A Brighter Future Ahead
AN: I spologize for not posting last weekend, but I was slammed with homework the week before, so I felt like taking a break over the weekend. I'm back now, though, with another new chapter.
WARNING: references to adult themes in this chapter but nothing explicit.
Disclaimer: I do not own Wings of Fire. My OCs Copperhead and Cobra belong to me.
Darkstalker:
It was a good morning for him. Here he was in their new home with his beloved Clearsight after a night of…particularly stimulating acts of passion. They had had no interruptions or responsibilities for the entire week that they had lived there, so the two of them hadn't bothered leaving their home much.
That single week had seen their relationship deepen exponentially. With everything that had been going on before—what happened in the Night Kingdom, tensions between him and the two Seawings while they were all on the island, being brought here and threatened with execution, and yet more tensions resulting from him attacking Indigo—this week had felt like the first time they could both relax with each other.
He had finally mustered up enough courage last night to finally propose to Clearsight and had been beyond ecstatic when she accepted. They had made love for the first time and now here they were, simply lying with each other the following morning.
Yes, indeed it was a good morning.
Clearsight shifted as she awoke until she was laying on her side and staring into his eyes. "How are you this morning, my love?" he rumbled as he nuzzled her.
She purred happily as he kissed her cheek. "A little sore, but I'll manage. Last night was amazing…You were amazing," she nuzzled him back.
"I can't take all the credit," he chuckled. "It was a team effort."
She rolled her eyes in amusement but smiled, nonetheless. "What plans do we have for today? I don't feel like lying around in bed is the best use of our time."
"I can think of something else to do in bed," he replied with a sultry grin.
She smacked his chest playfully. "That's not what I meant, and you know it!" she giggled. "Maybe we should—Hey, quit! QUIT! THAT TICKLES!" He had found her secret tickle spot below her wing joints last night, and he planned on taking advantage of that right now. She was laughing so hard that he started laughing with her. Eventually, he stopped, and they were right back to laying next to each other and staring into the other's eyes.
They were both just smiling affectionately at the other. It was only when Darkstalker began thinking about last night and what that meant for both of them in the future that he saw Clearsight's worry. "What's wrong?" she asked gently as she brought a talon up to rub his cheek.
At first, he was confused, but then he realized what she meant. He was so focused on the amazing dragoness before him that he didn't realize that he had started to cry softly in pure relief and joy. He wiped his eyes and smiled. "Nothing's wrong. I'm just happy." He leaned forward until his head was against her chest, "I love you, Clearsight."
She began rubbing the top of his head and his neck with a claw. "I love you, too, Darkstalker…with all my heart."
"Excuse me, Lord Darkstalker?" an unfamiliar voice sounded from the common room. Darkstalker's head shot up as he looked to where it had come from.
"What!?" he responded none-too-kindly.
"Queen Anaconda requests your presence, immediately, Lord. She said it was quite urgent," the Rainwing replied immediately. He kept his voice professional, and without seeing him, Darkstalker couldn't really tell if he was intimidated or not.
With a grumble, Darkstalker pushed himself up to his feet and stepped off the bed. They had been there a week without any responsibilities. He should have known that it couldn't last forever. Better to not re-incite her wrath…especially now. "I'll be there shortly," he responded.
He looked over to bid farewell to Clearsight and saw her face contorted in pain. He knew what that meant and rushed over to her just as she opened her eyes and met his. "What did you see?" he asked in a whisper, sensing that the Rainwing hadn't left yet.
She looked so utterly devastated when she answered. "Something terrible is about to happen, and…I don't think we can stop it." He was about to ask what it was when he was interrupted once again by the Rainwing.
"Lord Darkstalker, I apologize, but I insist that we must leave now."
Darkstalker snarled at that but calmed immediately when Clearsight placed a kiss on his cheek. "Go. I'll tell you when you get back."
He nodded as he released a deep breath. "Let's go," he replied to the Rainwing when he finally stepped out of his room. The Rainwing nodded and they left to the Queen's Pavilion with all haste.
When they arrived, Darkstalker entered the Pavilion to a sight he never thought he would see. Fathom and a younger Skywing were sitting off to the side as Anaconda was screaming furiously at Copperhead. "DO YOU HAVE ANY NOTION OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR BLUNDER!?"
"B-But mother, I—"
"SILENCE! I DON'T WANT EXCUSES! My daughter has been captured by the enemy! Which means that my entire kingdom is at risk!" She stopped yelling only to pin her son with a glare full of cold fury.
An audible smack echoed across the room and all present, including the Queen—who had just slapped her son—had stunned faces. Anaconda was staring at her raised claws and the clawmarks on her son's face with an expression close to horror. Darkstalker could see the utter surprise and betrayal on the young Rainwing's face and the tears that accompanied them. "M-may I be e-excused, m-mother?" he asked with a trembling voice.
Anaconda blinked and tried to hide her shame behind a mask of Queenly grace. "Yes, you are dismissed, Copperhead." When the young Rainwing had left, the Queen sat down heavily and let her shoulder's slump.
"Are you okay, mother?" the little Skywing asked as she stepped towards the Queen. Darkstalker, not that surprised because of what he had heard in her thoughts so far, observed her. She must be the other animus that Anaconda has.
"No, Zephyr, I am not, but thanks for asking," she said to the Skywing with a sad smile. She took a deep breath and then regarded the other two dragons in the room: Fathom and himself. She picked up a scroll from the table and held it aloft. "I have some troubling news from the Sky Kingdom. It seems Queen Carmine has asked for my aid."
She paused, and Fathom was the one who asked what was also on his mind. "Why?"
"It seems that the Queen Pearl, and therefore Queen Crane, has declared war against the Skywings," she said grimly. "I intend on answering her call, so as of now, we…are at war."
Darkstalker looked over at Fathom and saw the former Prince looking like his world had just ended. This must be what Clearsight saw. I won't let anyone take away my happiness. This morning had been so perfect, but now…Now the lesser dragons were waging war and dragging him into it—dragging him away from Clearsight. How did it come to this? He came here in order to get away from such horrors, but it seems it was all for naught.
He looked down at his talons as they clenched and bit into the wood beneath them. His anger was starting to flare and the voices were beginning to overwhelm him making what the others were saying indiscernible. He couldn't block them out and it was making him even angrier. He tried shaking his head to clear his thoughts, but nothing was working. It was becoming hard to think clearly because of how deafening they all were. They were shouting so loud over each other—hundreds of them—and it was testing him to his limits. He felt like he was falling under the torrent and tried to resist, but his will was beginning to fade. Then, his resistance broke, and everything was clear once more.
He growled menacingly, and everyone turned to him. He looked up with fire in his eyes and felt an odd sensation crawling over his scales. "Darkstalker, are you—" Fathom tried to ask.
When Darkstalker answered, his voice held nothing but malice. "The weak shall perish under the power of the rising Darkness!"
AN: I know you probably have a bunch of questions concerning the end of this chapter (of which I hope I wrote well enough). What happens to him is that the corruption from previous uses of his power has once again taken him over. Kind of like the corruption I talk about in Dragon's Change-you know the reason he surrendered his powers in the first place. Anyways, his reaction had a sort of Dark Spyro/Malefor inspiration.
Please, this time I am asking if it was good or bad or just whatever. I seriously need to know if I am going too far out there and if I need to make a few changes to tone it down a bit.
Until Next Time
AdmiralCole22
