Adagietto

She was almost a princess, perhaps, but not quite there.

Oh, yes, she had worth, but it wasn't the sort that would keep her tethered to the land of her birth like a pearl chained to its dragon. Her clan would willingly give her up for the right amount of bribery.

Was that a blessing or a curse? Which was worse, to be confined to a palace of grandeur, or to be so uncared for that she would be traded for a few bits of something shiny?

The Coatl was restless. She waited for her inevitable auctioning, to be sold off to strangers simply so that her parents could add another chunk of gold to their ever-growing mountain of treasure. And as she bided her time to her demise, a war waged within her.

She was a child of the wind. Every particle of her tingled whenever she felt the breeze brush her feathers; every particle of her yearned to leave her dwellings for adventure, for sights and sounds and cultures and dragons she'd yet to know.

And yet she was also the progeny of a long line of Coatls. Her essence was that of the Flamecaller; in a way, it was the deity of the Fire flight who had "created" her. And it was for this reason that, while she wanted to leave, she also wanted to forge metal chains that would imprison her to her homeland for all eternity.

So she simply let fate decide. She would see where she'd end up soon enough.