Hope you enjoy. Gonna try and make this chapter way longer. (Probably going to take awhile due to school)

I woke up to a small room with a square hole at the top. I stared at it for a second. Where was I? Definitely not the cave…

"You awake?" I heard Starflight ask to the left of me. I realized I had chains around my hands.

"Yeah, are you ok?" I asked him with a worried expression. I could barely make him out with the bit of light that reached him.

I saw him inch a bit closer to the center of the room. "Yeah, just waiting for this ride to be over. Then again, I doubt we'll have a good time when it ends…" He sighed then fidgeted with his chains.

I realized we were in a wagon or something being carried to Queen Scarlet. "Where are the girls and guardians?"

"The girls are in a cart behind us, Kestrels in the one in front of us." He muttered.

I nodded. "I'm guessing Webs got away?" He confirmed it with a nod. "What about Dune?" Starflight found the ground really interesting. I decided to change the subject. "How long have we been in here?"

"A day, you got hit pretty hard." He said.

Somebody knocked the side of our cart. "Quiet! Or we'll tighten those chains!" Someone said, We kept quiet. We were going to be here for a while.

We hit a few bumps on the way there and the back opened up for the guards to give us some food. After a few more hours, as the sun was setting to the beautiful orange (which is much less beautiful when held captive) the cart's stopped and the back was opened with a bunch of guards to greet us. We were corralled with the girls minus Kestrel, I couldn't find her in the small area I was allowed to see. Sunny tried to chat with us but I learned that spears are really good at keeping people quiet. I looked behind us and saw a vast range of mountains, each with what looked like a town inhabiting them. I assumed that there was one below us and when I turned to face the front, I saw the massive palace we were about to be shoved into. It was blood red with fiery wings etched in them, I think Starflight mentioned that they were the symbol of the Skywings. The castle seemed to be built into the mountain itself with a massive tower, going much higher than the mountain tip would go, with three smaller towers built in a triangle formation around it on lower parts of the mountain.

"MOVE!" The captain yelled and we marched forward. I noticed two Icewings and a Sandwing were with us. Truthfully, it felt good to walk around, not in chains though. Instead of taking us up the path to the castle, they took us to a much less well kept path on the left that seemed to lead to the side of the castle. After a while of walking, Starflight piped up.

"That's Scarlet's coliseum." He sounded more scared than I had ever heard him.

Tsunami took a step closer to him but said nothing, Glory and Sunny looked at each other and continued facing forward.

The path eventually led to the coliseums front gates and we were hauled into the middle with a gate being lowered to keep us in. The remaining guards took to the sides of the coliseum and we were told to face the side facing the rising sun.

A short Skywing with fancy robes spoke to us. "Welcome! You are all her majesty's guests in this humble arena! I am so happy you could all make it and I do hope the trip wasn't too bad." She said with a fake grin that was even worse than Glory's "After your orientation, we will show you your living quarters! Now, let's begin! My name is Sunburn! Your boss. You see, my job is to entertain Queen Scarlet, YOUR job is to help me! We picked the best-Well, baring the children, the best of the best in your groups! Which is why you weren't sent to the prisons. You will be well fed and have nice sleeping conditions compared to the prisons, at a cost. When the Queen wishes, we will host a battle, exciting right?! The winner gets an amazing prize, LIVING! I guess I should mention the two combatants will be fighting to the death. Also, if you DON'T fight, we'll grant you something better. We'll show you in a few days what we mean, we trust none of you will break that rule until then, now. The guards will show you to your ce-ROOMS! Hope you are all well rested for tomorrow! You'll get to meet the queen!" And she waved us off as a guard took each of us individually and we were separated. I turned to see my siblings being taken away and I tried turning to them but was stopped by the guard that took me.

"Do it and we'll make sure the five of you become four." He said so calmly, if that was how I could keep them safe, then I guess I had to play along. I was thrown into the cell and the guard lowered the gate locking me in.

"Hold out your hands, you won't need those chains anymore." I complied and he unlocked them then took them. He looked at me for a minute and I finally saw some emotion in his eyes. "Good luck…" He muttered then left. I looked around and thought I could make out Tsunami on the other side of the arena with Starflight not too far away. I couldn't see Sunny or Glory so I figured they were too close to my cell to see. I signed and laid in the bed. There wasn't much in the room. A bed, bucket and a weight. At least I liked THAT. I saw a barred window in the back of the room, probably for people to look into and admire the competitors before their death match. Then it hit me. "We were in a coliseum, to fight to the death. What if Sunny had to fight? Or Starflight? Or ANY of us! Why didn't I do anything?! I can't believe I actually WANT to see Kestrel… and Dune… where's Webs? Has he gotten the Talons yet? How long will it take? Will he actually get them? I can barely see the others from where I am and I can't do anything. Now I'm hungry. Why am I hungry? Sure the food they gave us wasn't that great but it still wasn't awful…"

"Umm, hey, you're not old." I heard a voice that sounded oddly familiar. I turned to the window and saw a girl with long, curly red hair looking at me with a weird look.

I blinked. "Umm, yeah?"

She opened her mouth then closed it then started talking again. "I mean it's just weird to not see someone my age in here!" She sounded worried.

"Oh, yeah that makes sense…" I didn't really know what to say.

We sat in silence for a while. "You hungry?" She asked me. I nodded and she left. It felt like the small bit of happiness I had left with her. So this was the REAL world. The beautiful nature setting I saw was nothing but a facade to get my hopes up. How was I supposed to pass the time? I couldn't even TALK with anyone close by.

"I'm back!" I heard the girl say. I walked over to the window and saw her carrying what looked like a strange kind of meat. She handed it through the bars and I took it. "What is it?" I asked her. The part that she held had a burn mark for some reason.

She tilted her head. "Goat leg, have you not had it before? It's really good! Don't really know how to describe it, I doubt the other kingdoms eat it. Goats only seem to live in mountains which is weird because I HEARD they could live in the plains with the Rainwings but I guess not. What do Mudwings eat? I heard Hippos are popular. I've always wanted to try a hippo but no one has ever given me one. Queen Scarlet won't let me leave the castle boundaries so I can't go and ask since no one in the castle talks with me for that long except for Osprey, but he just likes that I listen to him for so long. He talks NON STOP can you imagine? Hey, you done eating already?" She seemed to stop and look as I tossed the food into the bucket. "That's not what that's for…" I stared at her.

"You're kidding."

She shook her head. "Hand me the leftovers so no one knows I gave it to you." I did what she said and she gave me a weird smile. "Umm, so, how's your day?"

I raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, right, so umm, you excited for the fight tomorrow?" She asked, trying to change the subject.

I signed. "Not really. I don't really like fighting…"

She seemed disappointed. "Well, I'm sure you'll enjoy it! I hear it's an Icewing and a Seawing!" I didn't really see the appeal.

She looked at the setting sun. "Oh, I should probably go back before the queen notices I'm gone. See you tomorrow!" And she was off. Well she's strange.

So, how in the moons was I going to fall asleep? "Sunny said that if she has trouble sleeping, she thinks of a story that she enjoys. Guess I can try that". I thought to myself.

Tsunami and I hung out in our sleeping cave. The others were off practicing history with Webs. We tossed my pillow back and forth to kill the boredom.

"You ever wonder what our parents are like?" Tsunami asked me.

I caught the pillow and stood for a second. "I try, but I don't know what to think about. It's not like we'll meet them anyway…" I muttered.

Tsunami jumped on her bed, ignoring the game. "Well, I think we'll meet them one day."

I wish I was as optimistic. "What do YOU think your parents are like?" I asked her.

She smiled and I should have realized my mistake.

"Isn't it obvious? My mom HAS to be Queen Coral! She needs an heir and I'm the PERFECT candidate!" and now I have to sit through the story of the lost princess.

She shifted to a more comfortable position and got started. "Think about it! A lost princess that goes on a grand adventure to get home, facing trials and foes to reach her destiny. That's EXACTLY something I'd do!" She said with enthusiasm. I made sure she wasn't looking and rolled my eyes. I always felt bad when I did it, but she ALWAYS talks about it. It's also really unlikely…according to Starflight.

The Seawing royal hatchery is one of the most heavily guarded areas in the kingdom. Not that it matters much, Queen Coral seems to be cursed and none of her eggs have hatched. Besides, Tsunami would be an AWFUL queen. She would be a really good royal guard though.

"So, that's why I am DEFINITELY the lost princess!"

I looked at her, "Don't you hate the title princess?"

She glared at the floor. "Just becuase it's a stupid name doesn't mean it's not a worthy title."

I laughed a bit. I really did feel bad for her though. This was clearly something that was important to her and I wasn't going to be the one to break it to her.

What DID I think about my parents? That question was something I used to think about a lot. I eventually stopped a few years ago, I don't really remember why but I don't remember thinking about them since…

I woke up to the sound of marching. People were moving into the seats of the coliseum to watch something. "The match!" I remembered. I looked out to the battle arena and saw a pale, white haired man being sent into the arena and a tan, blue haired woman on the other side. The Icewing was given a spear with mammoth tusk and the Seawing was given a spear with a shark's tooth. I looked at the stands opposite of the entrance to the coliseum and saw someone with a ruby encrusted rob and dress with a sparkling crown. The person beside her was the girl I saw yesterday. "I didn't ask her about her name, did I?" I thought. Sunny would be disappointed in me.

"ALL RISE FOR QUEEN SCARLET!" A guy on the other side of Scarlet announced. He used some horn to make his voice louder. "WE ARE HERE TO WATCH A BATTLE BETWEEN SABER THE ICEWING AND LODANA THE SEAWING!" He spoke while Scarlet clapped with glee. She definitely didn't LOOK like a queen right now. The two combatants took their weapons and stood opposite of eachother. They glared at each other and seemed to be waiting for something.

I looked up to the girl and she waved at me then looked back to the fight that was about to start. A gong was stuck and the two rushed towards each other. The Sewing plunged her spear forward and forced the Icewing back, the Icewing tried to knock the spear out of the Seawings hand but his opponent held on. She countered with another stab and grazed his leg, leaving it bleeding. The Icewing bit his lips then hit the Seawing's spear as hard as he could. The spear was knocked out of her hands and snapped in two. The Icewing tried to shove the spear into her chest but she grabbed it and the two tugged at it. The Icewing had exhausted himself before and lost his grip. The Seawing turned the spear and then everything turned black.

"Hey, hey!" I heard the girl's voice. I slowly got up and looked at her through the bars. "Oh! I thought I'd have to get someone..So, did you enjoy the match? Lodana faces a sandwing next. Isn't that cool?" I could only look at her with confusion. "Did you really enjoy that?" I asked her, weakly.

She shrugged. "Kinda, what else is there to enjoy?" I frowned at her. Surely there was something else she could enjoy…

I saw that the colosseum was empty of spectators. "Umm, are there going to be any more matches today?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "They're preparing for something big. Apparently you and your friends are going to be involved. I hope you win." She smiled. Why was she acting like I WASN'T about to fight to the death?!

I figured I'd better ask her about the others. She'd know more than me. "Did you happen to talk to the four others that came here with me?"

She tilted her head. "Umm, I've only seen two people that came here with you. A Nightwing and a Seawing."

"What?" I said. "What about Sunny and Glory?! They were here last night!"

She stared at me. "OH! Queen Scarlet found a Rainwing that she wants to use as decoration for the arena. She likes how their hair changes color and thinks it will attract more people to buy tickets."

She continued speaking but I tuned out. How could they use her as a decoration? She was more than that! "I hope she teaches them not to mess with her hair." I thought to myself. The girl gained my attention again when she spoke of a Sandwing.

"She has weird hair, like it's not the typical Sandwing hair that comes from the kingdom. It's lighter than normal and it's long! I've never seen any Sandwing like her. I think that's why Queen Scarlet is going to give her to Burn as a present during their meeting."

My eyes went wide and I unclenched my fist and put them on the bars. I didn't remember clenching them in the first place.

"What? Tell her she can't! We're all supposed to be together!" The girl stared at me for a second then looked at the castle with a scowl. "You'll have to get used to being alone. You won't see her unless Queen Scarlet allows it."

"Can you talk to Scarlet? Convince her to let us see her?" I begged.

She kept the scowl. "I can try."

We sat in silence for a little bit. "What's your name?" I asked her.

You could've thought I was the weirdest creature in the world the way she looked at me.

"Peril." She said.

I nodded. "Clay. So...Have you talked to Starflight and Tsunami?"

She frowned. "The Nightwing wouldn't talk to me and The Seawing threatened to bash my head in with a rock if I didn't leave. Jokes on her, if we were to fight, I couldn't lose."

I thought about that, but let it slide. I could think about that another time.

"Could you tell them that I said hi?" If this was the only way I could talk to them, I'd take it.

She shrugged. "If I have time."

I took my hands off the bars. She turned to the castle again. "I probably have to go. I'll be back next chance I get. Try to win your match." And she left. Why did I feel awful every time she left? The sun was still high in the sky. I had to fight tomorrow? Why? Why did this have to happen? We should never have left. Sunny and Glory were in the castle and Starflight, Tsunami and I had to fight to the death. I wish Sunny was here. She could find something positive about this. I wish I could be as positive as her. Or Starflight. Just to talk with him. How scared was he? He just sat on his bed ever since we got here. I wished we could talk. I could imagine how fast his mind was working. Recounting every book he ever read. What about Tsunami? She definitely was blaming herself. I wished I could tell her it was a team effort. That I should have told everyone it was stupid. That we could get through it together. I needed to know that Glory was ok. She wouldn't show it, but I could only imagine how much she was worrying about us. I wish the stupid Queen of the Sandwings neve died!

"Get up. You're about to see Queen Scarlet." A guard said to me. How long was I worrying about everyone? The sun was three fourths in the sky. They opened the door and didn't put shackles on me. I saw that Tsunami and Starflight were also being taken but we weren't permitted to be near each other. The walk up to the castle was surprisingly calm. The mountain plant life was pretty beautiful. The red flowers and tall trees made the castle look like it was part of the mountain. "How did this even get made? There's magic strong enough to even begin to make this…" I thought to myself. I thought Starflight said something about how only animus powers can do stuff similar to this. We approached the gates and they were opened, allowing us to enter. The palace was layered with red clay like material and was littered with gold and different jewelry as ornaments, the Queen must love shiny things. The Queen's throne was at the end of the large room, with four hallways on the sides leading up to the throne. She seemed much less happy to be sitting here than in the arena.

The guards bowed and Starflight did too, so I followed.

"It's rude not to bow in my presence." The Queen said. I realized that Tsunami was still standing.

Tsunami hissed at a guard that approached her. "You're not my queen." She said plainly.

Scarlet narrowed her eyes. "Last I checked, you were found in a cave with a traitor to my kingdom. So tell me, what kingdom ARE you loyal to?"

Tsunami didn't hesitate. "Queen Coral." Starflight stiffened.

Scarlet smiled. "Tell me, what does the Seawing palace look like?"

Tsunami bit her lip. "Blue?" She said with much less confidence than before.

The Queen laughed. "A loyal Seawing knows never to give any information about the palace. But someone who's never been there wouldn't know I guess." She taunted.

I gave a sympathetic look to Tsunami and glared at the ground.

"Now that that's over with, let's begin with introductions! I'm Queen Scarlet! What's your name's?" She didn't actually seem interested. Now that I had a good look, she seemed smaller than I thought a queen would be.

"I'm Starflight." the youngest of us said.

Tsunami followed.

"Where's Glory and Sunny?" I asked her.

She gave me a weird look. "Oh! You mean the other two that were found, well I see no need for them to compete. The Rainwing would look wonderful in my coliseum, and the Sandwing will be a great gift to Burn! Doesn't she look weird? Her hair and eyes look different."
I glared and was about to say something but Tsunami stomped on my foot.

Scarlet began again. "Now, my birthday is coming up, and I love to see a good fight to celebrate. And what's better than the 'Heroes of Destiny'? Now, which one of you would like to go first?"

Tsunami spoke first. "And what if we don't? What if we just choose to not fight? Wouldn't that be awful for your 'special day'? ``she asked.

Scarlet gave a cold smile. "Not as bad as what might happen to your friend. Maybe a stuffed rainwing would look better than one that's alive…" She droned on.

We all stiffened and gave her our full attention.

"Good, now let's try again. Who wants to go first?"

"ME!" Tsunami and I said at the same time. Starflight looked sadly at the ground.

Tsunami and I stared at each other. "I'm a better fighter. I can make it interesting." Tsunami said.

"Do you really want another Seawing fight? I'm sure the spectators are growing bored. A Mudwing would be new, right?"

"I AM NOT JUST ANOT-" Tsunami stopped after Starflight stomped on her foot.

Queen Scarlet thought for a second. "That WOULD be interesting...Alright, take the other two back. Mudwing, follow…"

The guard next to Scarlet muttered something.

"Lenzly! Follow Lenzly to the fitting room. I want this one to be good!" Scarlet said with glee.

I followed the guard through the hallway left of Scarlet. We passed a dining room and into a short hallway with a large door. The guard took out a key and unlocked it then shove me in.

"There's no way out. I'll come back to get you in a few minutes." She said then shut the door.

I looked around the room. There was some leather armor and weapons but not much else. I grabbed a sword and a shield. Figured it was better to go with what I was good at. Wait, who was I fighting? I didn't ask! What if they're super strong, wait, I have to KILL them? I can't, I couldn't.

"Come on. Time for the match." The guard said. I stood, looking at her with a frozen expression. "Don't worry, I'm sure your opponent will make it quick and painless." She didn't expect me to win. I didn't expect me to win either.

I was put back into my cage. They took the weapons but left the leather armor. I sat and watched as a crowd gathered into the arena. They must have been thrilled to watch the "Heroes of Destiny" Fight. That was such a stupid name. Who came up with it? I heard the announcer begin to speak and figured I should listen.

"Welcome! We have a VERY interesting match up today. First, we have Froster, the Icewing!" The crowd cheered but didn't seem too interested with another Icewing.

The Skywing in front of Scarlet waited for the crowd to stop. "Now, we have a new combatant! It's rare to have one this young be in the arena, but we made an exception. We felt like we needed to for this one, we have with us one the Heroes of Destiny! Clay the Mudwing!" He spoke with a cheerful voice as the crowd cheered. The arena shook from their applause. Skywing guards came to open me and Froster's cells and we entered the ring. The announcer spoke off the rules. I looked to my Icewing opponent who glared back at me. She didn't seem like talking. She had a mammoth tusk spear and shield. I took a stance with my shield out and my sword hung low in my right. I was fighting to the death…

"Ready, GO!" And the Icewing darted toward me.

She thrust her spear towards my head and I lifted my shield to block it. I swung my sword on the blunt side at her side. She moved to the right and raised her shield. I stepped around to the center of the ring. I swung my sword down to hit her shield but stopped half way through and stepped back.

The crowd's reaction was dimming. "What are you doing?! Fight!" I muttered sorry and side stepped to the left to avoid her spear. She swung it towards me instead of recovering it and I took advantage of that and bashed it with my shield, knocking it out of her hands. She tried to go for the spear but I blocked her path with my sword. She decided to try and fight me with her fist which didn't end too well.

After I hit her leg in a place I didn't mean to, she fell to the ground with a muffled cry. She tried to stand up but couldn't. I didn't realize how much my hands were shaking. The crowd started chanting "Kill, Kill, Kill!" I stared at the Icewing with a stunned expression. What was I supposed to do? I couldn't just do what the crowd said, she didn't deserve that…

"Gah!" I yelped as Froster swept my legs and I fell to the ground. She tackled me and we fought with our fist, she didn't seem to expect me to be able to fight back as strong as she did. I remembered what Kestrel told me while training and pinned her down. I couldn't hear much since the crowd's cheering was too loud.

I wasn't sure how I was supposed to end this, I tried to think of a way but couldn't while she was gaining her strength back. She shoved me off and we faced each other. She looked exhausted, I wondered what I looked like. I fell on my left, I had somehow gotten hurt there. The Icewing had a small glint in her eyes and she ran to tackle me. Right as her hands grasped my throat, I heard her scream in agony while trying to get off. She scratched at her right eye viciously and I finally saw why. It was melting. The skin around her eye was dissolving in front of me and she cried out seeming to want it to end faster. I couldn't move at all as I watched her suffer before finally her body stopped moving. The crowd cheered and the announcer said something but I didn't listen. I wanted to turn to Glory and ask her what she saw but I collapsed before I could.

Geez this took forever. Well, I hope you enjo-liked it. I didn't want to get too graphic about the poison so this was my compromise. I had planned to make this twice as long and include a certain "other" battle but I decided to separate them. I'll make the next chapter describe the castle more since I probably didn't set it up very well. If you have anything you want to comment on, feel free to.