Eclipse of the Moon

Chapter Ten

Valkryne narrowed his eyes, and slowly wheeled around to see him. "Oh what a pleasant surprise," he gestured his talons and fixed his eyes on Azure with a frown. "Hah, talk all you want. Your words are nothing but meaningless blathering to me." Azure said, approaching him further.

His claws slowly extended, as Valkryne gave a warning hiss. "Ahem," he coughed and glared back at his guards slyly. "Rrrgh..." a puff of steam streamed out of his nostrils as he got into a defensive stance.

Azure laughed loudly as he turned, looking at every dragon who was present. "Is anyone really going to stand in my way?" he asked, sending a burst of ice breath through the entire area, crushing a few pillars.

The dragons all around stood as still as a statue, their eyes widened. Valkryne mumbled to himself silently, "Worthless... I should've known."

"I thought so," Azure snorted, turning back to face Valkryne. Then, continuing, "I'll give you one last chance to back down while you still can, and maybe if I'm still in a good mood I might consider sparing your miserable life for a few more moments."

He took that offer into consideration, but he was this close to the throne... Azure was just a dragon who had more strength than him, wasn't he? And Valkryne thought very highly of his intelligence... But Azure was much larger and older, Valkryne didn't stand a chance...

He snapped out of his thoughts and slowly backed away, his fangs gritted. "Fine," he snapped up at the dragon with a growl, then proceeded to launch off of the ground, and into the skies.

Astaroth gave Azure a triumphant grin that was hardly noticeable through the sea of dragons. She then gave the guards a sharp glare, who didn't dare budge.

"Hmm... If he thinks I'll let him live, he will be mistaken. No matter what choice he would have picked, it would always end in his destruction." Azure laughed, he knew exactly how to manipulate both enemies and allies. He had control of nearly every situation, knowing exactly what to say to manipulate how they feel, respond and think.

One of the dragons in particular gave him a curious look, observing every move. He slowly nodded to his thoughts, and glared deeply, his dark eyes glittering in the sunlight.

* * *

Meanwhile, Cielast and Jade were exploring the forest, away from Flarius' castle. They were afraid, and curious as to what would happen to the castle. By the time they went back in a week, would it all be destroyed? They hoped not... What if Flarius was taken prisoner? Or even worse... What if he was dead?

Cielast tried to keep her thoughts happy, thinking of joyful things but how could she in a time like this? It was all so terrible, and the dark scenery of the forest sure didn't help at all. Her mother was dead, her father was probably dead too, Castien may be still alive. Azure and Waves might still be there, and maybe they took over Flarius' kingdom already... They seemed pretty strong.

Jade was traumatized, her father could be dead by now, their kingdom taken by a horrible dragon... She hoped that Flarius was okay, she didn't want to lose both of her parents and become the sole, lonely princess. She was glad that Cielast was by her side, or else she'd be sulking on the ground, and that wasn't a princess thing to do. She had to stay royal, for her family's sake.

Her thoughts crowded her mind, as she glanced over at Cielast worryingly, what if they were secretly being ambushed? What if they were being hunted down, and about to be taken as prisoners...? That would certainly not be a princess thing to do. Jade had lived a life of pure royalty, always being proper and precise with everything. Her parents always made sure that she was perfect, especially her mother who expected the best of her. Flarius went easy, being calm while Fyriah went full out on being protective and a perfectionist.