Dominic

The Skydancer struggled to keep moving through the brush of the untrodden path before he collapsed onto a brush of thorns. Dominic hissed as the thorns pierced the his rosette spotted fur and scales. The thorns were sharp. His vision began to blur as Dominic lay in the thorn bush. He didn’t understand. What had he done wrong? The exiled prince shook his head as he tried to stand before his legs gave out on him. Dominic groaned as he breathed shallowly and heavily as he stared at the unmoving flora of the forest he had entered. His eyes closed as the memories flashed through his mind. He had everything going for him.

Why are you defying me, Dominic?!

Dominic winced as he heard his father’s voice before opening his eyes a bit. It was blurry. He couldn’t see well. He closed his eyes again.

You’ll never survive on your own, Dominic.

The Skydancer struggled to move his head before he tried to stand once again. He wanted to prove that man wrong. He would survive on his own. He managed to get up; however, his legs shook as he went to walk before he fell over. The Skydancer got up again before continuing. The process was him falling over before getting back up again to continue.

“I will … survive …” he breathed as he made his way through the forest. “I … will … show that … everybody deserves a … second … chance …”

He collapsed as his head hit the ground with a hard thud. His vision turned white as he lay where he had fallen. His breathing became labored as he tried to stand again, but his legs wouldn’t move anymore. His red eyes couldn’t see anything. Everything was a blur to him. How did this happen? His eyes closed as his breathing leveled out. The memories flashed through his mind as he thought about the past few days. He didn’t understand. He was trying to be a fair and gentle leader.

“This scum tried to steal my food.”

“I’m s-sorry, y-your h-highness. M-My b-baby … she’s h-hungry.”

Dominic remembered the dragon that was begging for forgiveness. The hatchling she had stolen for looked emancipated and sick. The child was hungry -- both of them were hungry; however, she had only stolen enough food to feed her child. He remembered his father’s words clear enough …

“You shall leave this kingdom and ever return. If you do not have enough food, then you will find plenty out there.”

“Y-Your h-highness … we c-can not s-survive out there,” the dragon argued.

“My words are final! How dare you steal from the noble?”

Dominic twitched as he was starting to have a hard time trying to remember everything that had happened afterward. He remembered … he remembered defending the female dragon and her hatchling.

“Father, you can’t just exile them. They’ll never survive. She was only doing what’s best for her child … in fact, I am starting to see that not everybody has enough to e …”

“Not everybody deserves to eat, Dominic.”

Dominic’s eyes opened as he remembered his reaction to his father’s words. He had stared at the king of the kingdom in shock and horror. He had always looked up to his father. He wanted … he used to want to be like him. The Skydancer struggled to lift his front half before his paws slipped and he fell on his side once again. How long had it been since he had been exiled? When was the last he had eaten? He stared at the oozing, pus filled bite mark his father had left him as he chased him from the kingdom.

“Is this how I go? I’m pathetic,” he muttered as he curled in on himself.


“How dare you defy me, Dominic?!”

“They deserve to be treated as if they can eat! You can’t exile them!”

“Fine then you leave,” Dominic whispered as he remembered his father’s words. “You take their place. Leave this kingdom and never return.” The Skydancer lay there as he moved his head a bit to stare at the sky. It was a gorgeous blue color. He loved staring at it. He became bitter. Why did he get punished for trying to do something good? Why was his father so hostile to his people? Tears streamed through his scales and fur. The salty liquid matted his fur. “It’s not fair …”

“I thought I raised you right son.”

It wasn’t fair ---

Dominic woke up. That in itself confused him- he could've sworn he was gone for. And yet... here he was, very much alive, and feeling much better than he had before.

"I'm sorry-" He flinched in surprise at the sudden voice coming from above him. "-this is the most I can do. Err, I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone I did this. If any... strange side effects occur, send me a letter." Dominic squinted open his eyes in time to see a beige Pearcatcher with blue wings and inky black marks covering his body. The Pearlcatcher was looking past him with a frown while taking small steps back. And then the ex-prince tried to speak. His voice came out a garbled mess, more of a groan than actual words. He squirmed where he lay, unable to stand or even sit.

"Stay still. You're still recovering. No need to get excited." A dark Imperial's face came into view. "My name is Berkut. You're safe now, and that's all you need to know for now. Drink-"
Berkut pushed a bowl of water up to his snout, and Dominic flicked his forked tongue out to lap it up.
Wait, forked tongue?!
He lurched in shock at the sight of his reflection. He saw the face of a Coatl staring back at him, but that couldn't be right! He was a Skydancer since birth!
What was going on here?!