Chapter 13: Reception
Nightfall in the desert, Scarlet decided, was officially one of the most beautiful things she'd ever seen in her life. The dark skies seemed to enfold everything above the horizon like some kind of impossibly vast curtain.
Scarlet thought back to the times she had gazed at the skies after sunset from the safety of the palace walls. They had always seemed crowded and busy from where she'd stood, with dense formations of dark clouds drifting with the wind and the numerous flights of guards on patrol.
The desert skies were nothing like that by contrast. There were no clouds out here and no other dragons either and the night air was calm and tranquil. In their place, a seemingly-endless host of tiny lights lay scattered across the vast expanse.
But somehow, despite their number, the gently glinting stars only managed to make the night sky seem even more immense and peaceful. Compared to Scarlet's nights in the Sky Kingdom, this was a whole new experience.
"Scarlet?"
Her mother's voice drew her wandering attention back to the situation at hand and her gaze fell instantly upon the resplendent palace that loomed ahead of them. Impressively-designed towers and parapets stood proud and aloof from the desert sands and artfully-wrought statues gazed down regally at the arriving SkyWing delegation from their perches all around.
Several SandWing soldiers in burnished black armour waited in complete stillness and silence as they approached, lining either side of the palace gate. At their head was perhaps the largest dragon Scarlet had ever seen; a towering, regal SandWing who somehow managed to look even more imposing than Roc. Two other smaller dragons flanked her on either side.
"That's Queen Oasis," Sparrow told her. "The two by her side are her daughters. The taller one on her right is Burn and the one on her left is Blister."
"Blister?!" Scarlet said incredulously, stifling a laugh. "What kind of a name is that?"
"Scarlet, don't be unkind," her mother chided. "I'm sure it's a perfectly normal name to have in the Sand Kingdom. I hope you remember your lessons with Flamingo?"
Scarlet sighed inwardly. Flamingo was the SkyWing who tutored her in etiquette and behaviour and who constantly insisted that she never acted sufficiently regal or cultured. Even her history tutor, Wasp, wasn't as demanding a teacher. Then again, Wasp was very nice as far as teachers were concerned.
"Yep," Scarlet replied, thinking back to her mental checklist. "Proper titles, modes of address, be polite, smile at all times and don't do anything to embarrass myself. Got it."
"You sound nervous," her mother noticed, a hint of concern in her voice.
Scarlet met her mother's eyes. "I guess I am a little skittish," she admitted. "But I asked to come along, didn't I? If I don't start learning from you now, I might never get another chance like this."
Sparrow beamed at Scarlet. She was so glad her daughter had come to that conclusion on her own. She marveled at how far her little dragonet had come. Slightly less than a week ago, she would never have imagined such wisdom from her daughter.
But, since then, Scarlet been through so much. She had survived a vicious attempt on her life, faced her fears of taking the throne one day and had even volunteered to come along on this visit when given the option of staying in the comfort and safety of the Sky Kingdom. Deep down, Sparrow was overflowing with pride for her daughter who was turning out to be everything she'd ever hoped for and more.
Still, some part of her missed the reckless and carefree dragonet that her daughter once was. If only you didn't have to grow up so quickly, Sparrow lamented. How she wished Scarlet could live a normal life, untroubled by all the burdens that came with being the Crown-Princess of the Sky Kingdom.
But, alas, this was the way it had to be. At least the SkyWings will be in good talons after I'm gone, she told herself. Scarlet might even make a better Queen than me. I just wish I could be around to glimpse it.
And so, with those bittersweet thoughts, Queen Sparrow willed herself back to the present moment.
Striding forwards past the assembled ranks of SandWings, she extended a claw of greeting to Queen Oasis.
"It's good to see you and your family in good health, Your Majesty," she said warmly.
Standing beside of the SandWing Queen, Burn gave no indication that she'd heard any of what was being said, instead looking around sporadically and fidgeting restlessly. Blister, on the other talon, was far better-behaved and smiled pleasantly, even bowing slightly. Scarlet immediately found herself admiring the younger SandWing sister's composure. She felt rather abashed for having laughed at her unfortunate naming earlier.
"And you too, Your Majesty," Queen Oasis replied, grasping her claw firmly. "And I'm glad your daughter is well enough to accompany you here in spite of everything that's happened recently."
Right on cue, Scarlet spoke up. "My deepest gratitude for your concern, Your Majesty." Her voice sounded smaller than it usually was and the formalities seemed awkward, almost alien to her tongue, as she spoke them.
Scarlet forced herself to mirror Blister's smile in spite of her nervousness and her mother shot her a sideways wink. She felt a bloom of confidence inside her. Her mother thought she was doing decently so far. That was a good sign.
But then she caught glimpse of something rather unusual out of the corner of her eye. To Scarlet's complete amazement, Burn reared back her head and yawned mightily, looking terribly bored by all the niceties being exchanged.
She didn't even cover her mouth, Scarlet thought with a mixture of alarm and mild aversion. And Flamingo thought I was bad.
If either of the Queens noticed this at all, they gave it no acknowledgement. Instead Queen Oasis gave Scarlet an amused glance. "She's learning quickly from you," the SandWing Queen observed.
Queen Sparrow laughed. "That she is. Someday she'll make a fine Queen."
"I don't doubt that for a second, Your Majesty," The SandWing Queen agreed. "Now I think we've all spent long enough in the frigid cold of the night air and you've all had a long tiring flight. Shall we adjourn to the relative comfort of my palace?"
Sparrow nodded. "Lead the way, Your Majesty."
The huge SandWing turned to start towards the palace but before she could take a step, Burn spoke up.
"That's all of the formalities done, right?" Burn asked her mother. "So can I go hunting now? I really need some action to liven things up."
Scarlet was shocked at her brazenness. Burn flew in the face of everything she'd been taught in the area of manners and proper conduct. If her etiquette tutor had been here to observe the uncouth SandWing princess, she would have gone into an apoplectic fit by now.
Just out of Burn's field of vision, Blister shook her head disapprovingly, almost as if she echoed Scarlet's unspoken sentiment. She found herself wondering why in the moons the younger SandWing princess was so much more mature than her ill-mannered sister.
To Scarlet's surprise, Queen Oasis nodded. "Alright, Burn. But don't stray too far from the palace and don't stay out past dawn."
"Thanks, mom," Burn said, spreading her wings and lashing her barbed tail eagerly. "I'll be back before you know it!"
Then, to Scarlet's horror, the SandWing trotted over to her. "You wanna come along too?" Burn asked, punching lightly her in the shoulder. "I could use some company."
"I... erm... well, you see..." Scarlet struggled to find a suitably polite and valid excuse that would allow her to escape the undoubtedly unpleasant and thoroughly unwanted company of this rough, boorish SandWing.
"It's okay, Scarlet," her mother told her. "Go have some fun with Burn."
Through her dismay, part of her wanted to protest and say that going off with Burn was most definitely not going to be even remotely 'fun'. But she hardly wanted to appear as rude as Burn especially in front of all the assembled SandWings and SkyWings.
Scarlet nodded and turned to Burn, feeling ill deep inside. "Alright, lead the way," she told the SandWing princess. Burn's grinned and took flight. "Try to keep up!" she called over her shoulder.
Indignantly, Scarlet leaped into the air behind her. Telling a SkyWing of all dragons to keep up? Who in the moons did Burn think she was? She easily caught up to the SandWing within the space of a few wing beats.
As she whizzed like an arrow through the desert skies alongside Burn, it dawned on her that it was going to be a very long night indeed.
Meanwhile...
Shrike watched her cousin go with a mixture of pity and amusement. Poor Scarlet, she thought. Always in the wrong place at the wrong time. She spotted Roc, that ever-faithful bodyguard, taking off in pursuit of the two dragons and following them from a goodly distance behind.
Queen Sparrow and Queen Oasis were already making their way towards the palace and Shrike quickly followed after her aunt. Someone fell into step beside her; the SandWing dragonet with the black diamond patterns across her scales.
"You must be Shrike," she said pleasantly. "I do apologise for the bad impression my sister must've inevitably made back there. And for how she co-opted your cousin like that."
"Ah, it's alright," Shrike replied mildly. "One dragon's bad behaviour merely reflects upon themselves, not on others of their tribe or family so no need to apologise on her behalf. Though I don't think I got your name?"
The SandWing smiled. "I'm Blister," she answered.
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Blister," Shrike said.
The SandWing laughed. "The pleasure is all mine. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find someone civil enough to talk to around here. Though something tells me you're one of those rare opportunities."
"I'm glad you think so," Shrike replied. She was beginning to like Blister more and more by the moment. It dawned on her that it was going to be a very interesting night indeed.
Author's Note:
Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed the first appearances of Queen Oasis, Burn and Blister! Needless to say, they'll be making an appearance in the subsequent chapters too so they're looking forward to getting a bit more screentime around here! My apologies if this chapter came across as comparatively shorter than some of my other chapters lately-it's been a rather busy week though that looks set to be a lot better (thankfully the coming week seems like it'll afford me a bit more time to write)
Meanwhile, it certainly seems that Scarlet and Burn are off to a rather rocky start. By contrast, Blister seems to have made quite a good impression on our thrilling protagonist. How this'll play out later remains to be seen but don't worry, suffice to say everything's going according to plan right now! XDXDXD
That's all from me for this week and I look forward to bringing you the next chapter in Scarlet's story soon! Sit tight and stay thrilling everybody!^^ And a big thank you to all my reviewers as well! XD
MCZ-XD Now that's a crown she wouldn't mind accepting. Especially since no blood needs to be spilt for it and it annoys Shrike to no end!
Empress Kitty-You hit the nail right on the head even before I'd mentioned anything! How in the three moons you guessed that escapes me, unless of course you're secretly a NightWing? And don't worry, I've hardly forgotten about Garnet and Falcon XD They'll be making appearances in later chapters as well! Looking back I realise they've really come a long way since their first cameo in Wings of Sky!
mia-Well, Raven and Scarlet would definitely make an interesting couple XD Though how it all plays out eventually, well that remains to be seen! XD
JPfan35-Hahahahaha, hope you enjoyed the chapter and the next instalment's coming soon! XD