The early hours of the morning cast Crossbolt in a foggy haze. The brightest lights to be found were the constant bolts of lightning darting from tower to tower all across the city. At the very least, the rains had stopped. That meant it was time for Tyrrany to get a move on.
She got up about an hour before the guys did so she could shower and apply a fresh set of makeup. By the time they were up, she was already slipping into her dark cloak.
"Come on, guys." Tyrrany insisted as she pulled her hood over her head. "We need to get moving."
"Where, to find breakfast?" Arthur asked with a grumble.
"No; to get out of Crossbolt." The dragoness slid a stocking on. "We still have a mission, you know."
"Right…" Flame sighed. He stretched out his back and lightly smacked his lips. "But we won't be able to get far without a bite to eat. You know that as well as I do; we'll end up collapsing and starving if we go without food for too long."
Tyrrany flinched; she didn't want to think about the consequences of being without food too far from civilization.
"Alright, alright… we'll purchase some fruit from a food stand somewhere near the southern gate." Tyrrany declared. "We'll bring as much as we can carry, but that's it."
"Sounds good to me." Arthur declared.
As she got ready for the day, Tyrrany's conversation with Harlon and Lillia left her feeling uneasy. Did they really expect the heiress to just spread her forelegs and accept them happily? Just because Lillia was another white dragoness, didn't mean that Tyrrany could trust her. Nor did Tyrrany intend to become buddy-buddy with every other white dragoness she came across.
Once she was ready, Tyrrany put her satchels over her cloak. She reached for her violin case, but Flame scooped it up and hung it about himself first.
"If I share the load, then both of us can get a move on faster." He insisted.
"Fair enough…" Tyrrany pushed the front door open and flapped her wings. "Let's go, you two."
"Are you sure about this?" Arthur asked. "We could at least stop to take in the sights and sounds of Crossbolt. It might make for some fun while we're out here."
"I don't want to spend any more time in Crossbolt than is necessary." Tyrrany insisted. "The prince… Rune… is still on his way south. He could arrive in this city any day." She ruffled her wings indignantly beneath her cloak. "I need as much distance between us as possible."
"Okay…" Arthur grumbled.
Before long, the trio was out the door and making their way along the city streets. Tyrrany led the way to a nearby trolley station, which took them down toward the south. The trio briefly looked around at their surroundings with unease; it wouldn't be long before the many dragons of the city would be waking up to go about their day. Still, it was surreal to see the streets so barren; Tyrrany felt a shiver on her back. Gone were the hustle and bustle of dragons wandering about to do one of a thousand tasks; the southern continent was already so unlike any city she'd been to before.
Granted, I have been to the southern lands a few times before… She sighed. But I was always a recluse; hiding in one of Father's carriages as he did his business. She looked down at the cobblestone roads and grimaced. I hope you're okay, Dad.
As the trio made their way to the trolley station, another dragon gazed out at them from his window. Harlon sighed; he'd hoped that they would stay; not for his sake, or Lillia's, but their own.
"You be safe out there…" The nomadic drake frowned as he closed the window. "May the Ancestors watch over you, Daughter of Elenar."
~~…~~
It was a typical day for Nellie at the Glenhaven Palace.
Ember still wasn't used to the new school, so Nellie, Blankridge, and Emerald decided to help her out. As it turned out, each one of them had at least one individual class with her.
The events of the airship had become the talk of the town. A majority of the student body thought that Blankridge and his friends were practically heroes for uncovering such a rare vehicle. The teachers, on the other hand, thought that Blank had become a public menace. As for Nellie, she thought that her brother managed to luck out by not being put on some serious probation. While Blankridge was embarrassed by being berated by particularly-irate teachers, he and his gang of adventuring buddies were still delighted to have been so successful on their first outing… although Marble was a bit exasperated by how General Jules doubled his workload for the part he played.
Nellie, Emerald, and Ember were in the middle of their physical combat training class. Nellie and Emerald, being a few of the older students in this class, acted more as assistants for the Guardian teachers than regular trainees. This meant that they would help the younger students perform various exercises via demonstrations and encouraging speeches. Unfortunately for Nellie, Roxanne also acted as a Guardian assistant. And the yellow dragoness LOVED to flaunt her skill to show up Nellie and Emerald. At the very least, Aaron and Vaun weren't there to back her up; they were in the separate, male-student training class.
"Why are the boys and girls separated?" Ember asked.
"That's the norm at our school," Emerald said. "See, a couple of years back, there were some… shenanigans between a male student and a female. So now the Elders want the boys and girls separated during combat training."
"Shenanigans…?" Ember asked with a flushed face.
"It's best not to worry about it." Nellie nudged Ember on the shoulder.
Their teacher for the day was Guardian Mimet. She stood tall and firm as she had the girls conduct a series of simple exercises.
"Alright girls, this will be simple enough," Mimet said. She summoned up a training dummy and stood in a combat stance in the middle of the arena. "You're going to strike an enemy into the air and deal damage while it's airborne." She turned her glance toward Emerald. "Would you care to give the first demonstration, sweetie?"
A few of the younger girls snickered, while Emerald just sighed. "I thought we discussed the usage of nicknames in front of the other students, Mom."
"We did. And I decided that I can call my daughter any nicknames I please." Mimet smirked. "Now, step on over and show everyone the proud heritage of the Earth Guardians of Glenhaven."
"Very well…" Emerald made her way down to the arena. She took off her spectacles and gave them to her mother before turning to face the first target.
Emerald charged forward and struck the small dummy so hard that it was knocked upwards off its feet. She then spread her wings and leaped upward to the amazement of the younger students. Emerald then delivered a powerful aerial swipe and several side slashes upon the poor dummy. By the time the dummy finally fell to the ground, it exploded into sawdust and gems upon impact. A lot of the younger dragoness gasped in awe, Ember especially. Nellie, however, just sighed.
"That's my girl." Mimet smiled. "You can take your seat now."
Emerald held a slight flush as she came to a stop beside the Guardian. "Thank you."
"That was amazing!" Ember cheered from the bleachers.
"Don't be too amazed, Ember," Emerald said to her. "The attack is mostly theatrics; any dragon can do it."
"Is that so?" Mimet asked. Emerald flinched and then turned to look at her mother, who smirked and wrapped her tail about her hind paws. "Well then, I'm sure you can handle teaching the other girls the various steps to the technique, yes?"
"Uh…" Emerald cleared her throat. "Of course, Mom."
Mimet made her way over to the control console at the edge of the ring. After pressing some buttons, the Guardian summoned up a new dummy; this one was quite large and wielded an axe.
"Okay, I want the younger girls to follow Emerald over to the eastern side of the ring," Mimet announced. "You'll take turns replicating the aerial attacks. You don't have to be perfect; just one complete aerial technique is all you need to do to pass today. And try to keep your wits about you, hmm?"
That was only the first of several exercises. The girls were also expected to do a series of laps. And then they did more laps… via flight.
Mimet flipped a few more switches on the console and summoned something new into the arena. They took the form of several large, gold-tinted rings. They hung weightlessly in the air and formed a specific path that twisted around in the air.
"Fly through the rings, ladies." Mimet declared. "This isn't a race; just make it through and every ring."
One by one, the dragonesses spread their wings and flew upward. It was a surreal experience to fly through a tunnel of swirling rings up in the air. Every time they turned corners, it felt like they were being transported through some sort of wormhole.
Nellie flew steadily behind Emerald through the rings, while Ember struggled to keep up behind them.
"We never did anything like this at my old school." Ember panted.
"Keep it up, Ember!" Nellie called behind her. "You're doing great!"
"Focus on where you're flying, girls!" Mimet called up from the bleachers. "Be careful not to smack into each other!"
Nellie looked back in time to realize that her head came dangerously close to smacking into Emerald's flank. Nellie flinched and stumbled back a bit, her face turning beat red; how could she get caught up again? Emerald yelped when she realized what nearly happened and scrambled to get out of Nellie's way. It might have given the blue dragoness some relief, were it not for the inevitable and sudden laughter from the surrounding dragonesses.
That alone might have left Nellie feeling embarrassed to the point of sheepishly sneaking off... but there was one voice that laughed louder and harder than the others. And it was more than enough to pierce into Nellie's scales. Her face was definitely still red... but now her fangs were gnashed as Roxanne's mocking laughter rang out.
Don't look at her. Nellie told herself. Don't give her the satisfaction.
When the exercises finally came to an end, Mimet stood to watch as the dragonesses made their way into the bleachers. Everyone was quite exhausted; most of them struggled to stay seated on their haunches, while a few of them slumped their heads over to lean against their fellow students. Mimet wasn't one for letting up on her students, despite her warm personality.
"You've done well enough so far, girls," Mimet said. "You've got fifteen minutes to catch your breath. Then we'll do some stretches, and then move on to the real MEAT of the exercises."
Nellie sat down in her seat and panted a bit as she fanned out her wings. Ember and Emerald soon joined her; all three of them struggled to expel the excess heat before the stretches came.
"Is Miss Mimet always like this?" Ember asked between pants.
"Yeah," Emerald answered. "But don't worry; my mom's only got our best interests at heart. You'll get used to her strictness eventually."
Nellie stretched out her back before reaching for her satchel. She pulled out a quill pen, a piece of paper, and a textbook before settling into her seat to start drawing.
Most of what she drew was just a bunch of random stick figures of various creatures doing ridiculous things. However, on the other side of the paper, Nellie spent a good while drawing a detailed sketch of herself and her friends as adults.
Blankridge and Nellie were at the forefront. Blank was a muscular adventurer, decked out from head to toe in dusty gear. Nellie had a full set of Guardian's armor, and her hammer was at the ready in her jaws. Emerald wore similar armor, though hers was marked with the Captain's Sigil. She wore a long cloak and stood alongside a rather bashful Marble. And at the very back of the group… was King Rune. The black dragon stood proud and tall, with strong features and a lavish white cloak. He stood on his haunches, with both forepaws resting atop his black sword. And beside him… was the blank template of a dragoness.
Nellie just couldn't quite bring herself to work on Rune's queen; it just didn't feel right to guess. But at the same time, she didn't want to imply that Rune wouldn't find anybody. So she was locked at a stand-still, unable to finish her drawing, no matter how many details she added to herself and her friends.
"What're you drawing, Nellie?" Ember asked. Shocked, the blue dragoness immediately hid her drawing inside her textbook.
"Uh, nothing." She said nervously.
"Don't mind Nellie, Ember." Emerald chuckled. "She doesn't like anybody seeing her drawings when they're not finished."
"Well, I'm not that good at it," Nellie said with a blush.
"What are you talking about?" Emerald looked at her funny. "I've seen some of your drawings, Nellie. You use a lot of them in your schematics to design armor, don't you? You're amazing!"
"Yeah, but I'm not that great at drawing dragons themselves…" Nellie grimaced.
"Nellie, come on." Emerald gave her a stern look. "I can understand not wanting an over-inflated ego. But don't sell yourself short when it comes to your talent. It's okay to feel proud of what you've accomplished.
Nellie gave a soft sigh. "Alright, Emmy."
When Nellie looked up, she spotted a paper airplane making its way through the air. It landed with almost pinpoint accuracy upon her textbook.
"Did someone send you something?" Ember asked.
Nellie looked down at the airplane curiously. She picked it up and worked to unfold it, revealing… a very crude picture of Rune and Roxanne. The two dragons had their tails intertwined as they rubbed muzzles together. Meanwhile, a bunch of Nellie's friends was lying in the background, and they were made to look rather stupid and ugly… but not as bad as Nellie, who was given a pig snout and bull's horns.
Nellie's eye twitched, and she gave a low growl as her talons dug into the corners of the paper.
"What's wrong, Nellie?" Emerald frowned.
"THIS." Nellie passed the note to Emerald, who took it and looked it over with a grimace.
"Ugh…" Emerald's ear frills drooped. "Now this is just… why would they even draw that?"
Nellie turned around and glared at the various faces of the students in the bleachers, inspecting them one at a time for signs of the culprit. And soon, Nellie spotted her; off in the far corner at the top of the bleachers, Roxanne was sitting smugly with her tail across her ankles. Nellie almost made a move to go after her then and there, but Emerald grabbed her shoulder.
"Stop." The green dragoness snapped. "Don't make a fool of yourself in front of the whole class. That's what she WANTS." She forced Nellie to sit back down. "You know that."
"Yeah, but-"
"No buts." Emerald snapped her talons. "Think rationally, Nellie. If you let her antagonize you, you're only for a world of trouble. Just let it go."
Nellie just sighed and looked away; she wanted to argue, but begrudgingly admitted that Emerald had a point. Perhaps that was exactly what Roxanne wanted… and yet her blood still boiled. It was so hard to let go.
~~…~~
~~…~~
Rune pushed the door to the captain's quarters open. The first thing he saw was the steely gaze of Dona. The shadow dragoness was seated behind a large desk, with her eyes locked on him as he strode inside.
Hontus and Voden were seated to the left and right of the dragoness. The Guardians looked upon him with caution, while Dona tapped a talon irritably on the desk. Across the way, Riven was fast asleep in a crib, which was tenderly rocked by Voden's hand.
"Good…" Rune gulped. "Good morning."
"Good morning, son," Hontus said uneasily.
"You…" He shuddered. "You wanted to see me?"
"We… We just want to talk about last night." Voden said with a soft smile as he gestured to the last empty chair before the desk. "Just have a seat."
"A-Alright…" Rune stepped forward and sat down in the chair. Dona's tapping stopped, and she clasped her hands together.
"Alright, from the very top…" Dona scowled at Rune. "I want to know what you were doing last night."
"Okay…" Rune took a nervous breath and looked up. He spent a moment describing how he went down to Jonathan's cage to question him. Hontus and Voden looked at the prince with disappointment, while Dona blew smoke out of her nostrils in irritation. Rune felt unnerved, but he didn't stop until he reached Jonathan's confession.
"I… I think I tricked him into confirming that Saul was backing him." Rune said. "I know it was probably obvious… but I wanted to hear it from him directly."
Hontus and Voden exchanged glances, and then just sighed.
"Rune, that would have been perfectly logical to assume," Voden said. "Jonathan wouldn't have gone all the way to Warfang without someone giving him the task."
"I guess not… but I know now," Rune said.
"And I wish you hadn't bothered." Hontus scolded. "There could have been a slim chance that Jonathan escaped from his cage and started trouble."
Dona glanced at Hontus, and then snorted and shook her head.
"I… I guess so." Rune sighed. "Still, I… I never would have expected to be attacked from behind."
"Right…" Dona scowled at Rune. "My daughter was put in danger because of you."
Rune tensed up as the dragoness dug her talons into the desk's surface. Voden sighed and put a wing over her back.
"Alright, just keep calm, love…" Voden said to her. He then frowned at Rune. "I suppose none of us could have predicted that Riven would learn to creep into shadows to follow after you. Still… had you stayed in bed, she may not have had a reason to leave our room."
"I… I guess you're right." Rune bent his head low and sighed in shame. "Putting Princess Riven in danger is the last thing I'd ever want. I won't let it happen again."
"Hmph. You'd better not." Dona gnashed her fangs, making Rune flinch again. "If you ever lead my daughter into trouble again, I'll… I'll…"
"Alright, alright, enough!" Hontus bellowed. He draped a wing over Rune's back and glowered at Dona. "None of us want your daughter to be hurt! Save your vitriol for the assailants!" He beat the desk and fumed. "They're the ones who attacked Riven!"
Voden looked at Hontus incredulously, while Dona simply snorted again. She glanced over at the sleeping dragonling and then sighed.
"Fine…" Dona took a breath to calm herself down. "But I still see him as a bad influence on our daughter."
Rune frowned and looked across the way at Riven. She still looked a little shaky, even as she slept. Dona noticed his gaze, and deliberately shielded her daughter with a wing. Rune looked away again and sighed in defeat.
"Do… Do you know who the assailants were?" Rune asked. "Was anyone able to get information from them?"
"We know exactly who they are…" Dona scowled. "Extremists, from Warfang."
Rune bit his lower lip. "So… they're that determined to hunt down white dragons, then?"
"Would you expect anything else, from former spies of Baneth's regime?" Dona gave a sarcastic chuckle and then snarled. "The three of them even used to serve ME, during my mission spying on the Silver Talon…" She grumbled in her seat. "What a small, small world."
"Oh…" Rune rubbed his upper foreleg. Memories of the battle last night left him shivering. All three of them had been vicious in battle; he couldn't believe that any dragoness could be so cold-hearted to try and kill a little dragoness, let alone three at once.
"They must have been tailing us ever since we left Warfang." Dona continued with a scowl. "They spent days disguised as commoners. They figured that the boat ride would be the perfect place to…" She shuddered and forced himself to keep calm. "The point is, waiting for the night before the boat hit the docks meant that they'd be able to do the dead, go into hiding, and then sneak onto shore during any investigations…" She snorted again. "A classic spy tactic."
"But they've been thwarted." Hontus declared as he patted Rune on the shoulder. "Rune caused a commotion and gave away their presence. We caught the assailants in the act and defeated them… All thanks to Rune."
"Indeed…" Dona glanced at Riven again and then sighed. "Fine… Rune, you have my thanks for stopping those vile shits from hurting my little girl…" She glared at him again. "But I mean it when I say that the NEXT time you get her in danger, I'm putting my paw up your arse."
"D-Duly noted…" Rune shivered.
"So… are we done here, love?" Voden asked.
"Not quite…" Hontus looked at Dona with caution. "I think one of the spies whispered something to you last night. What was it?"
Dona's eyes gleamed. "You're not going to like it."
"Just tell us, love." Voden insisted. "Keeping it a secret won't do any good."
Dona snorted. She looked back at Riven to make sure she was still asleep. The dragoness then sighed and looked back at the others with a serious expression.
"She leaned in, and she said…" She brought her voice to a whisper, "'the Shadow Queen sends her regards.'"
Rune, Voden and Hontus all balked. Dona looked around at them all and rolled her eyes. "Yes… they're implying that it was-"
"My mother wouldn't send anyone after Riven!" Rune suddenly yelled. He sprang up and spread his limbs out wide. "There's no way! She's worked hard to-"
"Calm down, boy." Dona snapped. "It's another spy tactic; misinformation. And a cheap one at that."
"They were lying?" Hontus asked.
"Of COURSE they were lying." Dona scoffed. "Elenar wouldn't send assassins after Riven. They're just trying to play mind games with us out of spite…" She looked her husband in the eyes. "But do you see why I didn't want to say it?"
"I suppose I do…" Voden frowned. "I'm sorry, Dona."
"All is forgiven." Dona leaned over to plant a kiss on his cheek. She then rose from the desk and turned to carefully scoop Riven up in her grasp. "Now then… let's finally venture into Crossbolt, shall we?"
~~…~~
It was barely half an hour later.
Rune shivered as he beheld the sights of Crossbolt. The many lightning-rod towers illuminated the sky, giving the city a spectacular glow as it emerged on the horizon. After days of traveling across the sea, it was rather nice to finally be heading onto dry land again. At least he could put a bit more distance between himself and Jonathan... oh, if only he could do the same for the pest living inside his mind. What also didn't help matters was the rather gaudy outfit he had to wear today. Rune couldn't stand looking down at himself: The fancy black cape, the stockings, the horn rings… it made him feel like such a buffoon.
"Did I really have to change into this ridiculous getup?" Rune grimaced as he sat on his haunches.
"We're about to get some royal company." Hontus scolded; he stood tall in his sparkling Guardian's armor, which had been polished to perfection. "Guardians need to look their best, as do their children. And let's not forget that you're a prince too, kiddo."
"Of course…" Rune sighed and stood up tall. "But the sooner we're done here, the better: this cape is a nightmare on my back-scars."
A few minutes later, the vessel docked in the harbor. Hontus was the first to step down along the gangplank. He kept watching over his soldiers as they escorted Jonathan's cage steadily along the wood. Several more cages were brought along; the three shadow dragonesses were locked up with even more chains and given much more scrutiny. Dona saw to it that the dragoness's eyes were patched up, and their ear frills tied down, so they'd never have a chance of discovering where Riven was at any time.
Rune stood on the ship and watched with a scowl as the four prisoners were dragged off to the far side of the pier. Once that was done, Rune took a deep breath as he stood up to stand beside Voden and Dona. Little Riven had woken up from her nap and was seemingly none the worse for wear after the previous night. Dona went out of her way to ensure that her daughter never looked in the direction of the cages; she ordered sailors to block them from view at all times. Riven, meanwhile, was none the wiser; the dragonling ooh'd and ahh'd at the buildings up atop the cliffside as she rode on her father's back. Rune smiled at this; he was clad that she wasn't too hurt.
Rune's entourage didn't have to venture very far before they were met by several lightning dragons in glistening armor. The soldiers stood in formation as a rather well-dressed drake made his way through the crowd. His eyes beamed as he beheld prince Rune, much to his embarrassment. Rune sighed and stood up tall as the fancy lightning dragon made his way over.
"Greetings, King Tintreon." Hontus declared. He bowed his head and lifted his forepaw to give a salute, which Voden copied immediately. Rune awkwardly bowed his head, while Dona just stayed standing. Tintreon gave her an odd look, but then just snorted and focused his attention on Hontus.
"Aha! I knew it would be your lot!" Tintreon chuckled. He stepped forward and had Hontus and Voden rise to their full height. "Welcome back to Crossbolt, Sir Guardians!"
"Thank you for the welcome," Hontus said. "We had… well, almost a completely fair journey. We've had some… complications along the way."
"Hmm…" Tintreon followed Hontus's gaze over toward the four cages. First, the king spotted Jonathan and was quite perplexed. He definitely had a well-lit face as he grasped his chest. Jonathan scowled and flashed Tintreon a rude gesture, much to the anger of the surrounding soldiers in both parties. But Tintreon wasn't phased; he just grimaced and focused his attention on the Guardians.
"Is that Saul's boy?" He asked in amazement. He then glanced behind Jonathan and saw the three imprisoned shadow dragonesses. The king was especially disturbed by the rather gruesome wounds upon their eyes and muzzles.
"Ancestors above!" Tintreon looked at the red drake incredulously. "What in the realms happened up north, Sir Hontus?"
"It's a long story…" Hontus huffed. "Perhaps I'll be able to fill you in… if you'd be so kind as to give us a few hours to replenish our supplies before we head south."
"A few hours? Nonsense!" Tintreon declared. He flashed a grin over in Rune's direction. "You didn't expect me to forget about one of my favorite customs, did you?"
"Uh, it's really not necessary, King Tintreon." Rune sheepishly bowed his head again. "We can just carry on with our journey for once. We don't want to intrude."
"Oh, don't be like that!" Tintreon gave a hearty laugh. "I could never sleep easy while the savior of my beloved niece sleeps in some ratty tavern bed! And who would I be to turn away two heroic Guardians?"
"Or a queen." Dona insisted with her head held high. She turned her body to the side to show off her birthmark.
"Eh?" Tintreon looked at the dragoness uneasily. He then tilted his head. "Wait, aren't you one of Elenar's Deep Shadows?"
Dona sucked in a shrill breath when Voden abruptly stepped beside her and chuckled awkwardly.
"Dona here is evidently the newest Shadow Queen." He said as he placed a forepaw on hers. "I'm her husband, and this here is our daughter Riven. We're on a family outing of sorts."
Tintreon looked between Dona and Voden incredulously. He then spotted the little birthmarks on Riven's sides, which made the dragonling shrink back a bit. Another smile spread across Tintreon's face, and he fanned his wings out to give another hearty laugh.
"Ah, all the more reason to carry on the tradition!" He declared. "All of you, follow me back to my palace! It's time for a celebratory feast that'll leave all of your bellies full to bursting!" Tintreon fanned his wings out. "From monarch to commoner, everyone will be happy by sunset!"
Rune just groaned; that's what Tintreon always said every six months. The prince just sighed and carefully trotted behind the lightning king as the Guardians followed suit. Along the way, Dona raised an eye ridge as she picked up the pace to walk beside him.
"Hmm, I actually have a bit of business with you, King Tintreon." She said.
"Eh?" He looked back at her curiously. "And what might that be, Queen Dona?"
"I've got a set of blueprints that I'd like you to look over." Dona continued. "There's something I'd like you to help my husband and I build."
Rune's eyes widened; what was Dona talking about? Evidently, Tintreon didn't care to find out, as he just shrugged and continued toward the elevator.
"If the discussion's going to be long and complicated, then I'd prefer to have it wait." He flapped his wings indignantly. "There's a time and a place for construction matters: I just finished the final renovations of all the trolley systems in Crossbolt, and I need a break."
Dona snorted in annoyance. "Fine. After your feast, then."
"Hey!" Jonathan called from his cell. "Am I invited to the feast, too?"
Hontus and Voden shot the earth prince some rather furious glares, which made him clamp his muzzle shut rather quickly. Rune snorted and looked away; he tried to ignore the laughter in his head. Dona rolled her eyes at Jonathan's comment, and lightly wracked her talons on the docks; maybe she'd bring him a plate of scraps later if he kept his mouth shut.
~~…~~
Eventually, the physical training finally came to an end.
Mimet made her way to the other side of the arena to tend to her dealings, while the girls were dismissed through the back doors. Nellie gathered up her things and sat to wait for the others to leave; she didn't want a crowd to get in the way. Soon, most of the other dragonesses had left the arena, and Emerald and Ember went down to the bottom of the bleachers. Nellie looked around, scanning the faces of the dragonesses like a hawk as they made for the back doors.
And there she was: Roxanne had a chipper grin as she made her way toward the doors. That smug look made the heat of Nellie's blood boil all the more. That did it: Nellie could hold herself back no longer; she was going to give Roxanne a piece of her mind, once and for all!
From the moment Nellie had a chance to take off, she spread her wings and glided down the bleachers to rush off to confront Roxanne.
"Nellie, wait!" Ember called.
Nellie stepped through the arena doors and looked around again. She spotted Roxanne a short distance away, trotting along as if nothing was wrong. Like that crude, drawing was some sort of victory. Nellie's anger came to a boiling point. She inhaled a deep breath and crept after Roxanne; her magic was charging up for a nice, big blast of water. Nellie aimed at Roxanne's rear and pulled back for her attack…
Just as Aaron and Vaun were turning a corner down the hall. They were about to wave to Roxanne, but Aaron gasped when he saw Nellie opening her maw.
"Rox, look out!" Aaron shouted.
Roxanne turned around just in time to see Nellie's magic burst forth from her maw. The lightning dragoness squeaked in fright as she dodged out of the way. The torrent of water continued on its path until it collided with Aaron's chest. The earth dragon grunted as his student's uniform was soaked.
"Oh, come on…" Aaron grumbled as he looked himself over.
Roxanne stood up and rushed over to help Aaron get the water off his clothes. Vaun was more efficient; he simply used magic to pull the water off Aaron's scales and absorb it into his body.
Nellie just stood in place and panted heavily as her anger died down a bit. Ember and Emerald burst out of the arena doors and scurried down the way to catch up to Nellie as she stomped forward to confront Roxanne. At Vaun's motion, Roxanne whirled around to face Nellie… and laughed.
"I guess it's safe to assume you didn't like my drawing." Roxanne snorted as she tapped her talons.
"You've got a lot of nerve, Rox." Nellie snapped. She reached into her satchel, grabbed the drawing, and held it out for the students around her to see it. "Who do you think you are, making something like this?"
A few of the students surrounding the two dragonesses grimaced and murmured at the sight of the drawing. Aaron and Vaun seemed particularly amused by it.
"Well, I would have hoped that someone as artistically talented as you could appreciate an aspiring artist." Roxanne stuck her snout in the air.
"Not stuff like THIS." Nellie motioned to the drawing of herself. "Where are you trying to get off?"
"What, was the likeness too close to reality?" Roxanne tilted her head. "Didn't I capture your muzzle perfectly? Or was I being too generous?"
Nellie growled. She was about to step forward, but Emerald grasped her shoulder.
"Cool it, Nellie," Emerald warned. "Don't stoop to their level."
"Shut it, Emmy." Nellie snapped. Emerald balked, while Roxanne and her cronies chuckled.
"So, you only take orders from your brother Rune?" Aaron asked with a raised eye ridge.
"Shut up." Nellie glared at the earth drake.
"You know, I heard a rumor a while back that Rune and Nellie have become involved… romantically." Vaun put on a grin. Nellie's eye twitched, which only made Vaun's grin even wider. "Oh, yeah, I can see it on her face; you're jealous that someone will take your darling Rune away."
"I said shut up!" Nellie gnashed her fangs. Her talons dug into the corner of the page as she crept closer toward Roxanne's gang. "Stop being so disgusting!"
"Nellie, no…" Ember said worriedly.
"You're pushing your luck, Roxanne." Nellie glared daggers into the yellow dragoness. "I'm warning you; tell them to back off."
"Gee, if only Rune was here…" Roxanne was bemused. "Maybe then you'd calm down." She put on her worst, most sardonic grin. "Do you miss him right now, Nellie? Do you want to just bend over and let him take you in your big, blue arse?"
Nellie's whole body shook with rage. Everything in her spirit was telling her to tackle Roxanne to the ground. Oh, that smug look on the yellow dragoness's face was infuriating. And her two cronies were just as bad. Over and over again they kept antagonizing her. Nellie sucked in a breath; it would have been so easy to…
Nellie blinked as she got an idea. And then she put on a grin of her own, followed by a little chuckle. Maybe it was time for Roxanne to try her own medicine.
"Are you jealous, Rox?" Nellie asked her.
Roxanne flinched, and her two cronies stopped laughing. Nellie held up the artwork before her face and grasped it with both forepaws. Emerald and Ember looked at Nellie in shock.
"Nellie, what are you…?" Emerald began, but Nellie blocked her with a wing.
"Are you still bitter that you offered Rune YOUR big arse, and he turned it down?" Nellie asked. Roxanne's jaw fell open, while the blue dragoness grinned. "He took your heart and ripped it in half. Just like THIS!"
Nellie ripped the page cleanly in half; it split right down the middle between Rune and Roxanne. The blue dragoness then pulled the two halves apart and gave Roxanne the worst look of smugness she could. Roxanne flinched in surprise while Nellie used her talons to slice the paper into pieces.
"Even when Rune still wanted to be friends, you were too stupid to take him up on the offer!" Nellie continued. "You burned your little bridge, and now he feels awkward whenever he's around you! You had a chance to be with him, and you blew it! Like THIS!"
She gathered up the remains of the drawing and blew them into Roxanne's face. The yellow dragoness flinched and wiped her face down, with Aaron and Vaun struggling to help her get cleaned off.
"Rune will NEVER be your boyfriend!" Nellie declared proudly. "You're just a low-born tramp who works in her parents' mud-hut of a tavern, out in the SLUMS!" She fanned out her wings. "He's a prince, and you're a pauper! Deal with it!"
Roxanne's eye twitched, followed by her tail. Her wings were next to shake, and she growled furiously.
"You…" Roxanne stepped forward and snarled. "…You… You BITCH!"
The yellow dragoness lunged at Nellie, talons extended. Nellie quickly dodged out of the way, sending Roxanne crashing to the floor. Roxanne groaned as she struggled to get up, while Nellie smugly stood over her.
"Oh, and by the way?" Nellie leaned down to whisper into Roxanne's ear frill. "Your artwork sucks, too."
Roxanne howled in fury. Lightning burst wildly from her maw as she erupted up onto all fours. Nellie leaped back as Roxanne whirled around to snarl at her, much to the shock of the other students. Nellie doubled back around, sucked in a breath of air, and unleashed a torrent of water upon Roxanne's face. Roxanne was slammed back against some lockers. Nellie stood tall and proud; oh, that all felt so good.
Lightning danced across Roxanne's scales as she slowly rose onto all fours. She gave Nellie the worst glare she could, and Nellie glared back just as fiercely.
"You fucking blue bitch!" Roxanne snarled.
"Shut up and fight!" Nellie hissed.
Roxanne opened her maw to unleash a burst of lightning in Nellie's direction. The blue dragoness countered with a burst of water. The two magical attacks collided in the air, sending tiny sparks and icicles flying in all directions. As the two dragonesses circled each other, the crowd of students got heated.
"Fight! Fight! Fight!" They cheered.
Aaron and Vaun stood near the front of the ring of students; they cheered Roxanne on because of course they did. Emerald, however, tried several times to grab Nellie by the shoulder.
"Nellie, what are you doing?!" The green dragoness exclaimed. "This isn't like you!"
"I'd think YOU of all dragonesses would want a piece of her, Emerald!" Nellie snapped. "Remember what she did to your face?"
Emerald flinched; she briefly held a forepaw up to the little scar on her left eye. She then shook her head and glowered at Nellie. "That was years ago. I've moved on from that." She grabbed Nellie by the ankle. "And YOU know better than to do this! You're going into the deep end! Pull out before you-!"
Nellie shoved Emerald back and whirled around to snarl at Roxanne. Roxanne attacked with lightning, but Nellie spat out blasts of water to deflect the blows. She then snarled as she charged at Roxanne with talons at the ready. Emerald just sighed in defeat as she watched the two dragonesses go at it.
At one point during their fight, Roxanne managed to scratch one of Nellie's wing membranes. The blue dragoness retaliated by grabbing hold of Roxanne's front left foreleg with her mouth, sinking her fangs into the other girl's scales. Roxanne roared in pain, clawing Nellie in an attempt to get her to let go. She eventually did, sending Roxanne falling backward in the process.
Nellie felt good. She was winning. She was finally teaching that yellow cretin a lesson. She always knew she was more than a match for Roxanne. And the way the students were cheering? It was like she was on top of the world. She loomed over Roxanne and prepared to hit her with the biggest blast of magic she could muster…
"WHAT'S GOING ON OUT HERE?!" Screamed the voice of a Guardian.
Roxanne and Nellie immediately came to a stop, and all the other students fell silent. Nellie slowly turned around as an adult dragon stomped her way down the hall. She looked up in fright as Mimet appeared to confront them.
Mimet glared between the blue and yellow dragonesses, and then looked around at the magical damage done to the floor. Roxanne and Nellie just gazed up at her nervously.
"What were you two doing?" Mimet demanded.
"They were fighting!" Aaron spoke up across the way. Nellie sucked in a harsh breath as the brown dragon stepped forward. "Nellie antagonized Roxanne to the point where they broke out into magical combat!"
"Yeah!" Vaun declared. "Nellie kept saying awful things about Roxanne's feelings for Prince Rune!"
"Yeah, but Roxanne initiated the fight." Emerald declared. She stepped up to her mother and fell back onto her haunches. "She through the first magical punch, so to speak."
"Hmph." Mimet wrinkled her nostrils and glared at Nellie and Roxanne. "I don't care who antagonized who. Fights outside the combat arena are NOT permitted."
"But mom-!" Emerald began to protest. But the Guardian gave her daughter a furious glare, which scared Emerald into silence.
"Emerald, your friend has made a grievous mistake." Mimet snapped. She then glowered at the gathering of students. "This fight is over. All of you, get to class!"
The students wasted no time fleeing down both sides of the corridor. Emerald and Ember wanted to stay for Nellie, but Mimet's glare scared them off rather quickly. Roxanne and Nellie were just about to move, only for Mimet to slam her forepaws down so hard that she shook the floor around them.
"Hold it, you two!" Mimet snapped as she pointed a talon in each of their faces. "The two of you are going straight to the Elders' Chamber. And your parents are going to hear about this."
"Yes, Lady Mimet." The two girls said glumly.
Mimet made her way down the hallway, and the two younger dragonesses followed behind. Along the way, Roxanne cast Nellie her signature sardonic grin. Nellie scowled back at her.
I was so close to wiping that smug look off her stupid face. Nellie thought angrily. Just once I wanted her to know how it felt to be mocked and bullied.
She tried to face forward, but she steadily felt unease and sadness growing inside her. Nellie sucked in a quick breath and struggled not to cry.
Mom's going to lose it over this…
~~…~~
It didn't take long for Nellie and Roxanne to be brought to the Elder's audience chamber. But it took a bit longer for the word to reach their respective homes. Seraph arrived as quickly as she could, as did Roxanne's mother Aki. Each dragoness stood beside their daughter and glared at them. Telus, meanwhile, sat back on his cushion and groaned
"I just cannot believe this," Telus grumbled as he ran his talons along the bridge of his muzzle. Krystallos and Attonita seemed just as frustrated; the former kept giving Nellie the stink-eye, while the latter glowered at Roxanne.
"You know, nothing will ever compare to when your brother flew an airship into Glenhaven…" Telus locked eyes with Nellie and snorted. "But frankly, I still never imagined YOU doing something to break established rules, Nellie."
"I… uh…" The blue dragoness stammered.
"I just can't believe it at all." Attonita declared. "YOU, Nellie? Breaking the rules by instigating a fight out in the middle of a hallway? I would have expected better from you!"
"I… I'm sorry, Lady Attonita." Nellie sadly bowed her head.
"Apologizing doesn't make this mess simply go away." Attonita snorted. "Honestly, what happened between the two of you to lead you to THIS?"
"Well, she had it coming." Roxanne declared harshly. "For years she's been a pain in the-"
"Hush up, you!" Krystallos snapped. Roxanne shivered and closed her maw, while the water elder blew icy mist from his nostrils. "Continue, Nellie."
"Well…"
Nellie did her best to explain how Roxanne had sent a note her way, which depicted a suggestive image of Rune and Roxanne. She spoke of how she confronted Roxanne out in the hall, and how the constant mockery from the lightning dragoness drove Nellie to start hitting Roxanne where it hurts emotionally.
Attonita groaned and shook her head. "Two dragonesses fighting over a boy. How common."
Nellie's eye twitched. "It wasn't like that."
"Didn't any of the Guardians teach you that there are better means of resolving conflict?" Krystallos demanded. Nellie sighed and looked down. Roxanne was about to smirk, but a scowl from Attonita made her grimace.
"As for you, Roxanne…" Attonita furrowed her brow. "You've been antagonizing Roxanne for a long while. Her retaliation wasn't okay, but that doesn't absolve you of your behavior. Guardian apprentices should know BETTER than this. The BOTH of you are equally to blame."
Roxanne flinched, and then looked down sadly. Nellie would have glared at her smugly if she didn't feel just as awful.
"What do you think we should do about them, Telus?" Krystallos asked.
Telus just groaned and ran a forepaw through his mane. "I'm growing much too old for this nonsense."
He rose from his cushion and stepped up to the Pool of Visions at the center of the chamber. He sat down before it and stuck a talon into the waters to swirl it around.
"Nellie and Roxanne have a feud pent up in their blood." He said. "It's not going to just go away all willy-nilly." He scowled. "If it's a fight they want, then a fight is what they'll get… through the PROPER CHANNELS."
"Hmm, so it's a match in the combat arena, then?" Attonita asked.
"Exactly." Telus snorted.
Nellie shivered; she hadn't fought in an arena match in ages, and the last time it was just a traditional sparring match for training. She'd never actually fought to settle a dispute before.
"I'll need some time to schedule some time for them to fight." The earth elder continued. "Until then, neither dragoness is to say so much as a word to each other." He then glanced at the mothers of the two dragonesses. "Is that tolerable to the both of you?"
"It's fine by me, my elders." Aki bowed her head. She then tugged forcefully on Roxanne's ear frill, making her daughter wince. "And I'll be sure that she spends every hour of her free time working at the tavern until she's good and ready."
"Hmph…" Seraph glared down at Nellie. "And I'll be keeping Nellie at home whenever she doesn't have school."
"Then it's decided." Telus declared. "When I give the appointed hour, Nellie and Roxanne shall do battle in the palace's combat arena. This meeting is adjourned; take the two of them home."
And that was that. Nellie slumped her head as she followed Seraph out of the arena. She looked back sadly at the disappointed faces of the Elders and Guardians. She'd let them down: she'd let them ALL down. It was all Nellie could do to keep herself from breaking down in tears.
I'm such an idiot.
~~…~~
Rune sat awkwardly in his seat at the head of the table as he tried to focus on his meal. Everyone else was quite lost in their firsts and seconds, while the prince tried to avoid being singled out. But keeping yourself is hard to do when you're sitting at the side of the local king. Hontus and Voden were nearby, as were Tintreon's brother Graham, and Graham's wife Flagra. And plenty of guests from all the corners of Crossbolt were invited along as well; including some nomads who were passing through on their journeys.
Every six months, whenever Rune and the Guardians stopped in Crossbolt heading north or south, Tintreon always insisted on letting them spend the night in his "humble home." Tintreon would host a majestic banquet, inviting as many people as could fit into the palace dining hall to have a good time. The food ranged in all sorts of meats and fruits, with exotic smells hailing from every corner of the realms. The music was joyous, with inspired pieces tingling at every ear frill. The laughter was plentiful as dragons of all kinds sat down together to enjoy their time together. Some were fancy noble drakes and dragonesses, while others wore nomadic robes and kept to themselves; Tintreon never turned away a potential guest from one of his feasts.
Four years ago, during Rune's first trip south, the feast was a magical experience. Then six months later he had a grand time at the next feast. The third was great. The fourth was… good… Rune sighed as he leaned against the table. Why did he now feel so bored at these banquets? Was he being an entitled brat? It wasn't every DAY that a king invited someone to be the guest of honor at a glorious feast. And everyone else around him seemed to be having the time of their lives.
Riven in particular was close to losing her mind. She sloppily ate from several bowls, each one holding a different type of jam.
"Riven, sweetie, mind your manners." Dona lightly scolded as she wiped her daughter's face with a rag.
"But it tastes so good, Mommy!" Riven giggled as she ate some more.
"You keep this up, and we'll have to give you a bath after dinner," Voden said as he held his daughter's head. The dragonling gave a little squeak and immediately sat on her haunches in her seat. It gave Rune a brief moment to chuckle, but he soon returned to his thoughts.
Rune wasn't even sure what he really wanted from a feast like this. Of course, the food was good; then again, he couldn't remember the last time he ate something that was considered "common folk food." He looked around at all the other guests; everyone seemed rather focused on their meals. There was one dragon who seemed a bit distracted; a red drake who sat beside a young blue dragoness. He kept casting curious glances at Dona but never said a word.
I wonder what his deal is, Runefor rumbled. Rune ignored his other self and looked back around again.
As Voden and Dona were speaking with a few of the other guests, Riven cast her glance over toward Rune. The dragonling gave a little smile and waved in Rune's direction. The prince quietly cleared his throat and made to look away… only to feel an unexpected surge of warmth coming from the least likely place.
What do you think you're doing? Runefor demanded.
What does it look like? I'm trying to concentrate on the feast. Rune snorted internally.
And you're just going to ignore Riven?
I don't want to risk angering Dona, Rune shook his head. Any little thing could remind Riven of what happened last night.
The least you could do is wave back to her. Runefor said in exasperation. Surely there's no harm in THAT!
Rune blinked in surprise. He cast his gaze at Riven, who giggled again. Rune felt a strange urge to lift his forepaw to wave back. The dragonling squeaked and waved back, only to be scolded again by Dona. The dragoness then glared at Rune, who immediately put his paw down and sighed.
There, now as that so hard? Runefor scoffed. We just made the kid's day.
Since when are you concerned with making Riven happy? Rune tapped his talon on the tablecloth.
She's FAMILY, you know. Runefor snorted again. And you'll be spending more time with her now that she's heading to Glenhaven with you. Plus, she's a white dragoness.
So what?
So what?! You're the one who brought up what happened last night! You don't that's going to just be one isolated incident, do you?! There could be more of those shifty jackasses, lurking anywhere and anywhere! But we have all the power necessary to protect Riven.
We didn't do a very good job last night… Rune sighed. She nearly…
Don't think like that! Runefor snapped. Don't be sorry: be BETTER! Hone your skills, and be ready to help the next time those MONSTERS show up! And besides… Riven looks up to us. We need to open up around her more.
She looks up to ME. Rune gave a little glare. She doesn't know you exist. And hopefully, she'll never find out.
Well, now you're just being an arse. Runefor grumbled.
"Say, Prince Rune…" Tintreon spoke up. Rune lifted his head to focus on the lightning king as he leaned back in his cushion. "Might I have a moment of your time?"
"Uh, sure, I guess." Rune nodded as he sat up. "What can I do for you, King Tintreon?"
"I was just wondering how your studies have been going." The king nodded. "When we spoke last time, you mentioned something about preparing to become a scholar."
"Oh… oh, yeah." Rune perked up a bit. "It's going to be a long time before I become king, right? So, I figured, why not continue doing what I was doing when I was younger, and learn about the history of the dragon realms?"
Rune felt his spirit lift as he described everything he'd learned in the last six months. He'd learned about Avalar, the jungle, the Ancient Grove, the internal politics of the clans of Ignys, and the surrounding islands… Rune spoke so fast about them that even Tintreon had trouble keeping up. Rune hadn't felt this happy and excited for so long; he wished he could talk about his studies like this more often.
By the ancestors, make it stop… Runefor grumbled internally. Rune lightly flinched and tried to ignore him.
"Well, you're certainly well on your way to being a scholar." Tintreon laughed. "I can't wait to hear what stories you have to share for us when you're back in Crossbolt half a year from now."
As the lightning king gave a hearty laugh, Rune lightly laughed as well. "Well, uh, now that I've talked your ear frill off, it's only fair that I hear how Ember's been doing."
Tintreon raised an eye ridge, while Graham and Flagra cleared their throats. That's when Rune came to a startling realization; he hadn't seen nor heard the voice of the lightning king's niece all day.
"Say, where IS Ember?" Rune asked as he looked around.
"Ah, she was sent down south to Glenhaven some time ago," Graham said with a sigh. Flagra sighed as well and draped a wing over her husband's back.
"She was?" Rune asked curiously.
"We wanted to ensure that our dear Ember got the best training in the land, now that she was developing into a teenager." Tintreon declared. "And what better place for a young noble dragoness to learn, than in the home of the Southern Guardians?" Tintreon flapped his wings eagerly. "You might just even share a classroom or two with her, Your Highness."
"Ah, I see…" Rune gave a slight nod. "Well then, it'll be nice to see her again once I get to Glenhaven."
"Sounds like you're in for a fun time, then." Tintreon declared. "Here's hoping that the two of you enjoy your time studying together. I've been hoping to have my niece start interacting with the heirs of the other kingdoms once she reached a proper age." He clasped his forepaws together and sighed. "It took me ages to convince Graham that it was a good idea to put Ember in the care of the Guardians. Ancestors know she's been a bit behind on her studies."
"Oh, please don't start that again…" Flagra sighed. "Not at the feast. You promised, Tintreon."
"I know, I know…" The lightning king snorted. "Well, anyway… I hope you have a swell time tonight, Prince Rune!"
"I… I'm sure I will." Rune smiled awkwardly. He leaned back in his seat and tried to focus on his meal. But no matter how much he tried, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
~~…~~
After heading out through the front gate of the palace, Blankridge joined up with his sister and mother; he'd been waiting there under the watchful eyes of Jules the entire time. He hadn't caused any trouble since the airship shenanigans, but Seraph still glared at him just as much as she did at her daughter.
When Seraph, Nellie, and Blankridge returned home, the adult dragoness finally broke her silence. As she closed and locked the door, a thunderous roar erupted from her maw. She then turned on her heels and glared into her daughter's eyes; Nellie could feel frost forming on her shoulders.
"Of all the things for you to do, Nellie…." Seraph said. "You started a fight?!"
"Um…" Nellie stammered. Blankridge stepped up and draped a wing over her back for support.
"What were you thinking, Nellie?!" Seraph demanded.
Nellie shrank back a bit. "Mom… I didn't mean to… It was just…"
"Save it, young lady!" Seraph snapped. "It was bad enough when your brother nearly gave the Elders kittens when he flew an airship into the palace airspace!"
"Hey…" Blankridge grumbled. Seraph shot him a snarl, which made the orange drake clamp his jaws shut. The adult dragoness then returned her glare to her daughter.
"Now, I find out that you've picked a fight with Roxanne?!"
"I… uh…" Nellie fidgeted her talons awkwardly. Nothing she could think of could diffuse the situation. All the dragoness could do was shiver in place as her mother grilled into her.
"Can't you go easy on her, Mom?" Blankridge asked.
"Go easy on her?!" Seraph repeated incredulously. "I just got done writing a letter to your aunt about how proud I am of Nellie! How she's a star apprentice among the young dragons training to be Guardians!" Seraph ran a forepaw through her mane and tugged on the ends. "Now I look like a liar!"
Nellie sighed and looked down at her paws and drooped her wings onto the floor; how could she have let this happen?
"Why do you two have to start doing this now?!" Seraph demanded. "The Day of the Bonds is almost here! My sister Nymph is finally visiting us with her family! Haven't things been stressful enough?!" Seraph spun around to look at all the decorations she strung about the living room of the den. "I did all of this for the family! For you two! And now I feel like it's all been a waste of time!" She whirled back around and glared at the two of them.
"Why couldn't you two just BEHAVE?!" Seraph demanded. "How hard is it to NOT pick fights with other students?! How hard is it to NOT fly dangerous vehicles into the city limits?!"
"Th-those aren't exactly the same thing, Mom…" Blankridge said quietly. The glare he got from his mother made Blankridge cover his muzzle with a wing.
"You're sharing the same punishment!" Seraph yelled at her children. "Until I say different, both of you are grounded!"
Nellie flinched. "W-What?"
"No adventuring, no going to the library, no heading for the marketplace…" Seraph sucked in a deep breath. "I'm not even sure if you'll be allowed to attend the festival!"
"Mom, we're eighteen," Blankridge said with the slightest bit of bravado. "You can't tell us where we can and can't go when… when…"
Seraph was the angriest that she'd ever been. She raised her head high and bore down into his eyes; Blankridge shrank back and shivered from head to tail tip.
"If you want to keep living here…" The dragoness gave a snarl. "If you want warm food, and a roof over your heads, instead of living out on the street… then you will DO AS I SAY!"
Blankridge stammered in place and shut his muzzle for the third time. Nellie, meanwhile, was heartbroken. In just a single day, Nellie had gone from a proud and respected student to a shameful daughter. Her eyes teared up, and she couldn't say a word. Seeing the state she was in, Blankridge pulled her closer to his side and did his best to comfort her. Seraph took the deepest, longest breath she could and slowly exhaled to steady herself.
"I want both of you to go to your rooms and stay there until dinner is ready." Seraph pointed down the hallway. "And you can both be most assured that I'll be telling your father all about your shenanigans when he gets home from Warfang."
Blankridge and Nellie quietly made their way down the hall with their heads down low. Tears fell down Nellie's face; it just wasn't fair.
~~…~~
It was quite late at night. Nellie lay on her mattress, unable to sleep.
She couldn't believe that she'd gotten herself into such a mess. Her mother was furious with her. She was in danger of missing out on the Day of the Bonds. And worst of all, she had to fight Roxanne in the arena.
Nellie grumbled as she looked herself over. As much as she wanted to teach that yellow-hided menace a lesson, Nellie never considered herself much of a fighter. Sure she was trained pretty well in her years enrolled in the Guardianship program at the school, but Nellie always preferred to fight defensively. Meanwhile, Roxanne prided herself on her physical combat; she'd risen through the ranks quite far over the last four years.
Nellie sat up in bed and snorted in frustration. The words she'd said to Roxanne in the hallway replayed in her mind. At the time, they felt as genuine as could be. Roxanne should have just accepted that Rune didn't love her the same way she loved him. And he wasn't obligated to give himself to her; she was always so pushy.
And to think there was a time when Nellie and Roxanne were friends. Rox greatly enjoyed Nellie's artwork and wanted to be like her. Nellie used to encourage Roxanne to keep practicing so she could become just as good as her.
I guess she never even tried… Nellie sighed. That explains why her drawing was so awful.
Nellie didn't have anything left to lose at this point. She could never bring herself to apologize to Roxanne for any of her antagonism; not after the years of abuse, Roxanne had leveled at her. Nor did Nellie think that her mother would just suddenly forgive her overnight. No… at this point, all she could do was try to win the fight. At the very least it would feel good for a few moments.
I'll beat you, Roxanne. Nellie thought with a growl. I swear to the ancestors… I'll beat you!
As Nellie drifted off to sleep, she imagined Rune watching the fight, cheering Nellie on as she put Roxanne in her place. After Nellie succeeded, Rune ran up and hugged her, while Roxanne walked off crying, her two stooges following suit. Nellie smiled.
Rune….
~~…~~
It was a bit later on after the feast. Most of Tintreon's guests had stood up to take off for other parts of Crossbolt. Rune was quite tired, and Hontus was halfway to passing out, so Tintreon had his guards escort the two off to some of the guest bedrooms in the east wing of the palace.
"Good night, Your Highness," Hontus said with a thick yawn. "Thank you again for the feast."
"You're most welcome." Tintreon gave a warm smile. "Enjoy your rest, you two."
"Oh, we will…" Rune yawned as well and moved with a sluggish gait; perhaps he'd eaten a bit too much of the food.
As Hontus and Rune were leaving, Voden wiped off his spectacles with a napkin. He looked around at Dona's back; Riven had fallen asleep and was lightly snoring. On a whim, Voden lightly scooped up his daughter and shifted to place her atop his own back.
"I'll take her to a guest bedroom, love," Voden said as he nuzzled Dona's cheek. The shadowy dragoness shut her eyes and sighed in contentment.
"It's just as well…" She said with a whisper. "I need to speak with Tintreon for a moment about… well, you know."
"Mhm…" Voden carefully stepped back from her. "Well, good luck speaking to him, Dona. I'll keep the bed warm for you."
"Hmm… you be sure of that." Dona leaned over to nuzzle the side of Voden's cheek. "Just make sure that you don't up and pass out waiting for me: odds are it'll take me all night."
Voden gave a soft laugh. He returned the nuzzle before carrying on to take Riven to bed. Once he was out of the room, Dona turned to focus her attention on Tintreon. The lightning king had yet to move from his spot. He was speaking under his breath with Graham and Flagra; the trio seemed almost on the verge of a disagreement of some sort. And it was clear on Tintreon's face that he was close to losing.
Perhaps if I save his scales, he'll take the time to lend me his ear frill, Dona decided. She stood up proudly and marched his way over toward the king.
"…And it'll be years before she's the proper age." Graham declared. "So there's no point in trying for an arranged marriage for a princess so young."
"Nobles used to arrange marriages before eggs were even hatched," Tintreon said with an awkward nod.
"Yeah, and that always went so well." Flagra snapped. "Stop trying to plan our daughter's future without our consent, Tintreon!"
"I'm not going that far." The lightning king insisted. "If you would just take the time to consider how-"
Dona gave the loudest cough she could to get the trio's attention. She then put on a delighted smile and bowed toward the lightning king. "Excuse me, King Tintreon…"
Tintreon abruptly stopped, and he turned around curiously. Graham and Flagra looked around either side of the lightning king as Dona came to a short stop before him.
"Ah, Queen Dona." Tintreon gave a slight bow of his head. "What, erm… what may I do for you?"
"Oh, there's a lot you could do for me." Dona continued. She reached into her robes and retrieved her scroll of blueprints. "Like give this a read, for instance."
Tintreon had a look of confusion as he took the scrolls. He placed them down on the table and unrolled them to give them an examination. Graham and Flagra were quick to join in on giving the blueprints a look over.
"Hmm… rather fascinating stuff you've got written out here," Tintreon said. "But, uh… what is it?"
"It's a set of schematics for building a floating city!" Dona declared. "It's similar to the designs used to build The Hive: the original hiding place of the dark dragons after the Twilight War."
"Uh-huh…" Graham blinked as he looked at it again. "Nice."
Dona held back a flinch as she held her proud smile. "I was hoping that we could negotiate. See, I need the workers to construct a new city, as well as find access to the technology to improve on things here and there."
Tintreon blinked a few times. He looked at the blueprints, then back at Dona. "You… You want to commission me to build an entire city?"
"I understand it would take a long time to complete it… but the short version is yes." Dona said with a nod.
"I see…" Tintreon looked them over again. "Did you… have a time frame for this project?"
"I've been crunching the numbers, and I believe it could be done in three years." Dona smiled.
"Ohhhhkay…" Tintreon grimaced. "And… do you have the means of paying for this?"
Dona's eye twitched. "Well… I don't have a wealth of funds at the moment, but…"
"So, you don't have any money NOW," Graham said. "So you can't pay for anything right this moment."
"Uh… n-not quite, no…" Dona grimaced.
"Do you even have your line of dragons willing to work on the construction?" Flagra asked. "It could at least be a joint project between kingdoms."
"I… I don't have any of my own… uh, workers."
Graham and Flagra became more and more skeptical and incredulous of Dona as they looked at her. It didn't take the shadowy dragoness long to guess that they were going to almost immediately tell Tintreon to make her leave. But, the lightning king gave a soft sigh and held a frown as he looked at her.
"Listen, Queen Dona… It's not like I'm against new ventures and projects." Tintreon lightly slid the blueprints across the table and before the shadowy dragoness. "But it seems like you have just about nothing to offer up in exchange for the work. No funds, no workers… not even an incentive on our power. And this floating city of yours seems like it would be the biggest project of our lives. It would destroy Crossbolt's economy to try and construct this city all out of our own pockets."
"I…" Dona stammered. "I won't be on my own forever. It won't be long before I have followers and funds to spare!"
"How nice," Flagra said with a hint of sarcasm. "And just where are they coming from?"
"Err…" Dona bit her lower lip. That seemed more than enough to convince Flagra to tilt her snout in the air.
"Queen Dona, I'm afraid I have to decline," Tintreon said. "Maybe things will change in the future. But for now, this seems like a fool's errand for both of us. Have a nice evening, Your Grace."
"I…" Dona picked up her scroll and rumbled in her throat. Her mind raced to come up with the right thing to say to turn things in her favor. "I… it won't take long to… I'll have… um…"
"Have a nice evening, Queen Dona," Tintreon said with a slight glare.
~~…~~
Dona stepped out into the hallway in a huff. All of that effort, all of that time spent practicing her pitch meeting… and it was all for naught. She had to restrain herself from tearing the nearest tapestries apart in her anger.
Stupid overblown blowhard of a dragon! She thought with a hiss. Would it have killed him to have even humored me a little?!
The longer Dona walked… the more she felt a choking sensation in her throat. Her eyes were welling with tears. It couldn't have ended like this. There had to be a way of making her dream a reality. She didn't want to just up and give up on Shadowgrad. There had to be someone out there who was willing to help her build a new home.
Maybe someone who is just as scorned as I was… she thought with a scowl.
"Excuse me…" A voice said from behind. "Lady Dona?"
Dona flinched as she came to a stop. Lady Dona? That was a new one. She slowly turned around to see who it was… and was surprised to see a red dragon in nomadic robes standing on the other side of the hallway. His face was obscured behind a shadow, and he tapped the floor nervously. He cast a glance over his shoulder as if worried that someone might be listening in.
"And just who are YOU supposed to be?" Dona demanded.
"Someone with urgent news to send off to Warfang." The nomadic drake answered. "I wasn't able to get to you earlier during the feast, but I really need to talk to you."
Dona snorted in annoyance. She called upon her shadowy magic, just in case there was some trouble about to go down. She very carefully approached the stranger with suspicion.
"Get out of the shadows." She ordered. "If you want to talk, then talk where I can see you."
The dragon sighed and cautiously stepped forward. He pulled back his hood, revealing his rugged face. And as the stranger looked upon Dona with a frown, her eyes lit up.
"You…" She said with a sneer.
"Me?" He repeated curiously.
Dona's mind was flooded over with a snarl of memories of years past. Immediately she scowled as anger built up in her throat.
"Whatever it is you have to say, I don't care." She turned around to walk off down the hallway. "Leave me alone."
"Wh-What?!" The dragon exclaimed. He stepped forward to follow Dona. "Lady Dona, wait! It's imperative that you-"
Dona whirled around and snarled ferociously at the drake, who gasped and fell back a bit. A shadowy aura surrounded her scales as her talons scraped the ground.
"First of all, it's QUEEN Dona!" She bellowed. "Second of all, I've had my fair share of dragons that hide their true faces behind shrouds of darkness! And lastly, you're the last drake I've wanted to speak to, ever since you vanished into the aether, seemingly never to return!"
"I've had my reasons…" The dragon insisted. "But that's beside the issue. I need to tell you about Elenar's daughter. She-"
"I don't care," Dona said abruptly.
The drake balked. "What? But… But isn't Elenar-?"
"The location of Elenar's first offspring is none of my concern!" Dona declared. "And even if it was, I wouldn't want to hear so much as a whisper from a cretin like you! Now, do what you're good at, and stay out of my life!"
The drake was left stunned into silence as Dona whirled around and marched her way down the corridor. The shadowy dragoness didn't look back as she turned a corner and made her way toward the east wing. She could hear the drake sighing in defeat before he turned to walk in the other direction.
For a brief moment, Dona began to wonder what that drake had been doing all this time. Those nomadic robes he had on… clearly, he was a world traveler now. Dona snorted as her anger returned. He was supposed to live with the others in The Hive, but just up and left, well before the city was destroyed.
He should have been there: he should have helped his fellow dark dragons. Dona scowled. Filthy deserter.
~~…~~
Greetings, friends, and loved ones.
Not much needed changing this time. Again, scenes are pretty much the same, outside of keeping continuity with changes from the last chapter.
As for the content of the chapter… Nellie and Roxanne were always going to get into a fight. But I've felt like Nellie should have some dirt to sling at Roxanne this time around, instead of it being one-sided in Roxanne's favor. And I think it works, considering how hurt Roxanne was at the end of Rising Fears. But alas, she just couldn't let it go, and it made her bitter in her late teens. Oh well.
See you next time!
Tenebra ecce Veritas