~6~Forgotten Bonds

Mkay, ya'll, this chapter is super sketchy and unedited because I am using a backup cheap computer at my dad's house and my dyslexia has just been kicking my ASS. I reminded all of you as well that chapters are going to be inconsistent because I have a lot of shit going on.

This chapter is really Soruy intensive, because it is time for me to explain shit behind them, and I also miss writing Soruy moments. And it's also part of the outline, so, yeah.

But I am SUPER late on this chapter so, as an apology, here is a picture of my cat wearing some tissue paper as a headband.

I love her more than life itself.

~

Ruy was seated outside Keefe's cell, leaning against the bars as he explained where he has been. He constantly checked down the halls, looking for anybody who could be overhearing or spying.

"But, Mesmer powers don't work like that, right? Maha would have to constantly be drained and focused on keeping you under control?" Keefe whispered.

Ruy shook his head, "Not exactly. The way Vatarian Mesmer powers work is more on duration rather than potency. Elven mesmers are able to keep a tighter hold on their victim's brain, make them do more complicated tasks, or tap into their intelligence. Though Vatarian mesmers cant do that, they are able on controlling minds for a long time and at long distances with little drain."

Keefe hummed in understanding, his arms crossed.

"They won't believe me if I say I was mesmerized," Keefe said plainly, stretching out slightly.

"Maybe we can find you a way out of here rather than making you a spy." Ruy proposed. Keefe side-eyed him, "What about your mother?"

"What about her?" Ruy hissed.

Keefe shrugged, "Ruy, Vespera is a smart ruthless woman. But you have to admit that her claiming you are being mesmerised is a bit... far fetched. She knows better than that."

Ruy rolled his eyes, "And?"

"It's no secret that Vespera's emotional center was shattered years ago, and all of those broken little bits of Vespera are creating interesting habits and actions in her. She mostly keeps them under wraps but... from what I know of her, her emotions are manifesting in interesting ways. Anger is a natural emotion everyone falls to when their goals are blocked, and that is an emotion Vespera still has. But the others are so broken and shattered that they have a hard time manifesting, but they still exist." Keefe explained. It all clicked in Ruy's head, he knew all too well anger was one of his mother's specialties.

"Where are you going with this?" Ruy sighed.

"Besides anger, which she sometimes lets slip through, she is emotionless. But there are two other emotions she has shown. Pride and love."

"The pride she has shown a few times, I know, but love?"

"She was in love with Allesandro, right? Well, after that crashed and burned, her emotional center never fully recovered, since it was in the middle of shattering. But there is one thing that her sense of love has latched onto that is manifesting."

Keefe looked at Ruy, bristling slightly, "You."

Ruy froze, his jaw clenched. "Vespera was the farthest thing from a loving kind mother."

"It is something that naturally happens to all parents, especially empaths. They create bonds to children and family that is always going to be there, no matter what happens to them or the children. She never intentionally created it, she never truly felt it, but a small part of her mind loved you, but because her emotional center was so damaged, she could never manifest it into nurturement for you. But that small little part in her mind that still holds onto that natural bond, is tricking her into thinking that you never betrayed her."

Keefe sighed, "It is the one flaw in her emotionless scattered mind. Is that you are one of the bonds keeping her leashed to her emotions, her sane mind. The only reason why you aren't dead is that the little part of Vespera that is a nurturing mother is clouding her reason."

Ruy digested the information, tried to let it sink. But it just sat floating between them, Ruy silent as Keefe nervously swallowed, worried that he might have crossed some sort of line.

"Figure out if you want to get out of here or join me Sencen, then we can figure out some sort of plan," Ruy muttered, getting up from beside the cell door.

"You aren't actually going to do this, are you? Sophie might throttle you for it." Keefe asked.

Ruy brushed off his cloak as he stood, "This is a chance I can't give up. Until now, we haven't had the slightest clue what the Neverseen operations are, and more importantly, how big they are. If I play this right, I can more info than any of our spies could before."

Keefe had no hint of his signature swagger or smirk, he just stared at Ruy with a blank face through the bars of his cell.

"I'll let you know when I come up with any ideas, and if I want to stay or not." He muttered. Ruy looked over Keefe, loosening at the sight of the elf remaining unharmed. Sophie has lost enough, and Vespera's threats were clear what she would do to Keefe if he didn't listen.

That was it. Ruy didn't bother saying goodbye, he knew Keefe wouldn't say it back. Keefe still didn't trust him, and this whole spy operation Ruy was building in his head wasn't helping his cause. But this was an opportunity he couldn't give up. He could get real numbers and plans for the guild, they could know what they were up against.

Ruy focused on the pattering of the gentle Inalian rain against the cracked and muddy windows of the Castello, watching the sun paint the rain clouds with golds and reds as it set behind the horizon. He passed a few Neverseen members who were casually conversing in the hallway, who gave him a dirty but also interesting look. Curiosity. He started up the stairs towards his room but ran into Trix. Trix looked him dead in the eyes, simmering hatred seething behind them as he said, "Tomorrow, we have another scouting mission, this time in the city itself. Don't be late." He hissed at Ruy.

Ruy watched him go with carefully guarded eyes, waiting until he was completely one before he continued towards his room. A few new members passed by him, mostly young girls that looked to be fresh out of Foxfire, looking at him when they thought he wasn't looking. He gave them a charming smile before entering his room. He heard their quiet whispers and giggles, still gossiping students, fresh out in the world, and made the wrong move. So many new faces in the Neverseen... how fast were they growing?

Ruy tried to pull off his cloak, but his wings tangled around the back of it. He groaned, thumping down on his bed. He closed his eyes, trying to calm his scattered mind. His mother hasn't talked to him since that first day, hasn't even glanced at him. Ruy didn't mind, he wanted the witch as far away from him as possible.

Outside his door, he heard the quiet shuffle of Neverseen guards guarding his door. Ah, so he wasn't entirely off the hook yet. Still suspicious, they still knew better than to let him go off-leash. Ruy ground his teeth, hating that he was here, and knowing that he should go. But this opportunity-

Ruy cursed as his elongated canines bit down on his tongue, his teeth grinding coming to a sudden stop. Ruy glared behind him at his wings, the Dunmer wings his father and brothers shared.

Ruy wasn't going to get anywhere with them unless he learned how to fly. He could hover for 2 minutes before faceplanting into the floor like an idiot. But his dad did teach him how to open and close the wings, how to quiet the Dunmer blood in his veins should he need it.

Ruy closed his eyes, focusing on the membranous wings arching from his back. He folded them in, and out, in, and out. He imagined them flittering away to nothing, to wisps in the void that he could call on whenever he needed. With a final breath, he felt the wings evaporate like a thick fog dissolving away with a new morning.

He opened his eyes noting the Dunmer thrill no longer humming in his bones. He glanced behind him, the wings nowhere in sight. His Dunmer marks no longer ran along his shoulders and the planes of his back. Ruy ran his tongue over his teeth, noting his fangs were gone. His ears no longer had their slight point

But the teeth were supposedly part of Ruy's Pancras form when he accidentally released it in order to save Sofia. But they didn't know Ruy was half Dunmer back then, the fangs must have been a part of his Dunmer side coming out, not his Pancras form.

Ruy glanced at the old clock nailed to his wall, squinting at it to make out the numbers.

9:17. He was pretty tired, he could head to bed. But it was fairly early, and he was in no mood to deal with nightmares.

Ruy sighed, flopping down on his bed, trying to calm his scattered mind. He wanted to be with the Inner Circle, with his real family. He wanted to be bantering and flirting with Sophie back in his shitty apartment, or arm wrestling Alexios, or going through sparing techniques with Nour and Mansi. He wanted to be anywhere but here.

Ruy closed his eyes, imagining the taste of the spiced fish and dark alcohol from the pub the Inner Circle visited at least twice a month. The smell of the fresh rosemary bread from the bakery down the street wafted into his nose, the Inalian breeze flittered his hair. He could hear the children laughing as they darted through the streets playing tag, could feel the soft woven wool of the carpet in the Villa's small library, where he would sit and read if he had nothing to do.

Sophie would sit next to him in that library on the days off she gave herself, leaning against to him and propped on his shoulder. She was always engulfed in her human poetry or Vatarian tales, humming in excitement whenever the hero did something she liked, or her toes curling whenever two love interests even just talked to one another. Whenever she wasn't working, her hair was almost always done in Inalian pleats, soft ribbon or leather wrapped around the braid in order to keep in contained in her busy life.

Sometimes he just couldn't focus on his books or work because he couldn't stop looking at her, watching her nose crinkle when she smiled or how she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear when she focused on the plot. The doors were always open in the Morretti villa, Sophie only closing them when she slept, and even then, the windows remained open. There was a big door that leads from the library to the back patio and the Grecian plains beyond that. Ruy will never forget when a snake slithered into the house by one of the open doors. Ruy yelped slightly when he saw it, poking Sophie, who was drooling in her sleep on Ruy's shoulder. Sophie startled awake, following his gaze at the small snake.

She just scooted towards it, holding out her hand. Ruy watched in amazement as Sophie silently grinned at the snake's rapid tongue, scritching it under its chin. She met Ruy's stare and just shrugged, "Father taught me which ones were venomous, this one is just a simple ringed snake. Besides," Sophie pointed her head to Ricin, who was napping in the Villa courtyard belly up and tongue hanging out, enjoying the Inalian sun, "I kinda like reptiles." She smiled at Ruy, the sun alighting her hair like gentle embers in a sleeping fire, her golden skin lit up flecked with different scars but with no shame behind them.

The beauty of a Morretti was something everyone knew about, it ran in the damned family, but seeing her so casual yet alight with life, Ruy had never seen it before. Not in the Neverseen would someone glow like that, the world gravitating towards them, the wind whistling as they laughed, or silence falling on the world when their brain worked at speeds Ruy could only imagine.

Sophie got up, her bare feet padding against the terracotta tile, and placed the snake near a little pond just outside the path behind the Villa, where it slithered into the water. Sophie walked back over, easily going over the soft grass and back into the library. Ruy watched as she bit her lip perusing through one of the shelves, and his thoughts drifted about her lips. How they would feel against his, the little flirty things she would sometimes tease him with-

"Now these bad boys are the ones you want to watch out for," Sophie claimed, plopping down back in her spot of her woven rug next to Ruy holding out a book. Ruy nearly jumped out of his skin, his mind washing away his... thoughts.

"The Grecian Adder snake, this thing can royally fuck up your day," Sophie said, a smirk on her lips.

"Really? How so?" Ruy coughed. Sophie collapsed easily into his lap, her head on his thigh, "The poison is enough to kill the average Vatarian in under 3 minutes." She explained, flipping through the other pages of the Inalian bestiary book.

Ruy picked up his book again, ignoring the blonde in his lap. He tried to ignore the gentle smell of lemon verbena and almonds wafting from her hair, the rhythm of her breath and the steady weight of her head against him.

"And what are you reading about, Mr. Ignis?" Sophie teased, poking his book.

"Stop that, I can't focus with you around, you are like a damn-" Sophie peaked over his book, the smirk appeared on her lips, "Ohoho, Ignis, are you telling me I'm distracting you? Can't focus with the pretty blonde fussing around you?" She teased. There she goes again with her damn little flirty remarks. Sophie wasn't a very flirty person, and their relationship wasn't like that at all, at least, not at the time. But when she did flirt with him, it caught him completely off guard.

"I swear if you don't stop-"

Sophie held up her hands in a sign of fake surrender, her eyes edging him on, "Ooh, whatcha gonna do?"

"Throwing you into the canal sounds pretty appealing right now." Ruy grumbled stretching out on the woven carpet and draping the book over his eyes. Sophie hummed, he was keenly aware of her eyes tracking his every movement, well aware of how still he was next to her. Next, it was the sound of her bristling and getting up, "Come on, Maria is closing up shop soon and she mentioned that she needed help. We are meeting Alexios and Maha there."

Ruy remained sprawled out on her library floor, enjoying the cool tile peaking through the small holes in Sophie's woven rug.

"Nah," he sighed, taking a deep breath as he slowly started to fall asleep. Sophie snorted, "You wanna tell Maria that?"

Ruy mulled it over, groaning as he got up, "I'm not in the mood to have a sandal thrown at me today, fair point."

Sophie helped Ruy to his feet, their hands lingering for a moment before she grabbed her leather satchel from the kitchen counter.

"Come on," She chuckled, nudging the shoes Ruy left at the door when he walked in. She held her strap slightly tighter when he mussed his hair and tied the laces of his shoes.

"Maybe we can catch one of the live paintings sessions in the square after?" Ruy proposed, smiling at the thought of lined canvases and various artists as they painted their subjects in the center of the market place. Sophie smiled towards Renisanca, smiled at their home.

"That sounds like fun." She agreed, her smile small and gentle as they set off towards Maria's boutique.

Ruy's heart was soaring the whole way there.

Ruy snorted awake, his head whipping around in minor confusion. Had he fallen asleep? It wasn't morning, though the sun had fully gone down by now. He glanced at the clock again.

11:23 pm.

Ruy hated that he woke up in the middle of the night, but he changed out of the Neverseen work clothes and into sleep attire, that actually fit on him without his wings. Ruy walked over to the small desk in the corner of his room, nothing in it but a few mission and scouting reports he was given. He was hoping to find another blanket, he knew rainy nights could actually get pretty cold if you didn't have a fire going or central heating, which he figured the ancient Castello wouldn't have.

In annoyance, he pulled open the last drawer in his desk and froze. As still as death.

Surrounded in a rough scrap of linen, was the Azure crystal. The dragon's eyes peering at Ruy.

Ruy left it in his room at the Dunmer castle, there's no way... how on earth did it get here?

There had to be a reason, it couldn't just be teleporting to him for no damned reason.

So Ruy carefully picked up the crystal in the linen wrap and sat down on his cot. In a sort of daze, he took a deep breath and gently ran his fingertips over the crystal.

The minute his fingers made contact, he was sucked into the darkest depths of his mind and through the void of his memory.

Sophie didn't get scared easily, not after all that she has seen. But when the dragon that made her look like a toothpick standing next to him snarled at her, she actually muttered prayers to Mara. Ricin was curled around her, the massive dragon not even noticing Sophie's companion.

"I told those Vatarian mortals in that temple," The dragon began to stalk down the gathered peak of rocks, his massive talons the size of Sophie herself, "That if another mortal stalks up this mountain again, I will burn them where they stand." The dragon snarled, his teeth were sharper than any of Sophie's swords and longer than any spear. Sophie couldn't move, but she opened her mouth, surprised at the level her voice was when she claimed, "You need to ignite the Forge of Byzanthar."

Need, why the fuck did she say need? The dragon simply snarled at her, "Who are you to demand me to do anything?" He got up closer to her, his snout in the air. He sniffed, his eyes lighting with the slightest shine of recognition, "That scent... I know your bloodline. Yes.... I know it well."

Sophie clenched her fists when the dragon sniffed again, merely inches away from her. her eyes drifted to his abdomen, where a knarly burn seared half of his stomach. A rolling mix of uneven scar tissue and miscolored skin and scales.

Her fingers unclenched when the dragon tipped back his scaly head and let out a laugh.

"Not only a Morretti but an heiress!" The dragon's voice sounded like the lowest rumblings of the earth during an earthquake, shaking the tip of the mountain.

"Tell me, did Kynareth give you a choice, or did she just claim a life debt?" The dragon insisted. Sophie muttered with wide eyes, "A life debt."

The dragon continued to laugh, turning away from Sophie so fast she nearly got bashed with his tail. He climbed to the top of the wall of carven symbols, his body three times the size of it.

"Well, you can tell the Vatarians below and your goldy counterpart I want no part in her little escapade with her puppet."

There it was again, puppet, puppet, puppet.

"I need answers! I fought too hard to leave here with nothing!" Sophie surged forward, Ricin following in panic. The dragon snarled at her, his crystal blue eyes guarded, "Mortals have done nothing but cause be strife my entire life. Begone, you are lucky I'm letting you leave without any burns. Or alive, for that matter."

Sophie ground her teeth, "They told me long ago, you used to accept Vatarian students to train under your wings. They learned your knowledge, prayed for you!"

The dragon was still as death when he hissed, "And now their ashes are the soil you walk upon, their knowledge used by cruel mortals only to be thrown away."

Sophie barked at the dragon, surprised she wasn't already dead, "So you mean to tell me you have done nothing but sit on your lazy ass on this mountain for the past thousands of years? Are you really that useless?!"

The sound of the howling wind was the only thing anyone heard on that mountain, the dragon's slitted eyes narrowed at Sophie, Sophie realizing her mistake far too late.

Surprisingly, the dragon merely muttered, "I helped a mortal I while back, a close friend of mine. I helped him hide a boy he was smuggling out of the elven cities. That is all I had the will to do in my recent years."

"Where is this friend of yours, maybe I can retrieve him and he can help prove my worth to you!" Sophie insisted.

The dragon didn't move when he said, "He died only a few years ago in an Everblaze fire."

Every single muscle in Sophie's system stopped.

"Wait... in Eternalia?" Sophie whispered.

The dragon chuckled, stretching out his claws, "Ah, so a Vatarian that does know her elven news. Yes, he died in the Everblaze fire in Eternalia only a few years ago, so good luck trying to get him to convince me."

But Sophie knew who he was talking about, knew the Elven Councilor he spoke of.

"You were friends with Councilor Kenric?" Sophie whispered.

The dragon's attention turned sharply towards her, the scales on his neck rippling as he snarled, "What is it to you? I won't tell you again, get off my Mountain."

Kenric was smuggling a young boy out of Eternalia, and he had help from the Guardian. "I was friends with him as well. I'm the one who brought justice to his killer, Fintan Pyren." Sophie whispered.

The dragon's eyes widened, and he shifted closer to Sophie, "Fintan is brought to justice? Or is he dead?"

Sophie felt Ricin curl tighter around her when she confirmed, "He is dead."

The dragon humphed as if he didn't believe Sophie would kill Fintan, but glanced at her again, "Why are you truly here? You can't just be here to tell me to light the Forge."

Sophie swallowed, but answered, "I think Kynareth wants me here, with you. To learn and to understand something that is beyond what I know."

The dragon glanced at the sky, "Ah, so I am guessing Kassandra's sacrifice is almost worn out then."

There it is again, Kassandra.

"Who is Queen Kassandra? What is causing the Gods to stir?" Sophie begged, hugging herself.

The dragon glanced at her, in deep thought. His white scales shifted as he glanced at the gathered peak of rocks. He finally slithered down from the wall of runes, and Sophie backed up as fire gathered up in his throat. Ricin covered Sophie with his wing as the Dragon unleashed a firey attack straight in the gathered peak of the rocks. When it cleared away polished iron doors shone in the bright moonlight in place of the dull rock.

"Are you curious as to what exactly it is I protect?" The dragon asked, beginning to circle Sophie.

"I believed it to be a title," Sophie muttered, staring in amazement at the iron doors, now cool from the Dragon's fire.

"That is the Crypt of Royalty, various Vatarian royals buried and burned within the crypt. And at the bottom, sits Queen Kassandra's burial mound. There is an artifact in there you shall bring to me, and I shall tell you all that I know." The dragon answered. Sophie gaped at the iron doors, then at the Guardian, then back at the iron doors, and one more time at the Guardian, just to make sure what she heard was true.

"B-But that is sacred land meant only for those of royal blood, I shouldn't even cross the threshold-"

"I am the only one who grants access to the Crypt, and you have access. If you do not wish to go, then I will eat you and your lizard, simply for wasting my time." The dragon snarled. Sophie gulped and started to nervously shuffle towards the iron doors.

"Alone." The dragon hissed, his eyes cutting through Ricin, who was right at Sophie's heels. Sophie shook her head, she knew the legends about what resides in the rare crypts. "I don't have any weapons and I'm powerless right now, he is my only defense," Sophie argued.

"If your silly companion is your only defense when you are powerless, then Kynareth did a poor job when selecting her heiress."

Sophie bit her lip, but she brushed a gentle hand against Ricin's neck, "I'll be back soon."

Ricin whimpered, but just watched when Sophie pushed open the iron doors and glanced behind her, "You answer any questions I have? And you will light the forge?" Sophie confirmed.

"I shall indeed, Morretti." The dragon answered with a slight nod of his head, almost mockingly.

Sophie stopped, not looking behind her, "May I at least know your name?" She asked.

It was quiet, Sophie didn't dare look over her shoulder.

"Tezcacoatl." He answered.

Sophie didn't look at him, anger filling her veins now that she began to feel like an errand girl, but she continued through the threshold of the crypt and down the stairs into the dark.

Ruy blinked, and immediately knew where he was. Or rather, when he was. It was hard to remember the times after he was banished from the Lost Cities, his memory blacking in and out from what he guessed what his trauma about the whole event. He was seven, sitting in an empty room except for a few chairs and tables. He was wiping away at his wet cheeks, sniffling and pulling himself together as well as a seven-year-old could. He blew his chance, he could've been away from his mom, he could have been free. Only Oralie had spoken for him, he didn't look up the entire meeting, didn't have the confidence to.

Ruy only remembered waking up in a couple days later, his mother discussing plans with unknown men at their shitty dinner table.

Ruy expected the scene to cut to that, but instead, Ruy watched as his little self jumped at the sound of arguing coming from down the hall.

"I didn't get Oralie in trouble, did I?" Ruy asked the guards stationed at the doors. They didn't answer him, like stone statues. But a small disk slipped under the door, and before Ruy could warn them, it jumped around like a mouse stuck in a trap. They finally noticed it, but it was too late, small prongs sprung out from the disk and stuck to their sides. They didn't have the time to cry out before it tased them so hard they both smacked against the tile floor. Ruy screamed, scrambling away from them, his little limbs barely able to move.

But Kenric walked through the doors, picking up the metal disk and retracting the tasers back into it. He held out his hand for Ruy, his face serious.

"Come on, I need to get you out of here," Kenric whispered, the shouting down the hall only growing louder. Ruy took his hand, no questions asked. He walked side by side with the counciler as they rushed through the halls, Kenric never letting go of his hands once.

"What's happening?" Ruy asked, his voice breaking. Kenric made a harsh left, "Everyone deserves a chance, no matter where they come from. I'm going to get you out of here before they bring you back to your mother. I have a friend that is going to help me." Kenric explained, leading Ruy down a smaller hall. They finally stopped in a waiting room of sorts, where Kenric leaned down and pulled out new clothes and a bottle of water for Ruy.

"Put these on when you arrive, alright?" Kenric explained, handing Ruy the clothes with a king gentleness Ruy barely ever saw. Ruy nodded, tucking them under his arm as Kenric opened the large doors leading to a big balcony. Kenric spoke over his shoulder, "My friend looks kinda scary at first, but I promise he is here to help you."

Ruy nodded, looking around for this friend.

Kenric placed a hand on Ruy's back when he spotted a shadow in the clouds, growing bigger and bigger.

Silently, a white and grey dragon burst through the clouds, his massive wings making the smallest whistle as he glided towards the balcony. Ruy yelped, frozen in place when the dragon gently landed on the balcony. His crystal blue eyes stared at Ruy, and Ruy nearly fainted when he spoke, "Hello youngling."

Ruy gaped at the dragon, easily the size of a 4 story building.

"Tezcacoatl, this is Ruy Ignis. His mom is an awful but powerful woman, and we need to get him as far away from the Lost Cities as possible."  Kenric explained gently.

"Where would you like me to bring him?" the dragon, Tezcacoatl, asked the councilor.

"Could you bring him to one of the Vatarian cities?" Kenric asked.

"I don't think so, they don't even know I exist anymore Kenric, and they will easily spot me if I go to low in the skies-"

Voices bounced off the walls inside, "He has escaped! Look for Ignis, move!" Emery's voice barked at everyone. Kenric cursed, Tezcacoatl leaning down when Kenric picked Ruy up and put him on Tezcacoatl's back.

"Just get him away from here, keep him safe Tezcacoatl, promise me." Kenric insisted.

The white and gray dragon nodded, "I shall,"

"Where am I going?" Ruy shakily asked. Kenric smiled at him comforting and almost fatherly.

"Anywhere but here," Kenric whispered.

Ruy didn't get the chance to say goodbye before Tezcacoatl began flapping his wings and shot into the sky, Ruy holding onto his spikes as the Lost Cities became a bunch of flickering dots in the distance.

~~~

Ruy held Tezcacoatl's horns tight, the wind bristling his jacket.

"So why do you need to get out of the Lost Cities so much, youngling?" Tezcacoatl asked.

"M-My mom did some really bad things, and when she was exiled, they exiled me with her."

Tezcacoatl chuckled, shaking his head. "Of course."

Ruy bristled on Tezcacoatl's back, "So, uh, how did Councilor Kenric become friends with a dragon?"

Tezcacoatl adjusted his wings as he glared below them, figuring out where they were.

"Before Kenric was a Councilor, he was a field scientist exploring the mountainous regions for signs of rare creatures. He wandered too far from his party and got stuck in a snowstorm, where he decided to take shelter in a cave. Unluckily for him, that was the cave I was residing in for the night, I was out hunting for food that day, resting in that cave to get some rest, and I wake up to a shaking elf at my feet. I had him pinned down between my talons, ready for a quick after-meal from my hunting. But Kenric wasn't scared, he was... amazed. Baffled. Dragons are rare, beyond rare. He knew he was about to die, of course, but he still treated me with a sort of respect I haven't seen in many years. So I spared him, just that once."

Tezcacoatl snorted, "But the fool came back the next week, then the next. I wasn't always there, I have one place I have to protect, a job of sorts. But I do need to eat, so I use that cave as a sanctuary from time to time after hunting. I tolerated him, but we began talking. Soon, he became a good friend of mine."

"What is your job, Tezcacoatl?" Ruy struggled to get the syllables off his tongue, and the dragon just chuckled.

"Call me Tezca."

Ruy tried to open his mouth again, to ask more questions, but the dragon growled, "Quick, get down." He hissed at the boy.

Ruy ducked against Tezca's scales as the cloud cover grew sparse, and Tezca growled at the gathered ships below them.

"That damn governor." Tezca hissed.

"Governor?"

"I was planning on taking you back to my keep to make sure you stay out of public eyes, but it is on a mountain in Cariana. The governor is... somewhat hateful towards my species." Tezca explained. Ruy peeked off the edge of Tezca's back, gaping at the armada of ships heading their way. They were all immaculate ships, painted red exterior with silver adornments around the windows and hatches. The sails were an immaculate white, a dark insignia patched on the fronts. A two breaking waves surrounding a trident that had a string of peels dangling from its center prong.

"It's the Governor's family crest, his family has been running this place for generations- get down, boy!" Tezca hissed once again. Ruy held onto the scales as Tezca tried to fly higher.

But Ruy paled when the Governor's voice called out from the headship in his armada "Fire him down!"

Tezca dived as firey cannons loosed from trebuchets on the decks of the boats. Ruy's stomach was in his throat as Tezca sped away from the projectiles.

"Hold on!" Tezca cried as they sped through the maze of ships. Tezca ducked between two ships and unleashed a hellish onslaught of fire, burning the wood and the people inside. Tezca was a huge dragon, but he maneuvered through the ships with ease. He got shot through the hole in the sail he created, soaring up and up.

"Tezca!" Ruy screamed. The dragon looked behind him, but it was too late. The governor had taken up one of the trebuchets himself, smiling when his mass of purple and gold fire slammed into Tezca's right side.

Ruy and Tezca fell from the clouds, Ruy flailing as he called out the dragon's name.

Tezca's eyes fluttered, blue dragon blood seeping from his mouth and side, his wings loosely trying to steady himself as he fought for consciousness.

"Help me!" Ruy begged, screaming over the pitching winds. Tezca painfully tried to balance himself, his silvery-blue eyes on Ruy.

The islands grew bigger and bigger as they plummeted, and Ruy tried to think of something to help.

"Again!" The governor called out. Ruy was helpless as another purple and red flaming mass nailed Tezca in the side once again, slamming him so hard that his limp body soared towards the ground faster and further from Ruy. "Tezca!" Ruy screamed. Tezca's silver eyes set on Ruy, and in brutal misery, he muttered, "Forthu." Tezca crashed into the small island at the end of the Cariana peninsula, rocks splaying and a deafening boom echoing through the sea.

Ruy felt overwhelming wind blast him away from the islands, something inside him alighting from Tezca's power, from the armada that was speeding towards the downed dragon. Ruy flailed, the ocean becoming larger and larger. In a moment of sheer panic, he felt light flicker in his palms. Right as he smacked the surface of the water, blue shields hummed to life around him, taking the brutal impact of the ocean's surface. That didn't help Ruy from blacking out though.

Ruy was rocking, he noticed, clutching to a piece of driftwood. He tried to open his eyes, but everything hurt. Hurt so, so, bad.

He cracked his eyes noting the gentle rocking of the waves as he floated through the deep expanse of blue, the gentle waves shining like diamonds in the sun. But the sun was soon blotted out, Ruy barely able to look at what caused the sun to disappear. Beside him, a massive ship creaked past. Ruy opened his mouth to cry for help, but all that came out was a tried pant. He was losing grip on the driftwood, slowly sinking deeper and deeper, his head barely above the surface.

A young girl's voice cut through his mind.

"Father? What is that?!" She cried from the deck of the ship.

"What are you talking about, Lia..." A deeper voice asked from above him.

Lia? It couldn't... could it?

The man choked at the sight of Ruy sinking, barely able to hold onto his little piece of wood.

"MAN OVERBOARD!" He called out to the crew members. Ruy felt his body be scooped up by a net and hauled onto the deck. Gentle fingers pressed against the side of his neck, a small release of breath in relief.

"He has a pulse," The man breathed, "What the hell happened to him?"

People gathered around him, muttering and whispering to each other. What he guessed was the captain's footsteps were heavy as he kneeled next to Ruy.

"Does he look familiar to you, Allesandro?" The captain asked.

No. Fucking. Way.

"He does, but" Sophie's father took a sharp intake of breath, "I can't place it." Ruy couldn't open his eyes to look at Allesandro, at anything. His teeth chattered and his fingers shook.

"Quick, Lia, go grab blankets! Alexios, go get a doctor!" Allesandro barked.

"Father, he is my age!" Young Amalia noted in a panic.

"Go, Amalia!" Allesandro snapped at his daughter.

Ruy felt himself be picked up, Allesandro's hands strong and warm against Ruy's back and knees. Ruy felt so... safe. Ruy finally cracked open his eyes and peered up. Allesandro's good was up, but Ruy stared at his stubbly jaw and the cut running through his lip. He looked menacing and terrifying, but made no movements to hurt Ruy.

(Credit to original artist)

Allesandro was bringing Ruy underneath the deck, and he looked down at the boy in his arms, pulling down his hood. He smiled, the same smile Sophie as his daughter. The same brown eyes of his daughter, the golden flecks in his eyes not darkening even as they descended into the ship.

"You're going to be alright, son." His voice was deep, like crackling embers in a settling fire, his thick Inalian accent curling the words. Ruy's mother, Vespera, had the smallest hint of that accent, like she did everything in her power to suppress it from her voice.

"I'm scared," Ruy whispered, his voice wobbly and his throat like sandpaper. Allesandro's dark skin paled, audibly swallowing but his hands still steady.

"You're going to be fine. Can you tell me your name?" Allesandro asked, his pulled back hair starting to fall in his face as he pushed open the door to the doctor's quarters. Ruy opened his mouth but hesitated.

Tezca, is he alive? Did he risk his life so Ruy could get away? By telling Allesandro his name, was he just going to give him back to his mother? Ruy was so scared and tired. His body was slowly shutting down, everything aching. Allesandro saw Ruy's visible fear of sharing his name, and just sighed when he put him down on the cot.

"Are you in trouble, son? Is someone after you?" Allesandro asked as the medic started to check his vitals. Ruy's lip quivered, and Allesandro's eyes widened. Even though Ruy didn't know who they were at the time, didn't know that he was truly safe, he remained quiet.

"Allesandro, the captain needs you." A sailor called into the cabin. Allesandro looked at the medic.

"I need a telepath here, in case his mind begins to shut down." She medic explained to him. Allesandro grunted, glancing behind him as a blond-haired girl ran in with bundles of blankets.

"Amalia," Allesandro called after his daughter. Ruy stared in wonder at her. Ruy knew her as she was now, tall and proud shouldered, and seeing her in the flesh when she was young took him aback. Her hair was in a loose braid that was pushed over her shoulder, her nose freckled with small light freckles. A simple button down tucked into light cotton pants, her footsteps quiet even though she was barefoot. Full lips that were pressed into a thin line as she stared at Ruy, her father explaining to her in hushed tones.

"I can do it. I promise." Amalia whispered to her father. Allesandro pressed a kiss on her forehead, "Grazie, passerota." He murmured to his daughter, striding out the room.

Ruy fought to remain awake, staring in wonder at the beautiful girl as she pulled up a stool and sat at the side of his bed.

Even when he was young, a flicker of a crush started as he stared at her from the cot.

Guess those feelings never really died.

"My name is Amalia, I'm going to watch over your mind-" Ruy impulsively cringed and shuffled back when Amalia tried to place a soft hand against his temple. His azure violet eyes were wide as he stares at her through his shaggy uncut hair, uneven breaths hiccuping past his cracked lips. Amalia held her hand back to her chest, eyes wide and her lips clamped together. The medic gently gestured Ruy back onto the cot, assuring him that he was safe. He knew it from the girl's eyes though, she didn't mean to hurt him.

"Please don't touch me," Ruy whispered to the girl, his voice cracking. She nodded, pushing her braid back over her shoulder as her hands nervously fiddled with the silver pendant around her neck.

"What happened?" She asked gently. Ruy stared at her, his hands clenched in the sheets. He didn't know her, what if she got in the way? What if she told his mother where he was?

Ruy's eyes began to get heavy, the medic approaching with a vial of blue liquid.

"No." Ruy croaked out at the medic. He didn't want to take anything, he was scared and alone, he didn't trust any of them. The medic glanced at Amalia, who stared at where her father previously stood, trying to think of what she should do.

"Please, you need to take this-"

"Don't get close to me," Ruy begged, shuffling against the cot his back pressed against the wood of the wall. Amalia approached him, her eyes kind, and her words soft.

"I promise you, with every little piece of me, we aren't here to hurt you. We want to help."

Ruy stared at her through his shaggy uncut hair, his heart racing as he rubbed his arms. His mother's words repeated through him, "Trust no one, we can't risk anything."

Trust no one. Don't let them in.

But her eyes. Kindness filled every crack in them, light envigorating the golden flecks to grow even in the darkest of rooms. The way her golden hair loosely framed her face and her lips parted in the smallest smile, Ruy felt like he knew her his entire life.

He didn't even feel that way with his mother.

Ruy slowly inched towards her. "You promise?" he repeated. Amalia held up a hand, showing uncrossed fingers. She beamed at him, "I promise."

Ruy watched as the medic handed Amalia the blue vial, and she slowly held it out to him. As Ruy's fingers grazed Amalia's when he wrapped his hand around the vial, he felt that power Tezca called to him, secured with him, thrilled with a gentle yet excitable energy, like a string ready to be snapped taught.

And he felt a bond between him and Amalia snap into place, the string of their fates interwoven from then onwards.

Okay, I feel like I should clear this up a bit. When Tezca did his little magic on Ruy to get him father away from the armada, it states that Ruy feels the magic seep into him a bit. And when he touched Amalia's hand, the bond between them snapped into place. Idk if I made that clear so.

I'm sorry updating has been so crazy guys, things are just a bit intense over here. I'm fine, I promise, everything is just kinda happening at once.

Sorry again for the sloppy chapter. Auto correct stopped working too, so, I just really struggled with this one.

Please remember to vote, comment, share, and follow!

_Sibylline_