Persimmon's Tree

Prologue

Seven Years Ago...

Citrine was overwhelmed by the possible outcomes of this visit.

Her wings wavered in the air as she continued to think. She was in the rainforest kingdom and was taking orders from a RainWing. They didn't even seem to care about the war. How could any dragon be as careless as to be unaware of a raging battle across the continent? It seemed unfathomable to even consider the possibility. No one was afraid of RainWings because they didn't have any natural defenses, or so she thought. Citrine knew RainWings were considered lazy fruit-eaters, but that was until she found Poinsettia. This one RainWing in particular refused to accept that stereotype. If only the rest of the continent could see how terrifying this one was, they wouldn't shame her for giving up her own egg.

Or maybe that's what I keep telling myself. I know what I'm doing is horrible.

Citrine thought as she looked down at the red and blue egg in her talons.

Maybe he will forgive me... after all, it's just one of the three.

Citrine tried to reassure herself with her thoughts because deep down she really, really didn't want to do this. It was the qualities of a pathetic mother. Even in the middle of a war, she knew there was nothing worse than giving your own dragonet away to ease your guilt. Her regret slowly melted into anger as her gaze shifted to the RainWing's home. She landed on the rainforest floor, standing a few feet away from the shadowy retreat. The closer she got, the heavier her heart felt.

If only I could burn this RainWing's scrappy home to ash, she thought bitterly.

Citrine glared at her own talons as if they wanted to ignore her hesitation and finish the job.

I could slaughter the pathetic RainWing while it's asleep.

Her brain said yes, but her heart kept telling her no. What kind of dragon was she? There were too many conflicting thoughts in her head right now.

Give her the egg and make a compromise.

The SkyWing slowly made her way to the door surrounded in vines. The rainforest was a calming sensation of noises with birds chirping and rain falling on the large leaves above her. It did little to ease the tension in her wings, however. She hopped on one arm as she huddled the egg to her chest with the other. Before she had a chance to knock, the door was swung open. The vines that encircled the door had been torn in half with the immediate force the dragon had exerted. Citrine was staring in the unsettling red eyes of the dangerous RainWing. It seemed as if she always had a permanent glare on her face.

Maybe she won't prefer a compromise. Citrine thought sourly. 

Poinsettia smiled, then laughed. "Oh, look at you. You seem so terrified. Don't worry, Citrine, I only hope to make this visit as friendly as possible."

She looked down at the egg Citrine was carrying in her arms. "I'm going to assume the other two are with you as well."

"Not at the moment, but I wanted to negotiate a compromise."

Poinsettia narrowed her eyes at Citrine and began flicking her tail from side to side.

"We agreed on all three eggs." Her voice was laced with venom. "First you slaughter mine, and now you want to negotiate with only one of yours?"

Citrine looked down at her egg with guilt burning through her like acid.

Killing eggs because they were too close to our nest. I never regretted it until I found out who their mother was. Can anyone blame me? No one cares about RainWings. They're all too stupid to notice when anything goes on around them.