I know I normally don't respond to reviews and such, but that changes today! I want to have a better dialogue with you guys so I can get better as a writer.
Lovebooks200426- thanks and the next chapter is in the works now!
Balance2000- I'm flattered you called this a book. And thanks for hanging in there through the break!
New Quest
Bloom's Pov
I took my place among the dragon rulers as the royal guests came up to give their congratulations. I thanked them for coming and tried my best to make them feel at ease with the dragons.
Of all the rulers, Enti was the most stereotypically dragon like. Red, had wicked horns and spines, and leathery wings… He was the walking definition of a dragon. Abyss wasn't helping much either. She was the least intimidating by looks alone. Blue with soft, curved fins and a delicate face, but her body language was even throwing me. Her eggs had hatched not long ago, so she was rightfully restless, but I had assumed knowing her mate, Tsunami, would be with them would help. Terran was the only dragon who seemed to make a good impression with his looks and his words. He looked exactly like what he was. An old as dirt dragon who seemed to be happy about anything. He gladly spoke and laughed with the guests and effortlessly got along well with anyone who came up.
"Enti, Abyss." I finally snapped at them. "Don't look so uptight! Actually act like you're happy to meet these people."
Enti actually laughed out loud, surprising us all. "You are already pushing us around, eh? You are right though, I am sorry."
Instead of sitting, he chose to lie on his side. He can't change his scales, but he could change his posture to seem more relaxed. Abyss said nothing, but she visibly softened her gaze and apologized to the king and queen in front of us, explaining that she is anxious to return to her hatchlings.
There was one royal family I wasn't exactly happy to see because of who would be coming with them. When they finally reached the thrones, I smiled and happily greeted all of them.
"King Erendor, Queen Samara, Crown Prince Sky, welcome to the Sky Palace. This is King Enti, Queen Abyss, and King Terran." I introduced the dragons in turn.
"Welcome," Terran bowed his head. He opened his mouth to continue, but someone cleared their throat.
I glanced at Diaspro, who was standing right next to Samara. "Oh, my apologies. This is Diaspro, their…" I trailed off, unsure of her title.
"I am a friend of the Royal Family." Diaspro stepped forwards, smugly looking down her nose at the old king.
Enti easily caught wind of her hostility to Terran and Snorted with disdain. "Really? If you are not a part of the royal family, then why have you come to make our acquaintance?" He challenged.
"I am a princess on Eraklyon. I am the daughter of a powerful family. I was invited here today because I am a close friend of the crown." Diaspro frowned.
"Well then, close friend of the crown," Abyss began. "You may have been invited here, but you were never invited to interrupt one of us in our palace. Please, allow the big rulers to talk."
Diaspro was speechless, and so was anyone in earshot. "I- Please forgive me. I shall take my leave."
Diaspro turned to walk away, but Abyss got her again. "It is rude to turn your back while your host is speaking to you." She called her back. "You came with them, so you should stay with them."
Diaspro was still beat red by the time they left the thrones. My family was next, and last, in line. I gladly accepted the hug Daphne gave me.
"Bloom, I am so proud of you." Mom placed a hand on my shoulder. I blinked away the tear in my eye.
I stepped back to introduce my family to the dragons. "King Oritel, Queen Marion, Crown princess Daphne, and the crown princess's husband, Thoren, welcome to the Sky palace. This is King Enti, Queen Abyss, and King Terran."
"Rulers of Domino, it is an honor to finally meet you." Terran dipped his head.
"It is an honor to meet the three of you. Bloom has told us all about how you helped her survive your world of dragons. I can't thank you enough for helping our daughter." Dad bowed to the three dragons.
"It was our pleasure. She was a joy to have in our homes." Enti gave then a toothy, dragon smile.
Finally, the introductions were over, and the real celebration began.
Graswhistle and a few other dragons and wyverns began to sing songs and dance around the room. This wasn't just my crowning, it was an opportunity to show the rulers that dragons aren't too bad and that they can appreciate music and fun as well.
Grasswhistle was trying her hardest to get some humans to join in, but no one was taking. Finally, she began to sing a couples song. Enti, seeing that everyone was nervous, stepped forwards, beckoning to his mate, ShadowFlame.
The two crossed the dancefloor and bowed to each other. Grass whistle, seeing the two, restarted the song. Enti stepped forwards and began the dance. It began slowly, the two mates gently touching wings and walking around, as if admiring, each other. As the song began to pick up, they began to playfully poke and prod each other. Happily skipping around the dance floor. As the song reached the climax, they stood up and spun on their back legs three times, and then collapsed to the ground, happily laughing to each other.
The room was filled with laughter as the two dragons stood up and returned to the throne. Suddenly, I had an idea.
"Pardon me," I bowed to Terran and Abyss, and hurried towards Sky. When I reached him, I grabbed his arm and called out to Grasswhistle. She apparently knew what I was planning, and restarted the song.
"What are we doing?" Sky whispered as I pulled him to the middle of the floor.
"We're gonna dance like dragons." I smiled. "Follow my lead."
I began to repeat everything Enti and Shadow did to the best of my memory, and Sky quickly caught on and followed. We danced around the room, laughing when we began to poke each other, and slowly, others began to join. I was happy to see that my friends and the Specialists were the first to join, along with Daphne and Thoren, and then my parents.
As the song came to a close, again, Enti and Shadow joined the floor again. Peril and Quake stepped up as well and began to show us humans how to dance to certain songs. People began to laugh and talk to the dragons. Catching Terran's eye, I gave him a smile.
"Good job."
Every ounce of worry that I still had melted as he praised me. Ever since the crowning was announced, I continued to worry about how I could be the go-between of the two groups. Seeing everyone now, having a good time, was a big relief.
Sky and I danced around each other until we both needed a break. The dragon's dancing style was very fast paced and energetic. Always moving. Sky pulled me to the side and we watched as people began to pull away, also exhausted. The girls pulled away as well and came over.
"Bloom, this was a great idea!" Musa praised, "Music and dancing is a great way to get people to relax."
"Enti gave me the idea." I admitted. "When he and Shadow danced, it reminded me of how we humans danced."
"Well, it was a great idea none the less!" Aisha smiled.
The rest of the day went relatively well. Everyone got along, Diaspro was so embarrassed that she stayed away from me for the rest of the night, and all of the Rulers of Magix were now more than willing to accept the dragons into their ranks.
As everyone began to leave, the dragons put on one last display. Several hundred dragons surrounded the palace and performed flips and tricks in the air. Each species showed off their flying and fire skills. It was like watching fireworks.
After the last guest left, only the Winx, specialists, and I remained in the palace entryway.
"So, now what?" Nex grinned.
"For now, let's head to the library." I began, slowly. "It's way past time that we begin our latest adventure."
When we reached the library, I lead my friends to a table in the very center of the library. Each of us took a seat and exchanged glances with one another.
"So, a new quest, huh?" Brandon began. "What's it about."
I forgot that I never told the boys what Eraklyon said to me. "We need to find the six living Guardian dragons. Eraklyon said that they guard the oldest planets in Magix, but that's all I know about them."
Tecna and Timmy both pulled out their phones and began to search for information.
"What do we do when we find them?" Helia asked.
"We need to collect the dragon orbs from them. Then, we will have enough power to defeat the dark force Eraklyon warned me about." I explained.
"Guys, we might have a bit of a problem." Tecna began. She pulled up a map of Magix. "Okay, I've highlighted the planets that are the oldest in terms of their creation in yellow. The ones that have the oldest traces of magic are pink. The ones with the oldest traces of life are green. Also, there are many conflicting sources that debate which planets are actually the oldest because all of the planets seem to have been formed in the same time period. The yellow ones are the ones that most sources agree on."
"… Okay then," I thought for a moment. "Maybe there's something in this library that can help."
"Well, it's worth a shot." Aisha said.
So, the eleven of us set to work. Since none of my friends could read Draconic, I called in some fey dragons to help. After hours of searching, everyone was exhausted, and we found nothing remotely useful.
"Well, that was fun." Stella plopped down on her chair.
"I was really hoping that there would at least be something on the Guardian dragons in here." I sighed.
We sat in silence for a few moments, all trying to think of what to do next.
"Wait a second," Flora jumped up. "If we can't find anything on Guardians here, why don't we ask one of the Guardian Dragons we do know about?"
I suddenly felt incredibly awkward. Why didn't I think of that?
"Eraklyon is off helping to hunt down the remaining fragments of the Rebellion, so we can't ask him, so what about Sola and Nyemaane?" Sky asked.
"They might be able to help." I began. "Also, I think we can get to their temple without the risk of going snowblind."
Everyone exchanged a worried glance. Ever since my sight returned, they refrained from talking about it. Being blind wasn't too taboo to me. I had to live with it for months and eventually just got used to it. Everyone else acted like it was the end of the world even bringing it up around me.
Finally, Stella spoke up. "How so?"
"We can try the portal room. I'm sure that I could have used it before to get to Glacial, but the dragons didn't see a reason to send me there."
"Well, I'm sure we can do that tomorrow. It's already super late and none of us are exactly alert at the moment." Aisha said with a yawn.
Her yawn set off a chain reaction, and the rest of us began to yawn as well.
"You're right. Let's go hit the hay so we can get an early start tomorrow." Sky stretched his arms and headed for the door.
Everyone began to follow, except for me. Musa noticed and called out to me. "Bloom, are you coming?"
"I will, I just want to check something first." I explained, heading deeper into the library.
Once everyone was gone, I headed to the portal room. Before anything else, I wanted to check and see if we could get to Sola and Nyemaane's temple.
Pulling up the map, I touched Glacial and thought of the temple. I never got a good look at the temple just using the Dragon eye, so I focused on what I did remember. The winding trails under the ice, Fritz leading the way, the great door to the temple… and the silver dragon.
It felt like forever ago when I last dreamt of her. I could still remember her voice perfectly and the shiver that ran down my spine whenever I heard it. I would give anything to meet her in real life. Sadly, I will probably never get to talk to her in the real world. Encased in ice under a mountain, the silver dragon continued to sleep not far from Sola and Nyemaane's temple.
The map responded to me and a portal opened nearby. Looking through, I saw familiar walls incased in ice. Satisfied that the portal would take us where we needed to go, I closed it and returned to my room.
As I was getting ready for bed, I decided then that once I had defeated the evil force, I would find some way to free the silver dragon from her icy sleep.
