Iris could tell it was Scarlet from the gold, ruby-encrusted chestplate she wore, it matched perfectly with the rubies jutting out of her eye ridges. These features had been described thoroughly by disdainful soldiers at outposts, having no idea there was a young Rainwing dragonet crouched beneath the window.
The red queen towered over the dragonets She spread her wings majestically, blocking Iris's view of the action.
"Who are you?" Iris heard the spunky Seawing demand.
Scarlet tilted her head, the rubies glimmering in the sunlight. She shifted her wings slightly. Iris caught a glimpse of the Mudwing, his eyes were wide and he was crouched low to the ground. He looked terrified.
"How can you not know that?" Scarlet demanded, "You're not a very good spy, are you, Seawing?"
"I'm not a spy!" The blue dragonet ranted, "We've been, held prisoner, kind of. We just escaped!"
Iris's mind was running wild with ideas, 'Did they commit a crime? They look about my age, what crime could they have committed that was enough to get them held prisoner? They still would have known about Queen Scarlet, right? Wait, how many years has she been Queen? Let's see, one, two, three,'
The Queen in question interrupted Iris's thoughts, "A Seawing and a Mudwing held prisoner? But you're not from my dungeons unless I'm getting horribly forgetful. So who could you be?"
'THAT'S EXACTLY MY QUESTION!' Iris thought, her claws itching to jump down and start interrogating the dragons.
The Mudwing finally spoke, Iris could see him pulling the pendant out of the Seawing's talons, "Tsunami, come on. Just give back her treasure and let's go." He reached out his claw tentatively, holding out the necklace, "Here you go. We don't want any trouble."
"Oh, neither do I." Scarlet said with a dangerous edge in her voice, "That's why it makes me so sad when trouble keeps coming to me." There was a sickening crunch and Iris flinched, it sounded like the time her claws were smashed between two rocks.
"Nobody touches my treasure!" Queen Scarlet growled.
Tsunami's eyes lit up like fire, "We didn't know! We don't even know who you are!"
The Queen strode forward threateningly, she completely shrouded Iris's view.
Iris leaned forward, nervously scratching the bark of the tree.
"Oh, didn't I say? My name is Scarlet. But you may call me Your Majesty if you want to live." She turned slightly, "Now you, Mudwing," she said with a questioning lilt in her voice, "Make me curious. We're on the same side. So why didn't you recognize me?"
"I don't-we're just passing through-I mean-it was an honor to meet-we have to go!" The Mudwing stuttered.
Scarlet kept up her speech, "But you can't abandon me mid-conversation. I know, I'll bring you back to my sky palace with me. Won't that be thrilling?"
Iris didn't remember tearing the pinecone off of the tree, she didn't remember reaching back and hurling it in the direction of the Queen's head, but what she would remember for years to come was the rage-filled shriek that followed.
"WHO THREW THAT!" Scarlet roared whipping her head around, her face contorted with fury. Her eyes scanned the tree line, Iris sat there, paralyzed by the queen's gaze. Scarlet's eyes seemed to linger on her for a moment, before turning back to the Mudwing. "Wait, where is-"
Tsunami suddenly appeared behind Scarlet, slamming a scavenger sized sword down onto the tip of the Queen's tail, driving it into the ground.
Scarlet screamed with fury, "How dare you?" She twisted her neck around to see Tsunami taking off.
"Fly!" Tsunami shouted to the sky, the Mudwing shot after her.
Iris raised her wings, but hesitated, 'What do I really know about these dragons? And what about my meeting. Then again, I know Queen Scarlet, and I don't want to stick around much longer with her angry.'
Scarlet was now writhing on the ground, twisting her arms behind her back to reach the sword.
Iris looked at the dragons who were quickly shrinking in the distance, and then looked behind her into the woods.
'This is going to be the flight of a lifetime.' She thought before soaring after the dragonets.