Characters:
Queen Elizabeth,
Normandie,
Britannic
As usual, feedback is appreciated!
September 29 2021 wrote:
How long has it been, again?
Elizabeth had long since lost track of how long she'd spent in the Ashfall Wastes. When they'd taken her prisoner they'd kept her underground, away from the sun she loved so dearly, and so she had no clue how much time had passed before she'd been allowed to return to the surface, and even outside it was hard to tell time with all the smoke in the air. All Elizabeth knew was that it had to have been years, and even after so long she had never fully gotten used to living a commoner's life in a Fire clan.
So she was leaving. She finally had the chance, and although she had no intention to return to her old kingdom she at least wanted to go back to the Sunbeam Ruins.
She had very few belongings save for the clothes on her back, so the bag she carried was only half-full as she slipped toward the edge of the village. Three sides were surrounded by walls and guards, while the other was bordered by a set of high cliffs into which the clan's mines and forges and prison were carved, and Elizabeth figured the latter way would be easier. It too was guarded, but not as heavily, and that was the direction she had to go anyway. Northeast. She'd figured that out quite some time ago.
She began to scale the cliff, afraid to fly lest her wingbeats alert someone to what she was doing, and finally, with aching arms, she pulled herself to the top. There was a guard up on the ridge, but he was a good distance away; besides, this particular dragon - Phyri - was old and had failing eyes, although he refused to retire. Elizabeth decided that luck must be on her side tonight.
Finally.
She moved as silently as she possibly could, slinking between lava rocks and keeping her belly low to the ground, and soon she could no longer hear Phyri's off-key humming.
Soon, though, something else became audible. She paused for a second, and when she did she could still hear the quiet slithering she'd assumed was her tail swishing over the ground.
Someone was following her.
She whirled around in time to see an elegant bogsneak dragon behind her, frozen halfway through the process of darting behind a rock. Both dragons stared at each other for a moment, and then Elizabeth realized who this was.
"Normandie?!"
The bogsneak gave her a wide, close-lipped smile. "Elizabeth," she replied, somehow managing to sound very casual despite the situation. "Don't tell me you were planning on leaving."
Elizabeth blinked. "I, uh, I am, actually," she admitted. She knew Normandie wouldn't tell anyone; she was the bogsneak's only real friend in the clan, after all, let alone the only other dragon from a non-Fire flight. But why had Normandie followed her, then? Surely she wouldn't want to leave the clan too; she wasn't well-liked, but she was at least respected and important, and she also loved fire enough to join willingly in the first place.
"I figured that's where you were going. Surely you meant to invite me too, no?"
"I didn't think you'd want to come."
Normandie shifted a bit, and Elizabeth noticed that she was carrying a rather overstuffed bag on her back. "You would've been right just a few months ago," she replied. "But I've changed my mind. Fire is beautiful, but not beautiful enough to make me stay in a place where I feel unwelcome. I've already packed my things," she added. "Or rather, I threw them all into my bag in a horribly disorganized manner. Let's go."
Elizabeth wondered when she'd done that, but didn't ask; instead, she only nodded and motioned for the bogsneak to follow her, and the two of them set off.
"I assume you're headed to the Sunbeam Ruins," Normandie said after quite a bit of time had passed. "I've always wanted to visit. I hear the architecture there is stunning."
Memories of the gorgeous palace she'd once called home flashed through Elizabeth's mind, and for a moment she felt a childlike sense of excitement run through her at the thought of returning. Then that was replaced by the anger that had simmered in her veins for so long, fury that her kingdom - and her sister - had just abandoned her. She wouldn't be returning to that palace, beautiful as it was. If they didn't want her back in Cunardia, she didn't want them either. She'd made that decision long ago.
"Elizabeth," Normandie said, nudging her to snap her out of her thoughts. "Tell me. Is the architecture in the ruins as beautiful as they say it is?"
"It's gorgeous," Elizabeth replied softly. "Even the oldest ruins are beautiful, and the newer buildings are made to emulate their style. And the interiors are lovely too," she added, and once again she was reminded of high ceilings and shining marble floors and ornate stained-glass windows.
Normandie's eyes lit up at the mention of the buildings' interiors. "Tell me about them," she urged, suddenly sounding almost like an excited hatchling. "Are there any prevailing decorative styles?"
"Well, most of the buildings I saw inside had lanterns or chandeliers in every room," Elizabeth replied. "And windows, too. Lots of windows. Everything is so brilliantly lit. You'd love it."
Normandie continued to pepper her with questions, even as the two of them finally took flight and soared over rivers of lava and through clouds of ash and smoke. Then the conversation died out as they passed over a channel and into the Lightning domain, and Normandie switched from discussing architecture and interior design to demanding that they rest. Away in the east, the sky was beginning to take on an orange hue.
They ended up huddled in a small cave, sheltering from an electrical storm that was making Elizabeth's mane stand on end, and both dragons managed to sleep for a while...
"You there," a voice called, starling Elizabeth awake. She scrambled to her feet, earning a complaint from Normandie and hitting her head on the roof of the cave. The sun had risen by now and her mane had flattened itself out, but more importantly she was being confronted by a large black-scaled guardian dragon with a graying beard and ice-blue eyes.
"Can we help you?" Normandie asked, flicking her tongue out almost disdainfully. The guardian's lip began to curl up in a snarl at her tone.
Elizabeth took a step forward, hoping her diplomatic skills hadn't grown too rusty over the years. "We're very sorry," she said, voice smooth and even. "Are we intruding on your territory?"
"You are," the guardian replied. "Do you have a reason?"
"We had no idea this was your land. We're only passing through; we mean no harm to you or your clan."
The guardian's shoulders relaxed a bit and he nodded slowly. "Well," he said, "in that case, there shouldn't be a problem. Would you like an escort through our territory?"
"That would be wonderful, thank you," Elizabeth replied. Beside her, Normandie muttered something about not needing an escort.
The guardian motioned for Elizabeth and Normandie to follow, and when they emerged from the cave Elizabeth noticed two other dragons, both of them also guardians, standing nearby. One of them looked like he was barely an adult.
"No hatchlings in there this time, I presume?" one of the other dragons asked. She looked quite a bit younger than the leader of the trio, although she was still clearly an adult; Elizabeth guessed this dragon was about the same age as she and Normandie.
"No hatchlings," the leader replied. Elizabeth blinked at them, curious.
"If you don't mind me asking," she said, "were there hatchlings in that cave before?"
The female guardian nodded. "Our clan adopted a trio of hatchlings we found there," she explained. "Three sisters. One of our patrols killed their parents and felt awful about it, so we took 'em in. I wasn't much older than this one," she added, flicking her tail in the direction of the younger dragon beside her. "So they weren't that much younger than I was."
"One of them comes back and visits occasionally," the young dragon added. "I've only met her once. She's super cool."
"She lives in the Sunbeam Ruins now," the female added. "She comes back to check in on us sometimes, though. I don't think she likes it here, though. Bad memories and whatnot."
Normandie flicked her tongue again. "You said there were two others," she said. "Do they still live with you?"
The female guardian stiffened, while the leader closed his eyes for a brief second. "They don't," he said simply. Normandie gave a disdainful sniff.
"They sound very ungrateful. The only reason I don't visit my birth clan is because they disowned me for wanting to change flights."
The female guardian stopped, causing Elizabeth to nearly step on her tail. "They're dead," she snapped, eyes narrowing. Normandie fell silent immediately, eyes wide.
"Wait," the young dragon said. "I mean, I know they're both dead, but I don't think you ever told me- no, wait, one of them got killed by a harpy, right?"
"Yes," the female guardian replied, tone clipped and tense. She must have been good friends with these dragons.
"What happened to the other one?"
The female guardian cast a pleading glance at the patrol leader, looking pained. He didn't look at her or say anything, so she took a breath to steady herself before speaking. "She died in the Snowfall," she said quickly. "Let's change the topic. Nice weather we're having, huh? Nice and sunny and warm."
"Very nice," the patrol leader agreed. The group lapsed into silence despite the young dragon's attempts to keep the conversation going and Normandie's repeated queries about what the Snowfall was, and Elizabeth wished she hadn't ever asked about the hatchlings.
Eventually they reached the edge of the guardians' territory, and Elizabeth and Normandie thanked them for the escort and continued on their way. The mood was still somber as they flew on.
The duo ended up stopping for the night in a small lair belonging to a former Plague clan, and when they mentioned where they were heading the clan's dragons wasted no time in telling them about their allies in the Ruins.
"If you need a place to go, they welcome anyone," the clan's leader explained. "Here, I'll get you a map. Crazy Boat," she added, beckoning to a pretty pearlcatcher who had garlands of roses draped over his wings. "Do you have a copy of that map with the Lanternlight Clan marked on it?"
"Absolutely," the pearlcatcher replied, and then he darted off, returning a few minutes later with a map. "There you go," he sang, placing a rolled-up piece of parchment in Elizabeth's talons. "And remember, you can always come back here if you need, too."
The next afternoon they were off again, and they spent a good hour or so arguing about whether or not to seek out this Lanternlight Clan. Then they stopped so Normandie could rest her wings, and Elizabeth set out to go find them something to eat.
Elizabeth was using a large, flat rock to hack at a saguaro cactus when a young skydancer, perhaps the same age as the little guardian from the previous day, approached her, feet gliding over the shimmering sand in a way that seemed sort of... off.
"That is
not how you break open a cactus," she said, teal eyes narrowing in a way that looked distinctly judgmental. "If you keep hitting it in the middle like that you'll just get spines in your talons. Try cutting at the arms instead."
Elizabeth followed the stranger's instructions and, after quite a bit of work, managed to cut one of the arms off the cactus. Then she stripped away the needles and made her way back to where Normandie was relaxing in the shade of a towering pylon. They ate the cactus quickly, and all the while the skydancer stood at a distance, watching from the top of a sand dune, her scarlet robes fluttering in the breeze.
When they resumed their travels, walking this time so as not to get hit by lightning from the storm that was brewing overhead, Elizabeth kept following the skydancer, who had beckoned to her and was now several dunes ahead, looking back on occasion but never waiting for very long. Normandie made a few comments about how strange it was that this unfamiliar dragon wanted them to follow her.
Before long, the skydancer stopped atop a tall ridge, wind buffeting her mane and robes. Elizabeth and Normandie caught up to her, and as they climbed the dunes Elizabeth realized what was so weird about the way she walked.
The dune was untouched. This dragon left no footprints, even though she'd been walking on the sand.
All of Elizabeth's confusion was swept away, however, when she reached the top of the dune, replaced by a mix of joy and awe. Laid out before them was a wide channel, and beyond that was the Sunbeam Ruins, illuminated in the evening sunlight, sparkling just like Elizabeth remembered.
Gods, it had been
such a long time since she'd seen green grass.
Elizabeth touched down on the grass as soon as they'd flown across the channel. It was soft under her talons and delightfully cool, and little light's breath flowers were scattered around. A fir tree stood sentry over the channel nearby, casting a long shadow over the ground. Elizabeth raced over to it and then back, feeling energy - light magic - surge beneath her skin as she reconnected to her roots. A raucous, whooping laugh escaped her, and in that moment she didn't care if Normandie and the skydancer were judging her.
She bounded back over to her companions, still laughing and shouting with glee, but then her laughter turned to sobs, harsh and relentless, as she realized that she'd made it home. A wave of pain washed over her as she remembered that although she was back in the Sunbeam Ruins, she didn't have anywhere specific to go anymore. Where was home now? Her kingdom didn't care about her, and she had no claim to any other place.
"Hey," the skydancer said, sounding surprisingly gentle. "Why are you crying?"
"I- I just don't know what comes next," Elizabeth managed to choke out. It was a vast understatement, really. "My home, they- they don't want me. If they wanted me they would've tried harder to find me. I was never the more popular queen. I was just Mary's little sister-" She broke off, the mention of her sister bringing forth a fresh wave of pain. "I thought she loved me," she sobbed, hanging her head. "I thought sisters were supposed to be there for you."
A look of pain flashed in the skydancer's eyes, followed by anger and then finally sympathy. "It's not always like that," she said, shaking her head. "Mine... no. We aren't talking about that." She paused, studying Elizabeth's face. "I hate to say this, because I used to get stuff like that and it was always awful, but you look a lot like her. That's how I recognized you."
Elizabeth's eyes widened. "You know my sister?"
"We've never spoken," the skydancer replied. "But I've watched her from a distance. It's obvious that she misses you."
"No. No. If she missed me, she would've- she would've come for me."
"She misses you," the skydancer repeated. "She wants to find you, she just can't." She paused again, a shadow passing over her face. "So I went to go find you instead. I- I don't know. I guess I just didn't want you two to end up like Olympic and I. Good thing you're alive," she added. "Anyway. Come on. I don't really have all night; the magic ball thing I've got doesn't have unlimited magic."
"I'm sorry," Normandie cut in, "what magic ball thing?"
Her question went unanswered as the skydancer took to the air once more, and as the sun sank lower and lower in the sky the three dragons soared toward the coast. Elizabeth took a deep breath, savoring the clear air and letting the wind dry her tears, and eventually a brightly-lit village came into view.
"There it is," the skydancer said. "The Lanternlight Clan." She swooped down, landing softly on a grassy hill overlooking the little town. Elizabeth and Normandie followed suit, and their guide turned to give them an unreadable look. "I have to go," she said simply. "I can feel the magic getting weaker. But your sister's in that village right now," she added, fixing Elizabeth with a piercing stare. "And she loves you. I promise."
With that, she turned and slunk away, vanishing behind a bunch of trees. The sun settled below the horizon.
"Come on," Normandie said, nudging Elizabeth. "It's not like we have anywhere better to be."
Elizabeth nodded wordlessly and followed her friend down the hill, still turning the skydancer's words over in her mind.
