One True Queen: A Wings of Fire fanfiction

4.

Content warning: depictions of anxiety disorders, panic attacks

Way

"Way! Wake up!" Prince gently shakes me awake. "Waaaay..."

I rub my eyes. "What?" It's still very much light out, which personally offends me. Normally I don't get up until the sun has very much set. We were all up way too late last night, too, playing scroll tower and drinking tea. (Except for Prince, who drinks coffee, apparently.) I doubt I was asleep for longer than four hours.

"Let's go!" He giggles. Eclipse and Precocious fade into focus beside him. "Come on, get up, sleepyhead!"

"Whhhy?" I whine, burying my face in my pillow. "It's the middle of the day..."

"End of the day," Precocious corrects. "And we were gonna go wander around the city before it gets busy, remember? You asked your mom last night, and she said it was fine as long as we had a bodyguard with us?"

"Oh. Yeah." I shift in my blankets. "Right." It seemed like a good idea last night, but right now I'm really regretting that decision.

"Way!" Eclipse giggles. "Come on..."

"All right," I mumble. "I'm coming, I'm coming..."

***

The storm seems to have let up, for just a moment—clear blue sky peeking out from behind the thick, dark clouds. Eclipse and Prince race through the freshly fallen snow, laughing about some inside joke I don't understand.

"It's a gorgeous day," Precocious comments, smiling at me--that stupid grin, that could light up the whole kingdom, that he gives out to strangers like it costs him nothing--

"Uh, yeah. Lovely." I yawn, pulling my cloak close to my body as a cold breeze whips down the run-down alley.

Precocious gives me a friendly shove. "C'mon, we should get going. I am not letting your sister beat us to the bakery."

He chases after her and Prince, leaving me in the dust.

"Hey! Wait up!" I call after him, charging through the snow. (I really hate this stuff--it makes my talons go all numb whenever I walk through it, and it melts all over my scales, and it's really gross to fly in.) "Precocious..."

This is what he does, I guess—he doesn't need to wait for anybody. He could make friends with a rock, if he wanted to; I mean, within two weeks he's already inserted himself into our friend group. (And even Eclipse seems to be warming up to him, which says a lot, because Eclipse doesn't trust easily.) He's the kind of dragon who hatched lucky--who everything just kinda works out for, no matter how many stupid decisions he makes.

"Ha! Beat you!" He grins at Eclipse, Prince, and I, rushing into a cute little bakery Eclipse and Prince go to all the time, apparently.

I catch up to my friend, gasping for breath. A tired-looking shopkeeper glances between the four of us. "Do I know you?"

Precocious drapes his wing over me. "Well, my friend here is Prince Wayfinder, and that's his sister, Princess Eclipse." He grins at me; says my name with pride. Like being my friend is something to brag about.