The Legend Of Spyro-Perils Of War Ch 18

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#18 of Perils Of War TLOS (Book 2)


Spyro woke to a familiar voice in the hall. He carefully got up without waking Cynder, and stepped out the room. Michael was talking to Camry and Layla about their trip.

"Your back!" Spyro said to him

"Yeah, I heard about the events, you two killed two dark masters! Together! I didn't think you had it in you." Michael replied

"So that means that there are only five left" Spyro stated

"Four, I found one while we were gone" Michael told him

"So, about the king..." Spyro started

"I already... dealt the situation, if the king bothers you or anybody else you know, he will not like the consequences." Michael told him "I was thinking about sending Fletcher to him in a tiny box"

Spyro looked up at him "Did you?"

"No, I set him and his guards free, he's probably crying to daddy as we speak." Michael replied

"Especially after the beating Cynder gave them" Mary cut in, walking out of her room.

"I can't believe he had the gall to demand their eggs" Jake said, walking out after her.

Michael snorted "He seems to have forgotten the order of power here, but I reminded him"

Spyro looked out the window, the celebration had already started, people were dancing and throwing flowers, the music could be heard all the way up to their windows.

"I can't believe it's already been a year" He stated

Michael looked over to him "To me, they go by faster than seconds go by to you, so I can believe it"

A pink dragon walked into the hall.

"Good, most of you are up, wake the rest. We need to get ready" She ordered

Michael raised his eyebrows "You wake up Trice, and see if you can leave without losing all of your limbs."

The dragon sighed, and walked into a room. There was a small explosion, and the pink dragon rushed out. She was blackened, and a few whisps of smoke rose from her decorative armor.

"There" She huffed "Now wake the rest"

Spyro laughed, then went back into his room. Cynder had amazingly slept through the explosion. He walked up to her and nuzzled her snout. She slowly opened her eyes and groaned.

"Time to get yelled at?" She asked

"They better not, or I will toast them" He smiled at her

Cynder got up and stretched, she yawned and smiled at him. They put on their newly polished armor, and stepped outside. They narrowly avoided a collision with Camry and Layla as they stepped back out into the hall. They said their hellos but were quickly brought out to their places. They put all the people that were going to be on floats in the same room. There were a few cheetahs, and a lot of moles. But Michael, Trice, Flame, Ember, and the guardians were also there. Spyro greeted the guardians and they chatted for a while. Cynder was nervous, she was trying to mentally prepare herself to be hated. After a while they were led out into a secure area filled with floats. Spyro and Cydner were led to a purple and black float, and were instructed to 'Stand and look pretty.' Once everybody was in their positions, the floats started gliding out of the square they were kept in. They passed under a bridge and through a curtain of streamers. A deafening roar exploded from the crowd as they came into view. Spyro and Cynder's float led the rest, and the crowd cheered as they passed. Confetti of all colors rained down from the sky. Cynder spotted a few scowls pointed at her from various species, but she ignored them and focused on the happier parts of the crowd. She blushed when she spotted a group of dragons that had painted themselves black and had the same chokers and bracelets. One of them caught her eye, and shouted her name. Spyro nudged Cynder, and she looked at where he motioned to see a few moles had collaborated to hoist a massive banner on the sides of their homes. One half was purple and had a drawing of Spyro and his name, while the other half was the same but for Cynder. Cynder glanced back to the float behind them and laughed at the stoic look on Michael's face. He was standing straight up, looking out at the crowd. The float that Trice and Michael was on had been covered in pink and blue petals. Cynder noticed that the float was shaped like a fortress. She laughed in amusement when the mini cannons fired, launching confetti out into the crowd. Cynder heard her name, and turned to find its source, she was surprised to find a group of black dragons, she watched them as the float approached. All of these dragons were like her, and they came to see her. Cynder watched proudly as the black dragons cheered her on. Spyro looked over at them and she noticed his eyes flash a little bit. Cynder froze when she saw a group clustered together. They were all staring at her, furious expressions on her faces. Spyro felt Cynder freeze and looked over at the group, then nuzzled her. This public display made her blush heavily, but she reciprocated his actions, rubbing him back. She glanced back to the group as they passed, and smirked at the look of bafflement that crossed their faces. Spyro gave them a look as they passed, but they ignored it and started cheering as Ember and Flame's float approached. The floats had been brought all the way around the city. They passed by tens of thousands of cheering dragons, moles, wolves, and cheetahs. Eventually they came to a stop in the main square, and everyone was guided out of the floats and onto a special area that they could watch the rest of the celebrations from. Cynder smiled at Jasper and Samantha as she sat next to them, then to Spyro as he joined her.

"I know that many of those people are from other planets, but it feels good to not be hated." She spoke.

Spyro agreed, and they laid in their seats, settling for the events to come. Once everybody was in their seats, and the floats were guided out of the square, a stage was set up and a reenactment was played. Spyro watched with an amused expression the events that took place in the play. Apparently Sparx had given them the whole story they were reenacting. He had made himself look better of course, but he also made Cynder look really good as well.

"How did he know about that?" Spyro asked.

She snapped back out of thought. "Maybe I told him, I don't know"

"He made himself look so good by making it to where he couldn't follow instead of didn't follow" Spyro replied with an annoyed tone.

"Of course he did, it's Sparx" Cynder told him

Sparx flew over and landed on one of Spyro's horns.

"You know I can tell when you say my name, it gives me this cold shiver" He told her

"Sparx Sparx Sparx Sparx Sparx" She chanted.

Spyro laughed "You better go back, before that event planner notices you left your seat and smacks you with her scroll."

Sparx sighed, and went back to his seat with his parents. They watched the rest of the play. When all of the actors came back on the stage and bowed, everybody cheered. Spyro gave Cynder a surprised look, apparently the crowd enjoyed the performance more then they did. Next the queen stepped on stage and said a speech about the heroics of the city's heroes. When she was done, she did something unexpected. She pulled out a bunch of medals and started calling people from their seating area. First Flame and Ember, with confused faces, walked onto the stage and accepted the medals. Then the queen called a few others up. Cynder gave Spyro a worried look, just before the queen called their name. They slowly got up and looked over to Michael, who gave them a slightly amused glance. They walked onto the stage, and accepted the medals. The crowd exploded when Spyro was given his medal, but went silent when Cynder approached the queen. Suddenly the crowd started booing her. Cynder accepted her medal and stood by Spyro. But the crowd kept booing. The tourists were looking around, confused. Cynder heard someone call her a traitor, and another mole called her evil. Spyro reflexively stepped in front of her, and covered her with his wing. Cynder stepped forward to face the crowd then roared. The crowd instantly silenced. She looked out at the stunned crowd, and took a deep breath.

"I know that the things I did while I was corrupted were unforgivable, and I know you don't believe me when I tell you that I was under the control of Malefor and had no choice but to do those things. Trust me, I feel the guilt a lot more than I let on, I feel horrible about everything. But I know that there is nothing I can do to fix it, so I just want to move on with my life. I've fought my own demons, and I helped Spyro save the planet. I feel like that is enough retribution to prove to you that I am no longer evil. I am mated with Spyro, and I love him with all my heart, he trusts me, Michael trusts me, even the queen trusts me. All I ask of you is to respect me, I know that you may hate me forever, but just let me be in peace." Cynder shouted at the crowd.

Spyro nuzzled Cynder's neck, showing his support. Most of the angry faces in the crowd didn't change their expression, but Cynder saw some softening faces. The crowd stayed silent, and Cynder nodded to them and left the stage. Michael had already stepped on the stage by the time they sat down, and gave them all an angry glance.

"Dragonic corruption has been a problem throughout this world and others for millions of years. Cynder's was just the tip of the iceberg compared to some of the ones in the past. But you need to get over yourselves. Corruption changes one's mind, body, and soul. Making them like what they do and enjoy it. But in reality, they are under the complete control of the one who corrupted them. The dragon that just came up here today was not the same dragon that you encountered or heard stories from. She has been freed, and has ascended to become a queen. If you disrespect Cynder you disrespect her mate, and if you disrespect the king of elemental dragons, you disrespect me. This should be the last time I ever see or hear about this ever again. I will not remind you again, Cynder is a queen, and she saved all of your lives, she deserves respect at the very least. I don't expect you to like her, but she will get her peace." He gave a shaming look throughout the crowd as he spoke.

He sent out another look through the crowd, then stepped off the stage. The queen walked back to center stage and continued her speech. After a while the crowd parted to go to separate parties, the stage and the sitting area were removed from the main square, and were replaced by a dance floor and a bunch of musicians started playing. Spyro grabbed Cynder and rushed her to the floor. The party lasted through the night and ended right before the sun rose from the horizon. When the music stopped, Spyro picked Cynder up and looked over to see Flame and Michael have similar situations with Ember and Aura. Spyro flashed a smile at Michael and he rolled his eyes, and they went to their rooms. Spyro set Cynder down and took off her armor, then he set her into the bed and curled around her. Cynder mumbled a little in her sleep but didn't stir.

Spyro opened his tired eyes to see the midday sun shining through the window, he sighed and curled tighter around Cynder, who cuddled against him in turn. Spyro closed his eyes again and fell back asleep. He didn't sleep for long before he felt Cynder nudge his nose lightly. He slowly opened his eyes and looked up at her. She was smiling at him.

"Your so cute when you sleep." She told him

Spyro groaned and stretched, yawning.

"Your so cute when I carry you home" He countered

She gave him a confused look, then gasped in mock horror.

"Oh, how embarrassing"

"Flame and Michael carried Ember and Aura as well." Spyro chuckled

Cynder laughed. "That music was too good to stop dancing"

Spyro agreed, he got up and they nuzzled each other for a couple minutes. Then they packed their things and joined the rest of the group at the front gate. Michael was still carrying Aura, she mumbled occasionally in her sleep. Cynder snickered and he shot her an amused look, and rolled his eyes. A portal formed and Ember said goodbye to her mother. Once everybody was through, Michael closed the portal and carried Aura into his house. Spyro and Cynder went to their bed and slept the rest of the day away.

A strange crash woke Cynder from a deep sleep, she looked over to Spyro to see him still asleep. She craned her neck to look out the window and watched Flame picking up his sword. He looked around, embarrassed, and walked into his house. Cynder looked up at the sky and noticed the dawn light shining in the distance. Spyro curled tighter against her, the days were getting colder, announcing the coming winter. Cynder slowly sat there and watched the sun rise for a few hours, enjoying Spyro's warmth, and his steady breathing. She thought back to the crowd that booed her, and hoped that they would follow Michael's wishes. Lumi and Jasper landed in the square, they had blankets strapped to their backs, Cynder knew that both of their mates had entered their nesting phase. She wondered how that felt, and her mind strayed to thinking about making a family. She couldn't wait to start one with Spyro, the thoughts gave her a fuzzy feeling. She closed her eyes, imagining herself curled up around a clutch of eggs, with Spyro curled around her. She imagined Spyro playing with his kids, and smiled to herself. After a few more hours Spyro opened his eyes and looked around. They stared at each other in silence for a while, before Cynder cracked and smiled.

"What?" She asked

He leaned forward and kissed her. "Just you"

"You sap" Cynder said, still kissing him

Spyro broke the kiss and moved his head back "You love it"

Cynder rolled her eyes "Duh, what female wouldn't love that?"

They cuddled for a while, enjoying the peace. Then Spyro got up, Cynder shivered and pulled him back. He fell with an oof, and laughed. She pulled him into a kiss and he gave her some of his fire element. She breathed against him, enjoying the new warmth. He broke the kiss again, and left the room.

"I'm making breakfast" He called as he left

Cynder sighed and laid her head back down.