A Light in the Darkness

PROLOGUE
Queen Ivory sat at the entrance to her room in the palace. Behind her, two eggs sat peacefully in the nest. Her dragonets, as it happened. This was a bad idea. Dragonets were a bad idea. How can I be a good queen and a good mother? I'm the worst ruler ever. But at the same time, a motherly love pulled at her, and it was all that was keeping her in this cave and telling her that they would hatch tonight.
She just knew it, she didn't know how to explain it but she knew that her dragonets (daughters, her instinct was telling her,) would come into the world tonight. Now. This was when she was supposed to rush over to the nest, excitedly watching her daughters hatch. 
But she wasn't. Instead, she was sitting at the entrance to the room, waiting for the messenger that was coming.
She hadn't been told the messenger was coming. No, things were never that simple. She could sense things, like conversations that were happening miles away in the village. She knew that one of her daughters was tapping at her shell right now, eager to get out. She knew her name already, too: Flare. She knew that the other was in her shell, waiting for the right moment. That daughter was different. Very different.
So that was how she knew the messenger was coming. She knew the terrible news he brought, so she was prepared for it. Not by mind reading, or a vision, or any other power she might have inherited from one of the fabled seven tribes that used to roam Phyrria. Those powers sometimes popped up throughout history. But the royal family always had different powers, and Queen Ivory was a victim of those.
Whoosh. The flapping of wings at the entrance of the room. The startled face of the messenger, seeing that she was standing at the front of the door, waiting for him instead of watching her dragonets hatch. "Y-your Majesty... I bring terrible news," he stammered. "Yes," Queen Ivory murmured.
"Dawn is dead."
Ivory lowered her head in grief. Dawn was her husband, and the father of their daughters. She had known this was coming, but nothing could have prepared her for the actual words.
But Ivory sensed her firstborn breaking through her shell, so she excused herself and walked into the room. A white head poked through the shell and she blinked open her blazing yellow eyes. Flare gripped the sides of her shell and tried with a tiny grunt to pull herself out. After a few more tries and a lot of squirming, she pulled herself out of the shell and onto the soft nest. She lay there for a moment, resting.
"Hello, little Flare." Queen Ivory said, crouching down to look at her daughter. The wave of warmth and love that passed over her was surprising, and she stepped back Her other daughter had decided that now was the time to hatch.
A crack formed in the smooth white surface of the shell. This dragonet seemed to struggle less than her sister. A small head poked out of the shell, but there was something off about her.
SunWings were usually pale yellow or white. On rare occasions, they could be silvery white or even bright yellow. But they were never, ever, black unless they were melanistic. (Melanististic basically means the opposite of albino. Like, an animal could be born albino and be all white, or they could be born melanistic and be all black. That is why Ebony is dark colored, just so you know.)
She sighed when she saw her suspicions come true. Her second daughter (Ebony, as she named her,) was melanistic. 
Ebony scrambled out of her shell and onto the nest with her sister, spreading her black wings. Queen Ivory's suspicions of the small dragonet were forgotten as she gazed at her two small daughters. There's nothing to be afraid of, she thought. She's just a small dragonet. 
But a splitting headache came suddenly, and she collapsed on the ground. She had apparently inherited the skill of seeing the future, and a vision overcame her, forcing sentences out of her mouth in words that were not her own:
"Beware the shadow behind the terror, beware the blood that controls." she sputtered. The head pains went away, and she stood up. What could it mean? She wondered. She slowly turned her head over to the nest, where the sisters were laying in the soft materials. One light, one dark.
Light. Dark. Shadow.
Queen Ivory inhaled sharply. Could Ebony be the shadow in the prophecy?
Lost in her own thoughts, Ivory stumbled into the doorway, perhaps trying to get a breath of fresh air, and she saw the messenger still standing there. Oh no, he must have heard my prophecy- She interrupted herself. "Wait, don't pan-"
But he was already shaking his head, terror in his eyes. He fluttered his wings in panic and lifted off, flying down the hallway. He's going to tell everybody about Ebony... She thought in despair. This surely would cause kingdom-wide panic.
Maybe it's for the best, she wondered. Maybe she will cause terror, and the kingdom deserves to know about it.
Ivory sat down beside her new dragonets, closing the door so no one else would come in. 
What did I just release into this world?
CHAPTER ONE
/ Ebony POV /
         Ebony had always been different. Not because she was the queen's daughter. Her sister, Flare, was too, but she wasn't met with screams and dragons running to shelter in the marketplace. She didn't have to take private lessons from a tutor who seemed terrified of her, because after one day at school the teacher had politely stated, "She is too much of a distraction to other students."
And it was simply because Ebony was melanistic.
Everyone else was yellow, or white, but Ebony was different. Even her sister was an off-white color. Her mother was pure white. But she was black. Like a starless night sky. 
Oh, and that wasn't all. She was also supposedly part of a prophecy as well. She was supposed to be a shadow, and cause terror, and all that mythical nonsense. The whole thing was: "Beware the shadow behind the terror, beware the blood that controls." She wasn't too excited to make any sort of terror. Or control anyone, for that matter. 
Some dragons avoided her entirely. Others gave her odd, accusing looks. Some upright just screamed and fled.
And that was why Ebony was sitting in her room right now, studying. Alone.
And why she was the first one to hear the scream. 
Ebony jumped to her feet, startled. The scream sounded again, echoing off the walls of the palace. This time it was cut short, like the dragon suddenly decided to stop.
Or the dragon screaming was dead.
Ebony bounded out of her room into the hallway, then bolted off in the direction of the scream. What am I doing? she thought. You don't run in the direction of the murderer! But her talons seemed to have a mind of their own as she raced down the hall.
When she finally entered the room, she gazed down at the dragon's body. His throat was sliced open, and blood pooled around him. His mouth was open in a silent scream, and his body was still warm, as Ebony felt his talons. 
I have to tell someone. Ebony was sure of it. The dragon to tell was probably her mother, but Ebony was already bounding toward the dragonet school where Flare was sure to be.
***
"Important message from the palace." Ebony said, ignoring the dragonets that were hiding under their desks and hissing insults at her. The teacher sighed. "Yes, what is it?" she asked, clearly annoyed. 
"I can't tell you. I need Flare." she gave the teacher a matching disapproving look.
The teacher snorted and gestured to Flare to come up. All eyes were on the SunWing princess as she strode up to Ebony. "Yes, what is it?" she said regally. Ebony gave her an odd look and walked out of the classroom. "Come on, Flare." she whispered.
Flare gracefully walked out of the room. She always knew how to walk and act like a princess in public. Ebony didn't bother; everyone hated her no matter how she acted. Flare said that was why dragons forgot about Ebony's royal heritage, and that she needed to act like a princess to be treated like one. 
But Flare wasn't always like that. Even as she walked out of the door, she slumped out of her regal pose and grinned at Ebony. "So, seriously, what is it?" she asked.
Ebony felt the small smile fade away from her snout as she recalled what she was here for. Flare looked at Ebony worriedly as she noticed that serious look. "Hey, what's wrong?" she said, a little quieter, as they walked down the hallway.
"Someone died in the palace," Ebony murmured to her sister.
***
"WHAT?" Flare screamed, seeing the body. "You said somebody died! You didn't say someone was brutally murdered!"
Ebony stopped, startled. "Hey, who said he was murdered? And no need to yell." She reasoned.
"What do you mean?" Flare demanded, pointing at the body. "He was totally killed! Look at him, its not like he ripped his own throat out!" Ebony rolled her eyes. Her sister could be dramatic sometimes. But she had a point.
"Yeah, I guess so. But... shouldn't the main topic here be who killed him and why?" Ebony pointed out. 
"Yeah! And also telling Mother! Why did you come to me first, anyway?" Flare said. "She should probably know that one of her subjects was killed."
Ebony sighed. Queen Ivory, their mother, was a noble and just queen, but she was not so kind to Ebony. She probably wishes I wasn't even born, Ebony thought grumpily. But she likes Flare just fine.
"I-I just wanted to tell you first." Ebony stammered. 
"I'm so flattered." Flare said, giving Ebony a stern look that mimicked one of their mother's. "Seriously, we have to go tell her. Come on!" Flare grabbed Ebony's tail and began to drag her out the door.
"Ow! Stop it!" Ebony huffed, and Flare giggled. "We should be more serious right now! A dragon just died, for the moons' sake!"
"Aw, come on, you big grump." Flare wheedled. "Let's go! Goodness, you can be so negative."
Ebony sighed and flapped down the hall after her sister. 
They were nearing Mother's room when Flare finally spoke. "You know, Mother's not going to be happy that you told me first." she commented.
"She's never happy with me and you know it," Ebony said. Flare sighed and looked at her sister. She said nothing and flapped her large white wings toward the queen's quarters.
They arrived at Queen Ivory's room shortly and Flare bounded forward to knock. Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap- Ebony grabbed her sister's arm before she could knock anymore. With a sigh, she gave her sister a stern glare, but her sister only responded by giggling again.
"Who is it?" the queen's tired-sounding voice sounded through the door. 
"It's Flare." Flare said, and hesitated before adding, "And Ebony."
There was a crash and the sound of footsteps as the queen came to the door. "Yes, yes, you two." she said as she opened the door. "Come on in." Queen Ivory shot Ebony a glare before walking into her room. What was that about? Ebony wondered as she gave her sister an odd look.
Mother sat on her chair as they walked in. "You don't need to knock so much, you know," she said wryly, giving Ebony another glare. Oh, that's what that was about... Ebony thought as Flare giggled some more and told Queen Ivory the truth.
"Oh," their mother huffed, neither apologizing nor laughing with Flare. "Well, what is it, then?" Queen Ivory asked.
Flare uneasily glanced at Ebony, silently willing her to say it. Oh, what help you are, Ebony thought. She sighed, and began.
"Well... it started when I heard a scream." Ebony explained the whole story to her mother. When they got to the part of going to the school, Ivory stood up in shock.
"You WHAT?" she yelled. 
"I said, I went to the school to tell Flare about the murder." Ebony said. Flare mumbled something like, "Oh, now you think he was murdered."
"You should have told me first! I need to know when one of my subjects dies!" Ivory shouted, lashing her tail. 
"I"m sorry, I just-" Ebony began, but was interrupted by her mother. "No! You killed him, didn't you? You liar!" 
Ebony stepped back in shock. "What? No I didn't I wouldn't ever do anything like that!" she said, stepping back from her livid mother. "Yeah! She definitley wouldn't. Mother, believe her!" Flare said, voice rising to panic.
"Of course you did! A dragon just turns up dead, you're the only one who knew, and the first dragon you tell is your sister! What other explanation is there! Guards!" she called.
"Wait! No! I didn't do it!" Ebony pleaded, but it was no use. Three white dragons in gleaming armor jumped in the room, spears at the ready. "Take this dragon to my dungeons. Tomorrow we will hold a trial for her. For potential murder." Queen Ivory hissed, narrowing her eyes.
"Yes, your Majesty." one of the guards said, and he leaped on Ebony. 
"No! Stop!" Flare screamed, but there was no going back. The guards were upon her.
Category:Fanfictions
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