Archangel cursed, and Artemis had to admire his colorful language.

"What do we do now?" Mudpuddle cried, and Mamba flared the colorful frill around her neck.

"We fight our way past them." She hissed, turning her gaze up to the sky. Her scales flooded with the color of fear, however. Artemis wondered if she didn't notice, or just didn't care.

Seaglass looked like he was going to be sick. Snowfall too. They both seemed caught in a flashback to where they had almost lost Seaglass to the Lightningwings.

"Stay close." Artemis found herself ordering, and to her surprise, everyone looked to her. "Fight only if you have to. Defense should be our focus. We have to make it to the castle."

"She's right." Archangel agreed. "Come on. Fly like you mean it!"

"I'm flying!" Tempest yelped, darting to the side as a Moltenwing dashed past her, being chased by a Deepwing. "And I mean it!"

Potent grabbed her talons with his own, pulling her close to him as they flew together.

"Come on, sparky."

Tempest's lightning bolts flickered in the dying sunlight, and she kept her strong grip on Potent's talons.

Artemis waited for the rest of them to follow after the two before taking off herself, dodging the fire and jets of freezing water being fired across the sky. Before she could comprehend, a dark purple dragon crashed into her side, hard. His eyes shone with fear, but still, he seethed with rage as he tried to rake his claws down her back.

Artemis roared and quickly twisted her neck, shooting a small burst of fire at his face to stun him, but not enough to really harm him. He hissed in confusion and backed away for a few seconds, rubbing his eyes with his palms.

"I'm trying to stop this!" She shouted. "But by all means, go ahead and kill one of your only chances of peace." She felt her back sting as she pumped her wings to stay airborne. Deepwing claws were so incredibly sharp. She'd have to be extremely careful.

He looked up at her, growling, but the fear she noticed before was still there.

"I can't betray my queen." He said, his talons stretching. His sharp claws flashed like metal.

"You aren't betraying her if I defeat you, and you use just the last of your strength to make it safely back to the water." She challenged, her heart thundering in her chest.

He stared at Artemis, seeming to consider it. He then hardened his expression. "Only so my dragonets can still have a father after all of this."

Artemis nodded, and with much resignation, she shot another burst of fire at him, across his chest and neck, and shook herself when she flinched at the sound of singed scales. The Deepwing seemed unfazed, however, and as he grit his teeth, he dropped down to the body of water below them.

"Artemis!" She heard Mamba call. "Come on!"

The air around her shimmered for a split second, and it looked as though the sky itself pulled its arms around her. Mambas face suddenly came into view.

"Are you alright?" The Rainwing asked, her golden eyes were hardened, like drops of amber.

"I'm fine." She nodded, and Mamba grabbed her talons in a reassuring gesture, lingering. "Let's go."

Mamba glided alongside her, and Artemis sped as fast as she could to reach the others again. The Lightningwings were now upon them.

The air, thickening with the smell of ozone and a feeling that made Artemis's skin and scales crawl, lit up brilliantly as the first bolt of lightning shot from the oncoming dragons. The volts arched from dragon to dragon, and for a moment, nothing but the smell of searing flesh and the screams of the dragons that were the unlucky ones to get hit filled Artemis's senses.

Even a Deepwing, another ally tribe of Solar, got caught in the oncoming path of lightning.

"What do we do?" Seaglass cried, looking terrified at the new addition to the chaos around them.

"We keep going. There's no other option." Snowfall said, his dark eyes like the storm clouds that now gathered around them.

Artemis and the others flew as if they were possessed, dodging projectiles and angry dragons. Finally, they were close enough to the castle. Artemis noticed that not only was it on top of a mountain, it was the mountain. Clouds skirted along the gleaming plates on the highest spire. More climbed gracefully towards the clouds, as fluid in their shape as wings. Snowfall paused briefly to shoot powerful sheets of frost breath on passing enemies.

"We have to enter through the kitchen." Archangel barked. "Quickly! I know a relatively safe passage."

"Relatively safe is better than nothing at all." Artemis commented, and they winged downwards. Their talons touched the ground with heavy thuds, but they couldn't rest yet.

"Knowing Solar, she will most likely be waiting for us at the top of the castle, hiding out like the true coward she is. It's an old challenging ring, where Solar killed her rivals for the throne. It's surrounded by walls but open to the sky. It's big enough to fit the entire tribe." Archangel said firmly. A shiver ran through the group. He continued. "But the safest way to get to her is to enter and make our way up from the inside. Going by the sky is just too dangerous with the Rogues and allies battling the way they are. Stay close and follow me."

Archangel dashed away, and Artemis quickly raced after him. They circled around the walls of the castle, ducking down and disappearing into shrubs when dragons flew overhead, and Artemis was baffled to not find any guards at the ground level.

"I bet they're with Solar, at the top." Mamba growled.

"Her army?" Artemis gaped. "She wouldn't really do that, throwing her allies into the fray first. Would she?"  As she spoke, Artemis realized how silly she sounded. Of course Solar would. She clenched her talons. The armor felt cold against her chest. She still hadn't shaken off the strange feeling of luck from not being too incredibly injured in their race.

"This way, my friends." Archangel said, and walked to the back of the castle. He easily picked up a fallen tree branch by the wall, the act revealing a hole. It was pretty small, but there was a part of the bricks that had been seemingly bashed out. If they tried, they could enter.

"How do you know about this way in?" Mudpuddle asked, genuinely curious. Archangel smirked.

"I'm the one that made it. At least, this part. I haven't always been under the gracious care of our great prince Daybreak. Solar got annoyed with me, very fast. Only three years or so after King Sundial's disappearance, Solar decided I was too much of an influence on Daybreak." He flexed his talons, pulling more bricks from the now gaping hole as he kept rapidly talking.

"Clearly, those three years were enough. We met in secret after that. I've been living with various friends in the outer village." He mused. "Altered my appearance the best I could, though there's only so much I can do when my scale color is this unique. I changed my name-which I planned to do anyway-stuck around, and hoped Solar wouldn't notice."

"What was your old name?" Tempest's eyes widened.

"Pearlescent. Ugh." He said, sticking out his tongue as he furrowed his brow in distaste. It took the group a second to process this.

"You used to be female?" Seaglass guessed.

"Yep." Archangel shrugged. "All dust in the wind by now. Anyway, we should go."

Clearly, he was quick to change the subject, but Artemis respected that. Archangel tore out a few more bricks, looked at Snowfall and Potent, who were the largest of them, and nodded firmly.

"I'll head on through first." He tilted his head. "Make sure the cooks don't freak out. They're on our side, though I bet dragons from tribes they've never seen before randomly appearing from the wall may be a bit alarming." He saluted them, which looked a bit ridiculous coming from a rather intimidating, lithe dragon."Wait just a moment. Under the shelter of the trees."

Archangel disappeared in a flick of a pale yellow tail.

"He's interesting." Seaglass commented, and nudged Snowfall excitedly. "I like him."

"I hope he's right about this." Snowfall answered instead, and Seaglass seemed disappointed by the response.

"He's our only chance." Artemis reminded them, and she heard Potent snort. But he said nothing.

A few moments later, Archangel peered through, and waved his talons at the group. "All right. The shiny, light blue one first. Snowfield, right?"

"Snowfall." He corrected him, and shot a nervous look at Seaglass. Seaglass pressed his snout to his. The Seawing then nodded, and Snowfall watched Archangel leap out before he squeezed through the gap.

"You next." Archangel pointed at Potent, and the Sandwing curled his tail inward before he followed after Snowfall. Artemis realized with a gleeful jolt that he just now had let go of Tempest's talons.

The others followed soon after. Artemis gazed at the fight above them from the shelter of the trees. She grimaced, hearing the shouts and seeing bolts of lightning crash across the sky.

"It'll be alright, Artemis." Archangel said, and she looked to him. She caught Apollo's determined face before he walked inside.

"I know the Rogues are strong." She muttered, and flattened her ears. "Just... something about all of this feels off to me."

"Just battle jitters." He grinned, and dashed into the kitchen. Artemis followed, her wings scraping the rough stones around her.

It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the brighter light around her, but once they did, she was surprised.    They had entered into a small cabinet of sorts, bottles of spices, boxes and bags of various vegetables being tossed to the side around the entry in a hurry. Artemis accidentally stepped onto a braid of garlic, then a few fallen apples that had spilled from a sack.

She hissed at the smell and wiped her talons on the stone ground, and glanced at the three new pairs of eyes staring at her.

"Uh, sorry." Artemis murmured.

"There's always risks in a war." Shrugged the first
Daywing, undoing the apron tied daintily around herself. She was a pretty silver color, dusted with lighter purples underneath her chin. Cloud like shapes flitted underneath her wings.

"I think those risks are a little more pressing than garlic, dear." Said another, this one a bit taller and much older. If Artemis were to pick a color to describe her scales, the closest would be a washed-out periwinkle.

"Archangel. These are our heroes?" Asked the last dragon, this one around Artemis' own age. She was busy dusting a rust colored powder onto her apron from her talons. She turned her eyes to her, and Artemis met them without hesitation. Deep purple and gold stared back at her. The copper scales around her eyes shifted as she smiled, like a mask against her lighter blue scales. "Interesting ones, aren't you? My name is Sunbell. The others are Bright and Silverstar." She flicked her tail toward them, and Artemis noticed something...disturbing.

"You have no tail blades." Seaglass said instead. Oh, Seaglass. Artemis loved him, but he could be so dense at times.

Sunbell flinched. "They were removed when we were children. All the to-be servants undergo such a procedure. It's just traditional, really."

"So we aren't a danger to ourselves or others." Said Silverstar, her purple chin wobbling a bit.

"We don't have the luxury to discuss this any longer." Sunbell interrupted. "We have to get you through the castle."

"How will we do that without getting caught? There can't be no guards patrolling whatsoever." Asked Apollo.

"Being ancient has its perks." Bright commented, winking at her brother. "I've been here long since Solar. The queens before weren't as boring as some think. The castle walls are filled with passages. I can lead you through them."

"No, Bright." Sunbell said immediately, and firmly. "I know the passageways too. You stay here and stay safe with Silverstar."

"Don't you dare treat me like that. I can hold up better than you think." Bright snapped, flattening her ears.

"Grandmother." Silverstar said, resting her talons on Bright's shoulder. "We can't delay any longer. Let Sunbell take them, please." She pressed back her ears, staring at her in urgency.

"Fine." Bright exhaled, and Sunbell walked to the far wall, beginning to move different equipment aside. Both Mamba and Apollo moved to assist, but she swat them away. With strength Artemis never would have expected from her, she hauled an entire cabinet out of the way.

"Hopefully none of you are afraid of a few creepy-crawlies." Sunbell commented, slyly looking over at Apollo with a small grin. Tempest squeaked. Sunbell hopped into the shadows.

Mamba fluttered her wings, batting Artemis. "You better stick by me, Miss I disappear into darkness."

"I'll be right next to you." Artemis assured.

~~~~

"That's fascinating." Sunbell awed, and stared behind her at the emerald green light that bounced off the tight walls around them.

"And painful." Seaglass muttered, and clenched his teeth against his throbbing headache. His glowspots flickered out momentarily. "I haven't been able to light them as well, since the Lightningwing attack."

"Don't strain yourself too much." Snowfall warned as concern flashed across his face.

"I'll be fine, Snow." Seaglass said, and shrugged the best he could as they walked along. "Just a headache."

"I've always been curious, about other tribes. I've heard stories from Bright and my parents growing up..." Sunbell began to talk to Seaglass as they shuffled as fast as they could through the passageway. Artemis lifted her ears, curious about the Daywing's ramblings.

She snorted a clingy spiderweb from around her snout.

"It's fascinating that your tribe can glow. What's the science behind it? How would a tribe have developed their own bioluminescence?" Sunbell mused. "And your love there, he emits cold. The fellow near him emits heat. It's the craziest thing." She murmured, flicking her wings. "It's said Daywings used to have the strength of the sun in their claws and fire in their wings... but not anymore. Your purple friend has stars under her wings and under her eyes. And her eyes are like sapphires! They're beautiful , really." She chattered on, and vaulted over a fallen beam as she glanced behind her. "I'm sorry, it's been so long since I've talked to others besides Bright, Silverstar and the princes."

"It's alright." Artemis smiled at her sideways, watching as her wings excitedly fluttered in front of her. "I know how exhilarating meeting new dragons and new tribes can be."

"Exhilarating, huh?" Mudpuddle snorted. "The first Rainwing you met threatened to shoot you with a blow dart."

"Guilty." Mamba claimed.

"I think that would go under terrifying." Artemis admitted, her tail poking Mamba, and the Rainwing grinned, her teeth glinting in the low light.

Artemis noticed they were walking at an upwards slope now. They finally reached a larger space, like a room for storage. Sunbell slowed as the others filed in after her, looking around in awe.

"Wow." Artemis breathed, taking in all of the old, dusted relics inside.

"Why is this here?" Snowfall asked, curiously running his talon along the side of a beautiful desk near the wall caked in layers of dusk. Even through the haze, Artemis could tell it was wonderfully crafted. He wrinkled his nose, fighting back a sneeze.

"Bright tells us it was a secret library, for a queen that ruled many, many moons ago. Others with knowledge of the place turned it into their safe room, or a sanctuary, just to get away." She smiled sadly. "It hasn't been used by royalty in a very long time. Now, we put forgotten, unwanted items here, for their safety. So Solar couldn't get her talons on them. We've been trying to clean this place the best we could. Archangel has been staying here."

Artemis' mind wandered, as did her talons. As they made their way through the vast room, noticing the difference of some items tucked away. Everything with a chance to be cleaned gleamed with a soft gold. Artemis noticed a bed in the corner, covered in furs, and a few silver throwing stars were scattered on a box nearby.

Her eyes lifted to the paintings on the walls. There were many landscapes that she recognized to be the territory of the Daywings. But another painting caught her eye. It was covered in a red cloth, obviously hiding something important. Almost mechanically, she reached up, tugging it off. Her breath caught in her throat.

A black dragon smiled down at her. Youthful, and beautiful. A crown of horns encircled her head, like most Daywings. A silver droplet rested on her forehead, on a silver string. She couldn't have been more than seven, Artemis' own age. Her equally dark wings were halfway opened, revealing glittering orange and red scales underneath. And her eyes were stunning, seemingly many different colors at once. She seemed so happy.

"Who is she?" Artemis wondered, and Sunbell approached. She winced at the ground, her wings pressing close to her body.

"A fallen princess. The first child of Solar."

Artemis glanced at Sunbell, eyes narrowed. Apollo approached them, looking up at the princess as well.

"Her name was Solstice." Sunbell said slowly. "She was despised by many, for her blood. The first hybrid princess in Daywing history, and to an unknown tribe. She was killed, when she was still so young. Most believe it's what triggered Solar's own...shattering."

Artemis tilted her head, and walked towards the frame of the painting. Scratched across the gold in ugly, jagged writing was some sort of a message. Artemis shivered.

Night and Day were never meant to be.

"Come on." Sunbell urged, lightly touching Artemis' arm as she nudged her forward. "We have to hurry."

As they left the room, Artemis imagined Solstices' smile. It left a cold feeling in her heart.