The time before dinner was spent worrying, pacing, and hoping. One one claw, Clay couldn't have been happier when Peaksoarer finally came in and told the two Mudwings that it was time for them to eat. On the other, Clay was dreading even looking at Scarlet again, so much so that he almost didn't want to go with his escort towards the dining hall.
Peril, already at the table when the brothers walked in, looked up at the two Mudwings as they approached. "Hey," she greeted quietly, actually starting a casual conversation with Clay for a change.
"Hey," replied Clay as the two sat down. He flashed a smile at the Skywing, and was surprised to see her smile a bit back. Of course, Peril soon caught herself and started to look away.
Started. Then Scarlet, Ruby, and Vermillion walked in and directed Peril's attention towards them.
This was different than the first two nights the Mudwings had been in the Sky Kingdom. Scarlet had almost bounded in on those nights, but tonight she only walked in slowly, moving herself so that every piece of gold melted into her scales shined, viewing the Mudwings with some sort of contemplation, some sort of pleased grin across her face. Ruby seemed unchanged, as did her brother (of course, Clay wasn't sure if the worried look on Vermillion's face not changing was something to celebrate, especially now that he had an idea what it meant…).
And, continuing to contrast with the early nights at the Skywing Palace, three Skywings, not one, filed in after their queen. Two of them had the silvery-black spears from before. One of them took up a position behind Clay's side of the table, and another behind Peril's. The last Skywing was completely different.
He – a large dragon who moved without any visible emotion – had come in last. He was carrying some contraption Clay had never seen before on a sling worn across his back and under his wings. As the Skywing guard turned to shut the doors, Clay noticed a bundle of what looked like sticks attached to other side of the Skywing's sling. With another surprise, Clay saw the unmistakable shine of diamonds attached to one end of each stick, while what appeared to be large feathers were attached to the other. The male Skywing turned around again, and Clay almost gasped when he saw the arm brace on the Skywing's upper forearm: silver, with diamonds studded around it, with the Skywing seal emblazoned on the center; it represented the position of the Skywing Captain of the Guard. Clay found himself trying to get a better view at the Skywing's machine when Peril asked the question on Clay's mind.
"Mother, what is that?" the champion asked, looking both a bit put off and a bit confused as she gestured behind Scarlet and towards the Skywing guard, who was still standing near the doors Scarlet had come through.
"Peril, I'm glad you asked," said Scarlet in a voice that mixed elements of a condescending mother and the faux cheerful nature she had previously displayed. "This," Scarlet smirked, "is quite the thrilling machine."
Scarlet waved her claw, and her Captain of the Guard at the door moved towards the table. "It's actually a device derived from something scavengers use to defend themselves, surprisingly enough, although while the ones scavengers have are small, weak, and can hardly scratch dragons, this model is much more powerful and can easily kill a dragon." Scarlet was broadcasting her voice, like she was announcing this amazing invention to a huge group of dragons, and not just, like, seven.
At that moment, the Skywing servants came out with the dragon's food. Scarlet stopped talking as her servants laid down food in front of the group, but it happened with a purpose that made Clay wonder if Scarlet had planned this entire spectacle. Clay also noticed that the things designated for Peril were adorned with black rocks of some sort. Clay vaguely remembered seeing them before, at the two previous dinners with Scarlet, although Peril hadn't had any with her food the night Clay and Reed had talked with her. Peril didn't seem to experience any surprise or confusion at their appearance, so Clay figured the appearance of the rocks were something normal.
"Excuse me," shouted Scarlet before all the servants had left, gesturing to a Skywing who only had a large metal plate left in his hands. "Could you please position that plate in an upright position on the end of the table? I need to demonstrate some new technology we've acquired."
"Yes, Your Majesty," the servant replied without hesitation.
"So, anyway," Scarlet continued as if she had never been interrupted. "I bet you're wondering what this does." She nodded towards her Captain of the Guard's machine. "Well, let me tell you. This is a machine that has the amazing capability to shoot projectiles from afar. Goldflare, if you please."
And then Scarlet pushed her chair to the side. The Skywing with the contraption walked to the head of the table where Scarlet had been previously. Clay got a good look at the machine then. It appeared to be made of mainly wood, although there was a metallic banding across the top of it where one of the diamond-tipped sticks was already fixed to the top by a taunt string.
The Skywing looked at the plate as if sizing it up and didn't do anything for a moment. Then, in one fluid motion, the Skywing pushed slightly off the ground into an upright position, flapping his wings in a way that made him hover just above the floor, his posture almost mimicking how scavengers stood. Clay heard a click as the Skywing brought his claw to his machine, and the contraption was released from the strap and cradled into the Skywing's two arms. The Skywing lifted the machine to his eyes, paused a second as he aimed, and then, still using his wings to hover upright above the ground, pulled some sort of trigger on the bottom of the machine that sent a loud snap through the room. The Skywing recoiled slightly, and the stick that had been on the machine flew off it with such speed that Clay could hardly follow. The projectile slammed into the plate, and despite the metal dish not appearing to be thin nor flimsy, the bolt tore through it as if it was made of paper. The projectile, which had lost most of its velocity when it had hit the dish, fell to the ground and slid to the wall across the room from Scarlet's Captain of the Guard a second later. The plate, following, also slammed into the wall across from the projectile's origin.
Clay did nothing but stare at the plate, all the way across the room from where it had been but five seconds ago. With that kind of power, his tough scales were nothing. The bolt would tear through them and impale the Mudwing like it had impaled the plate, and this thought made Clay almost sink down into complete fear.
The Skywing who had fired at the plate had hovered slightly backwards so that Scarlet could retake her place at the table. Clay saw the Skywing land on three legs, using his other claw to bring his weapon back to its strap. There was another click, and the Skywing put his last leg on the ground, stabilizing his balance.
"It's called a crossbow," Scarlet grinned, with such passion that Clay found himself petrified. What was Scarlet planning to do with something like this? And where had she gotten it from?
Fortunately for Clay, Scarlet seemed awfully happy to reveal these things. "This new invention," Scarlet said, speaking in a voice that was slow and direct, as if she did not want any dragon in range to misunderstand her, "was developed some time ago by the Nightwings, who obviously could not use their fire in the habitat that they occupy currently. And now, it has been given to us graciously by its inventors. Let me be the first to state the obvious: this machine offers infinite possibilities." Clay's heart fell. There was no doubt now: if the Nightwings, who preferred to work alone without any contact with the other tribes, had given something like this to the Skywings, that meant the Skywings would have made some deal with the Nightwings. A deal involving the turnover of a group of captured Mudwings, for example.
Scarlet's voice addressed all in her presence, but her expression was directed, full of triumph, at her champion. "Infinite possibilities," Scarlet repeated, letting herself raise what could only be called a smirk to her face. "Infinite."
"Long range, quick, and relatively effortless attacks, rivaling the effectiveness of our fire breath, especially in the air," Scarlet started listing. "A much more efficient, effective, and safer way of disposing of criminals or other unwanteds when compared to killing them with our own talons. An intimidation factor, once other dragons learn we have the power to kill from such a distance."
While Scarlet had been talking, she had slowly made her way towards her champion. "And," Scarlet almost whispered, standing above Peril, "the bolts fly so fast that they could likely puncture even a super-heated dragon. And with our signature, completely heat resistant diamond tip, that 'likely' disappears from the question. Yes, Peril, we have a completely new heat resistant weapon." Clay imagined that if Peril didn't have fiery scales, Scarlet would be stroking her champion as she spoke, showing a faux display of affection. "That means no more spears made from the heavy, difficult to meld, fireproof steel. No more cumbersome, difficult to use fireproof weaponry. Can you see a use for that, Peril?"
Clay caught a glance at Peril, and saw fear overtaking her. But unlike the small bits of fear Peril had repeatedly displayed in Clay's presence, this was a primal kind of fear. The Skywing had started fearing for her life.
"Yes, Your Majesty," Peril managed in a shaky voice. "Yes, I can see the use."
Scarlet smirked in such an evil manner that it made Clay wonder why he and his brother had ever even trusted the queen partially. Scarlet walked back to her seat without saying anything. Of course, she didn't need to say anything. She was in control, the dominant, the dragon with every other dragon in her kingdom flailing about like puppets.
Scarlet didn't have to say, "Good."
Peril acted nervously throughout the entire rest of dinner, always glancing at the crossbow Scarlet had obtained from the Nightwings. Clay, however, was more focused on what he was going to say to Scarlet. At this point, Clay felt like their lives were in serious danger. The two Mudwing brothers were in the Skywing queen's guillotine, and Scarlet could drop the blade whenever she wanted. The only reason Clay wanted to at least try to reason with Scarlet is because he felt that if he didn't leave with her permission, he'd be the dragon responsible for another war.
Eventually, Peril, looking distraught, left the table, and Clay looked at his brother and used his body to ask, Should we do it now?
Reed gave a slight nod filled with worry, and then turned to Scarlet. "Your Majesty," he began, "your champion leaving has reminded us. When we left the Mud Kingdom, we were supposed to return after a week in the Sky Kingdom if our siblings could not be released. As it appears, our siblings will remain here for a longer time than that, so we should probably, uh, return…" Reed's voice faltered as Scarlet smiled bemusedly at him.
"Leaving so soon?" she asked, returning to her facade of politeness, obviously seeing right through Reed's hasty lie.
"Uh, yes, I think that would be best," replied Reed, clearly intimidated.
"Oh, you don't want to leave yet, do you?" Scarlet whipped her head back and grinned at the two Mudwings. "Not without your siblings."
"We'd prefer to stay," Clay lied, "but Moorhen might take, uh, drastic actions if we don't return to the kingdom."
"Oh, war?" Scarlet asked. She paused and allowed her grin to turn into a completely evil smirk. "I don't care about war. If Moorhen wants war, then fine." Scarlet paused and made sure she had the complete attention of the two Mudwings. Clay even thought he saw Scarlet leaning towards him and Reed. "Let. Her. Have. It."
Everything inside Clay shattered in panic. Scarlet didn't care about avoiding conflict anymore, she might not have ever cared about avoiding conflict, she had instead accepted the oncoming war. No, she didn't accept it, she was prepared for it, especially with her new acquisition of the crossbow. She planned on fighting a war, and she planned on winning.
And the two Mudwing brothers had been the Skywings' first prisoners of war.
"I don't think you want to leave now," said Scarlet, not suggesting but commanding. The friendly mask was removed, and in front of Clay and Reed was a dragon who was juggling their lives in her hands and knew it. "After all, it would be such a shame to lose you two, and who knows what could happen to you outside of the castle?" The sentence was, in no subtle terms, Scarlet threatening their lives if they left the castle.
Scarlet smiled at the two Mudwings a little longer, then whispered, "Good night, Mudwings. I hope you understand you won't be going anywhere. Don't worry, though, because I have big plans for you two." Then Scarlet backed away from the table and went out the doors she had come in from. Ruby gave the two Mudwings a small expression of what looked like sympathy, then followed her mother. Vermillion looked at the Mudwings, then where his mother had disappeared to, then back again, before he got up and hurried after the queen and princess. The three guards that came in with Scarlet followed Vermillion, leaving the two Mudwings alone at the table.
"We're going to die," Reed stated in terror, staring at where Scarlet had left.