I do not own Wings of Fire.

Chapter 7

The prince's room was meant to hold five dragons - Archipelago, Spindrift, Azure, Freakwave, and another brother named Cyclone who Cerulean had yet to meet - so it was a bit difficult to find enough space for all of them.

Azure, sitting in the middle of the room, anxiously began to assemble a new trap, one that, he promised, "Would definitely catch SkyWings and only SkyWings - you can hear me say the spell!" Freakwave, keen to speak his mind about everything wrong with what Azure was doing, how this wouldn't work and that wouldn't work either, took a spot on the floor next to his animus brother. Spindrift and his friend Puddle sat near the window, exchanging a heated argument that had something to do with clouds and the shrimp Puddle had eaten for dinner two weeks ago. Meanwhile, Storm and Cerulean took up residence on one of the throne-like sofas in the room, surveying the other dragonets.

Cerulean couldn't help but be amazed. Here she was, in a room with other dragonets, dragonets about her age - and she didn't feel left out. She actually felt wanted, needed, loved. She had, what, five friends, Eddy, Storm, and, she hoped, Azure and Spindrift, and Freakwave, and maybe several more, if she could count Archipelago, Chrysocolla, and Puddle as her friends. It was more acquaintances than she'd ever hoped to have.

And even though she'd known all of them for less than a day, she felt somehow connected to them. She felt like they were somehow important in her life, and that she'd need them in her future. They were all different dragons, with various personalities and preferences, but somehow, they were all the same.

The room was not quiet. It was filled with the gentle hum of conversation from the various dragonets. Storm seemed to deem the environment safe to speak in, and turning to Cerulean, her grey-blue eyes sparkling with curiosity, she said, "I don't understand."

"What don't you understand?" asked Cerulean, immensely confused. Because, in Cerulean's humble opinion, there were a lot of things that couldn't be understood; to list a few, why was she the chosen heir for the throne? Why was she purple and not blue or green like every other SeaWing? Why was she named Cerulean when she wasn't even that color? Why was everyone so against Archipelago? What had happened to Anemone and Auklet all those years ago? Why didn't she have gills?

"Why did that Azure's trap catch you, when it's specifically designed to catch only SkyWings?" Storm clarified.

Cerulean shrugged her shoulders, hoping the movement looked elegant and queenly. "You know," she replied, trying to sound confident in her answer, "it's like Freakwave said. Azure's spell must've been faulty or something."

Storm looked pensive. "Yeah, that might be it. But I've seen Azure do magic before - he's really good, even though he pretends not to be sometimes." She glanced at said dragon, and she, too shrugged, and Cerulean was positive that Storm's shrug had been moons better than her own.

"Maybe you should be queen instead," the purple dragonet, the future queen, blurted out all of a sudden.

Storm did a double-take, before laughing lightly. "Me? Be queen?" She shook her head fervently. "In all honestly, I have no idea how I'm a princess. My mother's so distantly related to the throne...but I mean, my mother's a princess, so what else would I be?"

"The queen," Cerulean supplied.

"No, no," Storm denied. "I can't imagine ruling an entire kingdom. And besides, I'd have to be a princess first, before I could be queen. Anyway, that's not important! You're the heir! You'll be our queen someday."

"I'm not sure if I ever could rule as well as Orca does," Cerulean admitted. "She's so sure, so confident in her abilities."

"And so are you," Storm said encouragingly.

"But I'm not...special," Cerulean began, and then added, "not in the way Orca is. I'm not an animus."

"Every queen is different," Storm replied, "and every queen will make mistakes, Cerulean. That's expected. And it's also in the future." The princess adjusted herself so she was turning to face Cerulean directly, instead of gazing intently at Azure as he constructed his new trap. "Right now, we've got a mystery to deal with."

"Um, the SkyWing thing?" asked Cerulean, wondering why Storm was so intrigued by the happenings in the hallway earlier.

The other nodded fervently. "I know, I know, it seems minor, but I feel like it's important. I suppose I feel like everything's important...but if I don't figure out what went wrong with that trap, then I'm going to feel like a lousy detective."

"So you're into solving mysteries?"

Storm nodded enthusiastically again. "Oh yes. My latest project has been figuring out who murdered Princess Anemone and Auklet six years ago, and it's so fascinating to learn about, and to try to put clues together to find the culprit. Although, I'm no closer than anyone else - you know, the last group of dragons to attempt to solve the murder mystery framed Prince Turtle."

"Yes, I remember that," Cerulean agreed. The whole thing with Turtle and murder had been a huge deal three years ago, and the news flew all over the Sea Kingdom, so far that even Cerulean, in her hut living with her twenty-seven siblings and her parents and everyone else, had heard about it. And she'd heard about Turtle's trial, his imprisonment, and his impending execution that had never happened. Now, he was locked up on some remote island, far out at sea, his own tribe scared and hateful of him. As a show of power, Orca had removed Turtle's animus's powers to ensure that he remained powerless.

"Well, can you imagine," Storm began, sounding extremely excited and dramatic as she whispered, "that I don't believe Prince Turtle is at all guilty of committing those murders?" She drew herself up. "I've gone into the Royal Files - top secret archives that only the privileged get to lay eyes on - " at these words, she looked immensely smug - "and I've done endless amounts of research, and all the clues and information lead up to not Turtle. So I think he's been framed, somehow."

"And you've talked to him?" asked Cerulean, hushed as well.

Storm lost her momentum as she slumped backwards onto the couch. "Well, no, not really."

The heir shrugged. "That's interesting, I guess. I mean, there wasn't really any clues as to what killed the princesses."

The other perked up. "Oh yes, none at all, other than a bit of narwhal tusk that was lodged in Anemone's throat. So I'm positive they were killed with animus magic - it has to be that. Otherwise, the killer was extremely skilled, so quiet and quick to strike, and able to leave no trace of the deed behind. Well, other than the blood. And the bodies. And - "

"Urgh," Cerulean moaned in disgust. "I didn't need to know that.

"Sorry," Storm said in an embarrassed tone. "My point is, yes, I love solving mysteries, and yes, I want to figure out why you got swept up by a trap that was meant for a SkyWing. Honestly, why Azure set the trap there of all places is beyond me, but I tell you, that dragonet is so scared of SkyWings, he's convinced that everyone must be one. Never mind the fact that we're in the middle of the Sea Kingdom."

"He seems nice," Cerulean said with a shrug. "A bit nervous, though." But I'm nervous too, she added silently. And he's an animus. I'd be worried too, if I was an animus.

"So about the trap," Storm started, but was interrupted by the bedroom door slamming open.

The dragon Cerulean had been thinking about for the longest time came flying in, his scales glowing nervously as he closed the door with another bang and sat there, gulping in gasps of air.

All of the dragons stared at Archipelago.

"Um, h-hey everyone," he gasped out. "Wow. I did not expect so many dragons to be here."

"Hey, Archie!" Freakwave chirped from his place on the floor next to Azure. "There you are."

"Your girlfriend is looking for you, by the way," Spindrift added, smirking. Puddle laughed as if this comment were utterly hilarious. "You're bad at this, aren't you? You've been keeping her waiting for ages."

Cerulean felt her scales heat up from embarrassment. I'm not his girlfriend! she thought rather heatedly. We just met. I just wanted to know what was up with him.

"G-girlfriend?" Archipelago's voice sounded high and totally confused.

"Yeah, your girlfriend." Freakwave too was smirking. "You know, the future queen?"

Archipelago finally looked at Cerulean. "Oh," he managed, still heaving to catch his breath. "Um, hi. What are you doing here? I thought you'd be with the queen, you know...doing queenly stuff."

"No, actually," Cerulean replied, trying to sound casual and not super excited at having finally found Archipelago again. There were so many things she needed to know about him, so many things she wanted to ask him -

Why do I care so much about him? she wondered. I've known him less than a day. And yet...just like she'd felt earlier in this room, sitting with so many dragonets who were actually willing to give her a chance...she felt like Archipelago was important to her future as well. And like Storm said, if I didn't figure out his history, and why dragons can't talk about why they're so afraid of him, then I'm going to feel like a lousy detective. Not that I ever was any kind of detective.

Storm shot her a significant look. "Hey, Archie," she said. "Who've you been running from? Waterfall on your tail again?"

Archipelago's gaze flickered away from Cerulean and fixed onto the other princess. "Um, no actually. Not Waterfall, precisely, more like Bala, actually. She's so nice, but she's so loyal..."

"To Gail," snorted Freakwave. "She has a crush on him, or something."

Azure wrinkled his snout. "Gail's got Typhoon and Dolphin. She doesn't have a chance with him. I doubt it. Bala's excitable, but she's not stupid."

"It was a close one," Archipelago muttered.

Storm looked at him sympathetically. "When will they stop all this animus nonsense? Isn't it clear you aren't one?"

The prince slumped. "Until they catch me, they won't."

"Then why don't you let them catch you?" asked Cerulean. "I mean, is there really any point in running away all the time? What harm will come of it, if you aren't an animus dragon?"

There was an exchange of looks, looks filled with extreme doubt and confusion, and looks that made Cerulean want to run away and hide in a deep ocean trench - she could do that now, with her necklace from Orca.

"I'm not an animus dragon," Archipelago repeated as if this were something brand new to him.

"Y-yes," Cerulean nodded. "That's correct, isn't it?"

A frown lit up Storm's snout. "That's odd," she said. "It's like...it's like I don't know why he shouldn't just let himself be caught. It's like it's only logical that Archipelago should be scared to be tested. It's just...that's how it's always been."

"The queen ordered it," Puddle added. "Right? She didn't want Archipelago to be tested, so he's following her orders."

Something's off about this, too, Cerulean thought, squinting her eyes critically at a very uncomfortable-looking Archipelago. Everything that involves him seems to be a mystery - something no one can explain. But why? If he isn't an animus dragon, he should just get the animus test over with. He could prove them all wrong.

And yet...

In several strides, Cerulean, having risen from the sofa next to Storm, had crossed the length of the bedroom and stood next to Archipelago, who almost seemed to flinch away from her. She felt the gazes of the other dragonets burning into her, and she felt incredibly nervous being the center of attention. Trying to summon up her queen courage, she asked in a wobbling voice, "You aren't an animus dragon?"

"I mean, I don't think so," Archipelago replied, his voice wobbling just as much. "I've never done anything remotely magical, other than inspire fear in everyone."

He isn't an animus dragon, Cerulean thought, and without warning she snatched up one of his talons, his scales grating against hers as she held on firmly, even as he attempted to draw away (and even as Freakwave said, "Sure, she's totally not his girlfriend."). It was almost like an electric spark lit up in Cerulean's brain as a humming sensation, like a jolt of lightening, shot up her spine. He isn't an animus, so then why, when I touch his scales, do I feel the same sensation as when I touch Orca's scales? Why can I feel magic?

He must be hiding something. He must really be an animus dragon.

So how to trick him into revealing his secret?

Feeling a bit more confident, Cerulean turned to look at the only known animus dragon in the room; Azure.

"Azure," she said, and waited for him to look up from his contraption. He had been the only one not paying attention, intent on designing a new SkyWing trap. "When you cast magic, how do you do it? What do you say? The queen just commands objects - but is that really how it's done? You don't think anything else?"

The animus looked hesitant, fiddling with his claws. "Well, yes, you command something. Some more powerful animus dragons can mentally cast spells, but I'm not that...I'm not that strong yet. It would be like - well," he stopped, and then looked around a bit before picking up a scroll nearby. "Well," he continued, aware that he had attention on him now, and clearly, like Cerulean, nervous about it. "If I were to enchant this scroll to read aloud to me, I would just say, scroll, read your contents aloud for me, clearly and at a pace that I can understand, and stop when I tell you to."

Immediately the scroll began to drone, "Dragonets of Destiny: A History. Long ago there was a prophecy delivered by a NightWing named Morrowseer that prophecied the end of the terrible bloody war that had raged for so long and taken so many lives..."

"Stop," Azure commanded. He turned to look at Cerulean, looking confused. "Yeah. Like that. That's all."

"Thank you," she replied graciously, turning to the prince whose talons she still held fast to. "Archipelago, don't run away from me. Let's do our own animus testing, right here, right now."

There was some nervous shifting around the room; even Storm looked uncomfortable, for some reason.

"What?" Cerulean asked the room at large. "Why is everyone so scared of him? What's he done?"

"It's not that," Puddle supplied from Spindrift's side. "It's just...against the queen's orders."

Cerulean drew herself up. "I am the heir to the throne," she said, trying to sound like she was, indeed, the future queen. "And I say that we are going to test him, here and now."

"Okay," Storm agreed. "Let's do it. But if he really is an animus dragon, then we won't say a word to anyone. What happens in here, stays in here."

There was a murmur of consent, and then a very surprised Archipelago found himself in the midst of the animus test that he'd been avoiding for so long.

"I guess I get no say in this?" he managed to say, perhaps intending to joke, but he sounded beyond nervous.

He must be an animus dragon, Cerulean thought surely. There's no other explanation for his behavior.

"Do we ever get a say in anything?" Spindrift deadpanned. He and Puddle had walked away from the window and now stood, like all the other dragonets around a table, where Azure had positioned another scroll and was preparing to tell Archipelago what to do.

"All you have to say," Azure instructed, sounding unusually calm and collected, his talons still, "is, 'I enchant this scroll to float up to the ceiling and come back down.'"

The scroll did as commanded, and Azure looked embarrassed. "Oops. Sorry. I do that sometimes...but my soul's safe," he added, displaying the necklace around his neck that held his animus magic. "Anyway...your turn, Archipelago."

Archipelago seemed not to hear.

"You heard him," Cerulean spoke up. She was excited. The humming sound, the thrum she associated with Orca and animus magic, was growing louder, stronger. Surely, that must mean some magic was going to occur. The prince blinked at her, as if only now realizing that she was speaking to him. "Archipelago, say it. Say, 'I enchant this scroll to float up to the ceiling and come back down.'"

"Um," he said. "Okay. I enchant - "

Puddle and Storm let out identical cries of shock at the exact same time, and the dragonets stared, wide-eyed, as the scroll calmly drifted off the table. The words of the spell hadn't left Archipelago's mouth, and nothing made sense anymore.

Author's Note: Well, I'm hoping that was a dramatic ending. Sorry about not posting earlier. I meant to update Sunday but obviously I didn't.

I really appreciate all the comments and feedback! It really motivates me to keep writing. Thank you all so much!

jadewolf334: Thank you! I'm glad you like Cerulean! And I agree, I love Spindrift. I may have said that before, but I don't remember so I'll just say it again. Haha, I'm glad you also liked Cerulean's queenly voice. Too bad it didn't make much of an appearance in this chapter...it's okay to like Storm, though! I really love writing for her, and my favorite part in this chapter was probably when she was nerding out about solving mysteries. Hopefully, you've learned just a little bit more about Archipelago. I'm not sure how the end of the chapter came off regarding him. I'm definitely going to ease off on the introduction of OC's. I've gotten all of the major characters, although it's good to know that you enjoyed meeting new dragons! Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and look forward to your next update! Thank you for reading and reviewing!

Queeny: I am so honored that you would ask me to write your story! I would definitely be interested in writing a story like that. Currently, I do not have lots of extra time on my hands - or talons, because I'm obviously a dragon - but if you'd send me a PM (check my profile page and then the Send PM thing there) and tell me some of the details, I'll definitely consider writing your story! Thank you for asking! And thank you for reading and reviewing!

Jaysong: To start off, I really appreciate all your support! Secondly, it's good to know you enjoyed the last chapter. Thirdly, I think Tsunami might show up at some point, but, if she does, I will make sure to explain that she's not interested in ruling the kingdom. Or you know, something else might happen. Hmm, can't say what though. I love that you love this story, and am infinitely glad to know that! I, unfortunately, have valiantly tried to come up with an updating date, and am so far failing epically. I wanted it to be Sunday, but that failed for this week. But if I do start to regularly update, I'll let you know for sure! I'm super glad you like Spindrift and are enjoying the interactions between Storm and Cerulean. Super glad you enjoyed Cerulean's queen voice and good to know you like your other characters, and sorry there hasn't been a lot of Waterfall. Thank you for reading and reviewing!

Hamburger: Thank you! That's a huge compliment, and I'm super happy to know you're enjoying this story! Aw, thanks! And your welcome, and I say thanks again or all your kind words. I will defintely try to finish this story, as I enjoy writing it immensely! And for Pelican, I will definitely try to include your OC! Could you just give me a bit more about him/her? Please and thank you! Thank you for reading and reviewing!

Dragonflame1380: Thanks for the OC! I included a mention of Bala in this chapter, and will try to add her more. I'm trying not to do too much more with new characters until Part Two, but I appreciate the contribution nonetheless. Thank you for reading and reviewing!

Pancake Unicorn: I hope you had fun on your vacation! So glad you love the story! It means a lot. Yeah, you're not the only one who feels like there were a lot of intros to new characters so I'm going to back off a bit on those. But I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter! And I'm als o glad that you enjoyed the new characters. Haha, there's a lot of new information now, and I'll try to include more with Spindrift and a Tetra. Thanks! Hmm, Cerulean a SkyWing? That's an interesting thought, but really I can't say much. Glad you found this intriguing, and I hope this chapter was just as interesting. And I'm sorry to say that I currently have no updating schedule. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Someone: You are doing the opposite of annoying me! Honestly, I'm not sure what the antonym of annoy is but seriously! I am so thrilled that you like this! I hoped you fixed your computer. And thank you, I really appreciate the compliment! And I'm glad you love Azure. I have a feeling he's going to be pretty important, too. I'm super relieved that you're okay with his kind of nervous attitude. I say this with a lot of characters, but I really love Azure! He makes me happy for some reason...and he'll warm up to Cerulean for sure. Aw, thanks! You're are amazing' and I really appreciate your feedback. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! And I unfortunately currently have no updating schedule but I'll let you know when and if I do get one! It's more like I write when I can seeing as I'm pretty busy. I appreciate your support so much! Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Celestialskyfire: I love your name, by the way. And yes, Orca is, isn't she? I'm waggling my eyebrows at you in that way people do when something is up, if you know what I mean. And thanks! I will definitely keep writing. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Nany Ruiz/My OC Storm: Okay, I will try to include that in my story! I'm open to suggestions regarding your character and will likely use them as long as they don't interfere with the plot. And I'm glad you liked the last chapter! No problem, Storm is fun to write and I love writing for her - especially in this chapter when she spoke about solving mysteries. I'll also try to include that personality trait! Really glad you enjoy this! Thank you for reading and reviewing!

BrightMind: Hey! I'm glad to know you're enjoying this so far! And that is a huge compliment! So thank you so much! I appreciate you writing a review - and I'm so honored that you think so! A million thank you's would not cover my appreciation for all your compliments! I love Archipelago too - although I say that with all of them, but choosing my favorite character is like a mother choosing a favorite kid. Yes, I definitely agree that Archipelago and Cerulean need each other. And hmm, that is an interesting thought about Cerulean...I can't say anything, so you'll have to wait to find out if you're right or not...I hope this chapter didn't disappoint! I really appreciate all your kindness and support. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

If there are any errors in this chapter, let me know and fix I will!