As the guard led her through the hive/forest, she noticed it kept getting darker and darker. With fewer windows and less sunlight. The ground underneath her slanted into tight hallways, where she saw only Hivewings.
"Are you sure this is the way?" She asked the Leafwing guard, but when she looked up at him, he wasn't there.
Panic spiraled through her, and she whipped around, searching the dark corners. This was one of her worst fears. All alone, in infinite darkness, with no way out.
She turned to the direction they came from and started running forward, but as Monarch turned the corner, there was a giant boulder in her way. That's impossible. We came through this way moments ago!
Monarch turned the other way and ran down a different tunnel, only to find her exit blocked by another boulder. "Hello?" She called. Her voice echoed through the dark hallways and tunnels, and she ran down the longest hallway.
Her chest felt like it might explode in horror. Then, suddenly, there was a dim light from a tunnel slanting upward. Her heart soared with hope, but as she turned she ran straight into a stalactite. Monarch stumbled for a moment, then fell over, unconscious.
...
Monarch woke up with a jump, and immeadently she burst into tears until she looked around. Monarch was in a small bed woven with leaves, and next to her were Ivy and Hawkmoth, both playing a small game.
The nightmare covered her with petrified horror. She stared into Ivy's green and gold scales and gradually felt herself calming down.
Ivy looked up and walked away from her game. "Glad to see you're awake." Her eyes quickly darted to the tears on Monarch's snout and she said, "What's wrong?"
Monarch was too confused to answer. Where was she? Hadn't she just been underground, or in a hallway?
She was sleeping on a big divot in the wall, slightly above the ground. She assumed it was a sleeping spot because she saw the same other divots littered on the wall. Some had pictures or drawings, or a small lantern, but all of them had a sleeping mat.
It reminded her of the scrolls she used to read of the old Nightwing volcanic kingdom. Where all the dragonets would sleep and study.
"Are we in the orphanage?" She asked. "How did I get here?"
Hawkmother slid up next to Ivy, his scales ruffling. "You arrived in the middle of the night, remember? You went straight to sleep."
"That's probably why you don't remember it," Ivy concluded. "Anyway, now that you're awake, we need to find a way out of here."
"But first-" Hawkmoth interrupted. "What happened to you and Lacewing? Where is she? Is she okay?"
Monarch explained the story to them, while Ivy kept glancing down the sleeping corridor where sounds of dragonets playing echoed toward them.
"So this is the orphanage?" Monarch asked, pondering. It was fairly bright in the sleeping quarters, with lanterns hung on the ceiling and candles lit on the walls.
Hawkmoth nodded. "There's a big play area out there, open to the sky. But be careful, apparently everyone knows here that a Hivewing named Fang is the boss. I think he's barely older than us, but kind of like the playground bully."
Monarch narrowed her eyes. Ivy glanced at her, and said slyly, "You thinking what I'm thinking?" Monarch looked at her, staring into her dark green eyes.
"Well, we haven't had a chance to put some justice into the world yet," Monarch said, reminded of her dream in the forest.
Hawkmoth's eyes widened and said. "No. No, no, no. You guys will definitely be beat up." Ivy scoffed. "No one's been able to defeat me my whole life. We can handle a simple Hivewing."
Monarch stood up but was reminded of something. "Wait, what did you say about escaping?" Ivy stopped and gave her a searching look.
"Never mind." She finally said, walking out into the play area. Monarch's heart fell. Does she not trust me with her plans?
Maybe Monarch was wrong about her. Maybe Ivy really was just mean, and didn't have the kind dragon inside that Monarch always searched for.
She tried to shake it off as she followed Ivy, but it lingered there, and it felt like a dagger slowly penetrating her scales.
YOU ARE READING
Wings of Fire: Tangled in Darkness
Fanfiction(Art is not mine, and also I know Monarch is cannon but I really like the name) Monarch isn't sure what to think of herself. Living in the new LeafSilk Kingdom, everything seems perfect and beautiful, and Monarch could agree, but from the beginning...
