The romance continues and also has Felicia meeting up with the other dragons. Just how will this dragon be received? If you are looking for any action scenes like in the previous chapter I am afraid that the next really big one (unless something happens) is at the end. This part of the series will be the least action packed and mostly rely on drama and fluff. The second and third books of the trilogy have a lot more action in them just letting you know. We also get to see Felicia's description and looks. Yes I know that these are words and not images, I was referring to the imagination A slight sexual reference but only if you think that way. It is mild and might just be my paranoia. Ignore this if it isn't true.

Chapter Four: A New Life

(Flame)

We walked to the pond that Ember ended up using mostly in silence. Even Ember was silent and I was immediately suspicious of any mischief, but she behaved herself so far. I also noticed that Felicia was trembling slightly but at the risk of Ember giving me hell, I wrote it off as the near death jitters. The silence was anything but companionable and awkward but what do you say to a dragon that nearly died?

Finally we arrived at the clearing with the pond. It was peaceful and the perfect place for a date. My mind reeled at that. What the hell was wrong with me to think such a thing? I collapsed in a heap exhausted from my battle with the mysterious creatures and Felicia squealed and ran for the pond acting like a hatchling instead of a semi grown dragoness. Ember laughed and her eyes twinkled as she caught me staring. "You like her don't you? Come on don't hide it from me. Madam Ember knows all and sees all."

I groaned and refused to answer. As Felicia continued to splash and play, she got cleaner and cleaner, the blood dripping into the pool to be washed away. Ember losing interest in my boring mood, commentated on the splashing and I closed my eyes so I could fain sleep and be left alone. "Wow, she sure is pretty what with her multiple colors and….." I shot up interrupting Ember mid commentary.

"What do you mean multiple colors Em?" Such a thing was unheard of in our culture. We were usually two colors and three if we were lucky, but many?" She shot me a triumphant look before saying, "Have a look and see for yourself Romeo!" I glared at her but did as she asked. My mouth fell open and I didn't really hear Ember triumphant exclamation.

Felicia was playing and splashing washing herself and I watched her. It was true she had an excessive amount of colors all over as if she was painted or the artist was drunk and splashed together many different colors.

Reds, danced with blues and raced all over and turned into yellow and pink as they mingled calmly, even black joined the party with purple looking from afar. Her tail was white with stripes of green and silver. I would be in danger if I stared too long at the tail. Hell even the brief glimpse of her eyes were pretty and easily the best feature. They were two different colors, an easy emerald for her left and silver for the right one. Her snout was pink and her horns were just as colorful having many stripes of reds, greens, yellows, and gold on two.

I didn't hear or see and my vision wavered, short circuiting. Holy s***! My heart was hammering heavily and I blushed simply by association. No way would I have any shot with her. No one that beautiful would associate with someone like me. I deflated hugely and I felt depressed.

Taking some pity on me, Ember nudged me when she saw me deflate and smiled kindly. "You sell yourself short Flame. You are nice and she does seem to be friendly with you. Who wouldn't be with you? Just don't give up and don't sell yourself short.

I still was depressed after witnessing what I did. The odd thing was Felicia didn't advertise herself. I am sure she knows. Anyone who is anyone knows their best points. She soon grew bored and started to swim toward the edge and got up. I turned away, but then I would be rude with the back of my head facing her.

Curse those droplets! She frowned minutely when her eyes met mine but she didn't say anything. "There is nothing like a good swim to clean the mess of the day. Are you ok Flame?" S***! She noticed after all!

"I-I-I-I-I-I'm fine, we should be on our way." I really hate how nervous I am around her. Her frown deepened but she didn't say anything. To my horror/relief she stayed by my side. Ember must be worried about me, she didn't say or tease me further. I had to get myself under control or otherwise we would have problems; Humiliation being a big factor.

We walked and Felicia asked about where we were going. She did not walk a certain way advertising anything, she walked normally and an alarm was ringing in my head. I ignored it because I was probably too focused on my own problems and maybe for all I know she could know. She always frowned when our eyes met, and once she smiled at me. She still shivered and never ventured far from my side.

"A-Are there really other dragons where we are going?" This was not the first time she had asked but this time there was a slight stutter. She was nervous. Why? Someone like her would be popular and the life of the party. "Yeah but they are really nice and we need to make a report anyway on the fact we found you. I kind of felt fidgety during the morning and needed the exercise." Damn, I was rambling. She did not frown further meaning she would have been annoyed.

"I haven't met others like us before. I was never really allowed of the house." Others like us? Just what did that mean? "There is a whole village filled with dragons. Warfang was built by moles as a sort of honor/worship thing to us dragons. Other races like cheetahs make brief visits mostly for the tourism of the city; Really beautiful at night when the lights come on." I wanted to yell "Like you" for the beauty, but that would just be silly. I only just met her after all.

She nodded a little but she still looked a little afraid. I scooted a little closer hoping I wasn't intruding and the shivers died down a little. Ember ignored us to which I was very grateful.

I noticed that we were almost to the entrance and I was suddenly afraid. I knew deep down that Spyro was never judgmental or mean, but still I worried. I wanted some distraction to distract my mind and I realized the perfect topic.

"Where are you from Felicia? What kind of family do you have?" She stopped dead in her tracks and my heart thudded. I said something wrong. But she sighed and when she looked at me, there was a huge amount of grief and sorrow but it was not directed at me. "Why would you want to know about a plain dragoness like me? I am very boring and uninteresting, but that is my problem to deal with. My parents only want what is best for me after all.

"They say that I would just get in the way and say that the house is the only place for me. I kind of wondered away though." Plain, boring, uninteresting? What the hell did that mean? We were both intent on each other that we didn't hear Ember's snort of disbelieve. It must have registered somewhere in my brain for I recall later having heard something.

"Felicia you are sure as hell not plain. (If only you knew how wrong you are) The place we are going does not discriminate against anyone except evil doers. Since you do not look evil or have evil intentions, I doubt very much that you will face antagonism."

She smiled very slightly but the cheer in her eyes was enough. We continued our walk and I was having a very hard time believing that she thought she was plain. Just what kind of household was this? Soon the path turned into familiar surroundings and to my slight fear a crowd stood in front of the sign welcoming us. Surely we weren't gone that long were we?

Felicia hovered behind me shivering slightly when she caught sight of the welcoming party. Ember pretended to ignore this strange behavior and I was worried. Finally I saw a purple blur running for us and I realized it was Spyro. He had a worried look which turned into relief and we had an emotional reUNION of sorts.

True to form, Cynder was next to him and both dragons hugged me. "You were gone for a whole day Flame. Where the hell were you? No walk turns into a day." This was from Spyro and as soon as I heard how long I was gone I was confused. Cynder noticed Felicia and said dragoness was slightly shivering still refusing to venture from behind.

"Hello, I take it you are the cause of the delay." Spyro realized she was talking to my ass and realized that was wrong so he looked to where she was really looking and comically his mouth fell open. Cynder shoved him aside and muttered in a soft voice where only I could hear, "Men"

"I am Cynder numb nuts over there is Spyro, and if you follow me, you can meet the rest of us." Felicia walked forward as if worried Cynder would rescind her kindness. When she didn't, Felicia slowly ventured out. Spyro was still staring like I had done and he turned to me mouthing "Where did you find her?" I shrugged and he looked vaguely disappointed.

Cynder was walking with Felicia and only then did I notice that Ember was with them. I ran, Spyro behind and we arrived with the girls. The only crowd turned out to be the guardians, all of them along with Froster. Unlike us younglings, they were not ogling her. Froster noticed me and smiled, "Aw, there you are young Flame, we were wondering where you got off to. You were gone for a full day and you didn't run away so we figured something happen. Chrono told us not to worry, that you were fine, but no one took him seriously." He noticed Felicia and stopped dead, a weird look appearing on his face. "Flame where did you find her? (To Felicia) Who are you?"

Felicia looked very uncomfortable at the close scrutiny but relented. "I am Felicia! Flame found me being attacked by these creatures in the forest." Before she could continue, a haunted and dead look appeared in Froster's eyes. In a low voice that I could barely hear, "I have finally found her after this whole time. (out loud) I have some urgent business to attend to. Please do not cut the party short on my behalf." He walked off and left an awkward silence in his wake.

I had never seen him act this way before and it was slightly weird to have him act this way. Felicia looked faintly hurt but was not allowed to dwell on Froster's mysterious reaction for everyone started welcoming her.

"He normally isn't like that, he normally is in charge of introductions but seeing as how he is not here, I will do them. My name is Chrono I know it is a bit disconcerting to see a midnight dragon but just look at Cynder who is standing next to you. The one who ran off was Froster and the dragons next to me are Solar on my left and Alastor on my right and you met Spyro the purple dragon and his girlfriend Cynder. The dragonfly is named Sparx. Now what exactly happened?"

For the next hour for there were a lot of pauses, Felicia told her story, why she was traveling, (including some things that were not mentioned on our trip over here) she told us of her parents, how strict they were, (she begged us not to get in touch with them) the mysterious dragon spirit that had appeared to her, (Chrono looked very interested in Ferae when told what his name was) her amazing ability to lock herself in her mind, (she erred a lot describing it but Chrono helped with some of the description) and finally the rescue.

I was stunned when told of her background, it made sense but still it was horrible to be told you were plain and treated like a servant. I didn't know such ability existed but no one was disproving it so it must be real. All throughout her explanation, I felt my heart break for her, but I told myself it wasn't pity that inspired it.

Spyro and Cynder looked slightly uncomfortable when hearing her story and everyone looked uncomfortable; only Chrono seemed to be immune to shock or other such expression. He was nodding as if it made sense, but when he got curious looks refused to elaborate. Finally he said, "Well it has been decided, you will stay with us, if your parents come, and only if….well we will come to that when or if it actually happens.

"Since Flame and Ember rescued you, they will show you around and make sure you are comfortable. I will talk with Froster and try and find out why he did what he did. I can honestly say, I did not see that coming." There was a small amount of laughter from everyone but Felicia, and then he continued. "I think Froster should gain another apprentice, I notice Flame has taken a lot of interest in you and he meaning Froster, could do with another student. I will leave the lot of you to make Felicia welcome but that is probably unnecessary as I see that you will make her feel more then welcome." He finished his speech and the others dismissed themselves and began walking back to their homes. Only Spyro, Cynder, Sparx, (who had stayed uncharacteristically quiet during all of this) Ember, and myself stayed behind to accompany Felicia to where she would be staying. Ever since her explanation, she was quiet and shivering slightly.

She looked lost and afraid and totally unaware that she was among friends. She refused to meet any of our eyes and this wounded me for an unexplainable reason. Why would this upset me? It was Cynder who made the first move.

"I know what it is like to be a newcomer. Always the stares and the questioning look on other's faces." Spyro and I looked down at the ground at this. No one noticed. "I will make you feel more at home, for this first night up till you get more comfortable, you will stay with me." Spyro looked up sharply, a questioning look on his face, but Cynder was blind to it. "Tomorrow we will show you around and make you much more welcome."

Felicia had calmed down a very fraction of an inch. She no longer shivered constantly but Cynder still didn't get her full eye contact. The two girls walked on ahead, Ember following a little ways behind. This left Spyro and me behind. I wondered what the girls were talking about and a guilty feeling began to worm itself in my heart. I will make it up to her, I had to or my conscience would kill me and eat at me. We were silent on the walk back.

(Felicia)

Cynder was beyond nice and supportive, pointing out wonderful sites and making me laugh with her corny jokes. It was hard to imagine a dragon like Cynder ever making corny jokes and trying to make me laugh, but she was doing it. She told me a few things about her and Spyro and the other dragons. When she talked about Flame, my heart fluttered. Thinking I had a problem I ignored it, but the feeling it inspired in me was akin to something. I couldn't name it at all and I couldn't ignore it.

Not wanting to slow down for awkward looks and conversations, I attempted to walk normally ahead. Cynder despite her color and her fierce looks was actually a very nice and supportive dragon. Her first time here, were in some ways similar to my own. I kept thinking that she was talking to me out of pity, but she genuinely seemed to like me.

I was dreading sleeping that night, afraid that if I did, what I experienced would vanish. I couldn't believe that anything could get better and now that it had, I wondered if it would go away turning out to be a cruel dream.

We said goodbye to the other dragons at one point and I found Flame's eyes and smiled at him. He looked nervous but smiled and waved a paw in farewell. Cynder noticed this and a faint smile appeared on her face but she said nothing. We walked on in companionable silence as Cynder took me wherever it was she was taking me.

Could any of this be real? I didn't think so. There was no way good fortune could happen to someone like me, so I dumbly hoped that I would never "wake up" from this dream. A cave appeared out of nowhere and I gasped unable to help myself. A door was at the entrance of it making it quite different from the caves I was used to. We entered and I found myself in a room with various doors down a hallway and what looked to be very comfortable living space.

"Normally Spyro is here, but tonight it will be just us girls. The first night is always the hardest and I assure you we won't go away. You will even get your own room seeing as how this is your first night with us. I have another room picked out, the room that I make Spyro sleep in when he misbehaves or when I just feel like being alone."

I grinned slightly but didn't laugh. Cynder's expression didn't waver in the slightest like I thought it would. "Felicia, everyone is nice here. I assure you, we won't vanish in the middle of the night. I swear it to you on the risk of losing my soul, I and my friends are not playing you."

I felt a little better but still, this couldn't be happening to me could it? She then surprised me by hugging me, something I had heard of but never experienced. "It does get better, I assure you of that. If there are any problems no matter how small or insignificant you think they are, please I beg you, don't hesitate in the slightest to let me know. Nothing whatsoever will make me angry."

She released me and grinned. "I will be just a few doors down. Goodnight Felicia." She walked away not waiting for a response or expecting anything of me in return. "Goodnight Cynder, thanks for welcoming me." She smiled before disappearing down one door. It was then I realized that I still did not know where my room was.

I grew very nervous and stood still for what felt like a long time. Surely I couldn't look around someone's home. It would be rude, and it would feel so wrong, almost akin to trespassing. My eyes grew heavy with exhaustion and I didn't want to experience the floor. I figured that was how dragons slept and I sighed.

Maybe this floor would be different than the one I was used to. I prayed as I moved that I would find the room intended for me on the first try and wouldn't end up nosing around. Everything loomed ahead of me and I just knew that it was going to be wrong. I picked a door at random and found not just a floor or empty space like I was expecting but an actual bed.

Surely this couldn't be what Cynder was expecting me to sleep in. No one would let a stranger sleep in a comfortable bed. I was probably in the wrong room. Somewhere was an empty room waiting for me and I was in the wrong room.

I was about to turn around when I noticed a note on the inside of the door (the one on the side of the room I was in) I hesitated before grabbing it.

Felicia

I figured that you would have some doubts as to whether or not the room you found yourself in would be the one you should sleep in. I hoped it would be this one as this one was where I put the note. I don't know how things were like for you, but you expression was fear at having found good fortune so I wrote this note to better ease your fears. I implore you, stay in the room that you found yourself in. I guarantee I will not be mad. If in the morning you are on the floor, I will be mad that you did not heed this note.

I hope this clears up the confusion.

Cynder

Surely this was too good to be true. I couldn't be this lucky but she told me that she wouldn't mind. It was probably hard like the floor. I had never before slept in a bed, having always experience the floor. Walking on shaking paws, I tentatively tested the bed in one giant leap.

I sunk a few inches into the bed and my eyes widened. No more aches and pains trying to find a more suitable position to sleep. I groaned in pleasure enjoying the sinking sensation. Maybe some things could get better. I was asleep almost instantly.

Wow this was quite a long chapter. I knew I had a lot to say, but I didn't expect this length. I added a bit to the romance in this chapter. I am not good with T or even come to think of it romance in general. I sometimes can't take my time and get the mood right. I hope people are liking the story. The reason for Froster's reaction will be officially explained later as the story progresses. Some of you might be able to work it out, but maybe I am reading too much into it. I might have gotten the character wrong for Cynder, I wouldn't know the official character but I could again be reading too much into it. This chapter started out slow and then it wrote itself after a while.

Originally the scene at the pond was a lot more hesitant on Felicia leaving Flame's side to wash off. It, looking back wasn't all that good and I was saved from using it, by the unexpected mishap of my toe unhooking the computer's cord (I am on a public computer) and causing a minor power out of the computer. I am glad that it did, because I like this scene a lot better than the original. Next chapter will be up soon!