His Apprentice (The Dragon Prince Fanfiction)

Ch. 12 Recovery

Heather looked out at the castle courtyard below her, the moonlight washing over the grey cobblestone. She heard the quiet murmurs of castle guards chatting through their night shift; a few horses snorting and nickering in their stables; and lastly, she could hear Aaravos' feint, rhythmic breathing as he slept.

She glanced back at his still form, a light blanket draped over him as he lay in bed by the candlelight. He'd barely moved since he passed out two days ago.

Undoing Viren's soul-sucking damage had taken a lot of his energy, especially with his recent lack of connection to the primal sources-though Zubeia didn't consider that.

Heather huffed and leaned on the stone wall of the balcony. She felt so different; from bored and without meaning a week ago to having so many meanings, she couldn't focus on anyone of them. And then there was everything else; her friends and family had been returned to her; Papa, Khonsu, Tiadrin and Lain, the people she trusted most were all back in her life.

And then there was Aaravos. Unlike the other elves in her life, Heather had taken almost an instant liking to him. He had offered her more answers than any book could give her, he'd explained things clearly-unlike the other mages, and he'd earned her trust... even after he possessed her. He'd become a genuine friend, becoming her counsel and confidant-though he hadn't had the chance to talk to anyone else yet-and being there for her when not even her father had.

Or maybe it was the relief of having someone to mentor her that made her think so highly of him.

Either way, she was sure that there was something between them blooming; a fine friendship.

Behind her, the quiet tapping of tiny talons came closer and in a flutter of brightly glowing yellow feathers, Phil appeared beside her with a lively chirp.

Heather gave him a smile. "And what are you doing up so late?"

Phil turned towards her with a tapping of his feet and tilted his head with glowing, curious eyes. He chirped back sassily.

"Well, I'm awake because the moon is keeping me awake. What's your excuse?"

He lifted his head and turned away, shaking his feathers.

Heather hummed and shook her head, eyeing his flaming tail feather. Usually, his feathers were orange or pale yellow, but now they were bright yellow, like a fiery flame. "Phil?" she asked, furrowing her brow.

The phoenix chick ignored her, still with his head high.

"Phialam," Heather warned, stepping closer to him. "What have you done?"

Phil turned around in a frenzy of flapping, defensively squawking at her. Heather furrowed her brow and focused, pushing her mind into his. His thoughts were a tornado of guilt and energy and flashing of memories. The most prominent image that kept popping up was the star dragon caterpillar.

Heather left his mind and opened her eyes. "No! Why would you-?!" Before she could finish scolding him, he flew through the open glass door and into the bedroom, perching himself on the headboard of the bed, faking to be asleep.

She tutted and sighed, smiling. "Let's hope I didn't need that bug for anything else." She turned back towards the night sky, listening again.

And then a peel of laughter echoed through the courtyard.

Heather looked around, recognising that laugh, seeing the open window of Rayla's room. Undoubtedly, she was inside talking with her parents. She looked back down at the cobblestones below. Did she ever think about what she had done to Heather? Patronising and teasing her for being different, just like the rest. Or did she forget? Not even thinking of the catastrophic damage she had left in her wake.

She thought back to their training sessions, how Rayla had been praised for her winning against her. But the few times Heather had tried her best, fighting like she was told, and winning all she got was disapproval-saying she fought too rough; fighting like a dragon, not an elf. Not to mention how dramatic Rayla was when she lost.

Heather looked aside. She had seen that Rayla had changed, though she was having trouble accepting it; it still hurt that she had never acknowledged what she had done and apologized. But Heather didn't want to bring it up and seem petty or jealous; she'd rather forget, even if that meant she'd never get an apology.

She exhaled slowly, looking up at the stars. Aaravos' words filled her head, "To understand something so vast is hard, and so every being who earns their stars has a different perception of the arcanum". Thinking about the stars, the universe; made her dizzy. No matter how many times she read over Aaravos' understanding of the arcanum, it still didn't click with her. It helped, but she felt like it was missing something, something vital to understanding the stars.

And then something hit her: what good would understand something so "vast" do if she couldn't understand herself? So maybe that's what she'd have to do first; find herself before finding the stars.

Then a groan came from inside. She turned around as Aaravos opened his eyes and stretched.

But first, before she could find herself, she'd have to take care of her master.