Disclaimer: I don't own Wings of Fire or any of its characters, plot, etc.

Peril could still see flashes of Scarlet's face, the storm rumbling overhead, Ruby/Tourmaline facing down Scarlet... She could hardly believe that Chameleon had enchanted Tourmaline, or that Tourmaline had killed Queen Scarlet.

But no. She wasn't Queen Scarlet, not anymore. The actual queen, Tourmaline (or was it Ruby? Peril still wasn't exactly sure) was just a few paces ahead of her. Peril had to stop thinking of Scarlet as the queen.

Tourmaline was leading them to a quiet library room of the palace, lined with scroll jars, desks, and wooden sculptures of trees that made Peril very nervous, but it was private enough that they wouldn't be interrupted. She kept her wings and tail tucked in close to her and ignored her father when he noticed and gave her a significant "I can help you with that" look.

They were going to talk to Chameleon to see what he could do about turning Tourmaline back into Ruby, like she wanted, and to figure out what to do about him and his scroll.

"Show the queen," Peril said to him.

"Do I have to?" he asked.

"Yes," Tourmaline.

"Let's ask my talons," Peril said, lifting them up and nodding thoughtfully at them. "Oh, guess what, they say yes, too."

Cliff giggled. He and Turtle were the only other two allowed in the room, and both watched curiously as Chameleon undid his metal sheath again.

This time he didn't reach for his pouch of shapes, and Peril decided not to point that out. She could leave him one secret, since he loved them so much.

But he did bring out the scroll and undid the leather binding with an aggrieved sigh. Carefully, he unrolled the blank end of it along the floor.

"This is what I use," he said. "It's animus-touched."

Tourmaline tilted her head at it. "Where did it come from?"

"I... found it," he said evasively. "All I have to do is write an enchantment in here, tear it off, and give it to you to wear, in whatever way you want. Then as long as you wear it, you'll be whatever the enchantment says you are."

Chameleon straightened his shoulders and gave Tourmaline a sly sideways look. "In fact, I could make you anything," he offered. "For the right price, I can make you invincible. I can make you as strong as ten dragons. I might even be able to make you a mind reader. Imagine the possibilities! What have you always dreamed of being?"

"Queen," said Tourmaline. "Both as Tourmaline and as Ruby, that was what I always wanted to become. And I did, without any strange magic." She tapped the scroll. "I want it to say: Turn this dragon back into Ruby, queen of the SkyWings, with all her memories intact."

"That's it?" Chameleon said irritably. "No superpowers?"

"That's it." Tourmaline said. "I want to watch you write it. Do it now."

She leaned over his shoulder, staring narrowly at the page as he dipped his claw in a small inkpot and wrote in scratching, crooked handwriting. As soon as he was finished, he blew on the paper, tore out the written part, and passed it to the queen.

"Check this for me," Tourmaline said, holding it out for Peril and Turtle to examine.

"You saw me write it!" Chameleon protested. "When could I have snuck in any extra instructions?"

Turtle took the paper and studied it on both sides, bringing it close to his eyes. It said exactly what Tourmaline had asked for.

"I think it's the best possible solution," he said, handing it back to Tourmaline. Peril nodded. If this was what the queen really wanted, she wasn't going to argue. She could understand it.

In fact, seeing Chameleon give Ruby (Tourmaline?) what she wanted so easily made Peril think... There was still a part of her that wanted Chameleon to make her a spell, one that would turn Peril into the kind of dragon Clay wanted. She was a little doubtful about doing it. Surely a good dragon would just do her best to be good on her own, with no magic spells to help her. Surely that'd be the kind of dragon would approve of, right?

But also, if Chameleon made her become exactly the dragon Clay wanted... it wouldn't matter, right? Even if she wasn't actually that kind of dragon inside.

"Wait," Peril barked. "I want a spell, too."

Chameleon's expression was pleased, whereas Ruby arched her brow skeptically.

"That's fine with me," Chameleon said. He gave her a hopeful look. "For a price? Will you let me keep my scroll?"

Peril noticed how he called it his scroll, and how he held it tighter when she glanced at it.

"I don't think he should be allowed to have that thing," Ruby said immediately. She jabbed a claw at it. "Just think about the damage it could cause. It was the reason we got into this whole Ruby/Tourmaline mess. We can't let him have it."

"I won't do Peril's spell otherwise," Chameleon said quickly.

"Let him have the scroll," Peril said. "I need him to do this. Please." A part of her still liked her father, despite how untrustworthy he was, and she wanted to let him have this. If it meant he would do the spell for her.

Ruby definitely didn't look like she wanted him to have the scroll, but she also didn't seem eager to confiscate it, since Peril and Chameleon wanted to cast the spell so badly. "Peril... I'm not his queen, but I am yours. And I don't know what spell you're planning on having him cast, but I don't want you to make a decision you'll regret. Think of Clay."

Clay is why I have to do this! "I appreciate the concern, but I need this spell. And you're not stopping me." She lifted her wings, feeling a twinge of guilt at making such a threatening gesture at the queen- What would Clay think?- then turned to Chameleon. "Give me something that will make me the exact kind of dragon Clay wants, down to every detail."

Chameleon reached into the bag he kept the scroll and withdrew a wristband. "Do you want me to use this? I don't know... I'm afraid of it burning up against your scales."

"Don't be," Peril said. "I know Clay wouldn't want me to have fire scales, so there's really no danger." She saw Chameleon's worried expression and added, "But maybe you could put something that, like, says that my scales can't harm the wristband."

"I should just confiscate the scroll anyway," Ruby grumbled, "if only to stop you from doing this." But she didn't move.

Chameleon seemed satisfied by Peril's suggestion and set to writing. Peril watched over his shoulder carefully, making sure he did it exactly right. When finished, it read:

Enchant this piece of scroll so that, if a dragon wears it in a wristband, that dragon will become exactly the person Clay of the MudWings would love, down to every detail. Also enchant it so that the wristband it is worn in cannot be harmed by Peril of the SkyWings in any way.

Peril nodded, and Chameleon folded the scrap of scroll up and slid it neatly in between the wires of the wristband. He handed it to Peril, and Peril slowly and carefully put in on her wrist. The spell worked; she didn't burn it.

So why hadn't anything happened?

She had expected some huge change. Maybe her muscles would shift and she would become a MudWing, or her train of thought would change and she'd somehow become a better, purer dragon with a kinder heart, one worthy of Clay. But she didn't feel any different. Her thoughts didn't change. Her appearance didn't change. Even her scales were the same color, and shone with the same fire. I still have firescales, for some reason.

Something clicked in Peril's brain. She didn't need a spell to become the dragon Clay wanted.

She already was.

As Chameleon took the scroll back and stuck it in his bag, a relieved smile on his face, Peril realized what a terrible mistake she had made.