~Gemini~

I woke up to my temple pounding, the headache worsening the more conscious I became.

Accompanying it was a painful crick in my neck from falling asleep sitting up. I still was sitting, propped up against the torso of my sleeping dragon. Violet's chest rose and fell from behind me, and now the size of a small horse, she was the only comfortable thing to rest against in this cave.

I sighed to myself, rubbing my eyes with my knuckles as I pushed myself up to sit independently. Through bleary vision I glanced around the small cave, seeing it was just as we had left it before falling asleep. The entrance was hardly big enough for us to stuff Violet in, morning sunlight already beginning to stream across the dull stone. Violet herself took up nearly half the cave, her tail curled around the edge. 

Fwhip laid on the other side, still asleep and sprawled out across the ground, using our supply bag as a pillow. His hair was everywhere, hiding his face and nearly to his shoulders. I needed to cut it again for him...

Between us was a small pile of charcoal and sticks, a makeshift firepit, damp from when we had splashed water onto it so that we wouldn't roll into flames during our sleep. 

It was cold and muggy within the miniature cavern, the dewy air clinging to my skin to raise goosebumps. I clawed at my cloak to bring it closer to me, pulling a few strands of hair from my braid to cover my ears. You'd think after a couple years of moving from place to place, in the wild, you'd get used to waking up like this, in the cold and with no idea where you'd sleep the next night...but no. No, you do not.

I glanced over at my brother who was snoring like a tractor. I'd wake him later, he needed sleep...although I really didn't want to have to listen to that foghorn breathing for another couple hours.

A walk it is then.

I shoved myself up from the ground, brushing off my trousers matted with dirt around the trim and torn at the knee.

Me and Fwhip had hardly explored this area, as we had settled down quickly the previous night. In my spare time I could do some...scouting, I suppose.

I ducked underneath the opening of the cavern, hidden by overgrowth and vines from the naked eye. I may have had to do a little enchanting to keep us out of sight, but the nights were now dangerous here...dangerous everywhere.

My hand tightly clutched the amulet around my neck, my knuckled tainted white around it. I kept myself on alert, eyes flicking towards every noise, breathing as quiet as possible. Who knows who else was in these woods with me. We've had too many close calls in the past of couple years not to be cautious.

It was still dewy, but it was beginning to dry out, on the brink of becoming a stinging cold. Autumn was quickly taking over, all branches in sight void of leaves, instead the reds and browns crunching beneath my feet with the withered shrubs.

Despite us now approaching November, there was still no signs of snowfall, even in the south where I thought we were...there hadn't been snow for years...

It was as if it too were mourning.

I shook off the thought, trying to remain light on my feet to make as little noise as possible. Silence was the difference between life and death in these times.

Perhaps I'd find a berry bush...we had supplies located in the cave, but I was desperately craving something fresh other than the dried and preserved meats. I tried not to get my hopes up, however. The first cold wave had most likely killed all the wild fruits that may have grown over the Summer...

There was no path, so I simply wove between dying tree trunks, the smell of sap and soil hanging in the air. I reminded myself every so often of the way back to the cave, so I wouldn't get lost...hopefully.

I got excited upon spotting several evergreen trees, still green despite the bitter chill. The great pines loomed overhead, contrasting against the sharp blue, cloudless sky. The change of scenery was almost relaxing in a way. Pines reminded me of home. I hadn't been to Azurite in... too long. 

It felt like I had abandoned it...but if I hadn't left, I would have been doomed...evacuation was the best move after...

"Gem, quit it." I muttered to myself, trying to redirect my train of thought to a more...pleasant matter. Who was I kidding? There was nothing pleasant about any of this.

I took an extra loud trudge through yet another pile of fallen leaves, trying to blow off steam. Unluckily, this one also carried the remnants of a holly bush.

"Ow!" I hissed as a few sharp edges sliced through the ankle of my trousers. A rare string of curses left my lips as I brushed the branches away from my knees, retreating backwards.

Bush: one, Gem: zero.

"Stupid..." I grumbled, already in a bad mood from my lack of sleep in the past weeks.

I took the longer route, around a couple more pines before getting back on track. I swept my cloak closer to my legs, keeping it from snagging on the outstretched branches of bushes and whatnot. 

The land began to slope upwards slightly, the sky being obscured as the land raised into the mountains getting closer with every step I took.

I couldn't quite pinpoint where I was, due to the fact that the little I could see of said mountains were hidden by the pines and branches of trees.

However, I simply continued my walk, wondering when I should turn back to check on my brother... but that's when I came to a sudden halt. Something stood out...startlingly. 

A chunk of white...stone? Laid on the ground, half buried in dirt in leaves, contrasting sharply to the deep earthy tones surrounding it.

I paused in front of it in confusion. "Where'd you come from..." I said to myself, frowning as I knelt in front of it. Upon closer inspection it seemed to be...marble? It was broken in awkward places, a singular side smooth and slightly cracked, while the rest were rough like they had been broken with a hammer. Ash laid in grey streaks smeared across what would have otherwise been an object as pure as snow.

White and grey dust rubbed off on my fingertips as I brushed my hand along the chunk of marble, still incredibly confused. Where was its origin? It hadn't just...fallen from the sky...

I glanced around, my eyes catching on even more, much smaller bits and pieces of marble the size of pebbles, littered up the sharp slope that started upwards into one of the surrounded peaks. Had it come from up there...?

Only one way to find out.

I started towards the cliff edge, the cliff face anything but gradual as it sloped steeply up into the air. The trail of pale powder and small chunks of marble trickled up and down the rock, like the larger break had tumbled all the way down, leaving the residue behind...

This was starting to feel familiar. 

My breath hitched in my throat as I heard a crackle of leaves, like they were being crunched beneath a boot. I snapped around, my braid whipping against my torso. My hand had flown to my amulet, clenching around it tightly again, my gaze darting around frantically. Was that a flash of red—?

Yet it seemed I was still alone...seemed.

I didn't dare call out, unsure if whatever had disturbed the silence of the forest were friend or enemy...or just an animal that had stumbled by. 

I pressed my back against the sloping cliff, making sure to cover all of my blind spots...

One minute...two minutes...five minutes...ten minutes...

Silence.

I slowly exhaled, trying to keep as quiet as possible...just a deer or something of the sort...yeah...

Still remaining with my back to the rock, I undid the chain around my neck, the purple crystal-turned-amulet dropping into my palm.

I glanced upwards at the stone towering dozens upon dozens of feet above me. I needed a quick way up.

"Sequi labrusca." I whispered, followed by a small, glowing pulse of the crystal within my hand. I felt a short surge, a flicker of energy dart through my veins, arriving at my other hand. I raised it towards one of the large pines, watching as a branch began to curl outwards, like snakes slithering through the air.

Dropping the chain of the amulet, hooked around my wrist, my staff reformed, the chains twisting back into their wooden form, the purple amethyst floating within the vined crescent. 

I curled my fingers in, drawing the elongated branch of the pine closer. Just as it touched the rock face, I slammed the bottom of my staff into the stone. "Surculus!" 

The grains within the bark flashed white before with a bang the wood shot upwards, leaving a ladder-like pole with pegs to climb up on.

I quickly loosened my belt, sliding my staff underneath my cloak, before tightening it to keep my prized possession in place. 

Readjusting my cloak, I exhaled sharply before...I began my climb.

I pulled myself on the small rungs, just large enough for me to get a good grip, and just strong enough for me to entrust my weight on them.

My face already felt flushed, my palms sore and covered in calluses...but I had only just surpassed the treetops. Now the bitter cold wind whipped me mercilessly, threatening to toss me off the makeshift ladder of twisted branches. 

And a drop from here meant death.

I gasped for air, my chest feeling tight as I realized how high I was beginning to get. 

It's just like riding dragons, I told myself. I'd been much higher up than this before.

Still, I crouched down slightly, fitting the divot between the heel and sole of my boot along one of the pegs to steady myself.

Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out...

I tightened my hold on the branchy rungs, closing my tired eyes for just a moment before hoisting myself up again, restarting my climb.

~

 My arms burned, every pull, every haul feeling like the last before my muscles snapped.

My throat felt dry, my lips chapped and bleeding. But I was almost there...and I refused to look around before I made it to the top. I was at a dizzying height, one that I wouldn't fancy plummeting from.

I could see the top, the rocky edge littered with dead roots and shriveled blades of grass...where the enchanted branch curled to a stop.

With a grunt, a final tug, I pulled my torso up and over, sprawling my upper half across the solid ground.

It felt like my throat was constricting as I gasped, coughing slightly on the smokey air. After a moment I scrambled onto my knees, finally taking in my surroundings....

For a moment I couldn't breathe.

The remains of Rivendale were set upon the mountain before me, across the ravine...the enchantment tower crumbled to ruin just to the right. That's where the marble had come from...

And it still smelt of fire.

Great ashy streaks from where flames had ripped through buildings, burns where lava had trickled across the land, stained the scene like scars.

The palace, now derelict, was already starting to decay, weakened by the fire. Pieces of the roof had already imploded on itself, the large doors knocked to the ground.

It had probably already been pillaged by the greedy and the desperate.

And at this point just about everybody was desperate, on the brink of extinction.

I hadn't been back here since...I had no idea we were so close.

I wondered if the graves were still there...

My gaze trailed along the edge of the once-great city; my eyes landing on the natural, thin bridge that spanned across the jagged valley to the main mountain.

It was shockingly still standing, and narrow. I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't wider than a balance beam. However, it was still a way across.

I jogged down the edge of the stand-alone mountain housing the remains of the enchantment tower, towards the arch of unstable rock.

It felt like decades since I had been along this path...not merely three years...

I pulled out my staff, just in case, as I began to walk along the slim bridge between the two mountains. "Steady..." I murmured, watching my feet as I put one foot in front of the other, balancing over the ravine like I were on a tightrope. I felt my fingers tremble, but I wouldn't slip. I wouldn't fall.

It seemed like ages before I had crossed, my heart thumping quickly against my chest, like I had just run a marathon.

I scanned the area, my eyes immediately landing on the three heads of stone obscuring the landscape...

I nearly fell over in my scramble-turned-sprint up the hill, towards the site. My breathing ragged against my lips, puffing out into white clouds in front of my line of sight. 

I skidded to a halt, eyes wide as I stared...emotions I had kept buried, hadn't felt for months, began to rise back up like a flood, wiping clean all my thoughts.

They were all still gone...

Scott's name was still clearly engraved into the stone, my own handwriting. I was taken pleasantly by surprise, seeing several flowers laid across the base of the headstone, in bouquets, bunches, singles...even a flower crown. Carnations, roses, poppies...all left in memory of the king. Very few however, seemed fresh, most wilted and dying from the cold weather.

I saw a few notes scrawled in elvish, some bunched up and tossed, some stuck to the grave. I felt my nose sting, my eyes threatening to well up with tears.

We weren't even able to honor Pearl like this. We didn't even have her body to bury.

And it felt...it felt wrong, standing over Scott's own grave, knowing he was mere feet beneath me.

I sniffled, wiping my nose which was already red and raw from my unsheltered climb. I lowered myself to the ground, sitting crisscross to be level with the words written across the stone.

My throat burned, and I swallowed thickly to try and keep the feelings down.

Three years...three whole years...Scott would have been twenty-six next month...

My gaze wandered to the graves on either side of my friend's, pressing my lips in a thin line.

His brother's was in much worse wear, several scuff marks blotting out the end of their name, as if someone had kicked at it, or thrown something. Understandable...

Erin's however, was nearly untouched, an air of omen almost permeating around the stone...perhaps it was because of how dead the ground seemed there, practically blackened, any grass grey or brown with decay...the flowers that had happened to fall closer to her plot than Scott's shriveled and burned.

I felt like I had to breathe quietly while looking at hers, as if I'd...disturb something if I inhaled too loudly.

A lump had formed in my throat, my eyes rimmed with tears that I refused to let fall, despite being alone. I had cried too much, for too long, over something I couldn't fix, something I couldn't control. And I wouldn't again.

I clenched my hands, raking up fistfuls of dirt from the strangely hard, and cold ground. As if the soil were frozen...I sifted through it with my fingers, coming across several ice crystals littered among the dirt.

I was close to my breaking point now. So...so close...

My head snapped up at the sound of flapping, my back catching several gusts of winds that were propelled towards me. 

I caught sight of a black, scaly mass in the sky, slowly descending...followed by a familiar chirp.

Fwhip slid off of Violet's back, the dragonet just big enough to carry him and him alone, looking windswept and quite worried, relief pooling into his expression as soon as he met my eyes. I quickly stood up, brushing my eyes and my clothes off quickly. "Oh- hey—" I started, yelping softly as Violet nosed the side of my head in greeting.

"Don't hey me after disappearing for over two hours." He said, like he was trying to sound angry, instead coming off mildly upset. 

"I thought you were still asleep—" I attempted to reason, running my hands along Violet's scales, only earning a raised eyebrow from my older brother.

"You could have at least told me where you were going. I would have come if I knew you were visiting..."

It struck me then that I had never brought Fwhip to see... his resting spot, and I watched as a blank expression swept his face, slightly saddened.

"I didn't know it was here." I said quickly. "I stumbled across it and...sorry, I should have come to tell you—"

"Don't worry about it." He cut off, his mood quickly changing, eyes glued to the headstones. 

I rubbed my nose again, trying to disguise yet another sniffle as I took a step back to stand next to my brother. We were nearly the same height, but I managed to lean my head slightly against his shoulder, hoping to find some, any comfort...

"I wonder where everyone else is." Fwhip murmured several moments later, his quiet voice breaking the silence.

"I—" I had started, a small frown twitching my lips, before I saw something from the corner of my eye.

Today, fate seemed to be in our favor, because as if to answer Fwhip's question...someone was running down the path straight for us.

Someone with a scraggly brown beard, longer than I had ever seen it.

Someone with an ivory staff being carried underneath their elbow, pinned to their side.

Someone with blue eyes shining with delight, disbelief, and a plan.

"...Sausage—!?"

***

I know, I know, I said I wasn't going to work on this book until I was done with the rewrite-

aksdhksjadhjashkashd  s i l e n ce

Just enjoy this rare RaR chapter

A few things to bring up

One- if something does NOT align with something I've said/described in the past books, it is most likely because I have not gotten up to rewriting that part, and plan to change it. As always, please ask questions if you're confused. I know some people think asking too many things or commenting too much may annoy me, but honestly I love answering your questions and reading your comments is my favorite part of posting, so don't hold back

Two- this book will start off and gain a lot of loose ends, some from the previous books that haven't been answered, and some that will start. I promise that, not all, but some will be tied up by the end of this book, and others in the next couple of books. I plan everything out, and as of now I don't believe I have any plot holes. But again, if you're confused about anything, PLEASE ASK QUESTIONS. I will answer them as well as I can, as long as it doesn't spoil anything

As always, comments, votes and suggestions are highly appreciated :>