Wings of Fire; Creature / ✅

CHAPTER FOUR

Edited ✅ as of 25/03/23

Gleam whirled around and found Scarlet writhing on the floor. She was stunned. Why had Scarlet been affected by her power? She had been focusing on Sparrow, not on the queen...

Then the realisation hit her harder than a scavenger's hunting stick. The thing that she got mad at was hurt, not the thing that she was trying to hurt. Her anger evaporated like mist in the sunlight, and Scarlet stopped spasming, taking deep, gulping breaths as she tried to recover as quickly as possible. She slowly got up. "What. Was. THAT?" she snarled at Gleam, shoving the dragonet backwards. 

She yelped in pain as she ran into a stone wall, lumpy with gold nuggets. "I-I didn't mean to! I was trying t-to injure Sparrow, like you said..."

"Yeah, but clearly, you injured me instead! Is that any way to repay me for my kindness towards you? Do you want me to send you over to Burn's weirdling tower?" Scarlet hissed. Gleam shrunk back against the wall. To her, Scarlet's anger felt sharper than an IceWing's claws.

"You-you wouldn't," Gleam growled back, though she wasn't so sure. "I'm valuable!"

"But diamonds and gold are also valuable," Scarlet spat back. "Remember how Burn offered to trade treasure for you? Well, jewels have never looked shinier than they are today. Since the IceWings stole my hard-earned treasure... I wouldn't mind swapping you for a couple of gems."

Gleam recoiled as if Scarlet had just raked her claws across her snout. She's just threatening me. She's just threatening me, she told herself, trying to stop the tears from welling into her eyes. She's only angry and embarrassed that she showed pain and weakness. She tried to convince herself desperately. She could not show Scarlet that she had hurt her. She could not. 

"Well, do it then," Gleam growled, straightening herself and trying her hardest to keep the tremor out of her voice. "Trade me. It's not like you ever loved me anyway. Clearly even a single, rusty gold coin is worth more than me."

She suddenly remembered that Sparrow and Vermillion were still in the room, listening to their argument with wide eyes. They had been expecting an execution, not a quarrel between a dragonet and the queen. 

"You two!" Scarlet snapped, realising at the same moment Gleam had. "Get your nosy behinds out of this room. Don't you have better things to do than listening in to the queen's conversation? Vermillion, go prepare the prisoners for the arena, or whatever your job is, and Sparrow, go do whatever unimportant guards do."

Vermillion nodded and steered Sparrow out of the throne room. As they went, Gleam could catch a low murmur from Vermillion: "you're just lucky that Scarlet is angry at someone else right now..."

"Yes, I might," Scarlet growled, resuming their argument. "Clearly, you love to defy me and ignore orders. Do you remember how you talked back to me in front of Burn, or, just now, ignored my order, so I had to repeat it?"

"Yeah, because I hate killing!" Gleam shot back.

"Well you're going to have to get used to it, Gleam, because, from now on, you'll be on the arena every day!" Scarlet hissed.

"What if I don't want to be fight on the arena?" Gleam retorted stubbornly. "You can't force me to do something I don't want to do."

"I can, and I will," Scarlet spat. "I'm your queen, worm-eater."

"Well, what if I refuse? What are you going to do, drag me by my tail onto the-" Gleam's words were cut off as a bright pain appeared on top of her snout. She staggered back and felt blood drip down her face. Scarlet stepped back, blood glistening on her talons - her blood. 

"What-" Gleam began, but Scarlet interrupted. "Fancy talking back to me again?"

Gleam hissed, willing her horns to start glowing. She could already tell they were beginning to, as Scarlet's angry expression turned to one of fear. "I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I won't ever hit you again, I promise."

Her eyes and horns still a light blue, Gleam stormed into the cage. Scarlet walked over and locked it; by her rasping breath, Gleam knew she was beginning to feel the strangling pressure in her neck. She watched Scarlet with a glare as the queen settled herself on her throne, breathing loudly for air. 

Gleam controlled herself, and calmness set over her like a warm, snug blanket. The glow in her horns and eyes stopped, and Scarlet exhaled a long sigh of relief. They sat in the throne room in silence for the rest of the morning.

***

Gleam crunched on a cooked pig, ignoring Scarlet's stares as the young dragonet dribbled and spilled blood on the cage floor, making a mess of the prison. The pig was tough but succulent, and every bite made her want more. She left lumps of meat on the ground as she hungrily gobbled up the pig, eating like a starved wolf who hadn't eaten for months. She knew that if she'd look up, she'd meet a disgusted stare. Not my fault I wasn't taught table manners, she thought. 

When she'd finished, she licked up the remains of the pig and gnawed on the bones, polishing them off. 

"Remind me to never invite you to a celebration feast," Scarlet growled.

Gleam looked up, narrowing her eyes. "Sure. Not that you'd ever let me go, anyway," she retorted, crunching the bones between her teeth. You just make me stare at the delicious food longingly, making me wish for some fancy foods I can't eat.

"Whatever," Scarlet hissed. "By the way, Morrowseer's coming tomorrow, so you'd better not make a fool of yourself, or of me."

Gleam rolled her eyes, finishing her meal. "An all-seeing, great NightWing. Wow."

Scarlet's spikes stood up in outrage. "NightWings may storm around like they own the place," she said smoothly. "But that doesn't mean we can't lure them into an alliance. Greatness, as I've heard, speaks for Battlewinner, and as I've also heard she's a pushover, so if I convince Morrowseer, he'll easily bribe the princess into the alliance. This way we'll become the most powerful tribe - not that we aren't already, mind you -  because NightWings will always looking over our shoulder at our enemies, and every tribe fears them. SkyWings plus NightWings equals SkyWings become even more of a greater tribe, and unstoppable. It's a simple equation."

"Nice story. Are you going to turn it into a scroll?" Gleam asked. "What's it going to be called? 'Scarlet Becomes The Next Queen of the NightWings' or maybe 'Scarlet the All-Great Alliance-Maker'?"

"Shut up," Scarlet snarled. "As a queen, you should respect me."

"I'll give you respect when you deserve it," Gleam retorted. 

"Who do you think you are?" Scarlet's voice was quiet and dangerous. Gleam felt a spark of alarm, but she couldn't take the words back now. "I'm the most terrifying queen in Pyrrhia at the moment. If you ruin my reputation, you'll be putting all the SkyWings into danger, including yourself."

"So what?" Gleam growled. "I can protect myself with my anger, remember? Nobody can even harm me. Not even with fire."

"I will remind you that they can before you use your angry-magic," Scarlet snapped. 

"Oh well, I have my own remember?" Gleam hissed. 

"Are you so sure?" Scarlet asked slyly.

Gleam felt a prickle of uneasiness at her malignant gaze. "Yes, I'm sure. I'm a SkyWing, for goodness' sake!"

"Maybe you are part SkyWing," Scarlet agreed.

"But your mother is an IceWing."