Prologue:
Two lone dragons, racing over warm air currents in the dead of night. They flew on silent wings and their icy cold scales gleamed softly in the dim moonlight of the dark night sky.
"Come on," the oldest grunted.
"I'm going as fast as I can," the other snarled angrily.
"Well, it's not fast enough," the oldest shot back, " If we don't hurry, the egg will be gone!"
This seemed to convince the younger dragon, and the two flew in silence for a few more hours.
When they finally arrived at the territory's boundary, the two angry dragons slowed to a hover, barely past the markings of the fire territory.
"What's our plan?" the smallest dragon growled, trying not to fight with her companion.
"We just... sneak in..." he responded, an award tone in his voice.
The younger dragoness rolled her eyes in aggravation.
"I don't care if you were supposed to lead this mission. I'm in charge now."
When she started forward, her partner had no choice but to follow.
"Time to steal an egg..."
CHAPTER ONE:
Ivy hated traveling. Traveling with others at least. She always got that sense of someone always watching, looking at her every move. But irritatingly enough, her mother didn't care because she was royal and amazing and exemplary blah blah blah. She flapped harder to keep up with her family, and looked down, trying to count the number of times her wings completed the fast-moving circle. Her high score was 163 circles in 5 seconds. Ivy's close friends often said her wings flapped like a hummingbird; she had never seen one, but she figured they were pretty cool- like her, obviously.
One of the guards slowed, falling behind Ivy.
"Princess PoisonIvy, I would advise you take a rest in the chariot."
Ivy slowly rolled her eyes but sped up, landing on the small chariot next to her mother and father.
What he meant by, 'chariot', was a large hammock. The guards were meant to carry it through the air and lift it. In her opinion it was grueling work. She thought back to the Chariot instead of letting her mind wander. It was almost like a jungle canopy mushed into one, solid, compact hammock, even though Ivy often thought the word 'chariot' was a bit of an exaggeration. She looked down at the guards carrying the practical floating palace through the air. They looked tired; maybe she should help them... She decided to leave them be as she felt her own wings growing low on energy.
She thought back to the interaction with the guard instead. He had called her by her real name, PoisonIvy. Just as requested. Only her close friends were allowed to call her Ivy. She sighed quietly and took to the air again. Round and round her wings went, beating fast under the booming heat of the sun.
Her bright amber eyes gleamed in the glaring sunlight as she sped past the rest of the group. They had been flying for hours, and everyone knew that because most of the royal family had small wings, they had to land often. And that meant stopping, and stopping, and stopping. She looked down at a small island up ahead and figured she might as well get there before the rest of them. So, she sped up and landed gracefully on the ground.
Snap.
Ivy whipped around. Something was watching her. She squinted as the sun glared in her eyes. Her wings started buzzing and her eyes narrowed. That creeping sense of something watching returned.
"Who's there?!" she shouted into the forest surrounding her.
With no response, her back legs tensed, and she felt a low growl rise in her throat.
"Who's there?!" she repeated.
She heard another snap and the sound of wingbeats. Ivy saw not another soul and immediately jumped into the air, turning in a circle. She soon saw her guards and parents arriving in the background.
"I'm just going to have to keep my guard up," she whispered quietly. (She wouldn't normally let the 'thing' go, but the was a special case. She decided later)
When everyone was settled on the island after what seemed like an eternity to Ivy, she decided to explore and hopefully find the mysterious dragon on her trail. She began forward in a trot that soon sped up to a slow run.
"Where are you..." she growled.
She searched behind many trees and small shrubs and soon decided to give up. It was getting late, and she might as well get back to the group. As she was walking back, she gazed up at the endless array of day-time stars in the distance. She paused to get a closer look at the awe and beauty.
Snap.
There it was again, that weird sound. The dragon must have not left the island, what else would be watching her at this time of day? She slowly folded into her battle stance. No dragon would dare sneak up on her, at least not now anyway. She lit up the wisps under her wings and felt her tail tense.
"Who's there?!" she called for what felt like the eight millionth time that day.
With no response, she darted to the clearing were her parents and guards were resting and ran straight into her personal guard, Vine. He at first seemed disoriented but soon regained his focus and dipped his head in respect.
"Your highness, what are you doing out so late at night? I was looking for you with no success, is something wrong?"
"Yes," Ivy snapped, "something is very wrong, and I command you and two of the finest guards to search this island snout to talon for anything suspicious!"
Vine nodded and rushed into crowd of guards, searching with such pristine quickness Ivy was almost surprised.
She slowly de-lit her glowing wisps and settled down with an unsuccessful attempt to fall asleep. She rolled onto her back with a soft sigh. Her irritated gaze fluttered over the four moons lighting the cold, dim sky of the night.
As the hours slowly went by, Ivy noticed herself growing hungrier by the second. She got up glaring at the food pile nearby. It was all pampered and salty, Ivy preferred fresh, wild caught prey, anything than her selections.
After her midnight snack, Ivy caught a strange smell of blood. She decided to investigate and began forward in a slow walk. Her eyes narrowed as she felt the sent grow stronger. She tracked the scent for about an hour until she gave up. This was pointless. She headed back to the group with a soft growl rising in her throat. She felt a flicker of anger that she couldn't find the source of the smell, even though it was probably decaying prey. She finally settled down, just enough to catch a few winks of sleep. Then, finally after getting one more snack, she was drifting in the comforting arms of rest.
CHAPTER TWO:
When the morning light came, Ivy woke up at the crack of dawn. She immediately flinched as there was a heavy scent of wounds in the area. She looked up to find Vine laying limply, half asleep next to the healer.
"What happened?" Ivy demanded.
The healer shrugged. "No clue. He had just dragged himself back to camp after you had fallen asleep."
So that was the smell.. Ivy thought grimly. I couldn't even find my own guard-
As she looked closer at the wound, Ivy discovered it was a deep slash, right down his right hind leg.
"Strange.." she remarked quietly.
She pretended to shrug, then walked off back into the pit of dragons. She snarled as some tail almost wacked her wings, then whirled around with a growl as someone hit her legs with their wing.
"Time to take to the air!" some-dragon shouted.
Ivy rolled her eyes and rose off the ground; she already had decided to stay towards the back of the group. She loved a good fight, but not loud noises- She flexed her talons as the group rose higher into the air. Ivy saw her parents nod to the chariot and the servants flew down, bringing it back to the mid-air spot. Her parents landed on the floating contraption, making the carriers flinch slightly but quickly recover.
"Here we go again.." Ivy muttered and slowed her wing speed, dropping behind.
She pulled a map out of the small pouch on her back. She had stolen a map from the guards that morning for this exact reason. She paused to hover.
"Ok, so if I go that way," she muttered, "It should put me out.. Right there." She pointed to a small X on the map.
She dropped behind even more, and then, when she was sure no one was watching, she turned to the right, veering far from the group. She smiled at the freedom she had finally grasped onto. She glanced down at her map then put it back into the small pouch where it belonged. The sun was just now peaking over the horizon, and Ivy witnessed the first moments of dawn. She marveled at the pinks and oranges of the early morning. She saw a small mountain appear in the distance.
"We must be getting near the ice territory..." She grumbled as a chill went down her spine.
Ivy was high above the clouds now, trailing the path the map had led her onto. She knew she was straying a bit too far, but she honestly didn't care. The map had the other's destination. She could go as far as she wanted and not have a care in the world. She smiled as a cold air current drifted under her wings. Suddenly, she saw a flash of blue in the clouds. Ivy almost fell out of the sky trying to stop.
"Who's there!" She shouted into the creamy landscape.
She saw another flash of blue, only this time a slender ice dragon slowly lifted himself in front of her. His eyes seemed to be locked on hers, and strangely, Ivy felt her eyes being locked on his. They just held still flapping there, a few snowflakes fluttered around the pale dragon. They drifted a bit closer.
Now that Ivy looked closer, the Ice dragon had large wings with a black cloak draped across his back. His scales where icy white with icicle-like spines running down his back. The ice dragon began to circle her slowly. Then he was still, eyeing the glowing mark on her wing. It had a small crown on it, signing she was royal.
Then Ivy's eyes darted back to her pouch. He wasn't eyeing her mark- He was eyeing her pouch! Now finally out of the trance, Ivy snarled and dove down under the canopy of clouds. She heard the ear-piercing roar of an ice dragon follow.
After a few minutes of speeding over the tree's, Ivy felt her energy grow dangerously low. She began to pant heavily and crash-landed in a small snowy clearing. She heard the ice dragon land beside her. Ivy was splayed out on the ground. Her breath was growing low, she wouldn't be awake much longer. She attempted to roar for help as the ice dragon slipped a sack over her. She shrieked and felt violent pain echo through her skull. Then everything went black.
About an hour later, Ivy could now no longer see but felt grass and small rocks sliding along her back. Her limbs where numb and she couldn't move. She couldn't exactly think either. All that was awake was her sense of touch. She could only feel.
"Whoof-" some-dragon sighed and dropped the sack holding Ivy.
At least- She thought it was a sack... She could feel her unconcise mind willing to keep her senses awake. It was losing. She could feel herself slipping into more of an unconcise state. Ivy felt like she was teetering at the edge of a large cliff. At the bottom, the possibility of get knocked out again was waiting. Even though her mind wasn't fully awake, she could feel herself fighting not to fall. Not to become unaware again. But she felt it coming back, she was going to lose this battle. So, with one more attempt, she gave up and fell back into the abyss of unconsciousness.
CHAPTER THREE:
Ivy finally woke up. She was in a cold and dark room with whispers coming from another area near her. When she tried to move, she realized that she was chained to some sort of pole or pillar. She saw a swift shadow run past her, and it looked like one she saw while traveling.
The whispers from the other room where getting louder and she could make out a few words, “She…Turn in…What to do…. He caught.”
Were they talking about her? Suddenly she lost her train of thought as she heard footsteps from the room the two dragons had been speaking in. She saw the shadow dart out of the room to another door that she had not seen before. Ivy started to worry as she heard the footsteps coming up close to her from behind. Two adult dragons in the Wing of Ice then appeared in front of her in black hoods.
"You hungry Princess?" The bigger one snarled.
Ivy glared at them, holding back a snarl. How dare they kidnap her! She was the alter princess of the Wing of Earth! The TOP princess, the Highest-ranking princess of the Earth and Nature tribes!
"No," She snarled, "Go away!"
The dragons rolled their eyes and gave her and giant block of ice with a small fish frozen inside. They chuckled and walked off.
A FROZEN FISH? What?! How was she supposed to eat this? SHE deserved a feast! She was the ALTAR royal, the heir to the throne! One day, she would command all those puny lowlier rulers of the smaller tribes of the Wing of Earth. She would be QUEEN! She would pass laws, boss the guards around, anything she wanted to do! She glanced up, interrupted from her train of thought as the shadow darted around again. It then materialized from the darkness of the gloomy cave. It dipped its head.
A least a bit of respect- Ivy thought grimly
She studied the new dragon with sudden interest. It- It looked familiar... Wait- No it couldn't- It was...
"You!" She shrieked jumping up, straining against her chains. She thrashed wildly and bit furiously at the air. It was the dragon that had kidnaped her!
"Woah! Calm down!" He said franticly backing away from her claws.
He banged into a wall and his hood fell off, then something unthinkable happened, he dissolved into small golden dust floating to the floor. Then, about five seconds later, her rematerialized, but, instead of icy blue scales, the eye-scorching red of a Fire dragon stood in front of her.
Ivy backed away, trying not to show fear. She growled softly and felt a scream rise in her throat. This was getting freaky.
"W-What was that? -" She stammered.
"What are you looking at?" The firedragon said, looking down, "Oh DANG IT!!"
He franticly paced around the room, muttering 'What am I gonna do- What am I gonna do-' Over and over again.
"Um- Just put on you hood doofus." Ivy remarked coldly.
"I CAN'T JUST- PUT ON MY HOOD!" He snarled. "You've seen me! It's over!'
Ivy rolled her eyes.
"It's not a big deal fire breath, I don't care if I've seen you." Ivy replied titling her snout up.
He shook his head. "It doesn't matter. It's too late"
He stomped over to the corner like a big baby and plopped down, he looked like a hatchling who had just been sent to the cave corner.
"You at least gonna' tell me your name?" Ivy asked, she figured if she wanted to escape, she needed at least a few allies.
"Blazerztgriffminedfluff."
"What? It's kind of hard to hear!!"
"I said Blaze!" He snapped, lifting his head to glare at her.
Ok... Maybe not as baby as I thought...
"Ok Ok!" Ivy said, returning the glare.
Blaze turned back around, now back in his, 'Pouty position'.
Ivy heard him mutter, "Why did I tell her my name..."
She rolled her eyes once more and turned her back to him, NOT making a pouty face behind her back. She curled her tail in and rested her head, not daring to fall asleep.
Now alone with her thoughts, her mind drifted back to the events before she was taken. She briefly remembered being dragged in the sack, though the image was blurry.
When she opened her eye's again, she sat up suddenly, startled by a muffled scream from a corridor... Was it north? She had lost her sense of direction down in the caves belowground. She refocused her attention to the tunnel to the right. There were definitely talon steps echoing the narrow hallway. Blaze fumbled for his hood and crumbled into dust, then swiftly retransforming into an Ice dragon in a split second. The older dragons emerged from the hallway. They were caring two sacks, the more female looking dragon held nothing, and the burlier dragon to her right was carrying both sacks. He held them both with ease. When they reached Ivy and Blaze, Ivy flinched back a little, while Blaze ran up to join them.
Those stupid ice dragons in all their stupid icy glory... Ivy thought bitterly, biting back an insult.
The burly dragon aggressively threw the two sacks to the floor, the was a slight groan from the one on the right, but it quickly silenced. There was no sound from the one on the right except for a quiet cracking sound from inside those stupid leather prisons. Ivy knew firsthand what it was like to be in those things. Once you were in, you weren't breaking out...
The female dragon, (Ivy now decided to call StupidFrostyFace,) turned her gaze to Blaze and ushered him over. They talked in hushed tones, and after a while, Blaze stepped back with a nod. A grim expression spread across his face. The other dragon, (Ivy was now calling HIM BuffIcyDude), Opened the sacks and trotted off. Ivy's hard glare followed them all the way through the room. She turned her attention back to the sacks, and to her horror, splayed out on the floor where the bodies of two, dead dragons...
CHAPTER FOUR (UNFINISHED):
The two dragons lay completely still on the hard stone floor. Ivy felt her breath's grow short and jagged. She turned her head away and fought the longing to throw up. She forced herself to look back at the two bodies. She gagged as the one on the left jerked right. It sent many spinechilling feelings through Ivy, and she turned her head away again.
"Ugh..." groaned an unfamiliar voice.
'No. ' Ivy thought fiercely. 'No, no, no, no.'
She turned as the one on the left rolled over. Ivy backed away in a wave of horror.
"Where am I..." The dragon asked groggily.
She whimpered and sat up slowly, the feathers on her wings shifting as she rose. Her legs were shaking horribly, and she kept stumbling, struggling to sit. After finally managing to find a secure position, she asked again, "W-Where am I?"
"Don't worry, just try to stay calm..." Ivy said shakily.
"O-ok..." the dragon replied, "I'll try.."
She then lay back down to rest her head, which had been shaking before also.
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