Chapter Five: Starting Again

It took nearly half an hour to go through all the list of special training that his new servant would be needing. In the eyes of his father, it would likely appear that Ember was trying to get rid of a servant early on, or that he was biting off more than he could chew. 

In Ember’s eyes however, if he could come to an understanding with this new one, like he had his previous servants, there might be a way for him to surprise his father. If he could keep her alive for longer than two months, he would be able to surprise everyone. 

From their eyes, it would look like he had broken a fiery spirit, turned a hassle into a perfect, obedient servant. But really, all he had to do was convince her to behave, and that shouldn’t be too hard. He’d managed it before, but then again, they’d all ended up dead, so perhaps he should start looking into a new method. 

The servant was looking at him now, ruff splayed, and head cocked to the side curiously as her purple eyes watched him. As his eyes landed on the metal band around her muzzle, Ember couldn’t stop a low growl from rumbling in his throat. The vixen’s ruff snapped backwards, flattening against her skull and underneath her curved horns. 

 Ice dragons had thick, down-ward curving gray horns, whereas Fire dragons had thin white horns that jutted straight back from their head, half towards the sky and half towards their wings. If she was hiding her ruff underneath her horns, where it was well protected, then that meant she was feeling great fear. 

Ember let out a sigh. She may have been acting up during preparation, but alone with the dragon who had lost more servants over the past three years than any other trainer in the castle had in a single year, well…that would be enough to spook anyone. Padding over to her, Ember grabbed a scroll, feather, and a small pot of ink, and set them in front of her. The Ice Dragon blinked at him, ruff flicking out slightly again, before vanishing under her horns, the sign for ‘what?’

“Your name. Write it.” Ember said, nodding to the paper. Her paws were still free, since she couldn’t do much work without them, but she still made no move to pick up the feather. Ember’s tail twitched at the tip with irritation. Taking a breath to calm himself, Ember slowly leaned back, putting more weight on his hind legs so that he could lift both fore-legs off the ground. 

Turning one palm so it faced him, Ember carefully traced a line on that paw with the other. Once that had been completed, he gestured to himself, and then picked up the feather. In elegant lines he scratched out his name. Ember. 

Ember dipped the feather in ink again, and then held it out towards her. Ink dripped onto the paper, blotting out the b in his writing before the vixen slowly reached out and took the feather. She was wary, and he didn’t blame her. If their situations were reversed, he’d likely be blasting her in the face with some red-hot flames right about now. That or screaming for guards. Finally, she dipped the feather in the ink again, and wrote in thick, carefully crafted letters, spelling out ‘Crystal’. 

Ember nodded. Good, now that he’d learned her name, it would be easier to communicate. “Alright Crystal, let me get a few things straight. I have no interest in trying to turn you into something you aren’t. All I want, is to keep you alive, and to prove to the other Fire Dragons that Ice Dragon’s don’t deserve to lose their voice.”

Crystal blinked at him, head cocked to the side as her silent purple gaze studied him intently. Likely, she didn’t believe him, not that he blamed her, and was trying to figure out if he was messing with her. Then she started signaling rapidly. Feathers flashed, and her talons gestured wildly. Ember followed along best he could, managing to get out ‘why’, ‘but others’, and ‘can I trust’ before finally he had to say “Stop!” Crystal instantly froze, wings half spread and ruff flicked upwards. 

Ember took a breath to calm himself, and then he spoke, keeping his words calm and even. “I’m sorry, but I only have a level seven in understanding.” He nodded to the paper still in front of her talons, with both their names written on it. “That’s why I’ve brought this, please feel free to write out any questions you have. I shall answer to the best of my ability.”

Crystal squinted at him, but reached for the paper and feather, instantly scrawling out word after word. Ember stayed silent, a few paw-steps away from her, and let the vixen write. Finally, after a few sols, she nodded to herself and set the feather down. Picking up the paper gently, Crystal walked over to him, set it down on the ground, and then quickly retreated. 

Ember turned it around, so that he could read it, and wasn’t surprised to see that the top three questions all had to do with why she should believe or trust him.

“I’ve been attempting this with all of my servants. You aren’t the first nor has anything changed in the past year.” Ember said, one claw over the first question. Lowering his paw to just below the second question, the prince continued “I will not force you to cooperate with me, but if you don’t, it is likely you will end up like your predecessors. I have no way to prove that I am not lying, I only ask for you to have faith”

The following questions all targeted things like ‘why are you trying to do this’, and ‘how exactly do you plan to stop the silencing’, clear to ‘when can I get off this chain’

“Ever since I first heard about the Silencing, I’ve been a firm believer that it needs to stop. No others I’ve spoken to about it share my beliefs, except for my previous servants.” Ember said, preparing himself for a long while of answering questions. The last servant he’d had took almost two full weeks to convince that Ember wasn’t lying.

But there was something about Crystal that made Ember feel like she would be on board as soon as he explained everything. She held a fire inside of her that he’d never seen in Ice dragons before. She just might be the one.