Thunderbird: A Fanfiction

Thunderbird is a fanfiction by Lightseeker GameWing. It is a prequel to The Phoenix.
== Summary ==
Appalachia has a normal life at the palace as a servant. Her pride and joy is her singular egg that she can't wait to hatch. Unfortunately, Queen Topaz has other plans...
(I'm horrible at summaries.)
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== Chapter One ==
A bright red dragoness awoke, and stretched her wings...
Appalachia prepared for a new day as a cook in the SkyWing palace. She put on her uniform, a simple necklace that identified her rank. It was made of finely smithed iron wire with a piece of white, cloudy quartz on it, identifying her as chef class. She checked her appearance in the mirror, then stepped out of her door and into the open air.
The sky was filled with other palace employees waking and commuting to work. Several miles from the palace, about a five minute flight, were the servant quarters. They were tall, hollowed out, stone spires. Inside, they could accommodate 10 or so dragons. There was a seemingly endless number of them, stretching infinitely into the distance. Some of the more fantastical dragons out there claimed that the spires, somehow arranged into little circles with small courtyards in the center, had been enchanted by the queen’s animus. Then, one had proceeded to tell her, the reason he was never seen was because he lost his soul and was killed. Appalacia wasn’t very sure he was a reliable source, however, since he thought that the RainWings were conspiring to take over the continent with wooden scavengers.
She was so wrapped in thought about the other conspiracy theories perpetuated by other dragons, she almost didn’t notice the palace in time. Rising magnificently from the mountains, the palace and the arena were a sight to behold. Appalachia abruptly changed her course in time to avoid hitting a tower.
A dark room with several small windows greeted her. A gated fireplace crackled at one end of the little room, providing lighting and warmth. Appalachia stepped quietly to the other end of the room. She stepped around eggs of all sizes and colors: a large orange one, a small red one, a maroon one the size of her talons.
Finally, she reached her desired location: a corner on the far end of the room, a fair distance from the fireplace and right beneath a window.
A bright red egg with small flecks of gold was partially wrapped in a blue blanket. No matter what the other, more experienced dragonesses told her, she thought that her dragonet would want to be warm until she hatched. Phoenix, their name was Phoenix. She gently ran her hand over the smooth shell of the egg. They were going to hatch soon, she could feel it. “See you tonight,” she whispered. Then she stepped out quietly. 
She leapt outside, then dashed down the hallways and took several turns. She met a big set of iron doors, and pushed them open.
She sailed down and swooped in through an open landing window. She took some time to get her bearings, then stepped down the hall. After taking several turns and going through multiple hallways, she arrived at her destination. She stepped through the door.
A large, stone, room with big windows opened up in front of her. Only one other dragon seemed to have already arrived. A burly dragon with was preparing the ovens by spitting fire into them. As Tomato (yes, that was his real name. However, he prefered to be called Tom.) heard the door close, his head whipped around. Appalachia was met with a hawk-like expression. “Seems like you’re the only one ever on time here,” He stated, lashing his tail.
“I try,” She responded.
“We need the stoves lit and sautéing supplies ready to go. The princess’s hatching day is in three days, and it looks like Queen Topaz is going  to be inviting some royals and having a feast. We need to start preparing. I’ll have the others get me some meat.”
Appalachia nodded and turned to start up the oven. She started the fire inside of her. It was an odd, warm feeling that she quite enjoyed. She released it onto the stoves, igniting the wood beneath. They flared up. Afterwards, she exited to the supplies closet. It was on the left wall, and was rather large. She looked to her right, once inside, and picked up several of the pans. She carried them to the kithen and rested them on one of the preperation islands next to the stoves.
She returned to the closet and grabbed some eggs, a bowl, some milk, and a knife for a breakfast that would be served to the kitchen staff and the royals. She was about to leave, when Tom called “Olive oil!” Appalachia grasped the olive oil with her long tail and left the room with her pile.
She set her supplies on the same island as the pans, then delivered the oil to Tom. She tossed a pan on the stove. As it heated, she began to crack the eggs. After cracking around 20, she stirred in milk. 
Suddenly, six or seven other dragons started streaming in. Some of them tripped over each other. A particularly yellow one looked rather embarassed. 
Tomato shifted his gaze to them, and set it into a glare. “All of you are late. We cannot afford to do this so close to a royal feast. Appalachia, on the other hand, was responsible and actually came on time. I expect all of you to get to work immediately. Sunshine, I want you to fetch me some turtles. Aconagua, get a chicken and start marinating it. Goshawk, help Appalachia with breakfast. Blood, I’m trusting you with those tartine croissants. The rest of you, I want you preparing the dining hall and ready to serve the royal family. Go!”
As the other dragons scattered, Goshawk dashed over to Appalachia. She was the color of tangerines, and smelled like them, too. “What are we making?” she asked in her high-pitched voice.
“Scrambled eggs. Go get a cutting board and spices you think would be good and chop some vegetables. I assume you know how to ma-”
“WE CUT WITH KNIVES, NOT OUR CLAWS! WE ARE NOT A BUNCH OF UNCIVILIZED HEDGEHOGS!” Poor Aconagua cowered as Tomato yelled. Goshawk and Appalachia shuddered, both remembering the times they had incurred his wrath.
“-make them.”
“Yeah, I think so.” Goshawk bustled over to the supply closet. Appalachia returned to whisking. Goshawk returned with her supplies and got to work on those vegetables. She added the spinach, onions, and tomatoes to the bowl. Appalachia poured the contents into the pan she’d selected earlier. The scrambled eggs were fairly simple, and she wondered if they had any bacon on hand. However, she was getting a little sick of the supply closet for today, and decided to just monitor the eggs for now. Goshawk sat beside her.
“What are we making next?”
“I don’t know. Could you see if we have any bacon?”
Goshawk sauntered to the closet. She poked her head out and shook it.
“Ham?”
Her head disappeared. It popped out again, shaking.
“Steak? Maybe?”
Another negative from her.
Appalachia lashed her tail, sighing. “Looks like I’m going hunting. Tell Tom.”
She departed from the room and found the nearest landing platform. She took off into the sky, twisting down, then spreading her wings wide. She shot into the clouds and steered herself towards the forest.
It was fairly close to the palace, and easy to find. She spotted several other dragons hunting in the pine forest below. The sound of birdsong echoed through the trees. She tried to remember what the queen’s favorite meat was. It wasn’t scavenger, it wasn’t chicken, it wasn’t pork or bacon…
While she was hovering, another dragon smashed into her. “Watch where you’re going!” He yelled, glaring at her and flying off.
Appalacia snorted in annoyance, then remembered. Cows! The queen liked cows! But that would mean she had to go to the outskirts of the scavenger den. Which, without weapons or armor, was not the best idea. But what was a good idea was landing so that another dragon didn’t crash into her.
She landed on the ground. Her thoughts returned to her. If she tried to set the scavengers on fire, she also might burn the cows. Actually, where even was the nearest scavenger settlement? She decided that she would try and find some venison.
She lifted into the air and flew slowly over the forest, trying her best to skim the treetops quietly. After several minutes, she saw a brown flash. She landed, and the thump attracted the attention of the buck. He released a call, and ran.
Appalachia took off, flying after the deer. He dashed away, but Appalachia’s size gave her an advantage. They raced through the forest. At some point, she began to wonder whether the deer was a mortal. He seemed to have endless energy. Finally, he began to slow down. She seized her chance and pounced. She made quick work of the buck, and started to fly back to the palace.
When she returned, the kitchen was just as bustling as before she left. Dragons kneaded dough, donned aprons, and placed things in the ice box. As Appalachia returned to her stove, she saw something that she should have expected.
Goshawk was squawking loudly, and Tom was tossing water on the stove she was using earlier. One of the serving dragons was removing a metal pan with black gunk inside.
She stepped forward. “What happened?”
“Well, somebody managed to set the scrambled eggs on fire. And the pan. I’m not sure how that happened.” Tom looked thoroughly annoyed.
“It was an accident!” Goshawk whined. “I was just adding in the flowers!”
“Flour? You don’t add flour to scrambled eggs. It’s not even a spice!”
“It was in the spice cabinet! And I thought it would make it smell good! Flowers smell good, right?”
Appalachia sighed. “Well, looks like I’ll be making yet another pan of scrambled eggs. We need pepper, onions, and spinach.”
“Not possible,” noted Tom. “We’re all out of eggs. Aconagua had to use some for the marinade, Blood needed two for the croissants, and Sunshine knocked over rack they were on.”
Appalachia groaned. “At least we have this deer I caught. Does the queen like venison?”
“She’ll eat it.”
“I’m taking that as a no.”
“You should.”
“So what are we going to make now?” Goshawk asked.
Tom thought for a moment. “We’re going to get some cows. Correction: You’re going to get some cows. Appalachia and I will be staying here. I’d go, but I don’t trust Sunshine with pointy objects.” As if on cue, a loud yell emnated from the back of the room near the cutting board.
“But I don’t want to! Why should I have to? Appalachia should do it!”
“Appalachia just went hunting. For half an hour. It takes half an hour to get to the scavenger den, where they have cows. See, it’s even. NOW GO.”
“But I’m Lord Jasper’s son!”
Tom rolled his eyes. “I know. You’ve told me a thousand times. You signed up to be a chef, so go be a chef and get ingredients. Shoo.”
Goshawk groaned overly loudly, stomped her foot, and stamped out the door.
“Wish I could fire her,” Muttered Tom.
Me too, thought Appalachia. Me too.
--------------------------------------------------Page Break-------------------------------------------------
Appalachia prepared to serve breakfast. A late one, at that. She removed the beef from the oven, drained the extra sauce, and plated it. As she delivered it to the table, she saw the queen analyzing her out of the corner of her eye.
Queen Topaz was a positively terrifying dragon. Her scales were a shade of light orange, and her horns appeared to be gold-plated. She had rubies embedded in parts of her tail, and wore a ridiculous amount of jewelry. But the most infamous part about her was her penchant for murder and conflict.
She had laid 10 female eggs, killing all except her youngest, Rose Quartz. She had torn down the marketplace in what was the arena during Queen Scarlet’s reign. She had rebuilt the stadium, and farmed scavengers in the nearby den to pit them against prisoners. She was said to kill the parents of arena champions herself, and was always at the helm of every battle. She had convinced the NightWings to rebel from Queen Grape’s reign and intimidated the MudWings into joining her side in the war that she had created.
Her daughter, Princess Rose Quartz, sat beside her. Appalachia had met her, and she was… not pleasant to be around. The princess was stuffy, snobby, and had a perpetual way of looking down on a dragon, regardless of whether or not they were taller than her. She was slightly intimidating, though nowhere near as intimidating as her mother.
Across from her, Prince Sardonyx sat, eerily tranquil. No dragon, besides the royal family, saw much of him. His scales were a reddish-cream, with a brown ridge and vibrant red horns and wings. His eyes were a silent amber. She had heard that he had fought in the arena multiple times, but she found that hard to believe.
As she set down the meal’s main course, Queen Topaz snorted. “Finally. I have been waiting for ten hours.”
Sardonyx turned to her, his eyes serene. “It’s only been twenty minutes.”
“Shut up,” she snapped.
Sardonyx fell silent. Rose shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
Appalachia stood by, ready to serve the royal family. They already had water in their glasses, but still. She felt uneasy.
After several on-edge minutes, Topaz eyed Appalachia. “Are you Appalachia?”
Appalachia stiffened, and bowed. “Yes, your majesty.”
“I would like to speak with you after breakfast. We have… business to discuss.”
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete)
Category:Fanfictions (Semi-Canon)
Category:Content (Violet the RainWing)
Category:Content (Lightseeker GameWing)