Wings of Fire: A SkyWing Story

Prologue

The two eggs glowed orange in the filtered light. A large female dragon sat beside them, glancing at the small cracks in the fragile eggs."When will they hatch?" Queen Flame asked worriedly to the smaller dragon beside her.
"Soon, your majesty."
"But how so-" The queen was interrupted by a loud cracking noise that erupted from the second egg. A small horn emerged from the shell, cracking it open. A small, reddy-orange dragonet flopped into the soft nest, squeaking at its mother.
Queen Flame smiled, curling around the dragonet and the unhatched egg. As soon as she touched it, the shell split, the horn poking from the egg. The dragonet ripped it's head down, slicing the orange shell open. The little dragonet was a golden orange with strange, icy blue eyes. It flopped helplessly into the nest, crawling towards it's mother. The queen reached out to touch her child, but recoiled with a shriek. Her foreclaw was scorched, black marks running from the tip down the sides. The small dragonet glanced up at her burned mother, smoke floating off of her scales."She's been firestruck...." Flame breathed.
The floppy dragonet was quickly moved from the soft nest into a stony nest, away from her mother. The dragonet squeaked and fell silent, sleeping in her stony bed.
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Two Years Later....
SkyHawk snarled, slicing at the iron training dragon. The spots where she hit it sizzled and bubbled molten metal and she smiled a savage smile. SkyHawk looked up at her mother, sitting above the arena in the Royal Viewing Platform. Her mother stared down at her, evidently pleased by her progress. Her sister, Barb, sat next to Queen Flame, expressionless as ever. Why is Barb so quiet? SkyHawk wondered before snapping herself back into fighting mode. The Queen told her she must fight, and fight she would. She snarled at the melting practice dragon and sliced her claws across it's muzzle, claws twisting through the metal like it was paper. She hissed and "finished it", clamping her jaws around it's neck, hearing a sizzle as the head sluggishly slid off of the shining body.
SkyHawk opened her large, golden wings and lifted off, flapping up towards her mother. She landed on the platform, folding in her wings and making herself as small as possible before dipping her head. "How did I do mother?" She asked in a quiet voice.
"Very well, my little firestorm." Her mother replied.
"But when can I fight properly? I've been practicing forever!" She asked with a slight whine in her voice. Her mother smiled evilly, eyes lighting up with excitement. "Why, I have a match for you now... Guards! Take away the iron dragon and bring in Sandstorm." The Queen commanded loudly.
SkyHawk grinned and tried to refrain herself from twitching excitedly. I get to kill my first dragon! She thought with a shiver of excitement. Her mother nodded to her and she dipped her head, leaping off of the Royal Viewing Platform. She circled above the arena, careful to stay away from the stands. White smoke billowed off of her wings and body, sunlight beaming down into the arena. The Queen's second son, Flash, took his place by her side, shouting out to the crowd, "Good afternoon SkyWings and friends!" Flare smiled at the crowd before saying, "Today we have a very special match! The Queen's own daughter, SkyHawk, will be fighting her first dragon in the arena!" The crowd roared In approval, hoping for bloody entertainment. " At one end of the arena, we have SkyHawk, of the SkyWings. At the other, we have Sandstorm, of the SandWings. Claws up, fire ready, fight!" He shouted. She growled, biding her time like mother advised. She padded forwards, tail snaking across the sand. He's overconfident and he doesn't know what he's up against. She thought, eyes narrowing. Yeah, she was small for a dragon in the arena, but she was strong. The SandWing leapt at her, jabbing his poison tail at her face. She ducked and whirled around, swiping her tail across his face. He screeched, backing away from her, black eyes widening in fear and horror. He breathed a jet of fire which whirled in a cloud around her before dissipating and she leapt, gently slicing a claw down his back before spinning and looking pleased at his agonized shrieks. Sandstorm roared, leaping at her and swiping his tail at her back, but the lethal, poisonous tail bounced off and ignited in a flash of blue sparks. He hissed, teeth clenched and she leapt, pouncing onto his back before putting him out of his agony. She stood up, long neck raised to the sky in her excited victory.SkyHawk glanced up at her mother, looking for approval. Flame blinked at her daughter, a grin in her eyes.
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SkyHawk landed on a stone platform, claws scorching black marks where she landed. "Did I do well, mother?" She asked with a questioning voice.
"I guess..."
"What do you mean, I guess?"
"Well, my flame, you need to prolong their pain, let them fight as long as possible."
The princess nodded, filing away that information. She turned to the queen, tipping her head, silently asking if she had any chores. "SkyHawk, go with Barb and blast a new scavenger settlement on the side of Bladedigger's mountain." Her mother said.
The two princesses had been flying for some time before landing gracefully on a rocky ledge. SkyHawk sent a blast of flame through the thick bushes, incinerating them immediately. The sisters peered through the smoke, searching for a possible settlement. Barb hissed in excitement, spotting a small low building. SkyHawk opened her mouth to blast it, heat blazing exceptionally hot around her head. She let out a large fireball and Barb followed suit, turning the house and it's scavengers into fine ash. The princesses looked at each other with a smug grin before taking off, leaving the house in ruin. When they landed back on the platform, the sisters were exhausted.
To be continued......