Among the Hellfire

Chapter 1

A loud crash awakens Flutter from a deep, weary sleep. She shoots up and out of bed, her heart pounding as if a bomb had gone off. She looks wildly around her room, checking for signs of danger, her brain not fully registering the sound, only that it startled her.

After a few seconds, she realizes there isn't any real danger, not imminent anyway. Her eyes adjust to the dark, obsidian walls of her room. There aren't any windows, everything is enclosed in cold blackness. All her furniture is made of carved stone, all pillaged from other dragons by her great grandparents. Even her bed has a stone frame, though it's inlaid with a down mattress and soft pillows, also likely stolen.

She slowly comes to when she hears yelling and arguing from down the hall. It sounds like her mother and Uncle Cuprite. Flutter rubs her eyes as she groggily slides out of bed. She then crosses the hall to see what all of the commotion is this time. She can't help but feel like she's forgetting something, but her head is too worn out to bother recalling what it is.

The obsidian halls are perfectly carved into tall, rectangular hallways that stretch well above her. The walls are all lined with various art and stone statues, pirated just like everything else. Of course, it's wasted in here because there aren't any windows, so they aren't even hardly visible. Flutter huffs, a wave of frustration washing over her, which is pretty typical.

The faded sounds of the argument slowly drown under the noise of Uncle Auburn's snoring. Flutter enters a large foyer to find the Royal Crimson behemoth sleeping soundly on the bare floor. He is easily the largest in the family, taking up the entire room while curled up like a cat. He has to crouch to get through the halls and his jaws are big enough that Flutter could easily fit inside and have room to stand up.

Despite this, she doesn't really mind him. For such a giant, he really is a softy. Flutter gives him a weary smile, envying how he could sleep through all the racket that Flutter now recognized was coming from the kitchen. Flutter then turns to leave, entering the kitchen, where she finds, as she suspected, her mother and Uncle Cuprite yelling at one another.

"You know, it wouldn't kill you to be a little more careful, Monarch." Cuprite says snidely. He is addressing a broken porcelain dish shattered on the ground. Behind him is the washing basin, where many more dishes are stacked.

"Oh, shut it! It wouldn't kill you to watch where you put that bonfire of a tail of yours!" Her mother viciously retorts. She is carrying dishes in her front paws.

Cuprite snorts at her, his crystalline red scales rigidly trembling in an intimidating manner. Monarch only glares back at him, snarling. She then notices Flutter in the room and addresses her.

"Oh, so little Flutterby is finally awake. Took you long enough." She huffs sharper than usual. Flutter wonders what has her so stressed out, besides the broken plate.

"S-sorry..." Flutter meekly answers, "Was there supposed to be a wake up call? What's going on?"

"What's going on? You forgot?!" Cuprite screeches in a panic.

"Your wretched aunt is coming by with her host of goons. She and 'The Great and Powerful Lord Jam' want to have a 'diplomatic meeting.'" Her mother is making exaggerated air quotes with her claws.

"What?! That's today?!" Flutter panics, tensing up suddenly. Her bright orange wings quiver fearfully.

"Yeah, you little shrew! Now get it in gear! Took you long enough to wake up, now how about lending a hand." Monarch says, earning a subtle but sharp glare from Cuprite, "Maybe go get your lazy father out of his room? Auburn's already passed out, he should pick up some slack."

"O-ok... Yeah, I can do that."

"Then do it! Go! Chop chop!"

Monarch claps loudly, sending Flutter running off to find her father, Mulberry. In a blind rush, however, she runs right into her grandfather, Jam's leg. She stumbles back, holding her head from the shock.

"Ow! S-sorry, I just- !" Flutter stops talking when she stares up at the intimidating visage of her grandfather, Jam Crimscale.

He glares down at her with vacant, yellow eyes that appear to pierce her very soul. His deep, rich red scales appear almost black in the obsidian shadows, and he towers over her like a stone monument. Flutter is speechless and frozen, she swallows hard, staring up at him.

"Watch where you're going." Jam says in his deep, menacing voice. It's low enough to be mistaken for rumbling thunder and loud enough to shake the walls.

"I-I'm really sorry, sir." Flutter answers, trying to stop herself from shaking.

"Whatever. Just don't do anything stupid like that when Garnet arrives. Got it? Can't have her thinking I've raised a company of feral leeches."

"Yes sir. I understand sir."

"Good. Now get out of my sight."

Flutter nods before quietly passing him. She can hear him shouting at Monarch and Cuprite from the kitchen. She tries not to listen, tries not to let the pressure get to her. The more she thinks about it, the more miserable she becomes, so she just has to stop thinking about it.

She comes to the door of Mulberry's room. Like everything else, it is made from solid obsidian. Flutter takes a deep breath, clearing her mind as well as face of potential tears welling up. She doesn't want her father to see her getting upset, not over stupid family stuff anyway. She then knocks on the door.