The Sea And The Sky

Chapter Five- Captured

! T.W. Main character's life threatened !

Torrid's eyes flashed with anger as she stared up at the queen.

"What is wrong with you? That poor dragon had a child!" She said. And now she won't trust me anymore...

The queen looked down at her.

"Tactics and rule-following are important, my friend," she said in a thick accent. "And in fact, I do believe you are breaking said rules... by posing as one of us, SkyWing scum." The queen smiled a gruesome smile, and looked at the guard to her left expectantly. Torrid had to think fast. She bent down, and broke off a chip of ice. Before it melted, she muttered

"The dragon this touches will lose the ability to speak, as though they had a bad ailment of the throat." She threw it at the queen just in time.

The queen opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She coughed once, twice, and looked panicked. She began swiping at her throat as though she was insane. Torrid smiled. "Oh, great queen Snowbelle, why do you say such things? I am a loyal servant, don't you remember?" She said to the crowd. A murmur rippled through the rabble of shimmery pale-hued creatures.

"Hmm, I know her."

"Yes, yes, perhaps she's just a hybrid?"

"No, I've seen strange pure-blood IceWings before..." Suddenly a shout from an old, pale blue and white IceWing pierced the silence.

"I saw 'er, I did! She picked up the piece of ice, muttered some heeby-jeeby nonsense, and set a spell on the thing. It melted so you can't see it, clever nuisance. She set a spell on the queen!" All the faces turned to Torrid and a chill ran through her body. She usually liked the attention, but this... this was a new level of uh-oh. Torrid was just about to say something when a pair of claws grabbed her from behind. They were cold and newly sharpened, and she let out a yelp. The dragon dragged her up to the platform and put her down. Bluebird. She knew she should've been more careful of that suspicious pair. Her whole body felt weak, and she could see blood seeping out of where the talons had pierced her scales. Stay awake... Let the light and cold keep you awake... Crystal depends on you and your future depends...on... Cryst... But however much she tried, nothing consumed her except darkness.

Meanwhile, Crystal had taken shelter inside a small cave about five minutes away. She had immediately sat down and started sobbing. Nothing to live for... No one to love... She thought of Torrid. Did she really have to help her? Torrid hadn't tried. She didn't care a scavenger's bottom about how Crystal ended up. All she thought of was herself. Crystal cried until she could cry no more, then sat in solemn silence. Is there a way... a way to be gone forever? Is there a way to die without pain? Just then, footsteps sounded outside the cave. Crystal sat up. Her eyes were still droopy, and she rubbed the tears out of them, wincing at the sting of salt. A stranger. She immediately blew a huge breath of frost, and whatever it was hesitated. A minute passed, and Crystal lay down. She imagined that whatever it was had gone. Just then, a figure crept inside of the cave, and Crystal stepped back into it, cowering a bit. 'Whatever it was' must be immune to frost breath... Another IceWing?

The dragon became visible in the dim noon light, and Crystal narrowed her eyes.

"Friend, or foe?" She said. The dragon laughed a bit, a cute, carefree laugh that made Crystal's stomach feel sorta... squishy, for some reason. He stepped closer to her.

"Well, I suppose to you I'd be a foe. But to everyone else... I'm just a humble assassin." Crystal's eyes grew wide, but she now lost any energy she may have had.

"Assassin. Go ahead, kill me. Just make it quick and as painless as you can, please," she said. The shadowy figure laughed again.

"I'm not here to kill you. Although, you are kinda IceWing enemy number one right now," said the creature. Crystal sighed.