Wings of Fire: Winter is Coming ((DISCONTINUED))

Chapter 6: Toarel

Envy woke as if he was hooked up the mains. No sleepiness, no slow warming up. Within seconds of realizing he was unconscious the prince was on his feet, eyes wide, dreams not just forgotten, but obliterated. Envy flicked his tongue as he quietly glanced around, before looking at the wide, open entrance of his sleeping den. His ears twitched. He couldn't detect any sounds; no wingbeats, no claw-steps, no talking. Just chirping crickets and the occasional, faint lapping of water from the small streams that ran through the ravine. Newt was already awake, the little IceWing slouching back into the shadows, silent as though he was lifeless. 

Without exchanging a word, the two dragons stealthily prowled from their dens and into the darkest spots of the cavern. Newt and Envy's goal was simple; reach the top of the canyons and escape. As long as they aren't caught, their plan should run smoothly. Envy tread through the noble walls carved by nature, leaping over the small bands of water. They constantly flew upwards, landing on ledges and outcroppings, in hopes that a dragon with night-vision would not see them, but it seems like Toarel and Alzeros had only appointed MudWings and SkyWings to be their guards, possibly because of their large size and natural strength. 

Envy started to wonder what Alzeros really does around his hideout. For the amount of time he's been here, Envy hasn't seen a glimpse of the mighty Alzeros, not once-- only his sister, Toarel. Maybe staying hidden struck more fear into the puny dragonets who were kidnapped and taken here, or perhaps he was in a condition similar to Queen Battlewinner's, a NightWing queen who was the last true night dragon who had the original royal bloodline, however she had froze to death, forcing the remaining NightWings to live under Queen Glory's rule, which eventually lead to the NightWings creating their own kingdom again. Envy had forgotten how Battlewinner exactly froze to death, but he knew she was powerless in forms of strength, because she was attacked by an IceWing. According to the scrolls, she was forced to live the rest of her life in a cauldron of lava to prevent the IceWing's frostbreath from freezing her organs together and result in her very death. The NightWings kept their weakened queen a secret, so the other tribes would not know how weak their tribe truly was. Maybe that was why Alzeros was never seen? Perhaps he was injured, or not as strong as everyone says? 

Envy poked his nose out of the shadows, and then his entire face, searching the area. Towards his left, stationed on a oblong-shaped ledge, was a MudWing guard. The mud dragon had a wide, flat head that was a tone of brown so dark that it was nearly black. The rest of the dragon's body was a lighter sepia color, while their underbelly was a normal hue of tawny brown. They held some sort of icy spear in their talons, firm and unbreakable, and it glowed as if it had some sort of supernatural curse on it. The dragon glanced towards Envy's direction.

Envy retreated back into the darkness, unmoving. He held his breath as if simply breathing lowly would give away his position, but Envy was unsure about how sharp a MudWing's hearing was.

The dragon's golden-amber eyes stared seemingly directly into Envy and Newt's hiding spot. Their eyes blinked slowly, and they squinted, as if attempting to see better. Envy slouched down lower, and Envy felt Newt lay lowly on his tail.

Suddenly, the dragon opened its mouth... only to release a powerful sneeze that caused the MudWing to stumble lightly. The guard looked away, gazing upon nothing.

Envy released his breath with relief, and he beckoned Newt that the coast was clear by tapping the IceWing on his snout with his tail. The dragons stalked their way through the shadows and onto more ledges, scaling the ravine and towards the peak of it. If only flying wasn't so loud, Envy thought. Flying would make this escape a bit faster, but a dragon's leathery wings were not like a barn owl's, which were large but silent during flight. Stealthy predators, Envy admitted. Sometimes the prince wished he had wings of that of a owl's.