Here is Chapter 54!

Tomorrow once I am finished editing, I will post the final Chapter (55). There will also be an epilogue that I will edit and post sometime in the week!

I hope you enjoy the Chapter,
Love Daisy x

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Chapter 54 | (Un)contained

*

'Let me die first,
or I will die
t w i c e.'

-Atticus

*

CIRCE

"You- "

Circe stared at the person standing in front of her, her face paling drastically. She glanced down at the hand that still held hers gently. Although it was more humanoid in its shape, it was, without a doubt, a dragon's claw. The white scales were smooth and soft, but the claws extended past the fingertip, sharpening into lightly curved points, that were too long and too sharp to be called nails.

Her gaze skimmed over his face once more. Now that she had recovered from her initial shock, she realised that this form was almost identical to Zalas's half-dragon form that he transformed into when he fought.

Her previous relief was rapidly disintegrating into dread. All she could think of  was Obsidian and Zarska. Was this what had happened here as well? Was Zalas destined to be lost forever, with only his brother inhabiting the shell that was left behind?

Noticing her gaze, Unabonan let her hand fall from his, retracting it rapidly with a light sneer of self-derision. When his upper lip curled, she saw curving fangs set in the place of incisors, and if she was not mistaken, a soft hiss of annoyance escaped his lips when he sighed.

I apologise, he thought to her, and she was shocked by the self-loathing present in his mental voice, this form is most undesirable.

She started as she realised; he had misinterpreted her silence as disgust. "No-" she said helplessly, "no, that's not why I-"

A sudden thought occurred to her and she turned to Airocei abruptly, remembering only now, her Aunt's words from earlier. The Queen had arrived beside her while she was otherwise occupied and now Airocei looked up at Unabonan with a sad, gentle smile on her face.

"Is this what you meant by 'needing time to recover?'" Circe asked sharply.

Airocei glanced at her, her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to catch Circe's train of thought. "If you are thinking of the scenario that occurred with your Pirate and his dragon, then no, not exactly-" she began, however, before she could continue, the doors to the throne room opened once more and an all too familiar voice swept into the room.

"Mother. I am sorry for the delay – has she arrived yet? I can go and fetch –"

Circe turned to meet a pair of opalescent eyes that were filled with worry.

Her expression collapsed in undisguised relief and she swore that she was going to get whiplash from all of these churning emotions.

"Zalas." Her throat felt thick and her eyes were hot as she called his name, her feet carrying her forwards before she had realised she was moving.

She hugged him tightly, confirming he was real and when she felt his hands hovering awkwardly around her as he tried to decide what to do, she resisted the urge to laugh. It was undoubtably Zalas this time.

Eventually, when she did not pull away, his hands fell onto her back as he returned the gesture tentatively. She felt his head drop as he rested his cheek briefly against her hair before he pulled away slightly to better see her face.

She suddenly felt a little vulnerable and slightly defensive. If he was going to tease her for her concern, she vowed to send him straight back to the brink of death.

To her surprise, he did nothing of the sort. Instead, he peered carefully into her slightly bashful face, and she held still – cautious as to what he was looking for. When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet and serious.

"I heard about what you did," he informed her, his pale eyes calm as he met her gaze, "I am proud of you – for choosing your own path."

Suddenly Circe's memories were rushed back to the moment when her and Zalas had stood together, high up in the turrets of the Water Kingdom palace, overlooking the bright festivities below, and Zalas had said to her then, that a Ruler's duty was to forever serve the people. That personal desires and individual aspirations would never be fulfilled, so long as they did not coincide with what was best for the Kingdom.

She had looked at him then, and many times again since that moment, and thought how lonely it must be, to shoulder such a burden. But she had never, truly imagined herself in the same position.

And now, as Zalas was staring at her with such a profound look of acknowledgement and respect, she could not help but wonder if he had wished a different path for her from the start. If his words, which had seemed like advice at the time – were actually meant as warning.

Before she could ask him however, the corner of his lips ticked up in a smirk and he straightened, his expression relaxing back into one she was more familiar with. Unfortunately.

"I heard that you were worried about me," he began smugly.

Circe turned back to Airocei, her expression blank except for a slight dusting of colour high on her cheeks. "So now that that's sorted," she said bluntly, "would you mind escorting me to see Obsidian?"

"Excuse me," Zalas said indignantly, "Don't you want to know what happened?"

"Do I really need to ask?" Circe said sourly, "I'm sure you're going to tell me anyway."

Her eyes flickered back to Unabonan however, as Zalas continued mutter angrily behind her – she did want to know what happened. She wasn't even sure of the extent of the damage done to Zalas, before they had decided on such drastic measures, but obviously it couldn't have been good.

"Well, I was on the brink of death," Zalas said, a little too arrogantly for Circe's liking.

Behind Airocei, Unabonan let out a quite snarl – a rumble that resonated throughout the room. It appeared Circe was not the only one unsettled by his complacent attitude.

Forget brink of death, Unabonan thought sourly, you were dead.

"I was not," Zalas retorted.

"Zalas," Airocei reprimanded firmly, "take care not to make light of your brother's sacrifice."

Zalas opened his mouth, but Circe cut across him quickly, her eyes on Unabonan. She was remembering a conversation they had had; upon which time she had asked if Unabonan was capable of transforming into a human – just as Zalas was able to inherit certain draconian features in order to enhance his physique.

At the time, the dragon had declined to give her a definitive answer, choosing only to scoff at the inconvenience and limitations of human form. Circe took his reply as something akin to: 'Why on earth would I want to be human, when I can be a dragon.'

And yet now here he was, looking more human than she had ever imagined – his resemblance to Zalas uncanny in its similarity. But then she supposed, they were practically twins after all.

"Why are you like this?" Circe asked, gesturing to Unabonan, "Can you change back?"

Unabonan gazed at her, his haughty face elegant and unreadable. He looked away, but his voice still resounded through her mind.

Sometimes, we must sacrifice the things we love, for the people we love.

The room was silent, and Circe felt her heart squeeze.

After a moment, Airocei broke the silence to offer a deeper explanation.

"During the battle with Zeus, I believe that both Zalas and Obsidian were gravely injured," Airocei's words were a little vague, as though she was omitting something, and Circe glanced suspiciously at Zalas. The Prince's face was perfectly blank however as he stared at his Mother, and Circe decided she would get the full explanation out of him later.

"Obsidian managed to use our Kingdom's pendant to salvage what was left of Zalas's soul before he died," Airocei continued, "I believe Zephyr has already informed you of this, but our Kingdom's pendant is unique. It has the ability to store life," Airocei's expression was solemn, "Obsidian pressed it directly into Zalas's chest. An ingenious move on his part."

Zalas rolled his eyes, "Fortunately someone was quick at thinking on his feet. I'll never live that one down," he muttered, but his tone was grudgingly respectful.

"However," Airocei continued, "our pendant is merely a vessel that stores life. It cannot bring people back from the dead. Zalas was caught in a half-between state, so to speak. The pendant was embedded within him, so although his body had faded, it was not a true death."

Listening to the recount, Circe suddenly felt a little overwhelmed. It really had been as bad as she had thought. If she had waited for them to return, if she had been there ... she should have stayed. She could have helped.

There was nothing you could have done, Vanima.

Circe looked up to see Unabonan staring at her. The dragon shifted slightly, his curtain of white hair swinging forward over his left shoulder, hands clasped behind his back.

To try to heal such a broken vessel, it is like pouring water into a bucket with a hole at the bottom. You would never be able to fill it.

"But you did," Circe disagreed. "I could have helped you."

Unabonan shook his head. Only because he and I share the same soul, was I able to act. I gave a portion of my life force to him. But the consequences mean that I am no longer powerful enough to maintain dragon shape. And so, I am reverted to this primitive form. The dragon's lip curled in disgust and behind her, Zalas laughed – but it was a forced laughter.

"Come now brother," the Prince uttered, "it is not so bad."

Unabonan's lip curled further and he bared his fangs in a hiss of displeasure. My face is flat, he thought, his mental tone dissatisfied, and my wings have been reverted to this ... miniscule form.

The dragon curved a shoulder by way of explanation, and Circe realised that what she originally thought was a white cloak – it's tie hidden by his hair – was actually a pair of opalescent wings, folded neatly against his back.

"Your soul?" Circe whispered, still staring at Unabonan in shock, "how is that even possible?"

This time it was not Unabonan who answered her, but Zalas.

"Oh, it is possible," Zalas swept back his hair behind him and deftly unfastened the top three buttons of his shirt, yanking his collar to the side, "just not without this."

Circe's eyes widened as she stared at the blood red gem that was embedded within Zalas chest, directly over his heart. The jewel was almost sinister in colour, and the paleness of Zalas's skin made for an even sharper contrast. The longer Circe looked, the more she felt as though the gemstone was pulsing, as though it were feeding off the body that surrounded it. She shuddered and looked up to meet Zalas's gaze.

The Prince was quiet as he studied her reaction. Upon meeting  her gaze, the corner of his lips twitched upwards. However, the smile did not reach his eyes. He tugged his shirt back into place roughly.

"So that is that" Zalas said, a little harshly, "I will just have to get used to living with an accessory." He fumbled slightly with his top button. "Unabonan had to receive instruction from Father of course. Such a feat is not achieved easily. And Father was not happy about the circumstances, but we managed to avoid any casualties." He shrugged, a little too nonchalantly for Circe's liking.

She could see that he was upset. She could see that it hadn't been as easy as he was making it out to be. The tension in the room was proof of that fact. Airocei had resorted to looking out the window, in order to hide her expression – but the stiff set of her shoulders spoke of the burden she had been carrying recently. And that wasn't even mentioning Aranel.

Circe also wasn't sure of the repercussions such an act would have on Unabonan and Zalas in the future. Air Sprites lived for a long time, and Dragons even longer, but Circe still felt that there was something that wasn't being said. And she didn't want to ask.

So instead, she smiled and tried to lift the mood out of the dark corner it had turned into. "Well," she smiled, "I am glad that you are alive."

Zalas huffed sent her an incredulous look. "Didn't anyone warn you against telling lies?"

She couldn't help but laugh. "Is it so hard to believe that I am genuinely relieved you're alive?" She had thought the words would be harder to say, but they fell easily from her lips and she did not think twice before continuing. "And Unabonan, you are not disgusting in that form, you are very handsome. Much better looking than Zalas," she praised, her smile wide.

Zalas scoffed in outrage as Airocei laughed, the Queen turning back around to join them. Circe was relieved to see that she was smiling. .

"Excuse me," he retorted stonily, "I am an original. Never to be surpassed."

Unabonan had cocked his head to the side as he received her flattery with a cool façade. When he spoke however, his internal voice was smug.

Well, I suppose I do still surpass his more mortal form in many ways.

"Yes, of course," Circe said sincerely, "and your wings are truly beautiful," she coaxed, "Zalas doesn't have wings."

You speak the truth, Unabonan pondered, his mental voice growing more self-satisfied by the minute. And my tail is longer. And you see, he curled his top lip up, revealing his dagger like canines, my teeth are sharper.

"Truly, still as magnificent as you were before," Circe said solemnly as she tried to supress her smile, "if not more."

Zalas pointed an accusing finger at her, "You," he hissed, "don't think I don't see what you are doing."

Circe smiled sweetly, "I don't know what you are referring to," she said.

After all, it was common knowledge to everyone, that dragons were weak for flattery. Common knowledge to everyone except the dragons themselves it seemed, as no one was actually brave enough to point it out to them.

And although she had never uttered any words of false praise, Circe still could not help but find this particular characteristic so incredibly endearing. And as she was always in the presence of Anthemin, as well as another ... well, beast, Circe had become particularly adept at indulging draconian egos.

Zalas's expression was outraged, "You can't just go around coercing people with such blatant obsequiousness," he spat out with an ugly expression, "that's cheating."

Circe's smile was so sweet enough to rot teeth. "I don't know what that word means," she said smartly, "but I'm sure you're not implying that my observations of Unabonan are false. Especially not since he has sacrificed so much for you."

Zalas's opalescent eyes narrowed and he held his tongue. She had him there.

"I would still like to know," Circe said quickly before the conversation strayed further off topic, "how you even ended up in such a dire situation to begin with. I thought that you were the almighty 'Dragon Prince," she teased. She was only able to take such a light tone due to the fact that he was standing in front of her now and she had been assured – however temporarily – that  everything was fine.

Zalas opened his mouth with a nasty look on his face, but before he could speak, Airocei cut in.

"I am sure," the woman said with a smile, "that we could fill you in on our way down to Obsidian's ... quarters. You must be eager to see him, and we have held you long enough."

"Oh yes," Zalas's ire had suddenly dissipated and his eyes gleamed delightedly, "I haven't had a chance to see it for myself yet."

"You are not coming," Circe said brusquely, "you're awful."

"I can do what I want," Zalas shot back, "he owes me."

"What's that supposed to mean," Circe said suspiciously.

Zalas suddenly became a little cagey, folding his arms across his chest firmly. "Never you mind," he said, pearl eyes flashing, "I'm coming with you."

Circe sent him a disbelieving look. "Since when," she said through gritted teeth, glaring darkly up at him as she moved to block his path to the door, "have you and Obsidian ever been friendly enough to have secrets between you. Confess. Now."

*

"You did what?!"

Her words rung through the diamond halls as she stopped in her tracks, staring at Zalas in horror. Her gaze fell down to land on his foot which currently looked exactly the same as the other one, although hidden by a shoe.

"Shut up," Zalas grumbled under his breath, walking ahead. She hadn't noticed it before because he hid it well, but he was in-fact limping lightly – although his back was straight and prideful as ever. "This is why I didn't want to tell you."

She hurried after him, "But your foot ..." she faltered.

He sneered. "Prosthetic's in the human world might be lacking, but I assure you that my Kingdom is not." He paused for a moment to tug the leg of his trousers, lifting the hem so that she could see a shine of something metallic and gold in the place of where his ankle should have been. "It's still healing," he added, "but I will get used to it."

"But still," she frowned unhappily.

Zalas glanced at her and snorted ungracefully, "You are a true Princess," he said, "you would have us win wars without sacrificing anything."

"Only because I know what sacrifice feels like first-hand," she shot back with a glare.

"Then you should be grateful that I all I lost was my foot," Zalas replied smartly, "and that your precious fiancée still has his life."

Circe stared at him, mortified. "How do you know about that?" She hissed incredulously.

Zalas smirked, "Didn't you even wonder what Obsidian did to deserve locking up in the first place?"

"My Father just said they had a 'clash of opinions'," Circe said, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.

Zalas let out a bark of laughter, "A clash of opinions is putting it lightly," he grinned wolfishly, his sharp incisors showing, "I believe your Pirate asked Zephyr to go and sort out his 'relationship issues' in the Water Kingdom, so that you would be free to marry him."

Circe's face drained of colour as she stared at Zalas in horror, but the Prince wasn't finished. "Apparently, he then continued to say that if Zephyr did not go to help, he would go himself and take you by force." Zalas laughed, "According to my Mother, he did not forget to leave out the fact that he was not asking for anyone's permission – least of all, Zephyr's permission to marry you."

"I can't believe it," Circe groaned, beside herself with shame.

"Can't you?" Zalas laughed, "I can, it certainly seems like something he would do. And it's not as though he was wrong – you don't need anyone's permission to marry. But he probably didn't need to rub it in Zephyr's face. My Uncle may seem like a philanthropist, but he is secretly just as petty as the rest of us."

"You don't say," Circe said drily, her mood calming somewhat. "Although, I am surprised that my Father succeeded in locking him up at all."

Zalas's expression became bemused. "Yes, well," he said perfunctorily, "there isn't much use in fighting the God of the West Wind. You can ready yourself for battle, but somehow you blink and then suddenly you're in a completely different location than you were a second earlier. Mother said that Zephyr was actually a little less forgiving that usual, so I doubt your Pirate knew what hit him before he ended up in a cell with the door locked behind him. He will be fine though," Zalas chuckled, "it's probably best in fact. He was pretty beat up when I saw him last. The break will serve him well."

Circe rolled her eyes, "says you," she retorted.

Zalas sniffed, "My healing rate is superior to his."

"I highly doubt, at this point, anything about you is superior to him," Circe replied scathingly.

"Everything about me, will always be superior to him," Zalas said firmly.

"Including your egotistical attitude, I suppose?"

Zalas glared at her. "I don't know how you still have the face to insult me. You should be feeling nothing but gratefulness," he snapped irately, "after all, it is because of me that you even still have a fiancée to be worried about. So, I believe you should be thanking me." 

She could not refute that and fell silent for a moment as she squashed the retort that danced on the tip of her tongue. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him glance at her a little worriedly. He was concerned that he had gone too far.

She let him squirm for a second longer before catching his sleeve and giving it a tug. "Thankyou," she said quietly, waiting a beat before glancing up at him. It was just one word, but she uttered it with absolute sincerity, her voice fervent and heartfelt.

She could only imagine the thoughts that would have gone through his mind at the time – for him to make such a choice as to knowledgably sacrifice his own life.

And he was right. She was embarrassed to realise that she had yet to thank him.

"Thank-you," she repeated again, feeling that once just wasn't enough.

For a moment, Zalas's expression was blank as he stared down at her. Eventually, he tugged his sleeve from her grip and used that hand to cover the bottom half of his face as he turned his head away from her.

"Don't mention it," he said curtly, his voice muffled through his fingers, "ever."

She smiled lightly as she watched him storm off down the hallway. Behind her, Airocei and Unabonan had caught up and Airocei gave her a light pat on the shoulder as she passed.

Her Aunt moved forward to keep pace with Zalas, linking her arm through her son's and resting her head on his shoulder as they walked. Circe saw Zalas stiffen at the contact and then relax as he realised it was only his Mother. His head leant towards her slightly and Circe could tell he was speaking to her.

Her Majesty does not seem it, but she is still fragile emotionally.

Unabonan's voice swept through Circe's mind and she turned to him, still unused to pairing his voice with his current form.

"That's understandable," she said softly, glancing back to the pair again. She remembered how Airocei had turned away from them, back in the room. To lose a child to betrayal, and then to almost lose another – Circe could not imagine.

Unabonan's white eyes stared down at her and Circe felt the intensity of his gaze. She resisted the urge to shiver, at least one thing had not changed. He might look moderately more human, but there was no doubt that the presence beside her was that of a dragon. Despite his easy acceptance of her flattery back in the throne room, Unabonan was not happy, and she was fairly sure she knew the reason why.

"You are unhappy," she acknowledged, "because you feel that Zalas's sacrifice was an unnecessary risk that he should not have had to take."

Unabonan looked away from her, to the back of his brother down the long hall. He began to walk again, and Circe kept pace with him amiably. There was a moment of silence before he spoke again.

My brother is the most important existence, not just to myself – but to our entire Kingdom. I told you once, that he was revered as nothing less than a deity by our people. Deity's, cannot afford to die for the sake of one insignificant Pirate.

Circe ignored the sting that came with the word 'insignificant'. She knew Unabonan's meaning, and the weight behind his words. She might be able to afford the luxury of being selfish, now that she had been relieved of her Royal obligations – but the one beside her, and the two that walked ahead, were bound to the throne and the throne alone. And Zalas had not been thinking about that when he stepped in front of Zeus Gold's sword and saved Obsidian's life. This was the point that Unabonan was making.

She would not be so petty as to belittle that. "I am sorry," she said instead, "for causing you to worry."

There is no need for you to apologise, Vanima, came the dragon's steady reply. In this situation, there is no one person who shoulders the blame. But mark my words, Unabonan glanced sideways at her his gaze severe, this will not happen again. I will not allow Zalas to act as rashly as he has done recently, from this moment forwards.

Circe could hear the undercurrent of warning in his tone – he was letting her know that they were done. That there would be no more joint ventures, or battles, or clashes for vengeance. That it ended here. And she knew that the one Unabonan was telling this to, was not really her, it was Obsidian. But he was trusting her to relay this to him. To make it clear – whatever feelings remained were irrelevant. The debts between Zalas and Obsidian had been settled for good this time.

And Circe had to admit, she agreed.

"I understand," she said calmly, sending Unabonan a small, reassuring smile, "I will make sure to pass it along."

Unabonan huffed, turning to look ahead once more as a coil of smoke curled out of his nostrils and dissipated into the air. Unspeaking, he held out his elbow for her to take and she hooked herself comfortably into his arm, his smooth scales cool against her skin.

"And you?" She asked, after a moment, "Will you ever be able to achieve your dragon form again?"

Unabonan's reply was firm, but she did not miss the incomparable sense of grief that was hidden beneath the single word.

No.

*

Circe had never been this deep into the Palace before.

They had begun to travel downwards at some point, a spiralling staircase carrying them further in the bowels of the Palace – but the light did not diminish with their descent. Instead, it became slightly more faded, as though someone had placed a golden vignette over the scene.

The staircase flattened out somewhat, and Unabonan led her down the final step, following Zalas and Airocei into an open hall.

They walked a few steps more and then a door was opened for them by a solider and they crossed over the threshold to the space beyond. Behind them, the door clicked closed and at the same time, the hairs on the back of Circe's neck prickled.

Silence.

That was what was beyond the door.

But not the kind of silence that encompassed the rest of the crystal palace. This silence was suffocating.

Circe inhaled softly and tried to dispel the jitters that had emerged from nowhere.  The hallway before her was flooded with the same tinted light she had come to notice earlier, and high above, small rectangular windows indicated the source.

We are here. Even Unabonan's voice seemed quieter in her mind. Her fingers curled a little more tightly around his arm.

There was a sort of dust, hanging in the air around her, and she raised her free hand hesitatingly, letting it settle on her skin. It glittered in the faded orange light that enveloped them, and she realised that it was diamond dust, falling down from the ceiling above. It collected on the floor beneath her feet and her footsteps were muffled as she stepped through it, like she was walking on a thin layer of snow.

These cells are at the very bottom floor of the Palace, Unabonan informed her. The diamond palaces of the Air Kingdom float on the clouds, they are constantly moving. The slight movement means that the crystal walls are constantly shifting and rubbing against each other. The dust from this shift travels down through the palace and collects here.

Circe nodded slowly. Her gaze flickered to Zalas, who still walked slightly ahead of them and showed no sign of slowing down. Ahead of Zalas, the hallway that she could see seemed to stretch on endlessly.

Her anticipation was building to an almost impossible level now and she fidgeted a little as her eyes jumped to the side, taking in the cells that they were now walking past.

She did not know when the diamond walls have given way to bars, but the transition had been seamless, probably because the bars were made from the same gemstone as the rest of this glittering place. She could not help but peer into them, although her curiosity was to remain unsatiated.

In stark contrast to the rest of the space around them, the cells were illuminated to about two feet beyond the bars, before suddenly fading off into an unnatural darkness that Circe could not see into, no matter how long she stared.

"Are there prisoners in there?" She couldn't help but ask, her voice a soft whisper.

Unabonan glanced down at her and then to the cells they were passing. She could not read his expression as he looked forwards again, his answer vague.

Sometimes.

The eerie quiet permeated the air around her and her mouth suddenly felt a little dry. She pulled her gaze away from the utter blackness of the cells and tried to dispel the feeling that she was being watched by countless eyes concealed within the gloom.

The endless hallway in front of them finally curved to the side and Circe was thankful when the cells seemed to end as well, the walls on either side of her becoming solid once more.

Airocei and Zalas had halted to wait for them and Airocei took in Circe's strained expression with a smile.

"You do not need to be worried, my dear," she said comfortingly, "Zephyr placed your Pirate in a more accommodating location I believe. He should be just through here," she gestured to another door in front of them.

Circe realised that Airocei had assumed she was concerned that Obsidian would have been confined to one of the cells they had just walked past. The thought had indeed occurred to her, but she had reassured herself that her Father would not have been so cruel.

Beside his Mother, Zalas's eyes were sparkling mischievously. "This is where we used to keep our high-ranking prisoners of war," he chuckled. He seemed to be enjoying this far too much and Circe glowered at him.

Airocei hushed him quietly and turned to the door. She extended her hands and performed a series of short, complex gestures. A gust of wind blew through the air around them and whistled through the crack in the door. From within the door, a heavy clunking and grating sound echoed. The noise was continuous – as though the entire inside of the door was being rearranged.

It is an air lock, Unabonan explained, noticing Circe's look of confusion at the noise. Inside the door is a maze of locks that can only be shifted with high level air pressure. As all of the prisoners imprisoned down here have had their magic stripped, it is a fail-safe form of confinement.

Couldn't any Air Sprite open the door then? Circe wondered uncertainly. In front of them, the locks within the door were still clicking continuously.

Only an Air Sprite that knows the lock code within the door can control the correct lock formation, Unabonan replied. If the air pressure is directed wrongly, the locks within the door drop into incorrect slots, sealing the door even more firmly.

As he finished speaking, the unravelling air lock seemed to reach completion also and the door fell silent.

"Let us go," Airocei said, opening the door without further ado, "I am sure your Pirate is getting impatient."

The four of them stepped inside and a strong gust of air swept through Circe's hair. She thought it strange, but her impatience had reached breaking point and so instead of wondering over small details, she scanned the circular room anxiously, searching for him. Searching.

She thought she would have heard him before she saw him, but as she cast an eye over each cell – vaguely noticing that the size and furnishings were a generous upgrade from the ones she had seen earlier – and she did not hear him call to her, her unease began to grow.

"He should be in the one to the left," Airocei was saying, and before she had even finished, Circe was darting over to the cell she was pointing to, her fingers curling around the bars.

It took all of one look to realise what was wrong.

She stared, aghast at the massive hole in the floor of the cell, the one that had been invisible from the angle where she had been standing upon entering the room and felt Zalas come up behind her.

The Prince took a moment to absorb the scene and snorted in disgust. "Well," he drawled lazily, sounding far too unconcerned for Circe's liking, "he never makes things easy, does he?"

The hole in the floor was  wide and round, and the wind from outside whipped through Circe's hair. Below the hole, Circe could see only blue sky and clouds and she realised then, that the main source of light for the prison, was in-fact coming up through the floor, which was why it was slightly dimmer.

Unabonan really had been speaking literally when he told her that the Prison was at the bottom of the castle.

Airocei appeared beside Circe, staring bemusedly at the gaping hole in the floor. "Well, this place wasn't created to keep dragons imprisoned after all," she said blithely.

Circe stared at her in shock and after a moment realised what she meant. Dragon's were the creatures that had carved out the diamond city in the first place. The entire Dragon Kingdom was encased within walls of diamond, that only dragon fire was capable of burning through.

She looked with blank eyes at the perfectly, circular hole that had been burned through the glittering crystal and felt like her heart was splitting into two. She had come all this way, and now he wasn't here. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry at how close they must have come to each other. If only he had stayed put.

A hand fell down on her shoulder, and she looked back to find Zalas staring down at her. When she met his eyes, he offered her a small smile.

"Don't worry too much Princess," Zalas said lightly, "even if he has left to the Water Kingdom, he will figure it out soon enough."

She looked at him desperately, unable to speak the words on the tip of her tongue. Didn't he understand? She felt like she was dying. She couldn't possibly wait. She couldn't wait even a second longer.

You don't even need to think that far, Unabonan interrupted.

Circe's gaze swung to settle on the dragon's face. His opalescent eyes were looking off into the distance, somewhere Circe couldn't see. She watched as his pupils thinned into slits, before widening out again. He looked at her sharply.

He is still within the Kingdom; I can feel him. If you hurry, you can catch him before he leaves. 

*

OBSIDIAN

Outside of the Palace, high in the cloudscape, a dark figure sat perched on the peak of one of the many diamond mountains that surrounded the glittering Kingdom below.

The sun radiating through the clouds behind, casting his already shadowed silhouette into further obscurity as he surveyed the towering palace peaks with a hawk like gaze. He shifted slightly, and the black wings that lay on his back like a cloak shifted too, rising, and falling leisurely as he settled.

Within his hands, he held a delicate, yet impossibly perfect, pair of rings. He held them up to the sun now, studying them carefully under the dazzling light.

It had taken him a full two days to carve both. One day of searching for the most flawless piece of the clear gemstone he could find, and another to fashion two rings from the selection of stone he had found.

He had burned a hole deep into the mountain he was currently sitting on, searching for a piece of diamond that had never been exposed to the harsh sunlight that surrounded him. Perhaps another might have told him it did not matter – that all diamond was the same, and perhaps Obsidian might have burned that person and their crappy opinion to ashes.

How could it not matter? How could go to his Princess with anything less than perfection?

He studied the pair of rings with a critical eye. The band had been simple enough, but it had taken him a few attempts to get the shape of the center stone right for the engagement ring. Fortunately, there was a ridiculous abundance of material to work with.

(Behind him, the mountain that was now missing a third of its original mass, quietly disagreed with that statement.)

As for the size ... Obsidian traced the curved edge of the ring with his thumb. Would he even deserve to ask for her hand if he could not imagine the exact shape and size of her fingers as they slotted perfectly in-between his own?

The sun glinted off the rings, illuminating his golden eyes. Outwardly, he appeared to be calm, yet his languid façade was betrayed by the raging in his heart that urged him to go to her, as quickly as possible.

Zephyr would be there by now, he was sure. That old man was more cunning than Obsidian had given him credit for. His eyes narrowed. One moment, he had been standing in the room, stating his intentions. The next, he had been in a cell, deep inside the Palace.

It had taken him longer than he liked to admit, to figure out how he could break out of the diamond cage the Air Sprite had locked him in. Initially, after his rage at being confined had first subsided, he had thought the feat impossible.

He knew that there was no real malice behind Zephyr's actions, otherwise he might have been more desperate to escape - however, the thought of waiting for Circe to come and free him had not sat well with him.

It wasn't until the fourth day, when his patience was starting to wear thin, that he tried again – this time testing to see if his part-dragon form would have any better success than his previous attempt.

It had been purely accidental, that he had noticed the scorch marks left behind by his dragon fire, and the slight texturizing of the previously smooth diamond floor when his claws had raged across it.

As soon as he had figured it out however, it did not take him long from there.

Once he was free, he had made a beeline for the surrounding crystal mountains in order to gather his thoughts out in the open air and form a plan.

He had assumed that Zephyr planned to follow through on the favour Obsidian had asked of him – he highly doubted that the Air Sprite would be the type to watch his daughter throw her life away for something that made her unhappy.

And so, if this assumption was correct, then there would be no rush. He would give Circe the space she needed to sort this out, and then he would go and get her as she had requested of him. It was then he had thought to make the rings, so that he could ensure the promise he had made to her back on the ship could be fulfilled at the earliest possible date.

This task had kept him occupied for a  couple of days, as he brazenly flew here and there within the Air Kingdom, caring little about concealing himself. It didn't really matter – as technically he hadn't broken any rules – but no guards had come for him anyway, and he guessed (correctly) that they hadn't even been alerted by his escape. Too occupied with the fate of their Prince, he had supposed, (again, correctly.)

But now it was becoming difficult to remain patient.

He shifted to lie on his front, chin resting in one hand as his gaze remained fixated on the Palace below. His reptilian wings lifted into the air and he felt the wind rise underneath the thin membrane, as though urging him to take flight.

He could wait another half a day, he mused thoughtfully, and then it wouldn't take him long to fly there. Perhaps a day and a half at the most?

His golden eyes washed over two rings that he held in one hand and a strong desire to possess welled in his chest. No. He could not wait any longer. He wanted her now.

He slowly climbed to his feet, stretching languidly as he yawned, brushing the hair from his eyes. His wings extended out on either side of him as he stretched them too, anticipating the long flight ahead.

He carefully slipped one ring onto each of his little fingers, where they sat just above his second knuckle bone. He would have to remain in his half-dragon form as he flew, there was no other way to carry them. That would slow his speed slightly, he guessed. Perhaps it would take him two days.

His golden eyes settled on the waterfall in the distance. Time did not matter in the long run, he told himself. When he was finally with her again, he would have her for eternity.

*