Chapter 122: The Upcoming Generation
Kipling zipped around Xinskarr, trying to dodge his blows. Battle training was one of the best ways to expel the pent of energy that resulted from being cooped up underground, and Winterstone thought it a good idea for Kipling to learn how to utilize his speed and agility in combat.
It also helped Kipling get his mind off of his friends. He had passed on a message to India, who was the biggest asset to the rebellion. Not only was the pantry of the Copper Lotus a secret entrance to the Underground, but India was positioned perfectly to discreetly pass on messages as most of the dragons of Windkeep Tower stopped in at least once a week.
Simon had warned that it would likely take a while to get a response, as Rori and Luster were known associates of his and would therefore not be very popular with Quartz and Banella, but Kipling couldn't help but miss them. He was worried, and he had never gone so long without them at his side. They were his support, his partners in crime, his team, and now he had to learn to live without them.
Kipling felt something sharp pierce his wing and he winced, almost falling from the sky. He felt blood well up, and he tried to keep his balance.
"You were distracted. I could have killed you there." Xinskarr said sharply. His eyes were fierce and merciless. The wildclaw was usually a tough trainer, but he seemed to lack even more patience this time.
"I'm sorry, I'll do better." Kipling vowed.
"You better. There are no second chances on the battle field. Every attack is a chance to lose something." Xinskarr was almost spitting with fury now, and he was stabbing the ground with a practice sword.
"Is- everything alright there buddy?" Kipling asked, lighting down on his shoulder and folding his wounded wing in protectively.
"Everything's fine. Everything's
amazing." Xinskarr growled. "It's just-" He sighed. "Xaiya's had a nest."
"Congratulations!" Kipling said, feeling a glow of warmth for his friend. Xaiya was training to be a therapist and had been a great friend and comfort to Xinskarr in his emotional recovery. She came to visit the Underground regularly to see Xinskarr, and Kipling always felt her presence bring a certain warmth and softness to the fierce wildclaw and the rest of the Underground. He had wondered if there was anything going on between the two of them, but felt it impolite to ask or assume.
"Yeah, it's just- the timing is wrong." Xinskarr sighed. "I'm happy of course! We talked about having hatchlings someday, but we were planning on after the war. You know, when everything settled down and we could be sure they would be safe. But now they are just one more thing for Quartz to take away from me. I don't know what I'm going to do if anything happens to them. I already love them so much, and I haven't even seen the eggs yet."
"How many?" A voice sounded on the other side of the training room, and Kipling turned to see Querida striding in, her gaze soft and sympathetic. Kipling wondered if he should leave, it was not often that she looked this vulnerable. In fact, the last time he saw this kind of look in her eyes was when she was comforting Xinskarr as a hatchling after his siblings murder. He, however, was frozen to the spot, and couldn't bring himself to leave.
"Three." Xinskarr sighed. "Xaiya's bringing them by later, we decided they'd be safer here, in the Underground. I mean, no one aboveground knows that we are a couple, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. I just don't feel like I can be a dad right now."
"We'll look out for them." Kipling promised. "We won't let anything happen to them!"
Querida met Kipling's gaze and she shook her head. Kipling lowered his head, he'd leave the comforting to Querida.
"Hatchlings rarely come at ideal moments, but I know when the time comes, you will do the best by them." Querida soothed. "They will make you stronger, braver and fiercer in battle because you are no longer fighting for the future, but
their future as well. I've been there, believe me. Quartz was hardly a good dragon to raise hatchlings with."
Xinskarr's gaze fixated on something that was not there at the mention of Quartz. Kipling could feel the wildclaw's muscles tense beneath his feet. Kipling wondered what he was thinking."
"Do I have regrets about how I chose to raise my children? Every day." Querida went on. "I wish I could have been there more for all three of them, or that I had sent Ruby away like her brothers, or that I didn't snap at Quartz and get imprisoned and miss my daughter's childhood. I wish I could have done something to save Runeclaw's life. But in the end, you can only do so much. I did everything I could, but sometimes there comes a point when children must take their own steps into the world. And yes, sometimes that's sooner than it should be, but you are a strong dragon, and I truly believe you will be a good father and have both the strength and the kindness to help those children thrive."
"Thank you." Xinskarr sighed, turning to meet Querida's gaze. "I'm just so scared, you know? I can't remember ever being this scared before."
"There's nothing more scary than having something so entirely dependent on you, but remember, you aren't in this alone." Querida said with a smile. "That's the whole point of being in a clan, you don't have to do anything alone. I know everyone in the Underground will be more than willing to love and care for those children. We will do our best to protect them and prepare them, because they are why we are fighting, so new generations of dragons don't have to grow up under Quartz and Banella's rule, so everyone can have the freedom to be who they are."
"Thank you." Xinskarr sniffed. Kipling turned to see a tear rolling down his cheek. Kipling hadn't seen the wildclaw cry since he was a hatchling. He used his tail to wipe the tear away.
"Thank you, both of you." Xinskarr said, scooping up Kipling and putting him down on the ground. "I'm doing better now. Do you want to keep sparring, Kipling?"
"Are you sure?" Kipling asked. "We can take a break if you need some time?"
Xinskarr shook his head. "No, I want to get at strong as I can before they arrive, so I can keep them safe."
"That's the spirit." Querida said, her usual sharp gleam reappearing in her eye. "I'll go see what I can arrange for a safe nesting spot."
Rubywing walked down the mansion corridor, trying not to drop the numerous scrolls under her arms. Windkeep Tower's inter-clan and inter-flight relations were on thin ice after Quartz took over, and Ruby was doing everything she could to maintain them.
It certainly didn't help that Quartz and his
wonderful new wife had moved into the mansion. Sure, they took over the royal suite for appearances sake, but Fenn and Elric's
quaint tendencies were too bland for
royal tastes and had linked a portal to the royal suite for work. It was bad enough that Quartz had her working for him without him and his brand new family taking over her workspace and making her feel like she was a kid under lock and key again.
It would be better if she had Rhowen in all of this. They could hide away and complain about their working conditions and try to come up with some sort of solution, but unfortunately her husband was out of commission and all Ruby could do was comply to Quartz's wishes and wait for the right gap.
Ruby was so deep in thought, she didn't notice the pattering of tiny claws against the marble floors coming up behind her until a pair of hatchlings rounded the corner and knocked her over, sending scrolls and papers flying.
"Topaz! Garnet!" Rubywing called after her half siblings. The two hatchlings skidded in their tracks and turned around.
"Sorry." Topaz said, not sounding sorry. Garnet stuck her tongue out at Rubywing, and the pair turned to run away.
Ruby sighed. These hatchlings were growing more entitled and rambunctious by the day. Banella spoiled them, and thought they could do no wrong, and both parents had impressed upon them that they were the most important dragons in Sornieth, destined for great things. Rubywing tried to be a softer force in their life, as Tess had been for her, but it was getting increasingly difficult as Banella has a strong mistrust of Quartz's eldest daughter and no doubt was passing that on to her children.
"Wait!" Ruby called again. "Where are you off to? You know your parents don't want you going down to the wine cellar."
"Do you have to spoil our fun?" Garnet huffed, turning her scowling green eyes towards Ruby.
"Please let us go! You'll be our favourite big sister!" Topaz pleaded.
"I'm your only big sister." Ruby reminded them.
And I might not even be that if Banella gets her way. She thought sadly.
"Exactly!" Topaz said with a smile, as if that explained his logic perfectly.
"I'm afraid that's not going to fly with me. You know the wine cellar is dangerous. You could get badly hurt." Ruby reminded them.
"You're no fun..." Garnet huffed. "We wanted to go on an adventure! We're tired of this mansion."
I know the feeling. Ruby thought to herself, and she felt pity for these hatchlings. Their childhoods may be more spoiled than hers was, but they didn't get to choose their destinies either. They were just as trapped as she was. "Why don't you go find your brother and I can show you a few secret passages you parents don't know about?" Ruby offered. She knew if Banella ever found out what she was doing, she'd be in big trouble, but what could she say? She was itching for an adventure too.
"We don't want to play with Sapphire." Garnet complained.
"Yeah, he's annoying." Topaz whined.
"Is that any way to talk about your brother?" Ruby scolded. "You're supposed to be looking out for each other, not teaming up against each other. You told him you were playing hide-and-seek again, weren't you?" Ruby guessed she had taken for granted the way she and her brothers had each other's backs. Perhaps if they had grown up together, things would have been different, especially considering the competition Quartz liked to impress on others.
"Maybe." Garnet said, giggling.
"Well, why don't we go find him. I'm not showing you both these secrets until I know he's okay." Ruby suggested.
"Fine..." Topaz said with a dramatic sigh. His tail and wings drooped until they were dragging on the floor. He was certainly picking up his mother's affinity for melodramatics.
Sapphire had grown tired of waiting for his siblings to find him. They were really bad at looking, and he was really good at hiding. He supposed they wouldn't notice if he went for a little walk.
Sapphire sung a little song to himself as he walked. It was one his mother had taught him. She sang it to them every night as she was tucking them into bed. He was jumping along to the beat. In fact, he was enjoying the song so much, he almost didn't notice the sound of approaching footsteps and voices. Topaz and Garnet were coming!
Sapphire quickly hid behind a marble statue and waited for them to pass.
"Now, where could he have gotten to?" Ruby's voice carried down the hall as she -passed. Sapphire had to try really hard not to giggle. They had gotten Ruby in on the game!
Once he was sure they were gone, he jumped out from the statue and ran down the corridor in the opposite direction. He ran until he was out of breath, and he found himself leaning on a wall next to a thin, spiraling staircase. It seemed to go down forever into darkness.
You're not brave! Sapphire remembered his sister's taunts.
Yeah, you're nobody and you'll always be nobody! Topaz's voice joined the fray. Sapphire would show them! He bet they would be scared to go down in the dark like this!
Without a second thought, Sapphire began making his way down the stairs. It soon became to dark, it was hard to see. He wished he had his mom's eyes. She could always tell when he was out of bed, no matter how dark it was. Suddenly, he felt his foot slip and his heart dropped.
The next thing Sapphire knew, he was tumbling down the stairs. He instinctively spread his wings to try to stop himself, but he just tumbled onto them, hurting him even more. He seemed to fall forever, until he reached the bottom of the stairs.
Everything was light again, and everything looked upside down. Had he ended up in an upside down world? He sure felt dizzy... That was when he realized he was upside down. With a shake, he got to his feet, almost stumbling over. Where was he? He bet Topaz and Garnet hadn't ever been this far. Despite his aches, he pressed on. He had to explore!
He rounded the corner and found himself in a large room filled with pillars and rounded ceilings. Everything was made of stone, and he felt really cold. There was even ice in the room. Or rather, a really big piece of ice.
Curiosity got the better of him once more, and Sapphire walking up to the big chunk of ice. It towered over him, nearly filling the room. He shivered as he got close, but that didn't stop him from placing a hand on the ice. Suddenly, there was a thunk, and he swore he heard something move. There was something in the ice!
Sapphire pressed his nose to the ice to get a closer look. His breath warmed the ice and water began to drip down him nose. There was a large purple guardian and a tiny pink fae trapped in the ice.
"What are you doing here?" A loud voice thundered. Sapphire gulped and turned around to see a large gray coatl glaring at him.
There was something odd about the eyes. They glowed the same red as the ruby tail ring adorning his tail. Sapphire didn't have time to look at him more, and he made a move to run for it. The coatl blocked his path. He made another move, and the coatl blocked that path as well. Discouraged and frightened, the wildclaw hatchling began to cry.
Something flickered in the coatl's gaze, but only for a moment. Seeing that the hatchling was now in one place, the coatl stretched out his hand. The room got colder, and Sapphire could feel the tears freezing to his face. He was going to become an ice cube too, just like the other dragons. This coatl was nothing like any dragon he had seen before, this dragon was a monster.
Suddenly, there was a noise behind the coatl and the monster turned to see what it was. While the coatl was distracted, Sapphire tried to move, but his feet were frozen to the ground.
"Help!" He cried. "Please help me!"
Suddenly, there was a strong gust of wind and Sapphire was torn from the ground. He cried out in pain at the harsh separation, and clenched his eyes shut as he was carried over the head of the scary coatl and onto the back of another dragon.
"Hey Saph, are you alright?" At the sound of Ruby's voice he open one eye, and then the other. She was flying up the staircase, carried by a strong wind.
"Who was that?" Sapphire asked.
"That's not important." Ruby sighed. For some reason she seemed really sad. "What's important is that you're safe and that you never go down there again!"
"I promise!" Sapphire nodded emphatically. He had had enough adventures for one day.
Oof! This chapter ended up being quite a bit longer than I initially thought, but I thought it would be a good idea to double up the announcement of impending hatchlings with an introduction of the ones we already have!
You know, this is exciting because this is the first time my alphabet legacy challenge nest has fit naturally into the story when the time has come and I haven't had to try to come up with a way to make it fit with the story or wait to nest my pair! I am so excited for my Y generation, you have no idea!!!
Also, for those of you who read character bios, I haven't pulled together the royal hatchlings' bios yet, but I plan on doing it once they are grown up and dressed up and I have a stronger idea of personality and position.
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