The first dragon Hare met in the Sky Kingdom was a little odd to say the least. Hare didn't dislike her, but she certainly wasn't the dragon the hybrid was expecting to see.
Her name was Peril. She was the Queen's Champion, the best fighter Queen Scarlet had for the arena. This was most likely because of Peril's unfair advantage in battles; she had fire in her scales. She could burn anyone with a single touch.
Apparently dragons like her were called firescales.
Peril was awfully kind for such a dangerous dragon. She welcomed Hare with a warm smile and showed her around some parts of the palace when Hare wasn't with the healers.. SkyWings stared in awe at Hare, then quickly backed off in horror once they saw Peril.
Hare was treated with a lot of respect. Some dragons bowed once they saw her. It felt odd, but also nice. It was funny to see dragons bow before such a young dragon, but it was nice to feel important.
Because I am important, Hare would remind herself. I'm the daughter of Burn, and I'm the niece of Blister and Blaze. Though I don't think my aunts matter much here.
The afternoon sunlight beat down on Hare's scales as she sat on a balcony, enjoying a rabbit one of the guards had brought for her. Peril ws beside her, some distance away but still next to her. Her copper scales shimmered in the sun.
"This is nice," Hare said, swallowing a bite of her rabbit. "I've never eaten out in the sun before."
"You've missed out on a lot, living under that pile of rocks," Peril said.
"The world is so much bigger than I thought it was," Hare said, looking around. Mountains reached up to the clouds. Trees dotted the lands around them. Pretty white, fluffy clouds danced through the sky. Some small streams were noticeable, and the water glittered beautifully in the light of the sun. The air was fresh and carried the scent of nature. Hare breathed it in, enjoying every moment. She really had missed out on a lot.
"I guess things seem better when you've never seen them before," Peril said with a small shrug, looking out at the land around them. "It makes you appreciate it more."
"I've never wanted anything more than to see what was outside our mountain," Hare told her. "Well, maybe I wanted to meet my mother more. But still, this was up there on the list. This looks nothing like the bloody scenes and scorched grounds our guardians would always tell us about."
"Your guardians told you about that?" Peril asked, shuddering.
"The others needed to know what they were getting into," Hare pointed out, taking another bite of the rabbit. "They couldn't just go into the world blindly, thinking everything was good and peaceful. They needed to know what they're destined to stop."
"I guess that's true," Peril said, still not looking at Hare. "What was it like, growing up with the dragonets?"
Hare shrugged. "It was fine. They were all I had, and everyone was nice to me. Well, mostly. Dune and Rose were the kindest to me."
Grief raked its claws across Hare's heart as she remembered the SandWing guardian. The first day she'd been here, she spent a lot of it getting her wounds treated. It helped her feel better physically, but nothing helped with the pain of losing Dune. She'd been so lost in grief that she barely did anything. She spent two days with the healers, just grieving. Rose came in every now and then to check on Hvitur. She was always accompanied by guards, and Hvitur was chained to the wall. None of the other SkyWing healers made an effort to help him. Hare guessed it was some kind of order from Scarlet.
Peril shook out her wings. "I'm going to go meet them," she told Hare. "You'll be alright here, won't you?"
"Of course," Hare replied.
Peril nodded, then leaped off the balcony and flew into the sky. Hare watched as she flew up to the tall spires that the prisoners were kept on. Hare felt horrible for her friends. They were up there, on those terrifyingly tall prisons. How were they managing? Were they okay? Were they scared?
Of course they're scared, featherbrain. Hare swallowed the last few mouthfuls of her rabbit. She stayed out for a little longer, enjoying the sun.
"Hare."
Hare looked over her shoulder. A small pale orange SkyWing stood behind her. He was horribly thin and was clearly nervous. She recognized him almost right away. He was one the guards who'd brought her food. Alder.
"Queen Scarlet would like to see you," Alder explained. "In her throne room."
"Of course." Hare dipped her head and got up. When she walked past Alder, she lightly brushed his shoulder with her tail. "Thank you for letting me know."
Hare walked down the hall that led to the queen's throne room. Golden talon prints carved into the floor showed the way. She paid no mind to the busy dragons around her. She walked into Queen Scarlet's throne room. The queen sat atop her throne, which was shaped like clouds. Gold was splattered all over the room in beautiful designs. Some showed flying dragons, others showed patterns that glimmered in the sunlight. There were clouds of gold carved into the floor. Three dragons sat by Scarlet's throne. Hare recognized her children.
A pretty dark red dragon sat a little further away from the others. That was Queen Scarlet's only daughter, Princess Ruby. A bright red dragon sat the closest to his mother. That was Vermillion, Scarlet's eldest son. A young rust-colored SkyWing sat beside his brother. That was Scarlet's youngest son, he was only a year older than Hare. He looked uncomfortable, as he always did around his mother. Hare sometimes saw him shoot furious glances at his mother when she wasn't looking. That was Copper.
"Hare, you made it." Scarlet sat taller on her throne, curling her tail over the edge. "Perfect, you're just on time."
Hare blinked. "What for?"
"The arena battle," Scarlet replied.
Hare just stared at her. She didn't know Scarlet planned on bringing her to watch those. She didn't want to watch dragons fight to their death. She didn't want to see horrible, bloody scenes unfold before her.
"Our audience must be waiting." Scarlet stepped down from her throne and stretched her neck. "Come, all of you."
Vermillion walked beside Scarlet while Ruby walked behind them. Copper lowered his head and followed them a little slower. Hare walked beside him.
"Have you ever watched an arena fight?" she asked him, trying to hide her anxiety.
"Too many," Copper replied quietly. "Mother always brings us to watch them. Every. Single. One. We're there for every trial, too. She said it's good for us to watch so we know what to do when our time comes to rule, though I doubt she'll ever let that happen."
Hare tilted her head. "What do you mean?"
"Mother doesn't have many heirs," Copper explained. "She easily killed my grandmother, my aunts, and my sisters. I only saw one of the fights, and it was horribly brutal. I can't imagine how bad the others were."
"Is she going to kill Ruby?" Hare squeaked. An image of the queen killing Ruby appeared in Hare's mind, making her feel sick.
Copper shrugged. "Probably, when the time comes."
"What's going to happen when Queen Scarlet dies?" Hare asked. "She can't live forever. What if she dies without any heirs?"
"Then we'll probably end up like the SandWings," Copper replied simply.
"You'd let that happen?" Hare breathed, horrified
"I wouldn't have much of a choice," Copper pointed out.
"Hopefully it won't come to that," Hare murmured.
"I hope I won't be around to witness it," Copper said with a shudder. "Though, there's a lot I don't want to witness. Like a battle between my mother and Ruby. I couldn't stand to watch Ruby die the same way my other sister did."
"Who was she?" Hare asked, trying to keep her tone gentle.
"Her name was Tourmaline," Copper replied. "I was never very close with her, but her death was still horrible to watch. After all, she was my sister."
"I'm so sorry," Hare said, pressing a little closer to the young prince. "That must've been awful."
"You have no idea," Copper grumbled. He lowered his voice as he added, "That's why I often find myself wishing I had a different mother."
Hare blinked at him, her eyes wide. "But that's your mother," Hare protested. "I mean, I don't like her very much and find it hard to see how others do, but how could you think such a thing?"
"She's horrible," Copper shot back. "I hate horrible dragons, and I especially hate her."
"You can't hate your mother!"
"You don't even like her!"
"That doesn't mean anything! She's your mother for moons' sake. You can't dislike her."
"Says you! You've never even met yours."
Hare looked away. He had a point. She had no reason to dislike her mother. She'd never met her before. She didn't know what awful traits she might have. A horrible thought struck her.
What if I hate my mother the same way Copper hates his?
"Sorry," Copper murmured. "That was mean."
"It's fine," Hare said. "No need to apologize."
Copper nodded. "We're here."
The five dragons stepped out onto a large rock balcony that overlooked the arena. SkyWings, MudWings, and SandWings filled the seats around them. Everyone was chattering excitedly. Hare looked up and squinted. It was hard to properly see the prisoners from here, but she thought she could make out a black dragon that must be Starflight.
Hare looked around on the balcony, trying to find a place to settle. She stopped where she was when she saw what sat on the balcony with them. A white decorative tree sat beside them. The dragon who sat on it had her tail wound around the trunk. Her scales glittered with colors of violet, pink, orange, and yellow. She was stunning in the sunlight. Glory!
A delicate silver chain leashed Glory to the tree. She could've easily broken it, but the RainWing showed no interest in escaping. She stretched her neck toward the sun, then recoiled herself over the branches and closed her eyes.
Hisses of respect came from the crowd as the queen spread her wings. Once they quieted down, Queen Scarlet stepped forward and waved toward Glory.
"Well?" she said in a sly voice. "What do we think of my new art?"
Anger bubbled inside Hare again.
Glory isn't art! She's a dragon, just like the rest of us!
Hare forced herself to hold her tongue and sat beside Copper, who was keeping distance between himself and the rest of his family. Vermillion perched himself on a boulder nearby. Ruby sat beside her mother, her scales shimmering in the sun.
"Before we begin today's battles, I'd like to welcome our honored guest," Scarlet announced. She looked over at Hare. "I'd like you all to greet Hare, the daughter of our ally, Princess Burn."
The queen's words were greeted by cheers and hisses of respect. Hare shied away a little. Copper laughed and nudged her forward. "Stand tall," he said.
Hare listened and, despite her embarrassment by all this praise, stood like a queen. Once the cheering quieted down, Hare stepped back to sit beside Copper again.
"Bring in the combatants," Queen Scarlet ordered.
Hare watched as three SkyWing guards flew up to one of the sky prisons. She was aware of Peril walking out from the tunnel below them. She stood in the arena, smoke rising from her scales.
The SkyWing soldiers hauled down a struggling SandWing. Hare's gaze flitted over to the prisoner that sat beside the SandWing as she caught a flash of familiar scales. Hare bit back a joyful cry. It was Clay!
The SandWing prisoner was dropped down onto the sand. One of the SkyWing guards stood in the middle of him and Peril to address the crowd. "After four wins, Horizon of the SandWings - formerly, and unwisely, a soldier of Blaze's army - has been challenged to a fight with the Queen's Champion, Peril." The SkyWing raised his head tall. "Claws up, fire ready, fight!"
He sprang out of the arena, leaving Horizon and Peril to face each other.
"Here we go," Copper murmured.
"This is unfair," Hare whispered to him. "Horizon can't even use his wings!"
"What would be the point?" Copper whispered back. "Peril would be on him in a split second. Either way, he's going to lose."
"He has to have a chance," Hare insisted.
"He doesn't."
Horizon hissed at Peril as she stalked toward him. Her tail snaked across the sand, and sunlight reflected off her copper scales. Her blue eyes glittered dangerously.
Horizon suddenly darted to the side and dashed across the arena. He was heading for the tunnel. Peril was much quicker, stopping him before he could reach it. He yelped and staggered backwards. Peril calmly reached out and touched one of his wings. Hare winced as she heard Horizon's horrible wail. Copper buried his face in her shoulder and squeezed his eyes shut. Hare couldn't blame him. She was sure she could watch a million of these fights and still be horrified by what happened.
A burn mark the shape of a talon was left on Horizon's wing once she pulled away. Horizon gasped and stumbled over his talons. He eyed her, his eyes glazed with pain.
Horizon suddenly reached forward and grabbed Peril's forearms in his talons. He wrapped his wings around her and buried his face in her shoulder. His body slowly began to melt, disfiguring him horribly. One final, violent shudder ran through Horizon's body before he flopped onto the sand. His wings had melted in a horrible way and most of him was almost indistinguishable. Hare stared at the body in horror. She felt sick as disappointed murmurs rose from the crowd.
How do you not see how horrible this is? Are you all really so heartless?
Hare swallowed the words back.
"Well that was boring," Queen Scarlet sighed. "I was hoping for something more entertaining."
Entertaining? How could death ever be entertaining?
"Don't worry," Scarlet called to the crowd. "Tomorrow we'll have a special surprise, something we've never seen before!" She waved her talon. "Dismissed." The queen turned and swept away.
Copper nudged Hare, who still hadn't looked away from Horizon's body. "Come on," he said quietly. "Let's go."
Hare pulled her eyes away from the sight and followed Copper back into the palace. Vermillion and Ruby were close behind.
"Are you alright?" Copper asked.
"Fine." Hare forced the words out. It was the furthest thing from the truth. She felt dizzy, she felt sick, and she felt so anxious she thought she would collapse.
How long would it be until she had to watch her friends in that arena?