Author's Note

Hi everyone. Sorry for the wait, I had the next chapter written for a while but didn't get around to editing it until now. Anyway, I'd just like to say a big thank you to all the people who have reviewed my story so far! I am so delighted! I haven't gotten so many reviews in the space of the first two chapters before! Thank you also to the people who followed my story or have put it on your favourites list. you have no idea how much I appreciate it.

I hope this chapter is epic enough for you. However, if it isn't, tell me and I'll make the next chapter more epic. I promise that once the Dragonets of Destiny hatch the story is going to get a lot more epic.

Anyway, thanks again for all the reviews!

Oh and by the way, in case you're wondering, the Leafwing who opens the Venus Dragon trap in this chapter uses LeafSpeak. Also, after the couple of chapters the POV is going to change. It will change to one of the Dragonets Of destiny.

Thanks for reading.

Chapter 3. The Finding of the Eggs

"Aaack!" Asha yelped, as she was dragged backwards by a plant that had seemed totally innocent one minute ago.

It had been a day since she had left the weird structures swarming with dragons behind, in search of the poison jungle. The poison jungle appeared to be located on a far-off peninsula, and it took ages to fly to. The scroll-type thing had said the poison jungle was full of dangerous plants, animals and insects. However, Asha had not been prepared for this. The good news was she was surrounded by trees, so that was a relief. However, she also appeared to be surrounded by giant fly traps, which had looked totally innocent and nonthreatening - until Asha had accidentally tripped on one. Then it had snapped shut on her tail and appeared to be also trying to get the rest of her in. Asha flailed around, and yanked hard, flapping her wings for momentum. Unfortunately, the plant looked as if it wasn't letting go of her any time soon. Asha reached forward, trying to grab a rock to throw at it. Unfortunately, this caused another plant to snap shut on her head. The other plant immediately let go, because the distance between the two plants was too great for it to keep a hold on her. However, this made the entirety of Asha's body slip into the second plant.

Asha screamed again and tried to pry open the plant's jaws, but to no avail. She tried summoning up some fire, but she wasn't warm enough.

"Help! Help! Someone get me out of here! I'm trapped in a giant plant thing! Help! Please help!" Asha shouted at the top of her voice. However, she didn't have much hope that this would work. This didn't seem like the most ideal place to live, so she doubted that any dragons actually dwelled here. Plus, even if they did hear something, she was so muffled that they might not take any notice, or might not be able to find the exact plant which she was trapped in.

Asha waited for someone to help her. However, minutes passed and no one came. She started to think about what would happen if no one rescued her. Would it eat her, like a Venus fly trap back home? Plus, what would happen to the prophecy if no one found the eggs to fulfil it? Would the Talons of Peace send someone else? Or would they not, if they thought Asha had been killed by something on the Lost Continent? Would the war go on for years to come? Would there be no Dragonets of Destiny?

However, just as Asha was contemplating this, she heard a sound. It sounded like Wingbeats! Could it be? Was she saved? Ehen a voice came from outside in the jungle.

"Hello! Who's there? Where are you?"

Asha gasped. Her heart stopped. She was saved! Suddenly, she realised that she had been flailing around for the last five minutes, trying to get the plant off her. Now, she was frozen like a statue. She couldn't say anything. Finally, she managed to form words.

"Help! I am in here! In one of these creepy plant things! Please, get me out!"

There was some rustling from nearby. Then the plant she was trapped in swayed, as if someone was tapping it.

"Is it this one?" the voice said.

Now it was closer, Asha thought it sounded male.

"It is! Can you get me out?" Asha asked, hoping against hope that he could.

"I can. Wait a minute," the voice said.

There was some rustling for a minute, and for a terrible second Asha thought the voice had gone. Her heart sank. But luckily, after a few seconds, it was back.

"Hold on," the voice said.

And then there was silence.

Asha waited for something to happen. She started to think the other Dragon had left to get more help. If so, she hoped he was back soon, because she didn't want this plant to start digesting her. Then, something happened. The plant began to move, opening its jaws up, until finally Asha tumbled out into the waiting claws of another dragon. Her heart soared! She was free! Asha stumbled to her feet and raised her head to look at her saviour.

"Thank you! I…"

But before she could finish her sentence, there was a great big bang! Asha was plunged into darkness.

When Asha woke up, she didn't open her eyes at first. She could hear dragons talking close by. She appeared to be lying on some kind of bed of leaves, in some sort of chamber.

"What do you think they're going to do with her?" said a voice, which appeared to be female.

"By the hives, I don't know. It's not my job, and it's not yours, either," said a second voice, which appeared to be male.

"Of course not. I just want to know what they'll do with her. Who is she, anyway?"

"I don't know. Apparently, someone found her out in the jungle, in a Venus Dragon Trap. When they rescued her, they found out, well… that she was different," said the Second voice.

A flash of memory flew through Asha's head. Being trapped, almost eaten, and hit on the head by a strange dragon. It was her they were talking about. They had obviously captured her, and now they were waiting for some kind of orders as to what to do with her. What should she do now? It probably wouldn't be a good idea for them to find out who she really was. Especially as she was here to steal an egg. Oh dear. This was bad.

"She looks so weird. Maybe she's some kind of hybrid?" The female dragon said.

"Maybe. Maybe a LeafWing and a SilkWing,"

Asha stopped listening and opened her eyes. She was in a small, rough stone cabin. It was very dark, but she just made out the pile of leaves that she was lying on, and some kind of gate off to her right. Asha stared at it. It was the weirdest gate she had ever seen, because it appeared to be made of plants. Spiky thorny vines that intertwined and were dripping some gloopy substance. Two dragons were sitting on the other side, talking to each other. Asha supposed they must be guards. What should she do now? She was obviously in some kind of prison, which there appeared to be no escape from. Perhaps, she could bluff it out. Say that she was a hybrid of dragons from this continent. Then, once they had let her go, she could slip off and steal the egg. But how would she get out of the jungle? These dragons would probably know it really well, whereas she didn't have a clue. She had almost been eaten and didn't care to repeat the experience. She tried to decide whether she should alert the guards to the fact that she was awake or not. In the end, she decided not to, just in case. After a while they left, to get something to eat supposed. Asha thought it was likely that more guards would be along soon, to take over. She leapt to her feet, immediately hit with a wave of agony from her head. However, Asha ignored it and ran to the gate. She looked for a weak spot, but there wasn't one. She guessed that the gloopy substance was probably poisonous, and anyway, if she tried slashing the vines open, she'd just cut herself on the thorns. Asha thought for a minute. Then, she raced around the cell, trying to get herself warm. She took a deep breath and managed to breathe out a small flame. It hit the gate in an instant, and there was a smell of burning plants as the gate collapsed. Asha covered her face, so that she wouldn't breathe in the smoke. Finally, the gate was nothing but a pile of ashes. Asha jumped over them and ran out. She gasped. She appeared to be in some kind of village, surrounded by a dome of plants woven together. There were lots of little nests dotted around it. Asha spotted several green, brown and gold dragons, who immediately started yelling. Asha flung herself at the wall, tearing at it with her claws. She managed to make a small hole and squeezed through it. Asha thanked her fighting training, which meant she had developed impeccable speed. Consequentially, none of the dragons were able to catch her as she darted away.

Asha flew as high as she could, trying to get away from the jungle. Once she was above the treetops, she stayed there as long as she could, until her wings almost gave out. Then she slowly and tentatively made her way back down to the ground. The hole was still there, and there was still shouting and yelling coming from inside. Asha noticed how squishy the ground was. Could she dig herself into the mud? Quickly, she dug, until there was a whole big enough for her to crouch in. Then she scooped the mud over her head, until she was completely buried.

"It's just like at home, in the marshes," Asha told herself, trying to calm her pounding heart.

After a lot of stomping, shouting and wingbeats from above, Asha guessed it was safe to come out. When she dug herself out, Asha gasped. It was night time now. How long had she been down there? She gazed up at the moons, or what she could see of them through the trees, thinking. If it was night time now, the dragons inside the dome of plants would probably be asleep. Perhaps, under the cover of night, she could steal the egg.

Asha creeped to the dome, making sure to fly to the top, so any guards on watch couldn't see her. She couldn't use the hole she'd made to get out, because it would probably have been closed up, so she had to make a new one. Asha felt a bit bad for vandalising these dragons' property, but after all, they had imprisoned her. After wiggling through, Asha looked around, to make sure there were no other dragons inside. Then, quietly, she looked in each nest, to see if she could find an egg. She didn't find anything until she came to what appeared to be some kind of hatchery. There were six eggs in little cups in the floor. Asha ducked inside, and looked for one that would hatch the soonest. Finally she found it, at the end of the row. Asha scooped it up, thanking the moons that she'd actually found the egg at last. Carefully, Asha tucked it into the pouch around her neck, where she kept her supplies from Pyrrhia, and slipped out.

Somehow, Asha made it out of the jungle alive. She tried not to touch anything at all, although she was starving, and could've really done with a meal. However, she decided not to hunt anything until she left the jungle behind. Finally, after a close encounter with a pitcher plant, a giant wasp and several more unidentifiable things, she was out. Asha flew away, and tried to find some prey, and another sinkhole to hide in.

The next morning, Asha flew to one of the structures, to see if she could hunt down the other two eggs. According to the prophecy, she would find the Wings of Hive guarded by stone, different and alone - whatever that meant. Apparently, if she only looked to the sky, she would find the Wings of Silk. Why did prophecies have to be so cryptic? Asha experimentally looked at the sky and the webs above her. Then an idea struck. When she had gotten into the structure by the webs, she had spotted that the butterfly-like dragons lived in homes made out of the same material as the webs. What if she could find an egg there? However, there was one problem. She would have to find another disguise again. Unless she waited until night. That would probably be the best plan. Asha retreated to the sinkhole she'd found the previous night, and waited until it grew dark.

Asha stepped clumsily along the webs, trying to find an egg. She peeked into one home after another, seeing dragons and more dragons, but no eggs. It was then that she noticed something strange about the dragonets. She had noticed it before, but had been too busy to actually figure out what it was. As she looked into a house that had three little dragonets, Asha figured it out. They didn't appear to have wings! They didn't seem to grow them until adulthood. Instead, they appeared to have brightly coloured little buds attached to their back. However, Asha didn't focus on this long. She needed to focus on her search, so she wouldn't miss an egg. Then, she finally came to what appeared to be some kind of hatchery. There were many more eggs here than in the jungle. There were hundreds of them, cradled in little silk hummocks in a dome made of more silk. Asha slipped inside and tried to find one that looked close to hatching. Finally she found it, nestled in a hummock close to the entrance way. It was pale like the moon, and Asha could see a shape moving under the shell.

"Hey, little dragonet. Do you know you're in a prophecy? You're going to end the war and save loads of lives. I only wish you could grow up with your parents," Asha said, smiling at the egg, guilt churning in her stomach. At least she would be there to take care of this little dragon, Asha consoled herself. She would look after all the little dragons inside the eggs that the Talons of Peace were collecting. She always liked dragonets, so she thought she'd like the job.

Now what should she do? Should she risk sneaking into the structure and trying to find this egg with Wings of Hive inside? It would mean she would be able to leave tonight, which would be good. Asha decided to risk it.

She managed to successfully get into the structure. No one was guarding the checkpoint, and there were few dragons around. She made sure to slip into the shadows when she heard someone coming. Asha looked for some kind of hatchery. Finally, she found a pavilion surrounded by benches in a courtyard. The sign said it was a hatchery, so she hoped that the egg was in there. Asha looked at the rows of eggs, lying peacefully in little cups in the floor. However, there didn't seem to be one guarded by stone, like the prophecy said. Asha noticed something weird about the eggs. They all had either one or two scratches on them. The scratches looked very deliberate, shaped a bit like a stinger. The third egg must be somewhere else, Asha thought as she left the pavilion. While she was pondering the strange marks on the eggs, Asha tripped on a loose stone in the courtyard. Hissing, she got to her feet. Then Asha noticed something. The stone that she had dislodged was now turned over on the ground. There was a little hole where the stone had been. Inside the hole, there lay an egg, just like the other eggs, except that it didn't have any scratches on it. The lines of the prophecy about the wings of hive echoed through Asha's head.

"That's you?" Asha whispered, staring at the egg.

Asha scooped the egg up and left the structure as quickly as she could. She was done here. It was time to go home. As Asha stood on the sand of the beach that she had landed on, she gazed back at the Lost Continent one last time.

"I'll probably never see it again," Asha thought as she took to the sky.