Listen, And The Stars Shall Speak

~Flashback~ A Bargain

Firefly paced the small cell she'd been locked in, her mind racing with the same thought that was slowly eating away at her. I never told him, she thought. That sentence was like a broken record in her head. If I die here, if he dies trying to get to me, he'll never know. He doesn't know. I never told him. WHY DIDN'T I JUST TELL HIM? She sighed and sank to the floor, burying her face in her talons. She didn't even know what was going on, or if Coal was alright. She knew he was alive, but that was far from reassuring. "Coal," she whispered. "Where are you?"

In the Scorpion Den, dragons were usually mad. It was common and nobody cared or did anything. But when this one dragon walked down the road, everyone else got out of his way. This young, scarred dragon, looked PISSED. No one that saw him would've been surprised if his glare alone incinerated the entire Den. This dragon was ready to kill.

Coal set his jaw, his eyes flaming with fury. His fists were clenched as he turned down an alley, only to find himself face to face with the very dragon he was looking for.

"Prick." Coal greeted him, his voice cold enough to make the Ice Kingdom feel warm.

"Coal, how lovely to see you again." Prickle announced. Two tough-looking guards blocked the exit of the alley, just in case. 

"Cut the crap. Where is she?" If looks could kill, Prickle would've died more times in a second than Foeslayer had. He grinned.

"You really don't think I'm just going to hand her over, now do you?" Coal swallowed hard.

"If you hurt her." he shook with anger. "If you dared." 

"You'll what?"

"I will kill every last dragon in your entire gang as you watch before I kill you in the most slow, painful, inhumane, and cruel way I can think of."

"Hilarious."

 Coal glared at him before glancing around at the surrounding dragons. He contemplated his next move, until his eyes handed on a familiar face. Rattlesnake. Qibli's sister. Vulture's granddaughter. She was a smart dragon, but she had a soft spot for Prickle. Or, at least, what was considered a soft spot in the Scorpion Den. Prickle returned the feeling, although he would never love her. Dragons like Prickle and Rattlesnake, and everyone in their gangs, they weren't capable of love. At least, not the kind of love that Coal had come to know. The dragons surrounding him and Prickle were quick, but years of training with Six-Claws, Qibli, and the rest of Queen Thorn's army had made Coal faster. He pinned Rattlesnake to the wall, his poisonous tail threateningly close to her throat. The others jumped and rushed towards him.

"Stop!" Prickle commanded. He knew that Coal could kill her way faster than the guards could attack him. 

"Go get her. Now." Coal ordered. He nodded at Rattlesnake. "Or she dies." Prickle smirked at his brother.

"And what makes you think I care if she does?" rattlesnake winced slightly. Those words stung. Coal snorted.

"You're my brother Prickle. I know everything about you. None of your tricks will work." 

They stared each other down until finally, Prickle looked away and flicked his tail. 

"You have five minutes. Then you're ours."

Firefly let out a cry as Coal entered her cell. She wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder. He was so warm, just like always. He hugged her back tightly before pulling away to study her.

"Are you alright?" he questioned, checking her up and down. "Did they hurt you? I swear if they did-"

"I'm fine." she insisted, her voice weak. "Just tell me what's going on." Coal glanced around before replying. 

"It was my brothers that took you. They've been watching us, sending the letters in the mail. They wanted me, and now they've got me." Firefly's eyes widened. 

"Coal, you don't mean-"

"Yes." Her face fell, and then contorted in horror. She pressed her talons to her mouth, muffling a sob.

"No, no. You can't!" she stammered. "You can't trade yourself for me. Please Coal, there's got to be some other way!"

"There isn't." Coal confirmed, swallowing the lump in his throat. Tears glistened in Firefly's eyes. 

"I- I have to tell you something." she admitted, her voice shaking as her tears began to fall. Coal cupped her face in his talons, brushing away the tears.

"You can tell me anything." he whispered, smiling weakly. Firefly inhaled and stared at the ground before whispering.

"I'm pregnant."

Coal froze. There were many things he had expected her to say, but not this- never this. Especially not now. 

"What?" 

He was thrown. He had no idea what to say. If Prickle and Fennec found out.....She'd be dead, deal or not. Firefly stared at him, her eyes filled with tears. She looked so terrified and he didn't blame her. But, if he put all of this aside....If he didn't think about the fact that they were having this conversation in a cell, or that Fennec and Prickle were going to kill him before the sun set, or that any of this had happened, then he could feel something else.

"What!" he repeated, a smile growing on his face. Firefly relaxed slightly at the change, as if she was forgetting the bad things too.

"We're gonna have a baby." she whispered. He smiled and kissed her. Tears appeared in Coal's eyes, but this time it was from happiness. 

"I'll find a way out." he swore, snapping them back to reality as he remembered his time limit. He kissed her again, this time sweeter and longer. "I'm going to find a way back to you." he promised.

"Coal," she murmured, shaking her head with wonder. "I love you."

"I love you too." he vowed, kissing her again.

"Time's up." Prickle snarled. He stormed into the cell, and realization fully hit Firefly. Prickle grabbed her arm and began to pull her from the cell. 

"No!" she cried, holding onto Coal. His face held so much emotion. 

"Come on, ya idiot." Prickle growled, pulling her away. Firefly tried to fight against hi, but he was strong. 

"Coal!"

The cell door was slammed shut as she was dragged away. Coal grabbed ahold of the bars and watched after her. There were so many things he still wanted to say, so many things he never got to tell her. But he couldn't name just one to yell, so he just called after her. 

"Firefly!" 

His voice faded away as she was thrown out into the road, the dirt and sand of the ground mixing with her tears.