Tyrant Lizard

Chapter 2

In a cave below Tyrant Mountain, Caroline was stewing. The continent was celebrating the birth of the next generation of chicks. In fact, it was so loud that the cave walls seemed to vibrate from the noise. Was it too much to ask for some peace and quiet in her own cave? All that fuss over such tiny chicks, especially over the stupid prince. It was completely disgusting and very typical of Imperator to do. 

Caroline scraped her cave's floor with her toe claws. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw an Alphadon sniffing nearby, looking for something to eat. Even if it wasn't a Triceratops, at least she had something to eat here. If she were out in the open, she would have been a good hunter if it hadn't been for her blindness in her left eye. She had been deemed to not be a good hunter by the other theropods, so she was never brought out for hunting, not even for lessons. In her cave, however, she was a wise and mighty hunter in her own eyes. 

She lowered her massive head in the direction of the Alphadon, making sure that it didn't notice her or sniff her scent out. As she was right behind the Alphadon, she lifted her arm and slammed it down onto the small creature. The Alphadon squeaked and wriggled when Caroline gripped its tail between her claws and lifted it up to her good eye. 

"Life's not fair, is it, my little friend?" the Giganotosaurus muttered, watching the Alphadon trying desperately to escape its predator. "While some are born to feast, others spend their lives in the dark, begging for scraps. The way I see it, you and I are both the same." She slightly released her grasp on the Alphadon's tail. "We both want to find a way out."

The Alphadon seemed to wriggle free and tried to leap away, but Caroline caught it again. Jealousy was gnawing at the inner core of her being. It should have been her who was greeting the animals out there, not Imperator. And as if it weren't bad enough, the chick Rey had to hatch. But that wasn't all. In the past, the previous king had always showered Imperator with praise and attention while leaving Caroline out in the cold. Perhaps it was because of her not being one of their kind. 

One day, while she was patrolling the fringes of the plains, a snake had leapt out of the grass and bit her on the face, severely damaging her eye. She never saw through that eye again, and the snake's venom had slowly affected her thinking and emotions, and Imperator seemed to joke about her injury. To blazes with snakes, and Imperator. If wanting to be queen meant bearing the venom and losing her sanity, so be it. 

"You see...I will never rule this land. And you," she added with a smirk, holding onto the Alphadon's tail. "shall never see the light of another day. Adieu." 

She opened her enormous jaws and was just ready to swallow the Alphadon whole, when a flapping of wings filled the cave. Then a familiar scolding voice echoed in the cave, demanding, "Didn't anyone ever tell you not to play with your food?" 

Caroline glared around at who had interrupted her meal. It was a familiar Ichthyornis, holding his head up with an important flair. "This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill. He is on his way, so you'd better have a good excuse for missing the ceremony." 

As Spear-Beak talked, the Alphadon slipped out from under Caroline's claws and scurried into a hole. 

"Oh, look, Spear-Beak," the Giganotosaurus griped with a pout. "You made me lose my lunch." 

Spear-Beak scoffed. "You'll get more than that when the king gets here," he said, folding his wings over his chest. "He's as mad as an Iguanodon with a hernia." 

Then Caroline gave Spear-Beak a creepy smile as she leaned in. "I quiver with fear," she hissed as she lowered her head closer to the Ichthyornis, who now looked frightened.