Conquest : A Wings of Fire Fanfiction

25. Escape

Sandstorm woke up completely baffled.

The first thing she felt was something icy running down her spine. Shivering, she peered into the darkness.

She was underground, in a dungeon. As a prisoner. The very thing she was told to avoid.

Groaning slightly, she looked at her front talons. They weren't restrained, which was surprising. However, one of her back talons had an iron chain attached which was in turn attached to the wall.

She rubbed the back of her head, where she'd been hit. It throbbed painfully but she could think fairly clearly.

She was in a tiny cell. Three walls were stone and the fourth was iron bars. Above her was a makeshift wood ceiling. She had enough space to get up and move around a tail-length in each direction.

Looking up, she discovered that the cold stuff down her back was water, dripping from the ceiling. Shuddering in disgust and from the icy water, she backed away from the leak.

'Ivory?' Sandstorm called, rather hoarsely. An answering reply came from the cell opposite hers, and the inhabitant came into full view - the IceWing princess.

'Here. I was beginning to think you'd never wake up.' Ivory was managing to look bored. Sandstorm was sure the expression on her own face was panicked.

'How are we going to get out of here? Are there any other prisoners? Did you find out anything? I'm hungry!'

'Shut your trap for a moment, would you?' hissed Ivory, glancing around. 'I'm not a walking library, to tell you everything you want to know!'

'There's only a MudWing in here apart from us,' she continued, 'and he's pretty nice, I guess. He was captured by the Mutineers. One of the Mutineers came here and gave you bread.'

Sandstorm looked in disgust at the sloppy, mush of a slice of bread. It had been pushed directly under the dripping water, and now was no more than wet garbage.

'I think I've lost my appetite. Monsters.'

Ivory grinned at her. 'That's why I saved you some. Catch.' Sandstorm looked up and barely managed to grab the piece of bread Ivory threw at her from her cell.

'Thanks,' she said, her voice muffled by the food. It was plain, tough and dry but she was hungry, and it looked better than eating the slop.

Sandstorm hunted around her cell for something she could use to escape. Surprise, surprise - there was nothing. At all. Just stone walls, stone floor and iron bars.

'We're doomed,' she told Ivory finally. 'Don't be dramatic. That's my job,' retorted the IceWing. 'But for once, I agree with you. We are doomed.'

'I know you,' came a new voice. It sounded familiar but Sandstorm had no idea where she heard it before.

'Who're you, anyway? Have we met?' asked Ivory. Sandstorm guessed the MudWing from the only other occupied cell except for theirs must be talking.

'I'm Kingfisher. And yes, don't you remember me? Lightning asked me to help you get to the hall in time for the meeting with Wayfarer.'

Sandstorm remembered. The dark brown MudWing who'd silently escorted them to the hall when the Allies had called them for a meeting with the SandWing messenger.

'Thanks, by the way,' said Ivory, leaning forward a bit to get a clearer glimpse of Kingfisher's face. 'You saved our tails back there. It would've been so embarrassing if we skipped it.'

'No problem,' he said. Sandstorm scooted backwards a bit, but try as she might she could not see even a little bit of the MudWing in the cell next to her.