Authors note: this is a continuation of the last chapter and is the memory Shadow was about to peer into in that chapter. A memory of Shadow's mother, Umbra.
Chapter 6
Umbra stopped for a moment to breathe and looked at
the cave around her. It was large enough that she could just barely spread her
wings without touching the celling, but the ground was broken and had to be
climbed over. The glow worms barely cast any light down here but that wasn’t a
problem for a night wing like her. Even so, climbing over the rough terrain of
the tunnel floor was exhausting.
“Come on Umbra!” The agile and lithe female dragon
ahead of her whispered.
“I’m coming, I’m coming. Not everyone is a cave
spider like you,” She replied.
Of the three dragons ahead of her, the one furthest
ahead and beckoning to her was named Vesper. The larger male dragon just
climbing up to the ledge beside Vesper was Tenebrosity. He was the biggest of
the four of them and was also older by one year than the rest of them. He was almost
more dark blue or purple than black. The small female dragon just in front of
her was Sombre.
“Why do we even need to take these back tunnels
anyway?” Sombre complained.
“Because we don’t want the grown ups getting all
mad that miss princess over there is hanging out with ‘commoners’ like us,”
Vesper replied. “Besides, it’s a lot more fun this way,” She laughed as she
leapt to the next rock.
“If they’re so worried about you why do you keep breaking
out of the palace to hang out with us? Don’t you have some higher class friends
to play with?” Tenebrosity asked. Umbra helped Sombre up to the ledge and leapt
up beside her.
“You guys are my only real friends. All the young boy
dragons in the palace want to do is show off or try to flatter me with fake
compliments in the hopes that I’ll favor them when I choose a mate some day. Meanwhile,
all the girls want to do is look pretty and talk about which boys they want to
marry. Ugh."
‘gag’
"Nooooo thank you. With you guys I get to actually DO
stuff. Plus, everybody in the palace is all like, ‘Umbra! Don’t walk so near
the edge! What if you fall?’ or ‘A princess does not roll around on the
ground like a common dragonet.’ and my personal favorite ‘Umbra! Where did you
learn that dreadful language!’” Umbra said, copying her tutor’s horrified reprimands.
All the dragons broke down laughing. Vesper fell on
her back in a fit of laughter clutching her chest while Sombre tried to cover
her mouth grinning ear to ear. Eventually their crippling giggles subsided, and
they were able to continue their adventure.
Eventually they reached one of the exit tunnels.
Most of the time they were empty since only the hunters and guards were allowed
to use them. Umbra and her friends loved to explore around there and if the
guard was distracted or asleep they would sneak a peek outside. If they did get
caught Umbra always distracted the guards so that her friends could get away
and avoid being punished. They couldn’t do anything to her after all.
“Hey guys!” Vesper whispered excitedly from the
entrance to the main tunnel. “The guard today is different. I don’t think I’ve
seen him before.”
Everyone crowded around the corner to take a look.
The entrance to the tunnel was only a few wingspans
away. The guard sat on the ground near the entrance. His wings were drooped,
and his tail laid unmoving behind him. he looked back and forth in a slow,
depressed manner.
“Awww. He seems so sad,” Sombre mewed
compassionately.
“Yeah well of course. Guard duty sucks. Just
sitting there for hours watching for nothing with no one to talk to. Talk about
boring and depressing. I mean, I get that having another guard is ‘distracting’
but seriously!” Tenebrosity snorted. “And The worst part is that I only became
old enough to be put on guard duty last summer and he looks even younger than
me. I bet this is one of his first times on guard duty.”
“Hmmm. Why don’t we go cheer him up a bit then?”
Umbra suggested. The others looked at her as if she had just suggested jumping
into a cave bat nest.
“Come on Umbra! You know we aren’t allowed this far
from the city. If he reports us we’ll be severely punished, and if they think
we kidnaped you we could be put in prison or worse!” Vesper hissed.
“Hmph! Well, I’m going to go brighten his day. As
princess, I can’t just stand by while one of my guards looks so sad and
pathetic now can I?” She joked as she boldly walked out into the passage and crept
towards the guard.
Most night wings were stealthy by nature, so it was
easy for her to sneak up on the guard while he was focused on what was in front
of him. She looked back at her friends who still peeked out from the passage.
Their eyes looked like they were glowing in the light of the moon and stars
from outside. She smiled at them, then stepped up beside the guard not caring
about keeping silent anymore.
“What a nice night we’re having.”
“Ahhh! What?! Who?!”
The guard jumped up and turned to Umbra only to
trip on his own tail and fall back against the tunnel wall. Umbra barely
suppressed a giggle and offered the guard a talon.
“Sorry about that. Here, let me help you,” She said
with a friendly smile. The guard shook his head and took the offered talon.
“Thank you miss. Sorry for jumping like that. I
didn’t expect anyone to be out here…” He trailed off and his eyes widened as he
realised who he was talking to.
“Princess Umbra! I’m so sorry for acting so
disgracefully in front of your highness like that,” he said, quickly bowing.
“Oh please, no need for all the formality. Just
call me Umbra, and you needn’t worry about disgracing yourself before me or
anything. I’ve stepped on my own tail before,” She said dismissively. The guard
stood awkwardly, not sure how to act.
“Um… very well, uh… Umbra. Thank you for forgiving
my informality. If I May ask… why you are here?” He asked, looking around for her
escort.
“I simply decided to stretch my legs and didn’t
want to bother the guards so I may have just… slipped out on my own for a bit.”
Umbra replied slyly giving him a wink.
“But prince- I mean, Umbra. It’s dangerous to be
out here on your own. What if something were to happen to you? What if some of
the cave beasts were to attack?” The guard asked, concerned.
Umbra smiled. He looked kind of cute when he was
concerned about her. And He actually seemed concerned about her. Unlike
those at the palace who simply worried about her position.
“Well, that’s why I have such a brave guard to
protect me, right?” She said with a cute smile. The guard still didn’t seem
convinced.
“I really should escort you back to the palace… But
then nobody would be here to keep watch,” He muttered anxiously.
“Well, why don’t I keep watch with you for a
while?” Umbra suggested. “I’d like to stay a bit longer and it would be nice to
have some company while you keep watch right? You seemed quite depressed
earlier.”
The guard sighed. He couldn’t go against the wishes
of a princess after all.
“Very well. I’d be honored to accept your company
for the evening.”
He sat down and gestured to a seat beside him.
Umbra smiled happily as she sat down.
“I never did get your name,” She mentioned.
"Oh. Please forgive me. My name is Dawngazer."
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