Chapter 9
Amber did not remember much since Casmir went back to Liavis, nor did she remember much of the last two years save for the few moments when she visited her family and occasionally Melody. She never tried to reach out to Casmir, partially because she knew that he was a soldier and that was going to get in the way of things, but mostly because Crimson told her that he was just a liability. And for a moment, she believed it.
:He’ll use you: Crimson had said, prowling around her. Her claws made clicking sounds on the stone that seemed to echo through the tunnels. :They’ll all use you:
“No he won’t,” she’d replied. “He’s my best friend.”
:Well, my mother said to keep the enemies closer than friends: The dragon seemed to give her a condescending look, which she didn’t know dragons were capable of doing. :Don’t humans do that?:
“Well…humans do do that.” Amber had insisted and Crimson had gone on to stay in a sour mood for the rest of the day. “But he wouldn’t do that!” Her thoughts had also glazed over and didn’t clear until Crimson came back hours later. But even then, they remained hazy and unfocused. It still confused her to no end.
When she’d asked her dragon, Crimson didn’t give a really specific answer and only said, :Maybe you’re just missing your friends: That was the first and only time Crimson had ever mentioned her other friends in a way that’s something other than a negative light.
One day, a pang of homesickness had hit her harder than anything and she said that she wanted to go back and visit. Crimson had thrown another one of her hissy fits until Amber mentioned that she had brought some gifts for her friends and family. It was then, when the dragon finally stepped aside and stalked into another tunnel.
She had run out of the City before Crimson could change her mind and ran into Springroll just outside the main entryway.
The multicoloured dragon was sunbathing, or maybe he was sleeping, one of the two, and Amber had to step over his tail in order to not wake him up. But of course, she accidentally tripped over a protruding fin and sprawled onto the ground. Springroll had woken up, jumping around like he’d been burned until he spotted her, partially hidden behind a rock. Then he was jumping around again, but it was more out of excitement rather than confusion.
“Hey,” she’d said, gently petting the light dragon. Glancing back at the yawning cavern, she shuddered and continued, “Mind giving me a lift to Liavis?”
The flight had been quick and tense. She didn’t need a Bond with Springroll to know that the dragon was slightly upset that his human counterpart hadn’t been visiting. Crimson had told her that Springroll didn’t understand why Casmir couldn’t stay like Amber did. More than once, Springroll seemed to try and say something, only to realize that Amber didn’t share a dragon-human mental Bond like he and Casmir did.
When he landed by the border, Amber almost tumbled off his back. The scales were extremely slippery and just managing to not fall off was a feat on its own. Her mind started to drift off and picture random scenarios where she fell off a dragon’s back, falling from the sky to the ground, her bones splintering on rock and wood. She shook those images away.
She heaved a sigh of relief, all but clutching at the grass blades to stop the world from spinning. “Thanks,” she had managed to say, offering the dragon a soft smile. “I’ll tell Casmir if I see him.”
She had lied.
She didn’t see Casmir, and it was more like she didn’t bother to go find him. The lingering paranoia that had been planted there by Crimson had started to worm itself into her mind, her heart. And there were moments where she did believe her dragon; what if Casmir was just playing her? She had cursed herself for even thinking about that and continued to walk in the direction of Liavis.
He wouldn’t do that, she told herself.
She had only sought out her family and other friends, careful to avoid Casmir if she did see him, and then she had left. Springroll had also believed her when she said she “didn’t see him,” and he didn’t question it further. She smothered the bit of guilt that rose.
The second time Amber visited Liavis in the last two years, she didn’t even bother telling Crimson. She knew that given the dragon’s attitude and personality and if she had her way, Crimson would not let her leave the Drakanian City. She never found out why, only that she knew the dark red dragon had inherited traits that most, if not all other Erythrean dragons had; jealousy and an extreme drive and determination to get what they want when they want it.
This was when she’d brought stone boxes, one for her sister, one for Melody, and one for Casmir. All she’d put in there, as far as she could remember, was a note and a handful of dragon scales that she found scattered throughout the caves. She thought that they were in some way representative of who her sister and friends were. A mix of Springroll’s and Lapis’ scales for her sister, a mix of Lapis’ and several purple water dragons’ scales for Melody, and finally Springroll’s scales for Casmir. Except in Casmir’s box, she also put the newly drawn up map that she’d promised to make for him and returned the blackstone cuff.
Now Casmir had come, nearly three weeks later, telling her that his box contained an arkey. She thought that if he visited, it was going to be about the dragon scales she left in the box, not a glittering, perfectly polished white jewel that shone like the sun. Something she definitely did not put in there.
“Why’d you put an arkey in there?” he had asked. He sounded so confused, then angry, almost accusatory, like he was blaming her for putting the stone in there. “I don’t need it.”
“I never put an arkey in there,” she said, doing her best to hide her confusion. “I mean… I-I might’ve? I don’t remember a lot of what’s happened lately.” She had taken the stone back and it was resting in her pocket. It didn’t emit any sort of energy, nor did it make her shoot out whatever power the stone granted its holder. She didn’t even know if Casmir had been granted powers, if the stone had chosen him like her arkey had chosen her. He also showed her the note, and she didn’t remember writing the last lines, the ones that talked about Springroll and Casmir having matching powers.
When the nearly six-hour walk to Mons Serpentium was over, she left him at the entrance to the City and went to find Crimson, who was more than happy to give her many reasons as to why Casmir would be here at all.
:That human is planning to ambush you: Crimson had hissed from her spot on a slab of granite. She looked like the queen she’d always wanted to be; the queen she would never be. :He’s waiting outside, one hand on his silver knife, waiting to stick it in your heart:
“What do you mean he’s planning to ambush me?” she had asked, knowing that Casmir was supposed to be by the entrance of the City. She didn’t look outside in case Crimson was right. And in the past two years, she knew that proving Crimson was right about something was like handing her the crown she so desired.
:An ambush: Crimson said. :Don’t humans do that? Don’t they hide in the shadows and wait for the prime opportunity, when their enemies’ guard is down, and strike?:
“He wouldn’t!” Amber exclaimed, even as she thought that Crimson’s example was odd and strangely specific. This time, she looked outside the cave and saw nothing. In a low whisper, she said, “He’s not even here!”
She had looked outside again and, to her surprise, spotted Casmir leaning casually against a wall. She had looked back into Crimson’s cave, then at her best friend, several times, in fact, before she spoke. She had no idea how she hadn't seen him previously.
“Wait, I thought you were—” She was about to say something else when Crimson snarled in a low growl, :I told you, Amber:
Amber was completely overcome with shock as she watched Crimson leap at her best friend. She instinctively flattened herself against the walls as the dragon shot past, growling and snarling, and she didn’t try to stop neither Crimson nor Casmir until she heard the latter cry out with pain.
Then her eyes widened and all she could focus on was separating the two because she knew. She knew Crimson would not stop until her opponents were either dead, or close to death. That was what she had done to Lapis’ parents, apparently. She ran to Casmir first, knowing that she would have a better chance of stopping him than a dragon overcome with bloodlust.
“Crimson!” she cried as she tried to drag Casmir away. Crimson responded by somehow pulling her off and dragging her claws down Casmir’s arm. Her vision went green at the sight of Casmir’s blood. “What're you doing, he’s our friend!”
:Not to me, he isn’t: was the dragon’s only reply as she screeched furiously and slashed down.
She breathed a sigh of relief when Casmir rolled out of the way, then gasped as he drew a silvery blade from his side and pointed it toward Crimson. “Wait, Casmir—”
He charged at the dragon like he was leading an army to war, not rushing into a suicide attempt to fight off a mythical creature. With confidence, she added, feeling a strange burst of pride shoot through her. And a look closer told her that he was determined, amplifying that pride by tenfold and then she was scared. Scared because she knew he had the skills, he could bring Crimson down, and scared because Crimson was her dragon, her “other half”, the other dragons said.
It was horrifying to watch, because both sides were equally skilled and matched, for that part. What Casmir lacked in size, he made up for with speed, and what Crimson lacked in speed - being confined in that tunnel - she made up for with blasts of fire at random, unpredictable intervals. Casmir had trained for years with his blades, and Crimson, being a former Princess, no doubt had the time to practice defensive techniques, in whatever way dragons did that.
Amber was torn between supporting her best friend, one she’d known since childhood and a dragon she’d somehow met and Bonded with. She hated that the decision was so hard when it shouldn’t require much thought. Her thoughts clouded over at that exact moment, and she gave into it for the first time since she experienced this feeling. She let her senses dull themselves as she watched the fight, rooted to the spot with fear and dismay. She let the sound of Casmir’s sword glancing off of Crimson’s scales fade until it was a faint, tapping noise at the back of her head. She let the acrid smell of burning stone and fabric waft past her, and paid no mind to the blasts of fire that came dangerously close to her body. All she could see was her two closest friends pitted against each other, both aiming for the kill.
She was finally snapped out of her stupor when a loud screech of agony and pure rage echoed through the tunnels. It was followed by a scream of pain and the metallic clanging of a weapon colliding with stone.
Crimson, now crouched low on all fours, was baring her teeth. The tips were stained red. She didn’t know if it was the dragon’s blood or Casmir’s because neither was good.
Then she turned her gaze to Casmir, who was bracing himself against the stone walls, his sword in one hand while the other clutched at a bleeding gash in his arm. Without thinking, she moved his way, finally freeing herself from the invisible restraints that had her frozen in place. She tugged at his non-injured arm, ignoring how a voice was echoing in her head, Crimson’s.
:Amber get away from the human, he’ll hurt you!: the dragon hissed. Her voice, though she tried to hide it, sounded weaker than normal, and the hazy blanket of heavy thoughts didn’t settle over Amber like it usually did. :Amber, listen to me:
“Crimson,” Amber said softly, her voice barely above a whisper. Her vision blurred, not by the green tint, but with tears. “Crimson, he’s hurt.”
:Yes, and let me finish him off: Crimson snarled. Her muscles tensed as if she was about to pounce again. :He stole a dragonstone, he tried to ambush you, he should die!:
“Crimson, don’t hurt him,” she pleaded, unable to hold back the sobs that escaped her. Casmir had slumped against the wall, his unfocused eyes darting around wildly and she had one arm around him, supporting his battered and tired body. “Please.” For the first time since she Bonded with Crimson, she glared at her dragon with pure, undiluted anger in her eyes. “Don’t hurt him,” she repeated, one hand lighting up with green energy.
:Amber, listen! You’re Bonded to me: Crimson snarled, her eyes flashing with something more wild and primal than anything Amber had seen in her life. :That human tried to kill you:
“He’s protecting me,” she whispered, her voice deadly calm. She could see veins of green crawling up from the corner of her vision and paid no mind to it. “You’re the one trying to twist my mind.” Something snapped in her head and somehow, she didn’t lose her mind to hazy, unfocused thoughts like before.
Crimson’s eyes gleamed, the bright purple darkening to a black that seemed to leech the light out of the surroundings. Her head spun but she forced herself to stand her ground.
A low groan came from Casmir and she was quick to steady him with one hand while the other was held out in front, an energy ball slowly humming and spinning as it came to life. Beside her, Casmir got to his feet, swaying, but otherwise seeming well rested enough to fight again.
:You’re no match against me: Crimson had clearly abandoned all attempts at swaying Amber over to her side as she stood to her full height and flared her wings open. Any ounce of friendliness that was previously shown by her was gone. An absurd thought of so much for us being civil went through her head as the dragon snarled, :Even when you burned that courtyard down, it was pathetic:
“But you said it yourself,” Amber said, making sure to keep herself calm. “You’ve helped me unlock what I’m truly capable of.”
:Being able to break a few fountains isn’t going to help you in this case, girl:
Red hot anger, followed by excruciating pain shot through her body as Crimson’s eyes narrowed with concentration. The glowing ball sputtered out like she had been chained up with blackstone, remnants of corrosive energy burning holes into the stone she stood upon.
Stupid, she thought even as her mind screamed out under whatever mental torture Crimson was subjecting her to. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
She was Bonded to Crimson, and she knew one of the byproducts was that they could share thoughts. Or tear each other’s minds apart, apparently. Of course the dragon had this advantage over her. Especially since Crimson never bothered to teach or mention this skill to her.
The pain reverberated around inside her skull, somehow finding the exact points where it would cause her vision to go deathly white, where it would suddenly cause her arm to spasm, let her legs to give out under her, until she was curled up in a ball, half wishing the pain would end; that this whole situation would end.
Then there was a loud screech that made her head spin even more. Slamming her hands over her ears, she shrank away further until she felt her back hit the stone wall.
As defeat loomed overhead, she gave into the feeling of resignation that washed over her. She waited for Crimson’s talons to slice through her; waited for death to greet her and reunite her with her father.
Loud screaming and roaring echoed around her again, even though she had tried to scramble back from the scene as fast as she could and managed to crouch behind a protruding spire of crystal.
She wasn’t dead. Not even close.
You coward, someone hissed in her head. You train, you’re skilled with knives and can shoot corrosive energy out of your hands, but you run from a fight?
But she knew that this wasn’t her fight anymore. It stopped being her fight against Crimson when she allowed herself to fall this easily. Now it was between the dragon and Casmir.
Once again, she was frozen to the spot, eyes darting from one to the other, over and over and over. More often than not, the movements were mere blurs of red and gold, blue and silver. She found herself mesmerized by the fight. It was terrible, yes, but there was something eerily beautiful about it.
She recognized the slashes and blocks Casmir used, noticing that he practically danced around Crimson’s attacks. She recognized the way Crimson used her wings and tail, using one or the other to knock Casmir off balance.
It's like a dance to the death, she thought, weakly pushing herself up. Disoriented or not, she was going to help. Help which side, she didn’t know. But she did know that she could possibly tip the balance.
“Crimson!” she called, her voice raspy and strained. “Crimson, stop!”
When she was met with nothing, she fired multiple energy balls in rapid succession. Her head spun as her energy drained, diminishing greatly with each blast she fired until she could only summon a small, wispy, tendril of green that vaporized almost as soon as it flickered into existence. The arkey that hung around her neck burned at the sudden release of energy in a short span of time and she clutched at it tightly, willing her power to return to the stone. The slight green tint faded from her vision.
:Amber, he should die: the dragon responded with fury, though she did cease her attacks for the moment. :You let a human into the City, the same human that told everyone. And you claim you trust him this much?:
“Crimson, he’s my best friend!” Amber said, narrowing her eyes. “Of course I trust him, you know that.”
:He was going to ambush you with his silver knives and dragonstones: Crimson practically roared. :You’re supposed to be on my side! You’re my Bonded human, not his!:
“Crimson—”
:No, don’t you ‘Crimson’ me: she growled. :He stole a dragonstone, and unlike how you’re helping me reclaim the throne, he is going to kill you:
A glance at Casmir, especially after noticing his extremely confused and tired face, had her clenching her fists tightly. That, along with what Crimson had said, stuck to her.
“Crimson,” she muttered, kneeling by Casmir to help him sit up. “How’d you know he had an arkey?”
:Dragonstone:
“Same thing.” She glared at the dragon as she slowly pieced things together. “How did you know he had one?”
Casmir seemed to have the same thought because he blinked a few times and said, “Wait…” His expression was one of disbelief. “Wait, she put it there?” Despite his injury, he somehow found the energy to laugh. “How did a dragon open those tiny locks?”
“My guess,” Amber said, gritting her teeth with every word. “Is that she put it there when I wasn’t looking, when I had the box open.” Remembering the note, she added, “And somehow got me to write those lines in the note, which is why the printing looked different.”
“Yes, but a dragon packaging things into a box?” Casmir laughed some more, then winced when he strained his injured arm. “That’s just…”
“Casmir, just rest, you’re injured,” she deadpanned. To Crimson, she said, “Why’d you put the stone in the box?”
The dragon just stared right back, her eyes glinting with triumph. Amber felt her head become woozy again as she tried to snap herself out of it. A thick, heavy blanket of disorientation and confusion settled over her again. Suffocating, but familiar, and against her will, she welcomed it.
:I was trying to help you: Crimson whispered. :If he had a stone, then he’d understand you. He would know what you were doing through, and he could help:
“Oh,” Amber looked at Casmir again. She didn’t like that he was staring shocked and open-mouthed at her. “Casmir, she was just trying to help you understand.”
“I…what?”
“Crimson said that she put the stone there to help you understand what I was going through.”
The dragon slunk over, like a snake waiting for the right moment to strike. She nodded her head, eyes still glinting.
“Amber,” Casmir said quietly. His eyes moved between her and the dragon. “Even without the stone I still understand. I mean, I’ll try. It’s new to me, too. The last time there was an Unlocked was with the Serena Heidurn incident—”
:No, he doesn’t understand: Crimson growled. :I could tell you about that human, too:
“Do you really understand?” Amber asked. Her voice took on a hint of skepticism and she ignored the rest of Crimson’s sentence. She looked at her dragon, who seemed content enough to not try and kill either of them, then at Casmir, who looked like he wanted the fighting to just stop. He nodded quickly, and she couldn’t see any trace of dishonesty in his eyes. She relaxed a bit. “Okay.”
As she turned back to Crimson, she missed the look of panic on Casmir's face and how he managed to snag a knife from her.
Crimson looked smug as she said, :Good, now tell him to leave: When Amber wanted to object, the dragon hissed, :He’s seen too much. Besides, you said you trust him, right? You trust him to not tell:
She processed this information for a moment before turning to face Casmir. She opened her mouth to speak, but paused when she saw the knife in his hand. Her knife, to be exact. He was also staring at her with a determined expression on his face.
She looked at Crimson, who was still acting smug and like she’d just won the entire battle, but the dragon wasn’t doing anything. She looked back at her best friend and was about to ask why and how he had one of her knives in his hand. Then she spotted the slight shift in his stance and focused on that.
“Casmir, what are you—”
The sound was so faint that had she not spent two years living in the Drakanian City, she would’ve missed it. But she heard it; the soft hissing that meant a dragon was charging up for a fire blast.
She froze, knowing that it was Crimson. Crimson was going to either set this entire tunnel on fire, torching her and Casmir before escaping unscathed, or she was only aiming for one target. If she knew her dragon well enough, it was likely going to be the latter. Slowly turning around, she spotted Crimson’s maw glowing a bright green that matched her energy.
:Amber, move aside:
She did, albeit slowly. “Wait, I thought you said he gets to leave—”
:I said, he’s seen too much: Crimson glared at her. :You know what that means, don’t you?:
Then the air around her burned as Crimson unleashed a stream of green fire. Bright and corrosive, just like the powers she controlled. She tried to call upon those powers now, and couldn’t manage something bigger than a spark. She had used too much of her energy and for the time being, her stone was nothing more than a pretty necklace pendant. Then the air shifted and, as if guided by an invisible hand, she ducked to the side. A flash of silver flew past her, and the screech of horror and pain that followed told her that the silver flash was her knife and it had hit whatever the target was. A scream of surprise told her that the fire hadn’t missed either.
Then she dared to look after squeezing her eyes shut. The haze lifted from her mind as she saw Crimson thrashing on the ground, dark red droplets flying everywhere as she tried to dislodge the knife stuck in the back of her open mouth.
She gaped, unable to tear her eyes away or move, even as the winged beast swayed, once, twice, then toppled onto the ground. She would’ve been crushed under the weight of her dragon had Casmir not dragged her out of the way. She could smell something burnt and also caught a glimpse of a patch of black, the colour and texture contrasting the silky blue fabric of his coat.
Her mind whirled. She felt no regret that he hadn’t escaped unscathed and her only thought was, she’s dead. Crimson’s dead.
A final whine of defeat escaped Crimson and it caused Amber to snap. A wave of energy shot out from her hands and remained hovering around her, even after she tried to rein it back. The green pulsed and flashed but it didn’t touch neither her nor Casmir. She tried to call it back again but only made it brighter than before. Crimson screeched when the energy touched her, the green leaving blackened marks on the metallic scales.
:Amber…: the dragon whimpered, sounding betrayed and confused before she fell silent. Her final breath seemed to cut through the tension that hung in the air. With a loud hiss, the web of energy faded away instantly and she collapsed to the ground, half crawling, half running to her dragon.
Something had broken in her and she knew it was the Bond she and Crimson shared. She knew that this didn’t hit her like a normal loss, and no amount of time could let it heal. The feeling was indescribable, and not in a good way. She hated it. It made her want to claw her chest open and rip out her heart.
“Crimson,” she whispered, lightly running her fingers along the red and gold scales. They were still warm. “Crimson, I’m so sorry.”
Then the smell of burning fabric hit her and she turned sharply. Casmir was silent and had an expression of immense regret and fear on his face as he reached down and dislodged the knife. He backed away quickly in case the web of green shot out again and made a point to focus on cleaning the blade.
She took it with a small nod of thanks, closing her eyes as she allowed herself a few minutes to mourn the loss of her dragon. She cried silently, though no tears were shed; her pride hadn’t allowed her to do anything more than lowering her head, even in the company of her best friend. The loss was terrible, but for the first time in two years, her head was clear and she could think without questioning every thought that rose.
Then the realization hit. The memory gaps, she thought. Did Crimson cause those as well? It would make sense; she died and I can suddenly think for myself. She snuck a glance at Casmir and spotted him near the walls of the cave, staring at the ground with either guilt or fear. The knife was still held tightly in his hand as if he didn’t know what to do with it. She wondered if he knew, and if he had been trying to help her.
“Amber, I’m sorry,” Casmir said softly. He sat down beside her as he tied off a bandage on his arm. The knife was placed on the ground between them. “I-I didn’t mean to—” He fell silent after opening and closing his mouth several times.
“But it helped me, in some way,” she replied, just as quietly as him. “I had no idea she was doing this…this mind thing, and I still don’t know why.”
“Like the courtyard,” he realized. “Was that why you couldn’t remember much about it?”
“Yeah,” Amber nodded, staring at Crimson’s deceased body as her mind slowly grasped the reality of the situation. Exhaling shakily, she continued, “Even though it helped me, you still killed her, and she was my friend, in some sort of twisted way.”
“I loved flying with her,” she said quietly. “I loved sitting around, doing nothing while she jumped around and tried to get me to play with her, even though I can’t remember much of that now.”
She refused to meet his eyes and allowed her mind to start drifting off to other places. She let herself imagine that she was flying around the peaks of Mons Serpentium with Crimson as the sun was setting. She thought that it was better than looking at the dusty, smoky cave she currently sat in.
“I’ll need time to move past that,” she said, an air of finality around her despite the daydreams that whirled around in her head. Beside her, Casmir agreed and she silently thanked him for not pressing further.
“Are you coming back to Liavis now?” he asked. He sounded hopeful, and she didn’t want to give him that false hope by telling a white lie again.
“I don’t know,” she answered honestly. “I might stay and explore for some more.” She cracked a smile and sniffed. “It was what I wanted to do before all this.” She gestured around them, at the blood splatters on the walls, at the dead body, at the claw marks. She cringed at the sight of Crimson’s broken body and looked away.
“But you’ll visit this time around, right?” Casmir asked.
She laughed, amused and delighted that he’d ask. “Yes,” she said. “This time, I’ll visit. I promise.”
