Apollo: Before we get to the rest, I, on behalf of team Qebui, would like to apologize. We only really got much writing done in the past week, and over half of what we have here was written in the last 3 days. It's been hectic, Artemis and Hermes taking some trips to Calgary, and we can assure you that this will be the last chapter in a streak of chapters each longer than the last. This one is nearly 8,000 words in content.
Artemis: Don't forget to tell them about the weird Royal We!
Apollo: Ah, yes. Our version of Queen Scarlet gets more formal as she gets more and more angry. If you've angered her enough for her to use the Royal We, you're probably screwed unless you can quickly change the subject. For those who don't know, the Royal We is basically when a royal refers to themselves in the plural, sort of speaking for the country and such. Now, onto answers.
Hermes: Dear ThePhantomDragon204 - First, we are the authors, we decide everything. Whether or not dragons go mad, etc. Please stop commenting on the fact that Starflight and Sunny aren't nuts yet. Interesting guesses in your prologue review, completely wrong. You know how Qibli believes he's a horrible person but he's really not? Think that for every dragon Sunny meets. The lack of telepathic training is an issue, but they're getting sort of acclimatized to other minds. If you had read chapter 1, you'd know how they figured out shielding. What, you think those techniques sprang into existence from the ether? Dragons developed those, and Sunny did so anew. The visions are highly inconsistent, and for Sunny, a nonissue. They wouldn't know that the prophecy was fake until one of two things happens - a vision detailing this or reading the mind of a dragon who knows. That's it for the prologue review, I guess.
Apollo: As for the chapter 3 review, because we said so. We know that Animus magic is genetic, do you know/remember who Sunny's father is? She's basically a modern-day Darkstalker, really, if you think about it. Half NightWing, thrice-moonborn, and Animus powers. And no, Clearsight was a natural with her powers, whereas Starflight tends more towards telepathy. Clearsight, for the first three years of her life, received NO training, whatever training she did receive was crappy, and she STILL managed to plot out every possibility years ahead, at minimum. Starflight is more like the Oracle of Delphi from Percy Jackson. Visions are usually prompted, and he can't really control it, only hope he gets lucky. As for the chapter 4 review, it is completely canon, how do you think Darkstalker first contacted Moon? There's no way she could pick a quiet whisper out of a screaming crowd.
Hermes: Not specifically stated! Darkstalker claimed to be lonely and couldn't converse with anyone!
Apollo: What dragon would listen to a voice in their head if they didn't already hear such voices every time they came near another dragon?
Hermes: Maybe Darkstalker could prove it by looking into the future and telling the dragon?
Apollo: Maybe so, but perhaps he didn't think of that. Either way, I'm answering a review, and in our story, telepaths can broadcast. This is a bit of a double-edged sword for a careless telepath. Please see Rule 0 on our profile, in the assumptions for the stories section. Anyway, he did, he can't, and not for certain. No, he shouldn't, because that would break the story. That's why we made his powers inconsistent. What's so special about Flame? He's a punk of a SkyWing with no special powers. If he can do it, why not anyone else? And if you'd read further, he DID tell the others that the prophecy was fake. Can't remember exactly where, but I do know Sunny has a bit of a sob over it after they're captured.
Artemis: For the chapter 5 review, and yes, he said that, as Hermes mentioned. This is our fanfiction, we can do what we feel to be good. For the chapter 6 review, WE know that. Does Sunny? The only two kingdoms on the whole continent that don't currently function as absolute monarchies are the Sand kingdom, currently in civil war with each faction running as an absolute monarchy, and the Rain kingdom, which functions as a bizzare mix between democracy and absolute monarchy. Also, no dragon outside the Rain kingdom knows that the Rain kingdom works that way. Constitutional monarchy? She's a dragonet, a teenager in a world that has never seen such a thing. She meant anarchy because she didn't know that any other state of existence for a kingdom without a monarch was possible. And no, not when she feels an overwhelming emotion, she was so shocked that she basically stopped, in every way, and even then Starflight could only read ONE surface thought. And as for the length of chapter 7... you ain't seen nothing yet! The abilities themselves are, for the most part, canon, but this is FANFICTION. It is by definition an AU, unless you do something like Fialleril's Double Agent Vader, which fills in the blanks without altering canon at all... for now. Did everyone miss Nautilus? He tried to kill Webs in canon!
Apollo: I hid some references in here. They can be from anything. There's a Doctor Strange reference, an accidental Tolkien reference, just try to find them!
Hermes: To clarify, I don't think broadcasting is canon, Apollo and Artemis do, and we all agree that they can in THIS story.
Apollo: Right now we have 4 stories planned. This one, a PJO fic called White Pine, and 2 Star Wars fics tentatively titled 'In the White Light' and 'Embrace the Dark'. I have modified the profile extensively, mostly in response to ThePhantomDragon204's reviews. Thank you, you have helped us expand and improve our AU, and we are grateful for that. In the future, if people want to give criticism, please make sure we didn't cover it in the profile first. If you have complaints about non-canon anything, see Rule 0. We value all input, and once again, we're sorry for taking a month to update. Now, on with the show.
Clay and Fjord seemed to be talking. The audience was booing, so loudly that Starflight could hear it even from the pillars.
"Boooo! More blood! More death! Somebody bite somebody!"
Savages.
Remembering something important, Starflight broadcast a thought to Clay.
"Watch out for the freezing-death breath."
Fjord breathed at Clay, who rolled out of the way, managing to avoid it all, having been ready for it. As Fjord opened his mouth to try again, Clay shot fire into his mouth. Starflight chuckled. No matter how barbaric, the sight of a dragon batting at his mouth after having fire shot into it was slightly funny. What wasn't funny, however, was how furious Fjord looked now. Clay seemed to be talking again, but Fjord rushed him with his talons outstretched. Clay dodged but was hit in the face with Fjord's tail. Knowing what Fjord would try next if he had any common sense, Clay kicked backwards, connecting with Fjord's neck. It seemed to cause Fjord much more pain than it reasonably should - looking closer, Starflight could see a scratch, longer than what Clay could inflict with a kick at that angle. Starflight could sense fear in Clay, and was about to encourage him when -
"BOOOOOOOOOO! A sheep could have won this fight by now! What are you doing? Thinking? Less thinking! More killing! Claw him, claw him, claw him!"
Kestrel was actually civilized by SkyWing standards? Wow.
Fjord attacked again, but Clay rolled under him, doing something that Starflight couldn't see, and jumping back up to face Fjord. Fjord shrieked, doubling over.
"YAAAAYYYYYY!"
Fjord was shouting.
"What is wrong with you? That's not how MudWings fight! I was trained in your techniques!"
Clay visibly responded, but Starflight couldn't make out the words.
"All right, dragons. Fjord and Clay, we don't have all day. Some of us have kingdoms to run. One of you kill the other one right now, or I'm coming down there to end you both myself."
Empty threat. Queen Scarlet wants Clay alive.
Fjord dashed at Clay again.
Dodge!
Clay grabbed Fjord's horns, shoving his head aside as he released more freezing breath.
No…
Clay was clearly trapped. Why then was his foresight telling him that Clay would survive today? Suddenly, he remembered. As Fjord pinned Clay, Starflight turned away, looking at the queen's balcony instead. Peril looked conflicted, focused intently on the fight. Queen Scarlet looked excited. A yell was heard from the circle, as well as cursing. Tsunami had jumped off her pillar, unbalancing the prisoners around her. As the guards flew up to put her back on her pillar from where she had thrown herself, and the audience refocused on the fight, Glory unhinged her jaw, and a jet of small black droplets flew out of her mouth towards the fight.
What.
Clay and Starflight were the only ones looking at Fjord as the jet struck his face and neck, as Glory quickly feigned sleep. Fjord flinched, reaching up with a talon to wipe off the droplets. And as Starflight watched, Fjord's scales began to melt, as the droplets bubbled and smoked. Then Fjord screamed. The screaming was similar to Horizon's, Starflight supposed. A drop had landed in Fjord's eye, and it disintegrated, leaving a smoking black cavity in his skull. Fjord's mind was a seething maelstrom of pain, fear, confusion, and surprise. Mostly the first two. Fjord's face began to melt as he lurched off Clay, clawing at his neck. After that, Fjord's death only lasted a minute more. Clay was standing next to Fjord's body, face half-melted, as guards flew down to bring him to his pillar. Peril looked terrified. Queen Scarlet looked pleased. And Glory? As in the vision, she simply looked asleep.
Starflight awoke after dark. Looking around, he saw two things that immediately caught his attention. Tsunami had been chained even more securely than before, and Peril was on Clay's pillar. They seemed to be talking, but he couldn't make out the words over the wind. Peril flew away.
"Hey, Clay, what just happened?"
Peril stopped by for a chat. We talked. Do you know where that poison came from?
"You mean the little black droplets that melted Fjord's face off?"
Yes.
"You should probably keep this quiet for now, but that was Glory's work. She took the opportunity to do something while everyone was distracted, but I'm not quite sure how. There was nothing on RainWings having venom back in the cave."
Glory? You're sure?
"Deadly sure."
Huh. I thought it was Queen Scarlet.
"So that was what I heard in the vision…"
Vision?
"The visions that convinced me to let you go into the arena. One was an image of you standing over Fjord's body, the other was a conversation between you and Peril. Peril expressed some doubt, but acknowledged that Queen Scarlet would definitely do something like that."
Sounds like the conversation I just had.
"Anything else?"
Peril's not allowed into the arena tomorrow and wants to hide behind me to get around that. Something about a trial… Oh, and Sunny's fine. Eating like a queen, making friends with the guards… But you already talked to her.
"You ARE the fireproof one. Look, she's coming back!"
Indeed she was, and carrying a large rock cauldron. Peril and Clay resumed talking, and Peril stuck a claw into the cauldron. Clay said something that caused Peril to almost hit him with her tail. She said something, looking contrite, and began plastering the contents of the cauldron on Clay. Clay seemed to relax. Peril flew away.
"What did she say now?"
Clay looked a bit startled. A little warning first, Starflight?
"Sorry. What did she say now?"
She thinks her mother's dead, I think Kestrel's her mother judging by the scorch marks -
"Ah, so you noticed them too."
AS I WAS SAYING - thinking, whatever - she thinks that she needs to eat black rocks every day to survive, but I think something's wrong with the whole story, and she'll be here on and off all night.
"Speaking of Kestrel, it's probably her trial. Thanks, Clay."
Starflight was left to ponder the new information as Peril flew back and forth from Clay's pillar. The more he thought, the more certain he became that Kestrel was Peril's mother. It made sense. The scorch marks on Kestrel's talons, Queen Scarlet's hatred of her, Peril being banned from the trial… It all fit. And finally, dawn came.
Dragons were filing into the arena, quieter and more subdued than they were for the fights. Soldiers dragged two large boulders into the arena, one of them twisting three iron rings into the ground and attaching thick chains to them. Looking across the circle, Starflight could see Clay spreading his wings to hide Peril. Queen Scarlet slithered onto her balcony, but Glory was absent. Finally, Kestrel was hauled into the ring, hissing and spitting all the while, but prevented from breathing fire by a chain looped around her snout, and seemingly cocooned in more chains to prevent her from lashing out otherwise. Starflight chuckled. It seemed that the SkyWings had learned from their mistake with Tsunami. On the other claw, it was Kestrel down there. Starflight winced. Had his sight failed him? The announcer climbed onto one of the boulders, and a paler SkyWing climbed onto the other, dragging his tail behind him like a carcass. Was this Osprey? Hissing, Starflight remembered that Peril had tried to talk to him on the first night, but he had ignored her, squandering the chance to take her measure first-hand. No matter. She seemed honest when talking to Clay, though it was harder to tell without the help of reliable telepathy. Queen Scarlet beat her wings, drawing the attention of every dragon in the arena.
"Loyal subjects. This dragon, Kestrel, once of the SkyWings, stands accused of the highest treason - disobeying me. Vermilion speaks for the prosecution."
"Your Majesty," Vermilion - the announcer - said, bowing and crossing his talons. "The facts are clear. You gave an order. Kestrel disobeyed you and fled the kingdom. She has been living under your mountains for the last seven years, aiding and abetting the Talons of Peace, who also refuse to follow Your Majesty's orders. She deserves a long, painful execution. There is no need to drag this trial out."
Kestrel glared at the queen.
"Well said. Now Osprey may speak for the defence. Or not, if he'd prefer to sleep through this trial, too."
So that WAS Osprey. The crowd laughed as Osprey stretched his neck toward the queen, then toward Kestrel, as if trying to get close enough to see their faces from his boulder.
"Your Majesty," he said in a voice creaky with age but still loud enough to carry to the prisoners. "I do have one or two words to say in this prisoner's defence."
Queen Scarlet stared down at Osprey, her tail lashing slowly behind her. "Certainly. That's what you're here to do. Go ahead."
Osprey cleared his throat, coughing out a puff of smoke. He had the attention of the SkyWings.
"Consider first the charge of disobedience. Kestrel did not do as you ordered - but then, did you not reverse the order after she was gone?"
"Osprey," Queen Scarlet hissed. "Speak plainly, or speak not. And let me point out that one of those options would be much smarter than the other."
"Forgive me, Your Majesty, but I must speak. Kestrel was one of your most loyal soldiers. She was sent through the breeding program, on your orders, and brought forth one egg. Upon hatching, it turned out to hold twin dragonets."
Glancing over at Peril, her shock was visible even at a distance. It was good that she was hidden from the dragons below.
"We know all this. Skip ahead to the part where we execute her."
"The dragonets were defective. One had too much fire, the other not enough. As per SkyWing custom, you ordered Kestrel to kill them both and stay out the breeding program forevermore."
The queen rose to her full height and spread her wings so the sunlight caught on the rubies embedded around the edges. "Quite reasonable," she said.
"But Kestrel tried to escape, taking her dragonets from the hatching cave and trying to flee down the mountain with them."
"So you agree she disobeyed me," said Queen Scarlet. "Then I think we're done here."
"You caught her at the Diamond Spray River, and there you issued a new order. You told her you would forgive her disobedience on one condition. She must choose one of the dragonets to die, and then you would spare the other's life, and Kestrel's own. Then she did obey you, didn't she? She killed the dragonet with too little fire, right there at the river. With her own claws."
"And then I changed my mind again. I am the queen, I can do that."
"You told your guards - I know, for I was among them - to kill the other dragonet and take Kestrel back for trial. She tried to grab her daughter and fly away, but the heat of the dragonet's scales burned her talons before she was a wing-beat into the sky, and she was forced to drop her. She fled, leaving her living dragonet at your mercy."
There was a heartbeat of silence.
"Well, sounds guilty to me. We'll execute her tomorrow. And while we're at it, let's execute him too, for boring me." She pointed at Osprey.
"NO!"
Peril could not contain herself, exploding past Clay as she shot towards the sands. There was a faint reddish glow from Clay's pillar - she had burned through a wire on her way out.
"It can't be true!" Peril cried, landing beside Osprey. "Tell me it isn't!"
Kestrel reared up, her roar muffled by the chain. Judging by the look on her face, Kestrel had thought that Peril had been dead since the day she fled.
"Oh, yes," Queen Scarlet said maliciously to Kestrel. "Didn't I mention she's still alive? And working for me?" She turned her fierce yellow eyes on Peril. "You're not supposed to be here."
"You lied to me! You said she was dead!" Peril shrieked.
Queen Scarlet sighed, and glared at Osprey. "Look at the trouble you've caused. Peril, dear. Would you have wanted to know your mother was alive somewhere, raising other dragonets and wishing she'd killed you instead of your brother?"
Peril stood resolute.
"She could have escaped with your brother," the queen pointed out. "You're the one who burned her when she tried to flee with you. She thought she chose wrong. That's why she never came back for you."
A lie. The queen had no way of knowing, and besides, those words were calculated to turn Peril against Kestrel. Kestrel roared, unintelligible through the chains.
"Haven't I kept you alive all these years? Finding you the black rocks, feeding you, making you my champion? Don't you appreciate all the things I've done for you? Aren't I a better mother than her anyway?"
For some reason, one of the images on the surface of the queen's mind, alongside the arena and black rocks, was poison.
"I want to stand for her," Peril said confidently.
This seemed to surprise Queen Scarlet. "What?" she said slowly.
"I call upon the Champion's Shield. The queen's champion may stand forth for any dragon sentenced to execution. If I can defeat the next dragon you set me to fight, you must let her go free." She looked into Kestrel's eyes for the first time. "I will stand for my mother."
"Now where," hissed Queen Scarlet, her eyes small slits between orange scales, "did you hear about that particular law?"
Peril suddenly looked nervous. "I… read about it."
Starflight noted that Peril was a terrible liar.
"I bet you did, with claws that burn through paper with a single touch. Someone's been telling you things too big for little dragon ears."
"No!" Peril said too quickly. An abysmal liar indeed, which boded well for her intentions when talking to Clay. "Nobody -"
The queen was airborne before Peril could even continue her desperate lie. She snatched Osprey up in her talons and shot into the sky.
"Stop! It's not his fault!" Peril yelled, chasing them.
The queen spiralled up, Osprey writhing in her claws, his tail hanging heavily below him. And when Queen Scarlet reached the height of the wire net, she released the hapless SkyWing, who dropped like a stone.
Peril darted at him, talons outstretched, but she stopped, realizing that if she caught Osprey, he would merely die of the burns, far slower than of the fall. Osprey tried to right himself, but it was too late. As he hit the ground at an awkward angle, every dragon in the arena could hear the ripping and snapping of bones and wings as he tumbled. Peril landed beside him.
Queen Scarlet fluttered delicately back onto her balcony perch. "I hope this has been a lesson to any other dragons who were thinking of teaching my champion bad habits," she said, glaring around the arena.
"He's not dead," Peril said, clawing at the sand.
"But he is dying." Queen Scarlet waved a dismissive claw. "Now. I won't argue with the Champion's Shield. The champion has asked to stand for the prisoner. I will choose her opponent, and the will battle at the end of the games tomorrow. If she wins, Kestrel goes free. If not, well, I'll have a dead champion, but at least we'll get to execute Kestrel right afterward. All in all, a thrillingly bloody day for me and Queen Burn to look forward to."
Princess, Starflight snarked internally. But onto more serious matters, Burn was coming, and when she left, she'd take Sunny with her.
"All right. Tomorrow, then." She reached for Osprey's talons and stopped, her claws hovering over the dying dragon's, close but not touching.
"Of course we'll have to lock Kestrel back up," said Queen Scarlet. "We wouldn't want her to try escaping again. You understand."
"Fine." Peril turned and looked at Kestrel as Vermilion dismissed the crowd. When most of the crowd was gone, Kestrel pointed to the chains around her mouth. She wanted to talk to Peril.
"No," Peril said as a guard stepped forward. She stared into Kestrel's eyes. "You killed my brother. You left me here. And because of you, my friend is dead. I don't want you dead, but I don't want to know you." Following this, she whispered something that Starflight couldn't hear, leaning in so close that Kestrel was visibly wincing from the heat. Then she turned and left the arena. The guards dragged Kestrel away under Queen Scarlet's triumphant smile. As they left, Starflight looked into Kestrel's mind and found the whisper.
Besides, if I remove the chain, you'll be burned, possibly badly. You're already wincing.
Peril cared enough to note that. Perhaps there was hope for an escape involving Peril after all. After a guard dropped a pig off at midday, Starflight decided to try something. Peril's mere touch for a moment burned through a wire. Could he break his wires? Carefully, making certain that there were no guards around, Starflight focused. He had done something like this before, heating Tsunami's chains with Sunny so that she could break free. He breathed fire at the wire, careful not to burn himself, and saw it glow a dull red. What to do? Clay's broken wire was already at risk of discovery. Should he double that risk? No. Instead, he bent the glowing section of the wire, eliciting a grumble from the dragon next to him as he pulled on another wire in the process, managing to twist the metal slightly before it cooled. He heated it again and bent it further. Then he twisted his talon awkwardly and bent the wire mostly back into shape. It seemed a bit less flexible now. On and off he heated the wire until it seemed that he could break it if he really tried. By then it was getting dark, and heavy wingbeats in the distance distracted him from beginning the process again with another wire. A score of SandWings appeared from the west, outlined by the glow of the setting sun. The largest was in the lead, the others in a V formation behind her. They swooped toward the queen's palace, staying in perfect lines, and vanished to where Starflight guessed the visitor's landing field was.
Burn had arrived.
Burn. Oldest and strongest amongst the contenders for the SandWing throne, vicious and bloodthirsty beyond compare. The stories of her brutality on and off the battlefield rivaled even what Starflight had seen happen to Horizon, to Osprey, and to Fjord. Though unpopular with her own tribe, she had the alliance of the SkyWings and MudWings, and, if the information Starflight had from the cave was trustworthy, not very bright. Not to the extent of Blaze's sheer idiocy, but nowhere near Blister's dizzying intellect. The dragonets had been raised on warnings about the warring princesses, and what they knew was thus - Burn was cruel beyond compare, worse even than Queen Scarlet, and they knew exactly what she did to the SkyWing egg and it's courier before they could reach the cave. Blister was clever, and always had a plan. And Blaze, while certainly of incredibly low intelligence and combative skill, could convince you to do almost anything. Each of these three keeping each other in a delicate balance that had been mostly stable for twenty years of war. Burn was quite possibly the worst dragon to get her claws on the dragonets, for while Blister was so manipulative and clever as to suggest that the princesses drag the entire continent into their war, Burn was simply so pointlessly cruel that she might do something irreversible just for fun, or worse, to keep the war going indefinitely.
It seemed only a few moments later when Burn came back over the wall and flew toward the prisoners above the arena. She was staring directly at Clay, and his terror was palpable even without trying. She inspected him for a few moments, then moved on to Tsunami, and finally to Starflight. Starflight was, admittedly, afraid, but kept his fear in check with the knowledge that Queen Scarlet would be unhappy if Burn did something rash to the dragonets, and that Burn would likely not want to risk antagonizing one of her allies without whom she would likely have been overrun by Blaze and Blister. Instead, he took the opportunity to skim the surface of her mind and felt only a dark amusement and anticipation, mixed with glee. She finished inspecting Starflight and returned to the palace. Starflight sighed in relief. Now, how to escape before Burn killed, stuffed, and mounted Sunny on a wall?
An eerie note rang out across the arena. It was followed by more, some higher pitched, some lower. The notes continued echoing across the arena, from sundown to full dark. Starflight looked curiously across the arena. Clay seemed to be making the notes, somehow. Then suddenly, he stopped. Had he not been a NightWing, he would not have been able to see across the circle with any detail by now, but he could manage. The notes began again, seemingly with purpose. Starflight thought for a second, then realized what Clay was doing.
Oh, the dragonets are coming….
Clay paused, seeming to think for a moment, then continued on.
They're coming to save the day….
It sounded like the ghosts of prisoners past, whispering on the winds, holding out a mere sliver of hope. Hope that things would be better, someday, that the war would end and that they could go home.
They're coming to fight… for they know what's right…. The dragonets…
There was no "hooray!'. Starflight could hear a voice to his right, singing in response. Then another, and another, until there were six voices, leaving off the last hooray, just as Clay had. Clay began again, and more dragons joined in. On the third repetition, even Starflight joined, and by the fourth he was sure that he could hear Tsunami's croaky voice singing with the rest. Hope, gone for the prisoners doomed to die, seemed to have returned. This was the power of a belief, in a higher fate that ordained that everything would turn out fine. This was the power of a prophecy, even a false one, for dragons believed in it. It had the power to inspire them, to embolden them. On the sixth repetition, everyone singing wholeheartedly, a blast of fire shot through the arena doors as Queen Scarlet and Princess Burn stormed in.
"Stop that infernal noise right now!" Burn roared.
The singing stopped immediately. Was that a pout on the face of the dragon next to him?
"You," Queen Scarlet growled, pointing at Tsunami. "And you." She pointed at Starflight. "And - probably not you, but get down here anyway." She snarled at Clay, and as SkyWing guards spilled out of the tunnel and unchained Starflight, he didn't resist. What was the point, now? There were always more guards, and he wasn't leaving without the others.
They stopped at Peril's cave. Peril was resting her head on a narrow window ledge, staring at the sky. As they entered, she turned and gave Queen Scarlet a cold look. Starflight noticed that where once was a portrait of the queen, there was what looked like a large pile of ash. The queen was not amused.
"Out." she said to Peril.
"This is my room!"
"And I am the queen here, so do as I say. Go sleep in the arena. Anyone else tries to sing, burn out their tongue."
A moment passed, then Peril stormed out. The two royals had to scurry out of the way to avoid burns, in a rather undignified manner. Starflight hid a smile and could see several SkyWing guards doing the same.
"In here," Queen Scarlet said, shoving Starflight into the cave. He stumbled over the pool of water, but didn't fall in. Tsunami and Clay followed.
"You will not interrupt my feast again. I'm sure you're very amused with yourselves -"
"Why don't you just kill them?" Burn interrupted. She was much larger than the queen, claws and teeth stained red, a vicious scar burned into her left side.
"Because that wouldn't be any fun, of course! I want to see them fight. We have a whole day of entertainment planned for tomorrow. It's my hatching day! I want it to be thrilling."
Burn glared at the guards. Fortunately for them, they knew how to take a hint, and shuffled up the tunnel out of earshot. She lowered her voice so that only Queen Scarlet and the dragonets could hear.
"But if they are the dragonets of the prophecy, then the best way to break the prophecy is to kill them."
"Perhaps." The queen said, regarding Starflight. She was transparent in her desire to see a NightWing in combat. "But that didn't work out so well for you, did it? Everyone knows what happened to the SkyWing eggs…"
Ah, yes, Burn destroyed the one the Talons took, and Queen Scarlet dealt with the rest, using Peril as her murder weapon.
Burn thumped her tail hard enough to send tremors through the ground. "On the contrary, that worked perfectly. Only four dragonets - the prophecy is already incomplete. After all, we got rid of their 'Wings of Sky'."
Now THAT was interesting. Queen Scarlet didn't tell Burn that Glory was one of them? Well, Starflight certainly wasn't going to correct that little mistake.
"And yet our ignorant subjects are always yowling about the dragonets who are going to save the world. They believe in it, no matter what they've heard about broken eggs. If we kill them now, out of sight, they won't believe it's them. Even if we hang the bodies from the palace walls, our subjects will believe we killed some random dragonets, not the dragonets of destiny. If they die publicly, in front of everyone who's anyone -"
"The world doesn't need a prophecy. It needs me as queen of the SandWings." Burn snarled.
"You really must stop interrupting, Burn, I was getting to that. Everyone can watch them die. They'll see how weak they really are. They'll lose their faith in the dragonets, and more importantly, the prophecy. It'll all be over, and much more powerfully than if we made them… disappear. Don't you agree?"
"And if they win?"
"They won't, but we can always kill them ourselves if it comes to that."
"Excuse me," Tsunami interrupted. "You know we're right over here, right? Don't you want to hatch your evil plans somewhere more secretive?"
The two royals glared at her. She glared back, almost… regally? Either way, she stood unbowed. The queen opened a pouch slung under her wing and scattered several round black rocks across the cave mouth, on the tunnel side of the pool. She breathed on them, and the rocks burst into flame. Suddenly, the dragonets were 'trapped' by a wall of fire.
"Sleep well, so you'll be thrilling in the arena. I thought I'd get to play with you for longer, but I guess you all have to be dead by sunset tomorrow." She sighed. "Nobody lets me have any fun." The queen left. Clay turned to look at Starflight just as Tsunami cannoned into him.
"Ow!" Clay yelped, but he didn't fight Tsunami off as she twined her tail with his and wrapped her wings around him.
"I'm so glad you're alive, you incredibly huge idiot."
"So am I, but I'm more glad you two are alive." He drew Starflight into their hug, the smaller dragon resting his head on Clay's shoulder.
"We need to get out of here." Clay said.
"First, we're cleaning you up. Into the water. Go!" Tsunami ordered.
"That's not important, I feel -"
Tsunami pushed him into the pool.
"See? Much better." Tsunami leaned over and started cleaning the dirt and blood off of Clay's scales.
"Nice move with the song, Clay. You managed to prove exactly how we're going to end the war."
"Through singing and cooperation?"
"Through belief in a prophecy that most dragons don't know is false."
Tsunami broke in. "Whoa, wait up. YOU did that?" She asked Clay.
"Yeah, with this." Clay slid a segment of wire about as long as his tail across the floor.
"How did you break that?" Tsunami asked, awed. Clay seemed to like this.
"I had help. The dragon who was just here - Peril. Her touch can burn through it. She did that by accident."
"That dragon is psychotic. Didn't you see her decimate that SandWing? And she's Kestrel's daughter, which kind of makes sense."
"And what exactly does being Kestrel's daughter have to do with her sanity? But no wonder Kestrel always hated us. All this time, we were reminding her of what she lost, day after day."
"She's not completely crazy. She's kind of nice when not in the arena, and she brought me mud for my back. Oh, and she said she found Sunny."
This caught Starflight's attention. "Where? I know the general direction, and I can guess at the distance, but did she tell you where exactly?"
"She didn't tell me exactly where, only what I told you. You didn't realize that in order to know how Sunny's doing, Peril probably had to find her first?"
"I didn't make that connection."
"But I don't know if Peril will help us. I haven't talked to her since the trial. I'm afraid she's mad at me."
"I'm not mad at you." Peril stuck her head through the wall of fire. Tsunami jumped back, hissing in alarm. Starflight backed away from the heat a little.
"Oh, good. Wait, how much did you overhear?" Clay said to Peril. "Where have you been?"
"I didn't want to put you in danger, and I heard most of it. Arrived just in time to hear someone being pushed into my pool. May I come in?"
"Of course, it's weird talking to someone on fire."
He ducked underwater, and Peril hopped into the cave. Tsunami and Starflight backed up even further, one out of fear and the other out of discomfort. Clay climbed out of the pool and spread his wings so that Peril's heat could dry them. She coiled her tail close to her and dipped her head at him, ignoring the other two.
"I was afraid the queen would hurt you like she hurt Osprey," Peril said miserably. "I shouldn't even be talking to you. If she finds out I like you, she'll do something awful to you just to punish me."
Tsunami looked sharply at Clay. Starflight looked sharply at Tsunami. A bird landed on the window and looked sharply at Starflight, then flew away.
"Can you help us escape?" Clay asked hopefully.
"I wish," she said. "That would make her madder than anything. But I can't get you through that fire." She flicked her tail at the wall of flames.
"Could you use the water to put it out?" Tsunami chipped in. Peril turned to regard her.
"No - the rocks have to burn down to embers. They can't be put out any other way."
"What about Sunny? Can you do anything to free her? We have to rescue her before Burn takes her away."
Peril's eyes narrowed, the flaming blue in contrast with her copper scales. Rather striking, if Starflight said so himself. He wished he had some ink to draw the scene.
"You talk about this Sunny a lot. Is she really that important?"
"Yes!" all three dragonets answered at once. Peril's tail twitched and she looked displeased, so Starflight clarified. "We grew up together under a mountain. For six years. She's kinda like a little sister to all of us."
"Took the words right out of my mouth," Tsunami grumbled. "Think about your brother," Tsunami continued. "Wouldn't you have saved him if you could?"
Peril's expression shifted, and she nodded. "A sister. Yes, I understand. All right, I'll help."
"Where is she?" Starflight asked.
"She's in a kind of birdcage, hung over the feasting hall. Everyone will be celebrating all night long, but they'll be watching the arena tomorrow. I can sneak in and get her."
"Oh, thank you!" Clay twined his tail around Peril's. Tsunami looked alarmed for a second, and Starflight nudged her.
"Blood egg, remember?"
Tsunami looked significantly more relaxed. "What about Clay and Starlfight? I can survive the arena, but they can't."
"Um, I can survive the arena, too. Hello, I already have. I dunno about Starflight though…"
"And how did you do that, exactly? I happen to know you don't have secret venom in your claws." Tsunami asked.
"Glory did it. Oh, and you're all missing something important as to how to get through the fire." Starflight remarked.
"What?" Chorused the other three.
"Peril just walked through the fire, and Clay's nearly immune to fire. In addition, fire needs air, doesn't it? Don't bring the water to the fire, bring the fire to the water. Or just move it out of the way. Either one works, seeing as the rocks are where the fire's coming from."
Peril tilted her head at Starflight. "He is smart." she said. "Just like you said. I guess we could do that. If you're really sure you want to escape tonight, that is."
Starflight closed his eyes, but before he could try to determine the best course of action, Tsunami spoke. "Of course we are, let's get out of here!"
"But -"
"We can hide somewhere and wait, try to figure out things from there. We can wait while Peril frees Sunny and Kestrel -"
"And Glory, We have to save Glory." Clay interrupted.
"Glory?" Peril frowned.
"The RainWing. Queen Scarlet's new artwork," Clay said.
"Oh," Peril said. "Her. She's very beautiful." She narrowed her eyes at Clay. Starflight breathed in sharply. Peril had a crush on Clay? What? No, he must be mistaken. But her behaviour fit…
"Run now, worry later. Is there anywhere we can hide?" Tsunami interrupted.
Peril snapped her wings open. "Below the waterfall. There's a cave only I know about." She turned, nearly smacking Clay with her tail, and hopped into the fire. Without ceremony she picked up and moved some of the black rocks, leaving a gap big enough to jump through, although Clay went first in case the gap was too small. It wasn't. When they were all out in the tunnel, Peril and Clay rebuilt the wall of fire across the cave entrance.
"There. Now she'll have no idea how you got out." Peril said with satisfaction.
"Or she'll blame you," Starflight responded.
"Can you get these off our wings?" Tsunami whispered, pointing to the bindings. Peril opened her mouth to answer, but Starflight was quicker.
"No. If we get caught without those bindings, and those bindings are found burned, Queen Scarlet WILL blame Peril, and that will probably be all kinds of bad."
"Okay… which way to the waterfall then?" Tsunami asked.
Peril nodded up the tunnel and slithered off, leading the way. Tsunami and Clay were whispering, but Starflight was trying to catch a glimpse of the future. No luck. Wait…
Four moons. The earth shook. A mountain spewed out fire. NightWings and IceWings clashed over a mountain. The vision ended.
A vision, but one that he could not link to the situation at hand. He cursed under his breath, causing Tsunami to look at him strangely, but he shook his head at her.
Shortly before they reached the central hall, the tunnel turned left and began to rise. Peril signalled for silence, and they crept toward the sound of dragons shouting, singing, and smashing things.
Peril glanced over her shoulder at Clay, who was trying to move as quietly as possible.
"Hey," she whispered. "Once you're free… what are you going to do?"
"We'll find our parents," Clay whispered back. "I've never been to the MudWing kingdom, I can't wait."
"Really?" Peril said. "You'll go straight there? Just the five of you?"
"Probably, but I'm not the one who makes the plans."
They continued on in silence.
They had climbed two levels and circled behind the balconies when they reached an open doorway as tall as five dragons and just as wide. They hid around a corner of the tunnel and peeked out.
The doorway led out onto a flat half-circle plateau lit by floating globes of fire, packed with elegant SkyWings whose jewelry sparkled in the light and awkward SandWings who looked as though they would rather be charging into battle than making polite conversation. Statues of Queen Scarlet in various regal poses were scattered about the floor, some carved from marble, some of gold, others of smooth black rock with rubies for eyes. Tables around the outside were piled high with food, and the floor was teeming with prey, prevented from escaping by a low stone barrier and the cliffs around the plateau. The scavengers seemed to be having more luck hiding than the rest of the prey, as one was trying to climb the cliff, and another was hiding under a table. The plateau was surprisingly close to the arena. Queen Scarlet reclined on a tall golden throne, and a shorter throne was set up next to her for Burn. Even with the height difference of the thrones, Burn was nearly as tall as the queen. Burn seemed to find her throne… uncomfortable. Now where… there! Over the center of the space, a large birdcage was hanging from wires strung between tall poles on either side of the plateau. Lying inside the cage, to all appearances asleep, was Sunny. Starflight snorted. If she were so inclined, she could escape at any time and no one would know. No fancy cage could hold a sufficiently creative Animus dragon, after all. Even an enchanted cage could be circumvented. Tsunami was holding Clay back.
"Wait, Clay. Trying now is suicide unless Sunny… helps. Better to leave now and come back later."
Peril didn't seem to notice his hesitation. Good.
"But she's all alone, Starflight."
"She's awake, you know. She almost certainly knows we're here."
"You guys cross first," Peril said. "Crouch and run, they probably won't spot us."
"I'll go first, then. I can blend in best." Starflight said. He darted across, his scales blending into the shadows around him, and he made it across undetected. Taking the opportunity while Peril couldn't see, he reached out to Sunny. He may trust Peril with Clay's fire resistance, but only eight dragons knew that he and Sunny had powers, them included, and he wasn't eager to change that.
"You doing alright, Sunny?"
"Starflight. Why do you seem to be nearby? What are you doing?"
"Right now? Trying to escape. Plan A is Peril comes back to free you and Glory tomorrow - do you know Peril?"
"Coppery dragon, unusually warm, flaming blue eyes?"
"That's her."
"Saw her once. You trust her?"
"Clay does. I had a vision that showed that at some point in the future, she will save Clay's life. She knows about the fire resistance, but not about our powers and definitely not about your magic. Speaking of, that's Plan B."
"Have you Seen anything?"
"One irrelevant vision. Somewhere, a volcano will explode, and NightWings and IceWings will fight above a mountain."
"Unhelpful… good luck."
"You too, Sunny."
By then, Tsunami and Clay had made it across. Peril arrived a few moments later.
"Sorry, I had to wait for the queen to look away."
The tunnel branched. Peril took the branch leading down under the feast. As they moved along, the tunnel grew darker and darker as the torches were spaced further and further apart. Starflight could hear the roar of a waterfall ahead. In the darkness of the tunnel, he tried to See…
Queen Scarlet was at the feast when a guard ran up to her.
"Your Majesty! The wall of fire in Peril's cave is gone, the dragonets have escaped! We can't find them anywhere!"
Queen Scarlet let out a roar of rage and stalked off. The vision shifted.
Glory was relaxing on her tree when Queen Scarlet stormed into the room.
"Your Majesty what -"
The rest of Glory's sentence was cut off by a scream as Queen Scarlet set her on fire. She was able to shoot venom, but she had been taken by surprise and was only able to hit Queen Scarlet with a few drops. Painful, but nowhere near lethal. Queen Scarlet left the room. Glory was dead. The vision shifted again.
Sunny perked up in her birdcage and began muttering.
"I enchant this birdcage to open, and to emit a flash of light long enough for me to escape."
Sure enough, the birdcage opened. As the guards flew up to close it again, Starflight was forced to watch as a blinding flash of light emitted from the cage. As he wasn't really there, he was able to see, but the guards and guests certainly couldn't. All, that is, except one. Princess Burn of the SandWings, through luck or through instinct, had her eyes closed and took only a few seconds to recover. She took off in pursuit, her soldiers following as they recovered. They quickly caught up to Sunny, who shouted another desperate enchantment.
"I enchant the statues of Queen Scarlet to each ram into an airborne SandWing!"
They did. Including the heavy marble statue that flew up and crashed into a dragon who had almost caught up with Sunny, knocking them both out of the sky. And the exquisite gold statue that did the same to Burn. As they fell, Starflight could hear Sunny shout a third spell.
"I enchant my scales to be invulnerable!"
A crash. Starflight found his vision focused on Sunny. She was fine, so where was all the blood coming from? A wound on her side? Oh, no... Sunny stumbled and walked away, not noticing that the tail of the SandWing pursuer was covered in blood. She didn't realize she had been stabbed. Sunny was a dead dragon walking. The vision ended with Sunny stumbling again, falling, and trying to cast another spell on a rock before succumbing to the poison.
"I… I enchant… this rock to… "
They emerged on a narrow ridge halfway up a tall, craggy cliff. By the light of the moons they could see straight down to a glittering, winding river far below. The waterfall pounded ahead of them, loud and fierce, as the wind carried bursts of cold spray into their faces.
Starflight didn't continue. "Wait."
The other three turned to him. "What?"
"We need to go back."
"WHAT!"
"You heard me. It… occurs to me that if we leave, Glory, Sunny, or both will be killed. Remember what Burn was saying about breaking the prophecy? They won't take the risk of us getting Sunny out, and Queen Scarlet knows that Glory's one of us."
"Well, that DOES sound like the queen. What do we do then?" Peril asked.
Starflight closed his eyes, intending to think for a second, but instead…
"Thank you, Peril," the queen said nastily. "You may be excused."
"We go back to the feast. Peril, you will alert Queen Scarlet that we've escaped, but that you're unable to take us alive, and get her and her soldiers to follow us. We'll have a head start, so we should be caught… around here, actually. You need to pretend that you didn't want to turn us in. Can you do that?"
"Well, I DON'T want to turn you in, so yes."
"Good. Just… trust me, that's all I'm asking for now. I know what I'm doing. I think."
They returned to the feast and parted ways. Peril walked through the door to alert the queen, as Clay, Tsunami, and Starflight ran back the way they came. They were back at the tunnel near the cliff when they heard wingbeats, and Queen Scarlet descended from the cliff above, followed by a rain of SkyWing soldiers. Peril was beside her, looking conflicted.
"Thank you, Peril," the queen said nastily. "You may be excused."
Peril shot Clay an agonized look and fled up the tunnel. Queen Scarlet smiled at the dragonets.
"Going somewhere?"
The queen was not amused to find her wall of fire still in place when the dragonets were hauled back to their cell. She sighed disapprovingly, with an undercurrent of… murderous rage. Fun.
"So you've figured out what MudWings hatched from blood-red eggs can do. We suppose it was only a matter of time."
Tsunami, Starflight, and Clay looked appropriately grim, and alarm bells were ringing in Starflight's mind. From what he'd seen of Queen Scarlet, she didn't tend to refer to herself in the plural. The guards started moving the rocks with long shovels.
"Find the ten most sober guards and post them out here. These dragonets are done ruining Our party." Queen Scarlet instructed Vermilion. She was enraged, extremely so. She continued on. "It's really very selfish of you," she snapped. "Our hatching day only comes once a year. We have been planning this for months. So stop being awful, or We shall take Princess Burn's advice and kill you right now."
That sentence shocked even Starflight. Queen Scarlet laughed and visibly calmed.
"Of course I know she's a princess, but it's not like I'm going to remind her that she hasn't won the throne yet when she's standing right next to me, or even in public." She left the room, quickly replaced by ten very grouchy SkyWing guards. The only thing to speak of was the vision, so he reached out to Clay and Tsunami, and tapped them both on the shoulder. When they looked at him, he projected.
"I suppose you're wondering exactly what I Saw."
They both nodded.
"I can't keep this up for long, so I'll be quick. Plan A, which we were doing, was for Peril to rescue Glory and Sunny tomorrow. However, the moment Queen Scarlet heard that we'd escaped, she stormed off in a murderous rage and set Glory on fire. All Glory managed to do was melt a small part of the queen's face. Plan B, Sunny using magic to free herself and Glory, fails when she gets out of her cage. Burn recovers quickly, and leads a small army of SandWings to recapture her. She enchants the statues of the queen to attack the SandWings, but one of the pursuers is too close. The statue knocks them both out of the sky, Sunny gets stabbed in the chaos, and while she renders her scales invulnerable with magic to survive the crash, she never noticed the wound. By the time she realizes something's wrong, it's too late. She tries to enchant a rock to do something, but falls unconscious before being able to complete the spell, and dies soon after. We had no choice but to be caught, but this way, Peril is more trusted. Understand?"
Tsunami and Clay looked shaken, but nodded again. After that, there was nothing to talk about, so one by one, they fell asleep. After all, tomorrow they would face the arena once more. And this time, all three would have to fight.
