Burning Flame

Chapter Four

Serenity grazed quietly in a small meadow, her beautiful amber eyes filled with a certain calmness and peace. She had grown into a healthy young filly in her first few years and she had a certain power and grace to her features.
The silver stripe that ran down her snout had faded a bit but it was still noticeable on her elegant face. Her body was sleek and strong, though it still held some of the clumsiness and awkwardness of her youth. Her legs still wobbled a bit when she began to canter or gallop and her size was still tiny compared to her mother and, especially, her father.
Suddenly, she lifted her head and released an excited snort. She stomped her hooves and cried out to her mother, who was laying in the grass nearby.
"Father's home, mother! I can hear him coming! Come on!"
Her mother stopped her with a scolding snort. She stood up and Serenity lowered her head.
"I know you're excited, Serenity, but you must control yourself. You never know who could be nearby," her mother said quietly.
"I know mother... but you said there weren't any dragons nearby. So why do you still worry? No one's going to hurt us. Not ever. Right, mother?"
Serenity looked up innocently at her and her mother's eyes tightened with concern. She was about to reply when her father landed in the meadow with hardly a sound.
"Cyclone," her mother whispered, and she came forward to nuzzle his face and neck.
Serenity squirmed with excitement and she nearly collided into her father's front legs when she trotted over to him.
She put her cheek against his chest and he bent his neck down to nuzzle her forehead. Her mother stood above her, watching joyfully as her mate greeted their daughter.
Then her father stepped back and Serenity looked up at him with complete adoration and awe.
He looked back down at her with pride, but something in his eyes was different. Serenity immediately knew something was off.
"Father?" she asked, her voice small and innocent.
He looked away and her mother suddenly nudged her away.
"Why don't you go and play, Serenity? Your father needs some time to rest," murmured her mother.
Serenity obediently agreed and she raced off to investigate a cluster of butterflies fluttering around in her meadow.
Her mother turned to Cyclone, her eyes wide and filled with anxiety.
He nodded wearily back at her.
"But we chose this meadow because we thought it was safe. You said none of Inferno's soldiers could find us here!" she whinnied.
"I wasn't sure whether it was one of Inferno's soldiers or not. I tried to make that clear in my message," he paused for a moment, then continued," but it was certainly a dragon, Snow. He was too close for comfort. Our daughter isn't safe out in the open like this."
"Then what do we do? There's no other place that's safer than this, and even this isn't safe. I can't lose her, Cyclone. I can't," she whispered.
"I know, and I can't either. But agonizing over this won't help anyone. Swift gave me an idea today, and I think it just might work," he exclaimed.
Snow waited patiently and he quickly continued.
"He saw a cave a little ways away from here, just inside the dragon's territory. It was brilliantly camouflaged and he could hardly make it out from a small distance away. It would be perfect to keep Serenity hidden during the day."
"You say that as if we would leave her on her own," she mused, a small smirk forming on her lips.
"We would."
Snow's face suddenly became blank and all of the life seemed to drain from her.
"No," she breathed, " I can't just leave my daughter. How could that be any safer for her?"
"If we leave her alone and we don't leave any trace of our involvement, she'll be safe. It's the only way. Plus, you will still see her at night. We'll make sure that she's safe," he declared.
"It's so hard though... she's still so small..." she said.
"I know. But it's for the best."
"When should we start?" she asked.
"As soon as possible," he replied.
Then they both looked over at Serenity and they grinned at her innocence, but inside their hearts were breaking.
Serenity kept playing, but she could feel their stares boring into her back.
Something had changed, and she knew it. She didn't want to question it.