-????-
Spike awoke with a violent, full-body spasm, mouth agape and chest heaving as he sucked in all the air he could. Understandable, seeing as how the last thing he remembered was being starved of it. That, and pain. Mind-shattering, incomprehensible pain.
‘Was it a night-?!’ the young drake couldn’t finish the thought as a sudden surge of agony cleared his mind. The cause? Attempting to move his right arm.
“Ah, looks like you suffered a Constrictor.” a deep, masculine voice remarked, echoing off the walls of what Spike now registered as a cave. “It’s what the kids call it these days when your lungs grow before your ribs do. Feels like an anaconda is wrapped around your chest; hence ‘Constrictor’.”
With a monumental effort, half of it being devoted to trying not to scream, Spike managed to move his head towards the sound. Despite his keen night vision, he had no idea what he was looking at until the strange silhouette sitting atop a large, flat rock moved. It was a dragon. One much smaller than the few adult dragons he’d seen, but no less intimidating, with jet black scales and yellow eyes that gave off a dim glow in the darkness.
“Hello, youngling.” the black dragon greeted with a nod.
In an instant all thoughts about what had happened to him and all concerns for his own wellbeing were pushed to the wayside. He needed to know who this dragon was, and more importantly what he had done to Ponyville. Clearly this dragon had taken him back to its lair, probably under the impression that it was “saving” him from his captors. It had happened once before.
Spike began to stir, breathing through clenched teeth as every little twitch brought about fresh waves of searing pain. But he fought through it to roll onto his belly and move his arms into position to push himself off the ground. Steeling himself again, Spike attempted to rise, but his body rebelled. With the scales of his underbelly barely two inches off the ground, he froze.
Every muscle in his body felt like it was stretched to the absolute limit, and to go any further would see them ripped right off the bones. Again. His body demanded that he relax and remain still. He needed to rest until he recovered from whatever had happened to him.
But Spike wasn’t having it.
‘Get up…’
His arms trembled, biceps bulging and deltoids straining visibly under his scales, as he lifted himself onto his hands and knees.
‘Get up…’
His right leg came forward, thigh and calf muscles convulsing as he planted his foot to rise into a kneeling position.
“Get up…”
He attempted to stand, only making it halfway before his body threatened to lock up again. He teetered in an awkward position, his balance completely off, and would probably fall over if the other dragon so much as breathed on him.
“Get…UP!” and with that final roar, Spike shot upright and planted his feet. He would not fall.
“Impressive, youngling. Maybe life with ponies hasn’t made you that soft.” the larger dragon quipped.
“What…” Spike faltered for a moment when the vibrations from speaking felt like spears being jabbed through his ribs. “What did you do…”
“To the town? Nothing.” the dragon answered, snorting at Spike’s skeptical glare. “Fine. I swear by the Flame Mother that I have done no harm to your town or the ponies that live there.”
Spike had no idea what a “Flame Mother” was, but for some reason hearing the other dragon swear by it filled him with relief. However, he had clearly still be abducted and needed to clear things up.
“Listen…whoever you are, I-“
“Al.”
“Huh?” Spike blinked at the interruption.
“My name is Al. Yes, it is short for something else. No, I won’t tell you what it is.”
“O-Oh…Well, listen, Al, I…” Spike grimaced. His voice was already getting stronger, which made talking that much more painful. “I don’t know what you’ve seen, but…I’m not a slave, okay? I wasn’t captured or…sold to those ponies or anything like that…I live there by choice, understand?”
Yellow eyes blinked owlishly. “I’ll bet there’s an interesting story behind why you felt the need to say that, and I’d love to hear it later. But for now, eat, drink and build your strength.” Al gestured off to the side with a claw.
It was only then that Spike registered the sound of a stream running through the cave off to his right. His legs moved without his command, the hellish ache in his legs almost completely numbed by his sudden, desperate thirst. He all but dove headfirst into the water, smacking his nose snout against the bottom, but it didn’t stop him from gulping down great mouthfuls of sweet ambrosia.
But he eventually had to come up for air, and almost immediately he was overcome with another burning need. Now that he was paying attention, he found that the air in the cave was absolutely thick with a familiar and delectable scent.
Following his nose, Spike could only stare, slack jawed and drooling, at a pile of gems the likes of which he’d only seen in his dreams. Somewhere in the back of his mind he realized that this was probably the other dragon’s hoard. But Al DID tell him to eat, so…
Al watched silently as the young drake dug into his feast and the cave was filled with the sounds of gems being consumed by the dozens. While his unflappable poker face displayed only boredom and mild amusement, his mind was running a mile a minute.
He hadn’t expected this. Though he liked to think of himself as much more progressive and open-minded than the vast majority of his kind, he still couldn’t help but scoff at the idea of a dragon raised by ponies. Maybe the warlike griffons or the dauntless minotaurs could bring up a dragon that would one day be worth its scales, but ponies? No way. Too nice, too soft and too sheltered, with relatively few notable exceptions. Al knew better than to call the race weak; there were reasons ponies thrived in a world inhabited by far more formidable creatures. But tucked away in their peaceful cities, most never knowing true strife in their lives, they generally lacked the tools and techniques to survive on their own. So what could they possibly teach a young dragon?
He’d said nothing to Celestia, but Al had already passed judgment on the whelp. He wagered the boy could bake a mean cake, but if asked to throw a punch he’d probably hurt himself. He’d already resigned himself to days of watching the youngling sleep, then listening to him cry, moan and whine about the pain when he was awake. He had fully prepared himself for the ordeal of effectively making a dragon from scratch.
And then Spike did something Al had never seen before. Just hours after his growth spurt, the youngling not only woke up, but willed himself to move. Willed himself to stand, in a bipedal form no less, and even walk! Even the strongest younglings Al could remember took at least a full day just to uncurl themselves, forget about actually getting up. But this one had already shown himself to somehow be made of sterner stuff, displaying a level of willpower he had no business having, considering his upbringing.
‘Then again, he’s got some powerful motivation.’ Al thought. Spike had confronted him for the sake of his little ponies, not for himself.
After several minutes of gorging like a wild animal, Spike pulled himself away from pile of gems and was surprised by how much of a dent he’d made in it. But his attention quickly turned back to his “host”.
“Al, right? I still need to know why you…drakenapped me.”
Al rose an eye-ridge. “That’s not a word, and I didn’t.”
Spike’s expression hardened and he made a show of looking around the cave, inwardly wincing as the muscles in his neck protested the action. “This doesn’t look like the basement of the library to me.”
“Would you rather have been left in a pool of your own blood?” Al asked, cocking his large head to the side slightly.
“B-Blood?!” Spike’s hands flew over his torso to check for wounds, but he felt only pristine scales. It was then that he realized that he had changed. A lot.
He held a trembling hand up to his face; the same one he had watched morph and grow right before his eyes. Gone were the stubby little claws of a hatchling; replaced by the long, talon-tipped fingers of a young adult. The hand went to his reptilian muzzle once he noticed how much longer it was, and then the other joined it to feel around his entire head.
His rounded crest had turned into a series of back-curved spines and his ear frills were much pointier than before. His hands continued downward, over his stocky neck and down to his broad chest, now covered by huge, overlapping scales that looked and felt like plate armor compared to the soft belly he remembered. And he couldn’t help but grin at the sight of his new legs.
‘What did Twilight say they were called? Dedg-no…Digi-something…Digitigrade? Digitigrade, yeah!’ Spike gave a mental whoop as he wiggled his clawed toes. No more struggling with stairs for him; not with these long, powerful things to work with!
His tail whipped around in his excitement and when he finally caught sight of it, his grin widened even more. Long, nicely muscled and ending with a spade more akin to an arrowhead than a shovel it was, if he did say so himself, sexy.
In fact, HE was sexy now! All sleek and muscular, like he’d just walked out of one of his own dreams.
‘Or maybe one of Rarity’s…’ Spike giggled to himself. The only way this could get better was if he had a nice, majestic set of wings to complete the package…
Al nearly fell off his perch when the youngling suddenly let out a loud squeal and starting feeling up his own wings like they were long lost lovers. He’d seen it before of course; wingless whelps were always the most…enthusiastic when they gained their third pair of limbs. What he hadn’t seen before was a youngling who recovered his full range of motion not even half an hour after waking up.
He found himself eager to start teaching his new pupil.
“Your wings aren’t going anywhere unless you want them to, Spike.” Al drawled, bringing the youngling back to reality.
“How do you know my name?” Spike demanded, eyes narrowed and the makings of a snarl on his lips.
“Telepathy.” Al deadpanned, looking right into the younger dragon’s eyes.
“…”
“That’s disgusting.” Al’s scaly lips twisted in a grimace for a second, then parted in a bark of laughter when Spike’s eyes went wide and he actually took a step back. “Just messing with you, boy. Here, I’m sure this will explain everything.” he raised a hand and flicked a small object towards his soon-to-be student.
Spike caught it with reflexes honed through a lifetime of dealing with a unicorn prone to telekinetic chaos when stressed out. It was a scroll, bearing a very familiar red ribbon adorned with a stylized golden “C”; the official seal of Princess Celestia.
“Careful opening that,” Al warned, “you’re a lot stronger than you used to be.”
Taking the words to heart, Spike unrolled the scroll as gently as he could and began to read.
“My Dearest Son
I am sorry. Because of my negligence, because of my ignorance, you were made to suffer. You will never know the depths of my shame, and if you find it in yourself to forgive me, know that I may never forgive myself. You could have died and it would have been my fault.
For you see, though I have made efforts to understand dragons, it was almost always for the sake of politics and diplomacy. I cared little about their biology, beyond their eating habits. Even after I had the gall to name one of them as my son, I never made it a priority to find out what I didn’t know. I had no idea what was in store for you as you grew up, and so neither did you.
If you are reading this, my son, then you have already met the dragon Al. Do not be alarmed; he is a very old and very dear friend of mine, and it is only because of him that I know anything about what happened to you at all. I am sure you are wondering why you are with him now and not in your home, or at least in a hospital. I know you are likely still coming to terms with your new self, and it pains me to put yet another burden on you, but I must.
You must make a choice, Spike. If you wish to return to your home, to your friends, I will personally come for you. But if you choose to stay with Al, he has agreed to be your mentor and do for you what I couldn’t. He will teach you how to be a dragon, and everything that entails. And fret not, for Al is a far cry from any other dragon you have ever met, or are likely to ever meet. He is of a higher class in all regards, and I would not hesitate to trust him with my life. Rest assured you would be in the best of hands.
Speak to him, ask whatever questions you need to, and make your decision. When you are ready, use the quill and parchment I have given him and send me your reply.
And regardless of your decision, know that I love you, Spike, my little drake. I haven’t said it or shown it nearly enough since I left you in Twilight’s care, and if I have ever made you doubt it, I will spend the rest of my life making up for it.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Your mother, always and forever,
Celestia”
Spike carefully rerolled the paper before his tears could join the telltale dark spots that already littered the note.
“I suggest you remember and cherish those words, youngling.” Al rumbled. “Most dragons have never known what it’s like to have a mother who cares.”
“You read-“
“No. It went without saying that the message was for your eyes only. Even when she was writing it just feet from where you are now, I didn’t look. But you read it out loud, and I can’t control what I hear.” Al said with a shrug.
Spike blushed at that. He’d been relaying Celestia’s messages to Twilight for so long, narrating them was apparently second nature to him.
“Do you need time to make your choice?” Al asked.
“A choice…” Spike murmured to himself, eyes going wide as he was struck by a revelation. For the first time in his life, he was in a position to make a choice about his life.
There was no one around to guilt him or otherwise influence his decision. No troop of ponies standing on the sidelines with glistening eyes and trembling lips. Just him, for once holding his future in his own two hands. So liberating! So…
Utterly terrifying.
“Tell me, Spike,” Al said, not liking the look of fear and confusion on the youngling’s face, “why did you feel the need to tell me you weren’t a slave?”
“W-What?” Spike shook his head and stared at the other dragon like he was seeing him for the first time.
“There must be a reason you assumed I would think that.”
“Well…” Spike began, “it happened before. I was out on…I guess you could call it a mission with my friends, the Elements of Harmony. Long story short, hey had a tough battle and one of them ended up too injured to make the trip back home. Fortunately we happened to find an old wagon to put her on, but everypony else was pretty beat up as well. I hadn’t done much in the fight, so being the freshest of the group I pulled the wagon myself. We were fine at first, but along the way two of my friends collapsed, so we put them on the wagon as well. We went a bit further and another went down. By the time we made it back to town, only one of them was still walking next to me. We all tried to go home to rest, but the next thing we know this huge, green dragon, three stories high at least, comes crashing down from the sky just outside the town. He demands that the ponies release the baby dragon they’ve captured and enslaved, or he’ll ‘glass’ the whole town.” Spike shuddered as he remembered just how angry the dragon had been. He probably would’ve burned Ponyville anyway even if Spike had gone with him.
“Hm, sounds like he was more reasonable than your typical dragon these days.” Al snorted. “He bothered to deliver an ultimatum instead of just doing it and plucking you out of the ashes.”
“He was.” Spike nodded. “It took more than twenty minutes of arguing to convince him that I wasn’t a slave. He just didn’t get it, and from his perspective I could see why. He didn’t know the context; all he saw was an exhausted baby dragon hauling a wagon full of ponies, each one of them twice my size.”
“…Are you sure he jumped to the wrong conclusion?” Al asked after a moment of silence.
Spike fixed him with a hard glare. “Of course he did!”
“Perhaps in that one instance, but I find myself curious. What, exactly, do you do in that ‘Ponyville’ of yours?”
“I’m Princess Twilight Sparkle’s Number One Assistant!” Spike instantly regretted announcing his title when Al narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
“Out of how many?”
“…”
“Uh-huh. Anything else?”
“I…I run the town library.”
“…” Al narrowed his eyes again.
“…When Twilight isn’t around.” Spike crumbled.
“And?”
“And, I help out at the local apple orchard, and the local animal shelter, and the local café, and the fashion boutique!” Spike finished by crossing his arms and turning his nose up, much like the mare he still had a crush on.
“Well, aren’t you the busy one? But tell me, do you get paid for any of this work you do?”
“Not in actual bits, no.” Spike answered, but quickly followed up with, “B-But it’s not like I need them anyway! I get other things, like food, gems, favors, that kind of stuff. And these days the work I do at the library basically covers my rent.”
“I see. So, they use you for free labor and ‘pay’ you with food, shelter and empty promises.” Al summarized with a distinctly unimpressed look. ‘Set out the bait and…’
“Great food that I would otherwise have to pay a lot of bits for, and the rent at the place I stay would be way more than I could afford as an actual employee at any of those places!”
‘Gotcha.’ Al grinned inwardly. “But the promises are still empty?”
“…They’re not ‘promises’ per se…” Spike mumbled, unable to look Al in the eyes.
“Maybe not, but if YOU say you’re going to help somepony out, and then you don’t, they get upset, right?”
“They’re…a little disappointed, yeah, but-“
“But heavens forbid you take them to task for ‘flaking out’ on a favor they owe you, you probably get a lecture on how they have ‘real’ responsibilities that take priority.”
“…”
“Spike, you aren’t fooling anyone; not even yourself.” Al said in a surprisingly gentle tone. “I saw that look on your face when I asked about your choice. You’ve never actually had a choice before, have you? Not in regards to something like this.”
“…”
“You say that you stay in Ponyville by choice, but what are the alternatives, hm? If not Ponyville with Celestia’s student, or Canterlot with Celestia herself, where would you go? What would you do? To say you choose to stay with them implies that you have other options. Well, what are they?”
“I…don’t know.” Spike admitted in a whisper.
“Because you never had options; not viable ones. It’s always been their way, or the highway, or at least that’s how they made you feel, intentionally or not. But now that there’s nopony here to tell you what to do, you have no idea what to do. You’ve been conditioned, boy, and I’ll bet that entire pile of gemstones over there that you saw it long before now.”
Of course he saw it. The manipulations, some subtle and others so blatant that it made him wonder how there was ever a time when he didn’t see it.
Being “paid” by Pinkie Pie in gourmet cupcakes, then hearing Mr. or Mrs. Cake gently chastise her for giving away such expensive items. How could he complain about not getting bits if he was getting expensive stuff on the house?
Being “compensated” with gemstones from Rarity and having her act like she was doing him a favor. Making him feel like he hadn’t really earned them, and thus making him work that much harder next time around.
Being reminded that it was either do chores or pay rent when he complained about Twilight’s sometimes-excessive to-do lists. Even if she said it as a “joke”, it did the trick and Spike rarely questioned why he didn’t get paid for his work, even though Twilight herself DID get paid, and quite nicely at that, for her job as the Librarian.
Being told that his workload was light compared to what any given member of the Apple family did around the farm on a daily basis if he “slacked off” or didn’t go fast enough. How could he even think about asking for compensation when his efforts were marginalized to a point that implied they were actually better off without him?
Oh yes, he saw it all. Now the question was: Did he want to go back to it?
Once again Al took his cues from Spike’s expression. The youngling was looking a bit too angry and it wasn’t Al’s intention to turn him against his friends; even if they, apparently, weren’t very good friends.
“Know that if you choose to go with me and learn, it will not be a permanent arrangement. I am not offering you the opportunity to run away from whatever problems you have at home. I WILL bring you back; that is an oath I swore to Celestia. What I offer is…you. I offer you the chance to find yourself and decide what you want your place in the world to be. I offer you the chance to be the master of your own destiny.”
Spike remained silent for several minutes, just staring off into nothing. Contemplating what he wanted from life, now that what he wanted mattered. As depressing as his home situation was, did he really want to shoulder the responsibility of being his own drake? Living his life on others’ terms had suited him just fine for so long; did he really want to give up such a cushy, comfortable life just because it wasn’t absolutely perfect? Was being undervalued and overlooked really so bad in the grand scheme? And would that even remain the case with his new body?
“…What if I want to stay?”
“There are things you absolutely need to know, and I plan on sticking around for the foreseeable future, so I’ll still be teaching you.” Al answered. “But there are some things that you can’t learn in places like Ponyville or Canterlot, even with my help. If you want to find your place in the world, you have to go out and experience the world. There’s simply no substitute.”
“And if I don’t want to come back? What if I end up deciding that I’m better off somewhere else?”
“Then you’ll have to face your friends and tell them that yourself. I said I would bring you back; I never said anything about making you stay once I did. That’ll be your choice, just like it is now.”
“My choice…” Spike muttered before turning away from Al and walking towards the mouth of the cave.
The older dragon made no move to stop him, knowing that he just needed time alone to think. Al had done all he could to appeal to the youngling, without revealing anything that would force his hand, and now it was time for him to control his own fate.
-Golden Oak-
“Twilight, please-“ Celestia was interrupted by yet another oversized book being hurled her way, only to bounce uselessly off of her magic shield.
“You know…” Twilight hissed, all but frothing at the mouth as she stared her fellow Princess down with wild, unblinking eyes. “You know where he is…Tell me!” a reading table, one of dozens of random objects floating ominously around her, raced at her mentor, who easily caught it with her own magic and set it down off to the side.
“Twilight, I-“
“Tell me!” another table flew.
“He’s safe, Twi-“
“WHY WON’T YOU TELL ME?!?!” two entire bookshelves became deadly missiles.
Celestia didn’t so much as blink, though she did spare a glance at the other five Elements lying unconscious behind her, safe from her student’s fury.
Things had gotten out of hoof fast and she had only herself to blame. She’d been so focused on Spike that she had completely forgotten about the horror show that was left behind. By the time she’d returned to clean up the mess, not only had Twilight already seen it; she had gathered the rest of the Element bearers and was in the midst of planning a search and rescue mission.
They immediately descended upon the Sun Goddess, begging for her help, though a lot of it came out as little more than incoherent blubbering. As she tried to placate them her faithful student proved to be too clever for her own good and immediately pegged her teacher as being far too calm.
Twilight accused her of knowing something and, unable to flatout lie, she admitted that she did; without admitting what it was. To say her son’s friends were outraged would be a titanic understatement. In the end Celestia saw no other option but to knock them all out before they said or did something they all would regret.
But the fourth alicorn refused to go down so easily, and further attempts only fueled her rage and grief.
And now she stood before the immaculate Princess as a raving beast. Hunched low like a panther ready to pounce, fur raised, mane disheveled, wings spread and horn crackling in open, murderous aggression. Celestia never imagined such a monster lurked within her precious student, but then she hadn’t seen Nightmare Moon coming, either.
“You killed him, didn’t you?!” Twilight suddenly growled. “That’s why you won’t tell me!”
A shadow passed over Celestia’s eyes just for a split second; so quick that Twilight would have missed it even if she’d been herself. The Element of Magic would never know just how close she came to seeing Celestia’s own monster.
But before the white alicorn could remind the foolish girl of her place on the food chain, a wisp of sparkling smoke came in through one of the windows destroyed by Twilight’s violent episode. Both Princesses went still as the smoke stopped in front of Celestia, coalescing and bursting into a bright green flame, which quickly died and revealed a scroll that looked like it had seen better days.
“Spike…” Twilight croaked, reaching out with her magic to try and rip the scroll from Celestia’s grasp.
The Sun Goddess was surprised by how much effort was needed to keep hold of the parchment. In any other circumstance she’d have been proud of her student.
“Spiiiiiike…” the beast hissed, a malignant purple mist beginning to leak from its eyes while the whites turned a sickly green and irises burned blood red.
Celestia ignored it and began to unroll the message.
“SPIKE!!!” the beast lunged forward like it was shot out of a cannon, with a bone-rattling *BOOM* to match as it broke the sound barrier.
Eyes still on the parchment, Celestia extended a single hoof, striking the beast right between the eyes and stopping it dead in its tracks.
Twilight’s eyes returned to their normal color a second before they rolled up into her head and she collapsed. A beanbag chair surrounded in a golden aura caught her, then floated her over to rest beside her friends.
The headache she would wake up with would be legendary, but she had literally forced Celestia’s hoof. That was a concern for later, however.
Celestia didn’t even try to suppress a sob of pure joy as she read the first two words.
“Dear Mom
I wish I could say that it’s all water under the bridge. I wish I could say I never doubted you, or any of my friends and how much you all care for me. I wish I could say that I’m alright and I’m coming home. But I’m done lying; to you, to them and especially to myself. I’ve doubted you. I’ve doubted them. I’m not alright. And I’m not coming home. Not yet. Not until I can call it ‘home’ without feeling like there’s a hole in my chest.
I have issues, Mom. Baggage I don’t think anypony could understand. When I saw how much I had changed, I was so happy. I thought I was so cool, with my brand new muscles and wings. But then I spent twenty minutes staring at my reflection in a lake, and the whole time a stranger looked back. I guess the outside matches the inside now, because I’ve felt like a stranger for a long time. I never talked about it because nopony would understand, but over the past few years I’ve been asking myself who I am, and I’ve never been able to give a straight answer.
I’m Spike, Twilight’s Number One Assistant.
I’m Spike, Twilight’s pet dragon.
I’m Spike, Master of the kitchen.
I’m Spike, who will burn down your house trying to bake a pie.
I’m Spike, noble dragon and helper extraordinaire.
I’m Spike, walking disaster and professional screw-up.
I’m Spike, the drake you can always count on.
I’m Spike, the drake who never fails to fail.
I’m Spike, son of Celestia.
I’m Spike, total nobody.
I can’t live like that anymore. I’ve spent my whole life being who you all wanted me to be, or trying to be who I thought you wanted me to be. Now I need to know who I am, and to do that I need time. Time away from the ponies who can control me with nothing but a few kind words and maybe a pout for good measure.
In fact, I just need to be away from them, period. It’s too painful now that I can’t fool myself into believing they’re my friends anymore. I hate to say that, but what else CAN I say? They’re Twilight’s friends; I’m just THERE. They never visit me unless they want me to do something for them, they don’t seem to want anything to do with me if I’m not offering to help out, and I’m always being excluded from group activities.
They go on a picnic? I’ll be asked to make the snacks, but I won’t be invited. They have themselves a day at the spa? Well, someone’s gotta man the library. They have my BEST FRIEND’S birthday party in a different city? I don’t find out until she comes back, talking about how great it was.
I’m sorry to vent at you, but I want you to know that I haven’t made this decision lightly. This has been a long time coming; I’m just lucky that Al came along when he did.
I’ll be back someday. I don’t know when, but I WILL be back; you had a promise from Al and now you’ve got one from me. As for the others, tell them that I’ll miss them, but let them know that I NEED this. I don’t want Twilight popping up and trying to teleport me back to Ponyville, and you know she’ll try it if you let her. But if I ever really meant anything to them, they’ll understand that this is something I have to do.
I want to start my training with Al as soon as possible, and he said it’s going to be brutal, so I may not be able to write back to you for a while. Just know that you’ll always be Mom to me and I’ll always love you, no matter what.
Your son, always and forever,
Spike”
Though she wept openly and without shame, Celestia maintained the wherewithal to reroll the parchment and summon a small lockbox to put it in for safekeeping. Later she would apply a preservation spell to ensure that it would never decay. It would forever serve as a testament to her abject failure as a mother, as well as a symbol of her vow to be better and a reminder of what could happen if she repeated her mistakes.
“Until we meet again, my son.” the Princess sobbed. “Good luck.”