Thrilling

By Kyle Bentley

Queen Maroon was not happy. Granted she was rarely ever happy in life, to begin with, but these last few months have been a series of shockingly dreadful disasters. It all started when that brat of a prince Vortex decided it was a good idea to take ALL 4 of her heirs out on a "hunting trip" which was already sketchy to begin with in a land where "hunting accident" was basically the same as "easy murder excuse" in history. Taking one or 2 heirs was fine. Less compatition if it was a murder plot and a break from the whineing if it wasn't. Taking all 4 however was very suspicious considering his ambition... But when they came back it turns out the situation was even worse than she had thought. It turns out that Vortex wasn't exactly keen on the drinks they had here in the palace and wanted to go somewhere else to get his alcohol. The 3 elder heirs agreed and also went with him for booze and the youngest one, Velvet, though she didn't drink much, went because everyone else was doing it. Ok fair enough. Maroon thought the wine was too watered down herself. But could you guess where they went? Perhaps a tavern up in the northlands or maybe around the mouth of the Five Tails? No of course not. They went allllll the way down south to the border with the Mud Kingdom and went to the most controversial town they could have gone to: Kreisenhals. Odd name nowadays, considering we just use General Pyrrhic to name everything now. Kind of sad really. Sure it made communication easier (you basically had to throw a fistful of gravel in your mouth to pronounce anything in old Icewing languages.) but it also made names boring in her opinion. But that was beside the point. The town was a Mudwing settlement in the middle of Skywing territory and was a stirring pot for trouble since it was founded. It's a complicated story that Maroon didn't remember much of but the basics of it was that town was the whole reason the Skywings had a Mudwing alliance, to begin with, and could disrupt it if even the slightest thing went wrong.

Guess what happened.

It turns out letting a prince of the Skywings buy drinks for all the Skywings, and ONLY the Skywings, and acting like he runs the place in a Mudwing territory isn't exactly a good look. The fact that the drunk mob proceeded to rampage across town and cause massive damage made things worse. They even raided the tomb next door to the city. Granted they were abandoned and unused for over 3000 years since we started burning our dead, but they still held the bodies of royalty and where thus sacrosanct and not to be tampered with, especially by 300 drunk dragon peasants and a prince whose head was so far up his tailhole he spits out his own stomach acid. Needless to say, she still hasn't finished all the paperwork. And to make things worse Maroon knew they stole treasure from there. they are practically wearing it. Velvet quite literally with all the new rubies engraved on her face and her fancy new armour set. Some people thought she looked pretty in it. She thought they looked like giant red tumours. The only reason that none of them were hanging by their wingtips of her highest tower right now is that she couldn't prove they took anything from the tomb unless she or someone who worked for her checked the tomb itself, which she couldn't do unless she wanted to admit that she violated the tomb and thus making the discussion null and void because according to law, a queen couldn't convict someone for a crime she committed herself. She was infuriated by this but she had to admit, that Osprey they hired was a good lawyer.

There was nothing she could do about it so she decided to leave it like that. But then the deaths started happening. It was nothing major: a dead noble here, a bloodied guard there. Likely just petty rivalries and politics. Annoying at times, yes but nothing that really changed many things. But then the attacks became more personal. High ranking generals, trusted advisors and her own sons were either being killed or magically disappearing. Even her eldest daughter and heir to the throne Robin had fallen victim just a week ago, which was really annoying considering she seemed to be the only tolerable one. She hasn't slept properly for a week straight because of all this. Always had to make plans for when the next important person drops dead. At 1st all this seemed to be bad luck but now many people are starting to believe it's a curse. Even she was coming around to the idea, and she didn't believe in much anything magical. And then there was the matter of her youngest daughter Velvet. She used to be a tolerable dragonet to be with. A bit snarky, but that's to be expected from the brats she birthed. But ever since she came back from the drunk raid she seemed... different. Always walking about like she was already a queen, reading scrolls that she probably shouldn't be that into considering all the violence in them, going down in the dungeons and always leaving with all the prisoners and even some of the guards miserable or scared and the fact she seemed to be a bit too interested in public executions. It was just too creepy for her liking. No dragonet changes so fast and so oddly under normal circumstances. Velvet was officially her least favourite daughter now. She tried to stop the behaviour but Velvet would pretend to have changed for a few days and return to her habits when she stopped looking so she knew that the situation was beyond her abilities. She recently decided to call for a doctor. See what was wrong with the brat. "Now that I think about it," she thought. "The doctor should have arrived by now. I swear if he died too..." she shook her head. It was raining pretty bad is all. It was probably just that. She turned her attention to her most recent trouble. Recently Queen Oasis's heirs have started reaching out to other tribes. Nothing odd about that, royals talk to other royals all the time, however, these letters were not diplomatic letters or trade offers or even just casual friendly check-ins. They were asking for military support. And not for the Sand Kingdom, it was for themselves specifically, an unheard-of request as far as she knew. And that wording was filled with more honey than a beehive. (well, except for Burn's. That was basically "you give troops and I don't get mad at you") They were clearly plotting something, and to be honest she didn't want to be involved in whatever it was. But everyone else was signing on with it. Why they were doing so she didn't know, but if she didn't sign on with someone now she would be vulnerable to an attack if one of the groups go on to make a move. And all that was just the main problems she had on her mind at the moment. There was probably more she had forgotten about. She sighed and looked out her window. "The arena is almost finished at least." she thought.

Ah, the arena. The greatest of dreams she had since she was a youth. She had always loved the art of acting and theatre. The reenactment of epic tales of daring-do and plots that could only be thought of by the greatest masterminds were greater than anything she could have read on paper. However, the only place anyone could see a play around here was the town square in this city. And that rarely had any amenities that most of the best ones required. And most plays were made back in the mid-2000s to the early 3000's, a time where art flourished much easier and one could put on a more impressive show without bankrupting themself so basically all of them couldn't be fully produced without funding (which nobody ever did considering they had bigger problems.) And there was also the issue of no new material coming out. Nowadays the only dragon producing any new works was that Princess Coral nutter in the Sea Kingdom. While extremely impressive for a 4-year-old to write works better than some adults, almost all of them involved Aquatic, something rather hard for Skywings to pull off. And not to mention the stench down there. And that wasn't just her royal blood talking. She could handle smelly peasants. But the square had a big hygiene problem even for the common folk. Not someplace royalty goes to. It was quite a shame in her opinion. So when she ascended to the throne one of her 1st actions was planning a proper theatre for herself and her subjects. But this wasn't just going to be a big stage with seats circled around it like your average theatre. No this was going to be a marvel, something that would be a symbol for the kingdom for hundreds of years, perhaps more. And it would be made purely by dragon strength and wit. No animus nonsense like those Icewings used. It would take up the entire plateau and house thousands of dragons. It would have a stage with enough room to fit fifty or so actors easily and still have plenty of space for props and movements. It would have 30 or so towers with mirrors on them so moonlight could be reflected onto the stage at night for late-night plays. It could even flood the stage for seans at sea via special pipes and could drain in an instant (she had to dig for some rare, Pre-Darkstalker Nightwing experimental schematics for that one. They may be overhyped snobs but admittedly Nightwings did have some interesting inventions back in the day.) She might even be able to convert it into a sports stadium from time to time if she really wanted to. People said it couldn't be done or it would bankrupt the kingdom. But now the building stood tall and strong on its perch, guarded by humongous pillars of rocks on all sides. Dragons flying about like startled birds in a forest, laying down its final crown. Her triumph, her magnum opus, her dream was almost a reality. "Any day now…" she thought, her eyes growing tired even though it was only midday. Her strength drained from yet another day of ceaseless and thankless work. "Any day…"

BANG BANG BANG! Went the door just as Maroon was about to drift off. She groaned. Can a queen get a moment of rest around here? And didn't she post guards near her room to tell people not to disturb her? Someone's hide was getting tanned if this person didn't have a good reason being here. "If there's more paperwork leave it at the door and if one of those Sandwing princesses are begging me to work for them tell them the answer is still no right now. Now scram!" "Oh, what a shame!" came a familiar voice. "I guess I'll just have to drink this mead all by myself!"

"Like that's ever going to happen," Maroon said firmly. 'Get in here now Velvet!" She had placed all her heirs on prohibition after the Kreisenhals incident. She claimed it was for the rest of her life but she planned to let it slide once she thought they were mature enough to not burn down half a town in a drunk fit. However considering their behaviour she might just have to live up to her promise, which was very concerning for her kingdom. The door opened and in walked Velvet. It was quite the odd name for her considering her orange colour. Probably not a good idea to name a dragon after a colour before they hatch. "Still wearing that tacky chest plate I see," Maroon said. "You know that doesn't belong to you."

"Says who?" Velvet said snidely, adjusting her ill-fitting armour. "You can't prove anything. And besides, even if it was from that tomb who really cares? The dead? Now don't tell me you're afraid of ghosts now mother?" "I'm concerned about our legacy," Maroon said. "Nobody likes a queen that robs the graves of her ancestors."

"Oh please," Velvet scoffed. "Those 'ancestors' didn't even unify the kingdom or share our religion. They were basically dragon-sized and shaped Scavengers." She picked up an empty goblet and ran a talon around the rim disinterestedly. "But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about." She pulled out a wooden box from behind her. It was tied with a blue ribbon. It also absolutely stank. "A dead rat or something?" Maroon said sarcastically. "Thanks. I didn't want dinner anyways." she moved her claw to cut the ribbon and get this nonsense over with so she could go back to her business. "Ah ah ah." Velvet said, waving a talon mockingly. "I'm not done."

"She is definitely plotting something." she thought. You don't hand someone a present and tell them not to open it unless it's bad news. And considering Velvet she probably stuffed someone's head or a bomb in there for all she knew. She would play along for now though. "So if you're not here to give me more work and you're not here to give me rancid meat in a box why are you here at all?"

"I'm here because i want to talk, mum," Velvet said. "Despite your beliefs, not everyone arrives to shout words of gloom and despair in your general direction. But 1st lets have a drink." Maroon opened her mouth to talk. "It's not very alcoholic and it's not poison." Velvet said almost immediately. She uncorked the mead and took a swig to prove her point. "I wasn't going to ask that anyways." Maroon said, rolling her eyes. You had to be as dumb as a brick to try an assassination by poisioning a Skywings drink. As per tradition, the server of a drink must take a swig first or the drink will not be served. "Just give me the drink and say what you're going to say so i can get back to some important business."

Velvet poured some drinks. She gave her a goblet with a smile a bit too wide for her liking. "Yep. definitely up to something. Probably murder. Or she took some advice from Vortex and wants to swindle something out of me. Maybe both." she thought as she took a sip from the goblet. The mead was sweet enough. It was basically easy to pour honey considering how little alcohol was in it. They took their seats. "So i have heard that your little pet project is almost complete." Velvet said, still smirking. "Still looks like a waste of resources to me."

"It's fine art," Maroon said. "Fine art needs fine accommodations to display it. You couldn't understand it if you tried." Velvet never liked her arena project. Even before her personality shift. Even at a year old she said that she "Didn't want no dumb theatre. I want a new necklace/ a turkey/ a hatching day party (etc, etc)" of course she was pretty sure she never saw a real play in her life, but that didn't stop her. Velvet placed her hand on her heart in mock shock. "What? Me? Not understanding the point of dragons shouting boring poetry at each other for peasants who will completely miss the point anyway? How could that be?"

"It's not boring, it's dramatic and intriguing." Maroon retorted. "If you saw a play for once you would get it." Velvet rolled her eyes. "First You say i'll never understand, then you say can. Make up your fucking mind for once in your life.""Do not mouth off to your queen like that young lady!" Marron growled, small curls of smoke now rising from her nose. "I'm trying to keep the kingdom together through all this crap going on around me and you aren't helping."

"I'm guessing you're talking about our adventure in Kreisenhals?" Velvet said. "Very unfortunate. Vortex should never have drunk so much. I tried to warn him not to, you know." "Really?" Marron said, intrigued. None of her kin wanted to talk about any part of the situation until now. Probably didn't want to say anything incriminating. So the fact that Velvet openly said something related to it, even minor, in a genuine fashion, was odd. She still thought Velvet was scheming something, but maybe she could get something out of this. "By all means, do elaborate."

"Not much to say really. He drinks his 3rd bottle of vodka. I tell him to ease on the drinks. He bashes me across the snout with a bottle. It wasn't the 1st time he has done that mind you. Of course my useless sisters just la-'' Velvet started to rant. Which Maroon knew was bullshit. "I'm going to stop you right there. Do you really think im stupid enough to belive that? You didn't have a scratch on you when you came back!" "Except I did." Velvet said. "My siblings made me cover up their work, because , despite your beliefs, we actually have brains. Not like you would care, considering you don't even look at any of us unless we do something 'wrong.'"

"Can you believe this bitch?" she thought to herself. "Maybe if you actually behaved like a princess and shut that mouth of yours from time to time you wouldn't have to face your mother's wrath all the time." Now Velvet was having smoke rising out her nostrils. "And by 'princess' you mean "Slave girl who mindlessly agrees with you all the time?' Yeah, no thanks. Now here is something that you might actually want to hear about."

"Oh please tell me who else you're going to accuse of heinous crimes without any proof." Maroon said. "The suspense is absolutely thrilling." "Thrilling…" Velvet said, apparently relishing the word. "I like that word. Feels like a perfect word for me. I should use it more."

"Please don't. You ruin enough things for me." Maroon said, exhaustedly. Forget the work. She just wanted this over with so she could sleep now. Her newly gained stomach ache wasn't helping in the slightest. Velvet served her a glare. "Anyways the next person i want to 'accuse' is Woodpecker, better known as my father." "Oh dear, my husband did something stupid again? Oh no. Someone save us." Maroon said. Woodpecker and Maroon married mainly to make heirs and nothing more. They didn't have much love between them. And his mouth was almost as loud as her children's.

"Oh no its much worse than that." Velvet said. "I'm sure you remember your husband being put in charge of my financial education yes? Well, he… he didn't exactly teach me as much as he should." "What on earth are you talking about?" Maroon said. "Surely he hasn't just been neglecting his duties as per usual for you to whine about it."

"Well… he doesn't fancy you as much anymore since I came around if you get the hint." Maroon grimaced, "Oh that is disgusting" she thought. "How could a dragon stoop so low as to do… that nasty stuff. To his own daughter no less?" "those are some serious accusations made to my husband. You better have some… some… Oh would you get that box thing out of here? It absolutely reeks." she had forgotten about that. The stench used to be bearable but it somehow got a thousand times worse over the conversation. "One moment mother." Velvet said. "And yes. I have evidence. He isn't exactly a gentle man you see." She turned around and unclipped her armor, having it fall to the ground with a clang. "This thing isn't just for show."

Her back had slash marks across it and small bruises scattered about it. It even had a small burn on it. It wasn't anything permanent but it was still nasty. Maroon shuddered. "Well… we cant have him around here anymore. Absolutely disgusting. Having a person like that as my husband now would surely ruin my reputation." Velvet turned to her. Her face slowly grows more and more livid. "OH HOW BENEVOLENT OF YOU MOTHER! THANKS FOR SHOWING HOW MUCH YOU CARE BY NOT CONSOLEING ME ABOUT BEING FUCKING RAPED, BY MY OWN FATHER NO LESS, AND ONLY CARING ABOUT YOUR REPUTATION! TRULY A SYMBOL TO US ALL!"

"Listen here." Maroon said sternly. "I am going to take care of the problem and you wont get any more issues with him again. That should be good enough for you. Besides, you're not the most moral dragon yourself. I know about that verbal abuse to my prisoners in the dungeons. And you practically masturbate over those barbaric gladiator stories. Now get out of here before i toss you out so i can deal with the situation."

Velvet froze. Her face once extremely outraged slowly turned into the most sickeningly diabolical smile Maroon had ever seen. "Oh don't worry about that, mother. I already handled the situation." Velvet then grabbed the box and tore the lid off in an instant. Inside where 2 dragon heads, their scales peeled off and the flesh underneath charred and flaky. Their eyes were slopely clawed out(with a chunk of one still cliging on) and had expretions of extreme anguish on them. They had obviously been tortured before dying. It was hard to make out their identities due to the extreme disfigurement but an excruciatingly uncomfortable examination revealed them to be the heads of Vortex and Woodpecker.

"VELVET!" Maroon screamed. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?" "Me saving you the work of killing a incestual-pedo-rapeist and a crazy drunkard who bashes people on the head is all." Velvet said. "Your welcome by the way." "V-velvet we have rules and procedures." Maroon said. How could her own daughter be so… ok about this? Torturing dragons? Surely she didn't raise her that horribly right? Her mother raised her to be the way she is now so it should have worked for this generation right? Or maybe she didn't interpret the procedures right? "You c-cant just go out and kill a person without having them convinced. Especially not like… that."

"Oh really?" Velvet said. "Well ain't that a shame? Ah well. It won't matter because you will be dead soon anyway." "... Are you challenging me?" Maroon said in shock. She started to rise from her seat "If you are, I will have you knoooooOOOARGH!" Maroon clutched her stomach. The sudden jolt of pain sending her crashing into the floor. She looked across to her daughter's armor. Inside was a small bottle of a clear liquid. An image of velvet circling her talon round the goblet she gave Maroon flashed into her head. "Clever bitch." she thought just as she was yanked from the floor. "Yes mother," Velvet said with a somehow even more evil smile. "I suppose this is a challenge of sorts. But not the standard kind. I wanted to see if you had any compassion towards me in the slightest. To focus on something besides yourself. But sadly, you failed the test. So now, I get to have some fun. Oh and the one thing you do care about? Your precious little theatre? I'm going to turn it into something much more thrilling. A whole gladiator pit to punish those I despise such as you and give the people what they really want. Not some silly wishy washy sob stories. But blood, and lots of it. We have an overflow of prisoners anyway. It will be so thrilling to see what ways I can spill their guts. But I would suggest something simple for the 1st taste. You will do nicely. But before we go, 'Velvet' seems a bit too soft for a Queen. Do you have any suggestions for a better one?"

Since she was being tightly held by her throat, Maroon could barely utter up anything. When she finally tried to tell her what for, all she did was cough up blood all over the right side of her "daughter's" face. "Hmm… Scarlet blood. Why yes, the name Scarlet is quite a thrilling mother. Congratulations, you managed to do one successful thing for me in your life." And with that, she took off, dragging Maroon behind her, all the way through the rain to the almost finished arena. She stopped at the royal balcony and whistled loudly so all the workers looked at her. They looked annoyed at 1st, then confused, then looked shocked, some even scared, when they realized what was going on. "Ladies and gentleman." the newly named Scarlet announced. "I would like to announce a change in management, and with it a change in this establishment's purpose. Want a preview of it? Well you're in luck!" She then proceeded to grab the soon to be ex queen and slashed her throat, tore her heart out and shoved it back into her mother's mouth. Then pushed the corpse over the balcony and onto the floor to the absolute horror of the workers. And with that, the 1st trilling execution in the arena was complete. And Scarlet was looking forward to many, many more.

The end.