Chapter 6
Amber’s footsteps echoed through the stone tunnels, every dull thud sounding as loud as the bells that rang every noon and evening. She never looked back, and she didn’t want to, in case there were people after her and Casmir had lied about telling.
She stopped by a tall candle holder and leaned against the walls. It had been weeks, according to Casmir, since she was placed in that cell, and she wondered if Crimson was alright. She hadn’t heard from the dark red dragon since she was being escorted away to Regia Liavis. She had blocked her thoughts at the moment, but as soon as Casmir left her alone in the cell, she tried reaching out. She had been met with silence, which is what she didn’t want when she tried again this time.
Crimson, can you hear me? she dared to ask. Crimson?
:Thank Drakania, you’re alive: Crimson’s immediate response sounded sarcastic and Amber felt proud that the dragon had been practicing. :What happened?:
“I got locked up,” Amber said, not realizing she said it out loud until someone said, “Yeah, you did” from beside her. She was barely fazed when she turned and saw Casmir, who had emerged from the darkness.
“I was just wondering if you knew how to get out of these tunnels,” he said, wringing his hands together and scanning her face carefully. “They’re pretty confusing and…”
He might’ve said something more, but Amber didn’t hear him. She only heard Crimson, asking :Who is that?: followed by a pause and an over dramatic gasp. :He’s the one who told, isn’t he?:
Her thoughts blanked and she turned her head to face Casmir again. He took a step back, his mouth moving but no sound came out. Then he turned, disappearing back into the dark tunnel, leaving her to believe that she’d imagined the entire exchange.
:Where are you?: Crimson’s voice was the only thing that was clear and in focus. :It’s like you vanished off the face of the land:
I’m underground, Amber replied. I’m under the blackstone manor.
:The giant black box thing?: Crimson asked. She got a word of confirmation from Amber. :I can’t land on that, the stone leeches my powers and fires away. Drakania has similar things:
Her mind whirled at this piece of information that Crimson revealed. Maybe Crimson could explain why the cuffs burned her. Crimson seemed to know a lot of things.
I’ll try and get out, she said. Meet at the borders?
:I’m still there, Amber: the dragon said. :It’s been a very boring three weeks. Hurry up and come back so we can have more fun:
She nearly scoffed and cut the connection, knowing that Crimson’s definition of “fun” involved things similar to blowing up fountains in courtyards. She pushed herself off the wall and continued through the tunnels, occasionally stopping to look back, half expecting someone to follow her.
It was not as confusing as the Drakanian City tunnel system, though she will give Regia Liavis credit for building something so similar. She had a feeling that either Drakania took inspiration from Regia Liavis, or the other way around, because there was little chance that two differing kingdoms would come up with tunnel systems that were so similar in design and structure. She’d already gotten turned around a few times, and the fact that they all looked the same didn’t help her case. Initially, she started marking her way by counting the number of candle holders lining the walls. She had made it to about fifty before she lost count and found herself more lost than before.
She did find her way out, but by then, she noticed it was already daytime. The sun was shining brightly in the sky and fluffy white clouds dotted the blue canvas. She emerged from a door, one that was against a brick wall at the perimeter of the courtyard. It was subtle, but if one knew where to look, it would be very noticeable. She closed it behind her quietly and blended into the crowd, pretending like she had been here the whole time. No one paid her any attention.
:Amber, where are you?: Crimson asked. Amber thought it was strange her voice sounded clear as ever despite the groups of people pushing past her in the courtyard. Then again, it wasn’t the strangest thing that she’d experienced, and she thought nothing more of it.
The courtyard, she thought, watching builders work at reconstructing the fountain; the one that she destroyed for no particular reason. She wanted to help. She wanted to apologize and say that she didn’t mean to destroy it, but that’ll only make people alert the Regia soldiers. She couldn’t go back to that cell when she had only just escaped.
:I can go get you: Amber heard something mischievous hidden behind the casually said words but didn’t comment on it. :Are there lots of people?:
Yes, so unless you want us both to get killed… She didn’t finish her sentence, knowing that Crimson understood. Hopefully.
:You’re no fun: was Crimson’s reply.
Amber closed off the link between her and her dragon and almost instantly, her mind cleared. Despite it not being the first time her mind cleared like that, she still thought it was extremely strange. She thought about when she left the borders to deliver her letter and how with each step she took away from Crimson, the easier it was to think for herself. It was a similar case here; she cut the mental connection and it was easier to sort through her previously muddled thoughts. She decided to ask Crimson about that, too.
The dragon was again pacing around impatiently when Amber finally reached the border clearing. Her wings were slightly unfolded, like she had just gone on a flight and there were several leaves stuck between the overlapping bronze belly scales like she had crashed through a bush or the treetops. She jumped up when the girl emerged from the foliage and screeched with either excitement or worry.
:You crazy human!: Crimson exclaimed, jumping around and circling her repeatedly. :What were you thinking? The humans could’ve killed you and stolen your stone!:
“I just got held up,” Amber said, bringing out a blackstone cuff she’d swiped from the cell floor when Casmir wasn’t looking. She turned it around, watching the stone glint in the sunlight before shoving it back into her pocket.
:Yeah: Crimson agreed. :You got held up for three weeks. Do you know what I’ve had to do to cure my boredom?:
“I can only imagine,” Amber muttered, tracing the circular band absentmindedly. “Uh, you said that blackstone leeches your powers away?”
:You mean like that circle thing in your pocket?:
“Yeah.”
:Oh I hate those things: Crimson shuddered visibly. :Did you know that Zircon and Azurite had a blackstone cell that they shoved me into before they gave me the dungeon room? But the dungeon room was still made of blackstone so I don’t know why they moved me:
“D’you know why it leeches your powers away?”
:No: she shot a look at Amber, who had flopped onto the grass on her stomach, and was removing the blackstone band again.
She glanced at her bandage-wrapped wrist, then at the band, an idea forming slowly in her head. Slowly, she unwrapped the bandages on one wrist, her fingers shaking as the strip of fabric fell onto the grass. With her other hand, she picked up the blackstone band, carefully examining where the lock mechanism was. She knew was either a genius idea or a stupid one, but she secured the cuff around her wrist, wincing when the stone touched her skin. She concentrated, hoping to form an energy ball but only managed a weak, sputtering, sphere of green that faded away almost instantly.
Amber fiddled with the cuff, managing to disengage the lock and the band fell onto the ground. She glanced at Crimson, who was still staring at her with a knowing look.
:Amber, that’s a stupid idea: she said, yawning and curling up.
“I know,” she replied. “But imagine what I could do if I managed to use my powers while wearing a blackstone cuff.” She smirked as more ideas whirled around in her mind. “Remember when you said to me, ‘imagine what you could do with a dragon by your side’?”
:Yes, but-:
“Same idea.” Amber smiled softly. “If I wear the cuffs, but I can still use my powers as well as if I wasn’t, then I’d be unstoppable if I were to use my powers without wearing the cuffs.” Her eyes flashed green and purple simultaneously as she continued, her voice growing softer with every word. “They’d all regret it. They’d regret they ever crossed me.” Her last words were a mere whisper and a circle of energy exploded outward, crashing through the trees. Crimson nodded, roaring with approval and pride.
“Amber?”
She whirled around, hands glowing and buzzing with green light. Casmir hesitantly stepped out from behind a tree, his hands up in mock surrender.
“Casmir?” The glow faded away from her eyes and they returned to their normal blue-purple colour, with some veins of green remaining in the iris. She dropped her hands to her side, letting them hang limply. “What are you doing here?”
“I was about to ask you the same thing,” he said, clearly shaken by what he just saw.
Blinking the green away from her vision, she motioned for him to sit.
It was night time and the only audible sound was the crackling of a campfire that Amber had built just as the sun went down. She was sitting on one side, leaning against Crimson’s side while Casmir sat opposite to her. She watched the flames dance and cast shadows on the surrounding trees, on Crimson’s scales and wings, on Casmir’s face and clothes… The flickering shadows seemed to lull her to sleep, the warmth of the flames was like a blanket that both comforted and smothered her.
Amber shook her head lightly, clearing her mind and focused on the young man sitting across from her.
“So…do they know you’re here?” she asked quietly, picking up a stick and poking it into the fire. She watched the tip crumble to ash and her eyes flicked up, meeting his. She didn’t know what to feel. He had seen her expel a radius of green energy outward into the rest of the forest and saw that she was at ease around a dragon. If he wasn’t her best friend, she might already be in the air on Crimson’s back, flying as fast as she could back to her clearing.
“Sort of,” Casmir said. “They think I’m searching for the Unlocked.” He made air quotations around the word “Unlocked”.
“Why follow me?” she asked. Crimson lifted her head and gave Amber a look that said what are you doing and then shot Casmir a withering glare. She placed a hand on her dragon’s head, saying “Crimson, calm down” before giving Casmir a pointed look herself.
“I just wanted to make sure you made your way out of the tunnels,” he said. “I know they’re confusing and they all look the same.”
“Drakania’s tunnels are similar,” Amber almost snapped before she realized what she just said. She backtracked and her eyes widened, one hand clapping over her mouth. “I, uh…”
:Great job Amber: Crimson said sarcastically. :Now he’s gonna kill us:
He wouldn’t, Amber replied, though her words were mostly to reassure herself. He’s my best friend.
Casmir seemed unaware of Amber’s inner emotional turmoil and instead focused on the casual mention of Drakania. “So you’ve seen it?” he asked, his tone taking on a hint of excitement. “You’ve seen the dragon’s city?”
You can trust him, Amber thought, knowing that her dragon could hear her before she said “Does it matter if I’ve seen it?” out loud.
“I’m just curious,” he said. “I’ve never been to Drakania before and I’ve never seen a dragon before.” Then he gestured to Crimson. “I mean, she’s pretty cool.” He offered the red dragon a smile. “How are you?”
:Are all humans like this?: Crimson asked, stretching her head forward and sniffed Casmir’s outstretched hand. :Why does his hand smell like your silver knives?:
Because he trains too, Amber gave Crimson a warning glance. Don’t mess with him either.
:You’re quite protective of the human who threw your life into disarray:
Because he’s my best friend.
:Keep telling yourself that:
Casmir’s eyes moved between Amber and Crimson, as if he had sensed their silent conversation. “Amber,” he said, causing her to look his way.
“I’m still working on your map, if that’s what you’re wondering,” she said in an attempt to change the conversation. “Mapping is hard.”
“Oh, I wasn’t…” he trailed off, seeming to try and recollect his thoughts. “I mean that’s something I’ve been thinking about but…” He looked away. “Never mind, it’s not important.”
“Nothing’s not important,” Amber offered. “What is it?” When he didn’t reply, she sighed. “Look, you let me out of that cell, and I’m extremely grateful for that. Let me make it up to you.” She tried for a friendly smile, the corners of her mouth tugging upward in a way that felt unnatural and foreign. “I could answer some of your questions and—”
“Can you show me Drakania and the dragons?” Casmir asked before she finished her sentence. “Can you explain all those processes with the arkeys and the lizards and the powers because those are really confusing and I don’t understand how you could remember it—”
She raised a hand, cutting him off mid rant. “Yes.” she said.
“What?”
“I’ll show you Drakania.” she repeated. “I’ll explain all those things to you, I’ll try and explain the powers.” Her hand slipped into her pocket where the blackstone cuff rested and took it out. “If you promise to tell me more about this and if you could train me.”
“Train you?” he asked. “For what?”
“For unforeseen circumstances,” Amber said. “You’re a Regia Liavis soldier, you must be good at swordplay and that kind of stuff, right?”
Casmir seemed to think about her offer before he nodded, a wide smile stretching across his face. “Alright.” he agreed. “Deal.”
The first thing that Amber did was convince Crimson to let Casmir tour the Drakanian City and that on its own took another three weeks.
Crimson was convinced that Casmir was going to “run straight back to the humans and tell”, and she wanted to keep the location of the City a secret, though she told Amber to tell him that the City existed. When Amber told her that Casmir asked about what was in the City, her dragon had gotten so worked up that she disappeared into the forest and emerged covered in soot and burned leaves. Neither Amber or Casmir bothered to ask what happened, the former because she knew what Crimson’s “tantrums” were like, and the latter because he didn’t want to further upset an angry dragon.
“It takes her awhile to warm up to others,” Amber said to Casmir when Crimson continued to refuse to show Casmir the City. The dragon was curled up in a tight ball, muttering curses and nonsense that Amber couldn’t understand under her breath. She gestured between her and the reptile. “It took me almost a month for us to trust each other.”
“Yeah, then we’re gonna be at this for a year,” Casmir sighed. He gave Amber a reassuring smile. “It’s okay, I can wait.”
“Don’t you have to report back to Regia Liavis about your search for me?” she asked, gently petting Crimson’s head as her dragon slowly dozed off. “Are they expecting some monthly or weekly report from you?”
“No,” he said. “But they’d probably appreciate it.”
“Well, you can write about trying to tame a dragon,” she joked. “Talk about how it took you months to get the wild reptile to trust you.”
“Like that’s gonna happen,” he muttered, though he was still smiling with amusement. “I’d be lucky if Crimson decides to trust me.”
“She will,” Amber said. She reached over and took his hand as she spoke. “You got me to trust you again. And you and I both know the kind of trust issues I have.”
“That’s different,” he said, averting his gaze though he didn’t pull his hand away. “We were—are best friends. Your dragon’s a completely different case.”
“Let her get to know you,” she said. “And she’ll wam up to you.”
She pulled him up to the sleeping reptile, letting go once she was by the dragon’s side. Kneeling down, she gently shook Crimson awake.
:No: Her eyes stayed closed, but anger was already radiating off her body in waves.
“Crimson, come on!” Amber tried again. “He wouldn’t tell anyone about the City.”
“I really wouldn’t,” Casmir said. “No one would believe me.”
:I don’t care what your friend said, but no:
“Crimson, he won’t tell anyone, he swears it,” Amber insisted. This time, she brought out a large salmon. “Look, salmon! Your favorite!”
:Nice try, I’m not falling for that:
“I’ll leave my weapons at the campsite,” Casmir offered, dropping his blades to the ground. He held out a hand to Crimson. “I promise I won’t hurt any dragon.”
:Can I stop talking to him:
“He wouldn’t hurt any dragon,” Amber said. “He's just curious about the City.”
:If he does, can I blow him up?: Crimson turned her head to Amber, her eyes glinting with a mischievous light. :Please?: She imagined that the dragon would be smirking or cackling if she could as she said :And then throw whatever remained off of Mons Serpentium:
“Uh, please don’t do that.” She mumbled before she flashed Casmir a smile. “Don’t worry, she’s not going to blow you up. Isn’t that right, Crimson?” The dragon growled lowly but nodded anyway.
“Excuse me?” Casmir muttered.
:Fine. Get on:
Amber stood, a triumphant expression on her face. “She agreed to show you the City.” she said to Casmir, who was more than delighted. He wrapped her in a tight hug catching her off guard, though she returned it after a few seconds. For a moment, she smiled lightly before her face settled back into her previous expression of neutrality.
She climbed onto Crimson’s back, holding out a hand for Casmir to take. “Ready to go?” she asked.
He accepted her hand and pulled himself onto the dragon’s back as well. After he got comfortable and grabbed onto a protruding spike to steady himself he nodded. “More than ready,” he answered and Amber urged Crimson to take off into the sky.
She could hear Casmir’s excitement and delight as she had Crimson fly in the direction of Mons Serpentium. Turning around, she saw that he had a wide smile on his face and was looking down at the landscape with awe. She smiled too, though she kept it to herself. She remembered the first time she had flown, and how she wouldn’t stop gushing about the beautiful scenery and landscapes Crimson had passed.
They had just flown over the Lazuli clearing when Casmir said, “So how far is this City?”
Amber exchanged an amused glance with Crimson. A mischievous smile tugged at her lips as she said, “Not far at all.” Returning her focus back to steering the dragon, she continued, “Just sit back and enjoy the flight.”
Unlike the first time Amber explored the cave, there was already another creature by the entrance when Crimson landed. Quietly, she dismounted, keeping a respectable distance from the multicoloured dragon, as did Crimson. She knew from her few weeks in Drakania that sometimes, the creatures were more scared of her than she was of them. Still, this dragon didn’t seem scared at all; it seemed bored. It was content (as far as she could see) with sitting by the cave, alternating between preening its scales and staring ahead.
She heard the soft crunching of dried leaves and small twigs as Casmir slid off Crimson’s back and headed her way. He didn’t seem to have noticed the other dragon yet and was more focused on the yawning cavern.
“That’s the City?” he asked, about to run straight in if it wasn’t for Amber pulling him back. “What?”
“Don’t scare the dragon,” she nodded her head toward the still-preening creature. “You might—”
“A dragon?” Casmir’s head whipped around and his eyes lit up. “A dragon!”
“In the classes you don’t even show half as much enthusiasm,” Amber laughed, giving Crimson gentle head rubs. “I’ve never seen you this happy before ever.”
“There’s no one around to question why a soldier of Regia Liavis is enthusiastic about dragons,” he said with a half smile.
“Casmir, no one’s gonna judge you for liking dragons,” she said. “Or if you become friends with the Unlocked.”
“I know people who will.” he muttered, turning away, though he did occasionally sneak glances at the rainbow-coloured dragon that showed he was genuinely interested. “Like my father.”
Amber motioned for him to elaborate as they gave the dragon a wide berth and entered the cave. “How so?”
“His best friend was killed by a dragon and an Unlocked, supposedly,” Casmir said softly. “And he wasn’t able to save him.” He didn’t have to pretend to be in awe as he gazed around the cave in an attempt to end the conversation. Amber could tell he loved everything about the crystals, the lights, and the large piles of gold and gemstones that were scattered randomly throughout the cave. She decided to not comment about what he just told her, since it seemed to bother him.
“You know you can take some of the stuff,” she said, gesturing to the many piles of precious stones and metals. “The dragons don’t mind.”
:I mind: Crimson called. :Even though I don’t know what to use those for:
“Except Crimson, but Crimson has no use for gold and gemstones.”
“I can just…take one?” Casmir asked, eyeing a pile of crystals that were in varying shades of blue and green.
“Go right ahead.”
She watched as he started sorting through the piles of gemstones, putting ones he thought were the same in the same pile until there were small hills of glittering gems surrounding him. He seemed to be satisfied with a small spherical jewel that was a shade of blue so rich it rivalled the colour of the sky.
“What’s next?” he asked, pocketing the stone. “Where are the dragons?”
As if on cue, the multicoloured dragon from before suddenly bounded over, skidding to a stop beside the group. Amber laughed, giving the dragon a small pat before she made to move ahead. Casmir remained standing where he was, frozen with either awe or fear, maybe both. His eyes moved rapidly between the dragon and Amber, both who seemed greatly amused with the predicament he was in.
“There’s the dragon,” she said, hiding a smile behind her hand. Upon seeing his still-shocked expression, she continued. “What’s with the face? I thought you wanted to see a dragon.”
“This is very unexpected,” he muttered, hesitantly reaching out and patting the multicoloured dragon’s side. “Hello.”
It squawked and nuzzled his side. His eyes grew wide and he turned to Amber slowly.
“I think it just said hello,” he said, sounding like he was trying to convince himself rather than her. “Amber, do dragons speak?”
“Yes, they do,” she said and returned her attention back to Crimson. “I’ll let the two of you properly introduce yourselves. Come on Crimson.”
“Wait, you can’t just—” Casmir’s sentence was cut off by the dragon licking his face. “Ugh, okay…hi?”
The dragon chirped and pranced after Amber and Crimson, seeming to screech with excitement as it dive-bombed the pair.
When he caught up with his friends, he found the multicoloured dragon having a shooting competition with Crimson. It was trying to outshine her — quite literally, as it would occasionally spin in circles, causing the light emitting from the crystals to reflect off its scales — and it seemed to be working. He also noticed that while Crimson’s fire was a bright green that mirrored Amber’s energy balls, the other dragon’s fire was white, like a ray of sunshine, and it seemed to make the interior of the cave bright as day. Even with his eyes shielded like Amber, it still hurt to look at the fire blasts.
“I like this dragon,” she said, watching Crimson playfully wrestle with the other dragon. “How did the introductions go?”
“He said his name is Springroll,” Casmir said, as if he was trying to wrap his mind around the situation. “He told me that he’s my dragon and he’ll blind everyone I don’t like with light.” He seemed even more confused as he continued, “Do dragons speak and claim you to be their friends and threaten your potential enemies?”
“Yes.” Amber said. “Crimson’s my dragon because we’ve Bonded. And being Bonded to a dragon just means that…” Her sentence trailed off as she lost her thoughts. “Um, it means that you share a connection, you can communicate silently with your mind, things like that.” She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder to get him to relax. It didn’t work. “I know it’s a lot to take in.”
“Right,” he muttered. “So I have a dragon.”
She nodded, beaming as she carefully scanned his face. Her smile slowly dropped when she noticed that he wasn’t as enthusiastic about this as he was about the dragons earlier.
