Hidden Wings

Chapter 7

   The entire palace was underground. Tunnels wound through the mountain, opening into halls and caverns, lit by torches and colorfully tinted globes containing candles. Firefly led them deeper and deeper into the palace, where there were more lights to combat the growing darkness. Finnally, she led them into a medium sized cave where a familiar deep blue dragon stood waiting.
"Nymphadora!" Maria exclaimed. "How did you get here so fast?"
The indigo dragon smiled slightly. "I got a tip from Swift and Ember that you needed help. They saw you flying alone toward the mountain, without the hermit." There was a mischievous glint in her eye. "The Queen trusts me enough that I can probably get her to listen."
Firefly stood in the doorway, flicking her wings. "Jasper?" She called down the hall. A red-ish green dragon appeared beside her. "These dragons have wounds that need attention." She flicked her tail at Maria and Spryvern.
"Absolutely." He darted off down hallway and returned a moment later with two milky white dragons, each holding different herbs and bandages. The dragon on the left flashed them and small smile. "If you'll hold still for a moment. These might sting a bit."

* * *

Maria rubbed the bandage on her neck as Jasper led them along a hallway toward the throne room. The queen had decided to grant them some time to speak, despite the dozens of other dragons jostling for her attention. Extremely nervous but determined not to show it, Maria was mostly hoping she didn't say something stupid and embarrass herself.
The colored light globes brought out the colors hidden in Jasper's scales. His tail glinted with orange and yellow and even blue as it slid along the stone floor. "Almost there," he murmured, glancing over his shoulder to wink at them.
They emerged a moment later into an enormous cave with a tall, vaulted ceiling. The cavern was lit by a dozen huge globes in different shades of blue and lavender, making it seem as the room wasn't really underground. In the middle of the farthest wall stood a huge throne, decorated with gold and silver and sapphires carved into swirls and moon shapes. But the most dazzling thing in the room was the dragon sitting in the throne. Her scales were pale blue tipped with silver, but when she shifted in her seat, the light brushed across her scales, sending rainbows spiraling through them like a million tiny prisms. The crown resting on her curved horns was made of pure gold, studded with tiny diamonds and moonstones, and her semi-transparent wings were draped with cords of sapphires.
A guard stood at either side of the throne. One was a quick looking dark red dragon with spiky scales and spines all along his back and tail and a medallion around his neck that had his name carved into it. Crimson, Maria read.
The second guard also had a name medallion, this one reading "Whirlwind". Whirlwind was a large dragon with brilliant blue scales that were like armor, and long tail with a large webbed flap at the end. Her wings looked almost too big for her, the top of them were blue, while underneath was a light sandy color. Her claws and teeth were strong, her eyes always on the alert. Maria knew that this was a dragon you didn't want to take on without backup.
The queen studied them majestically from her throne. Nyphadora stepped forward and bowed gracefully. "Your Majesty," she began. "I promise this will not be a waste of your time."
"I should hope it won't." Angelica said, curling her tail around her talons.
Nymphadora stepped backward and Spry took her place, bowing. Maria came up beside him, mimicking him like a shadow.
"Your Majesty Queen Angelica," Spry said, looking up at her respectfully. "We have a very unusual turn of events to share with you." He looked at Maria.
"We, um, we think that maybe, the- uh- um-" she stuttered.
Spry nudged Maria's wing gently. She met his eyes and breathed deeply. "I'm not really a dragon. I started as a human. But a shapeshifter dragon turned me into one of you."
"I found her afterward and brought her here as soon as I could. But we were attacked by Vycan several times along the way."
"Vycan?" The young queen sat up straighter and fixed them with her intense gaze. "You've seen him?"
"We believe he is the one behind the transformation." Spry confirmed.
Angelica hissed under her breath, her bejeweled wings twitching. She looked deeply troubled. "Whirlwind, take them to a place where they may spend the night."
The large blue dragon dipped her head. "Yes, your Majesty."
"Wait! I mean, your Majesty," Maria corrected herself quickly. "I need to become myself again. Do- do you think you can help me?"
Angelica looked down at her for a long moment. "I will see what I can do."
A silver dragon with a name-plate that read "Starlight", took Whirlwind's place as she led them out of the throne room to a cozily furnished bedroom near the outside of the palace. "You can spend the night here." She told them. "The queen will see you again tomorrow morning." She nodded to them and left, heading back toward the center of the mountain. Maria and Spry each curled up on one of the beds in the room.
Just before Maria fell asleep, her cloudy mind realized that if the queen succeed in turning her human, she would never see Spry again.