Kestrel woke up, yawning. She was nine years old now, ready for battle training. The SkyWing was born in a wealthy family, and always dreamt of becoming a soldier for her Queen. Today was her first ever training to become one! The dragonet jumped out of her bed, pushing away the soft, orange covers. She hopped out her room and into the kitchen.
"Good morning everybody!" she said, with an extra-long 'o' in 'good'. She hugged her father, Hawk, who was writing on a old-looking piece of scroll on his wooden desk. Well, 'hugged' is perhaps not the right word. Kestrel was very small compared to her father, and her arms could barely wrap around his neck. It was good enough for him, though. Hawk nodded slowly and smiled.
"Good morning, Mother." The dragonet shifted her gaze to Goldfinch, who was a rather small SkyWing. Kestrel smelled the familiar aroma of roasted cow slices, seasoned with sea salt and herbs. Goldfinch's cooking was amazing, and sometimes, she would be invited to cook for royal parties. Her beef dishes were the best, and Kestrel's family would eat them often.
"Good morning, Kestrel, my darling." Her mother smiled at her, bringing the dishes to the dining table. The small dragonet followed her and sat down to eat. "Food's ready, Hawk." Goldfinch called.
"You better come quick, Father, or I'll eat the everything!" Kestrel yelled, her mouth already stuffed with the amazing food. The meat melted in her mouth and tasted like it came from the heavens up above.
"Kestrel, eat with your mouth closed." Goldfinch reminded her.
"Then how am I supposed to even eat?" Kestrel's high voice was muffled by the food.
"And don't talk while eating, either." Her mother added, chuckling.
The dragonet devoured the meal quickly, then had another serving. She left some for her father and her mother, of course. They better be fast, because there was no way Kestrel was going to be late to her first battle training. No way.
"Mother, Father, please eat quick." She begged. "I can't be late. Pleaseeee!" Kestrel tugged on Goldfinch's arm, then Hawk's. There was not even time for patience. They had to leave, now. Like, RIGHT NOW. She then quickly changed her expression to worry, her eyes wide and saddened. "Unless you want to leave your poor, poor Kestrel go to training all alone...", she paused. "Or even worse, missing her first training..." The dragonet then let out a small gasp.
"Argh. Kestrel, stop that. Your father hasn't even ate yet." Goldfinch frowned, covering her eyes with her front talon. She ate her meal quickly, and drank a glass of water, then stood up to pick up the empty plates.
"I'm coming, my dear." Hawk said. He then took one of the plates off the table with the biggest slice and slid it into his mouth. He gulped, then brought the empty platter in the cleaning area. Kestrel and Goldfinch looked at him in shock. How did Father eat that so quickly? The dragonet wondered. She then rolled with laughter, and so did her mother.
"Okay, okay, come on, now. Let's go to your first training!" She said. Goldfinch cleaned Kestrel's face with a towel and made her wear this thin, golden chainmail around her neck to make her look presentable in front of the generals. Kestrel didn't like it very much, but understood why it was important. Hawk also put on his gear, his armor and his horn rings. Goldfinch wore tiny ruby earrings and a golden bracelet. Once the family was ready, they headed for the exit and took off for the Sky Palace.
The training was located in something called the 'Arena'. It was used for battle training or court sessions. It looked like a huge hole filled with sand from above, and like a sort of beach when you entered it, but without seashells, vegetation, or sticks.
Trainings were hosted by generals or commanders, and in this case, it was this tall, slim dragon with red-greyish dull scales and a long muzzle. He was wearing shiny silver armor that was decorated with pieces of gold. The dragon also had silver chains with rubies at the end of them hanging form his ears. He sat quietly on the sandy ground, flicking his tail.
"Greetings, fellow SkyWings." He eyed Kestrel with his yellow eyes. He then shifted his gaze to Hawk and Goldfinch. "My name is Wildfire, and you are?" The dragon raised a brow, he did not look impressed.
"I'm Goldfinch, sir." Kestrel's mother said. "And this is-"
"I'm Hawk." He grumbled, cutting her off. He cleared his throat. "I've seen you around. I am a general as well."
"Oh, right, sorry. Didn't recognize you without the armor, ha." Wildfire chuckled. He looked down at Kestrel. "And this is?" He smiled.
"That's my daughter, Kestrel." Hawk replied, pointing his tail at her. "She would like to begin training sessions, she swears to become a loyal and strong guard."
"Ah. Hello, Kestrel. Welcome to training." Said the tall, slim dragon. He lifted his head, looking at the sun, which was shining in the cloudless sky. "The others should be arriving soon." Wildfire looked back at the dragonet. "You can go talk to the other fellows and socialize, or something." He pointed at the other dragonets who were aligned against the Arena wall, talking.
Kestrel looked at Wildfire. "Okay. Thanks." She then turned to her parents. "Thank you for bringing me here. I'll be back soon." She smiled and waved goodbye.
"Alright, Kestrel." Hawk said. "Have fun and- and stay safe..." He lifted himself up and hovered above the ground. "Let's-let's go, Goldfinch, I have some work to do." He stammered. Kestrel didn't ask why and assumed he was just worried for his daughter.
"Yes. Remember Kestrel, we love you!" Said her mother. They then flew away together, back to the den. There was a long silence after that. Kestrel looked up at Wildfire, waiting for instructions. Wait. She thought. He told me to go talk to the others, didn't he? She looked away with embarrassment, then quickly walked towards the other dragonets. She got herself ready and made sure she looked alright. She picked off some grains of sand that were stuck between her scales and brushed the dirt off her face. She then walked up to a group of SkyWings.
"Hello! My name's Kestrel, and I'm going to train with you guys." She smiled and introduced herself. "What are your names?" Kestrel looked at the others.
A short and a bit tubby crimson SkyWing replied first. "My name's Jasper." Her voice was squawky, kind of like a bird chirping. "I was hatched and raised in the SkyWing Wingery and decided to become a guard." Before she could continue, Jasper got distracted by some seagulls flying above in the blue sky. "Pretty birds." She whispered, grinning. Kestrel looked up as well, then raised a brow at her. Jasper blinked and looked at her again. "Right. Anyways, then, I came here and met some dragons and had fun with the others and I really can't wait to train because I want to become a guard as soon as possible because it would be nice and-" her voice slowly faded away, because the other SkyWings began talking and muttering, ignoring the short crimson dragon. Jasper continued explaining something that seemed like her whole life story, but Kestrel could only hear muffles because of all the commotion. She blinked, smiled, then nodded slowly, pretending she could hear her.
"Pfft, what a loser." Said one of the SkyWings next to Jasper. Kestrel shifted her gaze to him and widened her eyes. "I bet all she would do is eat during her posts!" He laughed out. Other joined in, but Jasper didn't seem to notice they were talking about her and continued to speak. Kestrel looked away, frowning, and went to sit down next to a nice-looking dragon.
"Hi, I'm Kestrel." She told him, introducing herself once more. "What's your name?" Kestrel asked nicely.
"Uh- Shard." He replied. It was a medium-sized dragon that was the same height as Kestrel. His scales were orange, and he had these cool red patterns across his wing. He had curvy horns and a long muzzle. Shard looked at Kestrel, tilting his head. "I didn't know female dragons could attend."
"Of course they can!" Kestrel shouted, a bit too loud. She covered her mouth with her talons and folded her wings. "I mean... yes, we can." She whispered. "General Wildfire didn't say anything about it, so..." She trailed off. "Is that okay with you?"
"Yeah, yeah..." Shard looked away. "But you're the only one here, right?" He asked.
"Well... there's this other one called Jasper, but I'm not sure if she's even a dragon at all." Kestrel chuckled. She knew it wasn't right to talk behind a dragon's back, but it's what every other dragonet was doing. "W-What I'm saying is that- that she's a little... weird." Kestrel stammered. She didn't want to look rude in front of this new dragon.
"Oh. I talked to Jasper not long ago. For a long time. She just wouldn't stop." Shard said, letting out a worried laugh. "Why did you decide to come to training?" He asked awkwardly.
"I want to become a general and fight for the tribe." Kestrel explained. "For many reasons, too. One; I can earn coins and get payed easily. Two; I will be respected by the Queen. And three; I will be strong and feared!" She boasted. Shard laughed loudly after Kestrel said that. When he calmed down, he narrowed his eyes at her and smiled.
"You aren't like other dragonets, are you?" He said, chuckling. "Nobody else listed out three reasons!"
"Really?" Kestrel tilted her head. "Is that... Is that bad?" She whispered, lowering her head.
"No, no, not at all!" Shard exclaimed. "It's funny, that's all." He grinned. Kestrel wanted to respond, and continue talking with him forever, but training began.
"Welcome fellow SkyWings, to your first training!" Wildfire greeted. "It seems we have all the participants needed to begin." He spread his wings, lifting his chin. "Do you wish to become a loyal guard, dragonets?" He asks the crowd.
"Yes!" They all respond loudly.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes!" They say once more.
"Good. Because disloyal guards get..." He paused, grinning. "Exiled!" Wildfire yells. "Now, can some of you list some other consequences?"
A dragonet raised their talon. "Ooh, I know! The dungeon!" He shouted.
"Anything else?" Wildfire asked again.
Another SkyWing rose their talon, too. "Yeah. Death sentence!" He was then followed by other various responses:
"Decapitation!"
"You can get sent to your room!"
"Clean the Queen's throne for a month and polish her crown!"
"Okay, okay, enough now." Wildfire silenced the crowd. He lifted his head. "To begin this training, we'll start with battle practice. Let's start by using our own claws. Weapons will not be involved yet." He continued. "Battle is essential for guards: for example, if someone is trying to assassinate your Queen, you must fight back! If someone is attacking the eggs, fight back!"
"What if you don't?" Asks a curious dragonet in the crowd of SkyWings.
"Oh. Then you might as well let them kill you." Wildfire replies calmly, raising his brows. "Alright, pair up with another dragon, and I'll show you some techniques."
The dragonets did as they were told and found a partner. Kestrel asked Shard if he wanted to practice with her and he agreed. Kestrel saw that this clumsy-looking dragon got paired up with Jasper, who was talking.
"To begin, go face to face with your partner." Wildfire ordered, making sure everyone was doing the right thing. "Now, I want the dragon on the left to survive. The dragon on the right, well, must kill the dragon on the left."
The dragonets looked at each other, then laughed. "Nice one, Wildfire!" One of them roared. Kestrel began laughing a little, too. She looked at Shard, who had a worried expression on his face. His legs were trembling, and he shook his head. He looked at his talons, then at Kestrel.
"Well," said Wildfire. "Go on, now." His slim neck curved. "Oh, right, if you do not follow my orders, you will be considered a disloyal guard." He cleared his throat. "We don't want that happening, now, do we?"
The dragonets stared at each other once more. The laughter stopped. The smiles turned into worry. The joy turned into fear. There was a long silence until one dragonet who was placed on the right slashed the throat of his partner. It was the one who laughed at Jasper.
Kestrel shivered. This couldn't be happening. This had to be a nightmare.
She was on the right.