heavily. It was evident that there were a lot of things going on in her mind in that moment. The primary one being the huge worry for her purple lover. She thought of what happened that morning, when he also had something similar, and how he quickly dismissed that as nothing.
"Just how many things does he hide to protect me?"She thought all of a sudden.
Auros observed the dragoness beside him. He proved pity for her, trying to imagine how it's like to see the only one you love suffer in that way. He wanted to do something to at least comfort her, but remembering what happened in those caves during the rescue mission, he decided to just talk to her. The last thing he wanted to do was make his friend even more uncomfortable.
"Hey Cynder"Called Auros. The dragoness turned to face him. He wore the usual reassuring smile. She noticed that also this time he refrained to touch her to get her attention, actually he didn't get closer to her at all.
"Great job Cynder, now he fears you!"She thought sadly.
"I'm sure he's going to be fine. He's the purple dragon after all…"He continued, trying to be as much as comforting as possible while keeping the distance. She stood silent for few moments before sighing heavily again.
"Yeah…"
"I'm not that sure anymore"
Time crawled slowly until Aramis returned to the foyer of the infirmary, startling a bit the young dragons.
"How is he?"Asked with worry the black dragoness.
"Sore throat apart, he's mostly good. If you want we can go to his room, so I can explain what I think it happened."Answered the medic. The youngsters nodded before following the grey dragoness down the corridor. They entered the room in which Spyro was brought. He was sitting on a cushion, with a mole handling him some green crystals while he held in his paws a bowl filled with water and a couple of green leaves. The purple dragon offered a great smile once he saw his friends coming for him. Cynder got instantly closer to him, nuzzling his cheek.
"How are you?"
"A lot better."He reassured, replying her touch. He then turned his gaze towards the medic."This thing you gave me it's amazing. My throat is not burning anymore!"He said.
"It was just a bit of cold water with mint leaves."She replied smiling. The dragoness then circled around the other youngsters, gesturing them to take a seat. Once they were all on their haunches, she addressed them.
"So, I think that what happened to Spyro is the phenomenon called 'magic surge'".She began. The dragons watched her with confusion.
"It's an event that occurs when the magical energies of a dragon began to naturally reform in its own body, generally after depleting in extensive ways their own reserves."
"In most subjects it consist in a sudden dizziness and eventual muscular pain, caused by the energy returning in the body. Many dragons have experienced this during the war in returning from their worst battles."Aramis then turned to face Spyro.
"Giving what…happened to you and knowing that you're a purple dragon, which implies that you have far greater magic than any dragon walking on this earth, it's only logical that this event manifests it self in a far stronger way."
"Anyway you should be fine, just rest as much as you can and absorb gradually a couple of green crystals per day. You'll be good in no time."She said smiling at the youngster."Of course do not exaggerate or it may backfire"Concluded the medic. Cynder exhaled heavily, as a big boulder was lifted from her shoulder. In fact knowing that Spyro was going to recuperate his magic gave a big push in her mood. She again nuzzled him gently, with Spyro replying the cuddle moments later.
"Off you go young ones, go outside and enjoy the day. I hope not to see you here in a long time."She said smiling, while the youngsters left for the door. The grey dragoness sighed before leaving the room to direct in an another part of the infirmary. She entered another hall, where she found Argentia talking with a some nurses.
"Argentia!"Called Aramis. The silvery dragoness threw her head up, in the direction of the noise. Upon spotting the grey dragoness, she excused with the nurses and trotted towards her boss.
"Aramis, how can I help you?"
"I need to speak with the Guardians, while I'm away you're in charge, as always."She said. Argentia bowed her head, before returning to her duties. Aramis smiled at herself, before trotting down the main corridor and taking off to the Temple, leaving the white building behind. She soared quickly over the city which was calm as usual. She noticed a red dragon standing in front of Ignitus's memorial, but she quickly turned her attention to the building in front of her. Soon after she landed in front of the great wooden door that served as entrance for the Temple. The two guards bowed their heads, before letting the dragoness in. She speeded down the lustrous corridor and into the circular main hall, finding it completely empty. Raising an eyebrow, she turned to go into the guardian chambers when the door opened, revealing Terrador behind it.
"Ah, Aramis. It's a pleasure to see you again. I heard that Spyro was carried to the infirmary not too much time ago, is he fine?"Asked concernedly the earth guardian.
"Yes he will be fine… Actually I came here to talk with you about his health."She spoke with a mild preoccupied tone. Terrador raised a brow, but let the dragoness continue.
"I want to warn that even if he's steadily recovering, it doesn't mean that he's completely out of danger. He absorbed too much red gems for a dragon of his age, in a really short amount of time. I don't blame your team and my assistant for choosing to do so, because Spyro probably wouldn't be here with us if you decided otherwise."Her eyes fixed on the drake before her.
"Still, this create a new risk for him. I assume you know what happens when a dragon's body takes too much of those crystals."She asked inquisitively.
"Heart failure…"Mumbled the guardian, dropping his head. Aramis nodded, before continuing.
"Precisely and since the Spyro's poor heart already stopped once, we can't let it happened again. Of course the chances are not high, but they still pose a threat, so I advise you to keep him form absorbing red gems for at least two weeks, unless in extreme cases. Green gems are fine, since it will help his magical recovery."Concluded Aramis.
"This will make us postponing our training schedule, but it's the minimum we can do for him."Replied Terrador.
"I also advise that you keep him from knowing about this situation, he shouldn't have any more worries on his head other than recovering and resting. Maybe informing Cynder about this could be useful, since she's the one who spends almost all of her time with the purple dragon."She concluded.
"Very well, thank you Aramis for your advices, I'll do as you suggested and inform my colleagues about this development. You're free to go."
"I'm just doing my job, have nice day Master Terrador."She said bowing her head. Once Terrador heard the noise of the closing doors, he sighed and disappeared behind the door he came from.
He walked along the corridor the led to the Guardian Chambers, finding both Volteer and Cyril where he left them before. They gazed at him, noticing his sudden low morale.
"What happened Terrador?"Asked Cyril inquisitively. Terrador sighed again, turning his gaze towards them.
"Aramis came to refer that Spyro left the infirmary few minutes ago and he's steadily recovering."
"That's an astounding, magnificent news my friend, so why are you so saddened, there's something more we should know?"
"Aramis also said that he absorbed too much red gems for a dragon of his age, you know the probable consequences."He stated sadly. The other Guardians saddened.
"She said that two weeks should be fine for him to recover, in that time I think we should put extra attention on him, we can't let him get harmed."
His colleagues nodded in accordance.
"Well, now that this matter is sorted out, shall we discuss about the report from our scouts?"Asked Cyril.
"Indeed. The outcome was quite curious I should say, it seems that whatever grublin was in the zone of the eastern mountains has just disappeared into nothing, leaving no trace at all."Spoke Volteer.
"Well, I take this as a really good news. After what they've done to our Spyro, it servers them right. I would have personally hunted them down 'till the last one…"Said Cyril.
"I just hope that they really all died and not retreated to plan another attack…"Said Terrador with a concerned voice.
"Bye guys see you later at the Temple!"Said Auros before taking flight in the direction of the great building, leaving behind his black and purple friends. Cynder watched him disappear behind a tower before returning his gaze towards Spyro.
"You're sure you want to go by paws?"She asked concernedly.
"Yeah, don't worry. I just want to make sure that my right shoulder here doesn't bug me anymore."He said, gesturing with his left forepaw the scar on his purple scales.
"Fine, we should head on then, it takes a bit of time to get to the Temple from here."She said. He smiled, nuzzling her cheek, before beginning his walk along Warfang's streets. She followed him soon after, staying by his side. Their journey was rather pleasant and Spyro fortunately only showed a slightly visible limp, nothing more.
They met some citizens along their way, but they only stopped to say hi or giving best wishes for a fast recovery upon seeing his state. In fact voices of what happened to him had already spread in the city. Spyro as always replied politely and tried at his best to end the conversations and walk away from the crowds. Eventually they reached their destination and upon entering the courtyard of the Temple, they noticed the presence of a red dragoness before Ignitus's memorial. They silently got closer to the altar. Spyro didn't want to disturb the dragoness, thinking she was praying, so he focused on the construction before him, noticing that many candles were lit over the table of the altar. He walked up the steps, sitting to a comfortable distance from the dragoness, which seemed not to notice his presence. He continued to inspect the memorial, curios about the presence of the candles that clearly weren't there the week before. He noticed that some of them were of an intense purple wax, while others were just normal candles with a small piece of scroll fixed underneath it. He read one of them and find out that there was his name written on it.
The realisation struck him like a lightning.
Those candles were for him. Before he could think about anything else the dragoness beside him sighed, breaking his train of thoughts. The dragoness turned to leave, before locking her eyes onto the purple youngster few steps from her. Her sad eyes widened, before her head dropped in a bow.
"Master Spyro, it's an honour to meet you."She said with a subdued tone. Spyro stood up, facing the dragoness.
"Please don't call me like that, Spyro is enough."He said smiling. The red one raised her head, while his eyes drifted towards her side, where there was a red candle burning brightly in between the purple and white ones. Curios about that, he returned to face the dragoness and realisation hit him back again like a direct punch in the face. She looked oddly familiar, similar to…
"Dareon…"His head dropped in sadness, upon noticing a glint of pain in her eyes. He stood silent for several moments. Countless emotions were running in him, while his mind tried to figure out how to talk to her.
"I'm sorry…"He muttered in the end, his voice barely a whisper. She clearly understood to what he was referring to.
"There's nothing to be sorry about, Mast-, I mean, Spyro."She answered
"But-"
"My brother was honoured to be chosen for you rescue. He knew about the risks and took them without hesitation."She paused, her eyes fixed on the purple youngster before her.
"It's not your fault what happened to him and it's not my will to pile his death on your shoulders. All I can ask you is to remember him."She concluded. Spyro stood silent for several moments, gazing intently the marble of the altar.
"I will, miss..."
"Fiamma"
"You have my word, Miss Fiamma."He said raising his head.
"Thank you Spyro"Said the dragoness, with a smile forming on her muzzle. Her gaze then drifted towards the black dragoness and back to him again.
"I'll leave you two now, I hope you'll have fast recovery."She said bowing her head.
"Thank you"Answered Spyro. Soon after the fire dragoness took flight and disappeared behind the city's buildings.
Cynder walked beside him and nuzzled his cheek. He replied gently the gesture.
"C'mon lets get to your room, you have to rest."She said with caring voice. Spyro nodded and without another word they took flight towards the Temple, their legs too tired to walk on the stairs.
The young couple landed on the purple dragon's balcony and entered the room. The bed was still ruffled as the various coloured cushions were spread all over the place. Cynder watched closely as her partner walked towards the bed and settled between two pillows. She kept on studying him and noticed that his condition wasn't surely helped by the unclean state he was in. Even if the medics had cleaned him a bit before treating his wounds, several dried blood crusts could still be seen on his scales as well as some spots of brown earth. An idea jumped in her head, as she got closer to him.
"Spyro get up."She said in an almost commanding tone. He opened his eyelids and turned to her with a quizzical look. She smiled and prodded him with her muzzle.
"C'mon get up."
"Why?"
"'Cause you're dirty and I don't want you to look like that. I'm gonna take you a bath. No discussion."She affirmed narrowing her eyes. Spyro knew that when she talked like that, no arguing could be made, so he sighed and stood up.
"Good boy."She said, wrapping gently her tail around his neck and dragging him in his bathroom.
She again prodded him in the large bathtub and opened the water tap, letting a stream of hot water run into the marble tub. Spyro yelped for the sudden sensation but gradually relaxed. Cynder then grabbed a brush that laid on a little shelf near the tap and hopped inside the tub with him. Spyro eyed warily the tool she had in her paws, as she fixed it on her right forepaw with a leather strap. He also questioned himself on how he didn't notice the presence of that thing before in his bathroom. She returned her gaze on him, studying his body and trying to find a spot to begin with.
"Gimme your left paw."She said and he did as Cynder commanded. She grabbed his appendage and began scrubbing it with the brush, removing all the dirt that was encrusted between his claws and under his paws. She did the same with the other one and then she got closer to him, beginning to clean his upper chest, paying attention not to push too heavily on his scars. The purple dragon watched her work cautiously around his wounds, cleaning away the last remains of dried blood. Usually he did feel a bit awkward by getting washed like that, but as long as it was Cynder doing it, he would not complain. In fact he was quite enjoying it. The dragoness gradually descended on his flanks and then to his underbelly. Cynder stopped just before reaching the lower part, trying no to make him too much uncomfortable. She raised her head and watched him, noticing a small blush on his face. She grinned playfully, before licking affectionately his cheek.
"Turn around."She said.
She began to work on his back and tail, so after several minutes she finished her job. She then focused lastly on his horns and nape-frills, which took just few moments of attention to make them return to their original shine. Pleased by her work, she finally unstrapped the brush a threw it away, before grabbing Spyro with her forearms and dragging him closer to her. She felt him a little stiff and not completely relaxed, so she decided to get a little bit more passionate in her work.
She began nuzzling his neck in a sensual way, while massaging his chest with her paws. The purple dragon whimpered in what seemed to be pleasure, throwing his head back and resting it on her left shoulder, exposing completely his throat to her.
She didn't let that invitation go to waste. The dragoness began to nibble with passion his exposed neck, while keeping massaging him with her paws. She slowly descended from under his jaw to where his shoulder began and by the way her lover was reacting, she could tell that he was enjoying every second of it. In fact Spyro was in pure ecstasy.
The feeling of her warm breath over his scales and the gentle yet strong sensation of her kisses were something that he never experienced before, making him completely melt in her love and every muscle completely loosen under her moaned in pleasure, letting know that he was enjoying her attentions. In hearing those sounds she only increased her commitment in making feel as good as she could. She kept on going with her work for quite sometime, until the purple dragon fell asleep in her embrace, lulled by her caresses.
Eventually the dragoness posed her head onto the border of the tub and closed her eyes. Her mind focused on all the recent events and realised, again, how she was so close to lose her beloved Spyro for good. Grief instantly took her as her thoughts flew to what happened just few nights before.
"What would I've done if I lost him?"The question came in her head like an explosion, unsetting every good thought. She didn't really have to think about an answer. She would certainly die of sorrow. In fact Spyro was probably the only one who deeply cared for her, the only one that stood beside her no matter what, the only one who had ever loved her.
"How could I live without him?". She thought again, but soon after she realised how selfish were all of those questions and thoughts. Cynder suddenly felt disgusted about herself and of her putting her own feelings before her partner, when Spyro had always placed her before everything else in his life. Her eyes fluttered and then opened, revealing again her precious emerald eyes to the world. Her gaze turned to the purple figure in her arms, a smile tinged her face.
"As long as he's here, I've nothing to worry about…"She said in her head. Eventually she began to caress him again, as the warm water continued to flow.
An hour later
After getting dried, Spyro decided to rest a bit again before the evening. He walked over his bed and curled around a couple of cushions, resting his head on a red one and soon after closing his eyes. Cynder understood with sympathy why he did feel so drained and tired after what he had to endure during his imprisonment. She also felt a bit proud of herself, in having been an helping paw in making him feel good and relaxed after all that happened. Cynder then followed him on his bed, laying to his side, draping a wing over him and finally resting her head on his neck with her hear-hole to his scales, in order to feel the precious pulse of his heart. It was a beautiful sound that always calmed her and knowing that that same heart was beating for her and her only was something that sometimes seemed too good to be true. She was beginning to drift in her slumber when a knock came on the door. She snorted and raised her head, checking if Spyro had awakened. She giggled when she heard a light snore coming from his maw. Cynder then stood up and sped over the door before whoever was behind it tried to knock again. Once opened, it revealed Terrador standing in the corridor, he gazed at the dragoness with a mild surprised expression.
"Cynder, am I disturbing?"He asked.
"Of course no, Spyro is just resting as Aramis told him." She answered.
"Good…I came here to talk with you…"He spoke. She nodded and gently closed the door behind her back. She returned her gaze to the earth elder.
"So what did you need to tell me?"She asked intrigued.
"Well it's about Spyro…"
Terrador told her what Aramis had referred some time before and the precautions that she suggested. Cynder remained a bit dumbstruck in learning of Spyro's condition. Actually now she felt a bit guilty, as she was the one who gave her the most of the red gems. In seeing this Terrador placed his strong paw over her shoulder, gaining her attention.
"Don't worry too much, Cynder. All we need to do is make sure he stays away from danger and that he rests as much as he can. Then once he's back in full strength we can all return to our normal life."Said the Guardian in a comforting tone. The dragoness before him remained silent for a couple of seconds, before nodding in acceptance.
"Ok, thank you for telling me."
"You're welcome, young dragoness. I'll let you rest now."Said the guardian turning to the stairs. Cynder returned into Spyro's room and laid beside him in the same position as before. Soon she drifted into a light slumber.
A week later…
A beautiful evening came over the dragon realms, bathing the lands first with a golden-orange hue of the sunset and then with the soft brightness of the two moons. A lone dragon was flying in the direction of the great dragon city. His bluish almost grey scales didn't easily give away is wind element that sustained him during his journey. He was flying as fast as he could in order to deliver his message as soon as possible. He did leave from the safety of his settlement almost five days before and he flew almost non-stop since then.
After several hours of flight he managed to arrive in range to be spotted from the guards patrolling the wall. The soldiers noticed that he was a dragon, so he managed to land safely behind the ramparts over one of the numerous platforms, but before he could recuperate his bearings, a group of dragon guards reached him.
"Who are you?"They asked in a serious tone. The messenger panted for a couple of seconds before raising his head and adjusting his posture.
"My name is Cirrus and I've a message for the Guardians and the Mighty Purple Dragon."He stated, bowing his head. The two guards stared at each other and then at the dragon.
"Very, well. We'll see if the guardians are still up, if not we'll arrange you for the night and you will be received tomorrow morning."Stated one of the duo.
"Follows us"Said the other, taking flight southward. The messenger followed closely the soldiers, which directed towards the great Temple and after few minutes they all landed in front of the great door. The guards saluted with their right wing their brethren standing in front of the gate and then directed inside the building.
Cirrus was simply astonished by the magnificence of the place, his eyes darted in every directions to catch as much details as possible, even if the darkness was invading the great corridor. The guards escorted the wind drake in the main hall, in which the guardians were still present. They noticed the guards and took their places in front of them. The foreigner trio bowed to the elders, which replied with their own bow.
"My Guardians, this dragon named Cirrus has a message for you and the Purple Dragon."Stated a soldier. The elders' gaze turned to focus on the newcomer.
"Very well, tell what you need to tell us and then we'll call it for tonight."Said Terrador. The dragon walked before the guardians and bowed again.
"Mighty Guardians, I was sent from my elders to re-establish the connection between our settlement and the capital. With this occasion I also came to offer an invitation to the Purple Dragon and whoever he wish to bring with him, to come in our city and to receive formal thanks in behalf of our population."Concluded the drake. The guardians shared an interested gaze.
"I'm sorry, but the Purple Dragon won't be able to leave the city for at least a week."Said the Earth Guardian, earning a sad gaze from the wind dragon.
"May I ask why?"
"He's recovering from several injuries… Anyway we could gladly host you here at the Temple for the time being, so you'll have plenty of time to talk to us about your settlement."Proposed Cyril.
"I understand, but I have to decline. I must report back to my elders."
"We could arrange with Hunter to send a falcon to your settlement to inform them about the situation."Offered Terrador, gazing to his colleagues.
"What a nice and functional idea, Terrador!"Said Volteer. Their gaze turned to the messenger.
"Do you think it's a suitable solution?"
"Well, it should be ok."Replied the wind dragon.
"Very good."Terrador then turned to the guards.
"You're dismissed, thank you."He said. The soldiers saluted and then left.
"Come with me, Cirrus, I'll show your room for the time being."Said the earth guardian, gesturing with his wing.
They walked trough the door that led to the eastern wing of the building. Terrador stopped by a door in a corridor on the ground floor and opened it. It was a room similar to the one were Auros was living.
"Here your are, I hope you'll be comfortable enough. Rest and we will receive you again tomorrow morning to arrange the message with our friend."
"Thank you Master Terrador."
"You're welcome"Said the elder, leaving the drake alone. He moved just few steps in the room before the fatigue of his journey took his toll and made him fall asleep over the cushions of his new bed.