Lover Lost Ch2

Love Lost Chapter 2

Six months….  It had been six months…  It was only supposed to take two…
Cynder watched the sun set over the horizon as she lay on the roof of the temple in Warfang.  It was where she spent most of her nights; hoping… praying that Spyro would come back.
Six months since he had left the city in the middle of the night, six moths since anyone had seen him, six months since he had came into her room in the middle of the night… six months since he had told her he loved her.
A tear fell from her eyes as the last rays of sunlight faded from the sky.  It wouldn't be tonight.
"I thought I would find you here."  A familiar voice caused Cynder's head to turn around.
"Oh… hi Flame."  Cynder smiled in greeting, though they both knew how she was really feeling.
Cynder looked curiously at the fire dragon.  Flame, and his counterpart Ember, had come to the temple a few days after Spyro had left.  She had still been a wreck at the time.  She hadn't seen much of either of them in their first few days at the temple, as she either spent her time in her own room or on one of the city spires looking for some trace of Spyro.  When she had finally come out of her seclusion she learned that they were both attempting to become the next fire guardian.
As time wore on they became fast friends, though Ember had shown interest in Spyro in the beginning.  Flame had been granted the title of fire guardian and Ember had quickly gotten over her infatuation with Spyro, instead falling for and staying with Flame as he went though his training.  In fact Cynder was slightly shocked not to see Ember on his tail at the moment.  But perhaps it was for the better at the moment.  Her heart would always ache when she saw the two together, wondering why fate was keeping her from such a relationship.
"What brings you up here Flame?"  Cynder asked keeping her face turned towards the red dragon.
"Actually, the guardians sent me to come find you.  They said it was something important."  Flame shrugged his shoulders.
"Is it about Spyro?"  Cynder's heart skipped a beat.  At this point there was no telling if the news could lift her spirits or shatter them.
"I…  I don't know."  Flame stuttered slightly and shook his head.
Cynder gave him a worried glance, although he had always been nervous around her.  Cynder gave him another forced smile.  "That's alright, say hi to Ember for me will you."
"Sure thing."  Flame nodded to Cynder before turning and dropping off the edge of the platform.
Slowly, Cynder stood up and spread her wings, launching herself off of the rooftop and into the air.  It wouldn't be tonight, but maybe tomorrow.  Maybe tomorrow he would return and she would be able to tell him the thing that burned in her heart the most.
That was the hope that she clung to, it was the only thing that kept her from drowning in her own grief.
As she flew through the air, Cynder could only wonder what the guardians wanted to see her for.  Perhaps Spyro had returned and she had missed him.  Her heart beat rapidly as her mind entertained the thought, though she tried to suppress the feeling.  It would only lead to more pain if se was wrong and in the back of her mind, she knew she would have seen him if he had returned.
Cynder growled with irritation at the thought of the guardians.  They were the ones who had sent him off on this insane mission, and they didn't even have the nerve to tell her exactly what he had been sent out to do.  They petty responses to her question only served to increase her anger.
"It's for the best," they would say "Spyro didn't want to put you in harms way, but this task is nothing he can't handle."
Their responses had been the same since day one, but as time wore on, they seemed less confident in their answers.  When the two month mark had passed, she began to see the worry in their faces, hear the loss of confidence in their voices.  After four months it seemed like they were reassuring themselves more than they were reassuring her.  And now se was lucky to get any reply from them at all when she asked, and even when she did it would only be, "he'll come back, you'll see."
Slowly, Cynder flew down to the platform just outside the guardian's pavilion.  Ruffling her wings before tucking them against her body, Cynder slowly made her way into the now too familiar council chamber.  She had come here at least once every day hoping for news about Spyro.  Every day she had been turned away empty handed; perhaps today she would gain some hope.
Walking into the guardians' central chamber, Cynder could see all of the elder guardians with their back to her.  Though Flame held the title of guardian he was still not allowed into many of their meeting because of his lack of training.  All three of the elder guardians huddled around something in thier midst, though Cynder couldn't tell what it was.
"You wanted to see me?"  Cynder's voice cracked as she spoke into the otherwise silent room.  He heart beat pounded in her ears as he mind wandered as to what could be in their midst.  Part of her still hoped that it was Spyro, though doubt still clouded her mind.
Slowly Terrador turned and look at Cynder.  Her heart shattered as she saw the tears streaming down his face; silently she mouthed the words…  "No…"
"Cynder…  come here young dragoness…" Terador invited her with one of his wings while Volteer and Cyril turned to face her, tears running down their faces as well.
"No…" This time Cynder's voice cut into the otherwise silent room as she took a step backwards, her mind refusing to make sense of the situation.
"Cynder, I'm sorry…" Terrador's voice cracked as he spoke,  "But Spyro won't be coming back…"
"No!"  Cynder shouted at the guardians,  "how could you know?"
"Cynder please…" Cyril pleaded with the desperate dragoness
"Show me!  Show me how you know!"  Tears traced their way down Cynder's face as she shook her head at the guardians.
"Cynder…" Volteer's voice was slow and laced with sorrow.
"Show me!"  Cynder's shrill shriek silenced the guardians leaving the room in silence.
Terrador let out a heavy sigh.  "Very well, come here.  But you will not like what you see."  Terador turned and motioned to the center of the circle behind the guardians.
On shaky legs, Cynder slowly made her way over to the circle of guardians.  Terador slowly moved out of the way and allowed Cynder a view of the center of the circle.
Her breath caught in her throat as she caught what they were looking at.  On the ground were two distinct pieces of armor.  Cynder looked down at one of the pieces.  What used to be a gleaming silver tail plate was now dulled to a light gray.  Chinks and gouges could be seen all along the armor and there were even a few sections missing from the overlapping tail plates.  But the thing that scared her the most was the dark stains of blood that covered most of the inside of the armor.
Turning her head away from the tail plate, Cynder tried to force out the horrid images forming in her mind.  Though they were quick to return as her gaze drifted over the mangled chest plate on the floor in front of her.  Cynder could feel her sobs catch in her throat as her vision blurred again.  The chest plate was covered with scorch marks as well, but Cynder's heart shattered as she looked closer.  Three large holes, about an inch in diameter, could be seen in the center of the chest plate directly over where someone's heart would be if they were wearing it.  Blood soaked the inside of the armor painting the normally silver armor a dull crimson.
Cynder felt her head spin as her mind went numb… the amount of blood, the holes in the armor…  there was no way anyone could have lived through damage like that… and she didn't have to look twice to know who's armor it was.
Cynder's pulse pounded in her ears, her breathing labored as if she had been hit in the chest.  Slowly backing up, Cynder shook her head in disbelief…  "I don't believe you… these can't be his…"
Terrador let out a heavy sigh.  "We found these this morning in there area that we sent Spyro to.  Cynder, you know as well as I do that no one else has armor like this.  I'm sorry, but I don't think Spyro will be coming back."
Cynder took another step back, now staring angrily into the guardian's face.  "How could you know, what if he's still out there."
Terador shook his head, a tear falling from his face.  "Cynder, we looked for hours and this was the only trace we found of Spyro.  I'm sorry, but he's gone…"
"But there has to be some chance that he's still alive."  Cynder's voice rose again as she stared at each of the guardians in succession.  Their faces only held sorrow.  Cynder's gaze finally rested on Terrador, her eyes pleading to him for some kind of hope.
Terrador looked back at her sadly before shaking his head.  "I'm sorry Cynder, but Spyro has passed on from this world."
Cynder took another step back from the weeping guardian, anger replacing the sorrow.  "I trusted you…"
"Cynder please…" Terrador took a step after her.
"I trusted you and you let this happen.  Why didn't you send someone else, why didn't you let me go with him."  Cynder's voice rose to a wail as she backed away from the guardians.
"Cynder, please… we know how you must feel…"
"You know how I feel?"  Cynder glared at Terrador as she continued to back away.  "Have you ever had to stand beside someone you love for months and not be able to tell them how you really feel?  Have you ever finally summoned up the courage to tell someone you love them only to be lost and confused in the aftermath?  Have you ever finally hear the three words you waited a lifetime for from someone you love only to have them torn away from you in the same instant?"  The guardians fell silent as Cynder continued to yell at them.
"You bastards…  You're too cowardly to do anything yourself, so you sent Spyro out to do it for you.  Well I hope you're happy.  That blood on that armor is on your hands.  What a way to thank the dragon that saved your tails."  Cynder spat on the ground before turning and walking out of the room with tears still streaming down her face, leaving the guardians standing, their heads hung.
As Cynder walked down the hall, her anger slowly subsided only to be replaced by an unbearable sorrow.  Picking up her pace Cynder sprinted down the hall, tears streaming from her eyes as she flew blindly around the halls of the temple.  Finally reaching her own room, she quickly darted inside slamming the door behind her before flinging herself onto her bed.
Curling into a ball, Cynder let herself go.  Sobs wracking her body while tears streamed down her face.  He was gone…  He was gone forever… and she never had the chance to tell him again.
Still sobbing, Cynder reached up and pulled an old letter out from under her pillow.  It was the same one that Spyro had given her six months ago.  She had read it every night as a reminder to herself.  It had given her hope to endure the long nights of waiting for him to return, but now it only served as a bitter reminder of what could have been.  Curling tighter around herself Cynder broke into heavier sobs clutching the letter to her chest.  It wasn't fair.  After all they had been through, why did this have to happen to them?
As Cynder's sobbing quieted, a soft knock sounded at the door.  Cynder rose her head, ready to angrily shoot back if one of the guardians dared to enter her room.  To her surprise, a pale pink dragoness entered her room, closing the door softly behind her.  Cynder could see the tears on her face as well
"I…  I'm so sorry Cynder…  Flame told me what happened…" Ember walked over and laid down next to her friend, covering her with a comforting wing.
"Ember…" Cynder's sobbed again as she buried her face in her friend.  Ember only tightened her embrace around Cynder.  "It's not fair."
Cynder muffled cries reached Ember's ears through her wracking sobs.  Ember could only hold her friend in her grief, felling as Cynder curled herself into a tighter ball.
"He's gone…"

A/N: A little language in that chapter but not much.  This is not the last chapter either.  You will know when it's finished one way or another.