The Legend of Rune: Forsaken Blood

by Deeth Irteen

Four years have passed since the Malefor Ordeal has ended. Rune is enjoying life in his new home. However, things are not peaceful; new conflics have arisen across the dragon realms. The largest of which is Bergan, a purple dragon, and his daughter Tyrrany, a mysterious white dragoness. Rated M for mature themes and violence.

22. Act 2, Chapter 8

Wraith grumbled as the sunlight streamed through a window and hit him in the eyes. He moved a wing over his face and tried to go back to sleep. But then came the prodding of Cerulean's talons against his face.

"Hey, wake up, smoky." The blue drake snorted. He shoved Wraith's wing out of the way and poked him in the cheek. "You and I have work to do."

"Ugh…" Wraith blinked his eyes open and glowered at Cerulean. "Don't doctors usually say it's healthy to get plenty of rest?"

"And plenty of rest you got." Cerulean scoffed. "Now come on: you've got classes, and I've got patients."

"Alright, alright…" Wraith shifted to sit up on their shared mattress to get ready for work.

Ever since Cerulean had become a Deep Shadow, he and Wraith finally got around to courting each other. It wasn't much longer after that when they officially moved in together and became mates. And nearly four years later, they were already bickering like the old married couple they dreamed of becoming.

"Say, do me a quick favor…" Wraith said as he adjusted his robes. "Give that Lantel kid a quick thwack across the head."

"Hmm…" Cerulean glared back at the crimson drake. "Are you biased against him for picking that fight with the royal family?"

"Nah: I just think he's a twerp." Wraith snorted. "Ancestors help the dragons of Aether-Sol when he becomes the Solar King."

"Ha! I'll keep your request in mind." Cerulean nuzzled Wraith on the forehead. "Just get to work first, alright?"

"Alright, alright…" Wraith held up his forepaw to snap his talons. "See you later, Blue."

"Sure…" Cerulean smirked.

With a snap of his talons, Wraith teleported off to other parts of the Dragon Spire. And that left Cerulean to head for the medical wing… he had to double-check on Prince Lantel anyway.

That prince has a lot of growing up to do…

~~…~~

Lantel gazed up at the ceiling and sighed… just as he had for the last week or so.

The worst of the wounds were behind him at this point; all he had left were a few stray bandages scattered around his limbs. He'd be up on his feet soon; he'd be fine... right?

He'd be grateful to finally be out of there. There wasn't much for the golden prince to do while stuck in the medical ward for so long. Studying random textbooks was boring, and nobody ever brought him much else… not even Helianne could sneak anything in for him. All he had were his thoughts… and his dreads.

The second half of the arena match kept replaying in his mind. Everything had spiraled out of control once Rune went on the attack. Lantel had never seen that before in the prince. He shuddered whenever he remembered the horrifying look in the prince's eyes; the anger, the bloodlust… the bolts of purple lightning as the black prince threatened to cut into Lantel's face.

Lantel shivered and put a forepaw on his cheek; some days, he could still feel the heat from that… that convexity. He shut his eyes and tried to take a deep breath; he couldn't let it eat away at his mind…

Suddenly the door to the medical ward was opened, and Lantel stiffened as two pairs of paws made their way inside. First was Cerulean, who walked forward with a proud head. Beside him was, to Lantel's relief, Helianne. The flora dragoness looked at her brother with worried eyes as she followed the doctor up to Lantel's mattress.

"Good morning, Prince Lantel." Cerulean snorted. "You ready to finally get out of here?"

"I've been ready for days," Lantel said gruffly.

"Well then…" Cerulean picked up a pair of scissors. "Let's get to it, then."

Cerulean gradually cut away at the various bandages to expose the fully healed scales beneath them. Lantel groaned he shifted around on the mattress so the doctor could reach the bandages more easily. He flexed his wings and sighed in slight satisfaction as he gave them a few test flaps. The prince stretched out his legs, getting the crook out of them. Helianne was relieved as she saw that her brother's wings were healed.

"And there we are," Cerulean said as he removed the last of the bandages. "All fully healed."

Lantel sighed as he finally sat his paws down on the floor; it felt good to finally stand of his own accord again. Helianne wasted no time rushing up to brush against Lantel's side. He groaned in surprise, and then gently draped a wing over her back as she continued to hug him.

"Are you okay?" Lantel asked her softly.

"Of course I'm okay," Helianne replied.

Lantel looked at her face and saw that they were a bit red this morning. He pursed his lips and patted her head. "You… seem a little..."

"I was just… crying because I was happy that you'd finally be out of the medical wing today." Helianne insisted. Lantel wasn't convinced, but he didn't want to press the issue; he just let go of her gently, before turning to face Cerulean.

"Your set of clothes is right over there." Cerulean pointed to a large box on the other side of the room. "All of your personal effects were collected from your locker beside the arena."

"What about my armor?" Lantel asked.

"It's all packed up in your room, as far as I know." The water drake snorted.

The golden prince sighed in derision. "Thanks, Sir Guardian."

"Deep Shadow." He corrected as he waved a talon. "Times have changed, Princy-poo."

Lantel took a minute to put on all of his usual regal items: his fine white cape, his stockings, his jewelry… and last but not least, his scabbard. The prince's golden sword was left leaning against a wall in its sheath, and Lantel wasted no time affixing it to his waist.

"Did I miss anything important, sis?" He asked her as he adjusted his belt.

"N-Nothing too important…" Helianne shook her head. "Classes have gone on as usual. No new attacks have hurt anybody outside the Dragon Spire."

"Hmph… I guess that's good news."

Lantel stood tall and looked himself in the mirror; ah, it felt good to see that big, strong, handsome prince looking back at him. But as Lantel was admiring himself in the mirror, he noticed a golden-scaled dragoness stepping into the medical wing: Deep Shadow Apella had arrived with a dour expression. Lantel frowned, while Helianne tensed up and backed out of the way with her ear frills drooped.

"Ah, you're just in time to collect the prince." Cerulean grinned as he gave his fellow Deep Shadow a nod. "He's currently getting all dressed up."

"Hmph, I can certainly see that…" Apella grunted. She politely nudged her way past Cerulean to approach Lantel. She briefly sighed in pity upon seeing Helianne, but her glare only deepened the closer she got to her nephew. Lantel winced as he turned around to take a regal stance. Despite his proud stance, the scales on the back of his neck shivered with worry: It wasn't very often when the former Guardian got so cross with him.

"G-Good morning, Aunt Apella." He gave a smile as he fluttered his wings. "I'm finally back in top condition."

"Good," Apella said flatly as she sneered down at her niece and nephew. "The three of us need to talk."

"About what?" Lantel asked cautiously.

"About all of that business with Prince Rune." The dragoness declared. Helianne sucked in a breath but said nothing, while Apella lead the way back to the door she'd walked in.

"Come along, you two." She pointed her snout for the prince and princess to get moving. "Lantel, you have a lot of schoolwork to catch up on, and that's just for starters."

"What does it matter?" Lantel demanded. "It's not like we'll be staying here for much longer."

Apella's eyes widened, and she immediately sneered. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Uhh…" Helianne nervously grasped the hem of her cloak. "Lantel…"

"Isn't it obvious?" Lantel huffed as he stepped out into the hallway. "After Dad finds out what's been going on here, there's no way he'll want Sis and me to stay in the Dragon Spire for very long." The prince scowled "Not while THEY are living here."

"Is that a fact?" Apella raised an eye ridge.

Lantel and Helianne stepped out into the hallway. Apella followed after them and slammed the door shut. She then marched ahead, snapping her talons for the pair to follow behind. Lantel shivered again as he followed after her; it seemed like she was more upset with HIM than the midnight-scaled bastard who'd put him in the medical wing. But his shivering wasn't nearly as bad as Helianne's; she couldn't even dare to look up at their aunt. Lantel kept a wing draped over Helianne's back to try and comfort her.

"Aunt Apella… what's wrong?" He asked nervously. "What are you upset about?"

"Oh, lots of things…" The dragoness glowered. "Right now, the thing that's drawing the most ire out of me… is YOU."

"Me?" Lantel balked.

"Frankly, Lantel…" His aunt turned to sneer at him again. "I'm surprised you think your father is going to give you what you want, after all of this."

"Aunt… Aunt Apella…" Helianne spoke lowly. "That… That's not…"

Lantel frowned at his sister; he stepped forward to fully shield her as he faced their aunt. The golden dragoness held a fierce glare, which formed a pit in the prince's stomach.

"W-What makes you think Dad won't side with us?" Lantel asked incredulously.

"Hmm… How about the fact that you've made a complete arse of yourself lately?" Apella declared. "And here I thought I could be proud to call you one of my best students."

"Wh-What?" Lantel gasped.

"I used to think you were a level-headed, if a bit proud, young prince." Apella snorted. "A fine specimen of our family line. And then… you go and build yourself a rivalry out of a newer student of mine." The dragoness rumbled in her throat. "Tell me: just how long have you felt emasculated by the presence of a black dragon in my classes? Was your pride really too wounded to swallow?"

"It… It had nothing to do with pride!" Lantel exclaimed.

"Oh, I'm sure it didn't…" Apella snorted again. "Your little wingspan-measuring contest down in the arena had NOTHING to do with pride." She wracked her talons on the floor. "Though it's not quite my place to say, I had absolutely NO ONE to root for in that match. It was either my nephew, or a future high king, and BOTH of them still need my guidance. Whoever won, I had to watch someone I care for getting hospitalized!" Apella couldn't help but gnash her fangs as she bore down on him. "Why did you have to put me through that, Lantel?!"

Lantel's expression weakened; he could see genuine hurt in his aunt's eyes. Apella turned away to walk a few more paces down the hall, as she struggled to keep her composure.

He could imagine the look of horror she must have had as she watched the fight unfold. Lantel could feel his confidence breaking down; m-maybe he never should have called for the challenge. Maybe he should have…

No. No, he couldn't let self-doubt in again; especially not in front of Helianne. He had to find something to be angry about, and fast… aha! Of course!

"Why didn't you step in when the prince started freaking out?" Lantel demanded. "Why didn't you prevent him from putting me in the medial wing?!" He stamped his forepaw. "Didn't you just say you cared for me, Aunt Apella?! Aren't you supposed to be looking out for me?!"

Apella slowed to a stop. She took a deep breath before turning to glare down at the prince. She tapped her talons on the floor as she ruffled her wings. "Do you… REALLY want to try playing that card?"

"Well… YES." Lantel said forcefully. "What do you think Dad's going to say when you tell him what happened?"

"What oh WHAT, indeed?" Apella gave a furious glare. "What will your father say, when he finds out that you think he's a laughingstock back in Aether-Sol?"

Helianne shivered, while Lantel's eyes widened. "Uh…"

"What will your father say…" Apella looked right at Helianne. "When he learns of how you allegedly got intimate with Prince Rune?"

Helianne gasped; she covered her muzzle with a paw as her eyes went wide with horror. Lantel looked at his sister worriedly as she stepped forward to lower her head before Apella.

"It's just a rumor!" Helianne pleaded. "We didn't do anything taboo! He never touched me anywhere! It's all just a nasty, ugly lie!"

Apella sighed, and she lowered her head to speak a bit softer. "There is more than one definition of intimate."

Helianne paused. "Wh-What?"

"Helianne… have you ever, at any point, told Prince Rune you loved him?"

The flora dragoness balked and then sneered. "Wh-what's the point in asking?"

"Tell the truth," Apella demanded. "You must have done something with Rune that night. Just tell me what it was already. Lying will only dig yourself deeper and deeper."

Helianne gulped. She twiddled her talons together as her tail twitched with worry. She grasped her cloak and pulled it tighter over her back.

"We… uh…" Her eyes darted this way and that. "We… occasionally shared some poetry. We've said that kind of romantic stuff together… but it was never serious."

"So, all you did was share poetry?" Apella snorted. "Is that what lead to Rune breaking a piece of his horn off in your room?"

Helianne shivered. "Well… we were… outside late… talking."

"Talking," Apella said flatly.

"Yes… out on my balcony."

"So, you were talking, and that broke Rune's horn… and sent the piece flying into your bedroom." Apella scowled. "I'm getting real tired of your lies, Helianne."

Helianne grabbed her cape and pulled it down all the tighter. "I… I just can't tell you. It… It would ruin everything."

"Everything is already ruined, girl." Apella snapped. "And now, no matter how hard I try, I can't stop the rumors that you've given yourself over to Prince Rune."

Lantel's eye twitched, and he growled. "Now do you see why I wanted to fight him?"

"HUSH!" Apella poked Lantel on the muzzle, making him freeze. She lowered her head to glare into Lantel's eyes, who shivered even more; he never liked it when his aunt got this way.

"What will your father say, when you declared a challenge against Rune and demanded that he use his full power against you?" Apella snorted. "Ah, but you wanted to prove what a big, strong young solar drake you are, didn't you?" She fanned out her wings. "You needed to flex your muscles, and try to beat down on a black dragon prince at his full power."

"Err…" Lantel tugged at the collar of his cape. He tried putting on a brave face as he hugged his sister once again. "I wanted to defend Helianne's honor!"

"No; you wanted to beat Rune into the ground, all while his own mother watched." Apella snapped. "And even when he tried to relent, you tried assaulting him in the ring. Attacking him. Pushing him further and further… and then, out of anger, HE FOUGHT BACK."

Apella slammed her forepaw against the wall, making her niece and nephew wince.

"Do you have any idea what kind of a mess you two have made?!" Apella hissed. "Your father, and Queen Elenar, have rubbed their scales RAW trying to build peaceful relations between light and dark dragons! Prince Rune is the future of Warfang, and you are the heir of the Steward House! And you're trying to make mortal enemies out of the descendants of Spyro and Cynder?!" She slammed her paws down, making the teenagers jump. "It's because of the twin sages that our bloodline was given back the power we'd lost thanks to Malefor! We barely managed to keep diplomatic ties, even after the Order of Culmubrae tore us apart. And yet now, you're going to just up and destroy a century and a half of goodwill?!"

Helianne backed up and shivered. Lantel's heart sank, and he hugged his sister all the closer.

"D-Don't you care what has become of our family's reputation back home?!" Lantel exclaimed. "None of the solar dragon nobles respects our bloodline anymore!"

"Solar dragon nobles are NOT the future of the crown!" Apella prodded Lantel in the chest. "You are the FUTURE SOLAR KING! You are supposed to be rising to be the example that other solar dragons follow! But instead, you waste your time either flexing your masculinity or trying to make enemies out of your father's allies! What is WRONG with you, Lantel?! Are you trying to incite another war?!"

"NO!" Lantel screamed. He sucked in a breath and tried to keep himself from shaking as he fought back his worries.

"Why would I want ANOTHER war, after what happened to Aether-Sol last time?!" He stamped his paw and glared back at his aunt. "Do you have any idea how horrified it made me when… when…" He glared over at Helianne. "When you started falling for Rune?!"

Helianne shivered. "Lantel…"

"You've acted like nothing bad happened to our family at all!" Lantel shouted. "Did you forget that King Baneth brought our father into groveling submission?! And that was before he nearly destroyed Warfang!"

"I… I didn't forget any of that…" Helianne shivered as she backed up against a wall. "It's just… when we first came here with Aunt Apella… Rune was so nice." Helianne wiped a few tears from her eyes. "He wasn't anything like how we'd heard Baneth was. And besides, he…" She ruffled her cloak and then shook her head. "Oh, what's the point in trying to defend him?"

Helianne looked up sadly at her aunt. "Rune's left; gone for another half a year. And… I don't know what's going to happen when he gets back." She took a shrill breath. "Maybe… Maybe I won't spend time together with him anymore. I… I won't dishonor the family, Aunt Apella. I'm… I'm sorry that I hurt you."

Apella's anger weakened a bit; she took a deep breath, and then wiped off the sleeve of her cloak.

"What's done is done..." She said calmly. "The both of you will have to face the consequences of your actions."

Lantel gritted his fangs, while Helianne sighed sadly. The prince lightly brushed his cape against his scabbard to cradle it for support. This drew Apella's attention, and she raised an eye ridge.

"Ah, that's a perfect reminder…" Apella came to a stop and glared down at him. "Prince Lantel, until further notice, you're no longer welcome in my classes."

"What?!" Lantel shouted in alarm, while Helianne flinched.-

"Your grudge against the black dragon royal bloodline MUST come to an end." Apella declared. "As such, you're going to be relocated to historical and alchemical classes up in The Nexus, starting TODAY."

"What?!" Lantel shouted even louder.

"You have an hour to eat breakfast, and then you are to report to your first class with Deep Shadow Aegis." Apella declared. "And if you refuse, you're going to get an automatic F in all of your magic-related academics for the rest of the year."

"But…"

Apella held her forepaw out before Lantel and sneered. "Give me your sword."

"What?!" Lantel's eyes widened. "You're even taking my sword away?!"

"You won't need it, seeing as you're banned from sword practice." She snorted. "Now hand it over."

"But…" Lantel's lip quivered as he clutched his scabbard. "This… This is my heirloom. Mother had it commissioned for me."

"Give it to me, Lantel." Apella's anger seethed. She stomped her forepaw and shook the floor. Lantel struggled to keep from being knocked off his feet. The last of his confidence finally melted away as the dragoness bore angrily down into him. With a wince, Lantel removed the scabbard from his side and shakily held it up before the dragoness. She snatched it from his grasp and affixed it to her waist, before glaring at him once again.

"You're not to use any other swords, not even for training." She snapped. "You've lost the right to fight with a blade. So you'd better learn to fight with other weapons."

Lantel's eyes didn't leave his scabbard; they filled with tears, and he forced himself to choke back pain. Helianne walked up and brushed against her brother to try and give him support.

"Princess Helianne, your punishment will be… different." Apella leaned down to hold her forepaw out to the flora dragoness. "Give me your cape."

Immediately Helianne spread out her limbs and yelped in fright. "Wh-What?!"

"If you won't expose your secrets, then you'll expose your wings," Apella said sternly. "I'm not shielding you from attending physical training anymore; you have to face it head-on."

"B-B-But…" Helianne fell back onto her haunches and shivered. "B-But I'm not ready."

"Tough." Apella held out her forepaw again. "Give me the cape… or else your punishment will be even worse."

Helianne flinched. With shaking paws, she reached up to grasp the fabric of her cape. She tried to lift it, but every time it budged, she cried a little. Lantel's heart sank yet again; he very cautiously stepped up to help her grasp the fabric. Little by little, he pulled it off to expose her scarred wings. He extended his wings to shield her from anyone who might walk down the hallway. With tearing eyes, Helianne looked away and held up her cape to Apella. The Deep Shadow gently took it and draped it over her back.

"This is how things will go on until your father arrives in Warfang," Apella said coldly. "You two had better keep on your best behavior. Do I make myself clear?"

"Y-Yes Aunt Apella." Lantel and Helianne said glumly.

"Deep Shadow Apella." She wracked her talons on the carpet; tiny singes rose from each talon end. "And say it as you mean it."

The prince and princess worriedly looked her in the eyes. "S-Sorry, Deep Shadow Apella."

"Good…" She took another deep breath and turned around. "Now, I have a class to prepare for. You two had better work hard at making things up to your father and me. I mean it!"

And with that, the dragoness took off down the hallway, leaving her niece and nephew in stunned silence. Lantel balled his first and struck the while, while Helianne nervously flapped her wings. She teared up again as she looked back at her scars; it was all she could do to keep from breaking down.

Lantel couldn't think of anything to say to get himself out of this. He looked down at his waist, where his scabbard used to be. His sword, his prized possession… just been taken away. His reputation as one of his aunt's best students was… gone. Everything had just fallen apart.

And it was all because of Rune…

Damnit, what was the point of being angry at Rune? Lantel fought him… and LOST. He tried to fight at his best, only to get beaten down. And now, Rune was gone for half a year, leaving everyone behind to think back to the day that the golden prince was cut down and made into a fool.

"I…" Helianne said with a trembling lip. "I sh-should get going…"

"B-Bye, Sis…" Lantel said. "I'll… see you later."

Helianne hugged Lantel with her wing, and he hugged her back. They didn't let go for several moments. When they finally broke apart, they went their separate ways. Helianne looked left and right, hoping that nobody would see her as she vanished around a corner. Lantel watched her go with a heavy chest; he wanted so badly to just run over and take care of her. To protect her from anyone who might make a snide comment…

But he had to report to the Nexus soon; he wasn't even in the mood to get a bite to eat first. Lantel held his head up and tried to storm down the hallway with as much anger as he could muster.

And the entire time… he tried not to cry.

~~…~~

"Alright, kids," Wraith said with the best smile he could give. "It's only a bit of shadow-fire. You don't have to make a lot; just enough to light the match that each of you was given at the start."

Wraith stood at the front of a small classroom, with an even smaller group of students. There were only a dozen or so of them; three were no older than nine. Cyrus and Ozul were seated near the front. Ozul yawned as he tried to focus on what Wraith was saying… but he found himself distracted by Cyrus's outfit.

The prince was dressed in an elaborate cloak, which covered his wings and fell to his legs. The cloak was rimmed with fur, with a similar trim along the bottom. He wore elaborate stockings, also lined with fur, and each talon wore a silver ring. Cyrus decorated his horns with more rings, as well as a necklace to go along with his convexity crystal. Ozul found the outfit rather garish, but the prince himself felt nice and prim and proper… or rather, he did before he slumped over with boredom during Wraith's lecture.

"One by one, now," Wraith said. "Take your time."

The various students set to work trying to create tiny bits of shadow-fire under Wraith's supervision. Ozul moved his textbooks to the side and created a bit of flame in his free paw, much to the teacher's approval. Naturally, the younger students had great difficulty; what shadow dragon didn't? But, of course, each of those little kids seemed quite glum that they couldn't pull off the technique properly. Wraith grimaced… until he got an idea.

"Prince Cyrus!" Wraith declared with a grin. "Give your fellow students a quick demonstration of your skills."

Cyrus just sighed as he stuck a talon out and created a bit of shadow-fire. Immediately the younger students ooh'd and ahh'd at the sight, while the students closer to Cyrus's age just grunted. Ozul in particular was perturbed by the way Cyrus's black flame danced along his talons; it came dangerously close to his stocking.

"Master Wraith, isn't he being reckless?" Ozul asked aloud as he pointed at Cyrus. The prince sneered and doused his flame.

"You may be right." Wraith pursed his lips. "Cyrus, make sure you don't wind up setting your lovely attire ablaze."

"I know better than that…" Cyrus snorted, whilst casting Ozul a glance. "Spoil-sport."

"Now, let's take the time to show the others how it's done," Wraith said. "From the beginning…"

Wraith wanted to be proud of Cyrus; it was easier than being proud of himself lately. These days, it seemed like all the other Deep Shadows had important roles. Grail was in charge of the military force within Warfang's walls. Apella was the Chief Sword-mistress who also managed the defenses around the Dragon Spire. Cerulean was the chief medical officer and a damn good one at that. And up above? Aegis and Lilith were in charge of that little school in The Nexus that helped artificial dark dragons get used to who they were. Dona and Rose were… well, maybe just Rose was now the master spy; always sneaking around to make sure suspicious characters were caught before they did anything too heinous.

Dona's run off with her daughter, Wraith thought with a snort. And Rose has her forepaws full trying to track down Bergan.

And then there was Albanion and Elza. Even with the wind dragoness technically out of active duty, she was the closest keeper of the High Queen's secrets. And Albanion… Wraith sighed. What didn't Albanion do? He was a Salve-master, Royal Bodyguard, Leader of the Deep Shadows… and beloved uncle to the princes.

Wraith came to a stop and sighed. Sure, he had the job of teaching students about the various forms of magic. And sure, he also supervised the development of the apprentices… But that wasn't much of a job. Chalice and Tina were at the point where they could handle most of the big tasks for him; they were practically graduates already. Wraith felt all the more redundant these days. He frequently thought back to his life four years prior, when he was off on that grand adventure with Cyrus after the prince ran away from home.

I can't believe it: I'm actually reminiscing about that whole mess… Wraith grimaced. Not a good sign.

Eventually, Wraith was snapped out of his daydreaming when he heard a fierce burst of magical flames. He looked up to see Cyrus creating a considerably-large orb of dark flames over his head. The prince then proceeded to balance the mystical dark mist and fire upon a single talon, and he spun it about like a ball with ease. Once again the younger students were enraptured by Cyrus's antics, while the other students just rolled their eyes… except for Ozul, who worriedly leaned away from him.

"Cyrus, stop that!" Ozul protested. "You're freaking me out!"

"Oh, just chill…" Cyrus snorted again.

"Cut that out, Prince Cyrus." Wraith snapped. With a snap of his talons, the crimson drake stood before the prince. He opened her jaws and clamped them down upon the dark fireball, much to the students' surprise. Wraith turned toward a window, opened it up, and belched out the flames. He then backed up and coughed, while a few of the students laughed.

"Ugh…" Ozul covered his muzzle with a paw.

"That…" Wraith coughed as he closed the window. "…Was a spicy veggie-ball…"

"What was that about?" Cyrus asked.

"I ought to ask the same thing." Wraith declared. "That wasn't at all the technique I was expecting you to pull off, Cyrus."

"Yeah, well…" Cyrus rubbed his upper foreleg. "I've made about a thousand of those little darkfire matches over the years. It got a bit old, so I wanted to show the others what real shadow magic could look like."

"Uh-huh…" Wraith raised an eye ridge. "There's a time and a place for that kind of thing, you know."

"Well, why not here and now?" Cyrus declared. "Things have been rough in Warfang lately, and a lot of the other students are scared stiff. Although…" He put on a grin and fanned his wings proudly. "As long as they've got a single black dragon in the Dragon Spire, they can rest assured that they're safe."

There was an awkward silence in the room. Ozul rolled his eyes and propped up a textbook to read from it. Wraith just slapped his muzzle with a forepaw; of all the times for the prince to be a show-off. Wraith was tired of it, the other students were tired of it, and even Elenar was growing tired of it. Did Cyrus think that Wraith and the other Deep Shadows were unaware of his magical prowess? Why couldn't he be humble for once while in front of the other students? Why couldn't he…?

Wraith poked an eye between his talons as an idea struck his mind. He brought his forepaw down and turned a mischievous smirk toward the grinning prince.

"Alright then, hotshot…" Wraith snorted. "Since you're clearly ready to demonstrate all the advanced and incredible magic at your disposal… why not demonstrate to your fellow students how to properly teleport?"

Immediately Cyrus's grin was gone, and his eyes widened. "T-Teleport?"

"Yes. Teleport." Wraith held his forepaw before himself. "Something like this..."

With a snap of his talons, Wraith was gone. He reappeared clear across the room in a puff of smoke, much to the younger students' surprise. Cyrus's face paled as he looked back at Wraith.

"It's the most advanced form of shadow-jumping there is," Wraith said. With a wave of his forepaw, a piece of chalk lifted on the other side of the room and began writing of its own accord upon the board. "Normally a shadow dragon calls upon the deep core of their magic and has to heavily concentrate just to create the little pockets in space that allow us to seemingly sink into our shadows. With a bit more power, they can create two holes in space, along with a tunnel between the pair. We then sink through one hole, travel through the tunnel, and come out to the end. Normally, this takes a minute or two to pull off properly."

The piece of chalk drew up a diagram demonstrating Wraith's lecture. The crimson drake held his own grin as he brought his forepaw before himself.

"But, with years of practice and training, and a whole lot of diligence, the magical holes in space can be conjured up almost instantaneously…" He brought his talons together. "Like so!"

Wraith snapped his talons and reappeared just before Cyrus's desk once again. The crimson drake placed his forepaw on Cyrus's desk, while the prince grimaced and shrank down in his cushion.

"So, oh great and mighty black dragon prince…" Wraith locked eyes with Cyrus. "Have you been studying enough to pull off the technique?"

"Uh…" Cyrus stammered. He wracked his talons upon the desk as his tail shook with unease. A few of the nearby students began to chuckle, which made the prince blush. "K-Kind of?"

"Kind of?" Wraith balked. "There is no kind-of teleporting unless you want to end up stuck halfway inside a wall." He moved his forepaw and cleared his throat. "So, either you can teleport, or you can't. Which is it?"

"I can!" Cyrus exclaimed defensively. "Of course, I can!"

"Then do it." Wraith declared. "Demonstrate proper teleportation, Prince Cyrus. Up at the front, where everyone can see you."

Cyrus gulped as he rose from his seat. He slowly and awkwardly made his way to the front of the classroom, where he looked about at the other students. Wraith made his way over to a corner of the room to watch the spectacle unfold. The prince awkwardly held a forepaw before himself. Wraith sighed as he looked upon the nervous twitches of the prince: He almost felt bad for putting him on the spot like that. But hey, if Cyrus was so desperate for attention, then he got what he wanted, for better or worse.

"O-Okay…" Cyrus cleared his throat as he closed his talons. "Here goes…"

Cyrus created an aura of shadowy black mist around his forepaw, and he shut his eye as he snapped his talons…

Poof

Cyrus vanished in a cloud of smoke… only to reappear a few inches over where he was standing. He landed with a grunt upon his feet, much to the awkward stares of the other students.

Ozul looked up from his textbook and then rolled his eyes. "Same old Cyrus…"

"Well…" Wraith said with a grimace. "That was… technically teleportation. I didn't necessarily tell you how far to go. Good job."

"I can do better!" Cyrus exclaimed. He immediately snapped his talons again. He vanished in a puff and then reappeared exactly where he stood. The prince then tried it a third time, more desperate than before. But after he vanished, not only did he just come right back, but he was upside-down. The other students had a fit of laughter as everyone got a not-so-glorious view of Cyrus's rump beneath his princely robes.

"Alright, alright, settle down all of you," Wraith ordered as he took center stage again. He stood before Cyrus so the prince had a chance to right himself and hide his flushing face.

"Let's just take this as a lesson on why it's important to be calm and to concentrate before trying advanced techniques for the first time," Wraith said; he lightly tapped Cyrus on the shoulder with his tail.

"Grrr…" Cyrus stood up with an irritable growl. "Why would I need to teleport, anyway? I have time magic! It does the same thing!"

"No, it doesn't," Ozul said as he stuck a talon in the air. "With time magic, you're freezing the world around you; you still have to move to get over to where you want to go before time unfreezes. But with teleporting, you're traveling through magical holes really fast in normal time."

"Thanks, Captain Know-It-All," Cyrus grumbled as he walked over to his seat. Wraith just rolled his eyes at their banter; this wasn't the first time Ozul had corrected the prince on the application of elements.

The crimson drake clasped his forepaws together; in an instant, a series of textbooks appeared on every student's desk, including Cyrus's. It was a different textbook from the one Ozul was reading, so it nearly made him jump out of his scales in surprise.

"Let's all review the history of the Shadow dragons, starting with the old days of living specifically in places of extreme climates," Wraith said. Some of the students groaned, to which Wraith rolled his eyes. "Oh, don't act like it's boring. Besides, it's going to be on the tests one day. I want to see muzzles in those books, kids."

As the students got to reading, Wraith sat at his desk to prepare his schedule for next week. During the reading, the drake's ear frills picked up a distinct whisper… which made Cyrus wince.

"I'll bet Prince Rune could have done it."

Wraith scowled; he listened in closely, but couldn't figure out who said it. On occasion, he'd glance over at Cyrus, who still held flushing cheeks as he angrily read from his textbook.

Sorry, kiddo. Wraith sighed. Just trying to keep you humble.

~~…~~

Holly hummed a merry tune to herself as she stepped into the training arena.

It had been a rather good day today; the air was clear, and she hadn't heard any stories about people getting hurt in town. Holly was always relieved on days like this; nobody deserved to be hurt in Warfang.

She had a sway to her step as she marched up the bleachers to take a seat. Holly almost thought she was the first one inside… only for a gust of wind to send a piece of her scrap paper flying up to her snout. Holly moved the paper from her snout, and sure enough, Brisa was seated right beside her, chuckling playfully.

"Sorry about that, Holly," Brisa said.

Holly just sighed and put the paper away before sitting down. "How come you never just walk anywhere?"

"Eh, I never want the travel to take too long." Brisa flapped her wings. "Besides, I don't want them to bust my chops over running late."

Holly simply shrugged as she settled in. She double-checked to make sure her training gear was all in its proper place, while the rest of the students filed into the arena to take their seats.

Before long, the floor shook as General Grail made his way into the arena. All of the dragonesses hushed up and watched as he loomed by the doorway and glared at someone outside.

"Training is about to begin." He said sternly. "Next time, make sure you get here faster." There was a pause of silence, and the General snorted. "Just get in here and sit down."

Holly and Brisa watched curiously; who could he have been talking to? The answer left them and a lot of the other students stunned. A frail green dragoness nervously walked past Grail to look around; it was Helianne. The flora dragoness was wearing training gear and trying her best to make her wings look as small as possible. Helianne kept her head low as she shakily made her way up into the bleachers. And that's when the gossip began.

"Whoa, her wings…" One dragoness said.

"What do you think happened to her?" Another asked.

"Maybe someone hurt her…" A third whispered. "Do you think it was Rune?"

"Maybe; remember how crazy he got when he fought her brother?"

Holly and Brisa exchanged uneasy glances; they'd heard all sorts of gossip about those three ever since the arena match ended. Neither one knew what to do; they certainly didn't want to participate… at least Holly didn't.

Helianne sucked in a breath and shut her eyes as she stepped up into the bleachers. She looked all around for a place to sit, but most of the spaces were taken up... except for one spot beside Holly, who gestured toward it with a wing. Helianne sighed and made her way over to Holly with a sigh of defeat; she sat herself down and tried to make herself scares as the other students cast her weird looks.

Across the way, Grail looked left and right down the hallway outside the arena. "Where in the realms is that kid?"

There was some quick trotting, followed by Chalice suddenly bursting into the area. They leaned against the wall and panted, while Grail looked at them incredulously.

"You were almost late," Grail said sternly. "What held you up?"

"Sorry, granddad…" Chalice stood up and sighed. "I've been a little held up today."

As Chalice walked through the arena, something dripped down the side of their satchel. Grail and the students watched incredulously as blue paint trailed down and splashed along Chalice's apprentice robes.

"Chalice…" Grail rubbed the bridge of his muzzle. "What's happened to your uniform?"

"Huh?" Chalice blinked and looked down, only to gasp and blush. "Err, sorry about that, Granddad. I was helping Ricin with a morning project and, well…"

The students started to laugh; Holly and Brisa included. Even Helianne couldn't help but chuckle a little. Grail, meanwhile, just rolled their eye and slapped their forehead.

"Oh, just go stand at the console. You know the drill." Grail snorted as he pointed across the arena. Chalice nodded and rushed off to get in place. The General then made his way to the center of the arena to face the students. Everyone quieted down as Grail cleared his throat.

"Good morning," Grail said with a sly grin.

"Good morning, General." The dragonesses replied.

"It's time for some standard practice, ladies," Grail said nonchalantly. "You should know the drill; you'll be given five minutes to defeat all of the enemies…" He cast a glance at Helianne specifically. "..without magic."

Helianne flinched, but she didn't say a word, even as the nearby students started gossiping.

"We've all been rather curious about your combat prowess, Princess Helianne." The General declared. "Today will be the first day you show us all what you can do. I trust you won't leave us disappointed."

Helianne shivered as she slowly stood up. Her muzzle trembled as she fought the urge to say anything.

With a look of satisfaction, Grail spread his wings and flew out of the arena to come to a landing beside Chalice. He settled himself down and wracked his talons as the students walked down into the arena.

On the way, Brisa glanced back at Helianne, who was trying her best to keep to herself. But it was rather difficult, as some of the other students kept whispering things just quietly enough for the princess to hear.

"Do you think she'll make it?"

"Doubt it. She's always had her brother fight battles for her."

"I'll bet she passes out the moment an ape charges at her."

The students snickered, while Helianne's ear frills twitched. Brisa felt a pit in her stomach; she looked at Holly, who shared the feeling. It was bad enough for Helianne to be forced to fight, but to have the others mock her for it? Something needed to be done.

Once the students were on the arena floor, Helianne tried to stay at the back of the group. But the other dragonesses intentionally moved out of the way, leaving her rather exposed in the center. Helianne shivered as she gave her wings a very soft flap. Her paws shook as she fought the urge to make a run for it. Holly and Brisa looked at each other and frowned. Without a word, each one understood what the other wanted to do; they turned and walked across the floor to stand on either side of Helianne. The princess looked between them incredulously.

Grail, meanwhile, snorted and wracked his talons. "Are two of our apprentices looking to chaperone the princess?"

All eyes were upon the three dragoness. Helianne flushed and made to back away from them, while Holly and Brisa looked at the General with nervous faces.

"Err…" Holly held her head low and blushed. Brisa found at her, and then looked over at the General with a nervous laugh.

"Well, General…" Brisa cleared her throat. "Like my mom says: a good soldier never leaves any members of the squadron to fend for themselves."

"Hmph. A fair point…" Grail snorted. He turned toward Chalice and tapped the console. "Activate the field."

"Err… Yes, Granddad."

Chalice very cautiously flipped the switch that activated the anti-magic barrier. Holly and Brisa flinched as their elements were suppressed. Most of the other students reacted the same way… except for Helianne, who nearly collapsed to the floor and whimpered. Holly gasped; she scrambled to help the flora dragoness stand up. But as Holly was reaching for Helianne's wing, the princess jerked away and scrambled to rise on her own.

"D-Don't touch me." She snapped with her head up. "I'm fine, I'm fine."

"Oh… Okay…" Holly backed up with an uneasy expression. "I just wanted to help…"

Across the way, more switches were flipped, and the floor began to rumble. All of the students got into fighting stances; Brisa and Holly were even some of the first ones to be ready. But, just as they suspected, Helianne was a bit slow to get into position.

After a moment, the first wave of dummies appeared across the way. They howled and cackled as they wielded various clubs and axes. Helianne gasped and stepped back. A few of the nearby students started snickering, but Brisa quickly stepped up to whisper into the flora dragoness's ear frill.

"They're not real." She said. "They're just fake dummies for training."

"I know, I know…" Helianne shivered as she stepped forward to get into a battle stance again.

"Like I said before, girls…" Grail spoke aloud. "Five minutes to defeat them all… begin!"

The apes charged forward and swung their clubs wildly at the students. All of them sprang into action to strike back.

Holly leaned her head forward and charged at an ape that drew too close, while Brisa slammed into another one at the side. She whirled around to deliver a series of quick slashes at its ankles, ensuring that it wouldn't get up again. More apes began to spawn, but by that point, they'd dealt with most of the ones that came after them…

Except for one, which ran between the two girls to charge at Helianne. They whirled around to watch as the ape swung its club down to strike her on the head. The princess yelped as she dashed out of the way. She sucked in a breath and tried to ram the ape…

Thud.

She'd barely budged it.

The ape responded by swinging his club around to strike the flora dragoness in the waist. She was sent through the air, crying out all the while. Holly gasped and quickly ran over to help Helianne, while Brisa put herself between them and the attacking ape.

"Get lost, you big jerk!" Brisa snapped. She rammed into the ape, sending it flying far back to smash into the floor.

By that point, Holly had helped Helianne onto her paws again. The princess winced as she walked around Holly to try and focus on battle again.

The ice dragoness pouted. "You're welcome?"

The battle continued for some time. Most of the students were smacked around but worked to keep fighting. The apes weren't very big; it should have been a simple exercise, right? Brisa was certainly enjoying herself. The wind dragoness smashed against several apes, ramming them over and striking them up and down until they exploded into straw.

Holly worked to keep a level head as she dealt with any apes that got near her. She honestly fully focused on fighting for the sake of it; the blue dragoness kept her eyes on Helianne.

The princess tried to fight another ape, but she couldn't overpower it. It struck her across the head and knocked her down, making her whimper. Helianne stood up and tried to slash at the ape's legs, but it stepped out of the way and struck her again. Holly rushed over to slam into the ape and force it down.

"Come on!" Holly called to Helianne. "Got for a strike!"

The princess sucked in a breath, and she trotted forward with trepidation. She lifted a paw, extended her talons, and made to cut into the dummy's side. She slashed through the wood… and pulled her paw back with another yelp. She cradled her paw and winced; there were splinters in her digits. At least half a dozen students saw the spectacle, and they laughed as result. Helianne lowered her head to the floor as she quietly cried.

"Oh, no…" Holly sprang over and sheltered the princess with a wing.

She leaned down to help pull the splinters out of Helianne's forepaw. She'd managed to get a few out… before another ape barreled through them with its club. Both dragonesses were knocked to the floor as the beast cackled above them.

Holly was quick to roll onto her feet, but Helianne moved slowly. She was almost struck again, but luckily Brisa charged over and deflected a blow with her body.

"Lay off!" Brisa spun around and smacked the ape with her tail, knocking it off its feet. Holly rammed into another one to force it back, leaving Helianne by herself for a moment. The princess looked all around at the carnage around her.

Dragon smashed against ape. Clubs struck the floor. A loud commotion wracked the princess's ear frills… it was all too familiar.

Helianne could swear she could smell the smoke in the air, and the taste of iron on her tongue. She ran and ran, faster than anyone had run before as soldiers battled insurgents. Fire spilled across the rooms, making dragons scream as they fled the carnage. The flora dragoness ran through it all, struggling to find an escape from the burning building.

Something reached out to grab Helianne's ankle. She screamed and kicked as hard as she could to push it away. She kept running and searching, but all around there was nothing but collapsed doorways and broken stairs. There was only one slight saving grave; the stained glass window at the end of the corridor. Beyond it was the open air; she just had to break through. So Helianne ran as fast as she could, charging and tilting her head forward to break its impact. She'd almost reached the end, and lifted herself to take flight… as a fireball was sent raining down atop her. Helianne screamed as she broke through the window, and tumbled down, down, down…

"NOO!" Helianne screamed.

The princess collapsed to the floor and cried, shielding her head with a wing. The students around her stopped fighting and looked down at her in shock and alarm. Holly and Brisa were in the middle of defeating their respecting dummies when the princess cried out; they looked at her with shock and pity.

Across the way, Chalice bit their lower lip and felt uneasy. "Gr-Granddad, should we stop the combat session?"

"Hmm…" Grail glanced at the timer and snorted. "No point; it's almost over anyway."

A few seconds later the buzzer sounded, just as the last of the apes was defeated. Grail stood up and snorted as all of the students fell onto their haunches to listen to them. As everything quieted down, Helianne lifted herself, and shivered as she made to sit down amongst them; she tried desperately to hide her tears, but everyone could see them plain as day.

"Well… you just barely managed to complete the challenge as a group…" He said calmly. "However, some of you were pulling your weight more than others… in fact…" Grail cast a glance right at Helianne. "One of you didn't even manage to take on a single ape on their own."

All eyes were on the princess. She shrank her head down as Grail stepped a bit closer.

"Granddad, go easy on her." Chalice said pleadingly. "This was her first real combat training."

"Chalice… I was going easy on her." Grail said.

Chalice stammered. "Wh-What?"

Grail looked back at Helianne and stepped closer again.

"Princess Helianne… that was the most basic round of enemies I could set up for students in your age range." Grail gestured around at the other students. "I had hoped that you'd have some sort of prior training. There had to be some fighting knowledge that your aunt taught you. But alas, you've left me disappointed."

"I…" Helianne whimpered.

"You aren't ready for this level of training." Grail snorted. "I'm going to have you transferred to a beginner's class, with first-year students."

Helianne gasped. "B-B-But I…"

"You're far behind where you should be." The General continued. "You must start at the bottom and work your way up if you have any hopes of gaining the respect of your peers."

"But I'm better with magic!" Helianne pleaded. "I'm not behind with my magic!"

Grail blew smoke out of his nostrils. "This isn't about magic, girl. It's about fighting prowess. And if you can't learn to fight, if you can't learn to fend for yourself when you're cornered… you're nothing but a burden."

The princess gasped, and then she lowered her head and teared up. Grail looked at her and lightly shook his head, before turning his gaze toward the other students.

"Class is dismissed. Go get washed off and change into your day clothes. You're done here."

At once, the other students stood up to head to the bleachers to get their things before heading to the locker rooms. Helianne slowly turned to walk... while the other students glared at her. Holly and Brisa were some of the last to go; they exchanged uneasy glances before they walked together.

Across the way, Chalice sighed as they stepped away from the control console. They slumped their satchel over their shoulder and made to walk around their grandfather with a dour expression.

Grail eyed them curiously. "Do you find my assessment of the princess unfair?"

Chalice came to a stop and sighed. "You're right that she should be put in a beginner's stage of training…" They turned to look at the General uneasily. "But couldn't you have just put her in that, to begin with, without humiliating her in front of the other students?"

"It wasn't to humiliate her, Chalice." Grail sighed. "It was to give her a chance to prove she has greater potential. Sadly… I didn't see any." He shook his head and snorted. "She'll have to make herself stronger… even if it takes her an extra year of physical education."

Chalice bit their lip, which made the General frown a little. Grail stepped forward to lean their head down closer to their grandchild. "Is something else wrong?"

"She's going to get her arse handed to her, Granddad."

"Indeed." Grail nodded. "But if we go too easy on her, she'll never toughen up enough to become Rune's queen."

Chalice blinked and looked up at their grandfather incredulously. "You think they have potential as a couple?"

"Perhaps, in time." Grail chuckled a little. "The both of them just need more work, is all."

"I… guess so…" Chalice hefted up their satchel and bowed their head. "I need to get going, Granddad; Ricin needs some help with his art supplies."

"Heh…" Grail blew crimson smoke from his nostrils. "See to it that they don't redecorate your entire uniform this time."

"Yes, Granddad." Chalice nodded as they walked off. "I'll be more careful, Granddad!"

Grail just sighed and stretched out his back. He strode forward toward the doorway to prepare for his next meeting with Apella. Along the way, he wondered how long it would be before Helianne would finally be ready to stand with her fellow teenage students once again.

I hope she grows to understand that I only want what's best for her. Grail sighed. Life for royalty can be dangerous; she needs to be strong, for the good of all.

~~…~~

Things in the locker room weren't much better for Helianne than in the arena. She'd kept to herself as she cleaned herself off with her back facing the other dragonesses. The princess looked herself in the mirror as she brushed her mane and tried to keep a level head.

"Geez…" One of the other dragonesses said. "I've never seen someone fail so bad that they had to go back several grades."

Helianne flinched but said nothing.

"I can't believe she had to be rescued!" Another dragoness snapped. "Looks like she's well on her way to becoming a damsel in distress!"

Helianne gasped, but she sucked in a breath and closed her locker door. She held her satchel carefully as she crept toward the doors.

"Hey, Helianne!" One of the other dragonesses called to her. "Didn't you ask Prince Rune to teach you how to fight, while you were giving him a happy ending?!"

The princess's eye twitched, and she cried even more as she moved faster toward the doors. The other dragonesses moved to go after her, and their laughter followed Helianne's heels.

"Hey, where are you going?!" A dragoness chided. "Are you off to beg your Auntie Apella to come to save you from mean old Grail?"

"Maybe she needs some makeup for those hideous wings!" Another girl laughed. "It's no wonder she's always wearing that cape; I'd want to hide my wings too if they looked like THAT!"

Helianne's expression broke even more; she bent her head low and tried to move faster before they caught up with her.

"Hey, back off!"

Helianne gasped as she heard someone come to a stop behind her. She looked over to see Brisa facing the other dragoness with her wings wide. The wind dragoness snarled at the other dragonesses, who froze and looked at her incredulously. Across the way, Helianne saw Holly approaching; the icy dragoness turned to shield Helianne as well, though she wasn't nearly as aggressive-looking as Brisa was.

"We've heard it all before." Brisa continued as she glared at the mean dragonesses. "So lay off with the insults, and just get on with your lives."

"Oooh…" One of the dragonesses smirked. "Is the Deep Shadow looking to defend the honor of her prince's favorite sl-?"

A gust of wind knocked the dragoness on her rear. Brisa scowled as she stepped forward. The other two dragonesses gasped and backed up, while the center one rose and scowled.

"I think I get it…" The bully put on a sardonic grin. "You're just hoping that you can get a chance with Helianne since you're a-!"

Brisa blasted her with another gust, forcing her over. She stepped close, and the other two dragonesses stepped back. The center bully growled as she rose again.

"You think you can just-?!"

A third gust knocked the dragoness off her feet. Brisa stepped closer, and the other two grimaced and backed up.

"Why you…!" Before the main bully could rise again, Brisa blasted her with yet another gust of wind.

"I can do this all day." Brisa scowled down at the bully. "Keep your snout SHUT, and stop bothering Helianne!" She glared at the other two dragonesses. "That goes for all of you. SHUT IT!"

By this point, the main bully's cheeks had flushed red. She tried to scowl through it as she silently stood up and made to go down the other side of the locker room. The other two dragonesses gulped, and they sheepishly trotted after her. Brisa sighed in satisfaction as she dusted off her chest; that felt good.

Back over with Holly, she turned to see if Helianne was doing okay, only to notice that the princess had snuck off toward the door; a trail of tears was left in her wake. The icy dragoness gasped and she trotted after her.

"Princess Helianne, wait!" Holly called after her.

Brisa looked back and gasped, before rushing to catch up with a burst of wind magic.

Helianne had rounded the corner and ventured down the hall. She sniffled as she looked back to see Holly and Brisa rushing up to her. The princess sighed and came to a stop; she barely outpaced the blue dragoness and would be hopelessly out-run by the other one.

"Wh…" She wiped her eyes and looked at them. "What is it?"

"Are…" Holly pouted. "Are you okay?"

"Do…" Helianne wiped her face again. "Do I look like I'm okay?"

"Well, I guess not…" Holly lifted a wing to shelter the princess.

"Hey, don't let those turd-brains get to you," Brisa said as she walked around the princess. "They're all talk; they always are."

"Sure they are…" Helianne wiped her face again. "I… I should get going."

"Wait, hold on a minute." Holly frowned at her. "Can't we just talk for a minute?"

"About what?" Helianne looked away.

"About what's going on between you and Rune," Brisa said.

Helianne tensed up, and she looked away from her. "N-Nothing! Why can't anyone just accept that!"

"Wait, calm down…" Brisa stepped closer and lowered her voice. "Princess Helianne, Rune's our friend. We've known him for a good long while; he's not the kind to sweet-talk a girl into doing anything nasty with him at night."

Helianne stiffened. "We…"

"We just want to know what you two did that night." Holly frowned as she looked at the princess's wings. "Does it have anything to do with her scars?"

The princess tensed up and backed away from them a bit. Holly and Brisa frowned, and they very carefully stepped back from her.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." Holly frowned. "I know it can be hard to talk about things that are… well…"

Holly very briefly glanced over at her tail stump. Helianne looked down at it and winced; she reflexively flapped her wings and shivered a bit; she'd always seen it now and then, but it was strange to finally be looking at it up close.

"Wh… What happened to your tail?" Helianne asked cautiously.

"I… lost it." Holly sighed. "It was ten years ago when The Hive collapsed. My family's house caved in, and the ceiling… well, this was the result." Holly wagged her stump around.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Helianne frowned. "I never knew."

"It's okay." Holly put on a smile. "I'm used to it now. And I never let it slow me down… though I can never move as fast as Brisa here."

"Heh heh…" The wind dragoness grinned. "There's hardly anyone alive who can keep up."

The princess looked between the two of them, and she took a little sigh. She glanced down at her wings, and then pursed her lips.

"I… I guess you want to know what happened to my wings?"

"You don't have to say anything if you're not ready." Holly shook her head.

"Thank you…" Helianne backed up a little. "To be honest, I'm really not ready to tell anyone. I don't even want to walk around with everyone seeing… but my Aunt took my cape away because… uhh…" She shivered again. "Can I… just not talk about it?"

"Sure, sure." Brisa nodded. "But hey, if you're feeling alone… why not come hang out with us?"

Helianne blinked in surprise. "H-Huh?"

"Yeah…" Holly's features lit up, and she trotted in place. "You can come and spend the day with us! Nobody will pick on you while we're alone, Princess! You can count on us!"

"O-Ohhh…" The flora dragoness felt her cheeks flushing. "S-Sure… your names are Holly and Brisa, right?"

"Uh-huh." The wind dragoness grinned. "We can all head out on the town if you wanna."

"What about the study group?" Holly asked. "That's today, isn't it?"

Helianne immediately flinched. She clasped her paws together and shivered a little.

"I… I don't know if I want to go to that." She said.

"You don't?" Holly frowned.

"At least… not right away." Helianne tried to stand up tall. "N-None of the other nobles are interested in spending time with… err…" She gulped. "Y-You know."

"Hmm…" Brisa pursed her lips. "Alright, we won't head off right away. We can just… go somewhere else. Maybe talk about things. Girl stuff, you know?"

"Uh-huh… Helianne said dubiously.

"Come on, Princess…" Holly trotted a bit forward and turned to smile at her. "Let's go where you want to."

"S-Sure…" The flora dragoness carefully walked forward. "Oh, and uh… you can call me Helianne."

"Really?" Brisa's eyes beamed.

"Well, any friends of Rune's are friends of…" Helianne found herself blushing, and she sighed and shook her head. "You know what I mean."

"I do!" Holly flapped her wings and smiled brightly. "It's always great to make a new friend!"

Helianne, Holly, and Brisa walked down the hallway together. The princess's eyes had finally dried off her tears, and she felt relaxed for the first time all day. The ice and wind dragonesses chatted casually and openly… even in ways that the other noble dragonesses barely did. Helianne took a sigh of relief; maybe things wouldn't be so bad. Maybe she could finally open up… in a little while, maybe.

~~…~~

Once the magic training was complete, Cyrus went on to his other classes for the day: History, Alchemy, Salve-making, Linguistics… all of the stuff that Elenar insisted that princes need to study to be wise dragons later on in life. Each one was more ghoulish than the last; especially physical combat training.

But throughout his day, Cyrus couldn't get the incident in shadow training out of his head. He couldn't believe that Wraith would make him look like such an idiot like that. What had Cyrus done to deserve being made into a fool? He snorted in frustration and wracked his talons on the arena floor; he only wanted to show how far he'd come. Cyrus didn't need all the other shadow students to know that he had trouble with the advanced techniques.

Damn it, Wraith…

Once the afternoon came, his classes were over and done with. Cyrus wiped off his brow and stepped out of the locker room.

At the very least, after several hours of performing combat maneuvers, bookworm-banality, and magical know-how, Cyrus could relax for a little while in the study. After all, it was the first meeting of the study group after Rune had left for Glenhaven, so maybe now the shorter prince could finally soak up all the attention… right after soaking in a private bath, of course.

After drying off, and a quick change of clothes, Cyrus was ready to catch up with everyone in the usual study hall. He very cautiously grasped the knob and slowly turned it; he didn't want to give the impression that he was TOO eager. Cyrus held a confident smile as he pushed the door to the study open.

"I'm here, ladies and gentle-drakes," Cyrus said warmly as he strode into the study. "Now we can finally… finally…"

Cyrus slowed to a stop and looked around. The seats were empty. And the snack table was left completely untouched. Nobody's satchels were laying around; in fact, it looked like nobody had even bothered to show up. Not Helianne, not any of her noble dragoness friends… not even the apprentices. For the first time since the study group began… Cyrus was all alone.

The prince blinked a few times as he looked around again. His eyes widened as it began to sink in. They weren't coming. Rune wasn't in the Dragon Spire… so they had no reason to show up for the study group.

Cyrus felt his limbs shake as he stood in the middle of the room. His eyes twitched, and he slowly puffed smoke out of his nostrils. He wandered over to one of the many empty cushions and slumped down into it. The prince gazed down at his fancy stockings and cape… They were all for nothing. His efforts to make himself as presentable as possible were for NOTHING.

Cyrus came to a stop, and he fell onto his haunches as he gazed at the floor. He waited a minute… then another minute… then a third one. Cyrus's eye began to twitch, and he struggled to keep his composure.

Why? What could have been different this time? Why… why was nobody here?

Just as Cyrus was beginning to lose composure… the doorknob rattled. For a moment, he perked up a bit; maybe at least ONE dragoness had bothered to come; maybe they didn't ALL want to ignore the prince. He stood up tall, fixed his cloak and mane, and turned around happily. His ear frills wriggled as he listened to their voice…

"Hey, Sorry we're late!" Called Ricin.

"We got a bit delayed." Said Chalice. "We were talking to my grandfather, and…"

Immediately Cyrus's expression became dour. He fell back onto his haunches again and watched as the poison and fear dragons made their way into the study hall. Ricin was carrying art supplies in a new satchel, while Chalice was lugging a bunch of books around.

Ricin and Chalice stepped around the prince to sit at the table. Ricin happily set up his art supplies, while Chalice looked around the room in confusion. Cyrus just ignored them, and stayed seated on the floor looking at his paws.

"Well, this is odd." Chalice bit their lower lip. "Where is everybody?"

"Rune's not here," Cyrus said bitterly.

"Huh?" Chalice blinked. "Well, yeah, I know that. But that doesn't explain why the others wouldn't come to the study group today."

"Hey, Cyrus!" Ricin waved to him to get his attention. "Come check out the art I'm making!"

Cyrus snorted as he stood up. He held a stoic face as he walked over to where Ricin was seated. The poison drake had set up his art easel and took out his paint set to get to work. It was an incomplete portrait of two dragons; Albanion and Elza. They were sitting before a little clutch of eggs with blank expressions… up until Ricin painted on two crude little smiles.

"What do you think of my gift for my mentors?" Ricin asked giddily. "I started working on it every since I got that… uhh…"

"That art set," Cyrus said blankly. "From Rune."

"Well… sort of…" Ricin rubbed his head with a grimace. "I've… actually been using the set that the purple guy gave me." He held up his paintbrush and laughed. "But hey, it's the thought that counts, right?"

"Yeah…" Cyrus huffed as he walked away. "The thought."

"Sheesh, Cyrus…" Chalice walked up and sat down at the table. "You feeling bummed about something?"

"No…" Cyrus shrugged his shoulders and snorted again. "Nothing to be worried about… although I'm puzzled by why you bothered to show up."

"What?" Chalice raised an eye ridge.

"Rune's not here. Nobody is." Cyrus tapped his talons on the floor. "So how could the Rune dick-sucking Fanclub commence without Rune's dick to suck?"

Chalice balked, while Ricin chuckled a little. The grey dragon ignored the poison drake and turned green.

"Ugh, that's gross!" Chalice wrinkled their nostrils. "Where did THAT come from, Cyrus?!"

Cyrus turned around and scowled at Chalice whilst flapping his wings in frustration. "And since Rune's not around, I have to wonder why YOU TWO bothered to come here."

Ricin suddenly stopped painting and blinked. "Wh-what?"

Chalice, meanwhile, looked at Rune incredulously. "…We're here for the study group, of course."

Chalice walked around Cyrus to open their satchel to place books on the table. Ricin carefully scooted his art set off to the side as he opened his own satchel.

"We can continue, even without Holly and Brisa." Chalice said.

"Come on, Cy!" Ricin motioned toward an empty cushion with a smile. "Pull up a chair! Come hang with us and relax!"

Cyrus silently glared at Chalice and Ricin for another moment. Their smiles gradually faded away as they became increasingly more uncomfortable… as if Cyrus cared.

"Uh… Cy?" Chalice cautiously turned toward the prince. "Is something wrong?"

Cyrus sucked in a harsh breath. He slowly walked toward the table as he continued to glare at each of them in turn.

"Why is it, when somebody actually pays attention to me…" He stopped and blew smoke out of his nostrils. "It's always just you two?"

Ricin and Chalice exchanged dubious glances. Ricin fumbled with his tongue for a moment as he tried to figure out what to say.

"I… I don't know." Ricin shrugged. "But you know that I'm always willing to be your audience for one of your flashy shows, Cy!" He tried to put on a smile. "You know that you're the coolest dragon in the city."

"Oh, sure…" Cyrus scowled at Ricin as he loomed over him. "That means a lot, coming from you."

Ricin's jaw fell open. "Wh-What do you mean?"

"Who even are you?" Cyrus demanded. "You're just some random, fat sleaze that my uncle and aunt begrudgingly took on as their apprentice since nobody else would!" Cyrus slammed the table, making Ricin jump. "A dragon that spends most of his days drawing naughty pictures to get a rise out of people!"

Ricin's eyes constricted, and he slumped back as he choked up. "B-But I… I…" He motioned toward the painting. "I've been trying to work on a nice gift for-"

"I don't care about your paintings!" Cyrus roared. "For four years, you've just been following me around, laughing and giggling and acting like a complete moron! Nobody ever takes me seriously, because you're always trailing just behind me, like some demented LACKEY!"

Ricin's eyes watered, and he shook in place in his cushion, Cyrus could hear Chalice rising from their seat behind him, and the prince blew smoke from his nostrils.

"Alright, that's enough!" Chalice snapped. "I don't know what's gotten into you, but that is NOT how you speak to one of your friends!"

"Ricin is not my friend…" Cyrus turned around to scowl at Chalice. "And neither are you."

Chalice's eyes widened. "Excuse me?"

Cyrus stepped forward and tapped a talon on Chalice's chest. "What you are… is a stalker."

"What?!" Chalice yelled as they smacked Cyrus's paw away.

"You've been following me around for longer than any other student I've known…" Cyrus blew smoke out of his nostrils. "Even longer than I've known Tina. You were always there, right after The Hive collapsed, lurking in the background."

"I grew up in The Hive, Cyrus." Chalice snapped. "Are you just going to forget that I had family there? My grandfather Grail put into training after we survived the attack on our city…" Chalice fanned their wings out. "I've always been an apprentice! Of COURSE, I've been in the background!"

"It got worse when I turned ten years old…" Cyrus blew more smoke from his nostrils. "They introduced you to me… and you've been lurking behind me ever since."

Chalice's eyes twitched, and they stammered. "Cyrus… I was being taught to look after you. I was a Deep Shadow apprentice, and you were the only surviving prince that we knew of!" They stamped their paw. "Why wouldn't I want to keep an eye on you? I'm your-"

"Don't fucking say it!" Cyrus snapped. "You might be an apprentice, maybe even a Deep Shadow soon… but you're not my friend." He turned to hiss at Ricin. "Neither of you are my friends! So stop stalking me! Leave me ALONE!"

The prince turned around and marched toward the door in a huff. Ricin sat on his cushion, sniffling and shaking. Chalice looked at Ricin in pity but sighed before rising to trot after Cyrus.

"Cyrus, wait!" Chalice exclaimed. "Where's all this coming from?!"

"I don't owe you any explanations!" The prince yelled.

Cyrus made to reach for the doorknob, but Chalice darted around him and stood before the door. The prince held back a snarl while Chalice looked him in the eyes worriedly.

"Cyrus, listen; If I've been too clingy, I'm sorry." Chalice cautiously fluttered their wings. "I never wanted to make you feel uncomfortable: I've only ever wanted to look after you and all the other apprentices. We're all in this together…" They backed up and put on a smile. "Come on… if there's anything I can do to help you feel better, just tell me. That's what friends are for."

Cyrus just glared at Chalice. How dare he… she… this STRANGER waste his time with that crap? Cyrus stamped his forepaw on the ground and summoned up a pool of energy out of his shadow. He then silently sank into the dark pool.

"Cyrus, where are you going?" Chalice asked worriedly.

Cyrus didn't answer; he just snarled at the dragon before promptly vanishing from view. The shadowy pool then slid around Chalice's paws and through the crack in the door. Cyrus didn't even care when Chalice grasped the doorknob and threw the door open.

"Cyrus, come back!" Chalice called out. "Talk to me!"

The sounds of crying made Chalice turn around. Ricin had slumped over on the table and knocked over his art table. Chalice felt a pit in their stomach, and they walked over to pat Ricin on the back.

"Wh-wh-what did I do wrong?" Ricin cried. "I j-just wanted to be cool, like him."

"There, there…" Chalice sighed as they rubbed the younger drake's back. "Come on… we're going to need some help to get through to him."

~~…~~

Cyrus propelled his shadow down the hall and around a few corners, toward the more densely-populated student corridor. Several young dragons were walking down the hall, smiling and chatting and swinging their satchels around as they prepared to move on. Cyrus brought his shadow to a stop at the foot of a staircase, where a few wind dragons were arriving. All at once, Cyrus rose from his shadow and stood tall, giving the dragons quite a shock.

"Hey!" A wind drake shouted in surprise. "Watch where you're going!"

Cyrus didn't respond; he just held his glare as he strode past the wind dragons and turned left to walk down a corridor. The wind drake stepped forward and yelled again, but the dragoness blocked his path with a wing. Cyrus, meanwhile, just snorted and made his way down the hall.

Some dragons close to Cyrus's age were standing in the hallway and talking about what they were going to do after classes, with their backs turned toward the prince. Cyrus scowled down the hallway at all the other students. None of them looked in his direction; they barely even budged as he wormed his way through them. But before long, Cyrus felt his anger reach a boiling point. If none of these students were even going to acknowledge him… why should he do the same for them?

Cyrus put a bit of earth magic into his muscles and kept moving in a straight line. He cut right through the group of friends, shoving a number of them out of the way.

"What the fuck?!" An ice dragon shouted. He and his friends snarled at Cyrus as the prince continued walking. "What's your problem, asshole?!"

Cyrus refused to look back; he just continued on his path down the corridor, smacking into students left and right whilst holding his tongue. Of course, it didn't take long for other students further down the hallway to take notice of Cyrus's behavior; most of them stepped out of the way, while the students he's already smacked into snarled at him and made obscene remarks.

"Hey, cut that shit out!" A poison dragon yelled angrily. "Who do you think you are?!"

Cyrus didn't answer: after all, he was nobody important.

A few moments later, Cyrus came to a stop as he arrived at the restroom doors. He glanced up at the sign for the female restroom and snorted. Without so much as a second thought, Cyrus pushed the female door open and strode inside.

By sheer coincidence, Brisa was washing her forepaws whilst whistling to herself. Holly was off in the corner, looking out a window. The moment Cyrus walked into the restroom, both dragonesses immediately shrieked in alarm. But Cyrus ignored them as he stepped into a stall. At least knew what they were doing that was so much more interesting than spending time with some no-name prince.

"Cyrus, what are you doing?!" Brisa yelled as she approached his stall door. "This is the girls' room!"

Cyrus ignored her as he did his business. Once he was done, he pushed the stall door open and casually walked over to the sinks to wash his hands.

"Hey, get out!" Brisa stamped her paws. "I told you this is the girls' room, you weirdo!"

"I don't see what the fuss is about," Cyrus said sarcastically as he washed his paw. "I am a girl!"

The prince made a dramatic pose as he fluttered his wings and shook his tail. "After all: aren't I just REEKING of feminine grace and beauty?!"

Holly just put a forepaw on her muzzle, while Brisa balked in disgust. The wind dragoness slapped him in the face and pointed at the door. "Get OUT!"

Cyrus didn't care if he was hit; he just snorted and strode triumphantly out of the restroom, to the continued shock and appalling of the other students. He continued on his warpath, making his way with an overly-exaggerated strut to his hips. Holly and Brisa hurriedly followed him out of the bathroom to watch as he smacked a few students with his tail.

"Don't mind ME! I'm nobody special!" He declared bitterly. "I'm just a girly girly, GIRLY-GIRL!"

Holly's eyes widened at the scene. "What in the Underworld's gotten into him?"

Brisa could only shrug her shoulders and wince. They quietly followed down the hall to see what would happen next.

Just about all of the other students were quite incredulous at the prince's behavior. But most of them made any moves to try and stop him or call him out; they just walked around the prince and avoided making eye contact. Cyrus just scoffed; as if all of their silent treatment ever did anything productive. He didn't even care as Holly and Brisa followed along; maybe they'd be interested in joining him for a sexy stroll.

Eventually, Cyrus came to a stop before his locker. He unsealed the door, pulled it open, and searched through its contents for his satchel. He didn't need much; just some random items of his that he neglected to collect the other day.

Nothing important in here... Cyrus huffed as he sifted through various old portraits of his family members. He picked up a rolled-up scroll and glared as he looked at the seal. Oh, look! It's my old copy of the Revival Ritual! I definitely never did anything important with THAT!

"Cyrus!" Brisa yelled from down the hall. "Get back here!"

Cyrus snorted and turned to look at the green and blue dragonesses. "Done freshening up, fellow ladies?"

"What are you talking about?" Holly asked as she came to a stop.

"I'm a girl, right?" Cyrus sarcastically gestured at his thin form. "That means I'm one of the girls."

Brisa reached out to slap Cyrus's face… only this time he caught her paw with his own. He then forcibly put it on the ground and sneered.

"Don't touch me again." He hissed at her. "I might just slap back."

Brisa's eyes widened, and she backed up a bit. "Alright, maybe I was going too far… but so were you." She stamped her paws and fanned out her wings. "Why are you being such a jerk?! Quit shoving people!"

Cyrus stuck his muzzle in the air. "I was only just trying to get back to my locker, little missy. We don't all just zip down the halls at high speed, like some I could mention."

Brisa's eyes widened in shock, while Holly draped a wing over her back.

"Cyrus, we just want to understand what's wrong." The icy dragoness frowned. "I'm sorry if we were running late to the study group; we got a little… caught up." She put on a patient smile. "But hey, we can make it up to you, if you'll just calm down."

"Oh, how nice…" Cyrus put on a sarcastic smile. "The ice girl is trying to fill my life with spice, which is prec-ice-ly what I don't want from her." The prince scowled at her. "Why don't you just go build a snow-ape, for all I care?"

Holly gasped and backed up with a hurt expression. Brisa scrunched up her face and tapped the floor as Cyrus's eyes gleamed.

"Got any other snide remarks, blowhard?" He grinned sardonically at her. "There's more where that-"

"There you are!" Shouted a familiar voice from behind. "I should have figured you'd be here!"

Cyrus narrowed his eyes: He knew this was coming. The prince shut his locker, sucked in a deep breath, and very slowly turned around to glare at Helianne. Brisa and Holly winced, and they backed up as the flora princess stepped up to him. Cyrus noticed that her cape was missing, though she tried to hide it by facing away from the student body… not that he cared.

Brisa and Holly stepped around the two and made to position themselves so that nobody could look directly at the flora dragoness. Helianne stood up as tall as she could and looked the prince in the eyes.

"Prince Cyrus," Helianne began as she took a calm breath, "my friends and I have decided unanimously that we don't want to go to the study group anymore. We no longer tolerate your behavior… or Rune's."

Cyrus held his glare; as if that wasn't already obvious enough from how they didn't bother to appear in the study room. This was all just a complete waste of the prince's time. So, he didn't respond; he just glared at Helianne and waited for her to just groan and walk away, as she usually did around him.

"So, not going to say anything?" Helianne huffed. "Not going to defend yourself, or make some other snide comment?"

Brisa gnashed her teeth and angrily shook her head, while Holly looked at Cyrus with pleading eyes. It was as if they were begging him, in their way… please, don't be cruel.

But Cyrus ignored them and tapped his talons in frustration. A moment passed… then another… but Helianne wouldn't budge. Fine, if she wouldn't walk away, then he would. He flapped his wings and turned to continue on his path down the hallway. The flora dragoness gasped, but then stamped her paw in frustration.

"D-Don't you walk away from me when I'm talking to you!" Helianne snapped. She charged after Cyrus, stepped around him, and blocked his path. "You've been a complete pest to the other girls, and we're tired of you!" She wracked her talons and growled. "At least Rune would have the decency to apologize!"

Cyrus's eye twitched. Brisa and Holly quickly trotted after the pair; they continued to give Cyrus various looks to try and get him to apologize. But enough was enough; it was about time he let her have it.

"Shut your mouth, you pain in the arse!" He shouted; it was loud enough that most of the other students stopped and gasped. Brisa and Holly gasped.

"Cyrus, don't!" Holly begged. But he stuck a wing out to shut her up.

Helianne had balked at his outburst, and she looked at the prince incredulously. "E-Excuse me?"

Cyrus gnashed his fangs and puffed out his chest. "Who the fuck do you think you're fooling, huh?!"

"Fooling…?" Helianne repeated in indignation. Cyrus flapped his wings and stomped forward to glare into the princess's eyes.

"Ever since that damn match between Rune and Lantel, you've been a complete and utter BITCH to Rune!" Cyrus yelled at her; he emphasized the slur just to get it to ring in the corridor. Brisa stepped forward and was about to speak, but Holly tugged on her wing and wearily pulled her away as Cyrus continued his rant.

"Rune beat himself up over and over for letting you down!" The prince continued. "He bought you a gift for the Day of the Bonds as a peace offering, and you flat-out rejected him!" Cyrus flapped his wings. "And now that he's gone, you're defending him?!"

"I'm NOT defending him!" Helianne shouted. "He put my brother in the medical ward! I'd asked Rune to ease up on Lantel before the match, but he beat Lantel up and down the arena anyway!"

"Don't act like Rune wasn't pushed to the breaking point in that match!" Cyrus snapped. "We all saw the same match, Helianne: Lantel kept beating Rune down over his little grudge against my family! And he wasn't taking 'I give up for an answer!" Cyrus fluttered his wings and stood taller. "It was only a matter of time before Rune gave him the business! Lantel had it coming, Helianne; we all know it!"

Helianne's expression weakened; her eye's watered up, but she tried desperately to put on a glare. Holly stepped up to drape a wing over the princess's back, but she shook it away. Cyrus looked right in Helianne's eyes; she thought that Lantel was asking for trouble.

"They fought because of YOU!" Cyrus yelled even louder. "You MANIPULATED my brother into coming come to see you! Rune did whatever you asked of him! Rune had no way out of Lantel's bullshit other than to fight him! But rather than admit it was all your fault, you decided to give Rune the snooty treatment, and tell him to fuck off!" Cyrus growled. "But oopsy! You didn't think things through! You left your relationship with your Sugar-Daddy on the rocks just before he left town! Now, everyone's free to assume the worst about what nasty shenanigans you got into!"

"Cyrus, stop!" Brisa stomped forward and flared her nostrils. "You can't just-!"

"SHUT YOUR TRAP!" Cyrus roared at Brisa; he unleashed a burst of wind that knocked her off her paws. The wind dragoness gasped, while Holly rushed over to help her up. And all the while, Helianne's eye twitched as she stepped away from the prince.

"I… We didn't…" She stuttered.

"Oh, wait; did I say Sugar-Daddy?" Cyrus pursed his lips. "Maybe I should have called him your pimp."

The look of horror on all three dragonesses' faces was priceless, But Cyrus was only getting started.

"After all," He grinned, "you're not the only dragoness from the study group slobbering over herself to get a taste of him!"

Once again Holly covered her muzzle, and her eyes teared up. Brisa growled at the prince, while Helianne's face darkened.

"What are you implying?" The princess asked angrily.

Cyrus held a sardonic grin. "I'm implying that the study group was a complete and utter sham. You and the other noble dragonesses only agreed to it for the chance to seduce Rune into your beds." Cyrus fluttered his wings. "I was available, too. But no, you all just wanted the future king as a prize. And of all the dragonesses bending over for Rune, he decided that YOUR booty was the nicest one!"

Cyrus snorted before grinning even wider, while Helianne shook with rage.

"Rune likes you the best! You're the lucky whore that he chose to jump on his dick! You're the one who gets to sink greedy little talons into his fortune and crown! Or, at least you would have if you hadn't told him to fuck off!" Cyrus threw his wings open and stamped his paws for emphasis. "Congratulations, you stupid fucking SLUT!"

Holly and Brisa cried out at the outburst. Helianne's eyes threatened to erupt with tears, but she held a furious scowl regardless. She pulled back her forepaw as she extended her talons. She looked about ready to slash his face, despite how incredibly shaky her leg was. And yet, she held herself back as she desperately tried to maintain self-control.

"Attack me!" Cyrus growled and sprung into a fighting stance. "I dare you! Let's have a good old-fashioned catfight, right here!"

Helianne shook even more as she struggled to keep from lashing out at Cyrus. The prince could almost swear he saw some sort of strange conflict in her eyes. If she wanted to slash him so badly, why wasn't she doing it? Oh, what did Cyrus care? He just wanted an excuse to retaliate against another royal pain in the arse.

Something eventually broke. Helianne shut her eyes as tears spilled forth. She put her forepaw down and she held her cape tenderly as she struggled to keep from sniffling. The princess backed up against the wall, bent her head down, and cried louder.

"Oh, come on…" Cyrus backed up and snorted. "I haven't even hit you yet. Don't try to play the victim."

"I…" Helianne looked up as tears ran down her cheeks. Her voice was just a whisper as she started to choke up. "…I just wanted Rune to help me fly."

Cyrus balked. "What?"

Helianne turned and ran off down the hallway; she evaded other students as she put as much distance between herself and Cyrus as possible.

"Helianne!" Brisa called after her; she took off at high speed to chase the princess. "Helianne, wait!"

Holly watched the two leave, and then looked at Cyrus. She broke down in tears as well as she backed away from him.

"You…" Holly choked as she shut her eyes. "You're a monster."

She then ran off, crying as she tried to keep up with Brisa and Helianne. And Cyrus was alone once again.

His jaw fell open as he watched the dragonesses leave; that wasn't what he was expecting in the slightest. And what was that about someone helping Helianne fly? That didn't make sense.

Cyrus felt unsatisfied; he had half a mind to stomp after the trio to continue yelling at them. But as the prince looked around, he could see a lot of other students staring at the prince in shock and horror. The prince, however, was far from being in the right mood to calm down.

"Oh, what are YOU looking at?!" Cyrus snapped at them. "There's nobody here but us girls! So FUCK OFF!"

The students were still silent as they scrambled to get out of the corridor. As they left, Cyrus fell back onto his haunches and panted angrily. Oh, he felt so much anger and aggression burst forth all at once; Cyrus hadn't vented like that since he was at the Well of Souls years ago. Still, it felt good to get it off his chest; it was about time he made all the other students get a taste of the anger that he'd had pent up all this time. For a moment, he finally felt good again.

"What in Cynder's name is wrong with you?!"

Cyrus gasped in horror. Ice formed along his spine as he slowly turned his head to look down the corridor. At the end, where the corridor split off into separate wings, were four dragons. Albanion was on the left side, Elza was on the right, and Chalice and Ricin stood just behind them in the middle. Albanion and Elza stomped forward with terrifying gaits, while the younger dragons trailed far behind. The Deep Shadows came after him so suddenly that Cyrus instinctively opened up his shadow to sink into it. But he only got as far as his ankles before the two Deep Shadows were looming over him.

"Oh no, you don't!" Albanion grabbed Cyrus by the neck and forcibly pulled him out of the shadow. As Cyrus cried out in pain, Elza slapped him across the face with the backside of her forepaw. Cyrus could only mutter incoherently as the two of them glared as furiously as they ever had in their lives.

"Have you lost your MIND?!" Elza screamed. "Screaming at the top of your lungs?! Frightening the other students?! Mildly shoving and slapping them with your tail?! Calling them every foul name under the sun?!"

"Y-You saw all of that?" Cyrus asked with a terrified voice.

"Oh, we HEARD it." The wind dragoness growled. "And apparently you think it's okay to start mildly assaulting your fellow students!" She dug her talons into the floor, making Cyrus shiver. "And ONCE AGAIN the alliance between your mother and the Steward House is close to falling apart! You called Princess Helianne a slut?! A SLUT?! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!"

Elza's voice got louder and louder, making Cyrus's ear frills wince. But then, all at once, she gasped and stumbled backward. Both Cyrus and Albanion had expressions of horror as the wind dragoness moaned in pain.

Elza began panting heavily with her tongue out; she backed up against the row of lockers and fell back onto her haunches. Albanion rushed to her side and placed a forepaw on her belly; he whispered something under his breath into her ear frill to help her relax. Cyrus looked on in horror at the state his aunt was in.

The stress… Cyrus thought in horror. She's not supposed to get too stressed while she's gravid.

Eventually, Elza's breathing returned to normal, and Albanion sighed in relief. He helped her onto her feet and planted a kiss on her forehead.

"Are you alright?" He asked soothingly.

"I'm fine…" She replied… only to turn to glare at Cyrus. "Relatively speaking, that is."

"Right…" Albanion turned to share the glare. "The throne room. Before your mother. NOW."

The prince could barely mutter a word in his defense as he was forcibly shoved down the corridor by the two Deep Shadows. He hung his head in shame; each and every nasty word and thing he'd said and done within the last ten minutes started playing over and over in his head.

But as Cyrus marched forward, he couldn't help but get the urge to look back. Chalice and Ricin were still there, standing in the corridor with a horrified expressions. And that's when it all clicked.

Those two pests went and called them over. Cyrus thought with a snarl. They ratted me out to my aunt and uncle! He shook his tail angrily as he turned to face forward.

The fucking TRAITORS.

~~…~~

After a long day of consulting with Elenar, it was time for Urobos to partake in one of his favorite pastimes.

Urobos sighed as he came to a landing upon the grounds of The Nexus. The guards stationed out front immediately bowed their heads and lightly pushed the doors open for the aged black dragon.

"Thank you…" He said quietly as he stepped his way through the doors.

The flight up to the fortress was often taxing on Urobos's old wing membranes; his days of flying through the air at high speed were well behind him. Still, flying up to the fortress wasn't nearly as exhausting as teleporting would have been. Urobos wasn't a powerful dragon; his last feelings of strength ended when that dreaded Eclipse did. Still, many dragons around Urobos looked upon him with equal parts admiration and fear. Urobos frowned upon thinking about this; such was the curse of being a black dragon.

Naturally, Aegis stood before the altar of the chapel. He spoke diligently with a few young dark-brown and dark-red dragons who all listened to a curious lecture. Just across from Aegis was his daughter Tina; she played her assistant role well as she helped some of the younger dragons follow along with the lecture. Curiously, there was a single student who stood out amongst the group with his brilliantly gold hide: Prince Lantel. Urobos's brow furrowed as he studied the bored expression on the solar prince's face. What was he doing here?

"…And thus, we move on to the scribing of the chants to the Ancestors," Aegis said at the end of a lecture. "I want the lot of you to open your textbooks to page one-hundred-and-thirty…"

The burly drake's voice trailed off as he looked down the aisle at Urobos. The rest of the class followed his gaze toward the aged black dragon.

"Ah, welcome, Elder Urobos," Aegis said with a bow of his head. When the younglings didn't immediately bow with him, the dark-brown drake brought his head back up and tapped his talon. "Like this, children. Like this."

Aegis once again bowed his head toward Urobos, and one by one the younglings repeated the action. At first, Lantel just wanted to avert his gaze and keep from making eye contact… only for Tina to shoot him a quick glare. She motioned with her forepaw to follow suit. Lantel scowled, but eventually, he gave a little bow; he looked incredibly embarrassed by the gesture.

The last one in the group, the youngest by the looks of it, shivered a bit as the black dragon got closer. Urobos pursed his lips, and then very carefully brought his head down toward the child.

"There's nothing to be scared of," Urobos said with a smile. "I'm just a silly old grandpa."

The child tilted their head curiously but said nothing. Urobos just sighed as he stood up tall to face Aegis. "Don't mind me. I'm just passing through to speak with Argos and Icarox."

"Ah, by all means…" Aegis stepped to the side and made a gesture with his one good wing. "Have a splendid time, Elder Urobos."

Urobos simply patted the burly Deep Shadow on the shoulder and marched forward to the back of the chapel. He looked back just long enough to give another warm smile to the children. But they were soon enraptured in their textbooks… although Lantel held a frustrated expression the whole while. Urobos was tempted to find out just what the golden drake was doing here… but he had more important matters at the moment.

Several more guards bowed their heads toward Urobos as he ventured into the depths of the fortress. He nodded his head and gave them words of encouragement along the way, but none of them ever said a word of pleasant conversation to the aged drake. Urobos understood their demeanor; they had important jobs to do protecting the many youngsters who dwelled in the fortress. And yet, Urobos wished that more faces were happy to see him. It's funny how he didn't use to crave that kind of admiration; when he was in his disguise as Gregory the alchemist, he wanted to keep himself scarce at all times.

Maybe I've just grown soft in my old age, Urobos snorted.

After his venture through the many corridors of the fortress, Urobos arrived at a little wooden doorway deep within the lower section. He gently pushed it open, revealing a little private chapel inside. It was a circular room, decorated with an assortment of candles. Argos was muttering silent prayers, while Icarox was wiping down the statue of Cynder with a damp rag. As the black dragon stepped inside, both of the twins turned their heads toward him and smiled.

"Ah, good day, Urobos," Argos said. "It's about time…"

"…that you joined us." Icarox finished. The dragoness put her rag down and spun about. "It's almost sundown."

"Sorry that it took me so long," Urobos said with a sigh. "The older I get, the harder it is for me to fly up here."

Icarox gave him a bemused smirk. "You could always…"

"…shadow-jump on up here, lazybones." Argos rolled his eyes.

"I'm not a magic-slinging master, you know," Urobos said with a huff. "Look at these old bones; I can barely conjure up the simplest magic."

"We're about the same age as you are, but we don't have that problem." Argos declared.

"Not everybody is blessed with a twin who shares a magical bond." Urobos rolled his eyes.

Argos and Icarox laughed at this, before shifting to sit on their haunches before the statue of Cynder. Icarox looked back at Urobos and patted a spot on the floor with her forepaw. As she did so, Argos dipped his talon in a vial of black ink and began tracing out various glyphs in a circle around the statue.

Urobos relaxed upon the floor before the glyphs; he curled up his wings and took long, deep breaths. Icarox reached over to strike up a bit of incense, while Argos stretched out his back and shook his tail to get comfortable.

"So, what are we meditating on this time?" He asked.

"Anything that might give us ease of mind in these trying times," Argos said.

"The arrest of the leaders of the Sons of Culmubrae has done little to stop the flow of their violent attacks." Icarox frowned. "And there's a rumor that the dark dragon extremists are plotting an attack on The Nexus."

Urobos's spine shook with worry. "There must be something we can do."

"We must rely on our Deep Shadows to protect the children," Argos said. "And in the meantime, we should clear our minds, and reach out for the ancestors…"

"And pray for their guidance." Icarox sighed. "I hope they listen."

All three of the elderly dragons shut their eyes and allowed the scent of the incense to bombard their nostrils. Urobos took deep, steady breaths as he let go of his conscious self, and embraced the darkness of his inner mind…

For a time, there was calm. Peaceful and serene darkness surrounded Urobos. His mind's eye peered out at the great expanse that was Warfang. It stood tall, proud, and glorious; just like in the days of Urobos's youth. He could almost see his younger self gazing outward at the beautiful streets. And he was far from alone: All of his friends were there too. Argos and Icarox, once his rival students of shadow magic, would go on to be his lifelong allies and confidants. Urobos's brothers took to the skies with him; three young black dragons raced with each other above Warfang's cityscape. And when Urobos came to a landing as the victor, who should greet him but the love of his life? The crimson dragoness, Arachne, welcomed Urobos with a kiss on his forehead. They hugged each other with their wings, while all the other young dragons congratulated them.

Oh, if only those pleasant times could last… and if only they were untainted. Two shadows loomed over Urobos and his circle of friends, though they came from separate directions. To the north was his father, King Hyperion. The fierce black dragon scowled disapprovingly at Urobos and his brothers. Nothing Urobos said or did ever seemed to make the high king smile.

Father… Urobos sighed.

then there was the other shadow. The dragon stood tall and proud in his glistening Guardians' armor. His eyes were bound in leather, and he tapped the ground with his green forepaw. He issued some vague advice to young Urobos, and the prince took this advice to heart. After all: What reason did he have to distrust the ever-loyal Guardian Richteriel?

The present-Urobos scowled. I was such a fool.

Richteriel flashed a toothy grin at Urobos… not the past Urobos, but the mind's eye of his present self. The aged black dragon growled at the ex-Guardian… who simply turned and walked away. But as Richteriel stepped out of view, his shadow stayed present on the ground. And out of that shadow, several more shadows sprang forth to snake their way across Warfang…

Something was wrong. There were cries of anguish and terror. Dragons clashed against dragons in a horrific battle. All along the streets of Warfang, drakes in golden armor crashed violently against drakes dressed in robes and white masks. Destruction and chaos ran out throughout the streets.

Urobos cried out in fear; he struggled to look for a means to escape but found himself stuck in place.

What's happening?!

Warfang wasn't the only place where battle and bloodshed rang out. The rampage spread across to the west, where the Prime Temple was swiftly overrun. Avalar was next; the people there cried out in terror as a swarm of wicked beasts rained down upon them. The Whispering Rainlands were set ablaze by a horrible fire shortly afterward. Then the terror stretched across the narrow sea, where the Pyrus Volcanoes sat.

More and more the terror spread across the realms. Aether-Sol's towers were torn asunder. Crossbolt was overrun by enraged dragons. Swarms of beasts atop winged monstrosities swarmed toward Glenhaven. The island nation of Frostwryng was surrounded by wicked sea monsters. The entirety of the dragon realms was engulfed in pure chaos!

What's responsible?! Urobos cried out. Who's doing this?!

Several pairs of deep, demonic, yellow eyes appeared in the darkness. Various scaled faces loomed over the city of Warfang and cackled as destruction spread like wildfire. Urobos shivered as the familiar form of a three-horned head began to take shape amongst the other silhouettes. A wicked cackle assaulted Urobos's ear frills as the figure grew larger.

No… Urobos's eyes went wide upon staring into those eyes. Not Malefor! Not again!

The dragon began to step forward into the light, revealing more of the dragon's face… and Urobos's terror only grew worse. It wasn't three horns, but nine; six more familiar ones were dotted around the dragon's face. A dark grey mane fell to his shoulders, and his beard was disheveled. The cackle grew younger and wilder the longer it went on, and white scales covered the dragon's body. His blood-red underbelly was scratched and scarred, and the birthmarks on his shoulders glowed like wildfire. It was… It was…

"NO!" Urobos screamed out loud.

"Urobos?!" Argos and Icarox yelled in alarm. Immediately the crimson dragons flew to Urobos's side; they helped the black dragon onto his feet as he gasped and panted for breath.

"Urobos, what happened?" Argos demanded.

"I…" He said as he struggled to calm himself down. "I had a vision of the future!"

"What did you see?" Icarox asked as she helped him onto his feet.

Urobos felt a horrible chill, from his horns to his tail tip. He pulled his wings in as he struggled to find the words to describe what he saw. And the more Urobos described, the more the Twins became uneasy.

"Are… Are you sure it was a true vision, Urobos?" Icarox asked worriedly. "It's possible that the scent of the incense interfered with your visions."

"I'm as sure as the sky is blue at midday." Urobos declared. "Chaos is going to spread across the realms, and Malefor is deeply involved."

"But Malefor is imprisoned." Argos snapped. "Baneth sacrificed his body to keep Malefor's soul trapped in the Underworld. He couldn't possibly find a means of escape AGAIN."

"Well… Malefor is very persistent: I'm sure the three of us can agree on that." Urobos said as he bit his lower lip. "His body was destroyed, his soul and essence were split across worlds, and yet he came back. Then he was trapped in the core of the world for over a century… and yet he CAME BACK. If he can escape twice, then maybe he'll escape a third time."

Argos and Icarox exchanged curious glances. They then frowned at Urobos.

"But… what about the other faces you saw?" Icarox asked. "If Malefor was standing equally among them… then who were the others?

"I… I don't know..." Urobos sighed. "But what I do know is that I need to consult with Elenar and the Deep Shadows immediately."

He turned to make his way out of the chapel… only to gasp and come to a stop. The last part of his vision suddenly became as clear as day.

"Wait…" He shivered again as he turned around. "I… I think I saw Rune somewhere in the vision, too."

"You did?" Argos asked worriedly.

"Where is he?" Urobos declared. "I need to find him immediately!"

"But… he left, Urobos," Icarox replied with a frown. "You were there to see him off, remember?"

"I…" Urobos blinked and scrunched in his muzzle. Of course; he'd hugged his grandson goodbye and sent him off with a wave as he left with the Guardians for Glenhaven. But if he was out of Glenhaven… Urobos felt yet another cold spell come across him. He sucked in his breath and struggled to use his fire magic to keep himself warm.

"Fetch me some life crystals!" Urobos declared. "I need to contact Dona with a shadow-mirror! I need her to report on how Rune's been behaving since he left for Glenhaven!"

He scrambled over to the supply table and began searching for some spare crystals. He nearly knocked over several candles in his haste.

"Urobos, calm down!" Icarox pleaded. "You'll only over-exert yourself if you push on like that."

"I can't help it." Urobos bit his lower lip. He turned around to look Icarox in the eyes. "I… I've never seen a disaster like that before, Icarox. Not since the days of Runileon, or that blasted war!" He looked back down at the supply table. "If Rune is somehow tied into that kind of chaos…"

The aged black drake fell backward onto his haunches and shivered.

~~…~~

Greetings, friends and loved ones.

Man, this chapter wound up being one of the longest I've written so far. In the past, I might have even split it in half to make two chapters all on their own. But, I wanted to keep the formatting of each Act to 12 chapters each, so I've got to make do.

I wanted to have some focus on each of the apprentices, even if they had to be split up for a chapter. I especially enjoyed writing a new scene with Holly and Brisa as they gradually befriend Helianne. And, of course, I did a bit more work with Helianne and her brother, as their aunt scolds and punishes the both of them. All of these additions are for the better… or at least I hope they are.

See you next time, when we have one more chapter in Glenhaven… before things really go south.

Tenebra ecce Veritas.