A Strange Time (Wings of Fire Fanfiction)

Chapter 6

Dusk woke up as the cage was being unlocked. He already had a muzzle on, and he was chained to the other dragons. Are we going somewhere?  

His muscles were sore, he wasn't used to all of this. 

"Aye! Wake up!"

Dusk stumbled up at the command as they were marched out of the lower deck. A Hivewing lowered the bridge, followed by a guard of Sunwings. They were marched into a winding cave system, where they were kept in a small pod. He could feel the small chamber being brought up by something, and he shifted his talons. The Sunwing guards stood close, looming over them. Dusk flared his wings slightly to balance himself. 

After a few minutes, they finally reached the top of... whatever they were headed to. A door on the pod opened slightly, and sunbeams flared into the room. The guards led them out, and into a place of sun. Salty wind blew on Dusk's face, and he squinted to get his eye adjusted. 

It was gorgeous.

Floating landmasses, huge gardens filled with flowers he had never seen before, giant marble spires... and a giant, floating castle. 

Dusk held in a gasp as he looked around the landscape. It was cleaner than the streets of Ember City, it had a polished look to it, like it had been freshly carved and sanded from marble. A guard looked at him, and his eyes widened slightly. Dusk lowered his wings and curled them, remembering that Eclipsewing's didn't have feathered wings, or gold markings. The group walked to a large marble building, and that's when Dusk noticed the strange looks from every Sunwing guard. He didn't care though. There were probably tons of Eclipsewing-Sunwing hybrids... right?

They were all put into a large cell, and chained against the wall. A larger Sunwing with black wing-feathers stared them down as he talked with the captain. The other guards left.

It seemed like they were standing there for an hour before a dragon finally walked in.

It was Sol, queen of the Sunwings.

Dusk lowered himself into a bow as she walked in. Her father had always told him what she had done to his mom. She looked bored, almost tired. The other dragons began to bow too.

She examined them closely, looking at their claws and wings. She pointed a long claw at Dusk,  a Sailwing, a Steelwing, and a Rainwing. She twirled her fingers and they were unchained. The guards led them down a large hall and into a smaller pod. Dusk felt electricity strike through him, his vision darkened. He fell to the floor as more electricity chased through his body. Everything went quiet and the guards hadn't moved from their positions. Dusk blinked one last time before a strange sleepiness overtook him, and he blacked out.

When he woke, his head was spinning. He clutched the side of his face and groaned, shaking his senses up. He was in a large room, with a small bracelet around his arm. It had one yellow gemstone he had never seen before in the center. This room was large, larger than the cramped cell he had been in, but it was still small, and without furniture. A few guards walked in the door, hefting their large spears with intricate patterns dappling their "arm spikes". The Queen walked in the room. 

"Do you know why you're here?" She questioned.

"I was brought... by pirates..?" He worriedly clenched his fists, tucking his wings as far behind his back as he could. 

"Because you don't have a birthmark."

Dusk clenched his snout, worrying that he would laugh at the ridiculous meaning.

"What i mean is, every single Eclipsewing that is born gets a mark on their face, regardless of where. That is... unless... you aren't a full blooded Eclipsewing."

Dusk inhaled sharply. She knows who I am? 

"You're lucky, boy. I'm willing to offer you something. Either let me kill you, here and now, silently. Or I'll let you live, as my servant, to make an example of anyone who dares ridicule my rules."

Servant doesn't sound so bad, but what does she mean make an example... Dusk stared steadily at Sol. She rolled her eyes, "Decide."

Dusk wondered if living a life without possibilities was worth living at all. Electricity tugged through his body, straight from his arm, where the band was. He called out automatically, "SERVANT!"

Sol nodded and walked out. Electricity raced up his body again, and Dusk fell to the floor, unconscious.