Ivy hated traveling. Traveling with others at least. She always got that sense of someone always watching, looking at her every move. But irritatingly enough, her mother didn't care because she was royal and amazing and exemplary blah blah blah. She flapped harder to keep up with her family, and looked down, trying to count the number of times her wings completed the fast-moving circle. Her high score was 163 circles in 5 seconds. Ivy's close friends often said her wings flapped like a hummingbird; she had never seen one, but she figured they were pretty cool- like her, obviously.
One of the guards slowed, falling behind Ivy.
"Princess PoisonIvy, I would advise you take a rest in the chariot."
Ivy slowly rolled her eyes but sped up, landing on the small chariot next to her mother and father.
What he meant by, 'chariot', was a large hammock. The guards were meant to carry it through the air and lift it. In her opinion it was grueling work. She thought back to the Chariot instead of letting her mind wander. It was almost like a jungle canopy mushed into one, solid, compact hammock, even though Ivy often thought the word 'chariot' was a bit of an exaggeration. She looked down at the guards carrying the practical floating palace through the air. They looked tired; maybe she should help them... She decided to leave them be as she felt her own wings growing low on energy.
She thought back to the interaction with the guard instead. He had called her by her real name, PoisonIvy. Just as requested. Only her close friends were allowed to call her Ivy. She sighed quietly and took to the air again. Round and round her wings went, beating fast under the booming heat of the sun.
Her bright amber eyes gleamed in the glaring sunlight as she sped past the rest of the group. They had been flying for hours, and everyone knew that because most of the royal family had small wings, they had to land often. And that meant stopping, and stopping, and stopping. She looked down at a small island up ahead and figured she might as well get there before the rest of them. So, she sped up and landed gracefully on the ground.
Snap.
Ivy whipped around. Something was watching her. She squinted as the sun glared in her eyes. Her wings started buzzing and her eyes narrowed. That creeping sense of something watching returned.
"Who's there?!" she shouted into the forest surrounding her.
With no response, her back legs tensed, and she felt a low growl rise in her throat.
"Who's there?!" she repeated.
She heard another snap and the sound of wingbeats. Ivy saw not another soul and immediately jumped into the air, turning in a circle. She soon saw her guards and parents arriving in the background.
"I'm just going to have to keep my guard up," she whispered quietly. (She wouldn't normally let the 'thing' go, but the was a special case. She decided later)
When everyone was settled on the island after what seemed like an eternity to Ivy, she decided to explore and hopefully find the mysterious dragon on her trail. She began forward in a trot that soon sped up to a slow run.
"Where are you..." she growled.
She searched behind many trees and small shrubs and soon decided to give up. It was getting late, and she might as well get back to the group. As she was walking back, she gazed up at the endless array of day-time stars in the distance. She paused to get a closer look at the awe and beauty.
Snap.
There it was again, that weird sound. The dragon must have not left the island, what else would be watching her at this time of day? She slowly folded into her battle stance. No dragon would dare sneak up on her, at least not now anyway. She lit up the wisps under her wings and felt her tail tense.
"Who's there?!" she called for what felt like the eight millionth time that day.
With no response, she darted to the clearing were her parents and guards were resting and ran straight into her personal guard, Vine. He at first seemed disoriented but soon regained his focus and dipped his head in respect.
"Your highness, what are you doing out so late at night? I was looking for you with no success, is something wrong?"
"Yes," Ivy snapped, "something is very wrong, and I command you and two of the finest guards to search this island snout to talon for anything suspicious!"
Vine nodded and rushed into crowd of guards, searching with such pristine quickness Ivy was almost surprised.
She slowly de-lit her glowing wisps and settled down with an unsuccessful attempt to fall asleep. She rolled onto her back with a soft sigh. Her irritated gaze fluttered over the four moons lighting the cold, dim sky of the night.
As the hours slowly went by, Ivy noticed herself growing hungrier by the second. She got up glaring at the food pile nearby. It was all pampered and salty, Ivy preferred fresh, wild caught prey, anything than her selections.
After her midnight snack, Ivy caught a strange smell of blood. She decided to investigate and began forward in a slow walk. Her eyes narrowed as she felt the sent grow stronger. She tracked the scent for about an hour until she gave up. This was pointless. She headed back to the group with a soft growl rising in her throat. She felt a flicker of anger that she couldn't find the source of the smell, even though it was probably decaying prey. She finally settled down, just enough to catch a few winks of sleep. Then, finally after getting one more snack, she was drifting in the comforting arms of rest.
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