Abandoned: A Wings of Fire Fanfic

A Decision

Kestrel paced.

And paced.

And paced.

What should I do, what should I do? chorused through her brain. I'm loyal to Queen Scarlet (that's why I'm still alive), and I want to stay that way.

But my dragonets! A small, loving part of her screamed. My dragonets will be killed if I don't leave!

A few SkyWings had approached her during the day, saying that they were sorry for her loss, though a few of them were almost certainly mocking her. 

But most of them looked truly sorry for her.

And that was... Well, kind of scary, to see so many SkyWings feel sorry. Usually, most of them were so caught up in their own grumpiness that they didn't notice or care when another dragon had much more pressing things to be grouchy about. There were exceptions, of course (aren't there always?), but most SkyWings followed that rule.

Then again, that might have been partially because of Queen Scarlet, and how she ruled.

So, then, I guess I leave, Kestrel thought, feeling a bit... Guilty? Sad? She couldn't tell. And hope it all goes well.

But even as she thought that, she knew it wouldn't. That was the nature of things, wasn't it?

~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~

Queen Scarlet had ordered Kestrel to break her own egg by sundown. But she expected Kestrel to go right after their little talk, as Kestrel liked getting things out of the way as quickly as possible.

Kestrel made her way towards the red (specifically, scarlet, in honor of the queen) egg - shaped building that the SkyWings called the Hatchery. The Hatchery was in the center of the Sky Palace, to make it more protected. An outsider would have to go through the lookouts, the castle guards, any SkyWing they happen to pass on the way, find the hatchery through what would be a confusing maze to them, and then fight some more guards. Unless, of course, it was a former resident of the palace.

There were two guards blocking the door as she approached, and when they noticed Kestrel, they stopped arguing and stood taller and straighter, putting their spears in a position that they could injure her easily if she stepped so much as a toe out of line. 

She knew these SkyWings a little bit from battle training, so she knew their names were Crimson and Kite. They were slightly famous for bantering like an old married couple, except their arguments were not very friendly.

"I am here to break the egg the Queen ordered destroyed," Kestrel told the guards.

"We heard," Crimson said with stiff formality. That didn't mean that he was being rude, however, as that was simply how Queen Scarlet wanted her guards to act.

"May I go in?" Kestrel asked after nothing happened.

The guards opened the doors without saying a word and watched Kestrel walk inside to her apricot-colored egg.

The Hatchery was warm inside and lit by many flaming candles that lined the walls. It was made of a semi-translucent material that let some light in from outside, giving the Hatchery a cheery glow that seemed to taunt her.

Kestrel looked up. "This may take awhile," she said.

Kite barked a laugh. "Breaking an egg doesn't take long. Just one smash, and BOOM! Problem solved."

Kestrel glared up at her. "I wasn't talking about that. I want a bit of time with my egg before I have to break it."

"I'm not saying the Queen chose wrong or anything, but it's pretty strange that she sent the mother of the egg to smash it."

"It is. This is the one time I will agree with you," Crimson added.

"What if I said this job was boring?" Kite asked.

"Then I'd be surprised, and then I'd say 'you're right, and this is the one time I'll say that'," Crimson shot right back.

Kestrel stared at her egg dejectedly, waiting for the doors to close. Then she could take her egg and make a run for it.

~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~

It took awhile, but eventually the SkyWing guards realized that it would take forever for her to actually break her egg, and they went back outside the Hatchery.

Kestrel clutched the egg in her talons and wrapped some strong fabric around it. She made a loop on the other end and slung it over her shoulder.

The guards were arguing (again), and Kestrel could hear most of their dispute, for the two guards were bickering quite loudly.

"This job is boring," Kestrel heard a male voice complain from the front of the Hatchery. Crimson.

"Well, too bad!" Kite replied. "It's your fault for not doing well enough on the test. If you had done better, you would have gotten a more interesting place to guard."

"That test was rigged!" Crimson seemed to be getting angrier.

"It most certainly was not. I was modest, and accepted my defeat, unlike some dragons here."

"Excuse me! The test was!"

"Was not."

"One hundred percent was!"

The female SkyWing, ignoring the squabble, quietly located the cleaner's door and snuck out with her egg.