Sands of Time

Chapter 18

As Sun and Cotton hesitated at the entrance to the cavern's chamber, the air around them grew thick with tension and the hammering panic of Sun's heart.

This was not good. This was so not good.

"We can't go in there," Cotton whispered urgently, her eyes wide with fear. She spread her wings, catching herself before she could follow Gale, almost forcibly pulling herself away from the temptation. "That locket...it's too dangerous!" She grabbed Sun's foretalon and he stopped too, casting a frown toward the raynbow.

Gale, however, seemed unfazed, his curiosity overriding any sense of caution. "What's the matter?" he asked, glancing back around the bend at them, puzzled. "It's just a locket, isn't it?"

"Just a locket?" Sun echoed incredulously. "Gale, are you telling us you have no idea what that thing is capable of?" How could that be possible? The locket was part of every hatchling's nursery rhymes, told to even the youngest of dragonets, warning them of the threat of becoming too power-hungry. 

Of becoming like Twisterheart. 

But perhaps, once again, this was too early in the kumquat timeline for that to make sense.

Meadow's brother tilted his head, looking confused. "Uh, no, not really," he admitted. "I know it's supposed to be super powerful and stuff, and it's been a tradition of my family to keep it protected--which is why it is here at Torch Mountain--but honestly, no. It's not as intimidating as it looks. Come see."

And with that, he ducked back into the shadows, leaving no room for argument. 

Cotton growled, tossing her head. "Well, he's definitely related to Meadow," she scoffed. "He does not know how to take 'no' for an answer!"

"Shhh!" Sun exclaimed, waving his talons panickedly. "Not so loud! They also have ears like hawks, remember?"

"He's not a Watterlaekian," Cotton corrected. "Don't worry, we certainly can't hear that well."

"You guys coming or what?"  Gale called, voice muffled by the rocks.

Sun groaned. "I'm just putting this out there for the record. This is a bad idea."

"I'm going to second that completely," Cotton grunted. "Do we really have to go in there?"

Sun hesitated. "I...yeah, we have to. We can't let Gale go in there by himself. He doesn't know what the locket can do. It's too dangerous for him as well."

"He's not a split-tribe," Cotton agreed reluctantly. Sun looked at her in surprise. "That's what they called Meadow," she explained with a shrug, "when we first woke up here. That's their word for a halfbreed I guess."

"And are there a lot of those here?"

"Not that I can tell," Cotton replied. "I think this is still during the whole 'you can't mingle with dragons outside of your species' era. Because remember, Clouddusk and Violet were the first."

"Meadow."

"Yeah."

"How is that even possible? Dragons have existed for thousands of years! And no one thought of even talking to another tribe until now?"

"Well, that is the first recorded mention," Cotton said. "Trust me. I had to memorize all of this for my parents. Along with..." she paused, "the renewing vow that I would never give my life for someone who was not a Raynbow." A flicker of a rueful smirk crossed her snout. "Guess I never was very good at keeping my promises, was I?"

Sun hesitated, unsure whether the princess was still referring to Cloud or if she had moved on to another topic entirely. But, seeing the opening, he knew now was as good time as any to ask the important questions. "It's about Snowfall, isn't it?" he guessed and she looked at him in surprise.