𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚜 [ꜱɪᴢᴢʟᴇ] | 𝚊 𝚠𝚘𝚏 𝚏𝚊𝚗𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗

|| Chapter 6 ||

There was one problem, however, with Sizzle's plan. She couldn't just waltz into the academy. Like her mother told her, she needed the acceptance letter. The same acceptance letter she left in her former home.

At the moment, Sizzle was living near an oasis and trying to find ways to bandage her scars. She stretched and glanced up at the red morning sky with her dark brown eyes. The SandWing sighed to herself and leaned up against a palm tree that casted shadows over the turquoise pond. A soft breeze ruffled Sizzle's dark gold sail and the warm sand shifted under her pale talons.

She narrowed her eyes at the thought of returning back to her old house or even seeing Lion again after confronting him. But did she really have a choice? She needed to get that acceptance letter, and while she's at it maybe snag the school supplies as well.

Sizzle than stood up straight and took off towards the desert, snatching and biting any stray sand-dwelling lizards, rodents, or birds for breakfast. The SandWing could barely remember when she last ate. For the past week, she would give all the prey she caught to her father.

I'm going to steal that letter. But how? ...Maybe I could sneak into the house using the old fashioned door. Lion never locked it in the first place. Or maybe he left a window open. Either way, I'm totally getting into that stupid house. Well, one thing is for sure; I'd have to sneak in at night, because Father would definitely be more aware in the daytime, no matter how delusional he is acting, Sizzle's thoughts were racing has she continued her hunt in the dry air, making her plan on the go. 

The rest of her day was uneventful. She finished eating and slept for a few hours before thinking about her plan some more. And missing her old life. Soon enough, it was nightfall, and Sizzle's plan was in affect. 

Well, it wasn't a complex plan. Sort of just find an open window or unlocked door. Saunter her way in and taking the letter (and hopefully more), finding Lion and spitting in his face, then leaving to immediately start her trip to the academy. That was it. And she didn't even bother to think of a backup plan.

Sizzle flew across the desert, letting the wind pick her up and thrust her forward towards the direction she needed to go. Then, she saw her house. Or, Lion's house. It looked even more terrible than it used to, especially up close.

A mixture of mud and blood and dirt seemed to be permanent stained on the outside wood. There were many small holes in the roof, none of them big enough for Sizzle to crawl through however. 

The sand dragon with red markings made her way to the front door and tried, ever so slightly, pushing it forward and it didn't even move. She then dared to try using her strength and the door wouldn't budge. Ugh, Lion must've been smart enough to block the door with a table or heavy furniture or something. Lucky me, Sizzle groaned in her mind.

Sizzle flew up and tried her balcony doors and the back door and even the door the led into a cellar. Nothing. All the windows were locked too. "What am I going to do?" she mumbled to herself and sat down on the cool ground. That's when she spotted the large glass. 

She flew up and peered in through the huge window that loomed over the main dining area in the household. And then she remembered where the letters were. Right in the counter drawer. And the school supplies? If they were still in the same place Sizzle imagined, they were resting on the counter in the kitchen in a medium sized neck pouch. 

Ok. New plan. Now it's time to really break into this joint, she thought and before she could even have another second to think about what she was doing, Sizzle back up and flew full speed into the glass.

Of course, the glass shattered and it made the loudest sound to Sizzle. She barely had time to feel the pain searing through the several cuts on her scales from the broken shards as she sprinted head on to the counter, threw open the drawer, and grabbed a crumpled letter that she hoped said the name, 𝒮𝒾𝓏𝓏𝓁𝑒 in fancy lettering. 

Without even spearing a mint to look around at her surroundings or to even see if her Father was standing right there, Sizzle ran blindly into the kitchen and felt around for a leather pouch that rested on the oak counter. It was nearly pitch black in the house and the strong SandWing was tripping over rugs and fallen statues that laid on the floor. 

And then she noticed Lion, walking out of his room with the same deranged look on his face that struck terror into Sizzle's scarred chest. Only when she heard Lion hiss with anger and charge toward her, was when she opened her wings and immediately flew out the way she burst in.

Sizzle knew that Lion wouldn't follow, but she still didn't slow down until she saw the sun peek out and when she felt like her wings were about to fall off. 

She ended up crash landing near a strange looking tunnel. She grunted and with tired eyes, tilted her head up to gaze at the entrance. Sizzle sat up and grabbed the letter from her neck pouch and read where it said the academy's location was.

Apparently, the letter came with a map because it marked all the animus tunnels in Pyrrhia that would lead to where she needed to go. 

Sizzle peered closer at the map and when she saw that she was at one of those tunnels, she instantly became excited and started to flick her tail back and forth happily. 

Because she all needed to do was go through this tunnel and she'd magically appear at the Academy of Shaded Island.