Chapter  Eight

~ SUNDEW ~

“Chokecherry?” Sundew whispered back. “You're safe! I thought that you were way deeper in the jungle! How are you alive?” Oh my goodness! Chokecherry is alive and well! Well, except for those bruises and scratches on her arms and legs. Poor Chokecherry. But the question was, how had she gotten those injuries? They didn’t look fresh, but they did however look dry, red, and extremely swollen.

Chokecherry emerged from the bushes. “I had a dream about Mother every night. She said you were coming, and that I had to keep fighting.”, she said. What? How had Chokecherry been fighting? And why? This seems very suspicious and interesting. She must have had some certain reason for her actions. “Wait a minute. You’ve been fighting? Where?”, Sundew asked anxiously. Chokecherry didn’t answer. She made no sign of hearing her sister whatsoever.

“These meanies acted like I was their slave.”, Chokecherry whispered, her voice quivering with sadness. Chokecherry looked down at her claws in shame. Why was Chokecherry so shameful? It hadn’t been her fault that those scoundrels took her away from her family and treated her like a slave. “Hey”, Sundew said, lifting her sister's chin up. “Don't be ashamed. But we should probably get out of here.”, she said, flicking one claw at the dragons shouting, “Hey! That’s our slave! You can't take her! She’s ours for good!”

The group of dragons ran through the woods. Cobra Lily of course, ran the fastest. “Ugh.”, Chokecherry muttered as they ran. Sundew didn’t know what it felt like to wanted or be enslaved. “Nice to be wanted, eh?” Sundew teased. Chokecherry rolled her eyes, laughing in content. “Yeah, sure. If that's how you put it.” Sundew was about to respond, when they heard a screech from behind. 

“PINKYYYYYYY!” Walnut shrieked. Sundew gasped. Walnut was being squished by the fierce dragon clutching her tight in his sharp clawed talons. Oh, no! How did Walnut get back there? Cobra Lily is alway cautious, and she has a good grip on things, Sundew thought in horror. 

“WALNUT!” Cobra Lily screamed in anger. She ran up, and snapped the neck of the dragon who had her child in his grasp, and ripped off the wings of another who tried to grab her. “Arrgh.” Sundew and Chokecherry said in unison. 

“Mmm… Pinky..”, Walnut whispered, cuddling into her mother's warm chest. Cobra Lily punched one more dragon, and then patted her dragonet on the head. Then, Cobra Lily started running with the dragonet clinging to her like a brown baby baboon. She sprinted as fast as an antelope getting away from a flying arrow. Well, instead of only brown, Walnut was fern-leaf green, hazelnut brown, and magnificent icy white-blue. She wasn’t any ordinary hybrid, let alone a dragon who you saw every day. 

“Oh, she is precious!”, Sundew gushed. Cobra Lily gave her a little smile, but didn’t answer. Sundew really understood her. She knew that her guide, and new friend, had to run hard with all her strength. If she has to make a big effort, especially with Walnut on her, then I will too, Sundew thought. She strained her muscles to take her as fast as they would. Then, she launched herself into the air, with the others a tail length behind her. “Hurry! Hurry!”, Sundew shrieked, gesturing to her friends. 

Suddenly, a flash of white zipped by them, and all the ‘meanies’ were dead. “WINTER!”, Tundra yelled from behind Sundew, engulfing her dragonet in her wings. Sundew thought she imagined it, but somehow, Winter’s eyes got even wider. Cobra Lily’s jaw dropped. 

Tundra?! SERIOUSLY? YOU SHOW UP ONLY TO KILL A COUPLE OF DRAGONS?” Secretly, Sundew kind of liked seeing Tundra’s bravery. I mean, she was better than Pokeweed, the new queen! Cobra Lily turned to Sundew angrily. “And you! You said she was USELESS! What happened to that, HUH?” Oh, goodness! Why is Cobra Lily being so impossible?! Is there some kind of connection between them two, Sundew thought, annoyed with her guide’s sudden change of personality. 

“Yeesh!”, she snapped back. “I thought she was useless, before she saved our lives! Chill out, Cobra Lily! Why do you always have to freak out like this? She proved me wrong, okay? Do you have a problem with that? Cause if you do-” Cobra Lily interrupted her sentence. “Hmm, let me think about it. Yes, in fact I DO, Princess Sundew!”, Cobra Lily said, with a shrill tone. Sundew scowled. In their friendship, Cobra Lily had found out some secrets along the way. Why did her guide have to be so impossible at times like this. 

“Okay, YES. I might be a princess, but you have absolutely no right to call me one!”, Sundew said, pointing a claw at Cobra Lily. “Oh, really? I am Sequoia’s head scout, remember?”, Cobra Lily answered, looking devious for the first time. 

Sundew realized that for the first time, Cobra Lily had forgotten something. Aunt Sequoia was gone for good, and Sundew had never gotten to say goodbye. “And now, she’s dead! I was her niece! You think it’s not hard for me to live through this?”, Sundew retorted back at her. At hearing this, Cobra Lily wilted a little. Out of the corner of her eye, Sundew saw Tundra smirking at them, and Winter looking puzzled. 

“It's… It’s complicated, Winter.” Winter looked at Sundew, then to her mother, then back to Sundew, and tapped the vine around her snout. Sundew breathed a heavy sigh, but reluctantly sliced the vine away.

Winter gasped for breath. “Thank you”, she said in a raspy voice. “It was starting to get too tight.” Sundew muttered, “Your welcome.” under her breath, and moved on. Sundew thought she saw Winter smile at her as she turned away. No, Sundew. These dragons are NOT your friends! Only Chokecherry is, she thought, stealing a glance at her sister, who was making small talk to Tundra. And, to Sundew’s surprise, they were getting along quite well. 

“AHEM.” Sundew stage whispered to her sister. “We have things to do, like real brave dragons, Chokecherry. Do you want to go home, or not?” She needed to leave right now with Chokecherry. Neither of the two were safe with these crazy dragons. Sundew thought Chokecherry hesitated, but she must have imagined it, because almost immediately, her sister said, “Of course I do… But, but what about, it’s just… Tundra and Winter…”, she said woefully.

“Will be totally fine without us. As you have probably guessed, they won’t be needing us any time soon. After all, they have a strong, brave, kind, Cobra Lily.”, Sundew filled in for her. 

For once, Chokecherry seemed a bit more fierce than normal. She must have a new personality because of those mean dragons who were enslaving her. Poor Chokecherry. 

Sundew glared at Cobra Lily. As she turned, she thought she might have heard Chokecherry murmur, “That’s not what I was going to say…” under her breath. 

“Don't say that about me. Or Chokecherry.”, Tundra trilled on. Sundew stiffened. She was so tired she just wanted to explode so that all her worries could just float away like a cloud in the sky. She had had just about enough of this journey, but at least she had Chokecherry back with her now. “Don't talk to the princess like that, Tundra.” Tundra glared at her. “Don’t talk to a queen that way, Sundew.” Sundew growled ferociously. 

“You're hardly a queen, Tundra. I bet you six chests of gold and jewels that a two year old dragonet would be a better ruler than you.” Sundew saw Winter flinch, and crouch into a ball, with her talons flying up to cover her ears before she heard too much. Sundew growled. She felt really sorry for Tundra’s daughter, but Tundra was simply not a good queen for Pyrrhia.

“I suggest we get moving.”, she said to Chokecherry, gritting her teeth as she spoke. Chokecherry nodded as her tears dripped down and onto the ground.









Chapter Nine

~ WALNUT ~

As they entered the Welcoming Garden of Sunlit Vows, Walnut noticed that some important things were already changing. 

Sundew’s face darkened. “Tomorrow.”, she whispered to Chokecherry. Chokecherry turned to look at her, confused. One of her eyebrows was arched up high. “Tomorrow,” she whispered again. 

“I will challenge Queen Pokeweed for the throne.” Chokecherry gasped in stunned horror. “You want to die?”, she asked, looking at her sister. Sundew hissed at her, looking towards the sky, eyes clouded. She was annoyed with Chokecherry already. “Sometimes, I hate to say this Chokecherry, but you worry too much! Don’t make me think you're a gnat. I’ll live. She’s the one who’ll meet the horrible ending.” 

Chokecherry took Sundew’s talons in her own. She was very worried by the look on her face. Walnut felt very sorry for her. She imagined what she would feel like if she were in Chokecherry’s talons. “Sundew, I only just got you back. I really don't want to risk losing you again. I don't want to live my life thinking you could have died even if you do win.” 

Walnut couldn’t make out these last few words, but she could try telling Pinky what she’d heard. But, oh goodness, Pinky would never, ever understand. “Pinky!” Walnut screeched. “Hooooome home home!” she yelled, tugging at Cobra Lily’s horns. 

“Ok, ok! we’ll go home.” Pinky gets it! Walnut thought, snuggling into Pinky’s chest. Maybe there IS hope for her understanding me. Once they were home, Walnut started stomping around, thinking of words on how to tell her mother. “Pinky!” she said, throwing her tiny talons in the air. “Snudew-doo-dew plee!” she said, marching around with leaves on her head as if she was a queen. “What…”, Cobra Lily asked, confused. Then, her talons flew to her mouth. “Walnut, you're so clever!” She grabbed her daughter, and flew out the door. 

Walnut saw Sundew walking to the Courtyard of Prisoners- it was the closest entrance to the palace throne room. “SUNDEW!” Cobra Lily screamed. “SUNDEW! No, Sundew! You can’t do this! Stop, now!” Sundew stiffened, and turned. 

Her eyes widened. “I… I thought that you… I thought that you were Chokecherry. Wait, how did you know?”, Sundew asked. Walnut offered a little squeak. “I knew that dragonet would be trouble.”, Sundew trilled. Cobra Lily patted Walnut on the head. “She’s quite clever.” Walnut held her head high. That’s right, Pinky. I am ‘quite clever’.  

Walnut was very pleased that Cobra Lily knew all of Sundew’s plans. Sundew growled. “Well, too bad. I am going to challenge Pokeweed, and I will win. You can’t stop me.”

Walnut didn’t get to see the challenge, because Pinky had thought that she was too little and would think it scary. Walnut however, had thought that Sundew would win, even without her cheering her on. 

I really wish that I could have seen that challenge. Then I would be prepared just in case I ever needed to challenge someone. I think I could learn a few moves and attacks, Walnut thought.

After the challenge (Sundew had won), Walnut was quite pleased with her. But she was very confused. Was Sundew technically her aunt? Was she basically a princess? Pinky and Sundew were very close. She shrugged off the thought. What was important was that everything was going back to normal. And life was perfect, just perfect the way it was.

Hedges that had been cut into statues of Pokeweed, were now statues of different ancient queens. Pokeweed was not one of them, considering she’d only been queen for 48 hours

But Queen Sundew was already loved by all the dragons in the kingdom. She was strong, didn’t give up, and was very good with dragonets, much to Walnut’s surprise. Sundew would play tricks, and wrestle with her. She was the best caretaker in the whole LeafWing village. 

“Oh, Sundew!”, Chokecherry cried, burying her face in her talons. Sundew ran over to her only younger sister, and hugged her tightly. 

“You shouldn’t have done that!”, a familiar voice spoke from behind. “Yes, you really shouldn’t have, but I am still very proud of you both.” The two sisters whipped around, only to meet face to face with a familiar looking Leafwing, that was glowing gold. Sundew’s jaw dropped. Chokecherry only blinked two times, her eyes shining with tears. Walnut waddled over, and smudged away a tear from Sundew’s sister’s cheeks. Cobra Lily laughed.

Suddenly, everything seemed to go frozen, everyone freezing in place. It was very odd to Walnut, as she had never witnessed a slow motion scene. All the dragons that were present had gone almost silent. Walnut blinked twice, then everyone regained their strength. 

“MOTHER?! Chokecherry, it’s mother!”, Sundew shrieked with awe and delight.


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