[OLD] Wings Of Fire: Bluefire

Part 7

The three Night'wings strode through the rich hallways held up by carved marble pillars and decorated with various beautiful tapestries, two Sky'wing guards accompanying them. The dragons made their way up a spiral staircase, before treading through more hallways, eventually arriving at the guest room.

"You may stay in this room, you will be notified once you are needed. Please do not wander around the palace too much" One of the guards informed, handing a scroll over to Harbinger. "This has all the information you need to train the prisoner." Both of the Sky'wing guards then retreated back the way they came from as the three dark dragons entered the room. It was a wide room, with a small dining area in the middle and various separate sections with sleeping beds. Golden chandeliers hung from the ceiling and sunlight shined into the room through various windows.

The royal advisor looked around the room, admiring the exquisite architecture, "Wow! The Sky'wings are filthy rich! We must keep the alliance at all costs, The Ice'wings will stand no chance if we have their support. This hybrid better be worth something." He held the scroll up, rolling it open. The various texts presented information and habits on the hybrid.

"Huh, what a peculiar dragon." He turned to the other Night'wings, "We'll need some other prisoners for him to train on, unless either of you would like to volunteer?"

The Night'wing guards shook their heads. One of them asked, "How exactly are we going to train him? From what I've heard Queen Gemstone had been making him fight in the arena for practically his entire life, and if that didn't already make him a perfect fighter, what will?"

Harbinger chuckled, "You said it. They've been making him fight. But they haven't truly trained him. His opponents were weaker than him, half of them were probably starving husks on the verge of death. He needs to fight dragons on his level, and he needs to learn to make the best use of his abilities."

The Night'wing guard nodded his head. He wasn't really paying attention, admiring the room. "At least this place is better than living in a cave. There's a lot of sunlight."

Harbinger looked over. "But we're nocturnal, we won't get any sleep here!"

The other Night'wing guard went around, drawing the red velvet curtains. "Well, personally I am going to sleep now." The female guard spoke and Harbinger nodded his head slightly. Moving into the silk-sheet beds. The other two Night'wings did the same.

Azure's shard groaned in pain. He tried to get some sleep but the stinging burn on his chest and the scratches around his neck didn't help either. "I thought you were trying to get some sleep." Sophellia sarcastically commented at his constant wriggling.

Azure'shard grumbled in response, his bruises and cuts now developing a dark shade of purple. "You don't look too swell. Should I call a Sky'wing." The Sea'wing snickered at him.

"Don't, I'd rather not draw attention to myself, knowing these fire lizard they'll just pick on me or try to claw my face off." He quickly responded/

"Well that's your choice, if I were you I'd ask for some ice to put on all those cuts. Or at the least put some water on it." Azure's shard groaned in pain again, his throat sore from the constriction it has received.

The Sky'wing guard patrolling poked his snout inside. "You two shut it. I'm tired of your endless chatter."

Sophellia rolled her eyes, "Oh but of course, we will." The Sky'wing jeered in return, his talons raking across the stone floor as he walked off.

"I see your cellmate is nice." The dark blue dragon said from across the hall "She seems better than the grumpy pile of dust I'm stuck with"

Sophellia turned her head to face the other dragon. "Was that supposed to be a compliment?" The dark blue dragon in the other cell chuckled at the response.

Another pair of raking footsteps dragged across the floor, approaching them. All three of them poked their heads upwards. "Great, visitors." Sophellia exasperatedly spoke. Two guards armed with spears and covered with metal stood in the doorway. One of them held a thick metal stick, holding it by the leather grip.

The guard opened the glass door and wrapped the familiar chain around Azure'shard. Sophellia barked at the guards, "When the hell will you let me out?" The guard turned to her, snarled, and raised the metal stick. The baton slammed down onto her snout, the scales cracking under such pressure. Sophellia yelped in anguish. Her body stumbled to the right, only catching herself with the glass wall.

"Shut your fish snout, Sea'wing." The Sky'wing with the weapon growled.

The other, light-orange scaled guard nodded at the first guards' warning, adding; "Yep, you talk too much, you get bonked, no exceptions here." The guard chuckled to himself.

The Sky'wing with the weapon turned to the other one, narrowing their eyes at him. "Magnesium, I am one moment away from doing the same to you. 'No exceptions here.' "

Magnesium stared back at the other guard, blinking slowly and shutting his mouth before looking back at the prisoners. "Haha- Right!" He muttered nervously.

Azure'shard stared, appalled. The guards shoved him out of the cell and towards the same hallway on the surface. He climbed the long and thick stone stairs towards the Royal palace. Two guards stationed outside the maple door clutched onto the hinges, opening it. The guard behind Azure'shard shoved him onto the ground, in front of her majesty Queen Gemstone.

Her expression showed both distress and fury. "You dare embarrass me in front of the Night'wings? Our guests? You were utterly disappointing." Gemstone's claws clenched into her palm. "They refuse to purchase you due to your lack-luster effort. If I so may call it that."

Azure'shard looked up at the queen. "I tried my best! You put me up against someone stronger and bigger than me!"

The Queen roared in anger, "Bullshit! I know you're trying to elude my rule! And I will not stand for it!"

Azure'shard growled and began to stand up. The guard behind him raised the metallic stick and slammed it into his back leg, He dropped, the agonizing pain immediately sprouted in his leg as he dropped back onto the ground.

"You will regret your actions, you will very much regret them. I hope it was worth it, because when I'm done you'll have no choice but to obey me." Azure'shard's eyes clenched with tears. The pain was immense, his forelimb only twitched when he tried to move it.

The guard approached him. Azure'shard tried to limp backward, but fell getting up. The guards lined against the wall rushed forward, pinning him down. One of the guards pulled out another metal stick.

He breathed heavily, tears pouring from his face as he lay still. The queen hissed, "Brand him." The courtier beside the queen looked up in shock. Branding was a brutalistic method, even to a criminal. The guards looked towards the Queen, before looking back at Azure'shard.

"Well! Hurry it up now!" She shouted again. A guard ran out the maple doors to fetch the supplies. Azure'shard looked up at the ceiling with pleading hope in his eyes. The guard returned in what seemed seconds, holding a pot of fiery coals.

He placed the metal stick into the pot, then removed it out and faced the pinned dragon. Azure'shard hissed, unsure of what was happening anymore. The guard plunged the metal stick onto the side of his chest at a spot where his scales were injured, scarred or gone from all the arena fights he's been in. The heat imprinted a Sky'wing symbol onto his exposed skin. Azure'shard yelped in pain, shortly after fainting.

The Queen huffed with satisfaction, the guards standing back from the unconscious dragon.

"Now he'll remember his mistakes for the rest of his life, he WILL NOT fail me again. Bring him to the healer, and fetch me those Night'wings." Azure'shard was dragged from the room and out of sight. Marrigold slowly left the room to inform the Night'wings. The Queen unclenched her talons.