Wings of Fire: The Queen of Roses

WIP
== PROLOGUE ==
Crack. Crack. Crack.
Sharp sounds beamed through the air, cracking against the silence of the swamp.  A brown and green egg shifted to its side, releasing a slightly big dragonet.  “Grawk?” it squealed, glancing around with its fresh yellow eyes.  There was no response except for the shaking of another egg.  Stranded lines formed across its glimmering shell, a dragonet inside wrestling for freedom.  
Crack. Crack. Crack.
“Rrr?” a dim light flickered in the dragonet’s eye, the chubby creature shuffling toward the source of the noise.  With no hesitation, the MudWing dragonet slammed its talons on the egg, breaking away at the shell shards briefly before the dragonet inside crammed its way out.  
Crack. Crack. Crack.
One by one, the dragonets popped out of the eggs with the help of the biggest dragonet.  “S-siblings?” the oldest whispered to the other dragonets, looking around among them hesitantly.  One egg still laid behind the others, not a crack the size of a cloth string shone upon it.  “Egg.” the dragonet wobbled over, hugging his wings around the egg.
A sharp roaring cry shredded above the swamp, aching against the silence.  “RUN!” an adult swamp dragon cried, running past the dragonets.  The babies huddled around the bigwings, scared and confused as older dragons ran around them in terror.  In the darkened sky, dragons with gleaming white scales as sharp as icicles flew overhead, attempting to attack the fleeing MudWings.
Roars of agony approached as dragons were killed in this horrid scene, staining the mud with red and blue blood.  Fire was set, swirling around the sobbing dragonets.  The bigwings clutched the unhatched dragonet tighter, wrapping his small wings around his sisters and brothers.
A spear flew across the sky, piercing mud colored scales and surrounded the swamp.  Not too far, the ice inhabitant dragons began to land, fighting against the soldier MudWings.  The dragonets scanned the area, looking for an escape route.  The youngest cupped her talons, dipping them into the muck and bloody water, throwing it upward and onto the flames.
The circling fire died in the center, leading a path toward the forest- a perfect place to hide.  “Rawk!” the youngest squeaked, pointing aggressively toward the forest.  The eldest dragonet nudged the younger to move ahead, wrapping his little arms around the egg as they carefully crept toward the safe side.
“Safe!” the eldest roared in joy, scrambling to keep up with his siblings.  “Escapers! Leave no dragon alive!” a sharp, icicle-like voice snarled.  “Not even dragonets? They’re just-”
“Just dragonets running off to come back years later and fight us! This war belongs to us, doesn’t it??” the IceWing hissed.  The one beside the general sighed and nodded, pondering the thought for a split second.
“Guards- kill them.”
Three ice dragons smirked and briefly nodded before shooting into the cold sky, following the young dragons.
The dragonets ducked down toward the ground, creeping quietly into the reeds.  “Not very clever…” one IceWing spoke, diving towards the dragonet’s hiding place, piercing the swamp plants with a spear.
A pained shriek erupted from the plants, five small dragonets bounding outward and to a straight path that led to the overgrown forest.  The bigwings sobbed, blood pouring from his aching wing as he clutched his fragile cargo closer.
“Now!” one IceWing yelped, the other two diving.  The two dragons plummeted to the dragonets, each scooping up two dragonets.  The last landed on the ground, covered in blue and red blood stains from previous murders.
The bigwings whined, tucking the egg under him just to protect it.  The female ice dragon pounced, roughly skimming her sharp, icy talons across his back.  “AGHH!” the dragonet screamed, collapsing from edged pains stabbing through his scales like snake fangs.
“No, no! No!” the oldest dragonet whimpered, huddling around himself.  “Pathetic little MudWing..” the IceWing sneered.
With no emotion whatsoever, the feminine dragon pierced the male dragonet, the spear peeking through his back and out his stomach that poured heavy blood on the unharmed egg beneath him.
“Let’s go.  These are dead.” one soldier grumbled, tossing a dead swamp dragon body at her talons.  “Good,” she sighed, spreading her bright blue wings and taking to the sky.  The two others followed closely behind, guilt nipping at their whip thin tails.
Silence.
The wing beats descended into the quietness, revealing two dragonets alive.  “Mrr… egg?” one female whispered, the other bared his fangs out of fear.
The egg squished out from underneath the dead bigwings.  “B-brother?” the female whimpered.  “You two-” a tall, cruel voice called.  A larger MudWing stood before them, scowling down at the egg.
“I will care for you with my siblings,” he huffed.  “But with a price.  You aren’t our ‘siblings’, you will work for your food and for your sleep and well care, and you call me ‘Master Bullfrog’.  Got it?”
The little female sighed, clutching her unborn sibling.  The male nodded without hesitation, followed by his sister.  “Smart choice.” Bullfrog growled, staring at the dragonets with a grimace expression.
He kicked at the younger dragonets.  “Get moving!”
The female slipped toward her dead brother, the bigwings.  She slid a ruby earring out of his talons that he had found from their parents when helping her hatch.  “Safe.”
“Safe enough.”
== Chapter 1 - Bullfrog ==
=== Part I ===
Rose squirmed through the mud, her slick talons slipping underneath her.  “Hurry up, Rose!  Bullfrog’s coming!” Swan yelped behind her, the female’s beautiful scales shimmering in the sunlight that peered down on them.
Rose panted heavily, ducking downward and stripping reeds from their clusters.  That was her job.  One rule she had to follow just to eat and sleep at the end of the day.  Bullfrog and Boar were bickering as they approached the two females, yelling at each other about who was richer or what not.  Rose couldn’t really tell.
“Well?” Bullfrog hissed, fixing his chain necklace around his thick neck.  “Have the reeds and moss been collected??”
Swan nodded, setting down moss before the older MudWing.  “...Rose?” he growled, turning to the deep red swamp dragon.  “Ah- yes.  I collected them-” she stammered, setting down some small reeds.
“That’s it?!!?!  These are very little and are small, much less useful!  Just like you!” he yelped, quickly swiping his claws over her snout, drawing a bit of blood that seemed to blend into her scales.
Rose’s mouth gaped open to cry in pain from the injury, but stayed completely silent.
“I’ll look for better ones- I promise!” she sobbed slightly, feeling as to melt into the mud beneath her talons.  His glare crawled under her scales like muskrats and bugs trying to hide, making her feel as useful as a rotten log.  “Well, Swan, get the reeds! I can’t trust this winged lizard for nothing,”
“Don’t punish her, please!” Rose said shakily, willing to plead.
“I’m not, moron.  I’m punishing you with no food for five days and five nights.” Bullfrog snarled, Rose looking at her claws feeling stupid.
Boar looked at Swan hesitantly, his striking goat-like eyes telling her to go.  Swan fled the scene, flapping her amber wings and gliding off.  “Come now, skink-dung. We have to head to the market, so wash off those dirty scales and talons- and that look on your face,” Bullfrog snapped.
Rose never saw it as her fault that she wasn’t really clean, or the fact that she looked bad in front of millions of rich travelers or soldiers.  But, Boar always told her that the whole purpose of females was to work the food, collect, and look pretty.
Rose wasn’t pretty though, not as much as Swan at least.
Bullfrog strode off into his confined gallop, leaving Rose to clean herself up while Boar supervised her so she wouldn’t try and “run off”, or something.
She pulled her bandana off her neck, rubbing at the painful scars on her neck.  The two stayed silent as Rose ran water across her scales and talons.  “Tsk, tsk.” Boar sighed.  He approached slowly, cupping his talons and dipping them into the water.
“You cup,” he hissed briefly, showing no sense of annoyance towards her.
“Cup?” Rose huffed, trying not to sound like she was back talking.  “Cup your talons, not dip.  It goes slower like that.” He dumped the water over her head, rather aggressively.  “But, whatever,”
He sat backward, looking around the area for threats- or IceWings.  Rose mocked him in her mind, making him seemingly stupid in her mindscape.  “Come on, you’re clean enough.” Bullfrog’s chilling voice hissed.
Boar nervously glanced between Bullfrog and Rose, cautious.  “Boar, grab my coins,” Bullfrog grumbled, his eyes locked on Rose.  “... then meet us at the market.”  Boar nodded and scampered off into the brush of the overgrown forest.
The female MudWing glanced over, remembering what Boar used to tell her about escaping the fight when she wasn’t even born… why she was here to begin with.  “Stupid IceWings… ruined everything… brothers dead… sister afraid…” Rose’s thoughts were jagged, almost open to others that seemed to whisper in her mind.  It was weird.
“Stupid Rose, can’t do anything right…”
Rose took a breath, feeling the thoughts of Bullfrog creep in.  “Come on, market time!” Bullfrog snapped to his real siblings, which was kinder than his voice to her, Boar, or Swan.  Weird.
“... isn’t Boar one of his brothers though?...”
Rose shook the thought out of her head abruptly, her eyes to the dragonets tailgating behind her… even messing with her tail on purpose.
They strode through the swamp, roughly ripping their talons out of the sinking muck that tried to pull them in.  Rose looked down in disgust as bones pricked her palms as they walked.
The dragonets behind her snickered, bickering about her behind her back.  The group of four soon arrived at the market, which wasn’t much.  It was just wood poles holding up a thin cloth that hung over wooden stalls for shelter in case of rain.
Boar was looking at fish in a meat stall, which Bullfrog immediately headed to so Boar wouldn’t spend his coins.  Rose poked around elsewhere, peering in on dragon’s stalls.  “Come by your weapons here!” a voice yelped, Rose’s head turning to a stall across from her.
Rose shuffled her talons into a bag under her wing, feeling the touch of cold gold coins.  She had a few to spend from working half-time in a weaving stall.
She looked around for Bullfrog, who was lost in the crowd before creeping up to the stall.  She was quick and silent.
== Chapter 2 - Weapon ==
=== Part I ===
“Can I help you?” the dragon behind the counter asked quietly.  “I’ll just… browse…” she hissed in response, gazing among the selection of weapons.
“What am I doing? Bullfrog’ll get mad!” she thought, alert in most ways.
The crowd began to shorten, revealing the lumping back of her ‘bigwings’, or… ‘master’ to his preference.  “Erm..” she panicked, snagging a cooking knife then throwing all her gold coins at the stall owner.  She shoved the weapon into her bag as Bullfrog approached.
“Rose! What do you think you’re doing near this stall?” Bullfrog roared, clearly irritated.  “... uh… looking for the best weapons that are fit for… my master!” she fibbed cautiously, her scales felt sticky and gross from her nervousness.  Stress burst inside her as she gestured a talon to a long, shiny golden dagger with diamond shards.
“Good, good,” Bullfrog grinned, slamming ten gold coins onto the countertop.  “That dagger.” he pointed to it.
Rose exhaled the breath she held, relieved by his foolishness.  “Boar, take the rest and go.  Rose-” he said, flicking his talons at his siblings while his eyes stayed locked on her.  “Follow.”
She didn’t like the sound of his voice but she did as she was told and followed.
Bullfrog led her to the back of the market, just inches away from the lush forest, the branches of the trees tingling her scales as she slipped past them.  “I know you were doing something else.  Give me your bag!” he said in a snappish tone.  “Why?” Rose questioned, backing up a bit.
“Just give it to me!” he growled, swiping his talons for it.  “I don’t have any more coins! I used it all for weaving products.”
His eyes narrowed and his brows firmed before he lunged, jerking his claws underneath her and stabbing her left wing with the dagger.  She roared in agony and pain, toppling over like a sick and wounded cow as in which she felt at that moment.
“No! Knife! Come back here!” she yelped, stretching a claw outward as he pulled it out of her bag.  Her shiny, emerald eyes flicked a bit of red.
Without question, the knife wrestled out of his tight grip, the blade sliding against his palms and drawing blood.  It flew right to her side, daintily hovering next to her while admitting a cold, red hue of light around it.
“H-huh??” the two responded together, staring at the weapon beside her.
Rose sat up, her inhales sharp and twisted with her eyes wide and full of fear.  Bullfrog clutched his palm, trying to stop the bleeding.  “Knife… drop…”
The weapon fell, plopping and splattering mud on itself and her feet.  Bullfrog stared at her confused and weak, obviously fearful.  Rose looked up at him, just as scared.  “Go and never speak of this… whatever this is.” he hissed quietly, staring at her and watching her every move.
The slick mud squeezed in between the gaps in her toes, soothing her just a tiny bit.  She grabbed the knife and placed it inside her bag, hoisting it over her shoulder and slowly beginning to pace back to the market entry.
She thought of making a run for it but Bullfrog was right behind her, locked on every movement she made.  
She silently sobbed into her bandana, tugging it over her snout to hide the various sniffles and sobs she made from earshot distance.  She was horrified by what she did despite not knowing what or how she did it.
As they walked toward their ‘siblings’ the air seemed to grow thinner and damp, the mess of rain leaking into Rose’s nose.
“Great… I have to sleep in the rain,” she thought, glancing at Bullfrog.  At least the sticky feeling she had would be gone after the shower.  She gazed into a crack in her bag, staring at the knife.
“We bought some crocodile meat for dinner with some fish for the servants-” Boar began.  “No- Rose doesn’t eat.  Only Swan.” Bullfrog hissed.  Rose looked down, just another night to hunt in the rain for herself.
The five continued on their way, back to the hut they called home.  
She fell silent, dropping into a muddy bed of leaves she had created a while ago that wasn’t very far from the resting hut.
Her wing ached, dry blood caked the edges of the wound that didn’t seem to affect her too much since she already was a dark red.
The swamp cooed to her, the light patter of rain drummed against her velvet-red scales.  She hummed to the beat, trying to sooth and comfort herself as she did every night.
“Don’t worry, Hornbill, I’m fine…” she whispered to herself, looking at the starry night sky with drowsy eyes.
She dozed off to sleep, still slightly aware of the presence around her.
The quietness consumed her, sucking her down into a warm, silent place filled with pure white boundaries.  She slowly awakened, sitting up and rubbing her head.  “Wha- where am I?” she squeaked, squinting through the brightness.
“Rose…” a voice of warmth and comfort sighed, large brown wings wrapping delicately around her sides.
“Wha- wh-who are you?!” Rose roared desperately, scrambling away from the male’s grasp.  “If you’re Bullfrog-” she began.
== Chapter 3 - Dream ==
=== Part I ===
“I’m sorry for sleeping! I was ti-” the unfamiliar dragon whisked a talon over her snout.  “Hussshhh…”
“Mphm!” she huffed, a bit muffled from his claws.  “I am… Hornbill-, your brother…” he hissed in her ear.  Rose felt like gasping, squirming in his grip so she could.
She ducked under him, kicked him in the stomach and rolled away.  “How could you? You just left me and Swan to die! If you were alive this whole time, you have every right to take us back!” Hornbill looked down.  “I am still aware that you know I’m dead,” he sighed.  “In which, I still am… so I cannot save you.”
Rose’s eyes narrowed, she departed her jaws and burst a plume of flame at his face… which went right through him.  “I am sorry, Rose. I-”
He crept toward her, stretching his wings around her.  “Get away! You just can here to taunt me, didn’t you? Isn’t my suffering amusing?!!?” she snarled, her eyes glowing a devious red.
“No.  It is not,” he shook his head.  “That is why I am here.  To help you.” Rose snorted, turning her gaze away from his.  “Unless killing Bullfrog is your answer then forget it…” she thought, shaking her head as cruel, cold, and damp feelings swept over her.  “What’s happening to me?” she sobbed, blinking away the tears that perked slightly out of her eyes.
“You are… an animus… Rose…” Hornbill said quietly, stepping toward her.  “A what?!” she sniffled, scanning his direction in confusion.
“An animus.  Ancient magic was gifted through family lines but… no one has seen a MudWing animus in eons! You must not say a word, or they’ll come,” Hornbill confessed, dropping on his tail next to her.
Rose looked toward him, worry and fear melted across her scaly snout.  “Don’t worry- me and your other siblings will send someone to help.”
“Who? Is it another MudWing???” she yelped, jumping to her claws.  “I beg you, send them! They can save us!” the male’s eyes firmed.  “No, little sister, this is a…-”
The whiteness began to fade into her normal surroundings, Hornbill’s figure melting into the background.  “A what?!” she howled into the darkness.
She snapped awake, panting heavily with sweat dripping down her neck.
She glanced around the area, the quiet chirp of crickets still ringing in her ears.  The rain had stopped and the sun was barely rising, just edging the birds enough to wake up and sing.  Rose squinted, trying to spot any other signs of living dragons.
“Rose!” Swan’s voice chimed behind her, making her jump up.  “What are you doing? We have work, you know!”
“R-right…” she sighed.
She stood up, following Swan and her tracks toward the forest where they needed to collect moss.  “Who’s he sending? Are they even a dragon?  What if it’s a scavenger… what if it chains and captures us for force-fighting!” Rose thought, feeling wary about the situation.
Rose bumped into Swan, knocking her out of her training thoughts.  “Eep!” her older sister cried, ducking under her left wing.
“Hm?” Rose’s head tilted, looking among her sister’s shivering body that led to the scales and limbs of a live SandWing.  “Hello.” the dragon said.  “Ack!” Rose yelped, stumbling backward.
“I mean no harm, ms-” the desert dragon cooed.  “Back, you-you-you beast!”
The dragon’s eyes firmed, baring her teeth at Swan.  “You dare call me something I am not?” she snapped.  “Maybe I do,” Swan responded with a quivering snort.
“I enchant this small MudWing to be silent forever unless I click my talons together!” the SandWing growled, her tail lashing behind her.
Swan seemed startled, gaping her mouth to speak words that did not exist.  The dragon snorted
Category:Content (WarriorCatsUltima)
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete)
Category:Genre (Adventure)
Category:Genre (Comedy)
Category:Genre (Tragedy)