Eclipse of the Moon

Chapter Seven

"Do you think this will catch him if he sneaks around again?" she asked, knowing that Castien had to come sometime. "Or if he sneaks around at all?" her voice echoed through the citadel as she stared at the trap.

"I'm pretty sure it will," Flarius assured, nodding back at her. He was determined to avenge his mate, even if it meant killing one of his most prized guards.

The trap was made of large branches and nets strung around the citadel of the castle, they were weaved through the beams above on the roof, and there was a large circle of rope tied around four pillars that would fall into the middle and trap whatever would step in them.

"This is a great trap, excellently built, sir." She said, looking around at the huge web of ropes. "Yes, now we wait." he then leaped at the wall and scampered upwards, maneuvering his way through the ropes and being cautious not to activate one.

When he finally reached the other side, he leaped down slowly and crept to his throne, getting comfortable. "Get into a spot to hide," he called over to her, his voice bouncing off the walls.

Cielast walked back and got into another room, looking out from the cracked door with a determined grin.

They waited for a very long time, all was silent aside from the occasional grumble from Flarius as he cleansed his throne. No guards were around, so it would be the perfect time to strike. Flarius stared down at his reflection through the crown with a grin stretched across his face, it was fake though... How could he grin, knowing that his queen had been murdered? He tried to keep his feelings to himself, grumbling.

Suddenly, there was a rather loud cackle from just outside the throne room. As the clicking of talons entered the room, a dark scarlet dragon began to trot through the hallways with glee. He grinned slyly and stared over at Flarius who was distracted by his thoughts that seemed to crowd his mind.

"Well, well, well." Castien scoffed, raising his voice as he leaned against the wall. Cielast thought to herself, please, please walk into the trap...

"Isn't this a lovely coincidence? And hey! No guards? I wonder why that is." He slowly approached the throne with his talons extended, ready to seize it for himself. Flarius slowly glanced up at him with a mumble, "Oh."

Cielast slammed the door open and walked out, growling. "It's over Castien," she hissed with anger. Castien swiftly wheeled around to stare at Cielast who had now fully leaped out of the door and was standing in a defensive stance. "Oh, two of my rivals? It must be my lucky day!" he said, flailing his arms through the air and turning to approach her.

Cielast growled, as her eyes were fueled with anger. She looked over at him and walked around towards Flarius, "What are you planning to do? Kill us?"

"What a lucky guess," he said sarcastically and flexed his wings back, lunging at her with a roar. His huge grey talons were coming towards her with great speed, as his gigantic body barreled at her.

Cielast leaped with her wings extended slightly, as she glanced down and tried to dodge him, staring at Flarius from the corner of her eye. Flarius wanted to lunge towards them and save her, but he couldn't, blocked by the trap as he watched onwards.

Castien twisted his body around in mid-air, trying to snatch Cielast from the skies but he was too late. His torso had already passed over the rope and his tail wouldn't raise high enough to miss it. Everything went around as if it were in slow motion as he roared and shook his head furiously, his tail dragging over to launch the trap.

She grinned at what had just happened and landed on the ground on her side, watching as the plan unfolded before her. The pillars shook around them and cracked, ropes being sent from all over the citadel.