Lisa POV:
A twinge in my side made me come to consciousness.
Cold iron chains encircled my whole body. They cut into my flesh and tightened more with every tiny movement.
Screams rang out, they came again and again.
No light reached my eyes and my vision was blurred.
I lacked the strength to lift my head even a little.
It was all no use.
What had happened?
Was Kayla all right?
I remembered again.
The warriors of Vitis had attacked the Moon Lake Cave.
There were too many of them to overpower. Too many to even have a chance of winning. My eyes remained closed, but I could hear footsteps approaching.
An iron door creaked open and someone entered the cell where I lay motionless. "Take her to Queen Emerald.
But just loosen the chains a little."
A familiar dragon voice that I couldn't remember the name of spoke the order.
I felt two dragons release me from the chains a little, and my warm blood ran down my scales.
With the remaining strength I had, I managed to open my eyes and looked directly into bright orange eyes.
They looked at me menacingly, giving me a warning that I shouldn't try anything stupid. Inside I had to grin.
I couldn't do that with these chains around my body anyway, so I flashed my blue eyes to show the dragon that they couldn't get me down.
The dragon, whose scales shimmered dark green in the dim light, bared its sharp teeth and looked as if it wanted to bite my neck.
I laughed inwardly again.
The two dragons next to me pushed me onto my feet and tried to support me as I was almost falling over again, but the dark green dragon only hissed at them.
"Let this beast walk to Queen Emerald alone, don't you dare help her!"
With their pointy armor sitting on the bridge of their noses, they pushed me out of the cell.
I knew this place.
It was the castle dungeon of Vitis.
More and more cells stretched along the stone walls.
All filled with innocent dragons, no matter how old or young.
The stench of blood and decay filled my nostrils.
The dragons down here were tortured to death, or until they died of their wounds. What disgusting assholes, how could anyone do such a thing?
The way to the crown hall was not far, as the dungeon was directly below it.
In front of the large doors, which were adorned with gold and crystals and only a few meters away from Emerald, the Queen of Vitis, stood another two large dragons. Both had brown scales and dull green eyes. They didn't even give me a glance.
The doors opened with a flourish and I had a clear view of the dragon that was causing all the suffering.
Smaragd sat there with a crown on her head. Her white, supple body literally shone in the light.
Her wings, made of thin skin, lay elegantly against her body.
All of this was emphasized by the red spikes that stretched from her head to the tip of her tail.
Her violet eyes, flecked with golden splashes, gleamed with delight.
"Lisa, how long has it been since we've seen each other?
8 years?
I hope you've been okay so far!"
My mocking laughter filled the room.
"Why should you care how I've been all these years.
After all, you were the reason I ran away. Weren't you, mother?"
The grin on Emerald's face gradually faded and she was clearly getting angry.
"Actually, I had hoped for a better reunion between daughter and mother.
But I guess I was wrong.
You're still as cheeky with your own mother as ever!"
She snarled at me, and everyone else backed away a little, except for myself.
I wasn't afraid of her.
After all, she had only become queen of Vitis because she was sold to the former king as a peace offering.
There was nothing special about my mother that would make her a special dragon.
She's the younger sister of Queen Sapphire, she doesn't have any special talents, and she doesn't really look exceptional.
Without her position as queen, she would be just a normal dragon.
I put on a wicked smile.
"I have a question mother.
Do your dragons know how you became queen?
Do they know what you did?"
With only a quickmovement, she stood in front of me and hoisted me up.
"You better keep quiet or I will have you tortured in the dungeon just like the other dragons that are there.
Some of them went mad before they died because of all the pain and screaming." Sparks flew between us.
None of the soldiers in the room spoke, but you could see the confusion in their eyes. "Take her to her old room and chain her up!" The soldiers forcibly dragged me through the castle, to the top floor, and then to the end of the corridor.
My room was there.
It was big and nothing had changed. Someone must have cleaned it regularly because there wasn't a speck of dust to be seen in the room.
Everywhere on the walls and throughout the room in general, there were places to tie a kite.
It was nothing more than a beautifully furnished cell.
I had spent my childhood here.
Locked up and chained, with no friends or real outside contacts.
Apart from the maid who looked after me, a single warrior who guarded me in case I was allowed out, and my parents, I didn't know any other dragons until I was 10.
It had been lonely, my world had turned black and white during those years.
Until I was rescued by Ryan.
As soon as the warriors left the room, I pulled myself onto the big bed and closed my eyes.
Most of the chains were taken off, expect from the ones around my paws and neck.
I wondered how Kayla was doing right now. Hopefully she was okay, and safe in the moon lake cave.
I miss her a lot, and I hope she misses me too.