Dragon Seekers

Chapter 29

Jamie didn't know where he'd find Ash for certain, but he had a feeling about where she might be. He rushed outside, immediately met with the dragons of the Island Leaders, including a black one with blood red eyes. That must be Cassandra's dragon. Just like their riders with Cassandra, the other dragons did their best to steer clear of it. Cinder wasn't among them. Hoping that she wasn't in the city, Jamie continued to look for Ash. He tried to run past the dragons, when the black one started growling at him. It flashed its fangs at him, looking like it was going to take a snap at him. Jamie slowly backed away from it, but it kept going towards him.

Cinder suddenly skidded to land in front of Jamie, shielding him completely. Her hunches were tensed up as she hissed, baring her fangs. The black dragon looked like it was going to attack her, but Blaze's dragon stood above the boy and young dragon. It looked threatening itself as it was protecting the two under it. The black dragon backed off but still looked threatening.

"Hey Cinder," Jamie whispered. Cinder turned to him, becoming semi relaxed. As he stroked her head, Jamie noticed that Ash wasn't with her. "If you know where Ash if, I need you to take me to her. I'm worried that she'll do something stupid."

Cinder whined in response to that. She was clearly worried about her rider too. She gestured for Jamie to climb on. He struggled a little since Ash has helped him out the previous times before. Cinder even tried to boost him up by having him use her head as a stepping stone. Jamie hoisted himself up and, when he settled himself enough, Cinder immediately started to run. He held on tight to her neck as she started flying. Cinder was unfazed by his grip as she glided over the tree. Jamie scanned the ground as best he could with the trees blocking his view.

However, he knew where they were going.

Cinder glided to a gap in the trees. She landed right beside the training ring. Jamie looked down at it. Ash was in the centre, right where he knew she'd be. Something was still terribly wrong. Embers were showering from her hair again. The air felt hot all around the training ring. Ash hand her spear in hand, she launched it back and threw it. The spear hit the target dead centre. It almost went right through it since Ash put so much strength behind her spear. Ash wasn't done. She marched up to the target as Jamie slipped off of Cinder. The dragon whined again as she watched her rider worryingly. Jamie gave her a pat, silently letting her know that he'll do his best.

"Ash?" he called out, approaching the training ring cautiously.

"What?!" Ash snapped. She didn't look at Jamie. She only proceeded to wrench her spear from then target.

"What's wrong?" Jamie asked. He felt scared, but now wasn't the time to be it. He has to swallow his nerves.

"Nothing! Nothing's wrong! I'm fine!" Ash barked. She launched her spear again. It imbedded itself inside the target, becoming halfway trapped inside it. Ash ignored Jamie again as she started to storm up to get her spear. Seeing how she threw it and how her behaviour was, Jamie knew that it wouldn't end well if this kept going.

"Ash! Stop!" Jamie shouted, immediately running to Ash and grabbed her around the waist.

"Get off!" Ash warned, thrashing in Jamie's hold.

"You're going to hurt yourself!" Jamie shouted again, trying to get Ash to calm down. He held back a wince as he felt embers tapping his skin.

"GET OFF!" Ash shrieked. She whipped around and shoved Jamie away. He felt like he flew a couple of ft before he landed roughly on the ground. This was the most aggressive Ash had been towards him. He sat up, a little stunned. He looked up at Ash, and was even more shocked when he saw her face.

Ash, the girl who fought hard and held a lot of pride, was crying.

She still looked angry, but it was faltering. The embers from her hair were dimming. Her body was shaking from all the emotions that she was feeling. Tears were rushing down her face like her eyes were faucets.

"Go on! Say it! Say that I'm weak!" she shouted, her voice breaking a couple of times.

"What?" Jamie exclaimed, still surprised by what he was seeing.

"I'm weak, Jamie! I'm crying! That's how weak I am! All because of her! Because of that witch!" Ash shouted, her voice breaking even more. Her tough exterior was breaking down. Showing not a fighter, but a girl that was upset.

"Ash, what happened?" Jamie asked, slowly rising to her feet. He didn't know how long Ash would keep her walls down, but he has to get her to open up now while there was a chance.

"She hurt me! She hurt me more than you could understand! Everything was her fault!" Ash cried as the embers dimmed completely. She held herself as if she were trying to hold all of her emotions back. She screwed here eyes closed as a poor attempt to keep the tears from coming. She was a wreck, more than Jamie would ever thought be possible for someone like Ash.

Ash didn't register Jamie moving until he wrapped his arms around her. Ash was stunned as she was pulled into a hug. Jamie rubbed her back soothingly as she was registering what was happening. She made a confused noise as she did do.

"Let it all out," Jamie whispered consolingly. "And when you're ready, I'll listen. Just like how you and your family did for me."

Ash stood still for a few more seconds, standing impossibly still. Then she finally caved completely. She hugged Jamie back, squeezing him tightly. She let out broken sobs like she has never cried before in her life. Her tears soaked Jamie's shoulder, but that didn't matter. A wet shoulder was better than a broken friend.

When Ash was ready, Jamie will happily help her pick up the pieces.