You trembled as you were lifted further and further away from the ground, until you were face to face with Scarlet. You were shaking. All proper thinking and logic had left your brain.
"Well? I asked you a question. Don't you know that is rude to disobey a Queen? Well, I'll ask you again. How. Can. You. Talk?" She said calmly. With each word, she squeezed your body harder and harder. You gasped, before you managed to wheeze out a response.
"Please. Let me go. D-Don't kill me." You gasped, before finally she released the pressure of her talon. You were panting, as you tried to get oxygen back into your blood. Queen Scarlet on the other had, was thinking to herself carefully.
"Are you animus enchanted? But if you were, than I can't understand why someone would waste power like that on a Scavenger..." She mussed as she studied you.
"I-I wasn't created, you know. I'm just very intelligent." You stated, although you still weren't sure how you could speak to the Dragons of Pyrrhia. Especially considering your not even from this world, but you quickly brushed that thought aside.
"Intelligent hm? This is new. I've always thought Scavengers were just dumb animals, but, I suppose you could be an exception. Besides, do you even know what an Animus is? I doubt it." She said in a slightly mocking tone. Luckily, you had a good memory and understanding of the books, so you knew exactly how to answer that question.
"An Animus is a Dragon, that has been born or has obtained a powerful magic, known as Animus magic. This magic is known to have no limit, and allows the user to enchant anything under spells. There is cost, however; When an Animus Dragon uses their magic, they loose a part of their soul, as they slowly go insane over time. Like Anemone in one of the later books-" You slap your mouth shut quickly, as your face turns pale.
You had nearly just given away the future. Not only that, but you realized that you knew the future itself. You knew everything that was going to happen. From Scarlet's future, to the future of Pyrrhia. You could not allow Scarlet to know what happens in the future at all costs.
If she somehow found out what happens. You shivered again, as you kept you mouth shut, not trusting yourself to not spill something.
Scarlet was looking at you with a very suprised expression on her face. She clearly wasn't expecting you to have such knowledge. Suddenly her eyes narrowed, and you started to become more nervous. The courage you had possessed earlier while talking had vanished.
"What was that? Scavenger? I didn't quite hear that... You were about to say something, weren't you..." She said, sounding calm, but her eyes glinted.
"I-I, um, I wasn't going to say anything, S-Scarlet-"
"I think you mean; QUEEN Scarlet, honesty, I would have thought you'd show a little more respect for The Queen of the Skywings..." Her pupils narrowed.
"Especially considering I could kill you, right here and now..." She growled, as you looked back at her with frightened eyes. You knew she was right. She could kill you if she wanted to. She had spared you of becoming her snack for now, but that didn't mean she could change her mind...
"Not to mention, you clearly have some knowledge, if you can speak, and the fact that you clearly know what an Animus is... However, if I am not going to kill you, what can I do with you?"
She continued to stare at you, still clutching you tightly in her grip. Her expression was thoughtful. You watched back, barely breathing. You didn't want to die. Not like this. There were still so many things you wanted to do with your life.
Finally Scarlet spoke, earning your instant nervous attention.
"Hmmm, I'll need to think on this. After all, you look much too weak to fight in the arena. I doubt you'd barely put up a good fight..." You couldn't help but breath a small sigh of relief. You didn't have to worry about the arena. Usually you would have been slightly offended if someone had called you weak, but you knew better than to say otherwise in this situation.
"I suppose I could always just kill you..." Scarlet mussed, earning a terrified look from you.
"Hmph. I do think I know however, where to put you for the time being. Guards! Put this Scavenger with the rest of the prisoners, above the arena."
You noticed that there had been a few guards standing at the edges of the room. No doubt defending Scarlet, before one of them strode over towards the throne where Scarlet held you.
She dropped you roughly on the ground and as you picked yourself up, before you could even make a move, the guard picked you up, as if you weighed nothing at all, although in a Dragon's perspective that would be correct. You squirmed in the guard's grip, as you fought for freedom, but of course it was too no avail.
"Let me go! I won't let you lock me up on your stupid arena! Please!" You cried as you struggled.
Scarlet watched you, with an amused expression on her face, as she watched your pathetic attempts for escape.
"Perhaps I was wrong about you, Scavenger. Perhaps you would be suitable to fight in the arena..." She smirked as you face showed an expression of terror, before she ordered you to be carried away.
You could do nothing but tremble, as the guard carried you back down the corridor, as you heard Scarlet laughing from the throne room behind you. At one point, you even heard the guard that was carrying you, muttering to himself about; 'how he should be guarding the Queen, and not escorting a useless Scavenger instead.'
"Honestly, it would show more worth as food than as a prisoner." He grumbled, making you squeak as he held you tighter, clearly feeling annoyed.
Finally, you emerged from a platform, out into the fresh air outside, still clutched tightly in the Guard's talons. The wing was blowing loudly, due to the Skywing palace being situated high in the mountains. By this point, the sun was starting to set, as it cast golden beams across the horizon. The air was already starting to feel colder in the wind. The guard seemed unaffected by the wing in any way, as it spread its wings, before leaping off the platform. You felt a scream come halfway up your throat, before the Dragon flapped its wings, and started flying into the sky, still gripping you tightly. It made you lightheaded, seeing the ground rush away from you.
Below you, at the foot of the palace, was the arena. Above the arena, was the huge towering stone columns, where Scarlet trapped all of her prisoners.
As the guard flew towards them, you half expected him to simply just drop you, than and there. Ending you life. At least it would be quick, but he simply just flew above the columns, which gave you a very good look of all of the dragons that were chained up, awaiting their turn in the arena below. As you looked carefully, you realized that there were no empty pillars. All of them had a Dragon on them, wings chained down in shackles.
You were just starting to wonder how the guard was going to put you anywhere if none of the pillars were available, when he suddenly dived once more. You yelped as the adrenaline hit you, as the wind whipped you face and hair, as the Skywing holding you flew towards a pillar with a Dragon already on it. You were confused at first, before you quickly realized what was happening.
You were going to share the space with a Dragon. A completely random Dragon that might be more than happy to kill you, even if they knew you could talk.
You gulped as the guard flew down towards them. Before you could even protest, or say anything at all, it dumped you roughly onto the stone platform of the pillar. The guard gave you a scornful look that seemed to say; Thanks for wasting my time! Before soaring off, leaving you stranded with a completely different Dragon.
You were trembling, as you turned around to take a look at the prisoner you had been left with. The first thing you noticed was their color. Their scales were a deep sea blue, with a slightly lighter blue in the underbelly.
It had its wings, draped over its body, which were also blue. You also noticed it had small frills along its neck, and behind its ears. It was a Seawing.
The first Seawing you had seen from your time in this world. (Which honestly had been less than a day, but you still couldn't crush down the small excitement of seeing another Dragon from a different tribe.)
At first you were confused to how they hadn't noticed your presence yet, until you became aware of the steady rise and fall of their body, as they breathed gently in and out. They were asleep. Every now and then, they growled in their slumber, which made you take a step away from them.
Suddenly, their body shifted position, their wings flopped sideways, resting just in front of you. You inhaled sharply, as you stared at the wing. Sprawled across the membrane were swirls and spirals, that seemed to glow almost in the rising moonlight. This wasn't any ordinary Seawing. You thought back to the books, trying to remember anything, but you could only recall two things.
The first thing was that Seawings that had spirals on their wings, were royal in blood. The second thing was, was that you couldn't remember Scarlet capturing any Seawings from the Kingdom of the Sea and keeping them above the arena... Unless...
You stared in bewilderment at the Dragon sleeping before you. It all made sense.
"Tsunami..." You whispered to yourself in awe. It was one of the Dragonets of Destiny.
You took a step forwards, not paying attention to where you were stepping. You felt something under your foot, and realized you had stupidly stepped on the end of her wing, directly in the membrane. Tsunami bared her teeth in her sleep, as she shifted her body once more. Without warning, her wing slipped out from underneath you, making you loose your balance...
(Queen Scarlet) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scarlet walked down the halls towards her sleeping chamber. Torches were already lit within the palace. As she passed, guards and servants bowed to her gracefully, showing their respect, but none of it could numb the thoughts or feelings she was having.
A talking Scavenger... They knew something. I just know it. They were about to say something important. I know they were.
She chuckled to herself, as she thought of the Scavenger, trapped high up on the stony pillar, high above the arena with no way down. And they would stay there. At least until she decided what to do with them.
However, Scarlet could feel something else. A feeling deep inside her heart. There was a part of her that wanted to meet the Scavenger again. To talk to them. Scarlet rolled her eyes to herself, as she entered her sleeping chamber. Decorating the walls was more gold, and precious metals. All wrapped up in rubies and other gems.
The strange feeling continued as she lay down on her bed, curling herself up into a comfortable position, as she removed her jewelry, and gold accessories and placed them on the side of her bed.
What she found even stranger, was as she closed her eyes, she struggled to get the image of the Scavenger's face out of her head...
Why am I feeling this? It's just a Scavenger. She thought stubbornly, before she finally started to drift off to sleep, dreaming about the exciting arena battles that would ensue the following day...
The entire time, from when she was drifting off to sleep, to when she was already asleep...
The strange feelings for the Scavenger never went away...