Ruby Reigning is a fanfic by Rainstorm (with help from Josh). It is about when Ruby first became queen. BIG WIP
Prologue[]
The ruby egg slowly cracked open. A tiny, dark red dragonet peeked out.
“Ruby,” Scarlet whispered. “I’m going to call you Ruby.”
Her NightWing friend came up behind her. “She’s your oldest dragonet?”
Scarlet nodded, cradling the dragonet in her arms. “Well, now that Aya is dead, she is the oldest.”
“Aya was foolish,” the NightWing growled. “Absolutely no sense. Challenging you.”
“Her name is Ruby,” Scarlet whispered.
“You know what this means, don’t you?” the NightWing muttered.
“What?” Scarlet gazed at her dragonet fondly.
“She will be the one to challenge you!” the NightWing snapped impatiently.
Scarlet’s demeanor changed. She put Ruby into her cradle and backed away. “Will I have to kill her in a challenge?”
“Yes, just like you killed the others!” the NightWing snarled.
Scarlet folded her wings and fled the room. The NightWing looked disgustedly down at the adorable dragonet, and then followed the distressed queen.
Ruby got up in her cradle and looked around. Her orange eyes swept the room. She didn't see anyone else.
When the dragonet whispered, the room seemed to darken. “Mommy?”
Part 1: Coronation[]
Chapter 1[]
Ruby often sat in the shadows and watched the arena fights. Even though Ruby was deathly afraid of Peril, she thought that Peril was nice. The fire-born SkyWing really was trying not to be evil.
Today, Ruby was once again sitting at the very back of the stands, her long tail curled around her talons. Ruby was only eleven, but she knew a lot about being queen.
Her mother had always been awful to her. And Ruby knew why. She was supposed to challenge her mother for the throne. Instead, so Ruby was busy at all times, Scarlet had made her general. Ruby loved combat, she really did. In fact, her trainer had actually stated that she was a better soldier than her mother.
Scarlet had put the trainer in the arena against Peril for saying that.
But Ruby didn’t want to challenge her mother. Even though she hated how her mother was, she didn’t want to kill her. Vermilion was Ruby’s best friend. When he wasn’t announcing the arena fights, they’d fly around the mountains looking for scavengers.
Ruby watched as Clay, a dragonet of destiny, threw sand into Peril’s eyes in the arena.
Ouch, Ruby thought. That’s got to hurt.
Suddenly, Queen Scarlet’s RainWing, Glory, reared up and shot a jet of black liquid at the queen.
Scarlet screamed and collapsed.
Three moons! Ruby flew up into the air and swooped down into the palace. She ran into her room and snatched a scroll. Then she jumped onto her bed and started reading the scroll. Let’s hope the guards and Mother think I was here the whole time. If Mother's all right.
Ruby’s youngest sister, Sparrow, came into the room. Sparrow was about four.
“Ruby, what’s going on?” the little orange SkyWing said worriedly.
“A RainWing shot venom at Mother!” Ruby told her sister. She pulled Sparrow close and started telling the whole story.
After maybe ten minutes, there was a crash from outside.
Then Crimson, Ruby’s seven-year-old sister, flew into the room through the window.
“Ruby! It’s Mother! She’s gone!”
Ruby was shocked. "Gone? What do you mean, gone?"
"She's disappeared! Vanished! Vaporized!"
"All right, we get it," Sparrow grumbled. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "But, Ruby! This means you're queen!"
"Me? Queen?" Ruby's head spun. I've never wanted to be queen.
Crimson and Sparrow chattered for what seemed like hours, while Ruby stared at the ceiling. Queen? She couldn't be queen.
After a long, long time, a group of guards marched into the room, with Vermilion standing regally at the front. "Ruby, I now pronounce you the new Queen of the SkyWings. Your crown will be given to you at your coronation tonight."
"Tonight?" Ruby's stomach plummeted.
"Sparrow, Crimson, get her ready." The two dragonets giggled. As Vermilion and the guards left the room, the two younger SkyWings squealed excitedly.
"You'd be a much better queen than Mother!" Sparrow cried, dancing in a circle.
Crimson folded her wings regally and stared down at Sparrow with mock authority. "I command you to bow down to me, puny subjects!"
They both collapsed into giggles.
Ruby managed a smile. Her stomach churned. Becoming queen so quickly was a bit shocking. But under all that shock, she was excited. She could give her sisters the things her mother had never let them have. She could do what she thought was best for the kingdom. She'd stop this awful arena nonsense that had gotten so many dragons killed.
Suddenly, Ruby realized something. She was attending a coronation. She was going to be in front of beautiful dragonesses and noble warriors.
"So... about dressing me up...."
___________________________________________________________________________________
After a few hours, Ruby was radiant.
Her sisters had polished her scales until they were glittering like fiery stars. Rubies were embedded into the scales above her eyes. This had hurt quite a bit, but Ruby decided to keep them in for a while. Beautiful golden bracelets and cuffs were all along her arms, and a sparkling ruby necklace was hanging around her neck. To add on to the jewelry, Crimson had pierced her right ear with a garnet earring.
"You look perfect," Crimson smiled.
"Thanks," Ruby answered, but she didn't feel perfect. The necklace was very heavy. It took all of her strength to keep her head up. Plus, the armbands and bracelets were itchy and prickly. The only parts of her getup that she liked was the earring.
"Time to go!" Sparrow squealed.
"Fold your wings and keep your head high," Crimson advised.
"Oh, and don't talk or chew too loudly."
"Keep steady, and try not to breathe smoke."
"Guys!" Ruby interrupted. "I'm fine."
Ruby strode out of the room and towards the throne hall. Walking carefully down the carpet set on the ground, avoiding the eyes on her, Ruby made her way to the golden throne. Piles of gold were set around it, and at the top of the central pile was a golden ruby crown.
Vermilion stood by the throne. He lifted the crown up carefully in his talons and placed it on Ruby's head. "I now crown you, Queen Ruby of the SkyWings!"
The SkyWings cheered. Ruby tried to hide her surprise. She had always thought that they saw her as that general who hated her job. She had always been the unpopular princess because she was the oldest. But now, she was queen.
Ruby sat on the throne. "Alright, first things first. Let's stop this stupid arena nonsense. That will only be for trials and sometimes entertainment. We're always seen as grumpy. We want to be seen as strong and united."
"Exactly," Vermilion muttered. "Now can I stop this idiot announcer business?"
"There will be a banquet in two hours in the Grand Hall. I'll be making some changes then."
Ruby got up from her throne, sweeping up her wings as elegantly as she could, and she left the room.
Chapter 2[]
Ruby sat in her room, writing down all the things she was going to change.
So far, she had only three things on the list.
The first was to stop gladiator fights. The second was to break their alliance with Burn, and the third was to get on better terms with Queen Moorhen. Scarlet and Burn had held on to their peace treaty with the MudWings with threats. Ruby wanted to make their alliance a bit more honest.
Crimson and Sparrow were sprawled on her bed, reading scrolls about SkyWing history assigned from their tutor.
A messenger entered the room. "Your Majesty?" he called.
"Yes?" Ruby turned to see him coming in followed by Peril.
"Peril is here to see you."
Peril's horns were ringed by smoke, while her underscales glowed through her copper over-scales like lava. Her eyes were glittering like fiery sapphires, and she was glowering at Ruby so fiercely that the new queen felt like hiding under a rock until the fire-born SkyWing left.
But Ruby kept her neck straight and her wings folded. "What is it, Peril?" she inquired carefully.
"The arena." Peril's eyes narrowed to slits. "There are no more fights, so what am I for?"
Ruby swallowed, deep in thought. "Please excuse us," she said to the messenger. "And take Crimson and Sparrow to their bedrooms."
The messenger bowed his head, beckoned to Crimson and Sparrow, and then followed them out the door.
"Peril, the arena was a horrible idea invented by Scarlet's grandmother, Falcon. We don't want any more dragons to die because of it," Ruby explained.
"But what about me?" Peril growled. "What's going to happen to me?"
"Peril, I know that you don't want to keep killing dragons. Clay has proved that in you." Ruby stared out her window, which overlooked the arena. She remembered all that Peril had done. What if Clay hadn't really changed her? She could start killing dragons again, just by touching them. Even now, she could easily kill Ruby, just by grabbing her or hitting her with her tail. "I wish we could be friends, but you are a danger to our kingdom."
"I know," Peril muttered. She put her face in her talons dejectedly.
Ruby sighed. She really did want to be friends with Peril, but even by accident, Peril could kill someone. "I'm sorry, Peril. I have to banish you from our kingdom. Leave."
The heat rising from Peril's scales clouded up the room, filling it with haze and blurring the SkyWing's glowing figure. Ruby coughed and choked. She flung her wings up in front of her snout to protect her lungs from the smoke.
When Ruby put her wings down, the smoke had cleared, and Peril was gone. Ruby rushed to the window and saw a metallic copper dragon flying towards the setting sun.
Part Two: Clash of the Tribes[]
Chapter 3[]
Ruby flared her wings and glared. "Are you telling me that the SeaWings are attacking... tonight?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Amber replied. She folded her peach-orange wings and bowed.
"What are we going to do?" Ruby sighed. "Amber, you can go rest now."
Amber was Ruby's advisor and highest general. She was only a few years older than Ruby, but she was intelligent, strong, and reliable. "No, I'll stay. We're not done yet."
Ruby looked over at the other soldiers and commanders in the room.
She didn't want to disappoint them all, but she was exhausted. How was she supposed to get this all done? I never wanted to be queen, Ruby thought. She was seriously thinking of giving up. They had hundreds dead. Thousands wounded. They wouldn't be able to fight against the SeaWings for long, and they'd just lose more soldiers.
"I need to think," Ruby told Amber. Ruby walked graciously into her throne room, where it was peaceful and quiet, at least when there weren't commoners bothering Scarlet. She sat down and thought. If the SeaWings want to attack us, we need to attack them first she decided. But how?
Suddenly, a commoner walked in, a bit of dirt on her snout. "Your Highness, I am honored to to meet you. My name is Ashes."
Ruby studied Ashes. She looked poor, but hopeful.
I will write more later! I have a plan for it! - Shadowdancer