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Chapter Thirteen
As we tip toe through the catacombs, I feel as though the place is more...mysterious. With each drop of water, each roll of small stones, it seems to echo eerily through the caves. Slowly, we make it to the familiar area of the archives,
"These are the oldest archives we know of," I state, slipping through the gap in the gate, "This is where I learnt the secrets of my marking and the dragons."
Christian looks around at the shelves upon shelves of rows, "How many books are there?"
"A lot. And many of them were written without the kings permission, and were hidden down here after his death."
"Which king?"
I turn to Christian, with a look as though it is obvious, "King Salvidor."
He nods and brushes his fingers lightly over the books, dust falling from them as I light a torch. He stops at one book and pulls it out. It's the book I read most down here; The Dragons. He brings it over to me,
"This one looks like it was read recently, not coated in dust and cobwebs like the others."
I nod and take it from him, walking over to my makeshift table, "It's because it was the book I used to read a lot. It has information on pretty much anything to do with dragons."
Christian raises his brows in shock, then flips the book open, looking at the history of the dragons. I turn away and begin to look over the other books, but can't seem to find anything interesting. I leave the archives and light another torch, taking it away from the archives and further into the caves, to areas dark and cool, where I haven't be before.
Suddenly, my foot ends up in a pool of ice cold water, but a second later, I adjust to it. Must be part of the bond I share with Kaloua. As I move forward more, I can see the puddle isn't just a puddle, but almost like an indoor lake. I take my shoes off - though they are already soaked - and them strip down to just my corset - which I was forced into - and underwear, not feeling the cold at all.
As I wade my way through the water, I notice there is a crack in the top of the roof, casting a slim amount of sunlight into the cave. Sooner than I thought, the water is up to my chest, and I am having to hold up the torch to keep it from going out. As I look further, I can see if I just go for a quick swim, there is the rest of the pathway up ahead.
I throw the torch into the water and move quicker, beginning to swim across the small lake. I notice that the entire room sort of sparkles, and it strikes me that there are diamonds covering the roof, too high to collect though. As I arrive on the other sided of the lake, I hear someone calling my name,
"Arabelle! What the hell are you doing?" I hear Christian yell and I turn around,
"Trying to find our dragons, what's it look like?"
He nods and goes to talk in but jumps straight back out, "Shit! It's freezing! Like ice!"
"Thanks to Kaloua, I don't feel a thing." I grin, then continue through the caves. Suddenly, I hear a splash and rapid swimming, so I turn around to see Christian coming through the water in just his pants, having left his top back with my stuff. I rush back to it and drag him out, ready to find a way to warm him up, but he is already regaining his warmth.
"You reminded me that since Nadi is fire, I can just warm myself up!"
I laugh, "I forgot that myself! Come on, lets find them."
We head off through the dark caves, not having a torch to light the way, only our dragon borrowed senses, but they are enough. The eeriness of the caves spooks me, though I make sure not to show it. While I step forward as softly as I can, Christian doesn't do anything as quiet. He takes strong, thunderous footsteps through the caves.
"I never even knew these existed," he says softly after a while of walking.
"Not many people do. Only the advisors."
Christian snorts, "Some advisor I'll be!"
I smirk, "Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it."
We continue to walk through the caves, then suddenly, the floor slopes sharply and is covered in moss, so I slide straight down,
"Christian!" I scream as I slide faster, not able to get a grip. Suddenly, water goes up around me and I emerge into another underground lake.
"Belle? Are you okay?"
I laugh, "Don't worry, it's just another-," I cut short as I see something moving towards me. Panic strikes my heart as I try to scramble up the wall again. Unable to get a grip, I try to focus on what it might be as I push against the wall, trying to jump to the roof. Suddenly, as I thought I would re-enter the water, I begin to slide across something cold and solid. I look down to see ice. It was my panic, I harnessed Kaloua's ice power, something tells me and I grin, standing up and ignore the steering cold pain in my feet.
I hear a crack and see Christian heading through the ice and into the water, having come down after me. I rush over and reach in, pulling him up. He shakes himself off and looks around,
"Didn't you land in water?"
I nod, "Then I saw something in the water and I froze it over in panic...do you think you can summon a fire to light the cave, like I summoned ice?"
He shrugs, "I guess I can try..." Then he walks over to a torch and grabs it, then focuses hard. I can tell he wouldn't notice if the world around him exploded because of how focused he is. Suddenly, a small flame flickers at his fingers and he moves them to the torch, and lights it. He snaps out of his focus and smiles at the glowing light, "I actually did it!"
I smile and take the torch from him, looking around, "Woah..."
All around us, the roof and walls, are coated in diamonds, emeralds, rubies and all sorts of other crystals and precious stones. I move over to the wall and touch a clear diamond, it's smooth surface cool under my finger tips.
"There must be billions of coins worth of gems down here..." That's when it hits me, "Arifion was left to guard this rare treasure. That's why you need to pass his den to get through to here! I wonder why it wasn't written anywhere..."
Christian raises a brow, "Isn't it obvious? Salvidor wanted the treasure for himself and once Salvidor died, Arifion couldn't tell anyone about it so it stayed hidden."
I nod, "I guess."
The room seems to travel on for ages as we walk through it. My heart still beats quickly as I know whatever was in the water earlier is still in there. Probably a second defence if Arifion couldn't guard the gems well enough. I watch as Christian slides around on the smooth ice, obviously using his fire element to keep is feet from freezing. I just continue to walk normally.
Soon, we come across a pathway with three turn-offs. I look at each of them thoughtfully,
"Whatever is further, it was obviously the most prized thing in the caves." Though I found that hard to believe, after seeing the thousands, possibly millions, of diamonds and other gems. Christian looks down one tunnel,
"This has 'wealth' written in dragonese above the tunnel," and I look down to see coins sparkling all down the path. Christian summons his flame again and does something to command it to snake down the pathway, to show a drop off with a bed of sharp points, and hundreds of coins below them. And bones too. Some people have obviously attempted to get to the coins below.
I turn to the second tunnel, "This one has 'beauty'..." I say uncertain. How can you get beauty from going down a tunnel?
Christian does the same thing with the fire snake, and we watch as it leads to a beautiful mirror, and the small sliver of fire turns into a brilliant, and stunning, white flame, then it suddenly gets sucked into the mirror. It gives you beauty, then the price is you yourself. We turn to the third one and breath in,
"'Fate'," we say together. I take a step forward but Christian stops me,
"Let me send the snake,"
I shake my head, "No...fate is fate. I feel I should go down this one."
Christian lets me to and I take a few small steps forward, then take larger and braver ones. Nothing seems out of the ordinary just yet. Suddenly, I see a drop off and use my dragon improved eyesight to see it falls who knows how far, but ahead, the tunnel continues on. I summon my ice power to create a thick layer of ice across the gap and walk across, continuing on the fate path.
It's weird now I think about if. I was literally walking on the path of fate. But I continue on through the darkness. Soon, I begin to see a flame flickering and see it is a torch. Held by an extremely weak and old looking person. He looks up, obviously not expecting me,
"W-Who are you?" He says weakly and I rush over to him with sympathy,
"My name is Arabelle...are you okay?"
He nods and passes me the torch, "You have passed stage one of fate, dragon heir. I waited a long time for you to come, and I am glad you did. I can finally rest in peace," then his body begins to turn to dust and he disappears. I swallow my fear and worry, but continue on, this time with a torch lighting my way.
'The torch of compassion; the light in your heart,' I hear a hushed whisper echo through the cave as I walk on, and my stride begins to become less brave. This is getting freaky. But I slowly creep onwards until I come across another elderly man,
"I knew you would come," he begins, then gives a toothless smile, "The dragon was right."
"Dragon?" I say and my heart gets hopeful, maybe he knows where Kaloua is!
"Yes, Arifion. He said that you would come, dragon heir. He promised us."
My heart sinks but I nod, "Why am I here? How long has my fate been set?"
"Since long before you were born, that is for certain. Arifion is long since dead and forgotten, is he not?"
I nod, "He is. Only I and few others know of his existence, or his remains in the caves before this."
The old man has a flicker of shock through his eyes, then remembrance, "Remains you think, but you are wrong. They are only there to deceive," he looks away and walks on through the tunnel, so I follow, "Many things were predicted by Arifion and others of his time. Salvidor believed in none of the prophesies so he never wrote them down to warn his decedents. But many dragon heirs have come from the Tiona line before you, though none succeed."
I nod and look to a painting he was pointing at, "Alexander Jack Tiona for example, dragon heir in the year 192, died fighting to reclaim is throne from King Alistair-"
"He was the first to tame a Storm dragon, wasn't he?"
The man nods, "He was indeed...in the history books. But really, I tend to think that the dragon tamed him..." He shows another picture of Alistair sitting on the storm dragon, Hunter. But the storm dragon almost seems to be overpowering the photo, like Alistair isn't meant to be there at all.
"You were chosen my Arifion though. He saw a rider of midnight hair and emeralds as eyes show herself to be worthy of an ice dragon, and win back the kingdom from the Dakotas. He saw his prophesies in visions, after all. You are this rider, Arabelle."
I widen my eyes, "You know my name?"
He nods, "Arifion's visions were extremely accurate. I can only show you some of your fate, Arabelle, and then show you to your dragons."
Excitement wells up in me. Soon Kaloua and I will be reunited again. I see the man standing beside a small, glowing lake of water. He signals for me to go in,
"I will leave you now, but you mustn't bathe with anything on. When you come back out, you will appear as though you are exiting the tunnel to where your advisor is standing. Then re-enter the tunnel to journey to where Kaloua awaits you."
I nod and soon, he also fades into dust. I take all my underwear off and move into the lake, finding it is actually very warm, like a bath. Soon, I reach chest deep water and steam surrounds me, pulling me into a vision...
I stand in the middle of a clearing, watching everything around me. People are fighting and dying, though all the faces are blurred so I can't tell who is who, aside from myself. Suddenly, I see myself facing a man with a sparkling crown n his head, so I know it can only be the king. Then someone jumps in front of him and I - well, other me, - begins to yell and scream at him, though I can't hear any of it.
Suddenly, I pull my sword at the person and cut them on the side, and I see pain flash through other me's face. It is obviously someone I know well. Could it be my mother? Or Christian? Or Evangelina? I don't know. But then it gives ,e a chance to kill the king and other me does it. The battle is won and my destiny to restore peace and being the Tiona's back to power is for-filled.
The vision fades around me and I find myself standing in the tunnel, and I walk out to see Christian. I look down and smile, thankful that I have clothes on. Christian is sitting there sadly, so I know I had been in there for a while. He looks up and jumps over to me, hugging me tight,
"Shit, Belle, you had me worried!"
I laugh and rub his back, "It's okay, I am fine."
He pulls away and stares me in the eye, "Did you find out your fate?"
"I saw part of it, but I don't think it will be as easy as it looked when the time comes," I say quietly, then turn to the tunnel again, "Come on, this is where Kaloua and Nadi will be."
Christian follows me back down the tunnel and it isn't anywhere near as long as before, because in less than a minute, we arrive in a large, well lit cave. I look around to see half the cave is cut off with a strong metal gate between myself and it.
And inside it lay Kaloua and Nadi.