Chapter 14
There was a grotto deep within the Drakanian City that could rival Lapis’ throne room at the base of the spiral pathway, in terms of volume at least. It was multipurpose, serving as a training room for the dragons, or as a meeting hall during the days where Lapis had to review the preexisting Drakanian laws and ensure everything was in order. Sometimes, the dragons hibernated in here, simply because it was deeper within the mountain, and closer to the magma chambers.
Today, it was the training room for Amber. There was also a freshwater spring near the back of the cave — another reason why she liked to train in here — the aesthetics were nice. She even left a few cups on a ledge by the spring for convenience.
She had asked the dragons to help her set up an obstacle course, similar to the ones her father used to have her run through when she was younger, but more attuned to her skill level now.
“I have to train,” she said when Zephyr looked at her with confusion, dragging a stone pillar in his mouth. The wind dragon left the pillar by the wall and flew out the cave. “Clearly I’m out of practice, even Casmir thinks so… and Zephyr’s gone.”
“I… didn’t actually say that, but—”
Amber looked at Casmir, a spark of amusement in her eyes, as if daring him to continue.
“—you could use the time to hone your powers more,” he finished. In one hand, he held Alexander’s journal, something Amber had insisted he bring. He flipped it open, turning to the page where different power training formats were documented. “Maybe you could do some of these exercises,” he suggested. “Look, here he wrote that sometimes thinking of a happy memory could make power wielding easier.”
“It’s like that with negative emotions too,” Amber said. “Crimson told me that. And I don’t know if that’ll work, I can’t really think of anything happy. Anything else?”
“Uh…” Casmir flipped a few more pages. “Oh, here’s something. It’s mostly pure will and determination. I had to focus all my energy on the object to lift it and I couldn’t be distracted. I felt the power flowing in me, and I didn’t fight it. Never fight it. Let it come naturally to you.”
“That’s…” Amber seemed skeptical. “I do do that though. And I can wield my powers with ease.”
“Show me.”
“What?”
“Show me,” Casmir repeated. “Show me that you can easily call the powers to your hand. You said you were out of practice, and your… performance earlier proved it.”
Amber gritted her teeth at the jab. Her fists curled up beside her, not going unnoticed by Casmir. “And if I prove that I am skillful?” she asked.
“That’s a question you’ll have to answer yourself.” Casmir gestured to the multiple targets set up in the training room. “I’ll spar with you too. You can use your weapons and powers, and I’ll just use my sword.”
Amber walked to the center of the spacious cave, tilting her head back to look up at the crystals lighting up the ceiling. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.
“Why do you insist on helping me?” she asked.
“It was part of our deal,” he said. “You show me Drakania and I help you improve your fighting skills.”
“That deal was finished ages ago!” Amber said. “You taught me more fighting skills already, after you Bonded with Springroll, remember?”
“I could teach you more.” Casmir also stepped forward, drawing his sword at the same time. The blade glinted under the soft glow of crystals. “Besides, if you’re out of practice, the best thing you could do is improve.”
Amber held a knife in one hand and summoned a bit of green energy to the other. She took a few deep breaths, allowing herself to calm down and focus on her surroundings. She and Casmir stood on opposite sides of the cave, the position seeming almost ironic despite it only being a spar.
“On your mark,” Casmir offered, gesturing with his sword. “You get the first hit. Show me how good your offensive technique is.”
There was something about the way he said it, the way he had some sort of knowing smile on his lips the whole time. Or maybe it was because she was getting more than just annoyed with Casmir saying that she was out of practice (even though she had said that herself). She rushed forward, focused on only proving him wrong.
Their blades clashed as blows were traded and blocked, and soon, metallic clanging echoed throughout the cave. Pulling back just a bit, Amber dispelled the energy in her palms and drew her second knife. Without hesitation, she swung at Casmir, who effortlessly blocked the strike with his sword. At the same time, he threw a punch at her arm, all the while moving around and dodging her attacks with grace and agility. She saw determination shining in his eyes, not unlike when he was fighting Crimson outside the exiled princess’ cave.
With embarrassingly sloppy technique and poor posture, she managed to block the punch, but she also left one side open. Before she knew it, Casmir had slammed the flat of his blade to her side, knocking her to the ground.
She scrambled to get up, but was stopped when the tip of Casmir’s sword pointed at her face.
“Amber, get up,” he said. His tone didn’t sound forceful, but it wasn’t the way one would usually give a helpful suggestion either. It sounded more like a challenge. “This is a very basic way of keeping your enemies where you want them because they don’t want to be stabbed. So find a way to get out of this.” After a pause, he continued, the words only infuriating her even more. “Or are you gonna give up?”
Out of annoyance, Amber threw an energy ball, hoping it would distract him enough to allow her to gain the upper hand. It sort of worked. Casmir leaned his body back to avoid being burned by the corrosive energy and Amber jumped up, not wasting a second to immediately go on the offense. She slashed and stabbed with her knives, her body moving so fast even she was unsure of how she managed to do that.
She was vaguely aware of Casmir blocking her strikes, his sword glancing off the blade of her knives as they fought. She could hear the soft whoosh of energy balls flying through the air, making hissing sounds when Casmir swatted them away. They ringed softly when they hit the surrounding walls and were absorbed into the crystals.
When her adrenaline faded slightly, she had Casmir against the wall. One hand holding a knife to his throat and the other hand, surrounded by green energy, holding down his sword hand. She kept her focus on her powers, making sure the energy never burned him.
“How’s that for improvement?” she asked, panting slightly as she backed away, giving him room to move. The green energy slowly faded from her hand and she sheathed her knife.
Now that she had stopped jumping and spinning around Casmir’s blade, Amber felt the exhaustion set in. Her arms burned, and when she rolled up her sleeves to check the green swirls, she found them glowing and almost pulsating. That was one of the first times her arm patterns had sparked up and glowed in a while.
“If I didn’t know this was a sparring match, I would’ve thought you were trying to kill me,” Casmir said with an air of playfulness around him. “Not bad for someone who claims she was ‘out of practice’.”
“Thanks.” Amber gave him a tired smile and leaned against the stone wall. Her legs shook — she hadn’t done this intense of a training session for so long — but she remained standing. Casmir on the other hand seemed to have as much energy as before the spar. She reminded herself that he was a soldier, and this sort of sparring was nothing compared to the training he’d sometimes mentioned.
“Want to go again?” he asked. He walked around the cave, spinning his sword around in his hand, a skill that he’d obviously been practicing since he began training, or maybe even earlier. It was almost hypnotizing to watch, and Amber found herself trying to follow the blade’s movement until it became too fast for her eyes.
“I… let me catch my breath first,” she said, blinking repeatedly to break out of the semi-hypnotic trance she was in. Grabbing a cup from the ledge, she filled it with water and didn’t put it down until she quenched her thirst. She remained by the spring, feeling the cool mist of water settling on her skin. Then she set her cup down and drew a knife, running it along the stone wall to sharpen it.
“Okay, I’m ready,” she said, sounding more confident than before. “But this time, you get the first hit.”
“Was there any other reason for you to return so soon?” Amber asked after sparring. She was sitting by the freshwater spring, feeling more relaxed than she had in the previous days. “Other than the book.”
“I just thought that maybe you would’ve learned something about it,” Casmir said. He glanced at the book, which he had placed in a corner of the cave before the training session. “Maybe the dragons knew something.”
“I never asked them,” Amber said softly. “I didn’t want them to think that I was only here because of his death.”
“That isn’t the truth?”
“It’s a partial truth,” she murmured. “I wanted to explore as well.” She didn’t say that she also left because she had found the arkey, but she might as well have said it out loud because Casmir gave her a look that clearly said are you sure?
“And also because…” Casmir pointed to her necklace as he spoke. When she glared at him, he was quick to jump on the defense. “What, it’s true!”
“It might be true,” Amber said stiffly. “But that wouldn’t have been a reason if you didn’t say anything.”
“I already said I’m—”
“I know you’re sorry.” Amber looked away and stared at her father’s journal, still tucked away in a corner. “And I guess I forgive you for that. It’s hard to stay mad at my best friend.”
At that moment, Zephyr entered the training cave, his wings folded at his side and a soft gust of wind accompanying him as he walked. He gave the two a pointed stare, then gestured with his head toward the single entrance in and out of the cave.
Amber exchanged a glance with Casmir, who seemed equally as confused as she was. Normally, the other dragons didn’t really go out of their way to find her in the City unless it was because Lapis wanted to talk to her.
It’s probably just that, she thought. Nothing to be worried about.
It turned out that Lapis did want to talk to her and Casmir, and by the expression on her face, it couldn’t be good. She chided herself. There was no need to assume or jump to conclusions.
“Hello, Queen Lapis,” Amber said, lowering head in a gesture of respect. “Zephyr led us here. You wanted to speak with us?”
:Yes: the dark blue dragon said. :Zephyr was going to retrieve you when he overheard your conversation. The one about your father?:
“My father is dead,” Amber said with a surprising amount of firmness. “He died six years ago, while exploring like I’m doing now.”
Beside her, Casmir muttered “Wait, I thought you weren’t gonna tell them” under his breath. She responded just as quietly with “They overheard anyways.”
:Six years ago: Lapis repeated.
“Yes, that’s what I said.”
The Queen of Drakania glanced at Zephyr, seeming to have a silent conversation with him. The wind dragon nodded in agreement at whatever Lapis had said and then nodded in Amber and Casmir’s direction.
:That’s very unfortunate: Lapis said after a moment’s hesitation. :I’m sorry for your loss:
Amber nodded in thanks, unsure of how else to respond. She exchanged a glance with Casmir and found him listening intently to whatever Lapis was talking about.
:Six years ago, no human should be crossing the borders: Lapis continued. :You can imagine the shock when one of the wind dragon sentries returned, saying that she spotted a group of humans walking through the Drakanian forests:
“Wait, why couldn’t we come here?” Casmir asked. “I mean… why shouldn’t we come? You know, during that time?”
:They don’t have rules in the human kingdom banning travel to Drakania?: Lapis asked.
“No,” Amber said. “The ruler let people cross, if we got their permission first. My father happened to be one of those that got the permission to cross.”
:Well, at that time, Drakania had very strict rules of dragons not being allowed to cross: Lapis said. :My parents had those laws written because they know how much the Erythrean dragons liked to travel around, looking for new dragons, or I guess humans, to enslave with their powers:
:Imagine a mob of humans and dragons under the influence of someone like Crimson: the Queen continued. :And all those humans and dragons only obey the one in control. We’d be powerless to stop them, even with our combined strength and firepower:
“And…” Amber wasn’t sure if she should ask a question but her curiosity grew the more Lapis spoke. “My father. How does this relate to him?”
:Six years ago, my parents allowed Crimson and her family to leave the City on occasion: Lapis said. :It was supposed to do their mental state some good. Clearly that didn’t work:
:I was younger then, still training to be Queen, so I don’t remember the exact details. But I remember the wind dragons reporting back from their patrols, and one of them said that she saw the group of humans and stayed closer to investigate:
“My father wouldn’t hurt a dragon!” Amber protested. “He wanted to learn about them.”
“Wait,” Casmir cut in. “Any other details about the group that went with him?”
:Well, one of them was described to be the leader: Lapis said. :It was reported that the leader human had a similar carving on his chest, like yours: She lifted her tail, the tip pointing toward Casmir’s medallion.
“What?”
:He was also reported to be giving the other humans commands: Lapis said. :He seemed important:
The dark blue dragon tilted her head to the side as she watched Amber and Casmir take in this information.
:If you want, I can show you: she offered. :They’ll be the wind dragon sentry’s memories, but she allowed me to look when the incident happened:
“Can I think about it?” Amber asked.
:Of course, take as long as you need:
Amber ran through the complex tunnel system in the Drakanian City, doing her best to shut out all the surrounding sounds, when they reached her ears. Even then, she could still faintly hear Casmir, somewhere behind her, calling for her to slow down.
She sharply turned a corner, nearly jumping when she found herself by the edge of a large drop. A chasm stretched deep into the mountain, the bottom somewhere in the darkness below. She backed up, pressing herself against the wall behind her and exhaled. If what Lapis told her was true, then she might be able to finally figure out what happened to her father, all those years ago. She might be able to finally get some closure.
“Amber!” Casmir also rounded the corner. “Wait!” He spotted her, leaning against a wall and looking more shocked and confused than ever.
“Lapis might know something,” she said softly. “I-I should’ve just asked her, or one of the other dragons some time in the past years.” She looked at him, doing her best to remain calm, though she knew her eyes would betray her emotions. “I could’ve drawn something. The dragons understand my drawings, and what I try to say with them.”
“But you didn’t know,” Casmir said. “You didn’t know that the dragons knew something.”
“I did think that Crimson might have known something,” she admitted. “But I never got around to asking her, with the mind control thing and all that.”
“And now you have the chance to see what actually happened,” he said. “If Lapis and her sentries knew something… they’re more likely to tell the truth, right?”
“Because Crimson would never actually say what happened?” Amber muttered. “Because she wanted to keep me on ‘her side’ as she calls it.”
“Erm, not what I was going to say, but yeah.”
Amber kept silent. She wanted to know what happened, but at the same time, it might break her perception of whatever she already knew from before. She knew it was unlikely for Lapis to trick her like this. The Queen of Drakania had no reason to trick her — she wouldn’t benefit much from angering or deceiving her. At least, she liked to think that.
She knew her father had died in some unfortunate way on his last expedition, and everyone who was on that expedition chose to not say anything, or was unable to say anything due to whatever trauma they’d sustained. She wasn’t about to push them to tell her, not if it meant for them to relive whatever it was they experienced.
The only other way for her to know what happened was if she took Lapis’ offer.
“Casmir,” she said quietly. “Should I do it?”
He stood beside her, staring out over the chasm like she was doing. “If you want to,” he said. “I can’t make you.”
“What if I see things?” she asked, even though she knew Casmir didn’t know the answer to that. “If I see something horrible and I regret it. What if I don’t get closure?”
“I can’t answer that.”
“Would you do it?” Amber asked. “If you were me, would you take Lapis’ offer?”
“I would, but only to see what happened and nothing else,” Casmir said. “That would be enough for me to get closure.”
“Only see what happened and nothing else,” she echoed, trying to convince herself that it was enough. But Amber knew deep down she wouldn’t be able to only “see what happened” and leave it at that.
Even then, she looked up, giving Casmir a small smile. “I mean, I’m curious,” she said. “I’ll accept Lapis’ offer.” As an afterthought, she added, “I wonder if she’ll allow you to see what happened, too.”
Then she did something she never thought she’d do again. She reached out with her mind, hoping that somehow, Lapis could hear her.
Queen Lapis? Amber thought, closing her eyes and imagining the regal blue dragon, sitting on her throne-like rock slab. Can you hear me?
There was no response.
Maybe it had to do with her broken Bond with Crimson. Maybe she couldn’t be the one to reach out because that part of her died with Crimson—
:Amber?: Lapis sounded genuinely shocked. :How—:
Believe me, I don’t know how I managed this, Amber responded. I thought that after Crimson died, I couldn’t be the first to reach out.
:Maybe it is my crown: Lapis suggested. :It does also serve as a means of communications with those who aren’t dragons:
Maybe, Amber said. But I have also thought about your offer.
:And what were your thoughts?:
I want to see what happened that day, she said. And… is it possible for you to show Casmir as well?
:I don’t know, but I can try: Lapis said. :Return to the throne room at sundown. We will begin then:
Thank you, Amber said. I’ll see you at sundown, Queen Lapis.
With a sigh, she cut the connection and looked at Casmir. “We’re meeting Lapis at sundown,” she said, relaying the message. “And she’ll show us what really happened that day.”