Just a little Glorybringer for ya

The Aftermath

Pineapple crumpled to the ground. Joy went flying to the ground and she somersaulted to prevent herself from landing on her face. She got to her feet and stared. Pineapple didn't move. There was a pause as everyone in the audience froze, the only sound being Joy's panted breathing. She almost didn't believe it. Pineapple was out cold. She had won. The silence ended and cheers shot out from the crowd, chanting her name and yelling. Glory started breathing again. 

"She won," she whispered. Glory grabbed Deathbringer by the arm and jumped. "SHE WON!" Deathbringer opened his eyes in disbelief. He let out a laugh, hysterical with relief. Rainkeeper stared, his jaw dropped, as if he couldn't comprehend what he was seeing. Pear jumped and cheered next to him. She grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. 

"SHE WON!" Pear yelled, snapping Rainkeeper out of his trance. He laughed, not really understanding what he was doing. Spontaneously, he grabbed Pear and kissed her, stopping her cheering. When they broke apart, Rainkeeper let out a shout and spun around, cheering. Pear stood frozen. Then Rainkeeper stopped, and his eyes widened, realizing what he had just done. He glanced nervously at Pear. She grinned and pulled him in for another kiss.

Joy stared up at the cheering crowd, a smile on her face. Guards came and took Pineapple's unconscious form away. 

"JOY!" a voice yelled from the audience. Kelp leapt down from the railing and barreled into her, other dragons following him. "You did it!" he cried, jumping around her. Joy smiled weakly, feeling a bit dizzy. Deathbringer appeared next to her and wrapped her in a hug, laughing. Rainkeeper was there too, grinning sheepishly at Pear. Her friends yelled as the audience packed the arena, cheering and laughing. Joy glanced around, her dizziness growing as the many faces swam in her head. The arena began to spin around her. 

"Joy?" Kelp asked, his voice sounding concerned. She barely heard him, his form duplicating as she watched. "Are you alright?" She could hardly understand the words. 

"I'm fine." Joy declared. And then she collapsed to the ground. 

"JOY!"

Later....

Joy woke up in the healer's hut. 

"She's awake!" a voice announced. 

"Oh thank the moons." someone else murmured. Joy tried to move with a groan. Everything hurt. But at least she could see straight again. 

"Hey there, champ." Deathbringer greeted her with a grin. "How are you feeling?" 

"Sore," Joy explained, her voice hoarse.

 "Well, that's expected." Glory insisted, running her talons over Joy's head.

 "What happened?" Joy asked weakly. 

"You just kinda...passed out." Deathbringer offered. "The healer's said that all the hits you took during the fight caught up with you and it was too much for you to handle." 

"Everyone else is at the fiesta, if you're up for it." Glory commented. With a bit of difficulty, Joy sat up. She glanced down. There were  bandages on her, covering the bleeding scratches from Pineapple's sharp claws. Her head hurt, but she wasn't going to let stop her. 

"Take it easy." Deathbringer advised, helping her up. Joy nodded meekly as they walked to the door.

Kelp sighed with relief as Joy entered. As soon as she'd collapsed, Deathbringer, Glory, Rainkeeper, and the healers had whisked her away and they hadn't let anyone in the hut. He'd been worried. He walked over as Joy sat down in a chair facing the dance floor,  a weak smile on her face. 

"Hi Joy," he greeted her, sitting down next to her. "How are you?" 

"I feel like a boulder smashed itself on top of me, but, other than that, never better." she admitted. He grinned at her and she smiled back. 

Seashell surveyed the celebration party. Queen Glory and Deathbringer were looked a thousand times more relieved then they had been earlier. Kelp and Joy were sitting, laughing about something. Moon was trading dances with both Qibli and Winter, trying to be fair as the boys glared at each other. Air and Nightflyer were also dancing, laughing. Rainkeeper and Pear were leaning against the wall, talking with shy smiles on their faces. Seashell couldn't help but feel a little lonely. All of her friends were happy and in love. Sure, they were only six, but Seashell wanted to find someone that could make her happy, the way her brother made Joy happy, or the way Nightflyer made Air feel. Or the way that Pear made Rainkeeper feel. It sounded like a nice feeling, but then again, she wouldn't know. 

Rainkeeper couldn't have been happier. Joy had won, Pineapple was safely in prison, and there was Pear, of course. After Joy had been taken to the healer's hut, they had talked. Rainkeeper was surprised to hear that Pear felt the same way about him that he did about her, but delighted as well. But of course she had asked why.

 "Why me?" she had questioned. "You're a prince, Rainkeeper. You have your pick of any dragon in this forest, and you chose me, an odd dragon with an abused past, that lives with a sloth that has anger management issues." If he was being honest, he had no idea why. Pear was his best friend, and she was perfect. She was a mystery to him and he loved it. Why wouldn't he want to be with her? She wanted to be with him too, but she was afraid. That he could see. Pear was afraid that her father wasn't done with her yet, that he would try something to hurt their relationship. But Rainkeeper wasn't afraid of that. If her father came back, he wouldn't dare touch her. Rainkeeper was positive of this. Pear was his girl, and no one was ever going to harm her again.