Wings of Fire; The Assassin

Chapter 23

Artemis led Bubble to the library, walked to one of the little dragon nooks, and sat down. She scooted over until there was just enough space for Bubble to squeeze in.

Bubble looked around the room. The library that once had a calming and soft feel to it now had more of an eerie aura about it. The room was now dark, with only a few beams of moonlight peeking through the windows. Bubble shivered but looked back at Artemis.

"Go ahead and sit," Artemis said shyly, looking down at her talons slightly blushing. She shifted her talons a little and fidgeted with her own claws a little bit.

"No, you can have the ledge. I can sit on the floor. I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

Bubble was uncomfortable on the floor, but he didn't want to make Artemis feel uncomfortable. He laid on his front talons and sighed. He didn't realize how tired he was. Well, he did, but he didn't want to fall back asleep, but his body thought otherwise.

"So why were you walking down the halls late at night?" Bubble finally asked. He really wanted to know, because it did not seem like a coincidence that Artemis happened to be right at his cave entrance as he was having his nightmare.

Artemis looked out one of the leaf-covered windows, directly at the moons. There was one full beautiful moon directly out the window, and the other two moons were crescents. Artemis looked so far away, with a wistful look on her face. She looked stunning. The moonlight glinted off of her silver teardrop scales behind her eyes, like small stars twinkling.

There was a small breeze that flew through the window, carrying the scent of some animals hunting late at night and mountain water. Bubble always was used to living in the ocean, but he was finally starting to get used to living on the mountain. Most of all, he was proud of himself. More or less. He was finally getting more comfortable with being with other people.

Bubble brought himself back to the real world. He watched Artemis, who looked tense, and her wings were constantly twitching like she wanted to fly. Bubble wanted to fly to. It would help them both clear their minds. Maybe it would also help him to be able to tell her.

"You know what... before you answer, let's go flying." Bubble suggested.

Artemis was slightly startled but agreed to the offer. They found a window that was missing a leaf cover, which was behind Starflight's desk, and they jumped out of it.

It has been a while since Bubble has had the wind under his wings. He did a quick flip around and left his worries behind.

Bubble watched as Artemis flew around gracefully, with her star-speckled wings and her silver teardrop scales behind her eyes. She gracefully dived and swooped around in the air. To Bubble, Artemis was the master of the sky. Not the SkyWings, but Artemis.

Bubble knew she felt free, as she swooped through the air, giggling and dancing. He decided it would be best if he just enjoyed the moment. Bubble flapped around making a pattern with his glowing scales.

After a little bit of flying, they landed on the bank of the lake that is near the mountain. Bubble watched as the water lapped softly against the sand. He looked over at Artemis and noticed her eyelids drooping.

To Bubble's surprise, Artemis rested her head on Bubble's shoulder. She closed her eyes and sighed softly. Bubble blushed so hard that he wouldn't be surprised if someone thought he had the head of SkyWing. The sun was starting to rise over the horizon, and Bubble watched Artemis as she softly breathed. Her breath tickled Bubble's scales a little, but he stayed still, not wanting to ruin the moment. He just wanted the moment to last forever.

Now is the time to tell her. Bubble you dummy, just tell her. I don't care if you need more time to gain confidence. Okay. I'm going to do it.

Before Bubble had the chance to say a word, Artemis spoke up.

"So you want to know why I am roaming around the school?" Artemis asked.

Bubble looked over at Artemis as she sat back up and opened her eyes. She looked out onto the horizon and had a glimmer in her eye.

He wished he could tell her, but he did not want to interrupt her, and he felt his courage fade away like a sand cloud in waves. He came back to his always worried, awkward, hidden, normal self. There was no chance in Pyrrhia that she would accept him. She probably had every dragon in the school after her. Why would she ever choose him if she could choose from handsome IceWings, brave SandWings, and empathetic MudWings? Would she even choose him if she had the option to be with people like her from her own tribe? Would she choose him if he was the only option? Probably not. He was barely memorable.

There is always a chance. Even a slim one, there is still a chance. If I make sure I do everything right, I could actually have this happen, something in the back of his mind said.

Bubble felt a new burst of confidence. He took a deep breath, and looked back over at Artemis, and smiled. Just a little, but he still smiled.

Even Bubble recognized that he has started to become more audacious when it came to being social. He can thank Spray for that too.

Spray. Who is probably back home, hating or forgetting him. Becoming friends with someone else who is more fun, and cooler. Not that that was a high bar anyway.

"I was walking around the school because I had a nightmare. Not just any nightmare, but one that has repeated over and over." She turned to look at Bubble and started to talk again, "I want you to understand, that mindreading is not my only power. I was born under two full moons, which means..."

Bubble finally understood what she meant. Artemis was not only a mindreader, but she was also able to see the future.

"Oh! You can see the future! You think it is a vision!" Bubble said extremely pleased with himself about finding that out. That was not a first for him, but he was sometimes a little slow to figure things out.

"I don't think it is a vision. I know it is a vision, and it is a bad one."