They'd managed to make it most of the way to the prison before Scorch's groaning grew loud enough that Peril forced him to land. As they landed on a rubble pile about half a mile from the shaft, he grumbled with impatience. "I can-agh-keep going, Peril. Don't slow us down on my account."

She shook her head. "You're going to hurt yourself if you keep pushing it, and I don't want that on my chest. Besides, the plan doesn't need you to be there right this instant, you have a few hours to rest." I'd love to charge in too, but it seems like more and more people are relying on my discretion.

"What is the plan, anyway? All you've said is that I won't need to fight anyone, not that I mind that part." he asked, looking over his shoulder as he carefully descended the pile.

"Your part in it is pretty simple. The hard part is mine to deal with." She followed him down despite herself, slipping on some of the smaller debris and flapping about to keep from falling. A few of the MudWings nearby gave her odd looks. "All you need to do is go down into the prison shaft and tell them that Scoria has given the order to release Clay and your kids-they're in the special holding cells at the extreme rear of the mine."

"How's that going to work? They'll just send a messenger to Scoria to make sure I'm telling the truth."

"Not if she's miles away, at the coronation."

"Well… they'd probably still try, honestly. I've waited around for Scoria's approval plenty of times before," he said, and grinned.

"I don't want to know what that means. Anyway, just say it's urgent and you'll bring them back if scoria countermands it. Be pushy, you outrank them. Sorta."

"That works, yeah… until the messenger gets back from Scoria."

Peril sighed. This part of her plan was her least favorite. "A messenger can't get alternate orders from Scoria if she's imprisoned… or dead."

Scorch stopped suddenly, sending down showers of scree in front of him. "Hang on. You're going to…"

"Only if it comes to that!" she clarified, but Scorch still fixed her with a disapproving stare. "Come on, she was horrible to you! She locked your kids in the bottom of a mine so she could use them to take over the kingdom!"

"I…yeah, you're right." The look of resignation on his face was enough to deaden even Peril's righteous anger. He has a point… I'd never let someone kill Clay, even if he were evil.

"Look, I'll do my best to make sure she's just thrown in one of Ruby's prisons. But in the end, it might come down to your mate or your dragonets. Just so you know."

"Alright." He said, and continued down the hill. His path was a bit wobblier than hers. "You know, I'm wishing I hadn't drunk that entire cup of medicine now. The dizziness lasts longer than the numbing,"

"Wait, you were moaning that much while sedated?" she jabbed, hoping to lighten the mood.

"Yeah, it actually really hurts. Like, a lot. But hey, I'm the first dragon to survive getting burned by you… without magical intervention. That's pretty cool!"

"Sure is. Anyway, Scoria is probably going to start wondering where I am, so I have to go. You're clear on the plan?" she asked, flaring her wings.

Scorch nodded, his expression returning to a grim set. "I've got it. Not sure it'll work, but I'm trusting you."

"For Flint and Flare, yeah?" she guessed.

"Mhm."

"Good luck, Scorch." He turned away, continuing towards the mine, and she took off. There was no need to avoid the sentries now, and she made good time getting back to the estate. There was quite a bustle, with soldiers preparing to depart for the palace, but none of them got in her way as she headed into the mountain and towards her room.

That is, until Scoria stopped her in the hallway outside, flanked by Anopheles and Hallux. She didn't seem very angry, at least. "Ah, Princess. You're finally back."

"Uh…" Peril considered just killing her now. At least she'd have some revenge, if her main plan was defeated.

"She is nervous, and considering an attack on you. Perhaps you should clarify, General," Anopheles interjected, before Scoria could respond.

"J-just jitters, Scoria. I didn't expect to see you here."

Scoria pushed Anopheles aside and stepped forward. She was decked out in ornate armor and equipment, including a knife hanging from her belt that seemed to be made of glass, as dark and oily as the look she gave Peril. "Well, I did expect to see you here, since I put a guard here to keep you. What exactly were you doing?"

Her eyes darted to Anopheles. Lying was out of the question, then. "I was visiting Scorch in the hospital."

"After that, then. Did you decide to go on a pleasure flight with him too?" Scoria didn't seem jealous of the idea that someone else was flying around with her mate as much as she did dismissive.

"Something like that. I thought I had plenty of time before the attack." Peril took a step back, despite herself.

"Luckily, you do. You still have four hours; I was just coming to get you because there was a report of a break-in in Shaft O451 last night."

The air around Peril was suddenly colder than usual. "Was anyone hurt?" she asked. As long as I don't actually state anything, I can't be caught in a lie.

"No. Only a bit of damage to a lock, and a few disturbed prisoners. Whoever it was didn't even bother to break them out."

With a whiff of citrus, Anopheles butted in. "Ma'am, all evidence points to Peril as our culprit."

Scoria shook her head. "She would never dare, dear. Not while Clay is still in chains. And besides, don't you think she'd have tried to break him out, instead of… someone she doesn't know."

"I would definitely do that, if I broke into the prison." Wouldn't've done it last night but…

"See? Innocent," insisted Scoria. Anopheles didn't look convinced, but he remained silent. "Now, Peril, let's have a bite to eat and then we can go over the plans. Oh, and maybe give you a bit of a freshening up. When was the last time you bathed, hon?" she asked, sniffing at Peril's neck.

Shivering, Peril drew away. "Um, never? The water, it boils away when I…"

"I see." Scoria shrugged. "Well, at very least we can get your horns and claws filed, maybe a splash of perfume. You smell like a hospital, dear."

"Okay, let's do that." At least it'd be a distraction. Anopheles was on to her plans, but as long as Scoria wasn't listening to him she was safe.

Over the next few hours she threw herself at Scoria's mercy, following every whim and completing every meaningless request. Fortunately, those were mostly related to the kind of preening that royals found essential. The estate had a bath just large enough that it could tolerate Peril's heat with only a little loss of water. Thus, her first real bath left her freezing cold and uncomfortably moist, even after spending the next hour turning every room she was in into a sauna as the wetness on her scales boiled away.

That only made the other tribulations take longer, though at least getting a pedicure was far less uncomfortable than being doused in some flowery water. By the end of it she almost liked how her horns looked, filed as they were to sharp feminine points. And her claws had never been sharper-or painted any redder, for that matter.

She was careful not to chip the polish as they ate a small, sombre lunch. Scoria continued quizzing her over the details of the plan, and Peril continued answering. No need to inform the general that the only reason she had such a good memory was that her subterfuge relied on it. That detail kept the food from sitting comfortably in her gut.

Finally, they were ready to fly. She and Scoria headed down to the landing platform together, striding out side by side between the rows of waiting troops. Scoria looked far more regal, dressed up as she was, but all eyes were on Peril. The expressions of the soldiers ranged from bored to curious to adoring, which was still an unfamiliar one for her. Scorch must not have been an isolated case among Scoria's goons.

Once they reached the edge of the platform, Scoria held up a claw, motioning for her to stop. They turned and faced the assembled soldiers, who had closed ranks behind them. There must have been at least two hundred dragons in front of Peril, maybe twice that. She'd never seen so many warriors in one place, at least while they were still alive. While she was taking in the size of Scoria's force, the general cleared her throat and a hush fell over the crowd.

"My fellow SkyWings, I come bearing the grim truth. Our tribe has fallen far in the past years. Our throne has been usurped by a false-faced queen too weak to destroy her enemies alone. Defects and degenerates walk freely in our streets, while our finest dragonets and veteran soldiers are taken to distant lands and taught, no, brainwashed into believing that any other tribe could be our equal. And, as the weaker tribes clamor for dominance, our name and the name of our greatest queen is dragged through the mud!" Her voice carried over the crowd, echoing from the rocks behind her and booming down into the valley below. Peril noticed a few of the workers looking up.

"But I do not need to tell you this. You already know the indignities we have suffered! You already know why you have joined me in our mission! You already know what must be done! Even now, the coward queen awaits her crown in the gardens of her stolen palace! There they will speak of morality, of the right to rule, but they forget where the right to rule comes from! The only virtue a SkyWing must embody; power!" She flared her wings, staining the sunlight red, and the assembled soldiers roared in agreement.

At a signal from Scoria, Peril stepped forward. "But we will show them the righteous path-we will show them true strength! Scarlet's daughters are all dead or craven, but there is another. Peril, an heir not by birthright but by upbringing; an eternal flame to carry forward the SkyWing tribe into unending prosperity!" The crowd cheered, staring up at her with hungry eyes. She stared right back, keeping her posture straight and her gaze firey. "Today we fly forth, and challenge the queen! Go, my soldiers! For the destiny of all SkyWings!" Scoria roared, and at her word the army took flight with a thunder of flapping wings.

They leapt into the air as well, and Peril struggled to keep on course. The wake of the kettle of SkyWings in front of her pulled her forward without even the need to flap. She tumbled in the tumult for what felt like hours, only managing to keep track of Scoria, until suddenly the swarm began to break apart. As they spread out, she saw the palace below, with the royal gardens resting on a high platform above the prison spires and the hospital. By the time she landed just off to one side of the gardens, only Scoria and a few guards were beside her.

"Alright, Peril. Go mingle, lay low, whatever. Just wait for my signal," Scoria instructed, but Peril was already gone.

The gardens were even more beautiful than she remembered. Every hedge and tree was bedecked in fine copper threads, and banners with Queen Ruby's heraldry hung from the lampposts. The middle of the garden had been cleared away to form a wide open area, where hundreds of dragons were eating and making merry. The queen was nowhere to be seen, but her throne was set up on a stage at one end of the area, along with Prince Vermillion. "Doesn't he look itchy?" someone said, just to her left.

"Huh?" Peril replied, looking over to see Gannet emerging from between two hedges, a couple of cups in hand. She set one down at Peril's feet, and Peril picked it up, sniffing its contents curiously before replying. "Oh! Hi Gannet. You found me pretty fast."

"Wasn't particularly hard, when you flew in with such a large party. Where'd they all go, anyway?" Gannet asked, peering around.

Peril took a sip from her cup and discovered it was full of a slightly spicy mead. "I'm not sure. Anyway, what was that about the prince?" she asked. Anything to distract from her grim agenda for this party.

"Oh, he looks really uncomfortable in that priest getup. You'd think we were at a funeral."

"Yeah." She saw one of Scoria's soldiers landing behind a nearby rock outcrop, and quickly looked around, taking stock of the royal guard's numbers. They were hopelessly outnumbered, even if this were a fair fight. And as long as she was around, it wasn't.

"You look nervous. What's up?" asked Gannet, leading her towards the middle of the party.

Should I tell her now? Not like I have much to lose, at this point. Or maybe I have everything to lose. "I, uh… I'm just in a really tricky situation right now."

"A Scoria-related situation?" Gannet asked, and Peril froze.

"How do you know about her?" She asked, in a frantic whisper. She got a few odd looks from the SkyWings crowding around, but nobody was stupid enough to get close to her, so she had some privacy.

"Uh, the queen's been whining about you two for the past two days. I had to ask for a different shift, honestly, because she was saying some really mean stuff about you and it bummed me out." Gannet scratched her neck.

No bets as to what kind of thing she was saying. I wonder if… oh no. "Do you think Cliff heard any of it?" she asked, with an urgent edge to her voice.

Gannet shook her head. "No, never around Cliff. That's one of her rules; no politics around the prince. I think she saw the paintings he was doing of you and got a little spooked. He's not even here today, as a matter of fact."

"Yeah, they'd do that." Peril couldn't help but smile a little. At least someone she cared about was being kept away from all this. "How much do you know, though?" Probably not enough, or else you wouldn't be here.

"Not much more than that it involves you two and some kind of treason. I assumed Scoria was blackmailing you, though." Gannet set her empty cup down on a nearby waiter's tray and exchanged it for a couple of roasted guinea pigs, one of which she handed to Peril.

Peril took a large bite before replying. "She's… got Clay. And a few other dragons who I barely knew beforehand but they're just dragonets, and I can't let her hurt them either."

Gannet whispered something unprintable and gripped her pig's skewer a little tighter. "What's she trying to do? Make you do, whatever."

Feeling the gaze of a couple of guests, Peril leaned in as close as she felt was safe. "She wants me challenge Ruby for the throne. In a few minutes, she's gonna give some kind of signal and then…"

"Then things get a little crazy?" Gannet ventured. "I can't imagine you'd actually…"

"No, no. I wouldn't, and Ruby knows that. But I needed to get Scoria away from her estate, and keep her away, so my ally could get Clay out of the prison. Which means that this plan has to work at least partially, or Clay dies."

"Oh… Well, it sounds like you have this under control, at least. Tell me if you need any help, though."

Stars, I wish. Peril swallowed the rest of her guinea pig, taking a moment to savor the salt and fat. All of the food at Scoria's estate was under seasoned; probably some kind of ideological thing to oppose 'decadence'. Nevermind that roast chicken tasted terrible unsalted. "I hope so. Could you just stay out of the way until this is over?"

Gannet blinked. "You don't have to worry about me, I can take care of myself."

"I know, but she's got an army, and if I'm going to be doing any fighting I wouldn't want you to get in the way. There's enough blood on my claws."

"I'm sworn to protect the queen and her people, but I appreciate the thought. Hey, maybe after this all blows over we can meet again," she replied, seeming a little flustered at Peril's consideration of her.

"You'd probably have to visit at Jade Mountain, unless Ruby is fond of third chances." The crowd around them shifted a bit as more of Scoria's soldiers began to descend, but there was no panic. Their weapons were still sheathed, so for now they were just unusually well-armed guests.

"We'll see," replied Gannet, following Peril's gaze. She looked over the masses of soldiers coming in from the edges of the garden, and frowned. "Not very subtle, are they?"

"Scoria's all about 'strength'. Why do you think she likes me so much?"

"Your good looks?"

"Yeah, right."

Suddenly, the crowd fell silent as Scoria appeared, flying in opposite the stage. She was flanked by Hallux, and locked eyes with Peril as she slammed down into the grass and strode toward the stage. "Where is the false queen?" she roared.

A few members of Ruby's royal guard stepped out of the crowd, standing in her path. "General, you stand accused of treason. Fly away now or we will be forced to-" That was all the leader managed to say before Scoria slammed into her. Their wings buffeted against each other, until Scoria managed to get her claws on the guard's neck. There was a sharp crack, and Peril gasped until she realized that the guard had just been slammed facefirst into a flagstone paver. Still, they weren't getting up anytime soon.

"Would anyone else like to threaten me?" the general asked, drawing the knife from her belt. A few dragons in the crowd screamed, and others took to the air or started to run. They didn't make it far before her soldiers herded them back into the gardens at spearpoint. "I ask you again: Where is the queen?"

Peril bowed her head as Scoria finally made her way through the crowd and joined up with her. Gannet had disappeared into the mass of panicking dragons, and without her armor she was just another face in the crowd. "Did you have to knock her out so forcefully?" Peril asked, gesturing to the guard. A few members of the crowd had dragged her away from the action, and someone was calling for the smelling salts.

"This is war, dear. There's no time for niceties," said Scoria, rolling her eyes. Despite her anger, her claws were tapping impatiently, and she kept glancing at the stage. Ruby still hadn't appeared, and Peril suspected that the whole plan would go down the drain if the queen just ran.

"What do we do if she doesn't show up?" she asked, hoping the answer wasn't 'go home and check on the prisoners'.

Still staring at the stage, Scoria replied: "We wait until she does, and try to keep the crowd contained." There was no pretense of formality in her voice, just disciplined patience. "Actually, that gives me an idea. Wait here." Grunting, she took off and rose to hover above the crowd, high enough that her voice would carry to the edges of the garden. "Do you see, SkyWings? Your queen is a coward! She cannot even protect her own people!"

One of the older dragons in attendance shouted back. "Better to be left alone by Ruby than attacked by you!" The crowd murmured in agreement, and Scoria growled in annoyance.

"Hallux!" she shouted, and her lieutenant snapped to attention. "See that complainer, down there?" Scoria pointed down. The crowd instantly parted around the dragon who'd spoken out, as if he'd developed a severe case of scalerot. Now that she could see him clearly, peril realized that he was a MudWing, though too bedecked in treasure to be a mine worker. "Break his leg."she ordered, and the MudWing quailed.

"Which one?" Hallux asked.

Scoria rubbed her brow, and the tension faded a bit. "Does it matter, Hallux?" She sighed. "Just pick one. We're making an example of him."

"Alright." She leapt towards the MudWing, making a graceful arc over the crowd but keeping lower than Scoria. He quailed as she approached; despite his age Hallux was still a head taller than him, and there was no mercy in her eyes. As he tried to slip into the crowd and escape, a few more soldiers pushed through, holding spears to his back. His defensive growls turned into panicked screams as she wrapped her talons around his front leg. The crowd turned their heads, but Peril held her gaze as Hallux broke the bone with a woody snap.

The MudWing squealed as Hallux released him, holding his forelimb close as he crumpled to the pavement. "Oh, shut up. It's a clean break, you'll be fine." Scoria chided. "Scarlet would've done far worse to you; it's not even bleed-" She was cut off by another roar from somewhere behind the stage, and the thunder of a running SkyWing on wooden decking. "Ah, there's the queen. So nice of you to show up."

Ruby burst through the curtains, the fabric tearing as her wing-claws raked over it. There was rage written all over her face, more than Peril had thought she could show with her earring on. Nevertheless, there it was. "Scoria! Stop this now, or I'll show you just how little of a coward I am!"

"Oh, don't show me." Scoria nodded to Peril.

She gulped, realizing that the guards had cleared a path between her and the stage beforehand. As she locked eyes with the queen, she tried to mouth an apology. Then it was time for the plan to go into action. "Queen Ruby, I-I challenge you for the throne of the Sky Kingdom!" she shouted, stumbling slightly at the sheer audacity of the words.

The queen raised a single eye-ridge. "You have no right to challenge me, Peril."

"By right of Soror Avitas, any dragonet raised by the queen has a claim; after those laid by her. And you, Ruby, were not laid by Queen Scarlet. You weren't laid at all!" She tried to capture the same sense of righteous indignation as Scoria as she spoke, but Peril suspected that she just sounded nervous.

"Avitas or not, you cannot challenge me. After all, Peril, you're a male!" she shouted.

Author's note: Oh. Oh no.