Nightshade

Chapter 8

Captured, imprisoned, flying blind who-knows-where, Nightshade had never felt so low. I'm a disgrace to my tribe. Maybe the SeaWings were right. Maybe my tribe is weak and useless... She sighed. 

A loud yell woke her from her dreams. "WAKE UP YA LAZY RAINWING!" Nightshade sat up in shock. It was that dragon, Bull Shark. Of course, she couldn't see him, she had a bag on her head. Nightshade stumbled to her feet. She felt a rope being attached to the bag, as well as one tied around her jaw. "Move it. We might get to the dungeon before night falls." The RainWing tried to speak, but she couldn't.

The SeaWings lifted into the air, dragging Nightshade and Delta with them. They flew in silence for hours, only stopping once to eat a single seagull that Hurricane had caught. It was getting continuously harder to beat her wings, and she was about to give up when they finally reached land.

"Wow, you flew fast. Those RainWings and MudWings might not be so slow after all!" The strange dragon who spoke let out a laugh. "At least physically they're not!" The SeaWings all had a hearty laugh, when Nightshade heard more footsteps coming from nearby.

A deep, empowered voice spoke. "We can take 'em. They'll be nice 'n comfortable in our newest cells, just finished." The rope holding the RainWing and MudWing switched talons, and they were guided to a small hole. 

"Hold your breath now. We're going in for about a minute, tops." Nightshade was pulled in, and she kicked as furiously as she could to get to the end of the tunnel. She saw light filter in through the bag, then her head hit a rock. She blinked, then the rope went taught and she got yanked out of the water.

Freezing, freezing cold. Nightshade's teeth chattered. A rainbow of lights glittered around her. She blinked, and tried to make out shapes through the bag. Before she could make out a single dragon shape besides the one in front of her, a sharp yank pulled her forward. They went through tunnels, a huge labyrinth under the sea. After the strange group emerged into a cave, her bag was yanked off. A loud noise, metal on metal, came from behind her, and Nightshade saw a large mesh of bars locking her, Delta, and a few dejected-looking SandWings in the cavern.

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"So, who are you guys?" It was Delta that spoke first. There were a few seconds of silence before the MudWing's bright voice brought some warmth into the cave. "My name is Princess Delta of the MudWings. This is- Wait. Do you have any titles, Nightshade?" Nightshade shook her head and sank down to the floor.

"No. I'm just Nightshade." 

Delta continued on. "Anyway, this is Nighshade of the RainWings, and-"

A SandWing perked his head up. "A RainWing! Aren't they all cold-blooded killers?"

Another one popped in. "I heard, that their favorite delicacy is dragon. Especially SandWings. That's what my mother said."

The last one looked up, and noticed every dragon in the room looking at her. She sighed. "I heard, umm, that they eat... fruit?" 

Nightshade let out a smile. "You're all right." They all went wide-eyed. "Except for the one about us eating dragons. We're not cannibals!" The SandWings let out a sigh of relief. 

The first one that spoke told the others his name. "My name is Mirage." He flicked his tail. "That's Lion, and she's Sunbeam. We were ambassadors, but then the Sea Kingdom and the Sand Kingdom had a skirmish a few days ago, and we got thrown in here." Mirage looked down.

"We were traveling to say goodbye to my sibs. They died here a few weeks ago." Delta looked down at the floor.

Lion glanced over at the MudWing. "I'm sorry. I lost my brother when he went to go in the army. There was an accident with a tail barb..." He trailed off. 

A knock on the bars broke the silence. "It's eatin' time!" A blue SeaWing with a small amber necklace on shoved five bowls through the bars. Then she stalked away. The SandWings dashed to the entrance and each grabbed a bowl. Sunbeam reached for another, then glanced back at the two other dragons. She backed up, and Delta and Nightshade went up to get their share.

Inside, instead of even a few fish, there was a small carp sitting in the bowl. Nightshade stuck out her tongue, then threw the fish in whole. She gulped it down, then looked around. The SandWings were savoring every bite, and Delta had already eaten most of hers. 

The SandWings eventually finished up, and then they curled up together. They were snoring within minutes. Nightshade went to the darkest corner, turned invisible, then closed her eyes. Delta stayed awake a bit longer, then she eventually fell asleep on the floor.