Strings of Sin

Chapter 6

The guards would guard and talk and laugh. The cooks would cook and praise and taste. The painters would paint and think and smile. They all would smile, now that he thought about it. But the nightwings would always scowl. Why was that so? The guards would guard and bicker and complain. The cooks would cook and sigh and glare. The painters... there were no painters in a poor town.

"How come you never talk, Stardom?" Queen Thorn broke the silence of thought.

And Stardom slowly turned to look up at the curious queen and wasn't keen on wanting to say a thing, but alas, he said. "I rather think, Mrs. Thorn." And he turned his head to face forward again as if he had never spoken in the first place.

"Really? That's interesting," Thorn commented and thought about the odd behavior of her guests. "I'll give you one free night in the guest rooms near where The Weirdling Tower used to be."

"Why are you being so nice to us?" December looked up to Queen Thorn with innocent eyes.

And Thorn looked back with uncertainty. "What do you mean? I've always shown hospitality to... unsuspicious dragons..." She glanced sideways and then suddenly understood the unusual behavior of her guests. "Are you dragons not used to kindness?"

Stardom scowled and shook his head as December tried to speak up. "Well... yes."

"Where are your parents?" Thorn loudly stomped over to one of the stained glass windows and put her talons to the wall.

"They weren't very good dragons," Stardom's voice was strained, and he clenched his claws at the thought of his father. "We ran away! They were terrible! I never want to see Carnagebringer Dignity again!" Stardom was too strained to think and lost control. "So this is the luxury I could have been born into, huh?" He felt like punching a wall and destroying the palace, but somehow, he managed to hold back his anger.

"Did you just mention The Carnagebringer?" Thorn turned swiftly and landed her front claws on the sandstone ground with a stomp.

"Yes, I did," Stardom debated on how much information he should share, but his honesty got the best of him. "He is my father, and I'm sure that any fair dragon, such as yourself, wouldn't be too quick to judge an innocent nightwing, such as myself, on just their background."

And Thorn noted Stardom's assumption as she stomped closer to him. "Do you have any idea how many dragons that nightwing killed of mine? Enough to be gifted with such an unpleasant name! So many innocent sandwings died to his claws!" She leaned down to meet Stardom's eyes and lifted her claws up to strike him. "And you would expect me to actually think killing you would pay for his sins?"

And she brought her claws down to meet Stardom's flesh and instead brought him into an unimaginably warm embrace that stirred his memories of his mother.

***

"Stardom, don't ever hurt another dragon. Don't ever be like him and his cold-turned heart. He is not the same dragon I once knew, and I know that you will grow up to be a thoughtful, strong dragon no matter what," Merciful told him through the warm embrace.

***

Stardom started crying as he realized how long it had been since his mother spoke to him in his dreams and thoughts, and he didn't understand why being so delicately held by an older dragon felt so good. Was this the kind of love he had missed out on his whole life? Is this what it felt like to be loved and cared for? It made him feel so happy, but that happiness quickly turned to anger as he realized how unfairly life had treated him. He wanted to roar and murder everything that came in between him and acceptance. And he couldn't bring himself to relax as that rage grew the more he thought of unfairness and society.