2064 words

~~~~~

Ember was a weird little dragon. Well actually, it wouldn't be fair to call him little, since he was five years older than Ruby and taller than her too.

But in the vague memories she had of him, he was lanky and awkward looking.If he was the servant who brought her meals up to her, that would mean that he's the one who tried to talk to her. And that means that she ignored him completely. And then she became his boss who was supposed to talk to him on a regular basis.

Ruby cursed her past self. If she'd made even one friend, her life would be so much easier. Ember would have backed her up and tried to help her lead the other soldiers. She could have had an ally.

Of course, if she had become friends with Ember, he would have been dead since Scarlet eliminated anyone who had the affection of her pawns.

Ruby adored her older sister, Tourmaline, but she disappeared before she even challenged Scarlet. Osprey's granddaughter was Ruby's only friend, and her remains were scattered across the city a few weeks later. Ruby couldn't let anyone else die for her.

So she stayed away from all other dragons, and it worked.

...Until she joined the army and her mother caught wind on how much she cared about her soldiers. Since then, Scarlet blackmailed Ruby on a regular basis. It went on and on until Ruby almost shattered.

But then a small coral-colored dragonet accidentally wandered into her room. That moment changed the course of her life.

"Who's you?" a tiny voice asked.

Ruby swirled around, bewildered. There, at the entrance of her room was a dragonet about three years old. Most SkyWings had red or orange scales, but this one had a sort of pinkish-orange color instead.

"Princess Ruby?" Ruby said, still confused.

"Is you sure? You doesn't sound that right."

"No, I'm definitely Ruby. I'm very sure. What about you, little monkey?"

"I's not Monkey! I is Sunset!" she proclaimed loudly.

"Sunset," Ruby mused. "Did you know there was a princess a long time ago named Sunset?"

"Really?" The dragonet's eyes grew wide. "What happeneded to her?"

Ruby silently panicked. She didn't think it was a good idea to tell a dragonet that the princess she was named for was murdered by SeaWing animus.

"Well, uh, she went to a SeaWing party, but something happened there, and she was never seen again."

"What happened?"

Ruby fumbled for a reply when she heard a voice calling out. A voice that was supposed to be in a hospital bed, resting.

"Sunset! Where are you? I'm gonna get you!"

Sunset giggled and hid behind Ruby's wings.

"Shh!! Don't tell him I is here!" she exclaimed. "We is playing hide and seek!" Sunset ducked behind her wings again.

Ruby understood. Tourmaline never played with her for fear of being caught by their mother but she saw other dragonets playing.

Ruby kept her wings outstretched as she carefully maneuvered into the hallway. Coming from the opposite end of the hallway was Ember.

Her heart did a little tap dance as she watched him approach her.

"Have you seen a dragonet with coral colored scales come by? I know I'm not supposed to be here or anything, but I need to find my sister before she gets into trouble. Or wanders into a royal's room."

Sunset stifled a giggle in Ruby's scales. Ruby jumped and tried not to shriek. That tickled!

Ember looked at her weirdly. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"N-nothing," she managed. "I-it's j-just-"

She broke off, unable to continue. She began to laugh hysterically as the dragonet's snout buried itself deeper into her wing membrane.

A spark of understanding went off in Ember's eyes. He crept around her, trying to catch Sunset. But Ruby circled around as well, hiding Sunset from him.

He pounced and unexpectedly threw his wings around Ruby and Sunset, trapping them both in his embrace. His warm, comfortable embrace.

Stop it! she internally chided. This is stupid. This dragon is stupid. This game is stupid......But these feelings are by far the stupidest thing ever.

Of course, that didn't stop her stomach from flipping around. Her cheek was pressed into his chest, and she could hear the rapid pace of his heart even through the blood racing in her ears.She forgot everything around her except for this feeling. This feeling of mattering to a dragon. This feeling of elation.

She let her gaze glance at his wound. Surprisingly, it was healing quickly. There was still a scar there, but it didn't look at gruesome as it did last week. She touched a talon to it without thinking, and he recoiled.

"Oh! Sorry, Ember! It must still hurt. You should go get it checked out again."

"Crim?" Sunset piped up.

"Yeah, little monkey. Your brother got hurt a few weeks ago and now he has to let Crim look at it so that it'll be fixed."

"Crim can fix things by looking at them? Then why didn't she look at my owies?"

"Well, she needs to do some other things other than just looking at it. She has to wash it and then wrap it."

"And a hug? And a kiss?"

"Sometimes. It depends on how bad the wound is."

"Oh. Ember, how bad is your owie?"

"It's not that bad, squirt. Another day and I should be ready to go."

"Go where, exactly?" Ruby questioned.

Ember had the good grace to look nervous. "You know... places. I'm gonna do... stuff. You know?"

"Be more specific, soldier. I'm not sure I understood you well."

"How's Condor?" Ember tried."You are NOT going back to the army until that wing is healed completely. I don't- we can't risk you making it worse."

"Ru- General, I'm your best fighter. I'm the least distracted."

"Yes, I have been wondering about that. Why are you not distracted? Everyone else falters a bit when they remember past battles. Even I hesitate. What is wrong with you? Why don't you feel-"

"RUBY!" The voice of her nightmares (and her reality) bellowed.

She instinctively shrunk back into Ember.

"M-mother!" she stammered. "W-What br-brings you h-here?"

They both heard the unfinished sentence hang in the air between them. Why are you here now?

Scarlet gave her a warning glance.

"Who is this?" she said, looking disgusted. "Why have these two peasants come in and dirtied my floor?"

"This one is your b-best soldier. I asked him to come t-to give him the next assignment for the battle next week. He needs to know because... because..." she faltered.

"Because General Ruby has sprained her wing and it won't be better by then." Ember lied smoothly.

Wow. Turning the tables? Switching their roles completely? How conniving.

But the part of her that wasn't outraged at having to pretend as if she was hurt for the next two weeks was secretly pleased. This would allow her to have some time off from her job in the army.

However, Ember would now need to take over the army for their next battle and would likely hurt himself more. And Ruby couldn't let that happen. Her soldiers meant so much to her, and she couldn't stand by and let her best one try to commit suicide because of her (and partly him, but mostly her).

"However," she continued loudly. Ember shot her a weird look, but she ignored it. "Given Ember's recent injury, he will have to complete a safety course."

She glanced over at him and was rewarded with the outraged look on his face. She allowed herself a tiny grin before straightening her face and getting back to business.

"If Ember fails, he will need to take more mandatory bed rest, monitored by the nurses in the infirmary. I will choose another dragon to lead the army to battle. Should he pass, he will be able to lead the army to battle next week. I will administer the test myself."

"General, you can't be serious! I am your best fighter! You said it yourself. And how will I know if you're being fair or if you fail me just to get me to rest some more?"

Ruby hated to admit it, but she had planned on failing him no matter how well he did. But of course now, she had to come up with a standard.

"I will give you the minimums tomorrow when I test you. For now, go and rest."

Better get used to it. Because you'll be off that wing until it's good as new.

Scarlet, apparently having gotten bored of the exchange yawned and left. "I've got more thrilling things to attend to," she said.

That left Ember and Ruby glaring at each other in what seemed to be a mutual staring contest.

Eventually the intensity of his dark orange eyes won out and Ruby dropped her gaze.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said, retreating back into the safety of her bedroom.

~~~~~

"The first test will see how long you can hover in midair. I will count your wingbeats. The second test will see how far you can fly in one minute. The final test will test your agility. There will be random attacks by your fellow soldiers all along this course. If you pass this test, you will be allowed to lead this next battle. Because of my... wing injury."

He gave her a short nod and lifted off to start the first test.

~~~~~

300 wingbeats.

1200 dragon lengths in one minute.

He didn't get scratched even once during the agility test.

As much as she hated it, he would be the leader for the battle next week. And she would be in her room, pacing and worrying about her soldiers every second that she spent alone. She had no doubt that Ember could defend himself and the others, but as general, she would not have a single moment of peace knowing that her soldiers were fighting. Because somehow, even with her initial reluctance, she cared about her soldiers so much, and didn't want anything to happen to them.

She choked back her fear and worries and walked to Ember.

"Congratulations Ember. You have passed this test. You will be the dragon to lead our soldiers into battle next week when we attack the SeaWings. You will be a terrific leader."

She turned to the others. "Thank you for your participation today. Dismissed."

With that, she turned and hid the tears threatening to spill out as she tried not to run away.

~~~~~

Ruby was vaguely aware of a new presence in her room as she stood by the window. And somehow, she knew exactly who it was.

"I'll be fine," he said quietly as he came to stand next to her.

"It's not just that," she replied, still not looking at him. "What will my soldiers think when their general isn't even fighting alongside them? And how long can we keep up this charade? And you. How could you-"

"I'll be fine," he repeated, covering her mouth with his talon.

She gave him a sardonic look and glanced pointedly at his wing. He extended his wing and showed her the scar.

"See? It'll be fine!"

"Until it's reopened. Ember, I'd rather not have you fight in this battle. It's a terrible idea! Look, we'll just go to Mother and tell her the truth."

"That won't work, and you know it."

"Then my wing will be healed by then."

"Also not possible. Ruby, just let me fight."

He flicked his tail closer to hers and twined them together.

"We can fix this. Mother might not care as long as we bring her a prisoner."

"And let an innocent dragon suffer at the hands of Queen Scarlet? Even you're not that cruel."

"Mother isn't cruel," she protested. "She's just... No, you're right. She is cruel."

He chuckled for a moment and then fell silent.

After a while, he spoke. "You know, you were wrong the other day. I'm not Scarlet's solider. I'm yours."

"Just because Mother doesn't want anything to do with the army doesn't mean that you're not her solider. She's my boss and I'm your boss."

He looked straight into her eyes. A brief smoldering look that made her shiver.

"That's not what I meant."

And then he kissed her.