Chapter 19

"All my life I have denied my powers because I have hated the arrogance of almost every wizard I have met. Including my own father. As you are of magic also, you know you will never reach a high level of ability unless you embrace it and believe in what it is about. About it being the universe in balance.

"I never cared about it or had the desire to practice it, but when I saw you hurt and in danger the dam broke and I embraced my gift for you. Forever have I feared that it would change or taint me."

With tears streaming down her cheeks she leans forward and gives Roy another hug, and then she climbs in and curls up on Roy's lap and rests her head on his chest. Roy wraps his arms tightly around her. They stay there until both of their shaking subsides.

They stay there for what is probably longer than common sense would suggest as a wise course of action, but neither of them care. The enormity and beauty of what just happened has them in awe.

From that place of grandeur Avril tells Roy, "Roy, there is no way anything can taint your beautiful heart or your strength of character." Roy hugs her tighter.

It is a few moments later that the mist starts to swirl as Briar finds them and lands. "Are you two okay?"

Avril looks up and smiles. "Yes, we are wonderful."

"How did you find us, my old friend?"

"The whole mountain lit up. Everybody within a hundred stretches saw it. That is some very powerful magic, Princess Avril."

"It wasn't me."

Briar turns towards Roy as they are standing. Roy smiles almost sadly and shrugs his shoulders. Surprising them both, huge tears well up in Briars eyes as he says, "Finally, you have embraced your destiny."

Roy annoyed replies, "No! I embraced my dearest friend, Avril."

As they are standing there on the side of the steep incline of the mountain, Roy turns to Briar, "Great and kind sir, will you be so kind as to flame those boulders there to give us a little heat."

"Of course, sir knight."

"That's okay, Roy, your magic warmed me enough for a thousand lifetimes."

"Well, thank you, darling girl, but your hair is matted with blood and I thought we would wash it out."

Avril reaches around and feels her hair and scrunches up her pretty little face in disgust. After they get the last two flasks, the rest went flying and got buried by the avalanche, they rinse out Avril's hair. It is still way beyond freezing in the night this high up, so now Avril understands the glowing rocks giving off such wonderful heat.

After Avril is finished drying her hair, Roy tells her, "Check the Amulet of Direction for the scepter and let's finish this."

But Briar speaks up and says, "No need. On my way here my magic allowed me to see the Bolo Shades that have the Scepter of Power, and when they saw me they ran into the Passage of Kaylar. I have learned the Passage of Kaylar is caved in, so..."

Avril and Roy look at each other with big eyes.

Seeing that, Briar asks, "What?"

"Yeah, we found that out for ourselves. That's why we got caught in the mountains during the Ascension, and that is why I had to use my magic to protect Avril from the werewolves."

"Oh! Anyway, they are trapped, since I have two other dragons guarding the entrance waiting for us to get there."

Avril walks up to Briar and throws her arms part way around his huge neck and gives him a kiss. Then Avril turns to Roy and holds out her hand, saying, "Come."

Roy climbs up first, and then Avril climbs up in front of him and snuggles back into him, with Roy's arms wrapped tightly around her and her arms wrapped tight on his arms. As Roy is resting his head on the right side of hers, he notices another smaller pink streak that is not going away.

When they land near the entrance and walk over to it, Avril says with no indecision or fear, "It's time to fulfill my ... our destinies. Let's go."

Just before Avril and Roy disappear into the tunnel, Avril turns to the great white dragon and the smaller bronze dragon that have come to assist Briar and them, and says in her most stately manner, "We are most grateful for your help, beautiful children of Perennial."

The dragons bow to the great princess whom they can easily make out in the moonlight. Avril is truly a woman of Zebrina now, and is on her way to fulfilling her destiny to be Queen of Perennial.

Almost immediately the temperature drops, and a howling wind is trying to push them back out. Avril holds out her left hand and commands a ball of energy to come into existence so they can see. At once the energy ball is sputtering and trying to fight to stay in existence as the Bolo Shades try to extinguish it.

Then a whole new level of malice starts emanating from within the cave, and then the energy ball starts to die out. Avril increases the power to the energy ball, but it is still sputtering and dying.

Just before it dies out completely, Roy reaches over and takes Avril right hand in his left and the energy ball ignites to a glistening level of beauty and grandeur of creation. The Bolo Shades scream an inhuman hollow scream, and retreat further into the cave.

Avril and Roy can feel their energies pulsating in their hands, and it lightens their hearts. Avril smiles her smile that reflects through her eyes and says, "You can run a little further, but you cannot hide forever. We do not fear you." Just then a sweet ethereal music starts coming from the energy ball, and the Bolo Shades hiss of rage and torment.

"It appears, darling girl, that to overcome one's own fears is a power they cannot stand against." The energy ball is giving a majestic saffron glow to everything, and Avril's face is glowing of goddess creation, and in her eyes all forms of love are seen.

Hand and hand, Avril and Roy go deeper into the passage. After a full day of the pursuit even the Bolo Shades come to understand that they cannot accomplish their goals of anarchy, so just when the beginning of the cave-in is becoming visible in the heavenly light, and the Bolo Shades are writhing in pain from it, the Scepter of Power comes flying out of the last of the darkness and lands at Avril and Roy's feet.

Avril bends down and picks it up and says, "Thank you."

When Avril picks up the scepter the world becomes even colder. Avril looks up at Roy curiously, but Roy just shrugs his shoulders unknowingly.

"Want me to carry that for you?"

"In a minute, but for now I just want to revel in holding it again, and I want to send my appreciation out to the world for all that has happened."

"Your appreciation?"

"If not for the Scepter of Power being stolen, I would never have met you."

Roy has to stop because he can no longer see where he is walking because of the tears welling up in his eyes. Avril turns to him with tears in her own eyes and wipes Roy's eyes with her thumbs.

Both of them are intelligent people, and they now know that since they have retrieved the Scepter of Power, it won't take much to get it to the City of Divinity and from there this part of the adventure will be over, which is breaking both of their hearts.

A day later, as they are walking out of the cave, they hear a malevolent laughter come from behind them. Roy turns and creates a huge sphere of silver energy in his right hand. They turn back towards the cave-in and the trapped Bolo Shades, and then Roy raises the sphere of power before Avril. "If you will, darling girl."

Avril kisses the sphere of power and it starts pulsating a pink color. Then with all the grace and grandeur a beautiful princess can muster, she gently blows on the sphere. The sphere takes off down the cave at an unbelievably fast speed. The power of the sphere is preventing the Bolo Shades from fading to energy and disappearing into the very rock itself.

The ball of energy lights the nearby walls of the cave as it goes down. Not long after the energy ball of creation can no longer be seen, it collides with the Bolo Shades and it explodes in a fury of love and creation. The Bolo Shades cry out, and then it fades pitifully as they become unmade.

Avril and Roy hear their screams as distant echoes, and nod their heads to each other with a great feeling of satisfaction, and again they walk hand in hand out of the cave.

When they get out of the cave the chaos before them takes them by surprise. There are over a thousand Bolo Shades attacking Briar and the other two dragons. They are taking heavy injuries to their wings.