Walking with Peridot and Amethyst, Mamba wasn't really sure what to do. They obviously didn't know about her venom. At least, she didn't think they did. Should she attack? But they are royalty.. Absentmindedly flicking her forked tongue, Mamba focused on the scene around her instead. They were heading up black, shadowy tunnels that had almost no light whatsoever. It was nothing like the brighter cell she had woken up in. Smaller tunnels scraped into this one lead to faintly glowing larger cell pockets that branched off one another, making a crescent shape of prisons.

There was a little light, mostly from up ahead and the 'Crystalwing's' spikes and horns. The one called Amethyst had glowing stripes running through her wings, even. The light from up ahead was even brighter now, aglow with warm red and orange. Fire, hopefully. These stone tunnels were awfully chilly.

"A little sun would be nice, too." She thought, pausing as a wave of red rolled through her scales.

"Mamba?" Artemis's voice asks, and Mamba turns her head to find a blurry purple shadow and blue eyes.

"Right here." Mamba nudged her wing with one of her own, falling back and walking beside Artemis instead.

"So." Mamba lowered her voice. "Why exactly are we following the strange, crystal-dragons anyway?"

Artemis shrugged casually, an etch of concern racing across her expression. "We're the intruders here. If things don't go well.." Her voice trailed off. "I'll figure something out. Just for now, we'll follow them."

Mamba nodded and grinned, "Alright." She elbowed the Nightwing. "You're the leader, anyway!" She said jokingly.

Smiling, Artemis turned to face the front again when Peridot and Amethyst suddenly stopped, causing Tempest to trip into Potent and for the Sandwing to hiss menacingly.

"Single file." Peridot's voice snarled, and Mamba found herself glaring intently at the green dragon.

"I'll melt your face off." She thought angrily, black and red were really swirling through her scales now. "Don't tell me what to do."

Potent had grudgingly stood in front of Tempest, while the others followed suit. But Mamba had other plans. Closing her eyes and taking in the colors, she vanished before anyone could blink.

"I'm staying camouflaged." She hissed quietly to Artemis, who jumped a few feet in the air at the sound of her voice.

"What?" Artemis squinted at the faint outline of Mamba. "But, we have to stick together!" She said, her hope shrinking as the outline faded into the blackness.

"I won't leave." Mamba rolled her eyes for a split second as they headed into the light filled cave. "I'm just going to hide. If something goes wrong they won't expect it, right? Now shush."

Opening and closing her mouth, protests faded from Artemis. She snorted unhappily before following the others. Satisfied, Mamba trudged up the tunnel, squinting as she was bombarded with light to her face. Sunlight? No. What was it?

Waiting for the sparkle to go away, she blinked around the cave. It was huge, probably the size of the whole Rainforest canopy, at least. Sharp crevasses were struck down into the hardened stone earth, and spires and ledges twirled up to the ceiling like groping talons. The stone was a soft, amber/gold color that glittered with tinier specks of light. Now that the spots no longer danced in her eyes, Mamba could see that those odd specks of light were more crystals. Much like those in the cave where she, Snowfall and Seaglass had been discovered.

Clusters of all colors were formed in unimaginable shapes. Like frost gathering on leaves, a violet crown, a group of crystals even reminded her of the lotus, her favorite flower. But what was the most astonishing, there were dragons crawling around them. They wore some sort of clear head armor and that's it. Each dragon had a metal barrel they were filling to the top with crystals and gems. Mamba watched as a yellow one took a sleek black tool, and a fat flat rock. With stunning accuracy, she swiftly placed the black tool on a groove in a green spire of gems and promptly bashed the rock against the top of it, splitting the gems apart until they fell into the waiting talons of other dragons.

"They're miners!" She realized with a jolt, fighting to keep the astonishment from breaking past her camouflage. Sparing a glance at her friends, she could see they held equal surprise.

A few dragons poked their heads out of glittering crevasses to peer at them in interest. Peridot raised his wings and puffed out his chest as an act of authority.

"Get back to work." He boomed, watching the dragons scuttle back to their places or continue to mine away the gems. But two dragons continued to stare. They were both dragonets, maybe around the age of Mamba herself. They looked big enough to be seven years old, at least. They exchanged looks and soft murmurs before taking flight to a tall spire, tools grasped in their talons.

Amethyst lifted her head and arched her neck, glaring at the departing dragonets before opening her own wings. "We have to fly to the throne room. Come on."

Potent muttered something incomprehensible but followed nonetheless. It wasn't long until they were in the air, winging towards a smaller cave mouth that yawned at the top of the walls. Gems of all kind studded the opening in patters, and Mamba watched as small dragons added new gems to pockets in the wall, before leaning down and breathing colorful and crackling flames over the item to seal them in.

"Talk about wealthy." She stared down at the miners below her. "This Queen must be really powerful.. Respected." She thought. "Leaving might be harder than I anticipated."

Whirling around, she barely caught the departing sandy-pale tail vanish into the decorated cave mouth. With a wince, Mamba dove into the entrance, startling one of the decorators with a breeze as she flew by. Suspicious, the gold dragon looked around before shrugging and continuing her work. Probably just some left over wind stirred up by the prince and princess with the strange dragons.

When Mamba entered the cave, she was dazzled by the huge, sparkly chandelier hanging from the ceiling. It was so colorful it even hurt HER eyes. Now that took a lot, judging from the fact she was a Rainwing with scales that could do that.

Gemstone dragons milled around in a haze from one entrance to the exit, leaving a space for Peridot and Amethyst to walk up a set of steps with her friends. She landed ungracefully, accidentally stepping on a spiky amber tail as she fled up the steps, leaving a baffled dragon to figure out who just stepped on his tail. He bet it was the dragon walking next to him. She looked careless enough to do it.

Mamba's heart was racing by the time she caught up with the others. Amethyst had stopped near a set of velvety drapes that obscured the view inside. Giving the others a sharp look-particularly at Potent- she pulled them back and stepped inside.

Biting back a yelp, she slipped in the room before the curtains settled again.

Inside the room was the most treasure Mamba had ever seen in her life. Sure, the crystals outside were astonishing. But all this? If she didn't know better she would've thought it to be the treasury. Piles beyond piles of gold and other treasures littered the room. There wasn't an inch untouched by the glittering wealth. Amethyst had to wade in the coins before climbing up an unsteady hill of them.

As she continued to look around, her eyes skimmed over the center of a room without a second thought, thinking there was just more treasure. But as she carefully climbed the hoard of gold beside Artemis to hide her movement, reality slapped her in the face when she realized the white thing she looked over had moved.

And sure enough it moved again. Calm, and splayed out carelessly over jewels and gold was the most beautiful dragon in all of Pyhrria. She had opalescent white scales with a frill of clear horns that acted as a crown. Diamonds were littered all over her scales, big and small. The dragon was a bit larger than Amethyst herself, who was a little short. She was joyously examining a few coins that were held in her flawless talons.

"Mother." Amethyst said, arching her neck.

The white Queen was oblivious for a few moments, finally looking up and tossing the gold into another pile somewhere else. She beamed, her wide gold eyes shining. "Amethyst, my dear!" She beckons them over in a bubbly and airy voice, not even trying to move from her spot. "It's about time you showed up."

Her eyes shine even brighter at the sight of Mamba's friends. "Ooh, new and pretty shiny dragons!"

Mamba watched Mudpuddle look at herself in befuddlement at the word 'shiny'.

"Wow." She coos again, spreading glittering wings.

Peridot snorted and shoved Tempest forward, much to her dislike. "Queen Diamond." He spoke. "Here are the prisoners you requested to see."

Diamond twirled a random strand of pearls in her talons, grinning with sharp white teeth. But her grin then faded, replaced by a confused look. "Weren't there seven?" She slammed her fist in a whine. "Topaz said there were seven."

Peridot rolls his eyes for a split second, before stuttering out an answer. "Y-yes, mother, there were. But one is non negotiable and the other refused to come."

Diamond looked at the dragonets before holding up her talons and counting. "Uh, how many are there now?"

Peridot studied the others before breathing out an answer. " Four-" he halted.

Amethyst must've notice this mistake too. "What happened to the angry one?" She cried.

"I'm not ANGRY." Mamba fumed. "Well, I am now."

She caught Artemis trying to hold a straight face, and unfortunately, Peridot did too. He knocked the Nightwing to her feet before Mamba could even blink.

"Where is your friend?" He growled, towering over Artemis.

"I-I don't know." She answered truthfully.

Peridot glared and suddenly snatched her wrist in his talons and yanked her up. "Yes you do. Now show me."

"Let go of her you filthy, rat-eating manatee!" Potent yelled as Amethyst jumped in his way. He resorted to flicking his chained tail and glaring at the adult.

"Peridot." Diamond said just as Mamba was about to dart forward. She glared unexpected daggers at her son. "There is no violence in my throne room. " she added with a hint of childish irritation in her voice. "Don't you know? You could get blood on all the treasure."

"Totally not the regal and level headed Queen I was expecting." Mamba thought to herself.

"Go do your investigating thing and find the other one out there." Diamond pouted, pointing at the curtains.

"You won't have to." Mamba says, making almost every dragon in the room leap a few feet in the air.

She materialized before Queen Diamond, leaving her scales a calm, nonthreatening lavender. "Hello, your majesty. My name is Mamba."