If Glory Missed

Chapter Fifteen - The Messenger

Why did SHE have to take orders from that psychopathic Queen? Onyx thought to herself. If any of those foolish tribes had realized that she was a princess just like the three idiotic sisters, then they would have allied themselves with her in a heartbeat. Not that I would have let an inferior tribe ally with me in the first place, of course, she scoffed.

Onyx stopped herself midair. Was that the sound of faint wingbeats she was hearing. Onyx spun around suspiciously to look behind her, but the skies were eerily empty.

I bet all the SkyWings are busy bowing and scraping to their 'beloved queen' as they imprison MY subjects. Oh, and the MudWings also, though they hardly matter compared to our greatness.

She tossed her head back towards the Claws of Clouds Mountains. She was almost there, and beyond that was her kingdom. Her wonderfully warm Kingdom of Sand.

Onyx stopped flying again. A brilliant thought had just occurred to her, one that she had not been able to consider before. With Burn gone, who is to stop me take me from taking the throne? There is no one left there with any real power, other than her father. Palm had said that the SandWing Prince would support her no matter what anyway, so she wasn't that worried. Her wings suddenly felt full of energy.

Once she was there, everyone would realize that it was HER destiny to rule the SandWings. Everyone knew that the other three were horrible choices and that each SandWing was only choosing to follow the one they hated less. That was why she had been with Burn after all. Blaze was a blithering idiot who only cared about vanity while her sister Blister could be trusted no more than a dragon claiming they were from the "Lost Continent", which obviously didn't exist.

So naturally, with those two as her only other options, Burn was the clear choice. She wasn't afraid to get her talons bloody for her tribe and she always followed through on her threats.

Just as I will.

Onyx flew as fast as her wings could carry her, oblivious to the darkening storm clouds.

                                                                                  ~        ~         ~

By the time Onyx reached the mountain range the storm had gotten much worse. Rain pelted her scales and wind whipped at her wings trying to drag her off course. Flashes of lightning could be seen from her position in the sky with only a few seconds between bolts. Even with her strength from years upon years of battle training, the SandWing struggled to stay aloft. If Onyx didn't find shelter soon she would be joining Burn, wherever it was that dragons went after they died.

The pale SandWing dove towards a clearing. There was a cave right by the spot that she was aiming for if she could just land safely. Safely being the keyword here.

The ground got closer and closer. Her wings were starting to cramp with strain. Not only did she have to worry about staying in the air, but she also had to make sure she ended up in the exact spot she was aiming fo, all while the wind buffeted her already exhausted body.

Almost there.

Just several more wing-beats if I'm lucky.

Onyx should have realized by now that luck was not something had been born with. It all started with being hatched under the hot desert sun instead of on the cool stone floors of the palace. Now it was about to end with her being catapulted into a bone-chilling torrent of water.

Before she even had a chance to shriek, the freezing water engulfed her body. She barely had time to hold her breath before she was thrown underwater.

There was no way to tell which way was up or down. Fear gripped her heart as Onyx was pulled through the ravine. Rocks pierced her scales as she was thrown against them many times over.

I can't give up now. There is no way that I am going to go out this way! Onyx thought fiercely, although her brain felt muddled from the lack of oxygen. She tucked her wings against her sides and started kicking and clawing her way to the surface with everything she had.

Air! Onyx quickly took a breath before she was thrown back underwater. She kicked up again and tried to see if there was anything she could grab onto downriver.

Through the pelting rain and the churning waters, her sharp eyes noticed something caught on the rocks up ahead. A large tree almost certainly knocked over in the storm lay precariously across the roaring river. One side of it lay in the water while the other was much higher and attached to the steep riverbank. If she stayed true to her current course, Onyx would miss the tree completely.

Come on Onyx, you can do this, she told herself with determination. It's this or death by drowning, and I definitely know which of those two I would prefer.

She propelled herself forward by sheer force of will. Visions of her sitting regally on the SandWing throne while her subjects bowed and praised her kept playing on repeat in her head. Do it for your tribe. Do it for the SandWings.

Using her powerful wings Onyx launched herself out of the water. She let out a grunt as her chest rammed against the top of the log. She dug in her front talons and tried to kick up her legs, but every ounce of strength had vanished. After hours of flying and then struggling to swim in this frigid river, her body had nothing more to give.

"No," Onyx cried weakly as her front talons began to lose their grip. "No!" She yelled at the sky. Finally, her claws gave out and Onyx plummeted back down to her inevitable fate.

Onyx's body slipped back into the cold water and her head fell below the surface. This was the end.

She went limp and allowed death to take her.

Strong claws suddenly gripped both her arms and pulled her back up towards the surface. Fresh air suddenly greeted the SandWing and she gasped for breath.

On either side of her was a blue dragon. SeaWings? Onyx's brain managed to put into a coherent thought. But they were allied with Blister.

The bigger SeaWing looked strikingly familiar. Wait, that's -- that's one of those Dragonets of Destiny, Onyx realized in shock. She finally recognized the smaller male SeaWing as the one that the female had fought in the arena. But they had been fighting each other to the death mere hours ago. How could they work together so readily now?

A brown dragon stood on the log, reaching out his talons to her. The SeaWings boosted Onyx to the large MudWing (Clay?) and then were helped out of the water by a RainWing and a SkyWing. Wait, not just any SkyWing. Peril? What the -- that's not -- how was this even possible? That dragon was the most feared dragon in the Sky Kingdom, and notoriously known as Scarlet's arena champion.

Onyx slowly faded in and out of consciousness, but there was one moment that she remembered very clearly. She was in a cave laying next to a fire when the MudWing came over and spoke to her in a reassuring voice: "You're safe now. It's going to be okay."

That was when Onyx fell unconscious again, but the image of the MudWing's kind eyes stayed in her mind even as she was swept away by the familiar embrace of sleep.