Shadowing Peaks - A Wings of Fire Fanfiction [Book I]

Chapter I

This is dedicated to gemstonerainbow for drawing the amazing cover for this book.

A/N: I know, I know, it's a day early, but I couldn't help myself! I've already finished Chapter III and I just needed to share this with you. Chapter II will be posted on Friday.

Present day. . .

Sparrow was a normal dragon. She didn't have any extraordinary talents, she didn't know anyone important, and she didn't have wealthy parents. She followed the rules, even if sometimes she didn't want to, because she knew the punishment she would receive if she broke them. She was loyal to Queen Precipice, who ruled her tribe with cruel means and vicious laws. No one dared cross her. If they did, a painful and bloody death awaited them. So, naturally, Sparrow was terrified as she stood outside the massive mahogany doors of the Queen's court.

Warm golden sunshine streamed through the arches beside her, shining on her hard red scales like they were rubies. The grey stone floor beneath her sharp dark talons was smooth and reflected the light like marble. Her wine-red wings were tucked close to her sides, shaking slightly from anticipation of what lay ahead for her. Sparrow knew without a doubt that she would never see her friends again. Nay, she would never see the Sky Kingdom again. Most likely, she would be thrown in the Queen's dungeon until the Queen felt like killing someone.

The huge wood doors suddenly opened, the only sound a slight hiss as it lightly scraped the polished stone floor. It was held open by two tall bulky SkyWing guards, both wearing shining metal armour sets. A sun was engraved in their chestpiece; the crest of the Queen's personal guard. Many years ago, Sparrow had hoped to be able to wear that armour with the sun carving and wield the spears they carried beside them. She certainly had the skills to be one of the Queen's personal guards. The only thing that stopped her from fulfilling her dream was the Queen. She had decided to have a male-only personal guard, unintentionally sentencing Sparrow to a life of cooking for a small fish restaurant.

As she stepped into the grand room, she almost had to cover her warm orange eyes from the glare of the hot morning sun. The court was completely open at the back, letting the natural light illuminate the room. Silhouetted against the brightness was a huge dragon, easily twice the size of Sparrow. She knew who it was. Judge Crow. She was the second most feared dragon in the whole Sky Kingdom, second only to Queen Precipice. Some dragons whispered about how she always held court in the morning, when the sun was behind her, to make her look more intimidating.

Well, it certainly works, Sparrow grumbled, shivering violently. Judge Crow sat atop a stone dias, which lowered in steps the closer it got to the grand carved walls. A dragon rested on every step, as still as the bronze statues of the Queen in the main plaza of her village, their red and orange scales glittering menacingly. A shadow covered Sparrow and she looked up to see what made it. A platform above the door stuck out halfway up the wall. A pale red tail drooped over one edge, striking fear into her heart.

Queen Precipice had pale red scales.

"Sparrow, of Seacliff," a deep voice boomed. Judge Crow for sure. "Come forward, onto the platform."

Sparrow slowly walked forward, tail slithering along the ground dejectedly as she stepped onto the circle that was raised slightly above the normal ground level. The sun symbol of her Queen's guard was inlaid in the ground with pure gold.

"Do you know why you are here?" Judge Crow demanded, her dark silhouette shortening as she leaned forward. Her massive shadow fell over Sparrow, chilling her scales and sending a shiver down her spine.