DRAGONQUEEN: RISE OF THE SILVER PHOENIX

Chapter 8 - Bellsford

Rebecca looks up at the phoenix. "If you do not mind Lirian, I do not wish to return to Wintervale castle yet. There is work to be done and once I have returned my social obligations as Queen, it will prevent me from inspecting my kingdom from a commoner's point of view. The council would want to use my lack of knowledge about the kingdom as a means to keep the upper hand over me. Ten to one they will have arranged for someone to marry me against my will. I want to be several steps ahead of them."

"A wise choice, your majesty. Ah, greetings Earl. I take you will be traveling with our queen to ensure her safety?" Lirian enquires.

"Morning Lirian. She has asked me for the honor. Though I think there is more behind her asking me to accompany her. I do not mind at all. Our queen is a strong woman that can stand up for herself. I feel the kingdom is about to see many changes for the better," Earl replies from the back of Silverwing.

"Then we shall take our leave. Good luck upon your mission, your majesty." Rebecca purses her lips. She detests not being addressed by her name. In a flurry of wings, the phoenix flies away.

"Shall we be..." A sudden gust of wind whips her hair violently and cuts her words, before three extremely strange creatures land in front of her. The first thought that crosses her mind is a flying bulldog but that is because of the creature's unnatural stubby gate as it walks towards them. The next thing she thought was what is a shark doing on dry land because mounted on those stubby muscular legs is the body of a shark with the strangest tail she has ever seen. It looks like a cross between the wings of a dragonfly and a bat's wings both horizontally and vertically and its wings are a cross between a fighter jet and a dragon's wings with the same lace-like membranes as its tail.

A row of shark teeth is all too evident and its grey skin made it seem like the ultimate assassin. She stares into the cold black depths of its beady black eyes that are focused directly on her.

"Your majesty, I have only heard about these dragons from Silverwing. These dragons are dangerous and have been known to kill other dragons. Silverwing calls them shark dragons. They could be dangerous," Earl warns

"Commander I have a feeling that if they wanted us dead we would not have seen it coming. I am interested in why they are here." Rebecca notices that two more have landed and flanks the largest of the three on both sides.

Its strange sideways gate reminds her of a monitor lizard it also tells her this creature is not adapted to movement on land. Why would these dragons show her their vulnerability? "Prove your worth as our queen and you will have our allegiance and protection and not even the griffon king shall dare attack you beyond the borders of this kingdom." came a challenging gruff voice from the lead shark dragon and with that they leave. Their lacewings glitter in the sunlight as they fly higher.

Their grey skin quickly makes them invisible to the naked eye. Rebecca mounts Lila, but the dragon makes no move to take flight. Instead, she waits. A flash of silver streaks across the sky. Three explosive booms rent the silence of the morning sky. The sound of it reverberates around them. "What the hell! Those dragons just made three sonic booms!"

Two faces turn towards Rebecca and three voices ask simultaneously "What's a sonic boom?"

"We just witnessed it. It is the sound you hear when the speed of sound is breached," replies Rebecca.

"Huh? How fast do you need to go to do that?" Lila asks.

"Not advised. That sound is loud enough to kill without the right equipment and it is not available in this era. But for interest, it is over a thousand miles an hour. I guess that you two fly anything between zero to three hundred miles an hour with ease. It is a decent speed for you, Lila. Take note it is still only a guess. Now can we get going please Lila?" Rebecca asks her dragon. Lila jumps and flaps her wings quickly gains altitude. Using her tail she directs herself away from the Golden Gate in the direction of Winterfall castle.