A Spy's Story

== THIS BELONGS TO LEMONDROP! DO NOT STEAL, EDIT, OR COPY! ==
Flare belongs to Lemondrop27. This story was adopted by Lemondrop27 because Peak decided she didn't want to finish it and gave her permission. Peak wrote the prologue, Lemon wrote everything else. I know I used like four canon names in here, but whatever.
Oof I need to commit to writing this consistently.
Just a heads up, I have a habit of writing about seven paragraphs and disappearing for three weeks, so there is a lot of unintentional suspense in this story.
This is about Flare and her life. She is fourteen during the events of this story.
Characters (Major):
Flare
Cyclone
Princess Blister
Characters (Minor):
Queen Scarlet
Princess Burn
== Prologue ==
The school gong sounded, and the entire class was uprooted in a millisecond. Flare watched as all of the other dragonets carelessly slung their satchels over their shoulders, scrolls and papers for homework assignments falling out. Instead of rushing out for the weekend, Flare neatly packed her bag and clipped her satchel closed. She slung it over her shoulder, and headed out of the classroom.
Dragonets poured from the other classrooms, running and yelling in the corridor. Flare methodically stepped around them, and jumped from the school entrance ledge. She flew into the sky, and over the ravine her school was perched on top of.
"Flare!" Somebody shouted. She turned her head slightly, and her best friend came flapping beside her.
"Oh. Hey Harpy." Flare said absentmindedly.
"Are you excited for the weekend?" Harpy asked excitedly. Flare shrugged.
"I guess." She replied.
"Oh, stop being such a killjoy." Harpy laughed, and nudged her. Flare tumbled a little. "Want to go over to my house to finish our project?"
"Sure." Flare said. "I need to be home by sundown, though."
"Okay." Harpy giggled. "Let's go!" She swooped ahead, and Flare followed her. They headed a little east, and soon the crowds started to thin out and only a few dragonets could be seen in the sky.
"What should we do first?" Flare asked.
"Since we're studying RainWing history, maybe we should start with the earliest recording of a queen to see if they were like other tribes thousands of years ago." Harpy said. Flare nodded along.
"Awwww, the little RainWing tribe?" Sneered a voice behind them. They stopped flying, turned around, and hovered. A blood-red SkyWing and two others hovered in front of them. Flare growled.
"Let's just leave." Harpy said, and turned and flew to her house, but Flare stayed.
"What do you want, Crag?" Flare snapped. Crag looked back at the two behind him.
"Are you upset?" Crag asked softly with a sneer. His eyes went all puppy-ish, and he poked Flare's nose. Fire crawled up her throat, and smoke started pouring from her snout. Crag laughed nervously, and elbowed one of his friends.
"What now? Can't defend yourself? Can't sneak home around us?" He cackled, and flew off. Harpy looked from the disappearing trio to Flare and back again.
"Come on." Harpy said. "We have to get started on our project." Her friend continued flying to her house, but Flare stayed and hovered.
I'll show you. She thought. I'll show you I'm strong if it's the last thing I do.
== Chapter One ==
Flare looked around the throne room of the Queen Scarlet's Palace with a lack of interest as she waited for her to arrive. The queen always tried to be late to try to make whoever she was meeting anxious. Scarlet's tricks didn't work on Flare. She knew all of the queen's little mind games, and was now impervious to them.
It was very late and the moons were out. Flare played with her necklace and looked at the ruby gemstones on it. She sighed.
What am I doing? She thought. I don't even like Burn and I don't want her to be queen. Why am I on her side of the war? 
Because Blaze is an airhead and Blister is a conniving snake. Flare reminded herself. It's not like we have great choices, and I doubt the Dragonets of Destiny are even real.
Flare's thoughts were cut off when Queen Scarlet entered the room.
"Your Majesty." Flare said as she bowed.
"Hello Flare," Scarlet said as she sat on her throne. She said Flare's name with distaste. "As you know I have a new assignment for you, but I wasn't the one who thought of it. In fact it was Queen Burn herself, so I'll have her explain."
Scarlet swept her wing dramatically towards the door and Queen Burn entered. Burn frankly looked unimpressed and bored, but Flare still looked at her with awe. She was huge. Flare knew that Burn was tall, but she had never seen Burn this close.
"Queen Burn, it is an honor to be in your presence." Flare said with enthusiasm as she bowed deeply.
"Alright SkyWing." Burn grumbled as she paced the room. She almost scratched Flare with her tail barb more than once without noticing. "This is your assignment. As far as anyone you will meet in the next few days is concerned, your name is Avalanche. You, as Avalanche, will pretend you have decided that you don't support me as queen anymore, so you are going to go to the SeaWings and try to join Blister's side."
"Also," Scarlet interrupted. "You will need to come up with your own story for the reason why you left Burn's army. We, as queens, don't have the time for that."
"Oh," Flare said. "Okay." Flare hid it well, but the fact that she had to make her own story really concerned her she was good at making things up on the spot, but she wasn't sure she was that good.
"Anyway," Burn muttered. "If you try to join the army, and Blister hears of it she will probably want to personally interrogate you to find out why. If this happens, do not wear more than one piece of jewelry. You want to show status, but if my sister sees you covered in jewels she'll think you're trying to show off. She will ask you to prove your loyalty to her, you will tell her that in four days time there will be an attack on Blister's troops on the southern coast of the Mud Kingdom from my army. I will send some expendable troops for that attack. You will stay within her army until you gain a substantial amount of useful information. I don't care how long it takes. Also, try not to die."
Flare nodded.
"You will head for the troops of SeaWings on the coast of the Mud Kingdom tomorrow." Scarlet said. "You may leave now."
Flare left the palace and went to her home. She lived alone in a small house on a mountain that was a few minutes from the palace. There were a few other SkyWings living in this area, but Flare never spoke to her neighbors.
Her home wasn't much, but it was all she needed. It was a little wooden house, so Flare tried not to breathe fire. It had simply a kitchen, and a room where Flare slept and kept her things. Flare went to her room and took off her necklace, which she put in a chest with the rest of her personal belongings.
Flare left the house to hunt. She quickly caught a mountain goat and brought it to her kitchen. She ate it briskly and went to her room. She laid on a pile of orange and red pillows and tried to come up with a convincing backstory for Avalanche. After coming up with no ideas, she fell asleep.
== Chapter Two ==
The next morning, Flare packed a satchel of things. In it, she put a map of Pyrrhia, a few old letters from her friend Harpy who was away fighting in the war, a couple of knives, and her ruby necklace which was a reward for a successful spy mission from a few years ago.
Flare put on her satchel and left her house, flying straight for the Mud Kingdom. She didn't have anyone to say goodbye to anyway. Flare hadn't spoken to her parents in two years and didn't want to, and Harpy's troop was stationed far away on the boundary of the SandWing and the SkyWing Kingdoms.
As Flare glided through the sky she thought to herself. Maybe my story could be that Scarlet got angry with me and exiled me. No, that wouldn't work. That's too cliche, and everyone knows if Scarlet was angry with me she'd just kill me. 
Maybe I could say that I disobeyed an order and fled from the Sky Kingdom before I got captured by Scarlet's troops. No, that wouldn't work either. It sounds too fake. Maybe I need to really become Avalanche before I can make up the story. Yeah that's it. Tonight when I stop in the Mud Kingdom I'll just practice being Avalanche, and I'll try to fool some MudWings. It won't be that hard. It's not like MudWings are known for their intelligence. I'll just have to leave out the fact that I left Burn's army.
Flare chuckled at the thought. She knew there would never be a day where she couldn't outsmart a MudWing. Flare had already made it over the Claws of the Clouds Mountains now. It was almost midday. Flare looked at her map. Soon she would arrive in MudWing territory.
Flare flew happily for a bit. Then she made the mistake of looking down. There was a deserted battlefield. It was littered with bodies of SkyWings, MudWings, SandWings, and IceWings. Flare thought about Harpy, her friend. She tried not to imagine Harpy dead on a battlefield like this. Flare was always afraid that Harpy would die.
Flare wondered which side had won this battle. She assumed it was the MudWings and the SkyWings, since there were more IceWing and SandWing bodies from Blaze's army. Flare looked at the bodies of her enemies, and thought about their families that would miss them.
She brushed away the thought and flew a bit faster, passing the battlefield and leaving it behind her. She did a few spirals in the sky when she got bored. Flare was now in Mud Kingdom. Then, Flare saw something flying up ahead. It was very far in the distance, but the sky was completely open, leaving whatever it was exposed. Flare realized the sky was also leaving her exposed.
What have I been thinking! She thought nervously. Just flying in the open sky during a war. Am I trying to get myself killed?
What she saw got closer. Still very far away, but she could see it better now. It was a group of dragons. Very shiny dragons.
IceWings! Flare thought. She flew toward the forest on the ground in a mad dive, and was concealed by the trees. She knew the IceWings had seen her, it was obvious. She was orange in a light blue sky. Flare hoped the IceWings wouldn't come after her.
She continued moving on foot through the forest, towards her destination. Flare didn't see anyone while in the forest, but she was still a little freaked out. The trees of the forest almost completely blocked out the sun, so it was very dark. Every time Flare heard a sound she jumped a little. She felt like she was being followed.
After a few more noises from behind her, Flare was fed up. She looked around, and she still couldn't see anyone.
"Alright," Flare said. She pulled a knife out of her satchel. "I know you're following me. Come out and face me, you coward."
Flare heard a sound from behind her, and breathed fire at where she heard it. She almost caused a forest fire, but thankfully she didn't burn a tree. There was still no one there.
Flare put the knife back in her satchel. "That's it," Flare said. "I'm going crazy. There's nothing here, and I'm talking to myself."
Flare turned around to see a MudWing. Flare screamed and jumped back.
"What is wrong with you?!" Flare shouted.
"Sorry," The MudWing said.
"I thought you were an IceWing or something." Flare said. She made a face. "Wait, why were you following me?"
"I wasn't following you." The MudWing said. "I heard you shouting and came to see what was going on."
"Oh," Flare looked at the dark forest with concern. "Well either I'm crazy or there's something out there. I'd watch your back MudWing. You should move out of this area."
Flare began to walk away.
"Wait." The MudWing said. "What are you doing here? Do you have a message or something?"
"No," Flare said. "I'm on a mission. I was sent by Queen Burn."
"What kind of mission?" The MudWing asked.
"That's not of your concern." Flare said.
"It's my concern if you're shouting at nothing near my home. Maybe you're lying about being sent by Burn. Maybe you're a crazy loner who hasn't been in the Sky Kingdom in years." The MudWing said.
"Alright what do you want?" Flare asked. "I have a ruby necklace. It's probably worth a lot. Will you leave me alone if I give you that?"
"I don't want anything." The MudWing said.
"Great, then I'll be on my way." Flare said.
"Wait, are you staying in the forest for the night?" The MudWing asked.
"Yes." Flare said. She was starting to get annoyed.
"Well it's sundown." The MudWing said. "You should stay with me and my sibs for the night. Come on."
"Ugh," Flare said. "Fine."
The MudWing started to walk and Flare joined him.
"My name is Swamp by the way." The MudWing said.
"Avalanche," Flare said. "My name's Avalanche."
== Chapter Three ==
After about a minute, Swamp and Flare arrived at Swamp's camp. There was a fire and a five MudWings. Three of the dragons were looking over war maps, and two of them were sparring.
One of the dragon's looking at the war maps looked over at Flare and Swamp. "Who's that?" The MudWing asked.
"This is Avalanche." Swamp said. "Avalanche, this is Tawny, Delta, Heron, Hickory, Stork, and Muskrat."
"Um, hi there." Flare said awkwardly.
"Avalanche is passing through the area. She's either a crazy loner or she's on an important mission for Queen Burn. Anyway, she's just going to stay here for the night." Swamp explained.
The others didn't seem to care. Flare didn't care either. She sat down a few feet away from the others and looked through her satchel. Swamp went to sit with his siblings. Flare heard one of them whisper, "I don't trust her."
Flare sighed and opened a letter from Harpy, that she'd received a few months ago. She read it.
Dear Flare,
It's been a while hasn't it? I miss you, I miss home. War is crazy isn't it? I've seen a lot of battle recently. Mostly with the SeaWings. I know as dragonets, school taught us about the war, but it's noting like you would ever imagine. There's so much fighting and violence and death. So many deaths. I've seen so many dragons die. War can really change a dragon Flare. You're lucky that you're always on your spy missions. It keeps you out of the bad battles. Again, I really miss you Flare. Be safe. Pyrrhia has turned into a war-zone.
Harpy
That was the last letter Flare had gotten from Harpy in a while. Flare knew she was still alive of course. Every time someone important to you dies, you get notified. Then, Flare realized that if Harpy died while she was gone, Flare would have no way to find out.
Flare put the letter away. She lied down and went to sleep.
In what felt like just moments later, Flare woke up. She tried to see in the pitch black. She could only see Swamp, none of his sibs. He was standing up and looking around in a panic. Then something grabbed him and dragged him off into the dark trees.
A dark shape that Flare couldn't make out stepped out of the shadows. Flare felt like it was somehow radiating evil. The shape lunged at her.
Flare then woke up for real.
It was only a dream. She thought.
Flare looked around. All the MudWings were still there, asleep. There was nothing trying to drag her into the darkness.
Flare tried to fall back asleep, but after a few minutes she knew she'd be awake all night. Flare looked at her letters from Harpy again.
I can't let these expose me as Flare when I'm undercover. Flare thought.
The MudWing's fire was still going. Flare walked over to it and tossed the letters into the flames. She watched sadly as the fire destroyed letters, and they disintegrated into ash.
Flare decided to get a head start on her way to the SeaWings and take off in the middle of the night. She assumed most dragons were asleep, so she decided to fly there. She launched out of the trees and soared through the air.
The sky was dark and foreboding, but the moons provided some light. Flare couldn't see perfectly, but she knew she would probably notice pale yellow SandWings and shiny IceWings, which were her main concern. She flew on through the dark, lonely sky until sunrise.
Flare watched pink, yellow, and orange rise over the dark blue horizon. The Sun was out. Not too far in the distance, Flare could see the ocean, and she could see the SeaWing troops on the coast. Flare decided to travel on foot again and flew to the ground.
She creeped under the trees, carefully avoiding other dragons. She traveled for a few miles until she was just yards away from the SeaWings. She was concealed by the trees for the moment.
Alright, Flare thought. How can I approach these SeaWings without getting myself killed? If they attack should I fight back and ruin my chance of peacefully joining them, or should I hope that they won't kill me. Hmmmm. Oh, whatever, maybe the friendly approach will work.
Flare walked casually through the SeaWings' encampment. No one seemed to notice her yet. They were all busy talking to one another. Flare cleared her throat.
"Hello there." She said loudly enough for most of the other dragons to hear her.
All the SeaWings turned to her. "SkyWing!" One of them yelled ferociously. Several SeaWings pointed their spears at her.
"Hey, no need to jab pointy things at me." Flare said calmly. "I'm not here for a fight."
"Are you a spy then?" One of the SeaWings asked.
"What kind of spy walks into the middle of a camp?" Flare asked. "That would be flat-out stupid."
"What are you doing here then?" A SeaWing asked.
"I'm here because I've decided to stop supporting Burn. She's cruel and loves war. She wouldn't make a good queen. She's a cold-blooded killer, and Scarlet is no better." Flare said.
"You're just realizing this now? I don't buy it." Asked a one-eyed SeaWing standing directly in front of her.
"I've always wanted to leave the Sky Kingdom, but I was afraid before, I wasn't sure where I would go or what I would do after I left. But I've been studying all the battles I've heard about and seen. Blister is winning the war right now. She's smart and seems like she would make the best queen. No, she would make the best queen. And I want to join her side." Flare explained.
The SeaWing in front of her stared at her for a moment. "Give me your bag." He snarled. Flare took off her satchel and handed to him.
He started looking through it. He didn't pay much attention to the necklace, he checked over the map to see if any locations were marked. He pulled out a dagger, and held it out.
"If you're not here for a fight, then why did you bring this?" He barked.
"I had to travel miles through a war-zone to get here. It would be stupid not to bring a weapon." Flare said.
The SeaWing put the dagger back, put the satchel on the ground and walked over to a group of SandWings that were clearly on Blister's side. One of the SandWings flew off.
I wonder if they're sending that SandWing ahead to warn Blister. Flare thought.
The whispered to them for a moment, then turned back to Flare.
"Queen Blister won't trust you until she meets you. Frankly, I don't trust you. If you want to prove that you're on her side, then come with us so she can speak with you." The SeaWing said.
"Then I guess I'm going to meet the queen." Flare said.
The SeaWings lowered their spears, Flare picked up her satchel. The SeaWing lifted himself into the sky along with two of the SandWings. Flare flew upwards as well.
The SandWings flew to the east past the coast and over the wide, expansive ocean. Flare and the SeaWing followed them.
"What's your name anyway?" The SeaWing asked, looking over at Flare.
"Oh, I'm Avalanche." She said. "What about you?"
"I'm Cyclone." He said.
"Cyclone." Flare tried the name out. "I've never heard that one before."
"Well it's not like it's a common SkyWing name." Cyclone replied sarcastically.
"How long will it take to get to Queen Blister?" Flare asked curiously.
"I'm not sure." Cyclone admitted. "She only tells the SandWings where she is. It could be a few hours, a few days.... You could ask the SandWings."
Flare looked up ahead at the two SandWings. She saw the grouchy expressions on their faces and decided that they would probably be happier talking among themselves.
"It doesn't really matter how long it will take anyway." Flare said.
Flare tried not to stare at the over where Cyclone's left eye should be, and wondered how he had lost it. She noticed that he flew on Flare's right, so his good eye was facing the ocean, not Flare. He only looked at her when they spoke to one another.
Is he trying to show that he isn't afraid of me or what I might do by not facing me, or is he just trying to show off his battle scars to intimidate me? Flare thought. Or is he simply flying like a normal dragon, and I'm over-analyzing his actions?
No, Flare thought. It's smart to analyze. Never underestimate anyone. Never forget your training. Never get blinded by your own thoughts.
After a while night fell like black ink spilling over the blue sky, and engulfing everything good and pure in darkness. Flare, Cyclone and the SandWings were flying awfully close to the ocean. As they flew, Flare stared into the water and wondered what could be lurking in the dark, vast, ocean. She shuddered and looked back up, flying a bit higher in the sky, and a bit further from the water.
A few hours later they arrived at a small island in the Bay of A Thousand Scales. It was early, almost dawn, and Flare could see the sun peeking over the horizon.
They landed on the island's beach. There was thick vegetation covering the entire island.
A perfect place to hide.
 "Alright," Cyclone said. "We're going to see the queen. Don't try to lie to her."
Ha, Flare thought. He doesn't think I'm capable of lying to clever dragons. He's very wrong.
 She, Cyclone, and the SandWings stepped through the plants and trees until they reached a cleared out area.
There were a few SandWings, maps, weapons, and tents. Standing in the center of the small camp was a tall SandWing with black diamond patterns on her scales, and dark obsidian eyes, eyeing Flare suspiciously.
Blister.
 "I hear your name is Avalanche." Blister said, regarding Flare. "Now why would a SkyWing like you want to join my army?"
== Chapter Four ==
Flare stared at Blister for a tense moment. "I want to join your army because Burn is awful. She kills for no reason, and she loves war. It is not practical to support her. I know that you are smart and cautious, and it's likely that you will win the war." Flare said calmly.
Blister slithered a few steps closer. "That's it?" Blister said. "No tragic backstory? No epic tales? How can I trust you?"
Flare wasn't sure what to say. She hadn't exactly thought this question through.
"I don't know." Flare finally choked out. "How can you trust me? How can you trust anyone during a war? If you were in my position, would you be able to come up with a reason?"
Blister stared into Flare's eyes for a moment, she seemed to be deciding whether to kill her or not.
"Alright," Blister said cooly. "There's one thing I need to know. Do you have any SkyWing secrets? Any planned attacks on my army?"
"There is one actually." Flare said. "In two days time the MudWings are going to attack your troops on the coast and try to reclaim it for themselves."
Blister looked intently at Flare, her eyes seeing right through her. "Very well," Blister said. "I guess I'll allow you to live and join my army. I'll have you stationed on one of the islands in the Bay of A Thousand Scales with this dragon and a few other SeaWings." She gestured to Cyclone.
"But your majesty," Cyclone said. "I'm part of the troops on the coast."
"Not anymore," Blister said. "You will be on the island where your little 'Claws of Magic' ceremony takes place. You will go there immediately. Goodbye."
Blister gestured for them to leave and they took off into the trees and flew into the wind. Flare followed Cyclone, since she had no idea what island they were going to.
I can't believe that worked. Flare thought.
Cyclone looked like he was in the mood to stab someone so Flare stayed silent until they got to the island.
When they landed, Flare looked around. It was just a normal island, besides the fact that there were ruins of an old palace there. Flare was pretty sure she'd read about this place somewhere.
Claws of Magic? Flare thought. She gasped when she remembered what this place was. This is where SeaWing dragonets are tested to see if they have the animus gene. These are the ruins of Queen Lagoon's Island Palace.
Flare really wanted to look around, but it didn't seem like the time.
"Well," Cyclone said. "I'm going into the camp to sleep. You stay out here."
"What?" Flare asked. "Why?"
"Because it's better to tell the others before you show up. And I don't know about Blister, but I'm not sure I trust you enough to bring a SkyWing into the camp."
"Fine." Flare said in a clipped voice. Cyclone disappeared into the trees.
Well at least now I can look around.
Fare glided over to the beach and to the palace's ruins. She walked around, noticing small jewels on the ground, and portraits that looked very, very old. She wondered for a moment why they'd abandoned this palace. Then she remembered that this is where the Royal SeaWing Massacre took place. An animus named Albatross went crazy and started killing everyone at a party including Queen Lagoon, until he was killed by a hero named Indigo.
What ever happened to Indigo anyway? Flare thought. She never remembered reading anything about the hero's life afterward. Maybe Flare just never got around to those stories. There were two SkyWings at that party. Flare remembered. But only one SkyWing casualty. Princess Sunset I think.
Thinking about the SeaWing Massacre made Flare feel even more unsettled. She wondered for just a moment if ghosts were real. She wondered if the dragons murdered by Albatross were there as spirits at that exact moment. Flare got a chill down her spine.
No, that's crazy. She chided herself. Stop freaking yourself out.
Flare went back down to the beach, and lied down to go to sleep.
But she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched.
== Chapter Five ==
When Flare opened her eyes, the sun was coming up. She didn't get a lot of sleep that night, but she'd learned to sleep light and wake up fast.
Flare listened closely and heard loud snores coming from the SeaWing camp.
Some soldiers. She thought. SkyWing soldiers are trained to automatically wake up at dawn.
It was beautiful by the sea. Flare had seen the foggy ocean with off the coast of the Sky Kingdom and some lakes on the way to the SeaWings, but she'd never seen anything like this. The sea went on forever and reflected the beautiful oranges, yellows, and pinks of the sunrise. In the newfound light, the whole island seemed to glow with color.
Flare noticed a few pale pink fish swimming near the shore. She was sure she could catch one. She quietly approached the water, the fish seemed to notice her, and began to scatter. But fast as lightning, Flare speared a fish with one of her claws.
She cooked the fish with her fire and ate it. Flare could see everything with more detail now. She thought she saw something in the sky. She squinted and realized it was a brown dragon.
A MudWing in SeaWing territory.
The MudWing landed on another island not to far away and landed. He looked male. For a moment nothing happened. Flare wondered if the other dragon was jut tired of flying, but then a SeaWing came out of the ocean and onto the island with the MudWing. They started talking, and it looked like the SeaWing handed something to the MudWing.
I think I've found a traitor.
Flare hurried back into the others' camp and found that they were waking up. They all stared at her.
"I told you to stay on the beach." Cyclone said.
"I know, but I just saw an IceWing land on another island and take something from a SeaWing. I think the SeaWing's a traitor." Flare explained.
Cyclone rushed passed Flare and onto the beach. The SeaWing was diving back into the water, and the MudWing was starting to fly away.
"Avalanche, you're a SkyWing, you can fly fast right?" Cyclone asked.
Flare nodded.
"Follow that MudWing. Knock him down and kill him." Cyclone said. He jumped into the water and followed the other SeaWing.
This is my chance to prove my loyalty.
Flare shot off the ground and swooped after the MudWing at top speed. The MudWing looked kind of small so Fare was confident she could fight him and win.
Flare came up behind the brown dragon and tackled him. He was startled and started falling down towards another tiny island. Flare flew up and slammed back down on top of him, making the MudWing fall faster. They crash-landed on the island and Flare landed on top of the dragon.
"I'm sorry. I don't want to do this." Flare said. She killed the MudWing. Flare put the body right in the center of the barren island, as a warning to other dragons. She flew back to soldiers camp.
Cyclone was there with the limp SeaWing.
"Is he-" Flare started.
"Dead? No, He's just knocked out." Cyclone said. "We figured Queen Coral would want to deal with a traitor herself."
That sounded a bit ominous. 
"So," Flare started. "Now that we're on the island what do we do?"
"Well," Another SeaWing stepped forward. "What you saw right there with those dragons, that's about it. There's not really much to do here, but train and stop enemies if we see any. But that's the most action we've seen in weeks." She said.
"Oh," Flare said. "Well when do we start?"
The SeaWings stared at her blankly.
"With the training." Flare finished.
The SeaWings started laughing hysterically which confused Flare. One of them regained his composure.
"Well we can start right now," He said. "But I don't think you'll like it." He started laughing again.
What have I gotten myself into?
"I'll adapt." Flare said.
"We start by swimming two miles." The SeaWing said.
Wonderful. Flare thought bitterly.
"Then we practice underwater camouflage." He continued.
"Then we spar." He said. "You know, now that I think of it, how is this even going to work? Almost all of our battle strategies have to do with taking the enemy by surprise through the water. What are we going to do with a SkyWing?"
He's right. Flare thought. Maybe this was a bad idea, maybe I should take off and fly back home. They'd never be able to catch me. But then I'd fail my mission.... and Scarlet would kill me. 
"Maybe we can use that to our advantage." Flare said.
"What do you mean?" The SeaWing asked.
"Well," Flare said. "Like you said, I'm a SkyWing. And naturally, other dragons will assume I'm on Burn's side. I can trick the enemy. Like if I show up to a battle first, against IceWings and SandWings, they'll expect an attack from the sky, and you guys can take them off guard by sneaking up through the ocean. And if we come across SkyWings and MudWings, I can pretend I'm on their side, give them false information about an attack, and trick them too."
"Hmmmm...." The SeaWing looked like he was thinking. "That could work. But what about training?"
"I'm going to be honest and say that I am a horrible swimmer." Flare admitted. "So, I probably won't be able to swim for two miles, but I'll try, I definitely can't do underwater camouflage because I can't breathe underwater, but I can spar for sure."
"Alright. Try not to drown." The SeaWing said. "Everyone! Line up for swimming!" The he barked.
"Yes Commander Current!" Everybody shouted in response.
Current. Right. I should start learning names.
The SeaWings lined up on the shore, and Flare awkwardly stood on the end.
"Go!" Current shouted.
Everybody on the island dove into the water, so Flare did as well.
For a moment, she thought she was drowning, but she realized she just had to swim up to get to the surface. Flare righted herself, and swam upwards. She started moving forward, it was very awkward and unusual at first, but then Flare got used to it for the most part.
She was very, very far behind the SeaWings, and she was pretty sure she looked like a dying pelican, but Flare found a rhythm and stuck with it.
After two or three minutes, Flare came to the conclusion that she could barely swim one mile, let alone two. She stopped swimming and headed to the nearest island, which was conveniently right next to her. She got to the island and flopped on the sand. It was huge, and full of plants and birds, but like almost every other island, there were no dragons.
Flare had always found it a bit strange that no SeaWings used the islands for homes. She thought that they were pretty nice places to live. Plus, with nobody on any of the islands, there could be enemies hiding there.
There could be troops on the islands. Flare thought. Then, she had a realization. Troops on the islands. She flew back to the island where her troops were staying. No one was there. The SeaWings still had to do camouflage, which might take a while.
Flare grabbed her map of the islands from her satchel on the beach and flew into the sky. She flew quickly and as stealthily as a huge red dragon could around as many islands as she could find. Every island she saw a group of SeaWings at, she made a scratch on her map over the island. After a few minutes, Flare hurried back to her group's base. It was still empty.
Now I have some information. She thought.
== Chapter Six ==
After waiting on the island for a little while, Flare finally saw a SeaWing coming towards her. Slowly, she saw more and more dragons rise up from the shadowy depths of the sea and return to land.
"Well," Commander Current said. "I guess it's time to spar."
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