2049 words

~~~~~

For three months, Ember trained. Hard. He barely saw his father anymore and more than half the time he woke up with aches in places he didn't even know he had muscles.

Still, even he could see the difference in his body at the end of those three months. His muscles were more defined and he could lift things that looked impossible just a few weeks ago.

He never saw Ruby once during training. But soon enough, she became the general of the SkyWing army and Ember became the newest soldier.

That's when the fun started.

It wasn't that he didn't respect Princess Ruby. In fact, it was almost exactly the opposite. Ember respected her too much to let her be squashed under her mother's plans for the army. He knew commands such as the ones she was giving didn't come from her. Ruby would never be so cruel.

So every time she gave an order, he countered it. The first time he did so, he was especially rewarded with scandalized expressions on the soldiers' faces.

"Our scouts have reported IceWings and SandWings approaching the SkyWing territory. We will sneak up on them and attack before they even know what's happening. We must take as many prisoners as possible for Queen Scarlet's arena." Ruby said.

Ember spoke up."Your generalness," he said carelessly. "Why do we need those prisoners?"

Ruby narrowed her eyes at him. "Those are your orders. Are you really being so impertinent as to question them?"

He pretended to think for a moment. "Hmm... I suppose the answer to that is yes."He heard many scandalized gasps from all around him and grinned.

"Yes, I am questioning the validity of those orders. Why do we need to take those dragons as prisoners if they're going to die anyway? It would be so much more merciful if we just killed them on the battlefield. Spare them the pain."

Ruby opened and closed her mouth, and she looked over at him with a sheepish grin. "Actually, that's what I think too, but these are my orders from the Queen and I can't disobey them. Just do as you're told, soldier."

"Technically she can't even kill you since you're her only heir and- SHUTTING UP NOW," he said hastily when he saw her warning glare.

"Take only the most important dragons as prisoners. Generals, ascending soldiers, and royalty. Mother- that is, Queen Scarlet only wants the most thrilling dragons to fight in her arena."

Ember looked up in surprise when he heard the hint of disgust in her voice when she said that. He knew the orders she gave were not her own, but he was still startled when she sounded loathing of her mother and her playthings. Most of the nobility practically lived in the arena in order to see the fights.

But maybe, just maybe, Ruby didn't hide in her room because she was shy. Maybe she hid there because she hated her life as the queen's daughter.

The realization struck him. He had known Ruby since she hatched. Not very personally, of course, but since her mother rarely took an interest in her, the palace staff was forced to raise her for the first two years or so, until his best friend, Princess Tourmaline grew up enough to take care of her sister.

Five- year- old Ember himself had entertained the small dragonet when she was bored- which, to be honest, was most of the time.

But she looked so much like her mother that he and the other staff thought she acted like her and shared all of her ideas and thoughts.

Evidently, he didn't know her as well as he thought, since she gave him surprise after surprise.

~~~~~

The next day, General Ruby led them into battle with the opposing armies.

It was the first battle for many of the soldiers, including Ember.

Until this moment, he didn't really realize just what joining the army meant for him. He would have to kill other dragons in cold blood. In all honesty, the IceWings probably didn't even support Blaze, just like he didn't really support Burn. But they were loyal to their queens and would give their lives for their kingdoms.

As Ember flew, he looked over at his fellow soldiers- no, his friends. There were so many SkyWings, at all different stages of life. There were new adults, the seven year olds thrust into war the second they were old enough. There were dragons like him, young adults, the teenaged dragons who felt a calling to the army. There were the war veterans, the older dragons who had been in many battles in the War of the SandWing Succession. And there were the oldest soldiers, the dragons who had been alive since even before Scarlet was born. At least half of them were forced into the war because of their life circumstances. They didn't even want to fight!

A surge of anger rose up in his chest. They shouldn't need to fight for a cause they didn't care about. He was willing to bet that none of them had even met Burn. Some of them had families- boyfriends and girlfriends, husbands and wives, sons and daughters.

He glanced at Ruby. For the first time in his life, he felt enraged by the princess. She had nothing to lose. She had no real family or friends who cared about her. How could she give reckless orders like this without thinking about how it would affect her soldiers? Would she even fight? Or would she let the others do the killing?

With this thought in mind, he turned to the approaching army. He would fight. He would kill. But he would not subject the IceWings to any torture worse than death.

~~~~~

"Condor!" Ember shrieked. "To your left!"

Condor looked up and slashed the face of the IceWing who was trying to attack him. That resulted in a scuffle. Condor didn't have enough time to prepare so he was at a disadvantage. Ember jumped in.

He seized the IceWing and threw him off of Condor and fought with him. The IceWing raked his claws through one of Ember's wings. He hissed in pain and shot a furious burst of fire at the IceWing's head. Too late, he remembered that their frostbreath could counter Ember's fire.

Ice and fire met in a shower of sparks. Frustrated, Ember roared and tried to pounce on the IceWing. However, he forgot about his wing, which hung limply at his side. Would he be able to fly after this? How bad was the wound? Would he have to quit the army so soon?

The IceWing took advantage of his faltering and aimed another burst of ice at his wing. Ember reached up to stop it, but knew he was still too weak to do anything. His face would be frozen in a matter of seconds. He closed his eyes tight and waited for the ice to meet his face. And then...

Nothing happened. He risked a peek at the IceWing. But what he saw changed his thoughts forever.

Fighting the IceWing, keeping him safe was General Ruby. She circled the IceWing and attacked him. Since his attention was entirely focused on Ruby, he forgot about Ember.

So he took a chance when the IceWing's back was turned and stuck his claws in his back and bit the vulnerable spot on his tail. He roared in pain and whirled on Ember. And suddenly, Ember saw an expression he didn't expect.

Fear.

And he felt compassionate again. That was dangerous in the war, but he couldn't help it.

He took a step closer the the IceWing.The IceWing spoke. "I suppose you're going to take me to Scarlet's arena now."

Ember hesitated and steeled his expression."I don't want to hand you over to her. She's a sadist and a cruel dragon. So I'll give you a choice. I can kill you now. Tell me how you want to die. Tell me anything you want me to do. I'll write a letter to your family. I'll bury you after the battle. Or you can go to the arena now. You can have a few extra days of life, but you'll die a fiery death by the queen's champion. I really wish I could let you live. You're an innocent dragon. You probably don't even care about the war between the sisters. But I have my orders, and I'm already breaking them enough by offering you a choice and speaking to you. So you tell me what you want."

The IceWing looked at him in disbelief, as if he couldn't believe he was having a conversation about his death with his enemy on the battlefield. And then he looked resigned.

He sighed. "My name is Iceberg. I have a wife named Sleet at home. She's there with our eggs. I want you to write her a letter saying that I died in battle. Tell her to name one of our dragonets after me. Tell her that- that I loved her until the very end. I'll be watching from beyond my grave. And tell her not to mourn me for too long. Tell her to find a new dragon. I want her to fall in love and have a good life after I'm gone."

Tears were flowing down both of their snouts at this point.

"Please make it quick," he said.

"My name is Ember," he whispered.

"Ember," he repeated. "Thank you."

Ember raked his claws through Iceberg's jugular and he keeled over, dead.

Ember wiped his eyes and looked around him. The battle was waning now. He saw the bodies of SkyWings and IceWings and even some SandWings littering the ground.

"Retreat!" called Ruby.

Ember looked back at Iceberg's dead body.

I know we weren't friends- we just fought and I killed him. But I know his name. I know about his life. And I feel a sort of... kinship to this dragon I just murdered. Is that bad? Is this normal? Am I evil?

Ember hesitated and on an impulse, he set the body on fire. This dragon would return a SkyWing. He would be born into the sky. He would have a new life as a dragonet, without a care of the war.

~~~~~

That night, he sat in his room, writing a letter to an IceWing named Sleet.

Sleet,

I am writing to you on behalf of your late husband, Iceberg. He was a brave dragon who fought valiantly for the IceWings. Unfortunately, he did not return from this battle. A SkyWing by the name of Ember killed him. I am Ember. I feel like the lowest level of scum, writing to you after I just killed your husband. But I promised him that I would do this for him. He passed on a few messages for you. He wants you to name one of your dragonets after him. He says that he will be watching from beyond his grave. He loved you, even in his last moments. He said he wants you to fall in love- he will not hold that against you. He wants you to love again and have a happy and prosperous life.

Sleet, I understand you may never be able to forgive me. But I want to offer my sincerest apologies. I spoke with Iceberg before I killed him (it was a quick and bloodless death, as a mercy to him), and I felt a connection to him. He had a family. He had a life and I took it away from him. But I understood him. I think that's the most important part of this war. Not the SandWing sisters or the differences between our tribes. But the fact that we all have lives. We are all dragons who make mistakes and are forced to pay for the mistakes of others. We are dragons with families and friends. We are dragons with true loves. Every dragon on Pyrrhia has love. No one can take that away from us. Fight for what you believe in, and learn to love again.

I hope to hear from you soon. I hope your dragonets hatch well, and you find a new purpose in life.

With my deepest condolences,

Ember of the SkyWings.