Dilapidated Entities

Chapter 3

   Candles flared from the sides of the walls as she rushed to her room. Polished floors reflected her own mask, to which the pupils on it were focused ahead. Night's focused gaze broke for a split second as she noticed one of the banners had fallen again. No, She hissed to herself, Later. She took a sharp turn to a door and opened it. She breathed a sigh of relief once she saw that everything was still there. Her masked eyes wandered over the desk, the contents included stacks of paper, two scrolls, three books, and a feather dipped in ink. On the side, there was a half-filled cup of water next to a candlelight. Thank Kiroon that Paint isn't here. Night sighed once more. She walked to the desk, shuffling the spread-out papers together and opening a drawer. She dropped the papers in it and slammed it shut. Despite her recent sigh of relief, she hissed to herself in frustration. It was too close to her secrets being revealed. Even if Paint was her lover, he couldn't be trusted in this war. It had already been 2 years and part of it was his fault for it being this long. It could have ended so much earlier. He thinks he's so slick, leaving her in an empty bed every other night and claiming he woke early. Not like it was obvious that he was leaving to see Silver. That traitor could have spilled everything! Night looked at her claws, which were leaving claw marks into the desk. She let go, not wanting to scar it even more and calmed herself. Paint isn't that bad, maybe he's just trying to convince her to stop the war and she is fine with it, for some reason.

   Night couldn't believe that she still loved him, and was still somewhat happy. Night let out a shaky sigh at the memory. Her two eggs, gone. They had mysteriously disappeared one day, when Paint supposedly was watching over them, and a guard had said he found one of the eggs at the side of the cliff, cracked open. Something else cracked open behind her, now, not the memory, she swung around, eyes dilating into thin lines of hostility. A guard stood by the door, slightly alarmed by the reaction Night gave, but he cleared his throat and ignored it. It was still obvious he was bothered by it. "The daily patrol, Queen Night?" He asked, his voice quiet. Ah, right, she forgot. Like usual. Night curtly nodded, moving towards the guard as they both walked to the destination she had already memorized. The same guard always came to get her whenever she was late. "So how did you forget this time?" He asked, not turning his head to Night. Should I tell him? Night thought. "I left out some plans and was worried Paint saw them," Night answered. The guard slowed down so Night could catch up. When they were side-by-side, he gave her a confused look.

   "Paint? Why him?" He whispered, knowing that Night would prefer to whisper about this. "I know I should trust him, him being my soulmate and stuff, but I can't help but feel that he is going to betray me one day," Night sighed, her own voice lowering as well. "Considering that he already hasn't," She added with a mutter somehow lower than her previous voice. The guard opened his mouth to say something, while Night subconsciously noticed that they were almost there. "Why do you still sleep in the same room, if you don't trust him?" The guard questioned. Night answered in a small shrug, which was barely noticeable, but the guard seemed to have noticed. They exited the palace, their conversation ending at the perfect time. Five dragons were already waiting, lounging around, as they were used to this happening. "Alright, are we ready to go?" The guard moved away from her side to the group, who stood up at the sight of them approaching. Some stretched, others nodding and saying 'yes, sir'. They all turned around, and began on their memorized path.

   The guard who was talking to Night went to the front to lead the group while Night hung around in the middle. Night looked at the dragons who were on patrol today. None of them were ones she truly knew, despite her seeing dragons often. She never really memorized names anymore, now that she thought about it. Night had other focuses anyway, maybe after this war she could catch up with everyone. If Night wanted to, she could list down every name she could remember. Especially those she talks to the most, like Paint, Kiroon, and regrettably, Sirun. Sirun was the most annoying thing she has met yet. Damn bright-scaled-sun-wannabe wouldn't let her rest. Shadows covered the path in front of them as they walked under the trees, small flecks of sunlight peering through the leaves. Birds were cawing in the distance, a few open spots were laid in pure sunlight, covered in burnt ground. Night thought for a second before remembering that some battles had occurred here. It was an easy guess, but why couldn't she remember that? Night huffed mentally. Perhaps just an attack on a patrol I wasn't here for, Night assumed.