Abandoned: A Wings of Fire Fanfic

Flight

Why me? Kestrel thought. These dragonets are perfect. Don't kill them! Besides, only one of my dragonets has firescales. The other isn't a threat. Yet Scarlet - I'm not going to call her a queen after this (at least not in my thoughts) - wants to kill him anyway!

The first dragonet, the one with too much fire, was a female with blue eyes.

Blue eyes... How strange.

Smoke was rising from her copper-colored scales, and where most dragonets just out of their egg would be speckled with the eggshell, her scales had burned them to ashes. Her face shone with curiosity. She looked up at the dragons coming swooping down from the sky, and took a step back, which burned the grass beneath her talons.

The dragonet looked at the grass with a confused expression, then tentatively reached out a talon to another grass patch.

It burst into flames as well, and Kestrel's daughter looked... slightly guilty.

You call this dragonet a monster?! She feels guilty and all she killed was grass! Kestrel angrily glared at Scarlet.

The dragonet without fire was a male. He was a strange apricot color, the color of the palest sunset in the mountains, and washed out light-blue colored eyes.

Both of them have strange colored eyes, and unusual scales.

The male seemed to be terrified of the rest of the SkyWings, as if he knew that they wanted to kill him and his sister. He tried to hide underneath Kestrel's wing, but it was clear that Scarlet had already seen him. He seemed to be the type of dragon that was shy and hated killing, and those SkyWings often ended up with jobs in the palace, such as cooks and librarians.

Scarlet landed on the grass in the Hidden Valley, regally walking towards Kestrel.

This valley - it's not very hidden anymore. But how the SkyWings just showed up - I wonder if they knew I went here, if Scarlet actually kept track of me when I went here. Did she really not trust me that much?

The Queen of the SkyWings looked down at Kestrel and said, "I will give you a pardon and let you live on one condition. You kill one of your dragonets."

Kestrel glanced up in horror. "I can't kill my own dragonets!" she protested.

"Then I will kill both of them for you." Scarlet could see that what she had said would get Kestrel to follow orders.

"No!"

"Very well then. But just in case, I will show you that I am not afraid to follow through with my threats. Eagle! Come here."

A large, red male SkyWing stepped forward with an evil grin on his face.

Kestrel looked at him, then at the dragonets, then back at Scarlet.

"Fine. As long as you let the other live." The desperation Kestrel felt was a weakness.

"Yes. I shall." There was a sly grin on Scarlet's face, so Kestrel wasn't sure whether she was telling the truth, but it was the best Kestrel would get, and she knew that.

Kestrel turned her back to the other SkyWings. She wouldn't be able to tell her son what she was going to do, since the guards would hear, but she tried to tell him with her eyes what she was about to do, and that she was sorry.

Please survive. Please. And let me find you again, and then we can try to live together, and I can escape the Sky Kingdom, bring your sister with me...

Don't get ahead of yourself. Kestrel mentally scolded herself. I don't know whether I'll survive this or not.

Kestrel moved her talons abruptly as if she were slicing the neck of the dragonet. From where the other SkyWings were, they couldn't see exactly what was happening. Kestrel made a keening wail of sorrow, expressing what she truly felt.

How can they expect me to kill my own son? Are they crazy?

She suddenly threw the male dragonet into the river, quickly but gently. She wanted him to get as far away as he could before the guards figured out she had tried to trick them about the dragonet being dead.

She glared at Scarlet. "There. I killed one of them."

Scarlet pondered this for a second, then grinned cruelly at Kestrel in a way that was most certainly not reassuring. "Guards! Kill the other one anyway. After all, this dragon disobeyed me. I wasn't going to just pardon her if she just killed one of her dragonets, was I?"

She promised... And yet... But... She said she would let them live. Kestrel couldn't get her jumbled thoughts together in time.

The guards suddenly ran for her, and Kestrel started running, pulling her daughter with her. Once she got to a spot where she could spread her wings, she grabbed her dragonet and launched into the sky.

Ow! Ow!

Grabbing one with firescales... It does not go well for the talons.

Then the dragonet in Kestrel's talons reached up, and put her talon on Kestrel's cheek.

Perhaps she thought that would be reassuring.

It was not.

Ow! My face is burning, so are my talons... I wouldn't be able to take care of this dragonet.

I'm sorry, daughter.

Her talons lost her grip, the scales burned away.

And the firescales dragonet fell. 

Down.

Down.

Down.

Falling.

Falling.

Forever downwards, it seemed to the mother.

And Kestrel flew off, flying for her life.