A/N: Hello everybody! This is my first Spyro story and focused attempt at writing something decent. If you see anything wrong, no matter how petty, please tell me! I hope to improve!

I'll warn you now, the story does start off a bit slowly but I promise that there will be lots of action in the future.

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to The Legend Of Spyro series. I do, however, lay claim to any OCs that appear in the story.

The end of war signals a new age.

An age of peace

Friendship

Family

And Love.

But just because the war is over,

Does not mean evil no longer exists.

The Curtailed Age of Peace

Chapter 1 — Silly Antics And Love At Last

"Well young dragon, where might you be?" Ignitus, the newly appointed Chronicler, contemplated aloud. Though he knew Spyro was alive, he still felt a bit of worry for the young dragon. After all, he had been Spyro's mentor and had a close relationship with him — a father-son bond almost — so naturally he would be concerned.

'More like a grandfather-grandson bond' Ignitus thought with a mixture of mirth and sadness. It was no secret that he was a dragon long past his prime, the oldest of the four guardians. That was one of the many reasons he was the leader of the guardians, along with being one of the most skilled dragons in the world, having an amazing ability to keep a very cool head under pressure and able to be a very effective leader both on and off the battlefield.

After sending the tattered Book of Deceased back to its shelf, he called forth a new one. This book was a stunning purple with gold embroidery around the edges and spine, almost devoid of wear and tear. Inscribed of the front were the words Spyro — Purple dragon. Using his newly acquired power of telekinesis, Ignitus opened the book to the last few pages, which informed what happened after he had perished in the Belt of Fire, and began to read.

He could not stop the large, tender smile that spread across his face as he read the final words detailed — I love you. Words spoken by Cynder in what was believed to be their final moments together.

'What fitting last words, though they should have been said much earlier' Ignitus thought. In his opinion, Spyro and Cynder would make a fantastic pair of mates. They had been through a lot together, confided in each other, respected each other and were inseparable. Nothing could break them apart even during the most strenuous of times. Add in some attraction towards each other and there you have it, the greatest pair of mates you could find.

'I hope you are proud Vitisha and Motoni, I know I am'

Ignitus' musings were cut short when the sound of a nearby door opening and closing echoed throughout the room, followed by soft footsteps. Caught off guard, he whirled around to see who or what had entered. His eyes widened at the spectacular sight before him.

"Hello Ignitus. We have much to discuss."

The joyous laughs of playful teenage dragons filled the air, accompanied by the quieter calls of the birds. The land they soared over was bright and full of life, a haven compared to its former self. Trees stood tall and vibrant, their branches and green leaves making faint noises as they rocked in the gentle, cooling breeze. Emerald green grass, doted randomly with colourful wild flowers, created a blanket of life over the land that was once neglected and destroyed. Many different fauna moved throughout the vast flora, trying to find shelter, water or food as the resplendent sun showered the realm with caressing beams of golden light, causing the many rivers and streams to glint and shimmer.

"You're never going to catch me if you keep flying that slow, Spyro!" A black dragoness known as Cynder shouted with mirth.

"Hey, it's not my fault!" Spyro, a purple dragon, shouted as he once again missed Cynder's slim, agile frame.

"Yes it is, you just don't want to admit it!" She teased playfully while somersaulting, once again, out of his reach.

They had been playing this game of tag ever since the sun had risen — five days after they had woken up subsequent to Spyro rejoining the world. When they had first woke up they were extremely achy and sore, Spyro more so than Cynder, and so they spent almost the entirety of that day resting and asleep. The day after was a lot better for them. Their joints and muscles ached a lot less, so they were able to hunt nearby deer, small mammals and birds, gaining strength from the protein-rich meat, as well as forage for fruits and vegetables that would provide much needed vitamins and minerals.

They had spent everyday so far like that, so at dawn Spyro had suggested a simple game of tag to have some fun and pass the time. What was supposed to be a ten to twenty minute game had gone on for hours, mostly because of Spyro's refusal to give up on tagging Cynder, and Cynder having a lot of fun teasing him about not being able to keep up with her.

"Cynder! Can we take a break?" Spyro said, starting to pant, "It's midday, we've been at this for hours!"

"I know! Fun right?"

"Only because you keep winning" Spyro muttered, annoyed at how close he kept getting only to miss.

"Fine. But we both know that it's because you can't keep up!" Cynder said, sounding exasperated, though the big grin spread across her face said otherwise.

Spyro just smiled and rolled his eyes at her child-like and playful behaviour as they glided down to a nearby river, Cynder on his left side. Sure, they were sixteen and maybe they were a bit too old to be playing a game of tag but they never had much time to do so together while they were younger at The Temple, mostly because Spyro was either recovering or training.

Another reason for the child-like behaviour was the fact that Cynder never had a childhood and although Spyro did have a lot of fun playing hide-and-seek with his adoptive brother Sparx in the swamp, he never really had a proper 'dragon's childhood'. So really, all this fooling around and playing children's games was to make up for lost time. Well, that was how they viewed it. Maybe people like Cyril and the other guardians would view it as immature but they couldn't care less. They were having fun and that was all that mattered.

While taking a drink from the refreshing clear water, Spyro became increasingly aware of how much his body — especially the wing joins — was starting to ache. After standing back up, he stretched his back and legs while stretching his wings as far as they would go to the sides, accidentally poking Cynder in the ribs.

"Hey, watch it!" Cynder reprimanded, turning to face Spyro in order to give him a half-hearted glare.

"Sorry." Spyro apologised sheepishly as a blush and an awkward smile spread across his face.

"It's ok, just wasn't expecting it. Sore?" Cynder asked, her body also starting to feel uncomfortable. She too stretched, poking Spyro in return.

"A bit, but mostly achy." Spyro responded, returning the half-hearted glare albeit more playfully.

"Me too. I guess we really shouldn't have fooled about for that long, huh?"

"Yeah. But it was fun."

Cynder nodded in agreement. "So what do you want to do now?" she asked, turning away from the river and Spyro in order to scour the surrounding area.

An idea popped into his head and a sly smile covered his muzzle. "How about this!" He shouted while diving into Cynder and knocking her into the river as well as himself. When they stood back up in the shallows, Spyro erupted into a rambunctious laugh while Cynder tried to glare at him but also ended up laughing almost as hard.

When she got herself under a bit more control, she smacked her right forepaw into the water, splashing Spyro, resulting in some of the water entering his open mouth and causing him to choke slightly.

"Hey!" He spluttered, putting on an exaggerated hurt expression.

"That was for knocking me into the river!" Cynder laughed, enjoying how ridiculous Spyro was looking.

Spyro just narrowed his eyes deviously and a mischievous smirk crept across his face before smacking his paw into the water and splashing Cynder in return.

From the entrance of their cave they watched as the sun slowly set, bathing the land in a mixture of orange, cerise and golden light. The sky was turning from the brilliant light blue of the day to the dark blue and black of the night, accompanied by the millions of radiant stars and the two massive moons. The birds were quietening down, preparing to go to sleep, as were the many other fauna. The air was still with tranquillity.

Juxtaposed with all the calm was Spyro, who was starting to become very nervous. He had heard what Cynder said back in the centre of the world but his body had been too tender to really consider it. Now though, especially after the events that had occurred earlier in the day, he could safely say he felt the same way. The problem and the reason behind his anxiety was how to bring it up in a conversation. 'Soooo, do you really love me?' just didn't sound right.

He was hoping that Cynder would have mentioned it but she hadn't. He had come up with two reasons why: one, she was really embarrassed about it or two, he imagined it. He really hoped it was the first because otherwise he was about to make a fool of himself and quite possibly damage the relationship they already had with each other.

"Hey, um, Cynder?" Spyro said, radiating nervousness.

Cynder easily picked up on his nervousness and her curiosity spiked; the world was safe, what could possibly make him unsettled? "Yeah?"

"Well, uh… I was thinking, um… well, did you, um… uh…?"

"Just spit it out Spyro!" Cynder snapped agitatedly, even though it came out harsher than she would have liked.

"Ok." Spyro said, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, "Cynder… is what you said… back in the centre of the world… true?"

She wasn't expecting this and it made her worried. Spyro hadn't mentioned it the past few days, so she had thought he had never heard her. After all, the world was falling apart so that created a lot of noise that could have easily drowned out her voice. She was going to tell him eventually; once they had arrived at Warfang, the inevitable celebrations over and they had some normal routine going.

What if he didn't feel the same way? What if it ruined their friendship? Spyro was the only friend she ever had. Sparx was always claiming that she was still evil and treating her as if she was the plague — though that might change when they get back to Warfang. Cyril was too arrogant for her liking and wouldn't stop arguing with Volteer or talking about the 'elegance of ice'. Volteer was normally too busy arguing with Cyril and nigh on impossible to understand for he either spoke too quickly or used words that she didn't completely understand, though she was getting better at understanding him… eventually. Terrador and Ignitus were more like father-figures, though she wasn't nearly as close to Ignitus as Spyro was.

Turning away to look at the floor so she wouldn't have to look at his expression of horror, she gave a timid, quiet reply, "Y-yeah."

"Really?" To say Spyro was happy was an understatement. "Wow… wow!"

Hearing Spyro sound like an excited hatchling using their element for the first time was not what Cynder was expecting. "You're… you're not horrified?"

That statement catches Spyro off guard. "Horrified? Why would I be horrified? What is there to horrified about?"

"Oh I don't know, maybe the fact that all I've ever done is cause you pain and anguish! Maybe the fact that I've killed hundreds and tried to kill you in the past, even during our final battle against Malefor! Maybe… maybe the fact that no one likes me." What had started as anguished and angry shouting turned into a sorrowful whisper by the end of her lecture. Tears were also starting to form in the corners of her eyes.

After hearing that heartfelt display of emotion, Spyro's visage softened. "Now that's not true and you know it." He said slowly and compassionately, as if talking to a confused and distraught hatchling. "It was never your fault. You were taken as an egg and corrupted. You couldn't have done anything about it. What you did was a result of Malefor using and controlling you. So it was never you who killed those people. It was never you who caused me grief. It was all Gaul and Malefor.

"As for your final reason: after everything you've done, I don't think that you'll have to worry about that. But on the off chance that people don't like you, it won't matter to me. I don't care what other people think, I like you. No, scratch that… I love you." Spyro said with the most amount of conviction Cynder had ever heard, causing her to look at him with wide eyes.

"Spyro, I—"

"Let me finish. I'll love you no matter what. And I'll stand by you through thick and thin. I promise you that I'll always be there for you. Always." With that said, he leaned over and gave her a chaste kiss. Though it took her by surprise she didn't hesitate to lean in and deepen it.

When Spyro pulled away, they were both wearing similar goofy grins. Though it was silent, there wasn't any need for words. That single beautiful kiss said it all, sealing the promise Spyro made and Cynder agreed with. There was, however, one more issue that needed to be addressed.

"Well, I think we've had a long enough vacation. Do you want to head back to Warfang tomorrow?" Spyro asked.

Though she would've liked to stay where they were forever, Cynder couldn't dispute his logic. The rest of the guardians were most likely worried about them and Sparx was probably going crazy without them. "Yeah."

"Great! It'll be good to see everybody." Spyro said with great enthusiasm. "Well, we better go to sleep so we're well rested for tomorrow. Good night."

The sun had finally set, though the world was not cast into darkness. The colossal moons and dazzling stars illuminated the serene and still land. The many rivers and streams were quiet and tranquil with insects skimming across their surface in search of food. The warm air lulled the sleeping animals and tickled the vast amount of plants. The owls, though, kept watch.

The world was finally right for once. Malefor existed no more. Lives were no longer in danger. People could live peacefully. And that was what two sleeping young dragons, with their tails entwined and cheeks pressed together, were going to do.

A/N: So, tell me what you think and what I should do to improve.

Updates will not be regular and frequent, so bear with me.

Until next time…

W-S.