Wings of Fire: The Secret of Silverstripe

~Ch.16: Silence~

Three days had passed, and Turquoise had refused to talk to Silverstripe unless if he was saying he was about to go on break. The hatchery was now drowned in silence, boredom, and regret.

Of all the mistakes Silverstripe had made in her life, this one was the hardest to recover from.

Silverstripe looked around the hatchery, curiously looking at the eggs. There were several male eggs in the hatchery, but only two females, which sat in their own corner close to the Orca Statue. Two male eggs were due at about the same time as the female eggs were. Silverstripe guessed that they actually belonged to the same clutch, but Coral had separated the females from the males.

Silverstripe pondered a thought as she tapped a male egg, feeling the dragonet inside tap back in response. If only she had left in some more subtler way... said she was going to hang out with Emerald or something, then maybe Turquoise wouldn't have wondered were she was and gone looking for her.

It's too late, though, she thought. What's done is done. Our friendship is shattered, now, and there's nothing I can do about it.

Silverstripe walked slowly over to Turquoise, who was sitting, staring at the wall in a brooding manner. I'm headed on break, she wrote in her slate. I'm going to eat and see if I can meet up with Emerald in the palace.

Turquoise gave no response, nor glanced at her.

Silverstripe sighed and swam out of the hatchery. It hurt now that he didn't talk to her. Boredom seized her mind more than ever before in the hatchery, and Silverstripe felt truly alone in the world.

Well, I'm supposed to be alone, aren't I? I'm a spy. I'm not from here, and I'm not a part of society. I'm destined to be alone until I return to my family in the settlement.

But at least I can talk to Emerald a little.

Silverstripe swam over to the pearl hunters' quarters, and swam into her old room.

Hey, Abyss! Emerald flashed happily from her bed.

Silverstripe gestured to the surface, and mouthed, "Do you want to hang out?"

Do you want to hang out? Emerald repeated, a questioning look on her face.

Silverstripe nodded.

Great! Emerald flashed. Let's go to that beach we used to go to back when you were a hunter!

Silverstripe nodded happliy and followed the dragonet out of the Deep Palace.

Do you want to race? Emerald asked as they swam out.

Silverstripe shook her head sadly.

Don't feel like it? Okay. I understand, Emerald flashed.

Soon, they landed on the beach, Silverstripe happy to be on land again.

"So, how has the job at the hatchery been?" Emerald asked curiously.

"It's been good," Silverstripe replied. "Not very busy. Quite boring, actually."

"Have you told Turquoise how you feel yet?" Emerald asked.

Silverstripe looked down in sadness as she felt her throat tighten up.

"Oh, no," Emerald said sympathetically. She sat down next to Silverstripe and wrapped a wing around her back.

Silverstripe sat down and let a few tears loose.

"What happened?" Emerald asked.

"He... He..." Silverstripe sniffled, struggling to find the right words. "He found out something... Something I had meant to not tell anyone... And... He's mad that I lied to him... And everything... And it's just bad right now."

"Shhhh..." Emerald said soothingly as Silverstripe began to cry. "Stop your tears... These little fights never last that long."

"No, no, you don't understand," Silverstripe said. "This wasn't just a fight... He found out my secret, and everything's gone wrong."

"What's the secret?" Emerald asked.

"I wish I could tell you," Silverstripe said. "I really do..."

"Okay," Emerald said.

"Turquoise won't talk to me anymore," Silverstripe said, more tears streaming down her face. "I don't think he wants to be my friend anymore..."

"Relax, Abyss," Emerald said reassuringly. "He might not be talking to you now, but he'll talk to you eventually. You'll make up, and he'll accept you for your secrets."

"Are you sure?" Silverstripe asked skeptically.

"Mm-hmm!" Emerald said, smiling. "These things happen. It'll all blow over and you'll forget it happened."

"Are you sure?" Silverstripe asked fretfully.

"Yep!" Emerald said. "You'll make up, and you'll be closer than before. Then maybe you can confess your feelings to him, or he'll do it instead."

"Thank you, Emerald," Silverstripe said, hugging the green dragonet. "I'm sorry I can't hang out with you too much anymore."

"It's okay," Emerald said. "We can still hang out every now and then. Whenever you want to talk, I'll be in my quarters."

"Thanks, Emerald," Silverstripe said, hugging her tighter.

"Your scuffle with Turquoise will work out, I'm sure," Emerald said.

"I need to go back now, but thank you for talking to me," Silverstripe said with a smile.

"You're welcome," Emerald said. "I promised Cobalt and Cerith that I would go help them clean up the royal wing of the Deep Palace now, so I have to go as well."

"There's an entire wing for the royal family?" Silverstripe asked skeptically.

"Yep. The queen has been trying for heirs for so long that she's got at least twenty or thirty sons," Emerald explained. "They had to devote an entire wing to house them all."

"Dang," Silverstripe said. "Well, see you soon!"

"You too!"

- - - ~🌊~ - - -

When Silverstripe returned to the quiet Royal Hatchery, she waved at Turquoise with a friendly smile.

Turquoise gave no recognition of her presence.

Silverstripe's smile faded as she lied down.

Maybe he'll forgive me eventually.

Maybe he'll turn me in.

Maybe I'm just happy to have had him as a friend once... even if I'll always long for something more.

Out of the corner of her eye, Silverstripe thought she saw Turquoise look at her. For the first time in three days, he had looked at her, and his expression was torn.

Was he sad?

Was he angry?

Was he still betrayed?

Or...

Was there a possiblity that he felt sympathetic?

Silverstripe wondered if he knew himself.