Imperial

Chapter 5

"Hurry up!" Master hissed his annoyance with yet another jerk of my chains.

A soft growl rumbled in my throat, even as I tried to speed up. Tried to propel my wings through the sky faster and faster. Remembering to flap slowly, even when I was gliding on the wind currents. Slowly, but steadily, I was catching up to the other dragons.

Relaxing ever so slightly, I finally glimpsed the desolate fields I had worked in my whole life. From high up in the sky, no longer were they seemingly endless, but puny and pitiful – especially when compared with the surrounding forests.

To think that I had just lived in that empty patch of land my whole life. To think that I had laboured there, slept there, lived there. Finally, I was leaving. I never wanted to see it again.

Thrilled to be in the sky, I watched the passing landscape curiously. Despite being mostly forest, there was so much to look at - from the fallen trees to the rivers and creeks that glittered under the morning sun.

But there were also the animals. Bright flashes of colour as birds darted from tree to tree, singing merry songs. There were lots – each varying in so many different ways. Too many to even try to remember all at once. Larger shapes pounded through the forest too, sometimes grazing - deer and elk. Numerous times, I spotted large, predatory cats slinking between the trees.

Hours slipped by, and there was still a blanket of forest beneath us. Yet in the distance, the silhouettes of mountains towered over the horizon. Eventually, we'd be flying through magnificent mountains, weaving around the rocky peaks.

Directly in front of me was Black Beast, his scales dark and gloomy. When near him, I couldn't help but feel like a mere hatchling. Despite being old enough to be considered an adult, I felt so small, so insignificant compared to the giant black drake that was storming through the sky – paying little attention to the environment around him. Instead, he seemed to stare straight in front of him intensely.

Did he want to remain in the air forever, or did he just want to get to the human city soon? From what he had told me, it was only a day's flight – which, in my opinion, was much too short. A whole week of flight would be nice.

Abruptly, the Black Beast roared out, flaring his giant wings. His grey eyes roamed the sky, as though he was waiting.

Waiting for what?

"Go, go, go!" the black drake bellowed, his grey eyes wide with despair. But he was not talking to us, he was talking to something else. Someone else. My curiosity stirred. Who? Who was he screaming at?

And then I saw it. A dark shape darting around up ahead. Ignoring the humans, even Master as he hammered me with more threats that I was sure he'd follow up on. Following the Black Beast's lead, I examined the dark shape ahead of us.

"Is that another dragon? A wild dragon?" A quite voice asked beside me, belonging to the bright red drake. His gold eyes were locked on the shape, but he glanced at me as I swung my head over towards him.

"You think it's a wild dragon?" I could not help but keep the awe out of my voice, the hope. Suddenly, I understood the Black Beast's desperation for it to go away; if the humans spotted it, they would try to catch the wild dragon. Ignoring the red dragon, I stared at the dark shape as it sailed lazily towards us.

Groaning out in fear and frustration, the Black Beast howled louder, desperately urging the dragon to go away. There was nothing else it could be. Even from here, I could see the long, leathery wings of a dragon, as well as the majestic shape. It was still far away, and yet from here, it was obviously enormous. Which meant that the wild dragon would have to be around the Black Beast's size.