Chapter 6
Swallowtail lay in her hammock, trying to look like she was asleep, which was hard since she couldn't stop fidgeting anxiously.

What's taking Mum so long to fall asleep? She thought, annoyed. Normally her mum would have been in bed an hour ago.

By now, it was an hour to midnight, and her mother hadn't even lay down yet.

Swallowtail heard a gentle thud as her mum collapsed in a heap on her hammock. All was silent, and then she heard soft snoring.

She poked her head up, making sure her mum was definitely asleep- she knew her dad was, as he had been dozing when she got home from school.

When she saw the coast was clear, she crawled out of her hammock, wearing a pouch filled with ten scales, an ink bottle and the sheet of paper she'd found in the hallway, her only clue as to where her brother might have disappeared to.

She headed towards the door of her family's cell, taking care not to wake the neighbours.

Her parents might have been heavy sleepers, but Miss Web, the nosy middle aged dragoness who lived next door, definitely wasn't.

Something had been left laying on the web, and Swallowtail clumsily stumbled over it, causing the web to shake.

Hearing a sleepy murmur from her father, she froze up, not sure how she would explain being up so late.

Please please please don't wake up, she thought desperately.

Fortunately, he quickly slipped back into unconsciousness, and Swallowtail let out a breath she didn't realise she'd been holding.

I'm gonna be in SO much trouble when they wake up, Swallowtail thought as she left her cell and started moving towards the nearest entry to Jewel Hive.

-

Swallowtail wasn't surprised when she saw only two guards at the checkpoint.

Jewel Hive wasn't exactly known for being the most well-guarded city in Pantala, and most dragons would either be asleep or at parties at this hour.

The guards barely even looked at her, and they certainly didn't ask for her ID.

Heading through the yellowish-tan tunnels, she was eventually spat out into her favourite place in the world: the Jewel Hive Library.

It was the biggest library in Pantala, taking up a whole level and several balconies on others.

Not even Mantis Hive, which was supposedly the centre of education and innovation, had a library this big.

There were books everywhere; books lining the maze of floor-to-ceiling shelves, books piled up on desks. Even the balcony had drawers filled with ancient tomes and leather-bound tales. There were also spots to sit scattered about; hammocks, piles of cushions, high-up nooks...

Sometimes Swallowtail wished she could live there forever.

I don't know what the Chrysalis is, but I bet it's some form of rebellion.

She had found a note earlier in the day relating to the Chrysalis. While she was walking home from Caterpillar Hall, she had noticed something tucked inside the base of a statue of Dragonfly.

Despite not wanting to read another secret note after what she'd found out from the first one earlier that day, her curiosity took hold of her and she pulled it out.

Hiding in a side street which seemed to be empty apart from a few faded posters and a pile of tattered silk blankets that probably belonged to a homeless SilkWing, she had unfolded the note and started to read.

For those who want to join the Chrysalis
Meet at the library half an hour before midnight. Tell no one.
Bring nothing.

Shocked and curious at the same time, she had put away the note in her pouch and decided to sneak out to go to the meeting.

After all, if anyone knew about what her brother was doing when he vanished, it would be the organisation he was supposedly going to join.

Ok, let's do this.

Swallowtail moved through the library, navigating twisting paths carved through the sea of bookshelves.

She wandered for a while, her internal clock getting closer and closer to half an hour to midnight, until she started to get worried.

What if it was a fake message planted by HiveWings to catch Chrysalis members?

What if I got the date wrong?

Shoving those thoughts aside, she made her way towards the top level of the library.

It was a loft, and a large one at that, with a carpet and thick treestuff bookcases. The room was open to the sky on one side, with a balcony covered in silk blankets for some reason.

Tucking herself in the darkness between a bookshelf and a wall, Swallowtail quietly sat down and began to wait.

-

It was midnight when she started to hear noises outside.

Swallowtail jolted out of her light sleep, feeling worse then before.

They're here! Her mind screamed.

Calming her pounding heart down, she stretched out her hind legs and decided to poke her snout out and have a look at the dragons.

Looking out from her hiding spot, she saw four dragons, all SilkWings, all murmuring to each other in low voices.

Two were overlapping shades of pink, one was short with a long, dark blue tail, and another had golden scales and a scratched up snout.

"Excuse me," Swallowtail said quietly, in her polite voice she used with adult dragons.

All four dragons whipped around, revealing that the darker pink one had a horrible burn scar over half his face.

"Are you here for the recruitment session?" The golden one barked in a gruff voice.

"Actually, sir, I was wondering if you knew something about a dragonet-"

"For Clearsight's sake, get over here."

Swallowtail darted towards him quickly, not daring to mess with a dragon who had HiveWing paralysis stinger scars along his neck.

"Now, what were you saying about a dragonet?" The blue one inquired.

"I was going to ask about my brother, Whitespeck." Swallowtail continued. "He went missing about a week ago, and I found out that he was planning to join the Chrysalis. Do you know anything about who might have kidnapped him, and why?"

"That dragonet?" Burn Scar (Swallowtail didn't know his real name) said. "We were just talking about him. All we know is he was exchanging messages with a member of the Bloodworm Hive Chrysalis when he vanished. Apparently, the LeafWings are still alive, and they're planning to burn Bloodworm Hive to the ground."

"WHAT?!"

"Shhh. I know, we were shocked too."

"Wait." Swallowtail realised. "My brother put up posters at school openly protesting against the HiveWings. What if some mind controlled HiveWing had seen it, and Wasp ordered some HiveWing guards to kidnap my brother and take him to Wasp Hive?"

The lighter pink dragon cleared her throat, and Swallowtail realised she hadn't heard her say a word so far. "That's... a possibility."

"If it is, then I have to rescue him!" Swallowtail said, her wingbuds buzzing as she darted towards the balcony that was above the web bridge between Wasp and Jewel Hive.

"Wait!" The golden dragon called out.

"What?" Swallowtail hissed impatiently.

"Just.. Be careful. Wasp is ruthless."

"Ok." Swallowtail nodded, the turned around and leapt onto the web bridge, starting the journey to Wasp Hive and saving her brother.

Whew, that was exhausting! Sorry if this chapter was long, I just had so much to write! See you next week! :D