Iris sat curled in her ball a long while after the fight, not daring to peek her head out for fear of seeing the carnage. She mused bitterly about what Horizon had said about his family. She wondered if any of his siblings were still alive. She wondered if any other dragons even cared.
She felt two dragons thump down on the pavilion next to her. "Get up," she heard one of them growl.
Iris slowly stood, curling her wings around her and raising her head in defiance. "I won't go."
"That's not your choice."
The young Rainwing looked down at the arena below, "It should be."
One the guards, an orange one, touched her wing to the dragonet's, "Just come with us, it will make this all much easier."
Iris glared but held out her forearm, the guards began to unwind the wire. She noticed that they didn't take off her wing binds.
The guards carried her down to the arena and dropped her on the still blood-stained sand. She scrambled to catch herself and threw out her wings for balance, teetering dangerously.
Iris heard a few distant 'oohs' and 'ahhs' from the crowd. She looked around quickly before finally checking her own scales.
They looked as if the sunrise and night sky had slammed together. Bright red and orange dripped into smoky grays and blacks. Streaks of dark purple slithered across her scales like clouds on an early morning.
Iris sat down on the sand, spreading out her wings to catch the sun. She curled her tail around her toes and raised her head to the warm light.
The sun seemed to have a calming effect on the Rainwing. She contemplated the upcoming fight, I don't want to hurt anyone. What if I refuse to fight anyone? Would that work? Oh, I should have asked Horizon if anybody has done that before. She cringed when she thought about the other prisoner.
Well, if refusing to fight turns out to not be an option, I can always hide. She glanced back at her bright scales and toned them down until they matched the surrounding area perfectly.
She heard a few startled gasps from the stands, followed by a panicked, "Wait, where'd she go?"
Iris gingerly took one step forward, and sadly noted that the sand left impressions underfoot, so even if the opposing dragon couldn't see her, they would still know where she was.
She suddenly felt a strange feeling on her neck, a tingle, as if someone were gently burrowing between her scales. He eyes blinked open and she saw a red dragon standing on a pavilion far above her.
The Queen of the Skywings glared at the dragonet below with a smirk on her face. She seemed to notice Iris looking at her. The Skywing's gaze shot over to some strange, rainbow decoration next to her.
It was Glory!
The dragonet was wrapped around a marble tree that sat sturdily next to Scarlet's throne.
That looks so uncomfortable. Iris thought, Her limbs are all stretched over different branches, and her tail is hanging straight down.
But, the other Rainwing looked... Happy. Her scales were pink with bright yellow spots.
A sudden clanging drew her attention to the passageway across the arena. Two soldiers were leading a large dragon out of the darkness.
A dragon that was a very familiar shade of blue.
A dragon that Iris knew all too well.
"Grouper?"