Wings of Fire: The Forgotten World

chapter 19

By CamsterDragon
Hemlock's POV

At first glance, the Sunwing kingdom was an amazing treasure, unlike anything Hemlock had ever seen. Smiling citizens walked through the streets, occasionally waving at the nervous Cloudwing. But then, Hemlock looked closer and discovered the real story. The smiles were fake, the bouncing dragonets weren't allowed to go near him, and their eyes showed fear and resentment. Hemlock bowed his head and kept walking.

As he walked, he observed the generous Sunwing out of the corner of his eye. By his knowledge, soldiers were respected as elites in the Sun Kingdom. But, unlike regular elites, the soldiers earned their positions through harsh labor and combat. His savior had a scar across his left grey eye and many smaller wounds scattered around his body. Unlike most of the other Sunwings Hemlock had met, this one had lighter red scales with a dark grey underbelly, horns, and claws and pale yellow scales on his back and the front side of his legs. This made his various scars stand out all the more. The poison spots along his body, on the other hand, were barely noticeable, only a little darker than the rest of his scales.

From various conversations the guard had with other Sunwings along the way, Hemlock gathered that his name was Arid, although he seemed to be full of jokes and smiles for everyone. He was clearly a town favorite, and dragons hailed his name as he walked by.

Just when he thought things were starting to get better, a blood-curdling scream broke through the air. No one seemed to care, as though this happened on a regular basis, but Hemlock felt his heart jump to his throat. That was Pleiades, I'm sure of it! The sound was so familiar to the dream he had had. Her high pitched resonance that rattled him to the core, more so than any other thing in the world...

He stumbled slightly, almost running into a shop. Arid looked back at him. "Are you ok kid?" He seemed to read the gut-clenching fear in Hemlock's eyes. "Ah, heard the screams, did you? I'm surprised; I've heard most Cloudwings don't have good hearing." Hemlock tilted his head. How could anyone not hear it? It almost broke my ears. "Don't worry about them. Queen Nova's just and kind, but is also easily angered. She tends to send those she doesn't like to her torturer." Arid shivered. "Quite the evil one he is. He loves watching dragons squirm." A dagger seemed to be stuck in Hemlock's stomach. Seeing the expression on his face, Arid hurriedly added, "Don't worry. Lots of visitors from other tribes come here. Nova won't get mad at you for that." Hemlock's own life was the least of his concerns right now, but he nodded to appease the guard.

Hemlock tried to keep the worry off his face even as Arid turned around, but he was sure any dragon around him could see the grief pouring off of him in waves.

They stopped at a small shop of a interesting orange tinted color. A Sunwing could be seen just past the window. Her long, silver horns and underbelly shined in the bright sunlight, and her green eyes glinted with tired happiness. Orange scales spread across her body and dark purple poison spots stood out on her body. She sold a variety of crafts made of gems and cloth. Despite their professional look, Hemlock could clearly tell they were handmade.

Three dragonets ran around each other near the shop. The Sunwing was carefully watching them even as she greeted her customers. One dragonet looked like her mother and one looked like his father. Hemlock glanced over at Arid and noticed the expression of pride on his face.

The last dragonet was not as active or happy as her siblings. She had stopped and was shyly watching Hemlock and Arid approach. Grey eyes watched them with a curiosity that mimicked Hemlock's own personality when he was younger. Light orange scales blended in with the sand peaking out through the grass as well as the bright red-orange poison spots on her body and scales on her back and legs. Hemlock tilted his head at her and she tilted it right back, a faint smile lifting her features.