Kingdoms Falling

Chapter 23

Meadow awoke in a clearing made of pure sunshine. 

At first, he was confused. Where was he? What had happened to Torch Mountain? Where were the others? And why was he here? But he quickly realized something was wrong. The bright light was fading away. He could see the vast landscape unfolding before him, seemingly endless. In the distance, huge mountains rose to touch the sky. But there was no sign of his team, or of Twisterheart. 

This isn't right. Where am I?

He stood up slowly, surprised to feel no pain in his side or chest. He supposed those relaxants had been far more effective than he'd anticipated. He lifted his wings, relieved to see them rise to obey his command. So, apparently the drug was already beginning to wear off.

But that didn't explain where the others were, or why he was in some kind of grassy meadow without any explanation at all. He took a deep breath, lifting his head toward the warm breeze. "COTTON?" he roared. "FIRE? HILLOCK? HELLO? IS ANYBODY OUT THERE?" 

The only sound was the gentle howling of the wind in his ears. 

He turned back to face the other way. A thick jungle lay before him, dark and mysterious and foreboding. He certainly did not remember it being there before. Nor the mountains being so distant. Or the meadow itself. 

So that's it then. I'm not on Monterra anymore.

He didn't know where he was, but it certainly wasn't where he'd been moments before. He briefly considered the possibility that he had dream leaped, but just as quickly shot the idea down. This felt too different. Too real. Like...if he stepped on a rock, he would bleed real. It didn't have the faint haze of a dream, and he didn't see anyone else. No, this wasn't a dream. It was something else.

"Welcome to Sunshine Meadow," came a low growl behind him. "Tell me, what do you think?"

Meadow whipped around, wings flaring open, startled. There, staring down at him with compassionate emerald eyes, was the hulking mass that could only be one dragon. Though they'd only met a couple times, and both had been brief, Meadow was sure he would never forget. "C-clouddusk!" he stammered, eyes wide. "W-what are you...d-doing here? W-where a-am I?" 

"You've come a long way from when we first met," the gray dragon went on, ignoring Meadow's questions. "You've grown. And I'm not just talking about your size." He smirked and continued walking past.

Meadow was sure he had never seen Clouddusk smirk. Confused, he twisted around to follow the older dragon. "I'm sorry," he said as he ran after him. "I know I let you down. And I know I'm not Cloud and had no business trying to lead the team."

Clouddusk glanced down at him. "I'm aware of that. But, why are you apologizing? You have nothing to be sorry for." 

Meadow wasn't sure he'd heard him right. "But, I ruined everything!" he tried to explain. Didn't Clouddusk understand what a mess he'd made out of everything? Twisterheart had succeeded in tracking them because of him, right? Surely it was all his fault. Why didn't the gray dragon understand?

"You're blaming yourself for what happened," Clouddusk said knowingly. "But you are not at fault. Twisterheart was a formidable enemy, even in our time. You could not have known what he would throw at you. And you're young. All of you. You couldn't be expected to be exactly as we were. Just knowing you tried your hardest was enough."

But it wasn't. "So that's it then?" he asked. "What happened? Did Twisterheart win?" Did he hurt the others?  His gut twisted. Had he failed them all as well?

"The battle has not yet been determined," Clouddusk replied. "But, I fear your friends are greatly outmatched."

"Then what am I doing here?" Meadow inquired, his talons curling inwards. "I need to be there, helping!"