Chapter 10: Challenged

The dragon's eyes twitched at the first feeling of the morning light peering into the room. Eventually, Spyro winced as the light finally hit his closed eyes. He brought up a paw to shield himself, his purple eyes blinking to adjust. The dragon rolled over so the light was to his back, however, it was fruitless.

"I should have closed the curtains," he muttered to himself, as he got out of bed.

Spyro allowed himself to stretch, loosening his muscles and feeling a few pops in his joints, with a yawn escaping his maw. He then made his way to the tub in the bathroom, pugging the drain, and filling the tub with water. As the water rose, Spyro peeked at the mirror and noticed the sleep in his eyes.

"Nothing a warm bath won't fix," he said aloud, turning back to the tub, and stopping the flow of water.

The dragon unleashed a stream of fire to heat up the water, steam rising from the liquid. Soon he was in the tub, a smile on his face as he enjoyed the feeling of warm water against his scales.

It had been a day since Cynder's match and things were beginning to settle. Spyro would accompany the dragoness to any events she had to do, the exception being anything Heart Diamond Jewelry related. He would make a few appearances, but as he had put it; 'I'm not much of a business dragon.'

After cleaning himself, Spyro drained the tub and dried himself with a nearby towel, at least, as much as he could. When he was done with his face, he found himself staring at the mirror. When one would think of a dragon suitable for a beautiful dragoness like Cynder, one would think of a someone like her; strong, good-looking, maybe muscular, and successful.

However, Spyro thought about himself, he wasn't the most opposing dragon, despite his purple dragon status. Good-looking? He looked over his jagged horns and large muzzle, as opposed to Cynder's narrow and smooth muzzle. And he definitely had nothing to show for success, or anything in general.

Spyro shook his head, Cynder had been adamant about how great of a dragon he was. Spyro let out a sigh; she could see it, evidentially, so why couldn't he?

The purple dragon pushed those thoughts behind him, making his way to the door that led to the living room. He opened the door, noticing that it was empty as usual. He walked over to Cynder's room, knocking softly on the door.

"Cynder?" he asked softly, but the door opened slightly.

Spyro peeked inside, only to see the bed neatly made with the black dragoness nowhere in sight. He turned back to the living room, hoping to get a hint on where the dragoness had gone. His purple gaze stopped on the small table with cushions and couches. Laying folded was a piece of paper. Curious, Spyro approached, and noted that his name was on it. He took the paper and read its contents.

Spyro,

I am out training for my next match. I have to keep on my game if I want to win! I'll be back before noontime. Feel free to enjoy yourself.

Cynder

Spyro glanced outside, the sun was still climbing in the sky, making him guess it was two hours till noon.

"I didn't realize I slept in," he muttered to himself, "What now?"

He turned around, looking around the suite wondering how to pass the time. A grumble came from his stomach.

Spyro glanced down, "I guess it's time to eat."

The purple dragon walked to the kitchen looking though the cabinets, finding; dishes, glasses, silverware, spices, and food. He also found two ice boxes; one with different meats stored in it, while the other, though with less ice, had fruits and vegetables.

An idea began to take shape in his head, a smile slowing forming. After all, Cynder is allowing him to stay in her home, why not show a bit of gratitude? Besides, it would be a good surprise for the dragoness after her workout.

The black dragoness landed on the roof of the building, a breath of air escaping her muzzle. It had been a productive workout. Sure, her next match was not for a few days, but she was determined to finish at the top. Cynder walked to the door that led to the stairwell, fishing out ring of keys out of her satchel. She inserted the building key and opened the door, beginning her decent to her floor.

She had to use the key again to get into the hallway. When she entered, she swore she smelled food. As she walked down the hall the smell got stronger, her mouth watering slightly, and a light rumble from her stomach.

Something smells good, she thought as she arrived at her door, grabbing the suite key from the key ring.

She noticed that the delicious smell of food had not left, and did she hear something in her suite?

She opened the door and was overwhelmed by the smell of cooking. Steam was making its way from the kitchen to the rest of the suite. Cynder was shocked to see the purple dragon in the kitchen, humming a tune to himself.

Cynder moved to the kitchen, Spyro not noticing her, "Spyro?" she asked, nudging his shoulder with a paw.

The purple dragon jumped, completely taken out of his task. He gasped, turning to the source of the voice, finding the black dragoness. "Don't scare me like that!" he said, sighing in relief at who it was.

"What are you doing?"

"Pretty sure it's obvious," he said, looking back at the meat on the pan, the fire in the stove providing constant heat. The dragon grabbed a fork and knife, cutting into the meat to peer inside. "A little longer," he muttered.

"Well, I see that," Cynder said, "Why?"

"I had planned to have it done before you got back," he then chuckled nervously, "but uh, I'm not quite done yet."

Cynder looked from the purple dragon, to the cooking meat, to the side dishes he had on the counter, then back to the dragon. "I'll get cleaned up and help you."

Spyro shook his head, "No need. It's the least I can do. You let me live in your home, the least I can do it contribute a little. Take your time."

The dragoness ignored him and quickly cleaned off and was in the kitchen a few minutes later.

"What would you like me to do?" she asked.

"You don't have to-"

"But I want to," she said with a smile.

"Well… could you set the table, please?"

"Of course," she replied, grabbing placemats and walking to the table. She placed plates, silverware, and glasses for the two, asking, "Spyro, what do you want some wine to drink?"

"You can just get me water."

"Oh no," the black dragoness said, "If you are going to provide a meal, I am going to provide the best beverage I can offer." Cynder walked to the cabinets and pulled a bottle of red liquid out.

Spyro smiled, "Then I'll just have what you are having. I'm not much of a drinker."

Soon, Spyro took the pan off of the stove, extinguishing the fire with a cool breath of ice. Spyro took the meat to the table where Cynder sat, the table ready for the meal. When the two dragons were situated, Spyro cut the meat in half, looking at the dragoness.

"Your plate, my lady?" He said, a grin on his face.

Cynder laughed, offering her plate, "Why thank you. You are such a gentle-dragon."

Spyro placed the meat on her plate, then moving to put the other piece on his own. Cynder was picking out a few fruits and vegetables that she laid out that Spyro had picked out.

After their plates were full, Cynder picked up her glass of wine, "This looks delicious, Spyro."

The purple dragon picked up his own glass, "Thank you. Cheers."

They touched their glasses, taking a sip of the wine. Cynder enjoyed a good wine, her favorite being red wine. While Spyro was impartial to alcoholic beverages.

"The wine is pretty good," he said, putting down his drink and moving to his meat.

"I have a soft spot for it," Cynder replied, taking a bite out of the meat. Her mouth began to water as she chewed, the flavor taking over her tastebuds. After she swallowed the piece, "Wow, Spyro, this is really good," she complemented, going for another bite.

The dragon smiled sheepishly as he ate, "Thanks, I'm really happy you enjoy it."

"I'm serious. Where did you learn to cook?"

"I mean, you can only live off of the temple's kitchen and pantry for so long," he said, getting a laugh out of the dragoness. "I got a few tips from your mom, but after I spent some time with Blake and his family, that's where I really learned. Kara gave me some pointers and recipes, and it was something I picked up."

"Well, your lessons have definitely paid off," Cynder said, going to some fruits.

"How was training, by the way?" Spyro asked, taking more bites of his meat, occasionally sipping his wine.

"Fine, I did a lot of endurance and speed training today. My match with Rena showed me that I have to be able to fight at high speeds and maintain it against electric dragons."

Cynder continued to talk about her training session, and her plans for future workouts, with Spyro listening intently and offering his own input. As their talk continued, the food and wine were mostly gone, and the black dragoness eventually found herself really enjoying Spyro's company. She was used to dragons trying to impress her or sweet-talk her. Spyro, on the other paw, was paying attention to her as they spoke. Of course, he would complement her, but for a reason foreign to the dragoness, she liked it.

She was broken from her thoughts when Spyro began picking up the dishes. She stood up as well, "Let me help."

The purple dragon shook his head, "I got it, Cynder. You just relax and-"

"Spyro, I'm helping whether you like it or not," she stated, her face clearly daring him to challenge her, yet with a smile on her face.

Spyro chuckled, "I surrender."

The pair cleaned off the table and washed the dishes. Spyro would clean them and would give them to Cynder to dry off and stack. They then worked together to put them away, including cleaning up around the stove. Spyro looked around the kitchen area, making sure that everything was cleaned.

However, Cynder was lost in thought. They were supposed to be pretending to be a pair of mates-to-be, yet it did not feel like pretend. Her coming home from her workout, Spyro cooking, the two working together to clean up; it felt real. Is this what it would be like? Is this what life would be like if she was, in fact, engaged to Spyro? If she was honest with herself, she enjoyed it.

"Did we miss something?" Spyro asked, pulling her from her thoughts.

She turned to him, "No, I was just… thinking."

"About what?" he asked, curiously.

It felt like it was something silly to talk about, but she knew she could tell the purple dragon.

"Just now, it felt…"

Spyro was expecting more, "Felt…?"

Cynder looked into his amethyst eyes, "Like it was real."

It only took a glance into her emerald eyes to know what she meant. "Yeah… I guess it did," he replied, as both dragons got lost in each other's eyes.

A knock from the door interrupted the pair before anything could go further. Spyro was disappointed that their time alone ended. While Cynder was slightly irritated that the moment was interrupted, though, she was not entirely sure why she felt that way.

"I'll get it," Spyro said, making his way to the door. He looked thought the peephole and saw; Flame, Ember, and Gale. Knowing who it was, he opened the door for them, figuring that they were here for Cynder.

"Hey Spyro," Flame greeted, but was hit with soft smell of a cooked meal, "What smells good?"

Spyro had stepped to the side to allow the three dragons in, "Cynder and I just had lunch."

"What did you guys bring?" Flame asked as the trio entered the suite.

Cynder smiled with pride, "Nothing, Spyro cooked it."

"What?" Flame asked, as Spyro closed the door behind them, "Why didn't you say you could cook?"

The purple dragon shrugged, "You didn't ask." Flame had a face that clearly read, 'not funny,' which caused Spyro to fight to hide a smile, but ultimately failed. Spyro stepped back next to Cynder, "So, what can we help you with?"

"Well," Gale started, taking out a magazine from her satchel.

Spyro immediately noticed that it was Inside League's magazine. It was just like the one Vulca had shown him, but this time, the cover was colored. He felt his face warm up seeing the colored image of Cynder and him kissing.

"Good news is: Inside League's magazine was an instant seller. Their best of the year so far."

Spyro and Cynder exchanged smiles to each other, then back to Gale.

"That's great!" Cynder said happily.

Gale nodded, "But now the… other news," she said, confusing the pair.

Gale pulled a newspaper from her satchel and pawed it to Spyro. Confused, the purple dragon grabbed the paper and looked at the headline, his brows raising in surprise.

'Challenge! Cyrus Vs. the Purple Dragon'

"What?!" Spyro exclaimed, "Challenge?!"

"What?" Cynder asked as well, taking the paper from Spyro.

Ember spoke, "Cyrus has challenged you to a match. Evidently, you two met and he had some choice words about you."

Spyro sighed, "I seem to have that effect on a lot of dragons." He paused for a brief moment before asking, "Wait a minute, who is Cyrus?"

Flame said, "Blue dragon, doesn't like you."

The purple drake gave Flame a deadpan expression, as the image of the ice dragon from Heart Diamond's Warfang branch appeared in his head. "You're going to have to be a little more specific."

"Ice dragon from the viewing box at Cynder's match."

"Him?!" Spyro asked, "What did I do?!"

The black dragoness said, "He is calling you out, saying you are too full of yourself." She continued to read, letting out a growl, "And who is he to say who does and does not deserve me?!"

"I told him something similar," Spyro replied, drawing in Cynder's emerald gaze. "Whether you want to continue our 'relationship' or not was up to you. I tried to make that clear."

"And good on you," Flame said, with a smile, "the look on his face was priceless."

Spyro shrugged, "Not that it matters, we can't do a challenge anyway."

There was an awkward silence for a moment, with Flame and the three females stealing glances at each other. Spyro didn't seem to notice.

Finally, Flame asked, "Do any of you want to tell him, or should I?"

"Tell me what?"

The fire dragon said, "You and Cyrus can fight in an unofficial match."

"But I'm not in the Fighter's League," Spyro protested.

Cynder decided to add, "He means the Exhibition Match. It was originally meant for dragons of other leagues to go against each other. But now these days it is more for show or grudge matches."

"So, you two are going to be able to fight," Gale said, "it is just if you accept."

Spyro could feel his heart beating in his chest. If he declined, it would not only look bad on him, but on Cynder for 'choosing' a cowardly dragon. But it he accepts… he would have to show his abilities to who knows how many.

Spyro quickly shook his head, and looked at the group with frantic eyes, "I can't fight him."

Gale replied, "What? Sure you can, you had a sparring match with Cynder not long ago."

"You sparred with Cynder?" Flame said, impressed from hearing that the purple dragon had gone up against Cynder.

"Th-that was different," Spyro shot back.

"Spyro," Cynder said, comfort in her voice, "It's nothing to worry about." It was just like back in Warfang, he didn't want to fight. Why? He was extremely talented.

"You have no idea what it's like," he muttered, just loud enough for them to hear. He felt like he was backing into a corner.

"What?" Ember asked with an unsympathetic tone. "He is in the Minor League, so it would be very good publicity." She could not figure out why the dragon looked to be cracking under pressure. He worked in the temple in Warfang and taught other dragons. Even sparred with Cynder, a top contender to become the Dragoness Fighter's League Champion. Why was he denying the match to a dragon well below Cynder's caliber? "What is so-"

Finally, Spyro snapped, "I'M SCARED, OKAY?!"

The suite fell silent, four dragons looking to the purple dragon in surprise.

Spyro spoke softly, "I've spent my entire life with everyone being afraid of me. All because of what Malefor did, and they assume that I'll be like him. I'm afraid…" He let out a soft sigh, "I'm afraid of proving them right."

It all came together for the black dragoness, like a puzzle. Spyro did not like to fight because if things got difficult, he would have to show more power. Power of a purple dragon, a power that many were afraid of. He never gave them a reason to fear him, and he refused to give them one.

Yet, they hated him anyway.

It explained why he was very hesitant to spar with her. However, everyone in the arena that day loved it. They even loved Spyro's showing and asked him for tips and how he did some of the things he did. Did he not see that?

Cynder glanced at Spyro, his form shaking as if holding something in. It broke her heart to see Spyro like this, after these last few years, he had been bottling up his feelings. Even now, not wanting anyone to see him vulnerable.

The black dragoness moved closer to him, "Spyro."

The dragon looked to her, as she got close.

Cynder moved her head under his chin, nuzzling into him, "It's okay. I'm here for you."

Spyro closed his eyes, his breathing staggered, "Thank you," he muttered.

"You don't have to bottle everything up," she said, pulling the dragon into a hug, "Let it out."

At first the purple dragon fought, but in the end, allowed the tears to fall. His hold on the dragoness tightened, like if he was to let go, she would be gone. Cynder, however, had no plans of leaving anytime soon.

"It's not fair," Cynder said softly, "You are such a great dragon, but everyone puts you down. Even you."

"Just following the general consensus," was his reply.

"Well, now you have friends that are going to help you, and show to the everyone in the realms the dragon you are."

Spyro pulled from the dragoness' embrace, shooting back, "What does it matter? I have done nothing to them, but they hate me anyway! I don't have a problem with them; they have a problem with me! They look at me and see destruction, death, and… pure evil!"

Spyro took a step back, panting as he let his emotions out. He looked over the four dragons, each with various shocked looks on their faces. The purple dragon turned away, his back now to the group. The only sound in the room was the occasional drop of tears Spyro shed.

Softly, Spyro said, "They judge me before they get to know me."

There the air grew thin, the four dragons looked amongst each other, silently wondering what to do or say. Cynder looked at Spyro's slouched form, her heart breaking for him. She cursed everyone who turned Spyro into this. He was a kind and gentle dragon who should live a life free from all the scorn.

Movement drew her attention to Flame, who walked to Spyro. He gently sat on his haunches next to Spyro, but remained silent for a moment.

Flame looked at the purple dragon, "When we met in this room; I didn't those things about you."

Flame smiled when he saw Spyro's lips twitch upward. Spyro turned to look at Flame for a small moment, seeing kindness that reminded him a bit of Ignitus.

"I know," Spyro said, "and I really appreciate it."

Flame nodded, and the room returned to silence for another moment. "Sometimes," Flame finally spoke, "life gives you bad hands. I came from a powerful and proud family of fire dragons. My father is a captain of Haven's Guard, my mother is a respected teacher at the Haven Academy, my older brother is also in the Guard, and, finally, my older sister is a fire elemental therapist. Me? My fire abilities woke up over a year after everyone else." Flame stared at the other male dragon as he continued, Spyro was watching him with interest, "I had to live with that while my siblings were naturals at what they did, I had to bust my tail just to remain behind. Family reunions were rough, because everyone would compare me to my siblings. Although they never held it over my head, I hated feeling…" the fire dragon glanced down, "little." He shook his head, and continued, "I trained myself until I couldn't go anymore. I decided to compete in the Fighter's League, to show everyone what I could do."

Spyro was taken by surprise, the fire dragon was describing himself as just another average fire dragon. Since meeting Flame, Spyro had looked at Flame as someone who found something he was good at. But no. Flame had to work, and work hard. And despite it all, including the doubt everyone probably said about him, he pushed forward.

Flame trailed off for a moment, Ember stepping toward him as he continued, "Even after fighting up the ranks of the Minor League, no one wanted to sponsor me." Flame glanced down, "They only want to invest in someone who is special or natural, not just someone who climbs the ladder with guts alone. I would be stuck in the Minor League."

The dragon stood up, and made his way back to his fiancée. When he got close, the pink dragoness rubbed her snout against his affectionately, which he gladly returned.

"But I met someone," he said, looking into her sapphire eyes, "Who, after I found out that charming her wouldn't work-"

"Too right," Ember interrupted, with a smirk.

"I got to know and trust." He glanced at Spyro and said, "She gave me a chance; both for the Fighter's League and something more." Flame placed a paw on Ember's, who pushed into the dragon's body. "I know life can be a drag," he concluded, "sometimes you have to just keep moving. Sometimes, you just…" his thought process stopped as he tried to come with up with his next words. However, when nothing came to, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind, "You just have to kick life in the ass."

Laughter echoed in the room, as Ember rolled her eyes, "Such a way with words, Flame."

Spyro smiled, a light chuckled managing to escape his lips. He spent his life avoiding any and all conflicts. He wanted to be treated like a normal dragon, but it seemed that not showing everyone what he could do was not the solution. He glanced at Flame, who spent his life knocking down wall after wall with success, even falling for a dragoness he now calls his future mate.

A feeling on confidence slowly surged though his body. It was time for a change.

"You're right," he said, rubbing the remnants of tears from his face. He looked to Cynder with a smile, "You both are."

"Does this mean…" Cynder asked, letting the question trail off.

Spyro nodded, looking to Gale, "Gale, tell Cyrus or whoever that they have a match."

The wind dragoness smiled, "You got it."

"That's what I like to hear!" Flame laughed, looking to Cynder, "Looks like we are getting an extra teammate."

"That would be excellent for a brand I have wanted to make for a while," Ember though out loud, "A line of couple's jewelry."

Spyro shrugged, "Isn't that quite common?"

Ember shook her head in disappointment, "There is more to it than an idea. With you doing a match, and Cynder in the League; I have the perfect marketing campaign to spring this brand into action."

Spyro smiled around the four dragons in the room as they though ideas around. He felt lighter, like a massive weight had suddenly vanished. He was nervous about this Exhibition, but it was less about everyone's reaction to him. Cynder glanced to him, giving him a reassuring smile, which he returned.