<tabber> |-|Intro=
This is a fanfiction by Phaet the Dove and Europa99. This is currently being revamped and is therefore a work in progress. This was originally for a contest depicting first impressions of a continent, but has now been revamped and does not correspond to that prompt. Please do not edit or take/tamper with anything on this page without explicit permission from the authors. Feel free to make suggestions on how to improve anything, and we hope you enjoy! Thank you for your cooperation! I apologzie if the Pantalan information is slightly off, I haven't read the Hive Queen or the Poison Jungle! |-|Chapter 1=
Chapter 1:
Monarch quietly roamed the beach, humming to herself as she always did when she was nervous. Pantala was beautiful year-round, but somehow had a sinister feel, especially to her. Perhaps it was due to the fact that Pantala was never a perfect place for SilkWings. They had been beaten into submission since the Tree Wars, and here she was, on the banks of her continent, staring out into the sea, wishing she was somewhere else. There were rumors of another continent, one that had freedom for each dragon tribe no matter who you were. Yes, of course, every continent had its issues. But somehow, its issues seemed much less severe.
Her sharp eyes scanned the sea, viewing the turquoises and deep blues that sparkled in the light. A small school of fish passed by, just escaping her talons. She was knee-deep in it now, without consciously realizing how she was naturally pulled to the water. The four fish slowly faded away into the depths of the ocean, two large ones and two small ones. A family of four. Just like hers. Monarch's family had never been close. Perhaps it was the circumstances that caused the distance between the four, or the clashing personalities of each dragon. Nevertheless, the four couldn't stand one another, causing Monarch to have plenty of alone time. Time she usually spent on the beach, wishing she had a better life.
Monarch jumped, her ears picking up on movement behind her. A snap of a branch. The rustle of fallen leaves. She couldn't have been imagining it. Could she? For five minutes straight she stared at the thicket behind her, shoulders tensed, wrists out. She had just gone through her metamorphmosis and was ready to capture something with her new silk. Yet just as she thought she was safe, the leaves rustled once more and a thin HiveWing stood in front of her. He was thin but tall, naturally big, especially for her tiny frame. She backed away as he approached her.
"Queen Wasp wishes to meet with you, Monarch." His voice was smooth and fairly charming, but the strange look in his eyes made her think twice about trusting him. She backed farther away, the water now reaching her wings. There was no place to go. No place to hide. No place to run from this terrifying dragon who smiled like everything was okay. He made her cringe, despite his supposedly amiable first impressions and fairly handsome, charming features. There was something incredibly off about this dragon. Monarch inhaled sharply. There was only one place to go. And that was with him. That was to the queen. Queen Wasp, who terrified her more than all HiveWings put together. The dragon smiled again. "Are you worried, Monarch?" The way he said her name was awful. The fact that he knew her name was worse.
She exhaled shakily, nodding. What else was there to do? The unbreakable rules and strict HiveWing policies in Pantala made most SilkWings careful not to interact with authorities, and when they did, cooperation was necessary. He smiled slightly, then opened his mouth to recite the mantra that their hive followed, no matter what the cost. "Don't worry, Monarch. If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear."
Queen Wasp smiled, sharp teeth flashing. Monarch resisted the urge to tremble in her very presence. "Hello there, Monarch." Monarch nodded in response, not trusting her vocal chords at the present time. Wasp leaned in closer, her silky smooth voice causing the adolescent SilkWing to shiver. "Are you afraid, Monarch?" Monarch shook her head. They seemed to enjoy using her name. It seemed to amuse them. Perhaps it was the fact that her name implied a position of power, or perhaps it was the fact that her name was the name of an ex SilkWing queen, but nevertheless it scared her. "Do you even know why you're here, honey?" Monarch shook her head again, hearing a rumbling laugh from behind her. She didn't dare turn around. "Well, I've heard that your family has been experiencing a few ... financial troubles, is it?" Queen Wasp tilted her head at Monarch, not dropping her smile for a moment.
Monarch nodded. "Yes." Her voice croaked slightly, but she needed the queen to know she wasn't mute.
"Well, I wanted to propose an offer to you. As we know, your father has a few ... health troubles and can't pay for a healer, your mother is weak, and your younger sibling is, well ... much to young to enact such a thing, so we decided to come to the strongest one in the family at the present time. You." Queen Wasp looked Monarch's tiny frame up and down. "Your family will be getting adequate resources if you enact such a favor, Monarch. " The SilkWing waited patiently for the queen to elaborate. The queen didn't.
"Adequate resources?" Monarch tried and failed to keep the skepticism out of her voice. "What do you mean?"
"I mean gold, jewels, food, spices, flavors, whatever their hearts desire," the queen snapped, glowering at her. "Is that enough for you?" Monarch nodded for the fiftieth time, her head already tiring of the mindless agreements she was required to make. "But you must do something for me, alright?"
"What's your request?" Monarch tried to be respectful, but wasn't sure how to behave.
"Well," the Queen began, "There have been recent rumors surrounding our kingdom and continent. A rival continent we have heard of, by the name of Pyrrhia, is currently existent. A lost continent. My job for you is to find this continent. No matter what it takes, find it, and learn about it. But whatever you do, don't mention my name." |-|Chapter 2=
Chapter 2:
Monarch approached her small house. She was about to prepare for her journey, but her heart was mainly thumping due to the fact that she was to tell her parents of her deal. But she wasn't afraid that they might not let her go. She was afraid that they would do so all too readily. She pushed through the curtain of leaves that acted as a door despite the fact that it only provided them with privacy, ignoring her worried for a moment. Pretending life was normal, if only for a moment.
As she stepped inside, she could feel her mother's brown eyes watching her every move in that strange, calculating way she had. "Where have you been?" Monarch flinched nevertheless. Her mother had a certain way of inspiring fear in you despite the fact that not once had she ever raised her voice.
"I was at the palace." Monarch forced herself to keep her voice even. Her mother remained silent, waiting for her to continue. "I made a certain deal with the queen." There was a raise in the eyebrows, a slight frown, but still, the SilkWing waited for her daughter to continue. While her mother's skepticism continued to fill the room, Monarch racked her brain for a believable lie. She couldn't exactly tell her mother she was searching for another continent."The queen asked me to become a soldier. To work for you. All of your financial bills will be dealt with, Father's medical issues will be dealt with, but I won't be here."
Her mother frowned slightly, but nodded. The words that fell from her lips were both harmful and loving, both warm and cold. The kindest thing she'd ever said, but the thing that hurt the most. "Thank you."
Monarch's talons lifted off the sandy beach she had come to know so well. She was leaving Pantala, leaving the cage that had encircled her since the beginning. Her four wings spread wide, catching the wind and feeling the breeze. Feeling free. She wasn't free, she knew. She was doing this for someone else, but nevertheless she adored it. She adored running away from her kingdom and finding something else, no matter how difficult.
Days passed by and Monarch still managed to keep herself above the water, despite how her wings ached from flying and her wrists ached from catching fish. Dragons were strong, but not built for this type of exercise. Monarch was small but strong, but she didn't have enough endurance to go any farther.
One more mile, she told herself. Just one more. She knew it wasn't true, but it was just consolation to keep her going.
It became a chant. One more mile.
One more.
One. |-|Chapter 3=
Chapter 3:
"Ew. What is it?" A female voice, laced with sarcasm, skepticism, and disgust.
"Don't call them that!" The male voice was defensive. "They're obviously a dragon, not an it."
A pause. "Whatever you say, Eel."
"Shut up."
Monarch opened her blurry eyes. Blinked once or twice, and found three dragons peering over her. She jumped back, startled, just as they did the same. The issue wasn't that they were watching her. It was that they looked nothing like her. The female was entirely a pale yellow, with obsidian eyes where you couldn't tell where the pupil was. Her tale ended in a strange stinger, which flicked back and forth, and which the other two seemed to steer clear of. Her eyes were narrowed as she analyzed Monarch's appearance. The second dragon was a SeaWing. He was slightly taller than the girl but not tall, and had a frustrated, confused, but slightly endearing expression on his face. He offered her a slight smile. The third dragon was by far the most intimidating. Perhaps it was due to the fact that his scales reminded her of a HiveWing's, without the black spots. He was several feet taller than her, with two massive wings and a fairly thin body. He looked at her blankly. |-|Old=
1 Day Later ...
“Why did you have to bring us here, Eel?” groaned Sunrise, a rather grumpy SandWing with a foul expression.
“I’m Electric, not Eel. And it’s my turn to choose where we go. Remember when you brought us to the desert and the we were all dying of heat?” replied Electric, pausing for a second. “The beach is amazing, why don’t you like it here?”
“I’m not a SeaWing, you idiot.” she grumbled back. “And neither is Elevation.”
“Don’t bring me into this! I hate being a part of your non-stop arguments.” Elevation said, as he took off into the air. “By the way, it’s a wonderful day for flying.” he called back.
“I hate flying.” murmured Sunrise under her breath.
“Do you like anything?” asked Electric sarcastically, but before she could answer he flew in the direction of Elevation. Sunrise had no choice but to follow.
The three dragons spent hours on the beach, swimming, laying in the sand, and collecting shells. However, just as they were about to leave, Electric had an idea.
“You know how there was a rumor going around that a dragon from a different continent arrived here just a few days ago and is staying at Jerboa’s place?”
“Yeah, but the key word in that sentence is rumor. It’s not even real.” Sunrise sighed. “Let’s just leave.”
“No. You can. I’m not. I want to figure something out today. To find the dragon ourselves and get some information out of it.” Electric continued.
“Let’s just go. I’m so tired of complaining.” said Sunrise.
“No,” whispered Electric. “It’s a great idea. Don’t you see. We can learn so many things with this new dragon.”
“If it’s not just a rumor.” she replied.
“Yeah, I think I see what you’re saying,” said Elevation, scanning the water in front of them.
“Fine.” Sunrise agreed, finally seeing the potential of this adventure. “So where is Jerboa’s place? I mean, I’ve seen her around at Jade Mountain Academy. She’s pretty famous for finding the dragon, but I’ve no clue where to start…”
“Well,” suggested Elevation. “I think it’s down this way. I mean, I think so. Some teachers were talking about it. I couldn’t help but overhear.” he pointed his talon to the west.
...
“Oh my gosh. Is that it?” Sunrise gasped, staring at the silver-scaled and black horned dragon.
“She’s… asleep.” Elevation concluded, but only for so long. Suddenly, the dragon opened her violet purple eyes and sat up quickly. She quickly scanned the room and then cautiously eyed the three speechless dragons.
“Where am I?” she started, in a small voice. There was a long pause.
“Um… near the SeaWing kingdom.” Electric responded.
“Sea… SeaWing?”
“Yeah… the dragons of the sea… the ocean, they can breathe underwater.” Electric responded. “I’m Prince Electric. I-” he cut his sentence short when he saw Doppelganger bowing, her head at his feet.
“Uh… why are you on the ground?” Sunrise asked.
“Um… You’re supposed to bow to royalty and you said you were a, um, prince.” Doppelganger replied.
“No, no. Trust me, you don’t need to bow to Eel over here.” Sunrise rolled her eyes, quickly recovering from the surprise.
“Eel?” Doppelganger asked in surprise, giggling slightly. “Is that a nickname?”
Electric glared at Sunrise. “No.”
“His name is Electric Eel. Eel for short!” Sunrise laughed, trying to comfort the newcomer.
“No! Electric for short. Please don’t listen to the Sunny over here.” Electric said with a smile.
“Stop,” Sunrise said in a harsh voice, that slightly scared Doppelganger. “Sunny is the name of the weakling dragonet of destiny. Not me.”
Doppelganger turned her gaze to look at Elevation, tilting her head. “And who are you?” she asked quietly, intimidated by the SkyWing’s appearance.
“Elevation. I’m completely ordinary, not some sort of prince like Electric Eel over here.”
“Electric.” Electric snapped, at the same time as Sunrise giggled.
“I’m sure that’s not true,” Doppelganger said slowly, wanting to prevent one of the squabbles from Sunrise and Electric. She had already been assessing the situation and her next goal was to extract more information from these seemingly immature, but kind dragons. “So… where exactly am I?” she asked innocently.
“Well, I believe this is Jerboa’s house,” Elevation replied, scanning the walls.
“And um… how am I here? How did I well, get here?” Doppelganger continued.
“Do you even know where in the entirety of Pyrrhia you are?” Sunrise asked, rolling her eyes.
“Pyrrhia?” Doppelganger echoed, her head tilting again, this time in confusion. At first her eyes narrowed to slits, but then they lit up in enthusiasm.
“Okay. Well, I assume you’re from another… place?” Elevation commented, trying to keep the excitement out of his voice.
“Pantela.” she responded, thinking about her horrible hometown.
“But, what, are you?”
"I'm ... I'm a murderer." And with that, the young shapeshifter left, spreading her wings to soar back home.