Wings of Fire: Glistening Amber

Prologue

Coal stared up at the open window of the palace, golden curtains thrashing wildly in the strong wind. He did a quick double take of the terrace to ensure he was alone, then took a jump into the air. He steadied himself before taking flight, his stresses melting away as he got closer and closer to the one thing he cared about. He inhaled sharply when he saw her standing there, as she was every time he came to visit. Her scales were the color of honey. The curtains kept whipping her in the face, and she kept pushing them away. Coal's talons touched down on the edge of the small balcony beside her.

"I said you couldn't come tonight," the dragon said, her copper eyes twinkling.

"And yet you didn't stop me," he pointed out, receiving an eye roll.

"This is serious. If Mother caught you, she would have your head." He knew that, but he didn't care. Being with her was all worth it.

"Amber, I was careful. I made sure no one followed me," he said.

"I'm not worried about that. I'm more worried about who's going to follow me. Where are you planning to take me this time, anyway?" Amber asked. He took her talons in his.

"Somewhere special. I mean, it is your hatching day, isn't it?" Coal led Amber to the edge of the balcony, then hopped off, air whistling in his ears. Just before he hit the ground, he extended his dark red wings to their full length to fly beside Amber. "Follow me if you want to see your surprise," he said. She took one worried look back behind her into her bedroom, sighed, and jumped into the air to hover beside him.

"This better be worth it," she said.

"Oh, it will be." Coal flashed that cheesy grin she knew she liked. Well, at least thought she liked.

"Idiot," Amber said, chuckling. She gave him a playful shove. 

He shoved her right back. "You just defined the entirety of my personality. Now, are you coming or what?" He took off at full speed. He was flying so fast that he could barely see Amber as they flew side by side. He kept glancing at her to make sure she was still there. The two of them soared above the Sky Kingdom, watching the skywings' nightlife. They looked like ants from where the two dragonets were, all lining up in formation. 

Coal got distracted when caught sight of their destination: a small rocky island not too far from the main Kingdom. He made sure they didn't leave the boundaries this time. He had done that with Amber once, but she freaked out when he told her where they were. Her fears ran as deep as the time when she first hatched. Her mother had killed off every other daughter from that clutch of eggs, one by one. Either they challenged her, did something unforgivable (Which was almost everything), or she was just in the mood for it. They both didn't want Amber to be next on her list. He touched down on the small rocky island. "Where are we?" Amber asked.

"Well, the other day, I was flying around, and then I spotted this island. I thought to myself, Huh. The sense I can read my love's mind, I'm am completely sure she would absolutely adore spending a night in the middle of nowhere. So, I waited for the right moment, and here we are," he said, but his confidence faded away when he saw the look on her face. "Do you like it?" 

"Of course I like it you idiot, I just- we are still in the sky kingdom, right?" Amber kept looking at the sky as if it would suddenly explode into a thousand dragons. "Right?" She turned her gaze back to him. 

"Of course we are. We're just on the border. So, ready for your surprise?" Coal asked. 

Her face turned puzzled. "I thought this was my surprise," Amber said. 

"You thought this was the surprise? No. This is the surprise." Coal reached into the small leather pouch he always wore around his neck. After some digging around, he found what he was looking for. He pulled out a pair of shimmering amber earrings. They were held in by silver molded to look like dragon tails winding around the small stones.

He held them out to her. She gasped. That look in her eyes. That was what he was going for. That was what he wanted every day. To make her happy. Amber took the earrings from his talons.

"Coal, I- where did you get these?" She stammered. Amber started fastened them to her ears.

"They were my mother's. Well, they were before she died. She told me to give them to that one special dragon that would change my life. I decided it was time to give them to that dragon," Coal said, wrapping his wings around Amber. She leaned into him. They sat there for what felt like forever, watching the waves churn on the small rocky shore of the island. Until Coal heard a crack. His head popped up. Amber followed his gaze to the bushes.

"Coal? What was that?" She whispered. He felt her heart speed up as she leaned closer to him.

He pulled her as close as he could. "Probably nothing. We should probably head back-" A figure erupted from the bushes, closing their talons around Coal's Snout. Amber screamed. 

"You're under arrest for kidnapping Princess Amber of the Skywings," the dragon said as she continued to tie up the dragonet's snout.

"What!" Amber tried to pry the dragon off of him, but she wasn't strong enough, being only a 5-year-old dragonet. "That's not what happened! If anything it's my fault! I let him take me!" More dragons surged from the bushes, moving in to tie up Coal's wings. They wore the armor of guards in Queen Scarlet's army. Oh no.

One of them turned toward Amber. "Princess Amber. I've been assigned to escort you back to the palace. Queen Scarlet would like to speak with you," she said.

"No! I can't leave-" Amber faltered. She met Coal's eyes, and he shook his head. Go. I'm not worth it. Amber's eyes glistened with tears as she stepped slowly toward the escort waiting for her. She slowly peeled her gaze off of Coal and took to the sky just behind the guard. Coal watched her fly away until she was just a speck in the sky, getting smaller and smaller by the minute.

Coal stopped moving and let the dragons tie up his arms and legs. No sense in struggling. He could never escape four fully grown dragons, and would never find his way back to Amber. He'd most likely be executed, or put to death in the arena. At least he'd gotten to give Amber the earrings. Now she would always remember him. He felt a hard thump on the head. The world spun aimlessly, then faded into darkness. 

Author's Note 

Hi everyone! Hope you enjoyed. I would really appreciate if you would vote and comment. I really like to hear your thoughts! If I'm going to continue this story I need fan support, so comment if you like what you see!