Epilogue

"Its getting late, they should have been back by now," Digger said to a Drillwing lieutenant beside him.

"Hey, it's a long flight," the Drillwing, whose name was Cyrus, said. "They are the best flyers we have, they will be back soon."

"I don't want soon, I want a definite answer!" Digger said. "Oh I shouldn't have let her wander around by herself out there."

"Hey there was no way, you would know a dragon was nearby and would snatched her," Cyrus said.

"But I should have known!" Digger said. "First I allow my older daughter to go with those strange dragons on a mission to supposedly end this war and now my younger daughter has been dragonnapped!"

"Hey we will get your younger daughter back," Cyrus said. "And your older daughter is doing fine, remember? We got a message two weeks ago that said they found a way to end the war?"

"Yeah but that was the day that she should have came back to me!" Digger protested. "I can keep her safe here, not out there with who knows what dangers that lurk."

"She'll be fine, trust her," Cyrus said.

"Have you not seen how she acts?" Digger asked. "She couldn't defend herself from a runaway chicken let alone another dragon."

"Well that's mean to say about your daughter," Cyrus said.

"I'm only saying the truth," Digger said. "Someone has to make her open up to everyone or she won't survive."

"Listen, you go get some rest, you've been up all day, I'll come get you when the flyers come back."

"Fine," Digger said and walked over to his hole that he carved in the side of a hill. He peeked his head inside and felt empty seeing the two beds where his daughter sleep, empty.

Oh am I a bad dad? I allowed my first daughter to go on a dangerous mission and my second daughter has been dragonnapped. I promised my wife before she died that I would keep them safe but look at where I am now.

Digger went to lay down on his bed, just hoping that there was a slither of a chance that they could get his younger daughter back.

I can't lose her. Tulsi would never forgive me. I've got to get her back and keep her safe. Maybe I should go find them both myself and bring them back here. Then I would never let them leave my sight, that way they would never get harmed. I would do everything for them in their lives and make sure they grow up with nice and happy lives. I can't do that though when one is wandering the caves with a group of dragons she doesn't even know and the other is right now trying to be rescued by my best soldiers.

Digger felt himself close his eyes, the loneliness around him holding him down. He didn't want to wake up, to hear whatever news they would bring to him. His daughter missing, the other one dead, them all trapped, Digger didn't want any of that to happen. So he tried to fall asleep and block those thoughts from his mind.

It was early in the morning when he felt someone prod him awake. Digger opened his eyes and saw Cyrus standing beside his bed.

"What is it Cyrus?" Digger asked, getting up off of his bed.

"Oh it's just that, the flyers found and rescued your younger daughter," Cyrus said.

"They have?" Digger said, his spirit lifting up. "Oh where is she, I have to go hug her."

"Right this way," Cyrus said and brought Digger to the middle of the Drillwing encampment. Digger looked around at all the Drillwings who were sleeping on the ground and how they looked worried and how some of them were skinny.

It's hard for us to catch food up here, we aren't used to it, Digger thought. There are a few dragons who picked up on it fast, one of them being my beloved daughter Tulsi but the rest are used to hunting in the caves. One day I will lead our tribe back into the caves and take back what is rightfully ours that the Cavewings and Webwings stole from us. They even killed our Queen and she had no dragonets so there is no one to take her place and no one wants to be queen.

Digger remembered the last Queen, Queen Beta. She was the best queen the Drillwings could ever ask for. She helped around the whole tribe, never slept anywhere fancy, she slept in an ordinary home like all the Drillwings, and she never let herself feel like she had power over others. She listened to her tribe and brought them great peace. All of that was destroyed thirty years ago when the Cavewings and Webwings decided that the Drillwings were in the middle of their war and attacked them and forced them to flee to the surface. Digger would have wanted to stay and fight but his wife convinced him to leave.

So since no one wants to be Queen, Digger had decided to become temporary chief of the Drillwings, to help guide them, until they could get their home back or someone stepped up at becoming queen."

"Here we are," Cyrus said and Digger saw his younger daughter, Briar, in front of him.

"Oh, Briar come here!" Digger said and hugged Briar to his chest. "Don't ever scare me like that again, you hear me?"

"I won't daddy, I promise," Briar said.

"Good," Digger said and looked up at Cyrus. "Where did you find her?"

"I can tell you but you may not like my answer," Cyrus warned.

"Come on, just tell it, it can't be that bad," Digger said.

"Ok, fine," Cyrus said. "When my flyers found her, she was with another dragon. We managed to scare the other dragon away from her and save her."

"Dada, they said my name was Chert, why's that?" Briar said.

"Don't worry sweetie, they didn't know your real name so they must have given you another name because your a hybrid."

"I have a question about that," Cyrus said. "Why did you love a Cavewing as well as your wife?"

"Hey don't judge me, my wife died and I wanted to feel special again," Digger said. "Anyway, who was this dragon that had her?"

"Your not going to like this but it was a Deathwing."

"WHAT!" Digger yelled.

"Don't worry the Deathwing didn't hurt her at all," Cyrus said but Digger was already walking by him.

"Get me the generals and have the army on standby," Digger said.

"Wait why?" Cyrus said.

Digger turned to face him. "They can banish us to the surface, team up against us, but now Deathwings have started attacking us? That's the last straw."

"What are you planning to do?" Cyrus asked.

"Cyrus, my friend," Digger said. "We are going to declare war on the Deathwings."