Proboscis Book 1: Clouds Parting- A Wings of Fire Fanfiction

~ Chapter 12 ~

Where is Quartz? I hope he isn't in danger. Stratus thought. She was still mad, but worry overtook her thoughts as soon as she couldn't see him anymore. How will he manage on his own? He is reckless and he's probably going to die without me. Stratus thought about rescuing him. I'll wait. Maybe he'll learn something from being alone. I'll travel by myself for now. Stratus flew on toward the BlazeWing kingdom, trying to forget about what Quartz had said. She started feeling a bit lonely after a while. As she flew, she couldn't stop thinking of whether she had made the right decision by leaving Quartz behind. After all, he was her best friend. He was also one of the very few friends she had. She didn't want to lose another friend like Hurricane. The more Stratus thought about Quartz, the more memories came back to her from when she was young.

"Stratus!" Hurricane yelled, getting Stratus's attention. "Let's go play on the clouds!"

"Okay! I gotta ask my dad real quick, though, " Stratus replied. Stratus flew over to her father. "Could I play with Hurricane near the clouds?"

"Sure thing!" Cumulonimbus called, busy making something. "Just be careful!" Stratus flew over to where Hurricane was waiting.

"My dad said yes!" Stratus said, rolling around in the fluffy clouds, her wings the same pale bluish gray color as them.

"Tag! You're it!" Hurricane exclaimed as she zoomed past her. "Can't catch me!"

"Hey!" Stratus growled playfully. "I'm going to get you!" Stratus flew as fast as she could toward Hurricane. Eventually, Stratus ran out of breath. She stopped and took a break. "Slow down!"

"Why would I?" Hurricane replied, still zooming through the clouds.

"I'm tired!" Stratus said, hoping Hurricane would stop. "Please?"

"No!" Hurricane answered defiantly. Stratus started to get angry at her.

"Fine," Stratus blurted. "I won't play then."

"If you won't play, I won't be your friend!" Hurricane yelled back at Stratus. She watched as Hurricane flew away, back to her parents. Stratus did the same, flying back slowly while thinking about what had happened with Hurricane.

Stratus sighed, looking back at all of the mistakes she had made. How did me and Quartz go from friendly conversation to splitting up and giving up the mission? She was partly angry at Quartz for suggesting they split up, but also angry at herself for starting the argument. Just then, she remembered what Cumulonimbus said. He had told both of them to stay together. If he found out that she and Quartz had parted ways for a while, he would never forgive Stratus. This pushed her to find Quartz no matter what. Stratus thought about all of the times Quartz had saved her. If he hadn't helped her, she would already be dead. Then, Stratus thought about all of the times she had saved Quartz. She knew they had a better chance of surviving and accomplishing this mission if they were together. As she flew toward the BlazeWing kingdom, Stratus saw a few guards. Stratus started flying around them.

"Hey!" a BlazeWing shouted. "Isn't that the CloudWing that attacked the guards and got away?" Stratus overheard their conversation and knew they were talking about her.

"Get her!" All of the guards grabbed their spears and aimed at Stratus, but she continued to fly around in circles, dodging the spears. Then, one of the guards grabbed a rope and threw it at Stratus. At that time, she didn't see the weight on the rope and didn't think it was that much of a problem. The weight hit her on the head and knocked her out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Ouch!" Stratus exclaimed. She looked around for a while. "Where am I?" Then she saw Queen Tambora. She realized she was back in the BlazeWing kingdom with Queen Tambora.

"Why, hello," Queen Tambora said eerily. She circled Stratus, eying her carefully.

"Why do you want me so bad?" Stratus yelled, trying to stay calm.

"Oh, you poor, poor dear," Queen Tambora cooed, as she continued to circle Stratus, "You haven't realized it yet, have you?"

"What are you talking about?" Stratus asked, confused. She started to feel nervous, trying to understand what Queen Tambora was getting at.

"Let me tell you a little bit about me." Queen Tambora said. Stratus didn't want to listen, but she couldn't stop Queen Tambora since she was weak and had chains around her. "Before I was queen of the BlazeWings, I used to be a dragon studier."

"What does that have to do with you capturing me?" Stratus asked.

"You'll find out eventually," Queen Tambora answered. "Now, on with my backstory. I studied all of the kinds of dragons on this continent, when I stumbled on this... thing. I was looking around at my possessions and found it." Queen Tambora held up a tiny orb. "I learned about it and what it could do. Then, I read about all sorts of powers. Most of them were unbelievably boring," drawled the queen, " but I found something exciting. That specific power was the power to control the weather. Another power I was interested in was the ability to manipulate crystals."

"No," Stratus whispered. She had already guessed what the orb would do. "That orb takes other dragons' powers, right?"

"Yes," Queen Tambora cackled. "I captured Quartz because I wanted to see if he could manipulate crystals. I'm not disappointed, though. Quartz may not even have that ability. Besides, the ability I most wanted was the ability to control the weather."

"You won't be able to take the ability to control the weather, though," Stratus said. "No one in the CloudWing kingdom has that ability. No one has ever had it in years. It was even before we had our first animus."

"There is one dragon in the CloudWing kingdom that has the power. This dragon is here somewhere," Queen Tambora smiled.

"Where is the dragon?" Stratus asked. Then she realized that she was that dragon.

"After that, I became the Queen of the BlazeWings. I've been planning ever since to steal this power for our tribe," Queen Tambora held up the orb, ready to strike.

"How do you know that I can control the weather?" Stratus asked, trying to get as much information as she could.

"Oh," Queen Tambora answered. "When CloudWings are born with the ability to control their weather, their scales have a tiny lightning bolt pattern on them." The queen prodded the pattern with her claw. "Here it is! Also, did I mention that the orb kills the dragon along with the process of stealing the power?"

Stratus was shocked. I have to distract the queen!

"You're a monster!" Stratus snarled. She struggled around, trying to escape the unbreakable chains she was in while Tambora was distracted. She was desperate when Queen Tambora told her that the orb would kill the dragon in the process.

Queen Tambora glanced at Stratus. "Do not try to distract me or trick me. It won't work." she snarled. Finally, Stratus gave up and stayed still.

"So, you've wanted to capture us just so you can study us and take our powers for your kingdom?" Stratus said in shock.

"That is correct," Queen Tambora answered. "Our powers are very boring. We can only breathe fire, spit molten lava, and we are invulnerable to fire."

" Only? That's still a lot!" Stratus exclaimed. "I can only control the weather!"

"That's powerful, though!" the Queen said, imagining the limitless possibilities if she had the power. Stratus was trying to distract Queen Tambora so she could figure out a way to escape. Then, the Queen caught on to what she was thinking. "You can't escape, dear. I'm going to take your power and kill you right here, right now. Then I'll be able to take the lives of all the other rulers in Proboscis!" Stratus thought of what might happen after she died. She was strangely unafraid, worrying about other dragons instead. What's going to happen to Quartz? Is he going to get captured and suffer the same fate as me?

"Now, it's time for you to die." Queen Tambora laughed.