It was as if Cobra had never been in a fight. Even the scales that had been torn off his neck had grown back. “How is that possible?” Ash shouted, eyes wild with surprise and shock, as he lashed his tail. His tail crashed into the table, sending it sliding across the wooden floor, along with smacking into Tornado. Flutter and Thyme leapt out of the way of the run away table and crashed into each other.    

    Emerald stepped backwards and bumped into Velarune, who held his talons against her back to keep her steady. Tornado growled, rubbing his thigh, as all of the dragons twisted their heads to stare at Ash. His ears flattened as he muttered, “Sorry.” Velarune snorted, looking back at the emerald that was still in the Queen's talons. They were all silent, trying to comprehend what they were looking at.

    Emerald stared, noticing the other dragons that were around Cobra. They were the exact ones from her dream.

    ‘What does this mean?’ she asked herself as she lowered the stone back to her chest. Tornado sucked in a breath, drawing the attention of the group. They watched as he frowned and flicked his tail.

    “What… What if it was Pastel’s animus powers…?” he whispered harshly, eyes flickering to Velarune. The RainWing’s head lifted, his eyes lighting with realization. Emerald turned to look at him, eyebrows furrowing.

    “Is that possible?” she hissed, fear striking her heart. Even if they fought the group, and did some serious damage to the ones who didn't have powers, Pastel could easily just heal the wounds without a problem. It was bad enough that the ex King had venom and could disappear into his surroundings. Especially since he didn't seem to care about the aftermath of his powers. The Prince slowly nodded, his eyes meeting hers.

    “Yes, it is,” he murmured, tapping his talons on the wooden planks beneath him. Ash growled, his own claws scratching the floor, leaving white marks on the planks. 

    “Why don’t we just send the other Queens a letter that explains what is happening?” The Sea-IceWing began pacing, his wings fluttering, with what Emerald thought was anxiety. “Then, we could send all of the letters that deal with each dragon tribe, without having to risk ourselves.” The Queen thought it over, but shook her head.

    “That wouldn’t work. Why would they believe us, for one, when only the RainWings know about the Hybrid Kingdom? For two, we don’t even know for sure where the NightWings even are. I can almost guarantee that the NightWing of The Kings knows, or else Dion wouldn’t have accepted him.” Tail twitching, Emerald turned to look out the window. They fell silent, watching her with mixed expressions.

    “Even if we did send out letters, Cobra would still be after them." Turning to Ash, she shook her head. "They'd still be after me, especially Cobra. We have no other choice. This is our best bet. And that’s final.” 

    Silence greeted her words as the guard tried to stare her down. Several minutes had passed when he let his head lower and he stalked out of the room. Emerald watched him leave, her heart tearing in two, as she heaved a soft sigh. Thyme and Flutter whispered to each other as they watched the HybridWings. Velarune dipped his head to the Queen, his eyes soft.

    “We should rest now,” he suggested, and slowly, she nodded in agreement. Picking the diary up off the table, Emerald stuffed it back into her bag as the Prince led the other three out of the room. She hurried after them to find Ash laying on the floor, facing the door that led outside. Tornado had strolled up to his fellow guard and laid down beside him, watching the doorway. The RainWing heirs settled into the hammocks that were in the room. Hesitating, the black dragoness glanced at the hammocks, then her guards. 

    After a few contemplative moments, she walked over to Ash’s other side and lay beside him, resting her head on his shoulder. He made a low grumbling sound, then pressed his head against hers. A small smile crossed her face as she let her eyes close.

~*~

    Emerald, her guards, and the RainWings exited the Queen's hut, striding along the wooden platform. The two Princesses were chattering away with Tornado, while Velarune and Ash flanked Emerald’s sides. They rounded the bend and reached a wooden bridge that led them to another platform. The Queen hesitated, watching as Velarune and the others continued across the wooden planks. She took one step forward and onto the bridge. It swung lightly under her weight, causing anxiety to flutter in her belly. 

    Would it really hold her? Heart hammering, she thought of all the bad things that could happen if it couldn't. Had she always been this anxious? Or was she just realizing it? 'Stop it,' Emerald scolded herself. 'You faced a murderer by yourself. 

    'You can cross a silly little bridge. You have wings, for the moon's sake!' Despite these thoughts, she found she couldn't move. It was as if she had been rooted to the spot. She stared downward, now realizing how high up from the ground they were. 

    "Emerald?" Ash's shout made her look up, then she jolted backwards as the bridge began to jump and bounce. The bulky dragon was racing down the planks, sending the bridge jumping in his wake. He scrambled to a stop in front of her, breathing heavily, as he asked, "Hey, you okay? What's wrong?" Emerald eyed him, smiling in amusement. 

    "Yeah, I'm okay," she murmured, her heart jumping into her throat, hoping he believed her. 'I can't tell him the truth. What kind of dragon is afraid of heights, but can fight a SandWing three times their size?' She tried to convince herself. Ash suddenly waved his talons in her face. 

    "Hey! Are you even listening to me?" He huffed annoyedly. Emerald shook herself, nodding. 

    "Y-yeah! Sorry, I was distracted," she told him. He glared at her, snorting. 

    "Being distracted isn't listening," Ash pointed out, staring her down. She couldn't help herself. She smiled and flicked him with her tail.

    "Okay, you're right. I'm sorry," she apologized, patting his head. "Now, come on, we need to get going." Once again, Emerald stepped onto the bridge. 'Don't look down, don't look down, don't look down,' she thought over and over as she forced herself to walk. Ash snorted as he watched her walk away. 

    "You were the one who was lagging behind!" He jumped onto the bridge and bounded up beside her, sending the bridge jumping. Emerald squealed, crouching, as she dug her talons into the wooden planks. Ash stopped beside her, his head tilted. She looked up at him, her emerald eyes wild with terror. It seemed to finally click in his mind. 

    "Are you scared of crossing the bridge?" He hissed, his eyes staring at her. She felt resentment and embarrassment fill her belly and she forced herself to stand up. 

    "No, I'm not," she growled as she began to stalk across the bridge. He watched her before following, grunting angrily. As they reached the next wooden platform, where the others were impatiently waiting, a dark gray and dark red RainWing rushed around the corner of one of the huts. His arms were full of scrolls and a bag hung on his right side, full of more. He hurried past the group, causing the Queen to pause. She stared hard after the RainWing as he ran past. 

    He must have felt something off, because he stopped in his rush, looking around. When he turned to look behind him, his eyes landed on her, making them grow wide in surprise.

    “Princess Emerald?” He yelped, dropping the scrolls. Ash tilted his head and eyed the Queen confusedly as she stepped towards the older dragon.

    “Widow!” she started, smiling. “It’s been a long time!” Widow nodded in agreement as he walked over to her.

    “Yes, it has been! But, what are you doing here?” he asked, frowning. Hesitating, Emerald glanced back at the guards and royal RainWings. Ash was about to step towards her, but Velarune had swept past him to join the black dragoness.

    “She’s here for business, is all. We’re leaving for the Kingdom of the Sea now,” he explained briskly to the darkly colored dragon. Widow nodded slowly, eyeing Emerald closely. 

    “Hmm, alright. Well, it was nice to see you again, Princess Emerald,” the dark gray male murmured. She dipped her head to him.

    “You too, Widow,” she hummed, watching as he picked up his scrolls and raced off. Turning to Velarune, she spoke, “Thank you. I, uh, wasn’t sure what to say.” She shuffled her talons, slightly embarrassed. The Prince just smiled at her. 

    “Of course. Now, come on. We need to be off soon.” He began to lead the way along the platform, glancing back at Emerald. "Especially after your lollygagging," he teased her. She snorted as she followed him, the others trailing behind them. Ash walked up beside Emerald, but he stayed quiet as they strolled along.

    The group made their way through the town, crossing more bridges that Emerald managed to walk across in a more dignified manner than she did on the first bridge. It hadn't taken them much longer to reach the edge of the town. Velarune stopped at the end of the lift off platform, turning to face the group. “You guys ready?” he asked. Emerald dipped her head, stepping up beside him, as the others nodded. The Prince stepped back, allowing her to take the front. 

    She unfurled her wings, readying herself to jump. The black dragoness stopped, her ears swiveling to listen behind her.

    “H-hey! Wait!” A high pitched voice squealed. Turning her head, Emerald spotted a dark blue and pink dragonet racing after them. The others also turned, murmuring in surprise, as the dragonet stopped in front of the older dragons. They all stared, waiting for her to speak. She looked surprised, as if she wasn’t expecting that to have happened. “Uh… Um, w-where are you going?” 

    She stuttered, suddenly nervous. Blinking, Emerald shared a look with Velarune, who shrugged. Stepping towards the dragonet, she lowered her head to be level with her.

    “We’re leaving for a business trip,” she lied, hoping it would deter the dragonet from asking any more questions. The dragonet’s ears perked up as she stared up at the Queen.

    “O-oh! Can I go with you?” The dragonet asked, her tail flicking. Emerald stepped backwards, unsure of what to say. What dragonet wanted to go on a business trip? Tornado joined her, head tilted.

    “Did you ask your parents?” he asked sternly, snorting a plume of smoke. The RainWing’s head drooped and she hunched in on herself.

    “I don’t have parents…” she muttered bitterly. Tornado visibly flinched, causing Emerald to nudge his wing with hers. He glanced at her, then looked back at the dragonet.

    “Well, you have to be taken care of by someone. So who are you staying with?” he countered gently. She snorted, her tail lashing. 

    “His name is Toucan,” she grumbled. “But he never does anything fun with me. He just sends me to school while he works.” Silence greeted her words. 

    “Why don’t you ask him to do fun things with you?” Ash had spoken as he walked over to the dragonet. She blinked as she looked up at the Sea-IceWing.

    “Uh…” She seemed to be at a loss for words as she thought it over. Ash chuckled softly as he carefully nudged her. 

    “Ask him next time, instead of asking random dragons. For all you know, we could have taken you and never brought you back,” he gently chided her. She grunted, watching them all with uncertain eyes. After some time, feeling satisfied that they had dealt with the situation properly, Emerald turned and wandered back to the edge. Flicking her tail, she leapt into the afternoon sky. Behind the black dragoness, the others leapt after her and followed Emerald higher into the sky. 

    On the wooden platform, the dragonet looked over her shoulder. After hesitating for several minutes, she let her scales switch colors. Now blending in with her surroundings, she jumped and flew after the royal group. 

~*~

    The sun had floated well past its peak when the group landed at the very edge of the rainforest. To their left, were the vast swamps and marshes of the Mud Kingdom. To their right, was the swath of open meadows that belonged to no tribe. Right beside them, on their left side, was a long, windy river that led to the sea. Emerald slowly observed the open landscapes, unsure of how to feel. A flicking of blue made her twist around. 

    Ash was staring into the trees, his body completely pulled forward, as if someone was trying to drag him by his snout. She opened her jaws to speak when he suddenly growled, “Did you guys hear that?” The other four paused in their own observations to look at Ash, then at the trees. 

    “Hear what?” Flutter questioned after several minutes. Ash shook his head slowly, keeping his eyes glued to the forest. 

    “It sounds like something snapping twigs,” he hissed after a few moments. Emerald glanced back at Tornado, and padded up beside Ash. She pricked her ears, straining to listen above the river’s roar. 

    “What is she doing?” Thyme asked, making Tornado shush her. 

    "She’s trying to listen,” he whispered to the confused Princess. After a few moments of silence, Emerald heard it. The snapping was soft and rhythmic, like a dragon trying to be quiet. Nodding slowly, she murmured, 

    “I hear it. Someone is definitely following us.” Ash grunted, tail lashing. The others shared worried glances as Emerald stepped towards the forest, eyes narrowed. The snapping had stopped, and in its place she could hear rustling. Walking forward, her eyes suddenly caught something.

    Bright orange eyes were staring at her. The dragoness recognized them immediately. 

    “What do you think you’re doing?” She suddenly boomed, making the dragonet’s scales swarm with white. The others watched in bemusement as the dragonet’s colors melted back over her scales. The small RainWing sat there, shocked, as the Queen glared down at her. "Why in the world did you follow us?" The hybrid growled, her lips twitching in raw annoyance. 

    The dragonet huffed, her tail lashing.

    "It’s only a business trip! And there’s six of you! You can easily watch me!" She spat back in response. Wisps of smoke swirled from Emerald’s nostrils.

    "Do you know how dangerous it is to follow a group of strangers?" Snarling, she hoped to scare the dragonet from following them any farther. The dragonet flinched and sat on the ground, shoulders hunched. Gently, Ash pulled Emerald away from her. They shared a look before he wandered up to the young RainWing.

    “What’s your name?” he prompted, doing his best to sound friendly and reassuring. The dragonet glanced at him before mumbling,

    “Fizz.” He nodded, smiling slightly.

    “Well, Fizz, I understand why you followed us all the way out here,” he started, which made her look up at him. “It’s not fun when you do nothing all day, and I know you want to go do fun things. But following random dragons isn’t going to help you. All it’s going to do is cause problems.” Ash paused, waited for her to nod, then continued. “See, for all you know, we could snatch you up, right here and now. 

    “Then we could sell you to some other dragons. After that, we wouldn’t know what would happen to you. And neither would Toucan. None of the dragons in your town would have any idea what happened to you,” he tried to explain. “Do you understand?” Fizz hesitated for a few minutes before nodding slowly. 

    Ash nodded curtly. “Good. Now, you wait here,” he ordered. Ash turned to Emerald, who flicked her tail and led the older dragons over to the river. 

    “Now what do we do?” Emerald growled, tail lashing. For a moment, the group stayed silent. Then they all blurted out at once.

    “We could double back and drop her off,” Ash suggested.

    “One of us could take her back to the rain forest,” Flutter insisted.

    “We could just take her and maybe have Queen Star take her with them when she goes to the Hybrid Kingdom,” Thyme pointed out. 

    “If any of us double back, it would take too long,” Tornado growled. “I say just let her find her own way back.”

    "I think doubling back is a good idea,” Velarune agreed with Ash.

    Emerald stared at them all, surprised by the onslaught of words that had swarmed her at once. 

    "Okay, that wasn’t helpful…” she muttered. Getting an idea, she turned to the Sea-IceWing. “Ash, what are the pros and cons of doubling back and dropping her off?” She asked him, head tilting. He pursed his lips, tapping his talons on the ground, before responding.

    "Well, for pros, we can make sure she gets home safely without any trouble. But the cons are that we’ll be wasting time to have to take her back. Time that we could be using to continue to the Kingdom of the Sea,” he explained. Emerald nodded as she looked to Flutter. 

    "What are the pros and cons of only one of us taking her back?” she asked the Princess. 

    "Hmm,” she hummed. “Well, the pros would be that she gets home safely and the others can rest. The cons is we would still be wasting time, when we don’t have much to begin with.” Emerald turned to Thyme, who looked prepared.

    "For pros, we wouldn’t be wasting any time and we could make sure Fizz gets home safely. However, the cons are that not we have a dragonet to take care of until we get to Queen Star’s palace.” Thyme looked proud of herself as the Queen nodded. The black dragoness looked to Tornado, who shook his head. Velarune also shook his head, signaling that they didn’t have anything. With a grunt, Emerald addressed them all.

    "Let’s do a vote, then. All in favor of Ash’s plan, raise your talons,” she rumbled. No dragon, including Ash, raised their talons as they watched Emerald. “What about Flutter’s?” she asked. Again, no talons raised. “Now, how about Thyme’s plan?” 

    All talons went up, deciding the vote. Nodding curtly, Emerald stood up. “Alright, then it’s settled. Fizz will join us to the Kingdom of the Sea and she’ll return with Queen Star. All of you, get some rest. I’ll go tell her,” she finalized. 

    The older dragons dipped their heads and began to settle down as Emerald stalked over to Fizz. The dragonet’s ears were drooped as she watched the Queen.

    "You’re going to send me back home, aren’t you?” she whimpered, eyes glittering. The older dragoness shook her head. 

    "Not quite. You’re going with us to the Kingdom of the Sea. However, you will be returning home with Queen Star,” she explained. Fizz perked up immediately, her eyes bright. 

    "So… I’ll still get to do some exploring?” she asked excitedly. Emerald couldn’t help herself and let out a huffing laugh.

    "Yes, you will. Now, come on. We’re resting for as long as we can,” she rumbled. Turning, the black dragon wandered back to the others, Fizz trotting excitedly after her. Ash was in the river, presumably enjoying the coolness of the water, while Tornado and Flutter were lazily chatting. Velarune and Thyme had laid down in a thick swath of grass, already fast asleep. 

    Fizz settled down beside the river, watching as it smoothly flowed by. Emerald wandered around the other dragons, checking that they were okay. Once she was satisfied with her investigation, she slipped her bag off her shoulders and left it beside Tornado. She was almost instantly hit with exhaustion as she padded up to the river, her wings heavy and feeling numb. Without a second thought, she slid into the river. The coolness of the water knocked into her like a giant wave, immediately making her feel better.

    Her black scales began to cool immensely, allowing her to relax under the water as she closed her eyes. Emerald stayed where she was for many minutes before opening her eyes. She swam to the bottom of the river, where the dark dragoness laid down and gazed around her. The emerald green eyes searched the ripples until that all too familiar blue form stalked up next to her. Ash flashed his scales at her, grinning. 

   ‘Are you hot stuff?’ He had asked her in Aquatic. She laughed, making bubbles leave her mouth.

    ‘Maybe. I don’t know just yet,’ she flashed back, giving him a teasing look. He snorted and bumped her shoulder with his snout. They relaxed, leaning against each other, and stayed underwater for a long time. When Emerald saw the sky growing darker, she stood and flicked Ash with her tail. He didn’t move, and upon further observation, she found that he had fallen asleep. With a small smile, she turned and swam back to the surface. 

    Climbing onto the river bank, Emerald shook herself, sending water droplets splashing all around her. When she felt dry enough, she walked over to Tornado and shuffled through her bag. She pulled out a handkerchief, which she used to dry off her talons, then she opened the main compartment and brought out her Mother’s diary. She flicked it open and began to read.

"Year 1: Section 1: Day 2

    Well, the gang left today. I wish they didn't have to go, but I know they all have lives to live.

    Smokemist's daughter, Aurora, has been missing. I offered for her to use the Vision Seeker, but she refused. She said that she might know where her daughter went. I can only hope that she's right. 

    I bet she's worried sick, even if she won't admit to it. When Droplet found out, she began to get anxious about her son, Velarune. 

    He's three years old, but he'll be turning four in the winter. Normally, Droplet and Pastel would bring him with them, but he was sick, so they left him with the royal egg caretaker. 

    Honestly, it makes me paranoid for both of them. Huh. I never realized how worried I get about dragonets being taken, now. 

    I guess that's what happens when you go through something traumatic… 

    Well, I don't have much to write about for today. I'll definitely write more tomorrow.

Sincerely,
Quartz."

    Emerald turned to the next page, curiosity making her keep reading.

"Year 1: Section 1: Day 3

    I always wonder how it happened. Or why it even happened. I mean, five dragonets, all snatched from a guarded room.

    Not at once, mind you, but it still happened. They were ripped away from us. And now we don't even know what happened to them.

    For all I know, they're still alive, waiting for us to find them. 

    A month ago, I thought I had heard T's voice. I remember frantically running around the palace, only for Obsidian to stop me. He told me to go to our room, that he was gone. And there was nothing either of us could have done about it. 

    I remember just sobbing and sobbing. He never once came to comfort me. 

    But Ignite did! He had helped me calm down and took me for a walk around Sapphire Lake. It was so beautiful. The sunset. It was a vibrant splash of purples and yellows and oranges and reds. It was gorgeous. And Ignite looked so relaxed. 

    Even since T went missing, he seemed to have grown harder. Especially after the others were taken. He doesn't smile as often and I see him shy away from so many other dragons. I think he's worried about getting attached. That if he does fall in love, he'd be worried about his dragonets being taken. 

    Willow thinks he already has an eye on a dragon, but doesn't want to say anything. I tried asking him about it, but he denied it. He seemed so flustered about it. It was kind of cute, to be honest. 

    He's definitely my best friend. And I don't want anyone else to be my best friend. Maybe one day I can make him my head guard. Then we wouldn't have to work so far away from each other. 

    But even then, at least I have Obsidian. I love him so much. And I know that he loves me, even if he doesn't say it often.

    I better go now.

Sincerely,
Quartz."

    The black dragoness paused, filtering through her thoughts. 'Who's T? And why was Mother so worried about him? And five dragonets were taken from the palace? How did that even happen?' She desperately wanted to read more, but she glanced up at the sky, she realized that there wasn’t time. Emerald sighed, lowering her head, and shoved the diary back into her bag. 

    Standing, she walked back to the river and slipped back into the rolling waves. She swam back to the bottom of the river and glided around Ash, who was still fast asleep. Emerald touched down on the river floor and roughly shook his shoulder. Slowly, he lifted his head to look up at the black dragoness. ‘Come on,’ she flashed her scales at him. ‘We need to leave.’ 

    He blinked and watched as she began to swim back to the bank. Ash soon followed and the pair of HybridWings broke through the water, paddling back to open ground. They climbed up the bank and shook off the water, sending droplets scattering on the ground. Strolling up to Tornado, Emerald shook him awake. “We need to get ready to leave. Can you wake up Flutter?” 

    She asked him. Nodding, the Sand-NightWing stood and stretched each of his legs as the Queen walked over to Velarune and Thyme. In turn, she shook each royal RainWing awake while Ash nudged Fizz awake. The dragonet unfurled herself from her ball, yawning loudly.

    "Nap time's over?” she mumbled as she rubbed her eyes with her talons. The Sea-IceWing smiled, amusement glittering in his blue eyes.

    "Yes, it is. I’m sorry, but we have to get going,” he murmured gently to her. She only nodded, clearly still exhausted. Groggily, the others began to stand up and stretched their limbs in the hope of waking themselves up. Flutter shook herself out before flapping her wings.

    "With all this flying, I might just become as fast as a SkyWing,” she joked, grinning shyly. Tornado let out a hearty laugh, flicking her with his tail.

    "I think all of us might,” he agreed teasingly as he joined Emerald. The Queen snorted in amusement as her eyes swept over all of them. 

    "Are we ready to go?” she asked, double checking that they were ready. All six heads nodded in agreement. Nodding curtly, Emerald leapt into the darkening sky, leading them towards the distant sea.

~●《☆》●~

Author's Note

Ooh

Who's Fizz?

Who are these five dragonets that Quartz is talking about?

What about T?

Leave your thoughts in the comments ^-^

For a word count, I got 4,509 words.
And just for some perspective. If I didn't edit this chapter, the word count would have been about 2,000 words. Editing can do a lot to bump up the numbers, especially if you go through it a couple of times.

Please feel free to vote if you enjoyed this chapter!
~Dragon