Chapter 4
Swallowtail sat curled up in a corner, sighing contently as she bit into a date and opened her book.
It was a battered old thing, with a worn blue leather cover and yellowing papers made of wood. THE REAL HISTORY OF THE TREE WARS was printed across the cover in golden, slightly wonky lettering. She had borrowed it from the Jewel Hive Library yesterday, after her mum had mentioned reading it when she was a dragonet.
The librarian, a bespectacled, unusually kind elderly HiveWing with a jet black tail and golden everything else, had said that book was one of the last to be made from a tree, and that it was made from the same tree that was turned into treestuff to build the queen's bedroom in Wasp Hive.
She turned to the page she'd last read, and resumed the book.
CHAPTER 2
Dragonfly was a hero of the Tree Wars. She has nearly as much recognition as Clearsight, having a bay named after her and many monuments scattered throughout the Hives. However, few dragons know that she was actually a friend of some LeafWings before the Tree Wars. She was also one of the many HiveWings who, after the war, protested the enslavement of flamesilks, a rare type of SilkWing who has fire in their silk.
What?! Swallowtail's mind screamed. She'd never heard of SilkWings who could spin fire. She was about to flip the page, and then she could figure out-
"What are you reading?" A voice growled from above her. She looked up to see her history teacher, Firefly, glaring down at her with a glare that could kill a wildebeest stone dead.
Normally, the elderly dragon mumbled slowly about the majesty of Queen Wasp and eventually fell asleep halfway through class.
Swallowtail had never seen him like this; paralyzing teeth bared, black striped wings buzzing, tail raised menacingly.
"N-nothing, sir," she said, terrified.
"Don't lie to me, wingless worm. That's not nothing. That's something," Firefly snarled back, snatching the Book from her apparently petrified talons.
"The true history of the Tree Wars?" He inquired, reading the title aloud. Firefly flipped open the Book and read the first few pages in silence.
"Where did you get this?" He snapped, waving it in front of her.
"The library, sir," she replied, trembling all over.
"You shouldn't be reading this. This book tells you nothing but lies. I'll take care of it for you." Firefly started tearing it apart, the weak spine ripping under his grip.
"Stop! That belongs to the library!" She said, shocked tears welling up in her eyes.
"Like they'll want it back." He announced, dropping the large pile of shreds that had once been a book in the bin.
"Oh, and if you know what's best for you, you won't pester the librarian again. Annoying dragonets get sent to Lady Jewel's dungeon." Firefly marched away, leaving Swallowtail in tears.
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Swallowtail sat in a corner, watching wistfully as other dragonets played racing games or talked about their favourite books or shared yams as they fiddled with silk threads.
She hadn't had a friend since her family had moved here from Wasp Hive two months ago on Lady Jewel's orders. No one came up to her or shared their snack or offered to play hopscotch together.
Her staring at other dragonets having an amazing recess definitely wasn't helping with the loneliness.
Maybe I'll have better luck if I head to the library, she thought hopefully, although she knew it probably wouldn't increase her chances.
As she walked along the main corridor of Caterpillar Hall, she noticed something lying on the ground underneath some lockers. Curious, she made sure no-one was watching, then picked it up and held it to the light.
It was a piece of paper. Evidently, it had once been a maths worksheet, judging by the columns of numbers visible on the other side of the paper.
Written on it were the following words:
FELLOW STUDENTS OF CATERPILLAR HALL
We have evidence that Queen Wasp is the one who makes the HiveWings go all white-eyed and have weird voices and move exactly the same. We think she is poisoning her tribe with something that lets her mind control them.
THEY CANNOT HIDE THE TRUTH FROM US!
Signed,
Whitespeck and other future Chrysalis members
Oh crap.
It all clicked together now. The HiveWings watching their family extra close, Whitespeck vanishing in the middle of a crowded market, the fact that no-one seemed to care.
Why did he have to be so openly against the HiveWings?
Whitespeck had been kidnapped by HiveWings.
See you for next week's chapter! :D