Wings of Fire; The Assassin

Chapter 8

By the MOONS! That is so cool. I wonder if...

"You look like you just figured something out," Spray said. Bubble looked up to see her making another smug face, which always annoyed Bubble, but it has started to grow on him.

"I need to go... be right back Spray!" yelled Bubble as he ran down the tunnel to the main hall. The cool air from the underground lake was left behind him as he wiped past the stalactites and stalagmites.

He had little idea where Artemis might be, but he needed to talk to her. He decided to check the library first because he could tell that she might like reading. Or at least might be talking to the NightWing librarian, Starflight. He did some research on NightWings for a school project, and he learned that they really liked learning and oftentimes read scrolls. It was a personality trait that Bubble really liked, because he also read that they can often be really smug and stuck up and all these other annoying traits, but so far, Artemis was nothing like that. She seemed nervous and was not all smug like the scrolls said.

Bubble walked through the halls, passing by a few other dragons along the way. He passed by some very loud SkyWings. One of them was his clawmate. Aella was talking to the other SkyWing, "Yeah. That NightWing was such a wimp. She was nothing like us brave SkyWings! What a loser..."

Bubble growled low in his throat, trying not to lash out, or yell at them. Speaking of smug stuck-up dragons. Bubble paused after they passed him, and he looked back at the SkyWings, who were walking with their heads held high, and their tails slithering behind them. Bubble listened carefully to what else they were saying.

"That IceWing was kind of handso..." The sentence was cut off by them walking around the corner, but Bubble had a fairly good idea of what they were saying. There was not much being said that was of concern.

Why are the SkyWings so mean? Why are they making fun of my clawmates. They seem more like the NightWings of the scrolls.

He walked into the library to find racks and nooks of scrolls. There were a few other dragons along with the windows with some leaves to cover them. There were three NightWings in the library, but only one of them had the silver teardrop scales. She was looking down at a scroll with her face written with worry or pain. It constantly looked like she was having a headache or was worried about something. Bubble wished he could help, but he didn't know how to. That was not true. He did know how to, but he didn't think he should do it.

The green light from the leaf-covered windows shone softly in the library. This is the kind of place where he needed to be when he needed to calm his nerves. The smell of the paper used in the scrolls was settled throughout the caves.

He didn't exactly like scrolls that much, due to the fact that lots of them are boring. The best scrolls he could find were about some scavengers who grew up together, from different kingdoms, and then went on to save the world. There were others that went, there was a magical bad guy that came back from the dead and tried to take over the world. Then there were others that went, some scavengers that are supposed to be enemies working together to stop a bad queen from taking everyone prisoner. It was all kind of similar to something he knew, but couldn't quite remember.

Bubble stood there for a second looking at Artemis, just appreciating the pure beauty of the sight. The sunrise and sunset were nothing compared to her. He could easily imagine himself just sitting there, and watching her for as long as he lived. But... That would be creepy. Before he approached he sat there thinking about what he was doing. Bubble has had a history of having his plans backfire incredibly.

Is this the smartest idea? How will she react? Is she going to feel in danger or maybe like she is a freak or something? I have to know though. But what if this backfires on me like everything else. ARG! I'M JUST GOING TO RISK IT.

He cautiously walked up to the scroll rack Artemis was near. He pretended to be looking through the options of scrolls. His options on that scroll rack were limited to biographies and history. He saw one scroll titled, "The Amazing Life of an Artist; Cyprus." Not something he would want to read. He decided to pick one out and decided to read it. "The History of Animus Magic"

He sat nearby Artemis and waited for the best time. He read lots of boring facts about the gifts that the IceWings have, but then, he got to a dragon named Darkstalker. He was seen as one of the most powerful animus ever to exist. He was a NightWing, he could read minds and see the future at will. He made himself impossible to be killed and became immortal. He was put to sleep for a long time by his friends that were worried about his ambitions, but he escaped and mind-controlled most of the NightWing tribe. He started a war between the IceWings and NightWings again, but five students from the Jade Winglet, Moonwatcher, Prince Winter, Qibli, Kinkajou, and Prince Turtle, helped stop him. No details were revealed about how, but it is theorized that his last spell was to get rid of all animus magic from the world.

My parents weren't just former students, but HEROS!

He was still reading about theories about how Darkstalker was stopped when out of the corner of his eye, he saw Artemis looking at what he was reading. He could see her soft lavender eyes slowly gliding across the page. He continued to point his face toward the scroll but looked over at her eyes. He stared into her gleaming eyes and decided to take his shot.

"Hey, Artemis?" Bubble whispered. She looked startled for a second, and said, "Yes ?" She looked over at a blushing Bubble, who was trying not to stammer or run away.

"I have a question for you," Bubble said holding back a few hiccups and tears. She nodded softly, gesturing that she wanted him to continue.

"W-What is your relationship with D-Diamondback?" Bubble asked nervously, trying with all his willpower in order not to cry.

Artemis looked surprised and embarrassed, and sad. She looked down at her talons, avoiding all eye contact. Bubble felt a lump grow in his throat but held himself steady.

"He... He is my brother. I hope..." Artemis said. Bubble sighed silently, trying not to show the massive amount of relief he was feeling. Artemis didn't finish her sentence. Bubble wondered why, but he didn't pry.

"So that means, your parents are also Moonwatcher and Qibli?"

"Yes. They went to this school also and thought it might be good for me. I- I have been mostly in here. I don't like being around other dragons often. It... It stresses me out sometimes."

Bubble looked into her eyes, and there stared at each other for a long time as Bubble processed how similar they were in some aspects. Bubble was worried about what was going to happen if he said anything, so he just decided to continue the "normal conversation."

"That would mean, that... um... wouldn't that mean that our parents knew each other?" asked Bubble.

"Yeah... I guess?" She replied.

"Can I ask you something?" Bubble asked nervously.

Artemis looked at him quizzically and cautiously, "Um... Sure."

Bubble took a deep breath. He was praying silently, hoping that this wouldn't backfire on him. He took a few more deep breaths, and looked right at her, "Can you... Can you read minds?"