Wings of Fire: The Prequels

4.3

Visiting the Summer Palace was awesome, in the twins' opinion. There was so much to gawk at and so much to discover. Fin and Cyclone accompanied them with chuckles always at the back of their throats whenever the twins either commented on something or asked a question.

The library level had to be Gust's favorite even if Storm barely tolerated the number of scrolls that 'were going to bury them alive if Gust started pulling any out' (direct quote). Both princes had a certain love for the library, even if Fin was mostly fawning over the maps in the corner. There was an even better level, according to Fin.

"There are so many maps there! I mean, this level is cool too because there are myths and legends that dragons try to plot out from the stories, but the other level is better! Part of it is used for war planning and such so maybe Storm won't die of boredom," said Fin, adding a little joke at the end to curtail his excitement from overwhelming them. Not that he was overwhelmed by the warmth that grew in his chest at the sound of Cyclone's laugh, not at all.

"I would not!" Storm scoffed, Gust giggling at her offense enough to make her smile. "You said that some try to plot out legends and stuff? How would they do that?"

"Only really good cartographers try to do that. Even then, only a few are obsessed enough with old legends to try. They mostly just gather up a bunch of clues, write it out on a scroll to explain their reasoning, and put a dot on a map.

"Their maps aren't official, published, or anything and dragons mostly look at them for laughs or if they're interested in the legend themselves," said Fin, shrugging as he passed one of the scrolls to her. "That one is about some crazy animus who created a few hidden artifacts for no good reason."

"Is it now?" said Storm absentmindedly, opening the scroll a little to read a few of the bullet points. Understanding her interest immediately, Gust felt a little sick with worry that wasn't helped by Cyclone's confused glance at his sister. "Are there any other animus ones?"

"Uh, I think so?" mumbled Fin, squinting at the line-up of scrolls before picking out another one. "This one might interest you both. Twin animi traveled the seas and created temples to house artifacts, one each for every temple."

"Why do you already know that?" asked Cyclone in a teasing tone, distracting Fin as Gust grabbed the scroll.

"We all get a little curious sometimes," said Fin with a small huff and pout, getting a chuckle from Cyclone. His pout turned a little playful thanks to the guard's amusement. "Sorry we can't all be action first, questions second, Mr. Warrior."

"You wound me, Princey. It's almost as if you don't want my protection," Cyclone teased, bumping shoulders with Fin. For a good five seconds, Fin looked like a starstruck fish, opening and closing his mouth for nonexistent air and words. "Fin, you alive?"

"Yep!" Fin squeaked, the twins barely smothering their laughter at their flustered brother. If the glare they got from him was any indication, they weren't doing a good job. "Perfectly alive!"

(A bit too alive, if his pounding heart was any clue to that.)

"You okay? Do I need to be the big strong soldier and carry you to the healers'?" teased Cyclone, although a hint of worry made its way into his joking.

"Nope, no, I'm good," Fin sputtered a bit before getting his joking attitude back together. "I'm surprised you asked rather than just dragging me there."

"Shut it, Princey," Cyclone huffed, rolling his eyes with a small grin on his face. "I'm not sure if your heart could take that."

"And I'm waiting to see if your brain sustains any damage from asking rather than doing," Fin shot back, his voice a little too quiet for his liking. Pretending to be absorbed in their scrolls, the twins watched this go down with hidden grins and muffled giggles.