After a violent arguement with his parents ; Corey is forced away from his home. Fleeing unknowingly to the Mountains Kingdom and finding himself in the palace of the Sky King and Queen. In exchange for Corey's Knowledge of the other kingdoms and hi...
Waking up from a nightmare was common for Corey. With him constantly worrying and reminiscing on his past, it came as no surprise.
However, waking up from a nightmare and wondering why it felt as real as his day to day life was quite a shock.
Corey sat up in his bed as his tired mind tried to process it all. Why had the dream been so lifelike? Surely, it couldn't have been real. He'd never been a lucid dreamer, and during the dream he felt as though he wasn't in full control.
He thought for sure it was all in his head.
After all, if it had been real, he would soon be a wanted criminal.
This sent chills down his spine, eventually leading him to decide it would be a good idea to go out and get some fresh air and water, to clear his mind. Carefully, he walked out of his room in the Sky Palace and began his journey to the entrance.
While traveling down one of the corridors he was stopped by two skywing guards. They seemed on edge as they shouted at him,
"Stop right now! State your name." one guard commanded while the other stood by.
Corey was a bit taken aback at his hostility, almost all of the kingdoms guards knew him. He figured, maybe they couldn't see him too clearly and responded,
"Its just me, Corey, is everything ok?"
The guard who had shouted, Owl, relaxed slightly. To which Corey did too.
"Some troubling news sir, a murder has just occurred down this way. You wouldn't happen to have seen any suspects right?"
His head began to spin, this was the exact place were his dream had occured. The exact place were he had committed murder. The exact place he realized his dream was all too real.
-
The whole kingdom seemed to be put on edge at the news of the murder. With the skywings living (mostly) in peace, not only with their own tribe but also outsiders, it was understandable why everyone was so afraid.
Likewise, Finch was beyond terrified. Not only of the fact there could be a murderer walking among them, but also with how it left some of his friends. Even his fellow guards had seemed off. Most of all, Finch had noticed the change in one of his best friends, Corey.
Finch had met him after Corey was introduced to the kingdom as the new Hatchery Caretaker. Ever since then, they've spent most of their days together, watching over the hatchlings, flying around the kingdom, and enjoying each others company. Ever since the murder though, Corey had been cooped up in his room, only coming out for food and to watch the hatchery.
This didn't stop Finch from checking in on him. He hoped that these daily routines of making sure Corey was fine weren't annoying, and even hoped they made things better. But this time he came not only to check in, but to retrieve him.
Finch cracked open the door to Corey's room and looked down at the lump of blanket and dragon that was his friend.
"Excuse me? Sir, the queen has requested you in the throne room." He said loud enough for him to hear, but trying not to disturb others.
The mound of blankets rustled to reveal Corey's sickly face, frighteningly pale with bags under his eyes, "Finch.. please just.. call me Corey. What does the queen want?" He slowly rose to his feet, wobbling a little.
Finch stuttered, "O-oh! Im so sorry s- I mean Corey! Um, she said theres someone who wants to ask you a few questions. I believe she said his name was Detective.. Nightingale?"
-
Corey shuddered at the name, a detective? He didn't understand why, sure someone had died but plenty of other murders and thieves had come and gone; he'd never seen a detective brought in. He noticed Finch worried at his obvious unease,
"Sorry, just a little cold." Which he was,
Finch responded with a small nod and ushered him to follow down the hall. They both were stuck in an awkward silence as they made the trek to the throne room. Finch would try to start conversation but it would quickly die as Corey was caught up in his nerves. Usually the two could walk together without speaking comfortably, but the unease written across Corey's face destroyed that possibility.
It wasn't long before Corey and Finch found themselves standing before Queen Risen and her husband, King Cliff.
"Morning boys, I see you were able to get him here easily, Finch." She said, looking down at the two of them.
"Yes, you're majesty." Finch replied, bowing.
"Thank you. You're free to go now." Risen replied. To which Finch nodded and made his way out of the throne room.
"I assume he told you why you're here?" The queen asked Corey once Finch was well away from the Throne Room.
Corey took a second to reply, his nerves causing him to look around and focus on the room instead of the two dragons in front of him. The tapestries fluttered slightly in the wind, a soft breeze wove through the windows, and-
"Corey." The queen stated, annoyed and impatient,
"Kind of, I heard there's a detective Nightingale who was looking for me." He replied.
A new voice appeared behind Corey, "Indeed there is." He spun around to face a huge nightwing staring down at him, "You must be Corey, nice to meet you. My name is Nightingale but you can call me Night. I have a few questions i'd like to ask you, if you don't mind." He stated, seemingly looming over the entire throne room.
Corey almost melted under the presence of the detective. 'This is the end' he thought, 'this is where the truth is revealed. It won't be long now.'
'It's over'
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