A Royal Family

I hate this now. C8 I'm plotting a should-be-way-better one with mah bud. So don't read this. XP
== General Information ==
Author: GRW
Characters: Prickle, Queen Cliffrose, Sizzle, Cardon, Chuckwalla, Queen Realgar, Rutile
I would love critique on this, as it is my first original fanfiction! Please comment on what I could improve on or what I'm doing okay at! Thanks! 8)
== Summary ==
The SandWing prince, Prince Prickle, badly wants to end the suffering throughout Pyrrhia. He's tired of his mother's watchful gaze, and knows that there are dragons out there who need him. But right now, he's stuck in the Sand Kingdom with his family- the royal family. And it's not as great as it sounds. He of all dragons would know.
== Chapter One ==
"Prickle, Cliffrose wants you to attend a feast."
Prickle pretended not to hear his sister's slow, oozing voice.
"She says if you don't go, she'll punish you," Sizzle added carelessly, flicking her tail barb back and forth.
Prickle buried his face in the sand. "No," he grumbled, and immediately regretted opening his snout. Spitting sand off his tongue, he stared balefully at Sizzle. "She'll make me eat camel. I hate camel. Too heavy."
Sizzle shrugged. "It's your choice."
Prickle sighed. It was not his choice. His mother would get all mad at him if he didn't go, and then he'd have to spend the next several days without any food at all- which was completely unfair and totally not fun.
Letting his wings splay behind him, Prickle shuffled in the direction of the palace.
"We have visitors," added Sizzle. "The SkyWing queen and one of her daughters. The princess is arrogant and clearly thinks highly of herself- I can tell she wants to be queen one day. Her mother knows it, too, but she doesn't speak of it. Neither of them are very smart, but they are comfortable fighting and appear to be quite dangerous if you don't know what you're doing."
His sister's uncanny way of analyzing dragons she barely knew was quite unsettling to Prickle, but the news itself was enough to shock him.
"Wait- SkyWings? Here?" he asked. "The queen?" Maybe she's like Mother. Or maybe she's completely different- that would be cool!
"Yes. Must I repeat myself?" drawled Sizzle.
"Are they just visiting for the feast? Will we have different food prepared for them? What do SkyWings eat? Do you think I'd like it?" The questions burst out of Prickle's mouth. He'd only seen a SkyWing once, in the Scorpion Den, and it had quickly, nervously left before he could get a closer look.
"Yes, yes, Cliffrose will have ordered special food to be prepared- birds and goats and such. She's wearing quite a bit of treasure, and whatever she hasn't plastered onto her scales she'll have dangling from the walls and the ceiling. It's gaudy and looks ridiculous. Thankfully, she didn't pursue the subject when I refused to wear any more than this." She tapped the ruby necklace dangling around her neck.
"What about Father?" asked Prickle.
"Oh, yes, I overheard Cliffrose lecturing Cardon about 'proper etiquette'. Not that he was actually listening. But I'm sure she'll be fine with his attendance- he is quite a good-looking dragon, after all, and she'll want to show him off."
As Prickle opened his snout to ask her how long the SkyWings would be staying, she whisked her tail over it. "You'll see everything for yourself soon," his sister promised. "All of your questions should be answered then."
"Then let's hurry up!" Prickle could hardly wait, his reluctance had vanished, and excitement was welling up inside of him. He skidded forward, spraying sand everywhere.
Sizzle ran by his side. "This will be so much easier once you can fly properly. Or once you just let me carry you."
Prickle shook his head. He hated trying to fly! Whenever he did, he would rise above the ground and then lose his balance and fall. Cliffrose would sniff disapprovingly, and his brothers would snicker. And if Sizzle carried him, she'd fly high, as high as the palace. Prickle didn't like heights- at all. He'd rather stay here, on the nice, warm, sandy ground any day.
Skidding to a halt in front of the palace, he nodded to the guards. The head guard, a scarred, burly SandWing- Chuckwalla- glanced down at him and saluted, making way for him to enter.
Prickle didn't like the way he had saluted- he didn't like being acknowledged as royalty in any way, shape, or form- especially by his name. "Prince Prickle" was about the stupidest name ever.
Racing through the palace doors, he darted down the hall and up a spiraling staircase, Sizzle following. As he burst into the dining hall, he felt four pairs of eyes fix upon him- sparkling black, dark ebony, sharp yellow, and blazing amber.
The first thing his own eyes landed on were the SkyWings. One of them, an elegant red-gold dragoness who bore a shiny golden crown between her horns, sat on a makeshift throne to the right of Queen Cliffrose. She must be the queen! 
The second, a pale orange dragoness, crouched stiffly upon a much smaller throne next to the other SkyWing's. Both of them were very small- the queen was no bigger than Sizzle, while the other one- probably the princess- was no larger than he was, although judging by her horns she was a year or so older than Sizzle.
Suddenly aware of the deafening silence, Prickle cleared his throat. "Um....hi?" he offered uncomfortably. "Um, I...where do I sit?"
His mother glared at him as though he had said something completely embarrassing. Cardon heaved a long-suffering sigh. The SkyWing queen yawned. The princess shifted in her seat.
Sizzle slipped smoothly past him, taking her place in a small throne next to Cliffrose. Prickle trailed after her, sitting down in the smallest throne of all.
Queen Cliffrose sniffed softly before turning to the SkyWings, wings spread majestically. Just for the occasion, it seemed, she had worn a gold chainmail vest that was strung with amber drops and studded with black stones. A few ruby bracelets had been added to adorn her already-treasure-wrapped arms, and she replaced her everyday crown with a huge spiky gold one. Smiling benevolently, she addressed the two guests.
"It is lovely to have you for a feast!" the SandWing queen announced. "Hopefully we can maintain our long-formed alliance, and what better way than this?" 
The SkyWing queen yawned once more. "I suppose," she growled in a husky, careless voice. Her yellow eyes swept over the dining room as though inspecting it for faults. "Stop slouching!" hissed Queen Cliffrose to Prickle. "And for moons' sake, straighten your wings and stop staring!"
Prickle shifted himself, adjusting his posture, but didn't tear his gaze away from the SkyWing queen. Something about her seemed to radiate fiery authority. Next to her, the princess scowled at a tiny scuff mark on the floor- wait, that was the placed where Sizzle had thrown him onto the marble when he was one year old because he wouldn't stop asking her to read him The Adventures of Cactus.
"So," continued Cliffrose. "Queen Realgar, it is quite an honor to have you here. And Rutile, you're looking so much more grown up than the last time I saw you!"
The SkyWing queen- Queen Realgar- inclined her head. "Yes, well. It does happen fast." The way she spoke suggested that this was a terrible burden- apparently the princess, Rutile, noticed as well, for she glowered at her mother before breathing out a small puff of smoke over the table.
"It's Princess Rutile," she snapped in a high-pitched voice. Cliffrose smiled at her. "Of course, dear. Now, who's hungry?"
Without waiting for an answer, she flicked her tail. Wordlessly the servants moved forward. Prickle felt a small flash of shame as he watched them set down the plates. He pitied the poor dragons who had been forced to take up work here, but he had tried to speak out once and had ended with with a huge bruise swelled over his eye.
Instead, he tried to focus on what had been set upon the platters- what did SkyWings like? Placed carefully on the plates were what looked like hawks and mountain goat, some of the meat arranged into fancy rolls. Most of it seemed to be cooked.
Curious, Prickle leaned closer. He'd never eaten mountain goat before! He reached out a talon to pick up a roll of meat until he caught Cliffrose's icy glare. He quickly withdrew his talon. Cliffrose gave him a quick nod.
Prickle sighed. Every other dragonet he knew didn't have to do this stuff. They weren't stuck attending feasts and royal events. They didn't have a depressed, broken king for a father and a....a Cliffrose for a mother. He watched as Queen Realgar slowly, carefully selected several rolls of meat and a hawk. Rutile gave a disdainful sniff as she inspected it, and cleanly sliced off a small piece of mountain goat with her long, sharp claws.
As first Cliffrose, then Cardon selected their meals, Prickle flopped down in his seat and lay his wings splay out behind him once more. Who cared what the SkyWing queen thought of him? Although she was certainly an intimidating dragon, he knew she probably couldn't care less about some random SandWing prince.
When it was finally his turn, Prickle observed the food. Besides the specially-prepared SkyWing prey, there were also dried lizards and a roasted camel. He much preferred the food from the Scorpion Den- crickets and stewed crocodile and other strange yet delicious selections. But he merely swiped several dried lizards from the platter and passed it back to the servants.
Crunching the prey between his teeth, he let his gaze pass over the table once more. Cardon had slumped very low in his seat, his dark eyes sliding out of focus. Princess Rutile was shredding her meal apart swiftly and cleanly, while her mother slowly chewed.
Sizzle sighed, leaning back in her seat. She'd barely eaten anything, and her eyes were dark with boredom.
"So," Cliffrose called. "Queen Realgar. How is everything in the Sky Kingdom?"
The queen flicked her tail. "All is well," she declared shortly. "My treasury is well-managed and highly guarded." Here, she shot a look at Princess Rutile, who met her gaze challengingly. "However, there has been some activity over by the border between our kingdom and the Mud Kingdom."
"Has there, now?" growled Cliffrose. "If you need help ripping them apart, we'd be glad to."
Queen Realgar shook her head. "SkyWings fight out own battles," she muttered, her voice tinged with scorn.
Queen Cliffrose blinked, looking slightly affronted. "SandWings can, as well," she declared. "But it is always good to have allies."
"Yes," agreed Queen Realgar. "I suppose so. That is really the only reason I'm here."
Bored by the conversation, Prickle slumped onto the table. He slowly snapped the tail off a lizard.
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Fanfictions (Fanon)
Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete)