Wings of Fire: The Hidden Kingdom | ✔️

~ The Hidden Kingdom: Prologue ~

It was quiet in the throne room. Two dragons sat in there, side-by-side, looking out at their kingdom.

"What are we going to do?" Copper asked quietly. "The kingdom's a mess, and Burn is demanding we return to help fight the war."

"We can't do as Burn wishes, she'll have to respect that," Ruby replied. "We are in no state to fight. A lot of these dragons don't know who to follow, and I'm still trying to fix the chaotic mess our mother made."

Copper shook his head. "It's awful. Perhaps we should just let Burn take charge of the kingdom?"

"Never!" Ruby cried. "I will not let her have any sort of power over my tribe. She'd kill us all." The queen shook her head. "No, I will fix this. No matter how long it takes, I will repair this kingdom. It's what a true queen would do."

"A true queen." Copper shuddered. "The SandWings are supposed to be the ones debating their queen, not us."

"Would you rather still be under the rule of our mother?" Ruby asked.

"No," Copper replied. "I just mean I wish we'd had someone like you from the start, or that our dragons were a little less feather-brained and were more accepting of you."

Ruby waved her talon dismissively. "Scarlet ruled for a long time, and she was strong. Nobody expected her to lose her spot so easily. Give them time, they'll come around."

"And if they don't?" Copper pressed. "Scarlet turned our tribe into heartless monsters. You saw the way they cheered at the arena fights. They want death, not peace like we do."

"Don't have so little faith," Ruby said. "Take Vermillion, for example. You saw the way he changed."

"Vermillion is a senseless dragon who'll do whatever it takes to keep a home," Copper said. "He's a pathetic example."

Ruby playfully cuffed him behind the ear. "Don't speak of your brother in such a way. Dragons can change, you know."

"Dragons like Vermillion?" Copper said. "Doubtful."

"If you have no faith in him, how can you have faith in the rest of the tribe?" Ruby asked.

"That's the thing," Copper said. "I don't."

Ruby shook her head. "I'm glad you can never be queen."

Copper shrugged. They went silent again as they stared out at the sun setting behind their kingdom.

"Do you think they'll ever return?" Copper asked after a while.

"The dragonets?" Ruby guessed. "I don't know."

"Would we welcome them back?"

Ruby was silent for a little bit. "I don't know," she admitted. "It depends on the circumstances."

"What do you mean by that?" Copper demanded. "They want the same thing as us; an end to the war."

"Yes, but trouble seems to follow them wherever they go," Ruby pointed out. "That's the last thing we need right now."

"What about Hare?" Copper asked. "We'd welcome her, wouldn't we?"

"Hare is Burn's business," Ruby replied. "Not ours."

"But Hare's our friend!" Copper protested. "She was always kind to us."

"That doesn't matter in this situation," Ruby told him. "Hare is Burn's daughter, and if she ever returns we'll have no choice but to hand her over to her mother."

Copper stared at her. "Would... Would Burn hurt her?"

"Of course not," Ruby gasped. "Burn loves Hare very much, she just wants her daughter back."

Copper looked down and kicked aside a loose rock. "I wish our mother was like that."

"We can't have everything." Ruby fluffed her wings. "There are a lot of dragons out there who wish they were royal."

"But is being royal really worth the price we've had to pay?" Copper asked.

Ruby went silent. They both knew the answer to that. Nothing could ever be worth the torture they had to watch and the neglect they went through, the constant reminders that their mother could kill them with a single blow if she wanted to if they misbehaved. Copper remembered the jealousy he felt when he'd seen Burn and Hare meet. They'd only known each other for a few days, but they seemed to have a stronger connection than Copper had ever had with his mother in the five years he'd been alive. He was sure that Ruby felt the same.

"Queen Ruby?"

Copper looked over his shoulder. A small, young guard was standing by the entrance. He was thin and far too young to be in his position. Copper remembered the day the dragonet had asked Scarlet if he could be a guard. He was only a few months old at the time, but Scarlet had still said yes. A horribly irresponsible decision. The dragonet had devoted so much time to this job to prove himself that he barely seemed to eat or sleep. He was terribly weak. When she took over, Ruby had tried to get him to take a break and maybe even step down, but he refused. He seemed to feel horribly committed to the job.

"Yes, Alder?" Ruby said.

"The SandWings have arrived," Alder said. "They're waiting for you in the ring."

Ruby sighed. "Right, of course. Tell them I'm on my way."

The queen got up as Alder hurried away. She gently patted her little brother's head. "I'll see you later. I love you."

"I love you too," Copper said, watching his sister disappear down the hall. He turned his attention back to the window. He could see the dragons of his tribe flying back and forth. His chest felt heavy. He missed the one true friend he'd ever had. If she were still here, would it be them flying around out there?

He wanted to find her. He wanted to bring her back. He wanted to bring his friend back.

Prince Copper got up and turned away from the window. Hopefully the dragonets would end the war soon. Not only would it mean an end to the thing that had tormented the continent for so long, but it'd also mean a chance of seeing Hare again.

All he could do was hope.