TLoS: Challenge of Hearts (Chapter 1)
Ok.... So... first things first.....
This has also been posted on FF.net to those of you who use that site to read essentially useless stuff.....
second things usually after it...
This story is BASED after DotD..... Although not everything is exactly the way it was.... I took a spin on things and changed a few details here and there..... But not everything is as it happened in the games.....
Now, as by the way that I have another 20 (or so) chapters to post in this moment, I'll just mention that this is purely done by me..... Any similarities from other people's stories are purely coincidental... Unless signed otherwise....
So, with that said.... I wish for any of you to speak your mind when reviewing/commenting.... I wish to improve my writing ability.... So let me know about anything that could be improved....
And so, without further ado..... Enjoy The Legend of Spyro: Challenge of Hearts
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Chapter 1:Getting Together
The sun streamed through the translucent curtains that flapped in the winds. There was a young black dragoness lying in the morning sun. The black dragoness had gone through most of her life fighting against those that she now lives amongst. But with the dragon race upon the edge of disappearance, Cynder was welcomed to stay within the confines of the dragon temple. Yet even with her assistance to Spyro, the purple dragon of legend, which pulled their world back from the edge of disaster from the Dark Master, Malefor.
It had been two full weeks since the final battle which decided the fate of their world, and Cynder had found herself growing to accept many different, and new, facts. That she would now be treated as an equal by the rest of her race, by the decree from the current guardians to never have her past brought up. But in return Cynder would have to contribute to their cause in any way she could. But almost immediately after the Dark Master had been defeated, Avalarhad become peaceful to anything or anyone that lived within its boundaries. Which left Cynder with only one choice to help the dragon's cause, and that was to have a family. But such a simple task was hard to come by for the dragoness. For her past had been riddled with traitorous acts that drove off many that she might've desired. Despite the fact that she was one of the few remaining females amongst them, Cynder had seemingly been shunned by all other dragons living in the temple. She was trusted enough to be able to live there, but avoided at all costs by the other dragons.
As more of her body became engulfed by the morning light, Cynder slowly came to, and awoke. Yet another day. Cynder took a deep breath and sighed. Yet another day of seclusion.
The young dragoness rose to her feet and stretched out her limbs, feeling her joints crack as each one reached its maximum length. Cynder had never felt the same since the defeat of Malefor. There was much that she didn't know about the battle too. For when Spyro and Malefor had launched both their energies at each other, Cynder leant all of her strength to Spyro, joining all of what she had with his power. After several minutes of struggling against the Dark Master, Cynder had used all of her energy, causing her to lose consciousness. The last thing she heard was Spyro seemingly scream her name, but then all had turned black.
When Cynder had woken up days later, she was inside the DragonTemple, effectively being accepted by the guardians upon arrival. But she hadn't seen Spyro since the battle. Cynder wanted to thank the purple dragon for what he had done, how he had freed her from the grasp of darkness that controlled her mind and body, but most importantly, how he had freed the world from evil. But today would be different for the black dragoness. She would purposefully seek him out, and confront the one that saved her.
* * *
How can I meet her? Spyro had been awake for hours, trying to run a conversation with Cynder through his mind. The purple dragon had been avoiding her at all cost, on the off chance that he was to make a fool of himself. What if she asks me... Spyro was lost for thoughts.
Ever since he had rescued Cynder from the Dark Masters power, Spyro found himself strangely connected with her. It was something that he couldn't explain, yet refused to tell anyone else of, on the risk of having his reputation of being the saviour ruined. It was times like these when he wished that Ignitus was still alive.
The fire guardian had given his life so that Spyro could escape from the Dark Masters capture. For the battle had already been won by Malefor. As Spyro had released Cynder from her possessed form, Malefor took the split second that Spyro was distracted to become frozen by his power. But Ignitus stepped forward to challenge the Dark Master, sending enough of his power to release Spyro, allowing both younger dragons to escape with their lives.
Why must this be so hard? Spyro looked out the window, feeling the warming sun against his scales. There was much of the world that he could have, just by asking. But there was much more that he desired. I must speak to her, even if it is just a thank you. Spyro admitted defeat, going with the lesser of two evils, wanting to at least get the confrontation over and done with before anything was to happen.
Spyro walked out of his room and down the entirety of the DragonTemple's corridor to reach Cynder's. Spyro had been given the room closest to the main entryway. The only dragons that held better accommodation were the guardians alone. But in everyone's eyes, Spyro deserved better than that. Cynder, on the other hand, had opted to take a room away from all the others. Sure it would mean a little extra walking, but she didn't mind, as long as the other dragons would've left her alone.
Upon reaching the entrance to Cynder's room Spyro's nerves started to take effect. He was worried as to her reaction of finding him in front of her door before the day's activities started. But Spyro found himself unable to confront the black dragoness. He was afraid for the first time since the battle against the Dark Master. But it was a new kind of fear, one that Spyro hadn't had the chance to allow inside himself. One that he didn't have time to deal with during the war against Malefor. It was the fear of losing the one he cared for.
Spyro stood before the door to Cynder's room, but the whole scene didn't seem natural. It wasn't something that he wanted to be seen doing. Why can't I do this? Spyro turned away from Cynder's door, and started walking away from the black dragoness' room.
* * *
I've got to see him! I'll just go to his room, and say thank you. Cynder was having the same problems. That's it. Just a thank you... I'm allowed to do that? Right? Cynder had been asking herself questions for the past ten minutes, again, trying to find a liable reason to confront the purple dragon. That's it!
Cynder walked through her entryway and spotted the tip of Spyro's tail disappearing down the end of the corridor. Cynder angered at herself for taking so long, she had just missed Spyro again. But this time she was determined to catch up with him.
The black dragoness bounded down the long corridor, reaching the turn Spyro had taken and stopped at the intersection. Cynder paused for a moment, she knew that Spyro wouldn't have gotten far, and finding him would be as easy as following her nose. So that is what she did.
Cynder quickly found Spyro's scent trail leading down the stairs into the main foyer of the dragon temple. She continued to dash around the structure stopping at every intersection following the trail of Spyro, which she found to be incredibly easy.
Cynder turned the final corner, finally catching up with the purple dragon on the way to the pool of visions. But Cynder froze mid-stride upon finding Ember aside Spyro, visibly trying to get closer to him. Cynder's insides began to boil. It wasn't that she hated Ember, but it was that Ember insisted on trying to get close to Spyro despite the fact that he had clearly explained to her that he wasn't interested. Cynder proceeded to close in on the two, wondering what they were talking about at the time.
"-told you before Ember. It's not going to happen between us." Spyro continued on his way, only to have Ember grab his tail with one of her forelegs, causing a slight yelp as it reached its maximum stretch.
"And I've told you before Spyro. I'm not going to take no for an answer."
"Ember, let me go. Why don't you annoy Flame for a change?"
Ember released Spyro's tail with a huff. "Maybe I will..." Ember continued on her way past Spyro, rubbing the tip of her tail along his side as she passed. It took all of Cynder's self control not to tear the pink dragoness apart.
Spyro turned away from Ember. "One day she is goi-" Spyro saw Cynder staring at him. "Cynder... It's so great that I found you."
"But I was looking for you Spyro." Cynder turned her head away for a second. On the inside she was blushing, but lucky enough the black of her scales didn't show any other colour.
There was a long moments silence as the two dragons stared upon each other. "I wanted to thank you for-" They both said at the same time.
"Spyro, you saved my life and released me from my torment of being Malefor's slave."
"And you gave all you could to help in the final battle when I defeated the Dark Master."
They both looked at each other for a few moments. "I couldn't have done it without you." Both dragons said again.
Spyro started to walk past Cynder, leaving her stunned form with the same dumbfounded look it had gained when Spyro had said that he was looking for her. Say something! Cynder's mind was screaming at her to prolong her conversation with Spyro. "Spyro?"
The purple dragon stopped and whirled around instantly taking another gaze at the black dragoness. "What is it Cynder?"
Crap, think of something! Cynder glanced around the corridor finding nothing that would spring another thought, but then she came up with an idea. "Spyro, if there is anything that I can do to repay you for freeing me from the Dark Masters power, don't hesitate to ask."
"Cynder, you owe me nothing. We both have helped each other equally over the past few weeks. And I'm sure that our paths will cross again." Spyro started to turn around, but stopped realising something. "Why are you down here anyway?"
Cynder was trapped. She could either tell him the truth, and hope that he wouldn't get mad, or make up an excuse and stay beside him longer. The latter was her choice. "I got lost trying to find the training room. Lucky I ran into you down here though."
Spyro gave a sceptical look, he knew that Cynder had been given a tour of most of the DragonTemple. But with its sheer volume, it was easy to get lost in, so he accepted the lie. "The training rooms are upstairs. In fact, I think almost everything is upstairs from where we are. But why would you be training now? Everything is at peace now, why would there be need to train?"
"What if I like to stay active and healthy? Rather than just doing nothing at all..." Cynder looked down at the floor, Spyro hadn't taken his eyes off her for a moment during their conversation. And as far as she knew Spyro hadn't even blinked the whole time. "Why are you looking at me like that Spyro?"
The purple dragon shook his head slightly, coming back from his waking dream. "W-wha-? Sorry, Cynder? What was that?"
Spyro's face colour shaded slightly, deepening its natural glow to a very dark red. "Never mind. Could you show me the way out of here?"
"Yeah... Sure. It's this way." Spyro looked away from Cynder for the first time since their conversation had started. Cynder naturally felt strange having another dragon ogle over her. But it was something that she could almost get used to, as long as it was Spyro who was staring.
* * *
"I'll show him... Spyro wants me to annoy Flame, so let's see how much of me he can handle." Ember had made her way up into the main foyer of the dragon temple. "Now, where would he be?" Ember glanced around the main entryway, finding nothing within sight that even lead to any sign of Flame. "Ancestors, where is that dragon?"
"Where is who?" Ember jumped upon hearing the voice of Flame behind her. The pink dragoness dug her claws into the soft ground underneath her, regaining her calm composure from before.
"Flame! You scared me!" The pink dragoness yelled back at him.
"I'm sorry, but there was som-"
"It's ok Flame." Ember seemed to calm herself much faster than expected, starting to circle around Flame, taking every step slower than the last. "In fact, there was something I wanted to see you about."
"W-wha-? Why would you want to see me?" Flame could obviously see that Ember was looking him over. At first it caused him to act nervous. He had always liked Ember, but she was always too busy chasing Spyro to notice his moves towards her. This had always frustrated him to the point of almost telling Ember how he felt. But Flame knew better than that, Ember wouldn't accept him until Spyro had either hurt her or was already taken.
"No reason..." Ember continued around Flame, she had moved unnaturally close to the red dragon, not that he minded.
"Ember, what are you doing? If this is a trick, it's not funny." Flame had turned around and faced the pink dragoness, who stopped completely staring almost straight through Flame's red eyes.
"Would I trick you... Flame?" Ember ran the tip of her tail up the side of Flame's right foreleg. He relished the contact between them.
Flame almost lost control of himself. The touch from Ember's tail against his scales almost drove him crazy, and she knew it. But Ember remembered that it would only be to make Spyro jealous, so that was all she needed.
"Why don't you and I go... out... For a while?" Ember brushed against Flame's side, enticing him to follow, regardless of what his mind was saying.
* * *
Spyro and Cynder had stopped at the entrance into the main foyer. The two had seen everything between Ember and Flame, yet both of them said nothing. Cynder thought that she could finally have Spyro to herself, and Spyro thought that he would finally have some time without Ember annoying him. Every dragon in the Temples main entrance thought that they were getting what they wanted.
Spyro waited until Ember and Flame were out of view before continuing on his journey with Cynder to the training room. Thank the ancestors that those two are together.
Cynder was thinking the same thing, but neither spoke a word to the other as they continued. But Spyro thought that it was a little too easy for him to get Ember to leave him alone.