Disclaimer: I own nothing except my characters. Other canon characters are owned by their respective companies.

Exclaimer: To people who don't like the story, just don't read it.

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Legacy of Legends

Chapter 10

The Replacement

"Basically, you're thinking that the apple of her eye is Spyro?"
Flame dropped his head, his tail sagging and was lazily dragged across the floor. "Yes." He sighed. "And you know I can't compete with that kind of competition; especially now that Spyro's in sight."
Zaze scratched his chin. This was a tough pickle. Thinking positively, he patted his friend on the shoulder.
"Don't give up."
Flame looked at him. "Huh?"
"I mean, if you love her that much, you should tell her how you feel, so that at least she'll know how you feel about her."
"And what good would that do? I'd just be downright rejected anyway…"
Zaze shook his head.  "You're too pessimistic. So what if she rejects you? At least you told her how you felt. There are always other dragonesses out there waiting for someone like you. Ember should feel lucky. Someone's already here waiting for her."
Flame smiled, hearing Zaze's words. Somehow, the dragon just knew the right words, and said them at the right times.
"I guess you're right Zaze. You always say the right advice."
Zaze smiled smugly. "I always try."
"Now come on, I want to know who'll be teaching me. I think the Guardians' Room is right there."

Rounding around the corner, the two of them ended in front of the large door that marked the Guardians' Room. Appropriately marked, the door had the four elements inscribed on it. With a gentle tap, it slid open, and the two walked in.

"Terrador? Volteer?" Zaze called out.
"Yes?" A voice replied.

It wasn't the baritone voice of the Earth Guardian, nor the energetic one matching Volteer's. It was the cold silky smooth voice of the Ice Guardian, Cyril. He poked his head around the corner, a book held in his right paw. Zaze waved at him, and Cyril moved about. A few minutes later, he was standing before them, the book he was reading tucked under his left paw.

"Hello Zaze, Flame. What is it?"
"We were wondering if you can answer a question for us." Flame asked.
Cyril raised his brows curiously. "What is this question?"
"You see. Since Ignitus passed away"— Zaze scratched his chin—"who's going to teach the…fire stuff now?"
Cyril smiled, hearing the question. "Ah, good question indeed. It's about time you dragons have noticed that." He placed the book he was reading idly on the surface beside him and turned around. "Yes. Ignitus' passing was misfortunate, but we must move on. We need a new Guardian to fill in his post, to help teach the up and coming dragons of the Dragon Realms, but for a dragon to become a Guardian, it takes time. So instead, we decided for a compromise of sorts."
"A compromise?" Flame wondered.
"Yes Flame, a compromised. Originally though, we intended to give the title of Fire Guardian to your father. It was appropriate enough. He was a fire dragon, and he had enough experience to keep a colony alive for so long."

Flame eyes widened at this statement, expressing his surprise.

"But he had refused. He said it wasn't fair to the other dragons out there. We respected his answer and went to a different route. He proceeded to give us a suggestion to help aide us in filling the post. The compromise was this: we were to give out a sort of a…contest or competition; however you want to name it. The contest was simple enough though. The participants would be fire dragons, and they'd be pitted against each other. Not in a violent way of sorts. It's just to find out who is the best among the rest; which is to say, the most experienced. That way, it'll be fair for all, and all will have a chance in filling the post temporarily. Until we can do the needed preparations to properly seek a Guardian."

"Awesome!" said Zaze. "When does it start?"
"Where do you think Terrador and Volteer are?" Cyril asked.
Zaze blinked, not really getting Cyril's question.
"It's going on right now," said Cyril in a matter of fact tone.
"What!? And you didn't tell us!" Zaze exclaimed in annoyance.
"I'm sorry. I thought you wouldn't be interested."
Zaze just shook his head. "Where's it located?"
"Warfang Square."
"Come on Flame! We don't want to miss this!"

Before Flame could even say a word, he was nearly comically dragged out of the room by Zaze, headed straight for Warfang Square.

0 0 0 0 0

"Are you in a relationship with Ember?"

The question rang inside Spyro's mind like a bell. Never had he expected to be asked that question by Cynder, of all dragons. And the way she had said it, made Spyro realize that wherever Cynder was going with this, she was rather taking it seriously. Of course, Spyro had nothing to worry about.

"No," he answered firmly, looking her equally back in the eyes.

But the way Cynder had reacted to his answer, made him think that this was something that bothered her. She looked confused, as if not believing his answer. His eyes held an uncertainty behind them, as if hiding something. Her eyes looked down to the floor, and it would seem like she was thinking deeply.

After a moments thinking, she looked back up, determination in her eyes. She wanted to know the truth. She wanted to clear every doubt in her mind. "So what did the kiss mean?" she asked. Spyro looked at her; a puzzled expression in his face.

"What was that?" Spyro didn't hear her.
"What did the kiss mean then?" she asked him.
"What kiss?"
"Don't act like you don't know!" she blurted out. "I saw you!"
Spyro blinked, not really understanding what was going on. "What are you talking about?"

Answering his confused look, she continued. "I saw you kissing Ember last night. What does that mean then?" she asked him. She no longer cared if it looked liked she was prying into his personal life. It was now or never.

"Oh!" he said, feeling stupid for not catching up fast enough. "It's not what you think."
"Then what was it then?" she asked, looking at him.
Spyro sighed. He then calmly approached her, and talked. "It was nothing Cynder. It was nothing serious. We're not in a relationship. She asked me to kiss her, because it was her dream to kiss the Purple Dragon that saved the Dragon Realms. And I fulfilled it for her. We're just friends. You could say that she asked me to do her a favor."
Cynder blinked, and stopped sniffling. "So…you're not in a relationship?"
"We aren't."
"And the kiss?"
"Was nothing."
"And do you love me?" Cynder suddenly blurted out, covering her maw when she realized what she had asked.

Spyro was taken aback at Cynder's last question. Cynder was taken aback at her sudden question. Both of them didn't expect the words that were just released and had clung into the air. Cynder felt her heart skip a beat. She was caught up at the moment, and the words just naturally flowed as her tongue slipped. The proceeding moments of silence felt like an eternity for her as she waited for Spyro's reply.

And when he did, the reply that Spyro gave was something she didn't expect.

0 0 0 0 0

The two dragons headed around the corner, with Flame scowling at Zaze.

"You didn't have to drag me all the way here," he said, brushing some dirt off his underbelly. They had now reached Warfang Square, in an almost record speed, due to Zaze running as fast as he could. And Zaze didn't even break a sweat.
"Oh you big baby." Zaze teased him. "If I hadn't we would have missed the majority of the competition! Aren't you excited for this?"
"I am; but I don't think I have the same level of enthusiasm as you do."
"Point taken; come on! Let's go!"

Zaze skipped to the side, and entered Warfang Square. Unlike the night before, it was no longer decorated with flowers and tables that had foods and beverages on top of them. They were removed, and were replaced with makeshift stands, that were already filled with dragons of all colors. Zaze could even make out moles amongst the groups.
At the center of the four sided stands was a large ring. Inside the ring, were two fire dragons battling it out. One was large and bulky, whilst the other was slim but agile. It was like a wrestling match, except both competitors can and are encouraged to use fire. Zaze scouted around and saw the large figures of Terraor and Volteer sitting at what looked like the judges table. Sparx was even there, his color contrast against Terrador making him easily visible. The two headed right on over, just as the match ended.

The crowd was going wild as they cheered the victor. The smaller dragon had one, sending his opponent out of bounds by apparently diving out of the way, as he did a comet dash.

"That was amazing!" Sparx exclaimed.
"It truly was. A creative and worthy tactic against larger opponents," commented Volteer.
"So you guys were here all this time?" Zaze asked as they reached the table.
"We were." Terrador answered as he scribbled something on the scroll before him.
"You should have seen the fights Zaze! They were marvellous!" The dragonfly was flying around, filled with energy. "You missed out though. The Ascension Competition just ended!"
"Ah dang it," Zaze said, tapping his paw on the floor.
"What!? Who won then?" Flame asked, peering at Terrador's scroll.
"Well, the match right now was a battle between, Pyrus and Flare. Pyrus is the bigger fellow. And Flare is the smaller one."
"I guess size doesn't matter," said Zaze.
"You know it. Flare's been the underdog of the entire competition. I personally think he wouldn't win."
"We all thought wrong," said Volteer.
"Well, let us congratulate the new temporary Guardian," said Terrador, looking at Volteer.
"If you excuse us," the Guardian said. Sparx followed after them, eager to talk to the victor

A few minutes later, the two Guardians and the dragonfly approached Flare, who was standing victoriously at the middle of the ring.  The red-orange scaled dragon—Pyrus as Zaze recognized him—congratulated Flare and walked off in good sport.

"You think this Flare guy is good?" Flame whispered to Zaze.
"Of course; he was the underdog."
Flame nodded. "Good point. I guess we should head back now. We kind of went here for nothing."
Zaze shook his head. "Not really. At least you got a glimpse at your new teacher."
"Always looking at the brighter side of things…"
"Hey, it's what keeps me happy."

The two dragons headed off to the side, lazily heading back to the Temple. The crowd on the other hand were busy cheering on the victor of the Ascension Competition, as Terrador and Volteer inaugurated the new temporary Fire Guardian. As they rounded around the corner, Flame looked up as he saw someone call his name.

"Flame!"
"Ember!"

Zaze turned around, and sure enough saw the dragoness. This was the first time Zaze had laid eyes on her, and sure enough she was wearing jewelry. A heart shaped necklace hung from her neck, bouncing lightly as she walked towards the two males. Zaze had to give Flame credit. He knew how to pick them.

"Oh, hello!" she greeted, noticing Zaze.
"Ember, this is Zaze. Zaze this is Ember."
"Nice to finally meet you." Zaze smiled at her.
She smiled back. "Likewise! Are you two heading back to the Temple?"
"We are," Flame answered.
"Well, I'll walk with you guys."
"Okay then," replied Zaze.

As they continued onwards, Ember was the one that initiated a conversation.

"Did you two manage to see the match between Flare and Pyrus?"
Zaze sighed dejectedly. "Not really. We got here too late."
"Aw, that's sad. If only you could have seen her! She was awesome!"
"She was?" Flame asked.

Wait a minute. Zaze blinked, realizing what Ember had just said.

"She!? The new temporary Guardian is a dragoness!?"

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Author's Notes:

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