Flame has changed in the past year and a half.
He was much friendlier and more patient with others now.
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And he was willing to do things now. Things that were important.
Though he still had that nasty scar on his face.
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It was really part of him now.
And he embraced it.
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He had left the academy a while ago.
He was now a healer in the palace.
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He was still an apprentice but he was close to being intermediate in the craft.
If he could not heal his looks then he would heal others insead.
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He was sure his mother would be proud.
But today would bring something he did not expect.
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It was around the high morning point when a bustle of dragons came barging in.
He had just been sorting herbs, it scared him so badly he almost dropped some of them.
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It had to be quite terrible if they were bringing the poor dragon to the healing rooms right away. They were carrying a badly hurt Skywing, he looked half dead.
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There were others too, not just the one.
There were about five wounded.
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To mortaly.
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He promptly rushed over to see if there was anything he could do.
It was far worse than he expected it to be.
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It looked less bad from across the room.
The wounds were deep.
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He was bleeding red from his side like his scales.
It took him a moment to realize that it was Jasper.
He felt sick.
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Ruby's mate. The King of the Skywings.
A jolt of guilt ran through his body.
There was really nothing he could do about it.
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This was far beyond his skill level and expertise.
Jasper would be lucky to live to the next day.
What happened?! Who had done this?!
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It was a bit hard to keep his cool. He was shoved away so they could work on him. It was a really sad situation honestly. It would have been just better to put the poor dragon out of his misery.
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Another dragon came bursting in.
It was Ruby.
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She looked so shocked and tragic that he felt sorry for her.
She shoved them out of her way.
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She held her poor mate by the head.
" What Happened?!" she asked repeatedly.
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" W…We were ambushed." he said to her.
" It was…the humans…" he added in.
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It all made sense now.
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From what he could tell he was barely alive.
He bled out onto the sheets and floor.
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He grasped Ruby's hand weakly.
" R…Ruby….I….A…Am…So…Sorry…" He shivered.
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But according to her he had nothing to be sorry for.
She hugged him tightly while in tears.
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" Please…you don't have to be sorry for any of this!" she said to him.
It was true. This had not been his fault.
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She did not want to lose her mate or Cliff's " Daddy,"
Ruby looked like she would not know if she could live without him.
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Flame felt quite sorry for them.
If Jasper did survive he would have a big ugly scar like he did.
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" If…I don't survive…please take care of Cliff for me," He said weakly.
Ruby was now even more saddened.
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" Don't Say That!" she said.
" You will get through this! You have too!" she exclaimed.
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He was fading away, barely able to stay awake.
Jasper's grip on her hand loosened.
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She could not bear it any longer, so she went out of the room.
The healers gathered again to try and save his life.
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They put him to sleep with a nightshade flower.
Courtesy of the Poison Jungle.
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Flame could not bear to watch any longer either.
He followed her to see if she was ok.
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But she no longer had tears.
She had quickly regained her composure.
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Weirdly enough she was gathering some dragons from the halls.
They followed her.
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But she was not headed to a private area.
She was headed for the study.
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What could this entail?
Now he followed out of intrigue.
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He followed her and was surprised when she invited him over.
There were also a couple other dragons in there.
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" Flame, I need you to do something," Ruby said to him.
He perked up, would could this be? He was also surprised she remembered his name.
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" I need you to send a message," She stated.
She was writing something on a piece of paper.
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He was taken aback by her request. He was not a messenger nor a strong flier but he would do it if she asked.
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He nodded.
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" We are under attack," she said flatly to all of them.
" Tell Queen Coral we are under attack." she said to him.
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That sent a shiver up his spine.
" Attack…from who?" he asked.
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She sighed. " The humans are at our doorstep." she said.
" We can't fight them all, not a force that large." she added.
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" We…need her troops, " she said.
" I…I…Um…" He stammered.
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It was hard to talk to her as she was also trying to explain the situation to the others.
But he tried to stay patient and calm as he said he would be.
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She sighed. " I know this is a big ask but I know you can do it. If they are attacking dragons then we are in danger," she said to all of them.
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" I…I will do it." he said loyally. The others agreed.
She nodded.
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She hung close to him. She finished writing down a message with ink, waterproof just in case. She also handed out the messages to the other dragons.
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Doldrum would be going to the desert to see if he could find help from the Sandwings.
Arid to the Icewings. Snow to the swamps where the Mudwings were. And Amber to the Rainforest to see if just by chance the Nightwings or Rainwings might help.
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And Flame was to go to the Seawings.
His message had the most likely chance of getting anyone to come.
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She then bundled it up in a sheath and handed it to Flame.
The other dragons started to fly out from the balcony and to their places.
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" I need you to get this to her as quickly as you possibly can. " she stated.
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" I know you are not built for this but you are one the only ones around here at the moment who are not busy." she explained.
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He nodded.
Ruby hung the sheath around his neck fitly so it would not get lost.
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" Head down to the diamond river past the outlook, and then I want you to head to the summer palace." she said to him.
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" With luck she will be there." she said.
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She hoped she would be there.
And she hoped that she honored the pact between the two Kingdoms from so long ago.
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If she did not…they were doomed.