Wings of Fire Legends: Starforger

Chapter 7

--Royalty--

Royalty was not ready for her talk with Crystal. Her friend was kind and funny, but she was also annoying and could pry a fang from living skeleton if it meant she would mean answers. Sometimes Royalty wondered if her desire came from her name- to have everything as clear as crystals.

Yet, as the sun's rays reached her chamber's window, there was nothing to do than get out of bed and meet her friend. She yawned and left her chamber.

----

"Good morning." Dreamchaser nodded her greetings. She tried to smile back at her fiance, but how could she smile when her world was being torn apart from inside?

"How are you today, Princess?" he asked politely. Royalty closed her eyes. All is fine. You are fine. Crystal didn't completely destroy your way of life yesterday. she repeated over and over in her mind.

"Quite fine, thank you for asking, Dreamchaser." she replied without a hint of emotion in her voice.

Dreamchaser was silently walking next to her through the long corridors. Suddenly, she felt his wings drop and heard him sigh.

"I know you don't like me," he started quietly. Royalty was silent. What he said wasn't a lie. "And i am fine with that. But you should know that this isn't only about you. We are expected to have dragonets in less that twenty years. So don't think I am going to tiptoe around you. You aren't that important, Royalty. I could get rid of you, right now, and nobody woud care. Nobody. They would just let your body rot in some small, dark room. The Queen, the King, your dearest father, Stardancer. They'd let maggots eat your body from inside. They'd let your skeleton turn into dust, and I wouldn't care less. So, think before you answer me this time. How are you today?"

Royalty stopped dead in her tracks. She tried to gulp down bile as it rised up in her throat. She stared at her fiance in horror. Stars danced in her head. She was close to crying.

Yet, she forced her face to be emotionless yet again and her legs to walk.

"As I told you, fine." she went ahead of him. She hoped Dreamchaser didn't see how her talons shook.

----

Royalty knocked at the doors of Queen's dinning hall. Upon hearing quiet "Come in", she opened the way-too-much fancy door, standing face-to-face with the Queen and her father.

Stardancer nodded at her to come and sit, while the Queen just blinked at her few times. Royalty found the dragon sort of unsettling.

"Did you sleep well?" came an question.

Royalty shook her head. "Sorry, mind to say that again?" she looked at her father.

Then, Queen Skykeeper rose from her seat. The massive dragon seemed to fill up whole room as she spread her wings.

"Your father has asked you aa question. You don't answer with more questions. Perhaps, if you don't know that, you don't deserve to be left alive." she spat in Royalty's face.

The dragonet shook with fear. She managed to look at Stardancer, hoping for reassurance , but he just stared at her blankly. Expectantly.

Royalty half sobbed and ran from the room. She barely registered Dreamchser as she ran into him.

The world wasn't reaal. It was built on lies. The Saviors and Nightrise, Dreamchaser and his tricks, the relationship she and her father had, all fake.

They'd let your skeleton turn into dust, and I wouldn't care less.

Those words replayed in her head.

So, think before you answer me this time.

Perhaps, if you don't know that, you don't deserve to be left alive.

She was burden.

Useless.

Maybe they wouldn't mind if I just disappeared. Maybe they won't even notice.

Then she stopped dead in her tracks.

But maybe they would notice the world going down in flames around them.