I drank the water one of the guards gave me. It was about empty at this point, along with the roasted goat. (I guess it's an easy meal to make in the mountains)
"And I had to sit there and listen to him ramble on about his failed love life for like two hours! I mean, how can people talk for so long without getting exhausted?" Peril asked me while I ate.

"No idea." I mumbled in between bites. I didn't mean to tune her out, but I couldn't concentrate with the past fight going on in my head. Seeing her eye slowly melt and her screams gave me a nightmare until I woke up. Apparently, they took me to get patched up then put me back in my cell where I woke up to food and Peril.

"So, how was your first fight? Thrilling?"

"Can we not talk about it?" I said weakly, it was like the wind had been taken out of me every time I spoke.

She gave me a small smile. "Don't worry, you're not the first one that gets like this after their first win. I remember two Icewings that fought each other. They seemed reluctant to fight and the winner gave up in the next fight they did. It was pretty weird."
I finished my food and water then set it down outside the bars. One of the guards would walk by and take it before dark.

"Hey, cheer up! You get to see me fight tonight! After your Seawing acquaintance of course." She muttered the last bit with what seemed like agitation for some reason.

I gave her a sad look. "Who is she fighting?"

Peril rolled her eyes. "Some other Seawing I think. I didn't really check since he's kept separately from the other prisoners. I think he tried to start some rebellion or something."

"Does Tsunami have a chance of winning?"

Peril thought for a second. "It's probably not in her favor. Unless she can melt people's skin like you can."
"I didn't do that." I growled at her.
She looked down with a semi sad look. "Sorry."

I layed down in my bed. "How long until the matches?"

"A few hours from now. We have to prepare the arena for my fights. They attract the most people." She seemed proud of that.

I nodded.

She looked at the castle. "I probably should go back to prepare. Wish me luck, not that I'll need it." She smiled then left.

I groaned when she was out of earshot. I saw some guards take Tsunami from her cell a few minutes later. She tried to look at me from our distance and I think she nodded. I tried to smile at her but I could barely do it. I figured I should lay down before the matches. I was still extremely exhausted.

"Am I really getting used to this?" I thought to myself as I awoke to the sounds of marching. The arena was packed the same as yesterday. Queen Scarlet sat down on her throne and the others around her took their seat after she did.

The crowd was packed like when Sunny and I stuffed pillows under one bed to see how many they could fit. They seemed even more eager than yesterday to watch a match, some had shirts with the Skywing symbol (Giant wings) and others had some sort of object that made noises. The object was a horn like design but golden.

"Welcome! Today our champion will take part in a battle against Lodana the Seawing! After five victories, Lodana now has a chance to gain her freedom!" The announcer said while the crowd laughed at the last notion. Apparently no one expected Peril to lose.

After a long while, the crowd died down and the announcer spoke again. "Now, introducing the challenger, Lodana!"

The crowd booed for what felt like forever. I couldn't help but sympathize with Lodana, she didn't even seem to think she could win. She stood, barely even holding her spear. She looked like she just wanted this to be over.

"And, your champion, PERIL!"

The crowd erupted with applause as Peril walked into the arena wearing crimson and copper armor, it looked really good on her. Why did I just think that? Anyway, she waved at the crowd as she approached her position, she didn't even have a weapon or shield.

"Ready, Set, GO!" The announcer yelled and the match began.

Peril walked towards her opponent who stepped back and launched her spear towards the Skywing without much strength. Peril caught it and, it started to melt? The Seawing's body tightened in desperation and she rushed at Peril who lifted her left hand and her orange hair started glittering orange and a large, orange flame swallowed the Seawing, leaving only ashes. Peril rubbed her arms while the crowd cheered and tossed different colored paper into the arena. Peril smiled and waved again as she started to leave the arena. I saw Starflight shaking in his cage and all I wanted to do was sit next to him. Even Glory had a worried expression after watching the power of the champion. Now I understood why Peril didn't seem to think that she could lose.

A couple of Skywings came in to clean up the paper shreds. A couple of people in the crowd got up and left but most stayed to watch the next match. Tsunami's match. I stood up and went to the bars to watch the match, I dreaded every second of waiting.

The announcer stood up. "Congratulations to our champion! No one can beat her! Now, let's get into our second match! We have another hero of destiny!" The crowd ood and awed. "This one is going to be pretty unique! But first, let's introduce the hero herself, Tsunami the Seawing!" The crowd cheered for the second hero of destiny. Tsunami walked out with a skywing copper and crimson spear and she didn't have a shield. Tsunami glared at the audience and when she looked at me, I gave her a sympathetic nod.

"Now, some history!" The announcer said. "As some of you may recall, we had a Seawing that didn't want to fight! In fact, he tried to set up a rebellion amongst the prisoners!" The crowd booed some more. "So, we had to teach him a lesson. Let's give a cheer for Gill the Seawing!"

An extremely pale Seawing with badly kept hair and sunken eyes walked out with two ropes on his arms keeping him from lashing out. He screamed at everything that looked at him and struggled against the ropes. His clothes were stained red and had cuts on them on every side that matched the slashed he had on his face, arms and legs. Whoever Gill was before he came to the arena must have died after what they did to him.

"He's definitely much more willing to fight now!" The announcer laughed as Scarlet followed with a childish chuckle.

Tsunami tensed up as she saw the much taller Seawing growl at her. He didn't have a weapon or armor but his long and yellow nails would probably be enough. Tsunami took a stance with the spear pointed towards the other Seawing. She gave Gill a sad look.

"Here we go folks! Ready, Set, GO!" The ropes were released and Gill ran towards Tsunami with a hungry look in his eyes.

Tsunami stepped to the side and the crazy Seawing stumbled forward, trying to grab her. He turned and lashed his right hand, trying to scratch her. Tsunami used her spear to push him to the ground and he got up quickly and tackled her. I yelled a word of encouragement as she grabbed the Seawings arms and shoved him off with brute force, her left cheek was bleeding. As Tsunami wiped off the blood, Gill rushed to her again and she slammed the butt of the spear deep into his chest, causing him to fall to the ground. Tsunami had a chance to finish the fight, but she stopped herself and took a step back to breathe.

The crowd booed at this and Tsunami put the spear on Gill's chest to make sure he couldn't get up. "The match is over!" She growled at Scarlet.

The Queen rolled her eyes and made a motion with her hands. One of the guards that held the rope spoke up. "If you don't want to end up like him, then finish the fight properly."

Tsunami turned and was about to say something but Gill roared and shoved the spear back at her. Tsunami stumbled back and took control of her spear and tried to keep the Seawing at bay. The crowd went from cheering for Tsunami to cheering for Gill. As Gill lunged towards her, Tsunami slammed her spear down on his arm and, while I couldn't hear it, something definitely broke. Gill let out another roar and his left arm hung limp from the elbow down. The crowd went silent for a while then cheered for the violence. I still can't believe that this is normal...Tsunami has a shocked expression and she seemed much less ready to fight.

Gill slammed his good fist into Tsunami's head and she blocked it with her spear again. Gill charged again and caught Tsunami off guard and the two fell to the ground. Gill scratched her stomach and face but was stopped when Tsunami grabbed his good hand and the side of head and forced him to turn so that she could hold his head in a locked position. She held him tight as he swiped at the air and kicked the earth.

"It's, urg, over!" She shouted at the Queen.

"Do it the right way!" Someone yelled from the crowd and the crowd shouted in agreement. Queen Scarlet smiled at Tsunami with a dark look and she whispered something to the announcer.

"If the challenger doesn't want to participate, then maybe Gill won't be the only one Seawing to the dark chamber." The announcer said.

Tsunami glared at the announcer. "I'm not scared of ANYTHING you can do to me."

The Queen pointed to Starflight and said something to the announcer again.
"Now that you mention it, the Queen DOES wonder what a Nightwing's screams sound like."

Starflight seemed to shrink into the shadows of his cell and Tsunami gave a defeated look to starflight then gave the most venomous look that even Kestrel would be proud of to the Queen and she turned arms and Gill's limbs stopped moving. The crowd cheered.

Peril stood on the outside of the arena, eating a long legged chicken leg. "Your friend's got an attitude." She said with a judging tone in her voice.

"She doesn't like being told what to do by someone who likes watching people die." I muttered.

Peril shrugged. "Well, how did you think about my battle? Lodana actually tried against me! Pretty impressive.

"It was...Something."

Peril smiled. "You know, not even Animus's could create fire magic like that! I'm pretty much the only one that can do it. It is a little hard to control though." She said.

I chewed on some of the chicken that she gave me, it was burned.
"I have to constantly produce heat or else it will build up inside of me and eventually, get too much and I'm forced to let it out." She kept talking, I tried to see Tsunami but she hid under the rough covers of her bed.

"Yeah, I tried one time because I was mad at Queen Scarlet but I had to be rushed to a medical hut to force it out."

How could she speak so calmly about all of this after her event?

Peril started moving her hand through her hair. "It's kinda annoying since I have to let it out through my hands and hair or else, Hey! Why the gloomy look?" She asked.

I gave her a sad look. "Can you do me a favor?"

She raised an eyebrow. "If it's in reason."

"Can you tell Tsunami that she's the strongest person I know?" I asked her.

Peril's fist tightened and she got up. "If I have time. I need to get back to the castle soon." and she got up and left. I stared at the ground so I didn't know if she actually went to Tsunami or not. I signed and layed on my bed. This was the second longest day of my life…

"Wake up." A guard was standing in front of me with the door open.

I rubbed my eyes and stood up without speaking.

"The Queen wants to see you. Don't try anything or else."

I nodded and we walked up to the castle. The path was surprisingly colorful for how dreadful the arena was. The red flowers and colorful bugs gave a nice view as we walked in silence. The guard seemed a bit taller than the others I had seen. The moons were pretty high in the sky, how long had I been sleeping?

"Go in." He said.

There was no one other than the Queen. No guards, no servants, no nothing.

Queen Scarlet smiled with surprising warmth. "Ahh! My guest of honor. Come! We have some things to discuss."

I didn't give a response other than walking towards her. We walked for a few steps before she finally spoke again.

"You know, I expected all of you 'Heroes of Destiny' to be, well, like you. The Nightwing is small and cowardly, the Seawing doesn't follow directions, the Skywing is dead and the Sandwing, well you'll see in a minute." I looked to the Queen but she gave no indication that she cared. "But you, you're big, strong and seem to follow orders pretty well. With the proper motivation of course. So, tell me. Do all of you have some weird power, or is it just you?"

I tensed up. "I don't know what you're talking about."
She chuckled. "Kestrel really did teach you well! But unless you're saying that a Rainwing could produce such magic, then we're at an impasse."

The Queen didn't look nearly as threatening by herself.

"Your little friend, Sunny, right? She's interesting. For, reasons, I don't wish to harm her but she has information that I want. She's mentioned you alot so I figured, you could get me the answers I want?" She kept smiling.

I looked at her with a stone face. "What questions?" I didn't intend on getting them, but I did want to know what she wanted.

She tilted her head. "Just one. Who are her parents? A friend REALLY wants to know."

I looked at the door since we stopped moving. "None of us know that. We were taken without our parents' knowledge."
"Even the Nightwing?" She gave a fake sad look.

I nodded.

"Well, how about this? If you don't get the information, then one of my birthday matches will be VERY special. One of your two friends will just DIE from the excitement!"

She opened the door as she said it and shoved me in as the color drained from my face. I heard the door lock behind me.

I walked towards the room's single torch and heard a voice. A sweet voice that I hadn't heard in what felt like forever. A voice that felt brighter than the hottest torch.

"Clay?!" Sunny asked as I saw her face through a cage suspended in the air.

I reached up and we held hands, her face was as bright as ever with her smile.

"I've been worried sick! When they took me, I had something tied around my mouth until they put me in here! Scarlets been asking me questions for DAYS and I didn't know if I was supposed to answer them or not, not like I knew the answers but still! Oh Clay! She said that you and Tsunami fought in the arena, you didn't-"

"I didn't! I don't know who did it but I didn't kill my opponent." I said, trying to comfort her.

Sunny nodded with a smile. "What about Tsunami?"

I looked down. "Queen Scarlet threatened Starflight."

Sunny's smile turned to a frown. "At least they're ok, well, oker then they would be."

I gave Sunny a comforting look. "So, what's it like in here?"

Sunny shrugged. "Lonely. The only person that visits me is Scarlet and I'm not a huge fan. Why did she let YOU in here though?"

"She wants me to figure out who your parents are. She said a friend wants to know." I muttered.

Sunny tensed up. "She means Burn."

I gave her a surprised look. "One of the Sandwing princesses?"

Sunny nodded. "Scarlet said that Burn likes to collect 'interesting' things. She said that I would be a good present to the 'Soon to be Queen of the Sandwings'." Sunny sighed.

I grabbed her hands again. "Hey! We won't let her take you! We'll find a way to escape!"

Sunny smiled back and tightened her grip. "Clay, they took Glory along with me but I haven't seen her, you wouldn't happen to know where she is, would you?"

I recalled Glory laying under Scarlet's stand near the arena. "The Queen's using her as a decoration."
Sunny gave an angry look (It looked like a pout, really). "Ugh, I HATE Scarlet so MUCH!"

I crossed my arms and nodded. "You're not the only one. She said if I don't get the answer, she'll have a match with Starflight and Tsunami on her birthday."I muttered.

Sunny's eyes went wide. "Clay! That's in two days! Please, you have to say something to her! Make up a name or something, Starflight and Tsunami can't fight each other!" I reached up and stroked her hair. "I will, and we're going to be fine. I promise. Just hold on."
She nodded and I heard a really loud knock on the door. We grabbed each other's hands tight then I walked towards the door.

"So, what did you find out?" Queen Scarlet asked me.

I shrugged. "Someone named quartz." I made up a name, quartz would probably work.

The smaller Skywing narrowed her eyes. "Oh really? That's an unusual name for a Sandwing.

I shrugged.

"That sounds more like a Mudwings name.

"Pretty weird." I muttered.

She sighed. "You're worthless. Peril, take him."

I didn't even notice that Peril joined us. She nodded and I followed her. After we were out of Queen Scarlet's ear shot, she started talking to me.
"The Queen doesn't want any guards for her personal matters. She doesn't think they're worthy to hear it."
I nodded.

"So, how was your friend?" She muttered.
I smiled. "It was great to see her again. I've been worried sick ever since she disappeared. Now that I know she's safe, I can sleep a little easier."

I swear Peril rolled her eyes. "Uh hu, she sounds nice."
"She really is! I think you two would get along very well," I said with a smile.

"Sure we would." We left the castle and started down the back path towards the arena. "I told the Seawing what you said, she only grunted. Now I need a favor from you."

I nodded. "Ok, what is it?" I assumed she would need something that WOULDN'T get me killed.
Peril stopped walking and I saw that she was twirling her hair. "There's going to be a trial tomorrow, before Queen Scarlet's guests arrive. I want to watch, but I'm not allowed in. If I hide in your cell, I can get out if we leave the door unlocked. Think you're up for it?" She had a desperate look in her eyes.

"Sure, umm, do you want the bed?" I asked.

She shook her head. "I'll be fine. I'll hide behind your bed during the trial."

I wondered something. "Why do you care about this trial?"
She looked at the stars. "I just want to see it. The Queen usually lets me know a lot. I'm basically her daughter. A much better Skywing kid then Ruby. Anyway, I want to see what the big deal is. It's about the Skywing that was with you."
"Kestrel?!" I said in shock.

Peril nodded. "Apparently, she betrayed the kingdom."

We started walking again and reached the arena.

"Alright, I'll leave it open and leave after the trial." She said as we entered the cell. It really sucked to be back in here…

"This is boring." my new cell mate muttered.

"You don't say." I said as I tried to sleep. Peril had been moving and rustling for the past hour.

She looked at me, her hair kinda tingling with embers. "What was Kestrel like?"

I sighed, I wasn't going to sleep tonight, was I? "Depends on who you ask. I think she was rough and uncaring, but I think deep down, way deep down, like really REALLY deep down, she cared a little bit about us."

"How was she rough?" She muttered.

"If you didn't perform perfectly, you failed. Her punishments were more battle training but without the luxury of the other two guardians stepping in." I said as I turned in my bed.

Peril nodded for me to continue.

"Tsunami and Glory hated her, I'm not actually sure about Starflight and Sunny believes that Kestrel has a reason. I don't know why she became a guardian, whether she was forced to or chose to. What about you, you said you're basically Queen Scarlet's daughter, what about your actual parents?" I asked.

Peril looked at a bug on the ground. "I never actually met them. My dad left when I was laid and my mom tried to kill me before the Queen saved me."

"Want to talk about it?" I asked, the Queen saved someone other than herself?

Peril shrugged. "According to the Queen, Skywing's born like me are rare and dangerous. We have too much fire magic in us and we can easily harm others. My mom had a reputation and chose to off me to protect it. The Queen just so happened to be nearby and spotted the crime and killed my mom. She took me in and the castle staff raised me."

I tried to put my hand on her shoulder but she flinched back.

"Sorry, it's not safe for you." She muttered. "Anyway, the only person that actually talked to me other than on the Queen's orders was Osprey. He's an old guy who recalls history a lot."

"So, Webs." I laughed a little while Peril waited to continue her story.

"He's nice, but like I said, he talks a lot." I felt like we had this conversation before…

I looked at her. "So, you NEVER had ANY friends?"

She shook her head. "Not before you. Do you not feel hot or anything?"
"Should I?" She gave me a questioning look then layed down.
"Alright. Thanks for doing this for me. You're really cool." She said and she started snoring lightly.

Tomorrow was going to be interesting. I really hoped Kestrel would be ok…

And with that, Tsunami has won her battle. Sunny is found and Burn is on her way. The Heroes are on the clock to find a way to escape before Sunny is taken away. But before that, Kestrel is to be put on trial. Let's see how that goes!