"Thank you... Anastasia correct?" the Dragonslayer said as he gingerly took the warm wooden bowl from the woman's hands.

Anastasia nodded, taking a step away from the bars and watching as the man retreated to his table at the back of his cell. He took the wooden spoon in his hand and scooped a spoonful of heated soup into his mouth. A grunt of surprise left him as taste buds exploded. Well-seasoned, well-cooked. He slowly took another scoop before sitting back and sighing out his appreciation.

"Thought you could do with something more than bread and burnt steak," Anastasia gave a grim smile.

"Best meal I had in ages," he replied to her, gratefully taking another sip as he glanced at her.

As far as he could tell, she was an older woman, between forty and fifty years old and several years his senior he guessed. There were smiling wrinkles along her cheeks and tired bags under her eyes. The glittering ruby dress she wore highlighted her kind hazel eyes pulled attention away from the grey streaks beginning to appear in her hair.

He turned his gaze back to his soup, continuing the slow process of eating his meal while he looked at the grizzled, scarred, and calloused hands that were his. He could feel the unkept corners of his bushy beard touch spoon with each scoop and feel the roughly torn garments he wore stretch uneasily with every movement. His brown hair fell down his shoulders, tangled and greasy, and his bare feet were dry and cracked.

"I'm sorry you are still trapped in here," Anastasia eventually said, "It's no way to treat someone."

The Dragonslayer shrugged as he took another spoonful, "I tried to kill your queen. Attempted murder deserves its reasonable punishment."

"Still... You're not a bad man."

The man raised his eyebrow at her, not offering a response.

Anastasia sighed, leaning against the bars of the cage, "Ember said she visited you the other day."

The Dragonslayer let out a surprised grunt, "You are close with Ember?"

"I raised her."

"Ah... so you are the human Athaer chose," the Dragonslayer sat back with renewed interest in the woman who had brought him food.

"Yes."

"And does what I said to Ember concern you?"

"It does."

"Why is that?"

"Because she believes it."

"She does? Does she?"

"Well at the very least she thinks it might be true."

"And do you believe what I said? What I've been saying all along?"

"I don't believe Athaer deserves to die."

The Dragonslayer nodded his head in soft agreement, "Deserving to die... and needing to die are two very different things."

Anastasia sighed softly, "Look... you didn't know Athaer before... before she lost her son. She was a caring dragon. Ruthless... yes, even violent at times. What dragon isn't? But she was... a good ruler. She has good in her. This war... it was started for what Athaer believed to be a good reason. An understandable one."

"A reason that was taken care of years ago," the Dragonslayer responded evenly, "Look, I do not doubt what you are saying. But it doesn't matter. You know Athaer well. You know how far she will go to achieve victory... don't you. How far she will go to achieve her goal."

"I don't think she will destroy the world."

The Dragonslayer nodded, leaning down, and taking a sip of the soup, "That remains to be seen."

"Look, you know Athaer doesn't want to keep you here right. The only reason she is, is because she fears you will try and kill her again."

"Then she is right to do so."

"So, if freed, you will try to kill her again?"

"I will."

Anastasia narrowed her eyes at him, "You know... I used to look up to you. Many people still do. Because you fought for us. You fought for humanity. The thing is... Athaer has done the same thing. She has made our lives so much better than any dragon king or queen before her."

"I know. But that scarcely matters if she kills everything in the process."

"She's not going to... aargh," Anastasia took several steps back, clenching her fists in frustration, "I guess you will –"

Her voice was cut off as an ominous and familiar presence flooded the opposite side of the room. The bonfire in the centre burned brighter as glittering red scales appeared from behind them. A fire dragoness, whose scales glowed like rubies and eyes held the fury of the sun. The Dragonslayer slowly lay his spoon back in the bowl, finding a rather uncomfortable tingle run through his back as the fire queen approached his prison.

There was something off about her, like some deep fury had been ignited with the depths of her soul. At the very least an anger that was deeper than what it had been before. His eyes widened as the left side of her snout was revealed. A long, angry red scar ran up the queen's maw, and cheek. It cut over the corner of her mouth, leaving the corner open to reveal the sharp rear teeth of her mouth. It cut diagonally upward, narrowly missing her eye and ending at the top of her head, where her left horn had been snapped in two. It was like boiling ulcers had drawn a line up her head... as though she had been cut and then the wound burned shut.

"A... Athaer, your majesty! You're back," Anastasia said a little hesitantly, and then she saw the wound, "Oh my... are you alright?"

Athaer's fiery eyes fell on Anastasia, "What are you doing here?"

"I... I wanted to talk with The Dragonslayer... convince him that his mission is not what he thinks it is."

"You'd be better trying to break a wall with your head," growled the dragon, the weight of her gaze turning toward the Dragonslayer.

"It seems so..."

"Now, if you would please leave us, I have some business to discuss with the prisoner," Athaer said almost sharply.

Anastasia hesitated, before giving a quick bow of her head and leaving the cavern. The Dragonslayer watched the human woman go, finding an anxious thought to run through his head. Had the fire queen finally decided to end him? The wound on her head looked close to life-threatening, and it didn't look like she had found a life dragon in time before having to seal it shut with her own flames. Perhaps such a close call had made her decide that having another threat to her life within her castle was more risk than she was willing to take. That being said, unless taken by surprise, he didn't think anything could injure the dragoness.

"She looks up to you, you know," the Dragonslayer said evenly.

"Most do," snorted the queen with derision, sitting on her haunches in front of the bars, "Anyone with some intelligence anyway."

The man kept his body relaxed as he studied the queen. This was a different dragon than the one he had spoken to a year ago. Behind her anger, her frustration, was a hint of fear. It only made the Dragonslayer even warier.

"What happened?" he asked with the same even tone.

"It's none of your concern. Your only concern is answering my question," she got to her feet, taking several paces along the bars.

The Dragonslayer watched her carefully but didn't respond.

Athaer stopped, before turning to look at him once more, "Where did you find your element stones, Slayer?"

Inside the man's heart skipped a beat as a cold tingle went down his back, "Why do you wish to know?"

"I told you, that is none of your concern," the queen spoke with an angry rumble.

"It feels like it might be."

"Don't assume anything, Slayer. Now tell me, where... are... the element stones!" she finished with a near roar, flames flickering over scales.

The Dragonslayer flinched a little as he felt his skin begin to burn slightly under the heat of the fire queen. Still, he held his ground, keeping his posture relaxed and his breaths calm. Inside his mind moved rapidly. The queen was scared. For the first time... in a long time, she was scared. That was as obvious as the colour red in fire. The wound had been caused by something that nearly killed her. She wanted more element stones. More power... more than what she already had. He leaned forward, clasping his hands, and placing his elbows on the table.

"There is another dragon like you... isn't there?" he said softly.

The queen glared at him.

"And the mines you have for the element stones... they've run dry haven't they?"

She snarled.

"And you're scared. You're terrified. Because for the first time... you feel threatened by another. Another mortal being with the same power as you... and you lost to them. Am I right?"

"If you don't tell me where the element stones are I will scour the skin from your bones with searing fire!" she screamed, the flames around her body causing the sand at her feet to turn red.

The Dragonslayer continued talking, "Judging from the wound on your head... I would say one of the physical species, but water and wind wouldn't cause wounds like that. Maybe acid... but it would be a wider area of effect... and it's too jagged a wound for crystal and metal. So, earth, am I right?"

A fist of fire slammed into the wall beside him, incinerating half the wooden table. The man instinctually rolled to the right, letting out a gasp as the bare flesh on his right side was seared by the mere presence of the flames. His cheek turned red, sear marks appeared all along his arm and through the holes in the right side of his clothes.

"Don't test me," snarled the queen, "I am in no mood for your stubbornness and difficulty. You will tell me where the stones are, or you will die."

The Dragonslayer lay where he had thrown himself, his eyes closed as he tried to fight the pain flooding his body. His breaths came in ragged gasps, his body heaving desperately for air that was dry and hot. Despite this, he allowed himself a laugh. A gagged, coughing laugh that sounded more like he was choking on his soup.

"If you think I fear death you have not learned one thing about me... Your majesty."

Suddenly, a burning coil lashed onto his ankle, causing him to let out a cry of pain as he was flipped onto his back.

"Death... maybe not. But everyone has a breaking point, Slayer. And I will push you until you tell me what I want to know," Athaer's growl exploded from her.

"You think... pain... has any more consequence... than death?" the Dragonslayer spoke, heaving, "You think... I wouldn't sacrifice my body for the safety of the world...?"

The coiling tentacle of flames began to move up his leg, searing his flesh. He gritted his teeth, closing his tear-filled eyes as he tried to crawl away from the fire. The water running down his face boiled and evaporated before it even reach halfway down his cheek. Everything in him screamed for the pain to stop, but he didn't care. With another dragon like Athaer in the world... and herself being as powerful as she was... giving her access to even more would certainly mean the end of everything. He hoped his body would just give in to shock and kill itself rather than tell her anything.

More flaming coils lashed onto his arms and other leg, causing him to cry out as they crawled slowly over him. The flames lifted him up, slamming his back into the stone wall. His vision flickered black... and he hoped to receive the sweet release of unconsciousness, but the slow searing burn kept him acutely aware of what was happening to him. He began to cry out. A ragged scream broke his throat as he thrashed his arms, trying to break free of his burning bonds.

"Tell me!" Athaer's growl echoed through his head.

"...NO!" he gasped out.

A burning tentacle began to wrap around his stomach. His fabric clothes were turned to ash with each movement of the fire. It was like his blood was boiling as more fire wrapped around his stomach and began to rise toward his chest... then his shoulders. He only saw red, and every fibre of his being wanted him to scream out the answer. But he couldn't betray the world like that. A flaming tentacle wrapped around his throat, turning his cries into a gurgle as his throat was seared. He couldn't breathe. His surroundings seemed to be falling back into a dark void. The crackling of fire sounded like a distant memory.

Then suddenly it stopped. The flames disappeared, though the pain still felt like a constant bounding to his entire body. He staggered, falling forward into the sand, groaning. A frustrated hiss sounded from the queen, her claws kicking up sand as she paced back and forth in front of his cage. The Dragonslayer didn't move, wanting unconsciousness to fill him. Just so he wouldn't have to feel anything again. The wounds he had been given would likely kill him. For some reason... the thought was a welcoming one.

"Damn you, Slayer... damn you!" roared the queen.

She turned and began to stalk out of the room. But her footfalls halted. Like a thought suddenly hit her. Through hazy eyes, the Dragonslayer saw her turn around and walk slowly back toward him. There was a triumphant grin in her eye that caused his already rapidly beating heart to worry even more.

"You know, Dragonslayer, you are one of the strongest beings I've ever met. Maybe not physically, but mentally. You could really suffer anything the world throws at you," she lowered her head, so her gleaming ruby snout was in his vision, as well as her flashing teeth as she spoke, "Any pain, any hurt. You would shoulder it all and still walk through it... if you could. But that strength has to come from somewhere, doesn't it? It has to have a source."

"You... won't get anything... from me," the Dragonslayer murmured, closing his eyes, and trying to fall into the approaching unconsciousness.

A flicker of fire touched his cheek, blistering him into reality once again, "No, you are not going anywhere Slayer, you are going to tell me where the stones are."

"Screw... you... dragon," he murmured.

"Or... I will fly over to that human city... what's it called... Refuge? The one in the mountain range between the water nation and the mind nation right?"

The Dragonslayer didn't answer, though felt the cold fear tingle down his back again.

"And I will burn it to the ground," the fire queen continued with a savage snarl, "The so-called 'safe space' that you have been keeping for humanity... it will be their final resting place. Those few that survive... I will fly them back here... and make you watch as they are burned."

"You... wouldn't," he murmured, "Even you... wouldn't go that far."

"Do you really want me to test me, Slayer? I am willing to do anything for my rightful victory. I have already destroyed nations. What is one more?"

"You don't need more power!" the Dragonslayer begged her, finding strength in his desperation, "You already have far too much!"

"Not enough to win this war! And if you are the one thing standing in my way... then I will do whatever is necessary to break you down."

"Please," the Dragonslayer closed his eyes, "Please give this up, Athaer... please..."

The queen only rumbled in disdain, "Is that your answer Slayer? Speak carefully, as your words will decide the fate of humanity's last free city."

The man let out a shuddering breath, closing his eyes, "the stones... they were on Rift Island. Off the coast of the water nation."

Athaer grunted, "Thank you. And don't worry, I won't let you die. I need to make sure you are telling the truth after all."

With that, she turned and began to walk away from the burned form of the Dragonslayer, who lay numb against the ground, the pain replaced by nothing.

"Athaer," he whispered just loud enough for her to hear, "You have truly become the villain."

She hesitated a moment, glancing back at him. She shook her head with a snort, flicking her tail and marching out of the room.

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Hey guys! So... this was a rather intense one to write. It's one I've been waiting to write for a while, and I hope I did it well. Let me know what you all think. What do you think of Athaer's steady descent? And I hope I'm not being too repetitive with the dragon slayer in what he is saying. Let me know XD The next story will be Mind's Final Stand. It's shaping up to be quite a busy week next week, so if it isn't done, I apologise. Otherwise, I'll see you when the next one is done.

See Ya!

Pennator^^