What?! Dusk's eyes widened. She stared at Pine, her wings missing a beat and nearly making her fall out of the sky. He stared back at her, his gaze like nothing she had seen before. Hard, defiant, yet she could tell that he still cared about her, if only the tiniest bit. She whirled around to attack, but she didn't move quickly enough, and she collided with cold grey scales. She flapped ungracefully across the sky, clutching her snout as it ached with pain from the sudden impact. The NightWing didn't hesitate and grabbed her arm, the other NightWing soundlessly joined him, seizing Dusk's other forearm. They started beating their wings in a surprisingly rythmithic, balanced way. Dusk tried to see Pine, but he always stayed about two paces behind the trio and her capturer's wings blotted out any view of the NightWing. Maybe it doesn't matter if he still cares about me. She thought as they neared the palace she had expected to never see again. Then again...maybe the slightest care is the only thing keeping me alive right now. She shivered and felt the NightWings grip her arms a bit harder. Pine wouldn't go so far and kill me.....right? She didn't bother to put up a fight with the guards, she knew there was no use, they would just grab her again with swift wings and confident talons. She felt like a newly scolded dragonet, her ears and tail drooping, feeling lower than the lowest snail. They reached the broken exit soon and landed gracefully, well, tried to, Dusk nearly tripped over her own talons and stumbled forward a bit, making the two NightWings move forward instantly. She heard Pine land somewhere nearby and tried to twist and see him, but she was already being ushered into the palace. The cuts on her side and snout ached with pain and she practically got dragged across the hallway towards....where? She realized that she had never been this deep into the palace, right in the center, The King's chambers. She recognized where they were going with a strike of surprise and confusion.  The King's area had always been closely guarded, a few more guards had been placed even inside of the King's room because about two days before his death, his gaze looked haunted and hollow and he stayed in his chambers for most of the day, letting General Truthbringer control the palace for his hideaway days. Pine was silent behind her, seeming faintly lost in his own thoughts.