Eternal Ebony

Chapter 1

Hey, guys. As the summary for the story stated, I wrote this a long time ago. So basically I'm just copying and pasting each chapter, so it shouldn't take me long to finish this. I won't be changing the story very much, if at all. So bear with me. *Starts sweating profusely, laughing nervously*

Nightshade was busy hunting. Feeling rather fat, she wasn't very confident. But, despite all odds, she was rather hungry. She had no idea why, but she was having the strangest food cravings. She wanted to eat scrolls and leaves. Almost as strange as her mysterious mood swings. So, so incredibly strange. She shifted her huge wings in the breeze, watching for distant prey. The gold patterns in her scales rippled, shining gloriously in the light. Her pink eyes scanned the landscape alertly. She felt the wispy clouds parting around her dark wings. As she twisted her horned head, she had a weird craving again. Leaves. She shrugged casually. Deciding to follow her instincts, she swooped down and landed right in the center of a huge oak, shredding several branches. The tree had a lovely green, wet smell due to the recent storm. She tore some of the large leaves and started crunching them down. Still tasteless. She cringed, flapping away. Don't egged dragons have strange cravings? She cocked her head. To be egged meant to be pregnant with an egg. She had a horrible feeling. But she shook her head. She shouldn't be assuming things. She swooped towards a huge structure in the distance. The palace.

This place was the center of her whole life. She had been born on the outskirts, in a poor town. But her charms had certainly gotten her in a good spot. She was the queen's personal advisor, and she provided personal housing. But with what she was doing in her personal life, she was bound to be found eventually. She was in love with the queen's son. She had four dragonets. Three females, Opal, Sapphire, and Jade, and one male, Obsidian. He was so handsome, with his smooth black scales and sparkling blue eyes. Nightshade sighed dreamily. She loved him, but with her heritage, the queen was definitely going to execute her if they were ever found out. She began soaring towards her wing in the tower, hearing the distant bustle of the dragons below. This tower, with its smooth sandstone walls, was designed for the queen's court. On the opposite side, with huge, blown-glass windows, was for the royal family. Which meant she had to travel all the way across the palace to see Obsidian. She didn't see him very often. She only saw him at night, and only rarely. But tonight she was going to see him. They scheduled at the perfect time. No guards, no one awake, no one to see Nightshade traveling and stop her. As she landed on the balcony, she saw a surprising sight. "Obsidian?" she asked, folding her wings. He stood there, looking dubiously, enthusiastically smug. Like always. She smiled, running to embrace him. He accepted with open wings. "How did you get here? Does your mother know? Did she discover us?" she asked, eyeing him up and down. The white diamond patterns on his dark scales glittered as he shifted his neck to look her in the eyes.

"No," he responded. "She still has no idea. I was wondering...do you want to come with me to my wing?" Obsidian cocked his head at her.

Nightshade started back in shock. Back with him? To his room in the royal tower wing? "Yes! Of course!" she said, laughing, hugging him again. She would love to see the royal wing. Her being a member of the court, she was to mostly remain in the court wing. Obsidian gave her a conniving, charming smile.

"Mother said she has a message for you, and since no heralds were available, I volunteered to go for her. I decided to take advantage," he said, guiding her towards the door, wing gathered around her shoulder. "Pretty clever, huh?" he asked as they exited. As soon as the door was closed, he took his wing away.

"Yes, of course," Nightshade responded, giving him a delicate smile. He gave her a look full of affection. Not one of the look-aren't-I-so-clever looks like always. They were lucky no one was around to see it. They would be instantly suspicious. Walking down the short spiral staircase, they were greeted graciously by court members. Nightshade was treated almost like royalty because of her high rank. Obsidian had insisted and begged his mother on ranking her up. She was close to being a princess herself. Lower ranked officials resided outside the palace, giving the couple respectful nods and bows as they passed. The two wings were only separated from the main throne room, a huge hall ended by the royal throne. The walls were plated in emeralds and gold, getting sparklier and bigger as they led to the throne, a huge sea fan plastered in lapis lazuli and sapphires. The columns were quartz decorated by opal stone spirals. Luckily, the queen was not gathered there now, as was expected. As they entered the royal wing, Nightshade thought about what could be possibly causing her strange cravings and severe mood swings. Her mind kept circling, coming back to that horrifying thought. She could be pregnant. She shook her head, and hadn't realized she'd done so until Obsidian cocked his head at her curiously. They were right at the entrance to the queen's chambers. The walls here were plated with faux gold, and a little actual gold mixed in, looking just a little sparklier. Nightshade had been told that walking through here on a bright day would give you an almost instant headache. "Are you alright?" Obsidian looked genuinely concerned.