Legacy - Chapter 17

Aurora jumped in shock when the Skywing fell. They laid there in a puddle of blood. She heard a scream from someone behind her. The orange eyed Skywing who had come with her to the palace had tears streaming down his face. He ran over to the unconscious Skywing and sobbed. “What is the meaning of this?!” Queen Glisten exclaimed. Aurora approached the body and the crying Skywing. She saw that the Skywing had a bag around their neck. She took a scroll out and read it aloud.

Hello to the finder of this scroll,

     I am a loyal Skywing guard. I come with news. If I die on my way there, at least you found this scroll. I came from a rebel hideout, where Queen Ember and Queen Spitfire of the Skywings told me to write this and deliver it to the Ice Kingdom. The Skywing queens are alive along with the Rainwing princess and her Leafwing partner. We are the only survivors of the attack on the Sky Kingdom. The others are under mind control. They are coming for the Ice Kingdom next. The Kingdom of the Sea is the only safe place, unless they find a way to put smoke underwater. I don’t know how much time you have, but I do know that you need to evacuate or hide everyone. If you see my son who escaped the fire, tell him that I love him. Stay safe, finder.

Best wishes,

General NImbus

The orange eyed Skywing sobbed over the body. “He does love you, Falcon,” the hybrid Rainwing said. Falcon kept crying, holding his father tight. “I love you, dad,” he said, quietly enough for Aurora to hear. She got a lump in her throat. She wished she could comfort the sad Skywing. Soon, her thoughts were interrupted by a tapping sound. She looked over at her mother.

“Take him to the medical wing. I need to decide whether or not I truly believe this,” she said. Out of the shadows, two Icewing guards appeared. They marched over to General Nimbus and picked him up. Falcon layed on the floor, crying. The hybrid layed next to him and hugged him. “You believe this is true, right mother?” Princess Aurora asked. “I’m not sure, okay? Just leave me to think!” Queen Glisten snapped. “Not sure? WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU’RE NOT SURE?! THIS INJURED SKYWING JUST FELL INTO THE PALACE WITH A MESSAGE FROM HIS QUEEN AND YOUR FRIEND! THEY ARE TRYING TO WARN US ABOUT AN ATTACK! SO TELL ME, WHAT ABOUT THIS ARE YOU ‘NOT SURE’ OF?!” Princess Aurora screamed.

The Queen tilted her head up. “Don’t speak to me that way. I am your mother and I am the queen. You may NOT speak to me in any way you’d please. This is an important manner and I need to think it through. You do NOT have the authority to even have an opinion on this manner. Thank goodness Shiver is going to be the next queen. I hope that she comes back soon to take this throne before you do,” the queen said. Aurora’s scales practically turned red with anger. She dug her claws into the floor.

“Mother, I challenge you for the throne!” she yelled. Queen Glisten lashed her tail furiously, “If it’s a challenge you want, it’s a challenge you’ll get.” The hybrid’s sister stepped in between the fighting Icewings. “STOP IT! BOTH OF YOU! WE DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS! WE CAN SETTLE THIS AFTER WE SAVE THE TRIBE!” she yelled. Queen Glisten and Aurora didn’t stop glaring at each other, but they got out of their tense stances.

“Listen, your arguing will solve nothing. I’m a Nightwing who can see the future. I see three possible outcomes that are all bad. One is that you two fight it out right here and right now. The princess will win, but the palace will get attacked right after, putting all of us under mind control. Another shows that you evacuate the Icewings and save the tribe, allowing us to gather a strong army and take down Sear. And the third is the most likely future. It shows you ignoring us and letting the palace get attacked. Everyone here gets mind controlled, including you. Don’t let this future win. Please, believe us,” Hope said. The poor Nightwing’s eyes had tears in them.

“I can’t believe you. Okay? I can’t stand the thought of a single dragon being able to glance into my future, especially not a lying Nightwing. I’ll stay here. I won’t mess with my tribe. Now get out of my sight. ALL of you,” Queen Glisten hissed. Aurora saw Hope recoil when she said ‘lying’. Her talons dug into the floor and her eyes glazed over to a dark orange. “Hope! Stop! No!” the Sandwing exclaimed, holding his tiny Mudwing tightly. He threw the Mudwing at Luminosity, who caught it. The Sandwing ran over to the angry Nightwing, but he was too late.

Ice grew from the floor and aimed at the queen’s throat from all sides. They were inches away from the queen’s throat before they stopped growing. One grew from the roof that would impale the queen’s head if she tried to fly out of the way of the ones aimed at her throat. Aurora watched in terror and excitement. It was awesome to see such a cool power and it was even more amazing to see her mother get what she deserved. The look of terror on the queen’s face was unbeatable. Aurora was also slightly terrified of the Nightwing.

Hope shook her head and her eyes returned to normal. She stood there, looking at the queen. “What sort of magic is this?! Free me at once!” the queen commanded angrily. Hope’s eyes were still filled with rage. “I am no liar. I can see the future. The fate of Pyrrhia lies in YOUR talons and I’m not dooming the world because of your stupidity. Now I COMMAND you to tell the Icewings to evacuate!” Hope yelled. The tone of her voice changed and it scarred Aurora. The queen sat angrily on her throne, saying nothing.

“Mother! Listen to her!” Aurora shouted. “I’m not listening to some lowly Nightwing. Besides, she can’t kill me or else she’d be killing the Icewing queen and getting the entire kingdom mad at her,” Queen Glisten said. Hope’s eyes narrowed. “Not if I say that Aurora challenged and killed you. Don’t challenge me, Glisten. I will kill you without warning,” Hope hissed.

“Hope, calm down. I think she’s going to help,” the Sandwing said, putting his hand on her shoulder. She knocked it away and snarled. Aurora saw the orange glitter in her eyes. “Don’t tell me what to do, Ray!” Hope yelled. She clawed him in the face and threw him to the ground. Ray touched his face and sat there in shock. Hope turned to face the queen. “You wouldn’t dare kill me. You’re bluffing,” Queen Glisten said, confidently. Aurora stood there, looking at her mom, then at Hope. The orange glitter in her eyes was there. “I wouldn’t be too confident about that,” Hope said.

Her eyes turned fully orange as she grew the icicles into the queen, impaling her on all sides. She let out a horrible scream and bled out everywhere. “HOPE, NO!!” Lumo cried. Aurora’s head began to spin. Her mother’s blood dripped out everywhere. The icicles had impaled her neck on all sides and her skull. She opened her mouth once her screams had stopped. Her voice was raspy and hollow, but Aurora could make out the word. Queen Glisten’s last breaths made the word, “Nightwing.” Her head hung limp and her body went limp. Blue Icewing blood was scattered on the floor.

Aurora turned to face the Nightwing. Her eyes returned to normal, but there was certainly orange in them. She had blood on her face, but she wiped it off. The orange completely left her eyes. Her eyes widened in terror. “Oh my gosh…” she whispered. She stepped back and looked at the dead queen, then at Ray. Ray’s eyes were wide and full of fear as he put a talon on his bleeding injury. “Ray! I am sorry! I am so sorry! I didn’t mean to!” Hope said, crying. She put out a talon to help Ray up, but he flinched away. Hope sat there and cried. Canopy ran over to the sobbing Nightwing and hugged her.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Canopy said. “It’s not okay! I’m a heartless monster! I’m a curse and a burden!” Hope cried. “No, no you’re not. You can’t help it and it’s okay,” Canopy said. Aurora walked over to them and sat down. “Hope, I can’t say that I understand how you feel because I never will. I do understand that you’re afraid though. You killed my mother with your mind. That’s honestly so incredible and crazy that I’m speechless. I will cover it up for you though, don’t worry. I’ll take the throne until Shiver comes back. Don’t be afraid of your power. Think of it as a gift. Use it only when you need it. Don’t let the monster take over you. You are nota monster. You’re a beautiful Nightwing with an entire life ahead of her. What you do with your life is up to you. Make the best of it,” Aurora said.

Hope looked up at Aurora and wiped her tears. “You’re right. It’s just… my bad part is so strong. It took over when I killed Queen Glisten and hurt Ray,” Hope said. Aurora looked at the bleeding Sandwing. He stood across the room, whispering with Luminosity and glancing at Hope. “It’s fine. Over time, you will learn to control it,” Aurora said. Hope nodded. “Guards!” Aurora shouted.

The doors of the throne room opened and five guards walked in. Their eyes filled with terror when they saw the dead queen. “The queen is dead and as the one who killed her, I am the new queen. Spread the news through the Kingdom. Tell them also to evacuate to the island along the northern edge of the kingdom. The kingdom is in danger,” Aurora said. A guard stepped forward, “What sort of danger, your majesty?” Aurora looked at the guard with a grim look in her eyes.

“Danger, danger. The sort of danger that can wipe out all of Pyrrhia. Along with the Seawings, we’re the only tribe left. They’re coming here now to mind control us all. I don’t know how much time we have left,” Aurora said. Hope said something inaudible. “What?” Canopy said. “We’re out of time,” Hope repeated. A small thorn was thrown into the room. It was ablaze and the smoke rose from it.

“EVERYONE GET OUT OF HERE NOW!” Ray screamed. They ran through the throne room and smashed right into the door. “It’s blocked!” Lumo said. The smoke coiled around everyone’s ankles like a snake. “We’re running out of time!” Hope cried. “Through the window!” the hybrid exclaimed, pointing at a large glass window. They ran to the window and tried to smash it, but were thrown back. “What the heck?!” the hybrid’s sister exclaimed.

“It’s made of ice. It’s the Gift of Splendor. It can’t be cracked or harmed.” Aurora said, sadly. Tears flowed down her face. This is where she died. She was going to die. She had only been queen for minutes and she was going to die. She shook her head. This was no way for a queen to act. She had to be brave and she had to save these dragons. She ran into the door. A horrible pain was sent through her shoulder. Aurora cried in pain, but she didn’t stop. She slammed into the door again. Whatever was barricading the door was getting weaker.

She rammed into the door twice more. Her shoulder had begun to bleed from the impact. She looked at the smoke as it rose up. She wouldn’t let these dragons die. She ran into the door and finally it opened. The ice statue that had fallen and been used as a barricade was shattered. “Everyone, go! Quickly!” Aurora screamed. Everyone ran out of the throne room, alive and well.

I did it. I saved them, Aurora thought happily. She looked at the world beyond the palace and immediately felt her heart stop. The town was engulfed in smoke. Not flames. The wind and snow made it almost impossible for a fire to start, but the smoke was everywhere. She was petrified with terror. Then from behind, she was grabbed. It was an Icewing! She looked up at them, expecting their eyes to be the glossy white color. But they weren’t. They were crystal clear and normal. And the worst part is that Aurora knew the Icewing.

“Wendigo! Get off!” she yelled. “You’re not my queen,” he said, digging his talons into Aurora’s wounded shoulder. She cried in pain. “Why are you doing this?! I thought you were friends with them! I helped your friends!” Aurora cried. Wendigo’s talons grip became tighter, sending more pain through Aurora. “They are no friends of mine. I’m loyal to no one,” Wendigo hissed. Aurora took a deep breath. The air smelled different. Smokey. Her vision became fogged. She began to scream in terror. The last thing she remembers while in her own mind was her heart hammering in her ears as her mind was taken over by the breath of evil.