Ignitus paced the balcony anxiously. He was regretting his decision. He should never have let Spyro follow her. It was foolish, he could see that now.

A mass of swirling light burst into existence nearby, making Ignitus stare at it with massive amounts of worry. From inside, a shape emerged, fighting to escape it. As soon as it was clear of the portal, the portal closed and whatever it was collapsed on the stone floor, dropping something as it did so. Ignitus saw, with dread, the familiar purple scales and orange wings.

"No…" said Ignitus, running up to Spyro, fearing the worst. The little dragon was lying completely still, not waking up.

"Spyro…" said Ignitus, "Spyro, please…"

"Don't worry," said a quiet voice nearby, "He's okay."

Ignitus turned to see who had spoken, and when he did, he felt a mix of surprise, wonder, concern and relief.

It was another dragon, completely black, except for a bright pink underbelly and wings. She was much smaller than the last time Ignitus had seen her, which had only been a couple of hours ago.

"Cynder?" he said uncertainly. Cynder nodded guiltily. Ignitus's face split into a wide smile.

"For 12 years I've dreamt of this day," he told her happily. She looked at him, confused.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I never gave up hope on you, Cynder, I knew one day you'd return to the light," he told her. She looked away, guilt overcoming her again.

"So…" she said quietly, "I guess I'm the child you mentioned earlier."

"Indeed," said Ignitus, "And now, you have seen the truth."

"I'm so sorry," Cynder said sadly, "I'm sorry for everything I did to you, and your friends."

"Cynder," said Ignitus, "You must understand that nothing you did under the Dark Master's control was your fault."

Cynder didn't reply. Ignitus tried again to reassure her.

"You can enter the temple," he told her, "You can cross the barrier, which means your soul is pure, innocent, and untarnished. What more proof could you ask for?"

Cynder smiled shyly.

"We should get you two back home," said Ignitus, "You need to heal and rest, you've both been through a great ordeal."

Ignitus lifted Spyro from the ground, and offered to carry Cynder back as well. Soon, they were home, and Spyro finally woke up again eight hours later.

Even after days of living in the temple, everything was still bizarre to Cynder. Everything felt warm and friendly, opposed to her old fortress, and everyone there was kind and helpful to her, rather than being scared and submissive. She herself was completely different. She had had 12 years to get used to being wicked, cold and foreboding, but now the curse was gone, she had an entirely new personality to get used to. She wanted to help people, to have friends, to not be alone any more, and inside the dragon temple, she had all those things.

But happy as she was, she still felt she did not deserve the kindness of Spyro and the guardians. She had been a monster. She had tortured the guardians and tried to kill Spyro, and yet they treated her like a family member. She couldn't live with it. The conflicting views caused her to frequently change mood, something that Spyro noticed.

"I'm fine," she told him, when Spyro had raised his concerns.

"No, you're not," said Spyro, "You're still beating yourself up over what he made you do. Don't bother denying it, because I know you by now."

"It's difficult to accept," said Cynder, "That nothing I did was my fault. I don't deserve this."

"No, you don't," said Spyro, "You deserve more."

Cynder remained silent, unsure of what to say. There was an idea forming in her mind, but whether or not she would execute it, she still wasn't sure. As they day progressed, however, she finally deduced it was necessary.

Cynder living in the temple had affected everyone else as well, in different ways. Spyro and Ignitus were delighted to have her around, the guardians took a little time to get used to her new friendliness, but they did so eventually.

The only real cause of trouble was Spyro's eccentric and rather annoying foster brother, Sparx. The little dragonfly made it quite plain he greatly distrusted Cynder, and was sure she would turn on them any second, and that they were all fools not to see it.

"Give it a rest, Sparx," said Spyro, finally having enough, "She's having a rough time of it as it is, don't make it worse."

"Make it worse?" retorted Sparx, "I'm speaking my mind, she tried to kill us numerous times, and you're defending her?!"

"I'm not going through this again with you, Sparx," said Spyro, "I've told you again and again about the Dark Master's curse, you even heard it from Ignitus, but it doesn't seem to stay in that tiny head of yours, does it?"

"Don't bother, Spyro," said Cynder.

"I don't want you feeling any worse," said Spyro, "He can be quite harsh."

"I'll manage," said Cynder. Spyro continued to look at her with concern, but when she remained silent, he eventually looked away, giving up on the argument.

It was during these silences that Spyro once again developed an odd feeling for Cynder. He always felt shy, and sometimes found himself looking at her for longer than he would have intended. He couldn't explain what it was, but so far, Cynder hadn't noticed, or at least hadn't mentioned it.

Over the course of the next few days, Spyro noticed Cynder becoming more reclusive than normal, and suspected that something was bothering her, or that she was planning something.

After a full two weeks of Cynder living in the temple, Spyro's suspicions were finally answered one quiet, clear midnight.