Whispers of the Underground

Chapter 7

Astonishing

Astonishing was about to leave the room and tell on Ember when Ember began to read. 

"Dear Diary,

Hi!!! First ever report!!!!! I'll be using this for my reasons and blah blah blah so I won't forget. Best five year old birthday gift ever!     - Argentine!!!!!!!!!!!" 

Ember rolled her eyes. And she muttered something that sounded like, "Let me skip this..." 

"Hey, don't read my aunt's stuff!!!" Astonishing yelled. Ember just smacked him in the face with her tail. Ow, he thought. His face was pained from all the smacking but it wasn't as bad as when Wisteria would squeeze his cheeks and hit them for fun and Argentine would just smile. Astonishing was disappointed. His aunt, the Queen, was now obsessed with talking with Yellow and Crazy to see if she could get more dragonets with Wisteria's dad, Inferno. Inferno was the most smug dragon Astonishing had ever met! He was always bragging that Argentine was his wife and that she had finally noticed him! And he was so supportive of the thought of more kids. 

"Dear Diary, 

It's official, Queen Lunar wants us dead. And it's worse. Honeydew's egg will have to travel a journey . As well as Lavender's, Lingonberry's, Grain's and the library freak's.  But we could fight... No!!! I'm NOT going to risk someone else getting killed. Ever since we officially broke the alliance with the SpiderWings.... My mother. Died. When the alliance was broken... When my sister backed down to fighting me for the throne. I can't fight them. I can't because.... I'm scared." 

Ember roared loudly after she read the message and shrieked. "Traitor!" she spat. She shredded the page out and slowly ripped it. Astonishing actually felt slightly guilty. He took the book from her hands and saw her starting to break down. She sat down, crumpled up, grieved. There was a silence. Astonishing raised one of his brows waiting for Ember to continue her anger and smack him in the face but she didn't. Just silence. "My mother died because of that monster. Scared and useless." she whispered. Astonishing didn't really care. Ember didn't even know Lavender. And Astonishing didn't know his mum and look what it gave him, a perfect life! Personal servant! Private buffet! Special spa! And soon to be personal garden inspired by him! But Ember wasn't so lucky. Maybe because she liked to hit others. 

"It doesn't matter, just chill." he said. Ember stared at him like he was crazy. But he wasn't. Crazy was one of the nursery caretakers. 

"She caused my dad to go sad and lonely. Missing my mum." she snapped quietly. 

"How to you think my  dad felt when my mum died?" he yawned, getting bored. 

"He was dead already." she retorted. Oh yeah, he thought, finally remembering. 

"You know what?  I'll read the book while you grieve!" he offered, she smacked him in the stomach but said nothing. He rolled his eyes. He was seriously reconsidering helping her and considering to go to his red ribbon garden to cut the ribbon.  

"Another thing: It would be common sense if I flew using the secret entrances... But... I can't have the rest of the kingdom doing that. These ancient entrances... Could crash down. And crack eggs. And they're sort of creepy. And... The MothWings could follow! But they could follow us if we flew above ground. But it'll be harder for them to hide with their shimmering wings in sun and moonlight. But they could hide in the dark... But we could fight them off and not in a squished entrance. So let it be! We will move from our current nest to the nest furthest away from the MothWings' kingdom! In the air! And that shou-" 

Astonishing stopped as Ember started grinning. "Continue!" she said, and he immediately knew another one of her dumb plans was coming to mind, like the potato flood in the palace idea.   

"That's the end. The words were getting less inky so her pen ran out of fruit ink." he told her, his feet starting to hurt from standing up. I really need my spa time now! 

"Well, most recent message?" she asked. 

"That was the most recent message." he said. 

"Well done for being so useless Argentine." she muttered. Astonishing fumed. She was NOT USELESS!

"Well I have this." he told her, throwing the wrapped up folded paper. All crinkly and golden with the tips a bit darker brown when Ember took the paper out of the wrapping. She unfolded the paper and a bunch of circles with words like NestMWc or NestSWfw. "What do they stand for?" he asked. 

"I don't know!" 

"Oka-" but Ember threw the wrapping in his mouth and he spat it out. She glared at him, as if to say, Zip it Astonishing. 

"Well, there's always Tapinoma to ask. But let's guess first. Argentine wrote that we had a previous kingdom and said there were nest entrances. And that means there might be lots of kingdoms. All AntWing kingdoms. Connected. Together. Through entrances. But the letters? I don't know." she said. 

"Then it's Tapinoma time." he replied, "But I'm not going." 

"Yes, you are." she informed him. 

"But why?" 

"If Argentine finds her stuff raided, you're first to get punished as this room smells like peppermint and you reek peppermint. But I don't really care if you get mauled by the queen. At least when you're dead you won't stink of anything but peppermint right?" 

"What? There's nothing with that. It's just the new brand of scent. So, I spritzed it all over myself." he argued. 

"Yeah, and no one else in the entire palace has your limited edition perfume. Anyways I'm ripping this book to make it worse." she argued, ripping the diary. Then, she began clawing all the recounts of his aunt's little adventures with his mother. She walked out and turned around to see him blinking and just standing. Then she ran over quickly and gave him a brief hug. He felt like he was suffocating. She was literally CHOKING him. But she was Ember. So what to expect? Then she let go. "Thanks." she thanked. 

"For what?" he asked. 

"Helping me I guess but now, we need to go find Blazing and Nectar. Cause we're not leaving without my buddies!" she declared. Then she ran out of the basement and Astonishing followed because he was not getting killed. But he just had to grab a few things. Like maybe his sprays... Just to cover the peppermint scent. But he had a pouch waiting at the door for him already. On it was a label that said, Safe travels! "From Lasius" Ember explained. Astonishing glared at her. "Don't worry he just thinks we're going to Nectar's to show these scents." He nodded.  

Inside were all his sprays, and his favourite animus birthday gift. (Each royal AntWing got an old animus object for a gift. Note: only ONE). His rock of a million smells. A previous animus sometime in history had made this because they got sick of smelling the dirt air. Ember was already starting to set off. "Wait!" he called out and flew after her. His pouch was heavy and he would need someone to go carry his bag. Maybe Blazing... But soon, he hit a building while daydreaming and he crashed into Ember and they propelled right into Grain's garden.