Hidden Wings

Chapter 6

Two sets of wings spiraled toward the ground. "We're far enough away now that we can rest for awhile." Spry landed in a patch of sorrel, lying down in the soft, clover-like leaves. Maria coiled up next to him with a sigh.
  "What now?"
  Spry closed his eyes, resting his head on his talons. "I don't know..."
  Maria twitched. "He said, 'If all goes well, I may meet you at the palace.' But what if he doesn't? What then, Spry?"
  Spryvern opened his emerald eyes and studied her. "Maria, we have to trust him. If we give the hermit time-"
  "We don't have time!" Maria could feel her voice rising, but she didn't care. "My dad will come home tomorrow morning, and if I'm not there, he'll go crazy!"
  "Maria-"
  "No! This is not a fairy tale! We don't have fate to guide us to a magically perfect happily-ever-after destiny where we frolic around like pixies! There is no guarantee we'll get a happy ending!"
  Spry stood up. "I didn't bring you all this way so you could give up. Maybe it might not all end well, but it definitely won't if we don't try!"
  "And we have tried!" Smoke started to curl from Maria's nostrils. "We've flown and flown and flown and flown and then flown some more, and what do we get? Nothing! Nothing..." Her voice broke and she turned away, blinking back tears.
  "Maria."
  The purple dragon turned around. Spry's eyes had softened and he opened his wings. Maria fell into his embrace, wrapping her own wings around him and crying into his shoulder. She wasn't sure how long they stood there, holding each other. All she knew was she didn't want to leave.

                                ***
                                                                  
  The falling sun found Maria and her companion in the air again. Wings brushing every few beats, Maria didn't think she ever felt such a strong mix of emotions flooding through her chest, mind, and heart. The sky in front of them was a blaze of purple, gold, orange, and crimson. The mountain had gone black, only a silhouette. The purple dragon sighed quietly, finally at peace.
    Spry dipped lower, into the mountian's shadow. The palace couldn't be much farther now. Maria let herself drop lower, expecting to see structures carved or built into the side of the peak. However, nothing out of the ordinary could be seen from their distance, which was only about half a mile from Blue Mountain. Maybe it can only be seen from close up. She thought.
   There were several pairs of gaurds circling at different distances from where the palace must be, but they were only specs of color against the fiery sky. Nevertheless, Maria and Spry had reached them within a few minutes. The closest pair of guards spotted them and winged over, holding their silver-tipped spears defensively.
    The leading dragon stopped and hovered in from of them, her indigo-colored partner right behind her. Her scales were a shimmery dragonfly blue, with bright gold and orange in her wings and webbed ruff, which was similar to Spry's, only bigger. "State your business," she demanded.
   "We are here to see the queen," Spry said, inclining his head respectfully.
   "Aren't we all." She studied them though narrowed eyes. "Names?"
   "Maria and Spryvern." The green dragon lifted his head.
   The guard nodded. She flicked her long, graceful tail. Two dragons appeared flying toward them from the mountain. One was light silver and the the other was the color of flames. "Mist, Phoenix, stay here with Vyla. I'll take these two to the palace."
   Mist and Phoenix nodded. "Yes, Firefly." The sliver dragon nudged the first dragon's wing with her own, grinning.
   "And don't set fire to the pine grove this time!" Firefly hissed at them, leading Spry and Maria toward the peak. "Or I'll make sure you're all put on desk duty for the rest of your lives!"
    The flight to the mountain was short. Several dragons saluted to Firefly along the way. She nodded back formally, carrying a smile in her crystal blue eyes. Landing softly in a pile of stones, Firefly breathed a burst of blue fire into the air and spoke one word. "Agate."
   A burly speckled gray dragon materialized out of the rocks. "Evening, Firefly." He said quietly. Maria watched in fascination as he shoved a large boulder aside, revealing a hidden tunnel.
   Firefly looked back at them and smiled, showing her pure white teeth. "Follow me. One of your friends has arrived already."