I do not own Wings of Fire.
Chapter 11
Tsunami was considerably larger than Cerulean and seven years older than her as well. Her scales were a deep cobalt blue, like the calm surface of an ocean underneath a night sky, and her eyes were a translucent green, and not as startlingly bright as her sister Orca's were. She had a fierce and determined aura to her that didn't match the rather calm and surprisingly placid look on her snout.
She examined Cerulean in a way that a fighter examined her opponent before engaging in battle; critically, assessing Cerulean's potential strengths and weaknesses, as well as noting her size, her color, and the way the heir was carrying herself. It made Cerulean feel very uncomfortable to be assessed in such a way, so she settled for watching the way Tsunami's glowing scales gleamed in the light of the feasting hall, spirals and starburst patterns, waiting for the older dragon to say the first words.
"Hello, Cerulean," Tsunami spoke at last. Cerulean was surprised at how mature and serious her not-really-sister sounded. From the myriads of scrolls she had read about the dragonets of destiny, Tsunami had always been described as the 'fiercely protective, brave, loyal, and impulsive' dragonet. So seeing her so...quiet and almost sophisticated was a bit weird, and Cerulean found herself hastily adjusting her expectations of the famous SeaWing.
"H-hi, Tsunami," Cerulean replied, and was proud that she actually had managed to talk when suddenly she felt so nervous. Yes, she was definitely wishing that she was back in the library with Storm and Chrysocolla and Archipelago, trying to figure out her SkyWing origins and about potential unknown SeaWing animus dragons.
"I had a brother named Cerulean," Tsunami commented. Next to her, her older sister, the queen, seemed to shift a bit at these words, like she wanted to interrupt and comment on the male Cerulean or just felt uncomfortable at his mention, but Orca stayed quiet. Instead, she fixed her eyes intently on the orca necklace around Cerulean's neck as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.
"O-oh really?" Cerulean stuttered. "Was he nice?"
Tsunami shrugged her shoulders up and down, managing to look elegant, which once again surprised Cerulean. "I'm sorry to say that I never really got to know him, before his unfortunate accident."
"An a-accident?" Cerulean asked. Another royal dragon bites the dust, she thought in her head. But surely, this time, it's nothing more than a coincidence, and the other Cerulean's death is completely unrelated to anything.
"Oh yes," Tsunami said agreeably. "It was a couple of years ago, not too long after my other, ah, sisters met their own deaths."
Orca shifted, definitely looking on edge this time. "Now, now," the queen said, sounding very disapproving. "This is supposed to be a happy meeting. No talking about deaths now. Those have passed. Come, come, let's go sit down. We can eat, and you two can get to know each other better."
Tsunami tipped her head. "Of course," she said agreeably. Then, while Orca swept away majestically, towards the head of the feasting table, the SeaWing dragonet of destiny narrowed her eyes after her sister.
"What accident happened to Cerulean?" asked the princess Cerulean once she and Tsunami were seated across from each other. Immediately Orca, who was sitting to Cerulean's right at the head of the table, grew disapproving.
"Cerulean, I said we're moving on from that subject," Orca said icily.
"It's alright, Orca," Tsunami interrupted. "Cerulean can ask me whatever she wants. I get it," she added, this time to Cerulean. "Isn't it so frustrating when older dragons just REFUSE to tell YOU ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING USEFUL?" At this raising of her voice, a few dragons around them glared and made hushing noises, and Orca sighed and shook her head, rubbing her temples as if Tsunami was giving her a headache.
"Shh, Tsunami, don't yell," Orca scolded.
"WHY NOT?"
"I'm so sorry, Cerulean," the queen went on, as if Tsunami hadn't just shouted. "Tsunami was supposed to be a role model for you."
"You were asking," Tsunami now cut across Orca, looking to Cerulean.
"Yes, about the accident with your brother," the heir tried, feeling very nervous, as both Tsunami and Orca were sending rather murderous looks at each other.
"No, we're not talking about that," the queen said for what seemed to be the umpteenth time.
"If Cerulean wants - "
"Yes, please," Cerulean agreed.
And then suddenly the strangest feeling settled over her. Suddenly, she no longer cared about anything at all. Some sort of fog filled her mind, and she was blinking frantically, feeling dazed, like she'd just bumped her head rather hard. Her vision cleared, and she found herself looking at a deep sapphire blue dragon who must've been Tsunami, because the last thing she could remember was the queen introducing her. Now, where had her mind wandered off to just now? No matter, now was the time to focus on the important things; introducing herself politely and properly to Tsunami, as she'd been taught to do by her etiquette teacher (never mind that she'd forgotten most of the lesson).
"H-hi," Cerulean stammered, nervous to be faced with such an imposing and important dragon. "I'm Cerulean."
Tsunami blinked now. "Umm, yes, I know that, Cerulean."
"Really?" Cerulean said, beaming. She felt suddenly uncharacteristically dull and stupid and boring. Like she needed to feel something else, and be more concerned about these sudden feeling she was suddenly experiencing. She also felt really delighted that Tsunami had known her name before they'd met.
Yes, she was super glad that she'd come to meet Tsunami now. It was the best thing and the most interesting thing that had happened to her so far.
What's wrong with you? some part of her brain shrieked in a hysteric voice.
"H-how did you know m-my name?" asked Cerulean, ignoring the screaming and still feeling ridiculously happy about everything, not a care in the world. Yes, there was nothing bothering her conscience at all, other than queenly duties, meeting Tsunami, and the slight guilt she still carried from yesterday, when the queen had murdered her hatchery guards. But there was also a trickling, in the back of her mind, something telling her that she should be concerned a lot more about things she couldn't remember, and should also be considerably worried at the fact she couldn't actually remember them.
Tsunami blinked again. "You told me just now."
Cerulean frowned. "Well of course I did. I was introducing myself. You must be Tsunami?"
The other SeaWing rounded on Orca, who wore a politely puzzled expression on her snout. "Yes?" the older dragon asked calmly.
"What did you do to her?" Tsunami demanded, and her sister immediately put her talons up, as if surrendering.
"What makes you think I did something to her?" Orca asked, still infuriatingly calm. "Cerulean, you're feeling alright?"
"Oh, YES," Cerulean replied, and something shifted inside her again. A new strange feeling settled over her scales. The hysterically shrieking voice was back.
Cerulean doesn't talk like that, it said to her, a little less shrill than before.
But I'm Cerulean, Cerulean argued, unsure as to why she was fighting with herself when quite clearly, there was absolutely nothing wrong with her. She was sure that meeting such a famous historical figure and a dragonet of destiny had done something to her, but she couldn't get the image of Orca eyeing her as Cerulean was speaking to Tsunami earlier about -
Now that was funny. There was some kind of blurriness that smudged the edges of the memory she was sure she once held. Yes. There was something stopping her from remembering what had happened before. Because she'd been talking to Tsunami about something, wanting to know answers, and Orca hadn't been thrilled - and then, she could remember, something strange had happened, and she'd introduced herself to Tsunami all over again, as if they were meeting for the first time. And she couldn't even remember what had been the topic of discussion before the descending fog had -
Cerulean's eyes widened, shocked. She couldn't believe what that would mean. As Tsunami and Orca argued and fought, she poked at the memory in her brain again. Sure enough, it was covered in what seemed to be an impenetrable fog. Definitely there, but impossible to actually see.
I've got to go tell my friends, she thought, feeling as if the world had suddenly shifted. It must be Orca who is casting the fog into everyone's minds, preventing us all from finding things out. But why? And why is she doing it to me now?
The noises around her dimmed, and her eyesight seemed to darken as she hastened to find a way to escape. Tsunami was nice enough, but surely this was important - Storm would love to know -
"How much soul do you even have left, after all your animus magic?" Tsunami was demanding of Orca.
"I haven't done that much," Orca replied carelessly. "Not enough to warrant any concern on the state of my soul."
"Oh yes?" snapped Tsunami, her scales flashing angrily. "The Orca statue. That must've cost you a lot of magic. Not to mention the staff and the shield you made, and the countless devices you enchanted to find Anemone and Auklet's murderer, all the gifts you gave the nobles after you became queen, things you did to help with the recovery from the war effort - I'd say that is definitely enough magic to warrant concern. Do you even have any soul left?"
Orca's eyes flashed, almost dangerously. "Of course I do, Tsunami. You are not an animus dragon. How are you to know my limits?"
Cerulean's throat seemed to constrict at the spells Tsunami had just listed. There had been so many, and surely Orca had done numerous enchantments for each category listed. How could the queen have any soul left after that?
Is Orca going crazy? she thought, now thoroughly alarmed.
"What's going on here?" came a new, much calmer, and definitely more confused voice. "'Nami, what's happening?"
Turning her head, Cerulean glimpsed the concerned face of a male dragon about Tsunami's age; it must be Riptide, her husband.
"Nothing, Riptide," Tsunami said, sounding irritated and cross.
"You get up to a lot of nothing these days," Riptide commented, still sounding confused, but also looking like he was used to being that way. "Please, calm down. This is supposed to be a nice visit, a chance to get away from everything else happening with us."
"I know," Tsunami replied. "You don't have to keep reminding me."
"You have to keep reminding me, though!" said another new voice, but Cerulean recognized this one; it was Spindrift, and as he spoke, he slipped into the seat next to Cerulean, shooting her a delighted grin. She felt instantly more relaxed with his presence, though she recalled that, just like Eddy, he didn't know about her. Someone else to tell, along with Azure and Freakwave, who were also taking seats at the table. Puddle was gone, although several other dragons had seated themselves alongside the princes Cerulean already knew. They must be the others.
"Spindrift," Orca greeted swiftly, her voice betraying no emotion, although her eyes seemed rather cold and distant.
"Mother," he yelped, as if he hadn't noticed her before. "Um, hi."
"Hello," came the queen's reply. She then turned to Tsunami. "Seeing as this has been your first visit to the Sea Kingdom since you left after the funeral seven years ago, I believe you haven't met your nephews."
Tsunami stiffened at these words, but nevertheless, she turned to look at the princes who were now sitting around her. "No, I believe I haven't. Hello, I'm Tsunami."
"We know," Freakwave assured her. "We've heard all about you. You're almost more famous than Cerulean." He added this with a wink to the purple dragonet. The feeling of wanting to be anywhere but here intensified greatly, and she looked around, hoping to see Chrysocolla or maybe Eddy, somehow, standing nearby reassuringly. Not that Spindrift, Freakwave, and Azure weren't comforting. It was just...they were in the same situation she was in, which wasn't helpful.
"Ah," Tsunami replied to Freakwave. "I see." She quite clearly didn't see, but was unsure of what to say, so instead she continued, "I'm hoping that there aren't thirty-two of you?"
"No," Azure assured her. "Only seven."
Orca opened her mouth and said, "Well," and then seemed to think better of whatever she was going to say and shut it again.
"I'm Azure," said the animus prince. "Um. Yes. That's me."
There was a quick round of introductions. Spindrift and Freakwave, of course, and then the three other brothers Cerulean was unacquainted with; Cyclone, Baltic, and Eider.
"And I'm Riptide," said Tsunami's husband last. "I'm obviously the oldest brother here."
"Stop it," Tsunami snapped at him, but it was more playful than demanding.
Freakwave, clearly not picking up on the sarcasm, said, "Wait, no you're not. I thought Eider and Baltic were the - oh."
"Well, that realization didn't take you as long as it normally did," Spindrift remarked.
"Wait," Tsunami said, "I thought you said there were seven of you. I counted six; Spindrift, Freakwave, Azure, Cyclone, Baltic, and Eider. Where's the seventh brother?"
The six present brothers all exchanged nervous looks, unsure of what to say, but then Orca leaned forward, so close to Tsunami's snout that they were nearly touching.
"Oh, you don't want to meet Archipelago," Orca said, her voice calm yet icy. "How very unfortunate it was to find out about his...well, we'd call it a condition, to be polite..."
"What?" was Tsunami's very confused question.
Orca paused, almost dramatically, before she continued. "You know what happened to Turtle?"
Tsunami froze at the name. "No, you can't mean that. Turtle didn't mean to. It was on accident, he didn't really kill A - "
"Yes, yes, we know how defensive you get about him, but honestly, after everything that happened with him and Darkstalker, he never was very stable in the mind, no matter how he might've seemed to you," Orca replied, rolling her eyes and carelessly waving her talons, as if brushing off Tsunami's words.
"Turtle didn't, though," Tsunami snapped.
"Didn't what?" Cerulean interrupted. When both the queen and her sister turned to look at her with eyes burning with equal amounts of hatred and anger, she suddenly felt as if she were going to die.
"Yeah, we'd like to know what our uncle did too," Spindrift joined in, brushing Cerulean's wings in a comforting manner, like, you aren't alone.
Both sisters seemed to deflate slightly, and then exchanged looks, seeming to have an entire conversation with their eyes.
It was Riptide who answered, leaning between Tsunami and Orca and saying in a firm voice. "I'm assuming that you've been informed of the murders of Anemone and Auklet, and how, despite many efforts, the assassin was never found?" he asked, ignoring the light protests from the sisters telling him not to elaborate. He continued when the dragonets had nodded. "Well, the truth is, someone was caught. Turtle. When Orca cast an animus spell to reveal the princesses' murderer...it pointed to him."
The brothers exchanged shocked looks. Clearly this news stunned them, although why they looked so scandalized by the information was beyond Cerulean. She was trying to wrap her brain around what Riptide had just told her. So Turtle had murdered Anemone and Auklet...but why, and how?
"So what happened to him?" asked Baltic curiously. "He must still be alive, I know Mother visits him every so often."
The older dragons now all exchanged looks, and then Tsunami was the one speaking. "Yes, he's still alive. Well, in loose terms of that word. We were all shocked to discover that Turtle had...done what he'd done," Tsunami said, seeming to refuse to say the word 'murder' or 'killed' or 'death'. "But...I hate to say it, but what Queen Orca says is correct. Since everything with Darkstalker, seven years ago, Turtle had never been the same. We assumed that he was well enough to function...we're not sure what happened, but he snapped. Used his animus magic, and killed his sisters, quickly and soundly." She shuddered.
"But he's locked away now," Orca hastened to assure her sons, who continued to exchange uncomfortable and startled expressions. "He can't get any one of us now."
"But how?" asked Eider. "He could use his animus magic, surely, to escape."
"Be that as it may," Orca replied, "he's in a top safety prison, enchanted with my own magic to ensure that he cannot escape of his own accord. And as for his animus magic...well, it's not his anymore, that's for sure."
"You mean..." Cerulean started to ask, but trailed off, feeling sick.
"That's right," the queen nodded in agreement. "I took it."
Cerulean didn't know why she felt to sickened by the idea of an animus being robbed by another of their magic. It just seemed wrong. Animus magic should be part of the dragon...it shouldn't be able to just be...removed and taken from them like some possession. It was like...slicing off a dragon's wings or tail. It was stripping something of theirs from them.
Tsunami didn't seem to have a problem with Turtle not being an animus dragon anymore, or Orca taking his power.
"So you're saying Archipelago murdered someone?" the dragonet of destiny asked. "That's what you implied with what you said."
"Wait, Archie murdered someone?" exclaimed Cyclone in utter shock.
"I always knew he was crazy," Freakwave said knowingly.
"Yeah, but not crazy enough to kill someone," Spindrift argued, shaking his head.
"Besides, wouldn't we have known?" Azure added.
Unless the fog covered up that memory, Cerulean's brain supplied. But then, even if that were true, surely they would remember something about Archipelago killing someone. But they don't. They just remember that they're supposed to be scared of him. But maybe that's why...
At the same time, she added, But surely he didn't kill anybody? I don't know that much about him, but he'd definitely not a murderer...and I'm so surprised about Turtle. From the little snippets I've read about him, he seems a lot like Archipelago.
"I'm sure you'd all be very interested to hear," the queen said, "but I'm afraid it's not information for you dragonets to hear. Tsunami, I'll inform you later - "
"Oh no, don't you pull that on me again," Tsunami interrupted through narrow eyes. "You're telling me now and not avoiding the subject."
Seeming to realize she had no choice, Orca hesitated, choosing her words carefully.
"You didn't know?" the queen finally said, once again in her offhand tone of voice she seemed quite fond of using. She almost smirked at the clueless expressions everyone exchanged, looking utterly lost. In an extremely smug voice, she said, "It's old news, really. But Archipelago was a twin. I wouldn't say murder is the word to use for this, precisely, but he certainly did kill his brother, strangled him to death before they'd even taken their first breath. But he definitely has killed someone - multiple someones, actually. Let's not forget, the reason all his sisters died in that hatching...is because he killed them all."
Author's Note: Heehee.
But hey, I updated on time!
Thanks for reading.
MysticFire101: Oh, my bad! I should've known...but I'm so glad to hear that! MWAHAHA. I LOVE CLIFFHANGERS. AHAHA. THEY'RE SO FUN TO WRITE. Reading them, on the other hand...and here's another cliffhanger for you. You can hate me, but I know, as you stated, that you can't, and that is my secret weapon. Actually, I don't have one. Thank you, and I love you for all your support! I agree, I love cliffhangers when they're done correctly because you're like, I want to know more, but this doesn't make any sense at all, and then later, it totally does make sense! Thank you thank you for suggesting Breeze! It's such a pretty name. And it makes me warm and fuzzy on the inside too, when I see your kind reviews! So thank you, thank you so much! Haha. Thank you! I'm so glad you like the talk show! That's always great to hear and know! I will continue to try to make the characters hilarious! Thank you for your support, and for reading and reviewing!
Hamburger: Oh my seashells, I'm so glad you liked the chapter! Thank you so much, it's always so great to know that people enjoy the chapters! Thank you for reading and reviewing!
Someone: MWAHAHA! I LIKE BEING SUSPENSEFUL...Haha :). Well, hope you liked Tsunami's reaction and found it believable! I ship Ripnami too, and honestly, even though they aren't technically canon, I felt that at this point in her life, Tsunami would've "settled down" as much as she can, and Riptide seems like the guy...Bit thanks, and don't let your brain explode! That would definitely not be good! And crazy caps writing is cool, I do that quite often myself. AND IT IS TRUE THIS IS HOW PERIL THINKS IN HER BOOK AND I AM ALWAYS IN A CRAZY MOOD! THANK YOU FOR READING AND REVIEWING!
Jaysong: Yay! Unexploding brains is a good thing. No problem, I'm glad you liked her appearance and thought that it was awesome. I hope you liked Tsunami's reaction and found it realistic, too! Thanks, and I'm really happy and ever so grateful to you and that you continue to read and review! Haha. As you probably know by reading the chapters, Tsunami met her nephews. I'm not sure if she'll meet her other brothers...as for my friend, that's really neat! Really awesome, both you and my friend! And you sound like me, with your wrapping - any words anybody says that reminds me of a song, and I'm gone. (When I'm gone...when I'm gone...you're gonna miss me when I'm gone...) and then everyone really hates me and tells me to shut up. And it's okay, I'm sure you can rap way better than I can. ANYWAYS! THAT'S SUPER AWESOME! You should definitely get an account, if you can. And that's okay, I know plenty of people who have fanfiction accounts and don't write anything! Anyway, hope you liked this chapter, and I'm hoping to have the next one out by Friday of next week. Thank you for all your support, and for reading and reviewing!
jadewolf334: Whoa indeed. But I'm hoping that was a good whoa. Yes, a lot did happen there...haha. Hahaha. And a lot happened here too...hahahahahaha. Whoohoo! Thanks, I'm so glad you thought it was awesome, and it's okay, awesome happens to be a very awesome word. Hmm, you might have a right to be suspicious of Queen Orca. Yay! And sorry Eddy was in this chapter...I'm going to try and bring him back in the next one, though, and you'll find out what's up with him. Glad you like his personality! Maybe Cerulean will like him...but I'm glad you like his character, and like him in general! Interesting! It's always cool to see what tribe people would want to belong to. I can see why every dragon tribe is cool, but there are some that I like more than others, of course. I wouldn't be able to choose an all time favorite, though. That's too hard! Oh, oh, my bad! I should've known you had the Resurrection Stone. That's so obvious! But that still means your dead...:(. AND YES, WE CAN SYMPATHIZE WITH WRITING. I totally get you there! I feel like a lot of my plot twists tend to be random, but I'm loving your plot twists in your story! (Sorry, by the way, that I haven't gotten around to reading the newest chapter of that - I'm so psyched that there's another one out waiting for me to read! AGH. WHY IS MY LIFE SO BUSY RIGHT AT THIS MOMENT? Yes, you are definitely awesome, and yes, this probably will go on for a while...XD. Yeah, Archipelago is kind of like Turtle...and I appreciate you pointing it out/asking! I love answering any questions you have. Yes, but still, even if I write her...it was very important that you came up with her. I hope you liked this chapter, and will definitely try to get the next one out next week. Haha, yes she is! Nice dance moves, though. And you're fine! I ramble too...hope you liked the chapter and read it with happiness XD. Thank you for reading and reviewing!
Many Ruiz: YOUR WELCOME! AND SORRY THAT I MADE YOU WAIT SO LONG! HOPEFULLY IT WASN'T THAT BAD THIS TIME...? *starts coughing* Excuse me. Anyway, you welcome! Thanks for suggesting him, and I'll try to use Gar more often later on. Haha, I'm glad you're protective of Storm - you're completely right, THERE ARE NO USELESS PRINCESSES BY THE NAME OF STORM, who is like the opposite of useless. XD. I will definitely try to keep up the good work, and thank you for your support, and for reading and reviewing!
Thepicduck: Yay! I'm so glad you discovered this! And I'm hoping you like it...haha, yes. Okay, thank you for your suggestions, and 1. I'm sorry that I take up so much space responding...it's just, there's always so much to say! I'll try to cut down a bit if I can on unnecessary rambling, which I realize I tend to do quite often. Yes, it does take up a lot of space. You are completely right. 2. I dunno either, but yes, until next time! HARAMBE (poor gorilla, though, I feel so bad for him). Thank you for reading and reviewing!