(3rd Pov Glory)
"Oh, look," Magnificent growled over the applauding RainWings, pointing to the glint of sunlight on wings flapping through the trees. "The fruit gatherers are coming back."
Glory grabbed a nut off the mahogany table and placed it her coconut. Her team followed her. Kinkajou had red and yellow stripes marching along her scales, and Jambu was a little blue-gray around the edges. Glory wondered if her brother had more than two moods.
"You won!" Sunny said happily. She glanced at the sloth of Glory's neck. "Is Silver going to be okay?"
Glory ran her talons down her sloths back, smoothing out its fur and calming it down. "I think she'll be okay," Glory said.
"That should be considered cheating!" Tsunami shouted. "You can't let her get away with that! Boo! Hiss!"
"Silence them," Magnificent said to Handsome with a glare.
He spread his wings and cleared her throat. "Nothing in the rules forbids what the queen did," he announced. "She will not be reprimanded, but the winner is still Glory."
Magnificent glared at him while Mangrove and Dazzling swooped down from the trees.
Glory was still too shaken to chime in. The others might call it cheating, but as far as she was concerned, Magnificent had only found a trick to reveal Glory's hiding place, the same way Glory had used the RainWing audience for clues.
She had nearly lost. And she would have if it wasn't for Toad.
She couldn't even pay attention to the sorting and counting going on as Mangrove and Dazzling spilled fruits of all shapes and sizes across the greenery. Handsome picked each one up, muttered over it for a moment, and set it in a pile.
'If I were working alone and Toad wasn't here, it would be over by now.' Glory realized. She would have lost the throne in a direct contest with Magnificent.
Kinkajou's eyes were fixed on Mangrove's fruit pile. She fidgeted with her tail and counted under her breath.
Handsome examined the last fruit, a very large, yellow-orange fruit that was shaped like a tomato and oozed a juice that was the came color as it's skin as he poked it. He nodded and placed it in Mangrove's pile next to a fruit that looked just like it but had a more pinkish color to it. Kinkajou shot Glory a worried look.
"Nineteen to nineteen," said Handsome. "It's a tie."
"What?" shrilled Magnificent. She whipped around to glare at Dazzling, who had yellow speckles around her mouth and the large tomato-like fruit - with a bit taken out of it - in one of her talons. In her pile was a fruit that looked just like it.
'Jumbofruit,' Glory recalled the name.
Magnificent was practically seething with rage. "So, what do we do now?" she asked.
Handsome thought for a moment. ". . . We'll continue as normal. If Glory's team with the next event, she'll win. If the queens win, we'll think of something else, then."
"Sounds good to me," Glory said.
"That's fine," Magnificent followed.
"Very well," Handsome said. "We will start the venom targeting contest," he announced.
"So," Glory started. "Are you going to try and cheat again."
Magnificent hissed and opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by another voice.
"That won't be necessary." Wind rustled through the leaves as Grandeur slid majestically between Glory and Magnificent. her bones creaked like ancient forests and the silver cast of her scales made her look as if she were reflecting moonlight instead of sunlight. She wasn't like the other queens. In fact, she wasn't like any other dragon in the village. Glory though Grandeur might be the only RainWing who actually looked, moved, and sounded like a real queen.
She arched her neck and peered down at Kinkajou. "I can crush this little creature easily on my own."
"We'll see," Kinkajou said bravely, but anxious streaks of green flickered in her ruff. 'This is asking too much of her,' Glory worried. Kinkajou was barely half Grandeur's size, with hardly any training. The NightWings had been so underwhelmed by her venom that they hadn't even bothered binding her mouth. How could she possibly win?
Handsome beckoned the two dragons into the center of the Arboretum. "Standard venom practice rules apply," he said. "Take the utmost caution to hit no living creature. We'll be testing and targeting. Who'd like to go first?"
"I," said Grandeur. She eyed Handsome and his two helpers as they rolled a long, polished plank of wood across the vines. It was as wide as five talon prints and four times as long, with small measurement marks all the way along it.
One end stopped at Grandeur's front talons. She stretched her neck and jaw while the RainWings scurried out of the way, leaving the plank laid out in front of her like a welcoming carpet.
"Whenever you're-" Handsome started.
Grandeur's mouth snapped open and a spray of black venom shot out. The droplets spattered on the wood near the far end of the plank, sizzling and burning small holes where they fell. The watching dragons all oooooohed admiringly.
"I'm guessing that's pretty impressive," Glory said to Mangrove.
His sigh answered her question.
Grandeur stepped aside with a polite gesture to Kinkajou. The little dragonet stepped up nervously, opened her mouth as wide as she could, and shot a tiny jet of venom at the plank.
It landed barely a quarter of the way between her claws and Grandeur's drops.
Glory's heart sank. Mangrove dropped his head into his front talons with a groan. Kinkajou turned to Glory with a heartbroken expression.
"There's still the targeting part," Jambu said hopefully. He patted the little dragonet on the back. The helpers were already dragging out a kind of easel painted with three yellow and white circles.
"What if I fail?" Kinkajou said to Glory. "All those dragons - it'll be my fault if we never see them again. It'll be my fault that you're not queen."
"Stop that," Glory said, placing one talon over Kinkajou's. "If we lose, it'll be my fault more than anyone else's. I dragged you all into this. But I will be queen one day. And in the meanwhile-" She caught Mangrove's eye to make sure he was listening. "We'll get orchid and the other RainWings back no matter what it takes. Maybe I won't have an army, but we'll make a rescue mission out of my friends and anyone else who's willing to go. So don't think about that right now. All I can ask is that you try your best - and I know I don't even have to ask, because you're the kind of dragon who always does."
"That's true," Kinkajou said. "I am that kind of dragon." She squared her shoulders. "I will. That's what I'm going to do."
Glory glanced up and realized that Grandeur had been listening, too. The old queen turned around and casually shot a spray of her venom at the painted board. It land precisely in the center of the first circle.
Magnificent gave Glory a triumphant smile. 'It would have been really nice to wipe that smile off her face. And one day I will. I will be queen of this tribe. That's what I'm meant for. I'm sure of it.'
Kinkajou stepped up beside Grandeur, opened her mouth, and sprayed her venom at the circles. The drops splashed right on top of Grandeur's, and a hissing sound came from the board as the wood melted a little more.
The older RainWing made her head made a sound of approval and patted Kinkajou's head. Then she tilted her head just a little and shot a black jet directly into the center of the second circle.
Kinkajou took a deep breath and did the same. More sizzling and smoking came from the wood.
'Don't get excited,' Glory told herself, although she couldn't help feeling impressed with Kinkajou. She knew for a fact that she wouldn't have been able to aim that precisely. But if the two dragons tied on this part of the challenge, Grandeur would still win because of the distance part. 'Practice a gracious-in-defeat face. And then get ready to study like life depends on it so I can try this again. I wonder how long I have to wait between challenges.'
Grandeur opened her mouth.
And then a sloth tumbled out of the trees, landing in front of the board.
Kinkajou leaped to shove it out of the way.
And time seemed to slow down, so Glory could watch each drop of venom sail in an unhurried arc to land, splash, splash, splash, tight on Kinkajou's wing.
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Onto the next chapter
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(3rd Pov Glory)
All around the Arboretum, RainWings started screaming.
Kinkajou collapsed in a ball of scales that went instantly white with pain, except for three spots where black venom was eating through her wing.
Glory rushed to her side and found Grandeur opposite to her, grabbing Kinkajou's talons. Grandeur's face was horrified.
"Help her!" Glory yelled. She remembered what jambu had told her about how a relative's venom would counteract your own. "Who's related to you? Get them over here!"
"I don't know," Grandeur said hopelessly. "I haven't had any eggs in decades. I haven't tried matching venom in anyone in so long. I don't think there's anyone related to me anymore."
"That's insane!" Glory shouted. "Why can't you dragons keep track of these things? You must have had dragonets at some point, and they must have had dragonets, too . . ."
"Maybe, nut no one had-"
Kinkajou shrieked, a high wailing sound of Agony.
"Start trying," Glory cried. "Try everyone. Try me." She grabbed easel and spat a messy puddle of venom on the corner. The wood hissed and melted as if it were burning from the inside.
Grandeur didn't hesitate. She sprayed her venom right on top of Glory's.
And the melting stopped.
Glory didn't time for the shocked expression on Grandeur's face. She couldn't risk trying to aim neatly for the same three spots where Grandeur's venom had hit Kinkajou; she might end up causing far more damage. Quickly she ripped three leaves off the vine below her, dipped them in a puddle of her own venom, and stuck them to Kinkajou's wounds.
The sizzling sound faded and the black acid stopped spreading.
"You're all right. You're going to be all right," Glory said to kinkajou, lifting the dragonet's head in her talons. She realized the little dragon had fainted.
Also, Grandeur was staring at her as if sloths were parading out of Glory's ears.
"What?" Glory said. "So I'm you granddaughter or great-grandniece or something. It's not like anyone around here really cares, right?"
" I do," said Grandeur, "because it means that you are descended from the original line of RainWing queens, and so I am not the last one worthy of the throne after all."
Glory blinked at her. "I didn't think anyone cared about royal blood here."
"Nobody but me," said Grandeur. "We used to keep track of the royal eggs, but my daughters were useless, se we merged our eggs with the tribe's, hoping to find successors who were queens in spirit, if not blood. There were a few who might have been great if they'd ever tried for the throne, but the truth is, I've never found a dragonet who both wanted to be queen and deserved to be. Until now."
She stood up and faced Magnificent like an enormous storm cloud. "I forfeit. Kinkajou wins."
"What?" Magnificent shrieked.
"Did you hear that?" Glory said to Kinkajou. "You won."
The dragonet's eyes fluttered open and she managed a smile. "That is . . . super-cool," she whispered. Tamarin came up behind them and slid her wing under Kinkajou's head so Glory could stand up next to Grandeur. She felt dizzy with disbelief.
"YAY!" Toad cried, seemingly appearing next to Tamarin, Oleander was not far behind him. "You did great," she said.
"It's my throne anyway," Grandeur said to Magnificent. "I have merely tolerated all of you on it because I though experience might transform you into worthy queens." She shot a disgusted look at Dazzling, Exquisite, and Fruit Bat. "That theory turned out to be quite wrong."
"You don't know anything about this dragon," Magnificent complained, pointing at Glory.
"I know she'll be a better queen than you," said Grandeur. She turned to the assembled tribe with a sweeping gesture. "Behold! Your new queen! Queen Glory of the RainWings!"
And they cheered.
Glory stepped back, dazzled, as what looked like the whole tribe rose into the air, beating their wings and singing out joyfully. The rainbow of different colors was swept away on a tide of sunflower-gold excitement, and Glory thought thought to herself, 'Wow.'
'I'm a queen. Queen Gory of the RainWings. That'll be my name in the history scrolls - not Glory the mistake, or Glory the lazy RainWing, or Glory who could never be as good as some nameless SkyWing who died six years ago. I'm responsible for all these dragons now. We can rescue the missing RainWings and make sure no more dragonets ever get lost again. Starflight can help me teach them all how to read and write. I'll protect them. I'll lead them. I'll make them - us - a tribe we can be proud of. Glory, the queen who chose her own destiny, saved her subjects, and turned her tribe into the greatest in all of Pyrrhia.'
"Speech!" Jambu demanded, barreling into her. His scales were a pink so vibrant it almost hurt her eyes to look at him.
"Don't you start. Luckily no one would hear me over all this noise," Glory said with a wave at her jubilant subjects. She gave an affectionate shove and he wound his tail around hers for a moment, and she didn't even mind.
As he bounded off to assault someone else's eyes, she felt movement at her wing and turned, thinking it was Kinkajou, but it was Sunny. Sunbeams danced on her gold scales as the little SandWing beamed at her.
"You did it," she said.
"Not by myself," said Glory. "I needed these dragons to make it happen." She spread her wings to encompass Jambu and Mangrove, but they were bouncing around in excitement. Tamarin was hugging Kinkajou, and even the wounded dragonet was pale pink with joy. Surprisingly, even the normal calm and polite Oleander was practically dancing with joy, and not surprisingly, Toad was cheering as loud as possible and jumping around, but Glory still couldn't hear him over everyone else. The noteworthy thing about him was, when he jumped he was clearing the heads of some full grown RainWings.
"This is so unfair," Tsunami said, landing beside them. She sighed dramatically. "This was supposed to be my story. Stupid SeaWings, already having a decent queen."
"No," Toad argued, jumping over Tsunami's head. "It's my story." Tsunami didn't say anything, surprised by the MudWing dragonet's abilities.
"Maybe you'll be SeaWing queen one day," Glory said. "And then I can give you tips on how to be majestic and brilliant."
They grinned at each other.
"That just proves what I've always said," Tsunami observed. "Who needs a prophecy to tell you how to make an awesome destiny?"
"True," Glory said. "Take that, prophecy. You're not about me? Well, I'm not all about you either."
Sunny fluttered her wings like a settling butterfly. "We still need you, though," she said. "You're still one of us, and no one will ever convince me otherwise."
Glory brushed Sunny's wing with hers, feeling warmth that wasn't coming from the SandWing's scales. "The first thing we have to do is rescue the RainWings from the Night Kingdom," she said. "Which means turning these dragons into an army as fast as possible - Tsunami can help with that."
"Yes, I can," Tsunami said, flexing her claws.
"Well, actually," Sunny said. "I was thinking maybe there's another-"
The sound of branches thrashing overhead made Glory spin around. Clay came barreling through the trees, trailing broken twigs and wrestling vines out of his way. He stared around wildly at the rejoicing RainWings, spotted Glory, and crashed down in front of her.
"Clay!" Sunny cried. "What is it? What's wrong?"
Horrible images popped into Glory's head - of her friends hurt, of a NightWing army marching through the tunnel to invade the forest . . .
"It's Starflight," Clay said. "He's disappeared." He shot an anxious look at Glory, and she remembered the argument she'd had with Starflight the last time she'd seen him. Surely he hadn't -
"Glory, I'm sorry," said Clay. "But I think he's gone to warn the NightWings."
END OF CHAPTER
A/N
Hope you all liked the chapter and the little plot twist
Book 3 has almost come to an end
Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions
See you all in the next chapter
bye