Persimmon's Tree

Part One: Death Chaser

Chapter 1

Persimmon had always been planning for this day. It was something that would give her the chance to prove herself. How lucky was she? A hybrid getting the chance to meet Queen Glacier was something that never happened as far as she was concerned, especially since she was part SkyWing.

Her sister was sitting down in front of the fireplace with her tail tossed over her front talons, reading a scroll. There was something about Sangria's actions that always confused Persimmon.

How can she be so... calm? We're in the middle of a war and we are about to meet our queen.

Sangria was normally very silent. She didn't speak as much as Persimmon did. Persimmon believed she was part statue because of how quiet and secluded she was. Persimmon wondered how many thoughts were going on inside that head of hers.

If only I had NightWing powers, my sister would finally be more interesting than a snail. Unless her thoughts are as boring and empty as she is on the outside.

Persimmon glanced over at the cave ledge. Her father should be back soon. He will come rushing through the entrance to collect them so they can go see the queen.

"Are you getting your hopes up again?" Sangria said, almost reading her mind but with the most exaggerated sarcasm.

"You should be excited, too. We have been avoiding patrols for the last seven years. This is a very exciting moment for us."

Sangria rolled her eyes and set her attention back to her scroll. What an ungrateful worm.

She's lucky we weren't thrown in Queen Glacier's dungeon the moment she heard about us.

Persimmon kept glancing back and forth to the cave entrance. What was taking him so long? She dug her serrated claws into the rock. It hurt, but she didn't care. She was too busy thinking about what could've gone wrong. Would he make it back alive? What if a SkyWing or a MudWing saw him? He was flying dangerously close to Queen Scarlet's territory.

Fine. I'll just wait it out.

And with that, shewandered into the seemingly endless cavern they called their home. The wallswere high enough for two fully-grown IceWings. Her father had helped themdecorate the cave with tapestries to be more homey instead of dull andmindless. His secret of raising two hybrids had been kept for all of theirdragonet years. He remained a soldier in Glacier's army, yet managed to raise two dragonets. It was a very... impulsive move, so it made him terribly distant. Every day Persimmon would worry about him. She always hoped he would come back through that entrance even on days he didn't. The hopefulness she always kept with her was what helped make the days less traumatic. That was all about to change. Spinel would come running through the cave so he could tell her Queen Glacier had accepted them into the tribe.

Hopefully... she thought to herself.

She stared up at the ceiling of the cave. The stalactites were gleaming down at her with pointy ends. Water fell off of one and landed on her snout. She blinked and rubbed it off.

Is he going to come back? That was one thought that had always lingered in her mind. What if he didn't come back? What if Queen Glacier killed him instead of agreeing? Had her father lied to her?

All the thoughts bombarded in her brain. It was stupid to be this conflicted.

Maybe me being an IceWing and SkyWing hybrid has made him second-guess himself. She tried to joke.

Persimmon always wondered about her mother, too. She died trying to kill them when they were about to hatch. It was always compelling when their father told them stories about their mother. She always seemed like she cared about Spinel. What could have caused her to hurt Spinel like that?