Royal Blue | WoF Fanfiction

Prologue

The royal palace was deathly quiet that night.

The only occasional sound was the tap of claws against outside walls or the decorated ocean floor outside as guards anxiously swam around, too distracted from the events that had unfolded earlier that day. The more amateur ones couldn't hide their emotions at all, their thoughts in a frenzy, tail lashing as their eyes darted from one place to another.

The more experienced of the guards, on the other hand, seemed calm. At first glance, they looked as they always did, patrolling around the castle grounds with keen eyes and swimming through the water almost majestically, but if you looked closer you would see their talons occasionally twitch as their eyes met the area around where the royal hatchery would be, their eyes flashing with a complicated emotion before returning to their cautious gaze.

And Commander Shark was no different. 

The royal hatchery, once filled with the eggs of potential heirs and carrying the future of the SeaWing kingdom, with all those appointed to the position holding their heads a bit higher with pride at being chosen, was now a subject of hushed rumors across the kingdom. All those selected to care for the potential dragonets within were now dreading the task and the likely death ahead of them.

Every night, if the eggs inside were left unattended for even a few minutes, at least one of the tiny lives would have their future ripped from them, being reduced to nothing more that eggshells and a mangled fetus. 

Anemone was the only exception, as she was born under the Queen's watchful gaze, Coral staying with the egg day and night until she hatched. Of course, that left her husband, King Gill, to look after the kingdom. Those events resulted in the first princess born within the walls of the royal hatchery since Princess Orca, who had died a while back, but also the capture of their beloved king.

The queen could not produce any more eggs, with Queen Coral too deep in grief of both her husband and deceased children to remarry or anything of the sort. Her gloomy mood affected those around her, and soon enough the palace had taken on an underlying tone of sorrow under the smiles and busy dragons at work.

Some said it was a curse, others whispered of a sly and dangerous killer. However, the only tribe that could reach the deep blue depths of the sea were the SeaWings themselves, and accusing rumors of a traitor lurking within the tribe began surfacing, the palace getting colder and colder with every broken egg that drifted with the current before being silently collected by the unfortunate dragon that had been assigned to the task.

When Commander Shark had offered his services to the queen, hoping to ease her burden even by just a bit, she had looked at him with a tired gaze and had dismissed him almost immediately, saying that she already had several guards assigned to the outside of the hatchery, more than ever before, and that if her last egg didn't make it, well, then they both knew what would happen to the princess guarding it.

With every one of the previously appointed guardians having met such a fate, it wouldn't be such a surprise to him if Tsunami would end up the same way. To be honest, he really couldn't bring himself to care about the princess in the same way he cared for Anemone. 

He had gotten to see the younger princess grow and mature, and despite his rather strict nature, Anemone had really grown on him. 

Tsunami was different. Sure, Coral may love and care for her with all her heart, but in the end the princess was like a complete stranger. Her attitude and that fierce tongue didn't exactly help either. 

Princess Tsunami's egg had been snatched away by Webs, a traitor and a filthy member of the Talons of Peace, plunging the palace into turmoil for some time. She had returned home not to long ago, being found by Riptide, Webs' son, though Shark got most of the credit, as he was the one to have escorted her the rest of the way after Riptide had run into his patrol. Queen Coral, once she heard the news, was ecstatic. Even so, the girl's sharp tongue and touchy temper annoyed him to no end.

It was a shock to him at first, and an unwelcome one to boot. He had clawed his way up to where he was now, and he did not appreciate some long lost princess tainting his reputation like that. 

His worry was not for her, but for the queen. 

She had longed to catch that traitor Webs for a long time, to give him the punishment he deserved, and finally be reunited with her long lost dragonet, giving her the love that she must've lacked while being in Webs' talons. 

It was hard enough for Queen Coral as she watched her unhatched children die one by one, the events slowly driving her to the killing of the subjects that had allowed such a thing to happen. It was one thing to kill an employee that was more or less only hired because of recommendation from different nobles.

To kill her own daughter, especially considering Queen Coral's current state, was another.

Despite this well hidden worry, however, a tiny, barely noticeable worm of relief had crawled its way into his heart. It was small, but it was there, and Shark felt a wave of shame come over him as he realized what it was. Even if he felt a certain way towards the princess, Tsunami was still his niece, and relief in her death was nothing that he wanted to feel.

Since this was the queen's last egg, there was no chance of another unfortunate guard or nanny being appointed to what now seemed like an impossible task. 

The next in line to be selected for this mission had already been decided by the council, preparing for the worst as Queen Coral lived in denial, saying that the newest SeaWing assigned to the position would not fail, that she would have a new dragonet scrambling around the halls soon enough. 

Needless to say, things had truly taken a turn for the worst, Moray quickly setting off to personally notify the selected and their families of the important task they had been assigned. The SeaWing Queen had fallen deeper into her sorrow, taking refuge in Anemone, trying to ignore the fact that it was highly likely that she'd lose two of her children that day.

While Moray had been stopped from advancing out of the palace and was briefed on the new guardian for the egg, Commander Shark couldn't prevent his thoughts from drifting back to the duo that had been originally selected for the task.

The two chosen were special. They had to be, in order to take up such a mission.

Anglerfish, or Angler was a retired soldier. He could hold his own on the battlefield just fine, but was essentially crippled when he took a SkyWing's flames head on to protect a comrade and received some harsh burns. The burns themselves healed over time, but the damage had been done. Most of the bioluminescent scales on his head and higher neck had been marred beyond repair, and so communication with him underwater became difficult, if not outright impossible.  He had been honorably released soon after it was confirmed by a doctor that he would not be able to use those scales again, some of the scales now a charred black, a stark contrast to the cool blue of his untouched scales. 

He would've been called on one last time, and Shark couldn't help but feel pity for the dragon, as he was barely twenty nine when it happened, and thirty now. He didn't know if it was wise to ask this of him barely a year after it happened, and in the deep blue depths of the ocean as well, where communication by their bioluminescent scales was a must.

The other chosen was a trained maid, having served Princess Orca for a short while before her demise. 

Albacore, a young dragon with blue scales on the darker side, always seen wearing a pair of small silver earrings. She was from a family that had been servicing the royal family for a long time, so it wasn't that big of a surprise when their only daughter had taken up the same profession, though the fact that both of their sons had joined the army had raised a few eyebrows.

He also felt a slight sympathy for Albacore as well, as he had a personal respect for her. Shark had run into her a few times during meals and the like, and the short conversations they had were a bit dull but still respectable. 

Coming from a family of service, she knew the boundaries of those ranked above her and respected them, but at the same time didn't become a complete pushover if treated too rudely. He could respect that kind of mindset, and it would be a shame for such a competent worker to have her life cut short due to what now seemed like an impossible feat.

Commander Shark took one last glance at the general direction of the royal hatchery, wishing that this whole ordeal would blow over soon, and swam away, ready to patrol the area around to get his mind off of the situation and distract himself with his duty to protect the underwater palace.