Wings of Fire; Crowns of Betrayal

Chapter 1

      Warm rays of sunlight washed over the Kingdom of Sand from the horizon, leaping over the endless sea of dunes that stretched out far off into the horizon in each direction, a landscape of sandy hills as far as the eye could see, casted in large pools of shadows from the rising sun. A varying array of scarlets, oranges, and pinks exploded from the sky, clouds streaking across the sky in thin lines as if from a paint brush stroked across a canvas. Tiny pinholes of stars began to fade, the night's chill chased away as the dunes turned a rich pink, the whole world looked like a painting from the Strongholds rooftop.

   Scorpion sucked in a deep breath, feeling the warming air fill her lungs before she let it out, watching the last early morning chill turn it into a light wispy puff of air that swirled around her nose ring. Mornings like this are what she looked forwards to, the calmness in the wind that rustled her striped sail, watching the sunrise before she eventually had to leave her quiet perch behind to sneak back into her room before a guard was sent to make sure she's awake.

   It was her place to rest each morning, allowing her mind to wake up on its own time as her body moved to carry her up to the palace rooftops on silent wings with practiced ease. Scorpion would let her mind wander without being snapped back into reality by nosy siblings or annoying advisors who tried- and failed- to map out her every step since she and her brothers hatching in 4,991 AS.

   Thorn was easier to corral like a herd of Camels, but Ray and Scorpion on the other talon, were not from some of the things they'd heard advisors hiss under their breath when they were dragons, more focused on what games they could come up with rather than what tribe belonged in what kingdom when they were dragged out of the wingery for their tutoring.

   Kept within the sturdy walls of the stronghold, they had nothing to worry about other than what their next lesson would be, or who'd be attending the next outing with either of their parents- or what scolding rant they'll hear from Camel next. The Queen was protective of her dragonets, all ten of them, ever since she took the crown from Queen Beetle. Scorpion only knew her grandmother through tales and scrolls, unlike Cactus and Vulture who'd been old enough to remember the SandWing who once ruled the kingdom with an iron grip.

   "I thought I'd find you up here."

   Scorpion jolted, whipping around only to find another SandWing standing a few paces away, his peachy yellow and brown scales glowing in the rising sunlight. He grinned at her scowl, moving to sit beside her along the edge.

   "Why the long face? Giving yourself a headache thinking about Sundance again?" he teased.

   Scorpion rolled her eyes, turning back towards the sunrise. "Very funny, but I thought Ray was supposed to be the funny one in the family."

   "Can I not be funny every once in a while?"

   The other SandWing was a little shorter than her, just below her chin, but Scorpion was a large dragon like Vulture and Camel. There was always bound to be a towering member of the family, a sign of their royal lineage as some of the advisors would say. He had warm, pale golden scales with a darker peach colour running along his spine similar to her own. His frill was a warm, rich down, stripes with thin streaks of a dark beige like their fathers.

   Warm freckles danced across his snout, wrapping under his sparkling emerald green eyes that popped against his black scleras- and behind his ears, running down along his spine. Hanging from his ears were golden strings that reminded her of windchimes, each strand speckled in tiny green jewels that matched his eyes. Polished golden horn caps with curled spikes made his horns look sharp and crown-like.