[center][h1]Chapter 21[/h1]
[h2]5020[/h2][/center]

        Tidal landed on a tiny deserted island in the SeaWing kingdom, she was still a good hour away from the palace but she wanted to make sure her invisibility spell worked as expected before she risked going inside. She felt a bit rusty after all those months of not casting a single spell, it was practically the opposite of when she was in Night City and she almost felt bad for leaving such a place and its apparent freedom.
        She stepped forward carefully as she didn’t want to rouse the guards or Queen Coral, even if deep inside she wished she could push her buttons once more, she knew just how easy it was. 
        But she had to refrain herself, it wasn’t the reason she flew here, she wanted to see how the kingdom was fairing without her. Not that she thought she would be irreplaceable --even when she [i]was[/i] the sole active animus dragon-- the kingdom had survived before without any. 
        No, the truth was that she feared for her parents and friends. The months she had spent waiting for Moonlight to get better made her realize how she had been rash with her decision and perhaps that she should have thought a bit more before casting a spell on Coral.

[center]~[/center]

        Tidal had discussed with Moonlight at length about visiting the Sea Kingdom, the NightWing didn’t really mind. As a matter of fact, she didn’t mind [i]anything at all[/i]. It was like talking to a doll that kept agreeing on everything you said and Tidal had felt both annoyed at her lack of enthusiasm and worried that if she left her she might get hurt or worse, go back to Night City.

        After flying back to the RainForest with Moon and Sheerluck, it took all of the Seer’s persuasion to have Moonlight agree to remain in the RainWing village for the time being. Glory and her minions had been hard at work building a comfortable cabin where she could stay, while also being able to keep an eye on her as they all feared that going back to her parents’ house would be too traumatizing. 
        The Queen had asked her best builders to assemble something as fast as possible. A little shack next to the hospital in case she would require it. She even sent DeathBringer flying all the way to Possibility to get Mayfly, but even his best flirtatious behavior couldn’t get her away from her duties and she had refused to leave for more than a day or two. However she promised them she would get a hold of the best practitioner she had ever worked with if she could find his last location.
        Glory agreed and offered her fastest flier to help locate him.
        All the while, the little dragoness had barely said anything and just nodded weakly when they addressed her and Tidal did all she could not to burst in anger, pacing the room like a cornered fox. 
        She wasn’t sure what had remained of her girlfriend’s eyesight from Night City, despite having been told that she was back the way it was before to visiting the place. Tidal somehow still wasn’t fully convinced.
        Mayfly had checked her thoroughly but her diagnostic was irrevocable:
        “She may be still a youngling but I see no reason to force her to stay here if she wants to go.” She’d explain to Tidal and Glory before turning to Moonlight. 
        “I can give you a remedy to calm your mind if you have the nightmares again, it will help you to sleep... I cannot force you to take them nor will I ask anyone to but if you cannot sleep, you may die.”
        The Queen had then gathered Moon and Tidal for advice in her throne hut. She admitted she hated the idea but it was probably the only solution to save her.
        “All you need is one spell and it’s all gone, right? We did it last time with the earring!”
        The words felt cold and regal.
        “It’s not that simple,” interjected Moon, “she already refused the ring... and if you force it onto her, we might as well send her back to Night City.”

[center]~[/center]

        Tidal carefully swam through the kelp towards the underwater entrance of the summer palace. She tried to keep her pace slow enough but her heart was racing. 
        Even the [i]sassy Queen[/i] missed her mother. 
        She closed her eyes for a brief moment and pushed on. A light touch, almost like a caress ran along her flank. At first, it felt like every other kelp blade brushing her but its continuation as if some...[i]thing[/i] was passing her. She froze in the water as it abruptly breached the surface of the adjacent dark hole, one of many that spotted the tunnel. It took her a couple seconds to realize that the place, usually pitch black, was eerily bathed in a soft aqua light. She looked up and that’s when she noticed a SeaWing sitting on a well-polished rock just above the water level. It was Anemone and she was staring at her.
        “I should punish you.” She remonstrated haughtily.
        Tidal held her tongue for a bit, how could she see her? She had made sure her spell kept her invisible...
        “You should be ashamed of yourself... How dare you insult me like that?” Anemone continued with a very regal air, almost mocking her but also genuinely annoyed, “you really think you could go pass any SeaWing like this?!”
        Tidal was a bit worried, [i]was she going to be detained just for visiting?[/i] She had been banned by Coral of course, so it wouldn’t surprise her if that’s how her trip ended. But her spell was good, it was working, she had thought of everything —except for Anemone to take the side of her mother that is—.
        “I cannot let you go through [i]until[/i] your correct your mistake.”
        Anemone looked defiant although somewhat appearing partially confused as to where she had to look, making Tidal think there was probably something more than just her spell not working.
        “But you can’t see me, what did I do wrong?” she proclaimed, which made Anemone laugh out loud.
        “Girl, I’m mad at you because you didn’t heed my lessons!” The Princess was no longer faking a regal attitude, she was straight mocking her as she lowered her snout to her level.
        “I... Wha... How?” Tidal queried, admittedly hurt in her pride.
        “Do I [i]really[/i] need to spell it to you?” asked the pearly dragoness with a smirk.
        Tidal felt both confused and annoyed. The way she had to be so regal and snooty like that. She hated it from the very first time she had done it to her back when she couldn’t find the answer to her basic questions during their time as teacher and student of Animus magic. As if the solution was always obvious. But of course, even the queen of Sass had to bow before actual royalty.
        “I... [i]guess[/i] you’re not mad at me for coming here?...”
        “No, I’m not... Well, yes, Yes, I am! What did you think? Even if I know my mother can be a prick and I don’t like the way she rules, what right did you have to do that to her?!”
        Anemone looked beyond angry for a moment and Tidal feared she might call guards but merely a moment later, her anger turn into a hefty, perhaps nervous, laugh.
        “That was quite a smart one though, can’t believe I never thought of it myself... But anyway, back to what I asked you. I can’t let you go like that.”
        Tidal was still quite confused and cocked her head, not that it mattered since Anemone couldn’t see her.
        “You... want me to cancel the spell on your mother.”
        “I mean, yeah, you could but that’s not what I want from you.” Anemone voice was posed and calm; even if with a slight hint of sass.
        “I don’t...”
        “Of course, you don’t.” The Princess sighed, slightly annoyed as she slapped her snout with her tail.
        Tidal almost drowned in surprise and gasped loudly.
        “Do you get it now?” Anemone chided.
        Tidal nodded slowly then realized once again that she couldn’t see her.
        “Yes, yes I do... I guess”, which got a groan from the other dragoness before she could continue, “I did make myself invisible but I didn’t account for being touched or felt...”
        “And?” Anemone insisted.
        “And... you can hear me!” trilled Tidal.
        The pearl dragon shook her head as she sighed.
        “I should never have let you go before we finished our lessons.”
        “You didn’t, I chose to leave.”
        “I know. Get on with it!”
        A moment passed before Tidal asked:
        “Better?”
        “I can still hear you.”
        “Obviously. I modified the spell so I can choose if I want someone to hear me or not.”
        “Clever girl. We might make something out of you one day...” Anemone scouted posing high and mighty with a grin.
        Tidal let out a chuckle before she asked.
        “Should I cancel the spell on your mother?”
        And whilst she waited for her answer, she felt like Anemone took an awfully long time to respond as if she weighed the pros and cons.
        “Leave it for now.” She finally acknowledged, “But when all of this is over, I want you to tell her what happened to her scrolls.”
        “Well, you know I didn’t...”
        Anemone raised a wing to stop her.
        “I know.” She simply said before she jumped in the water and quickly disappeared in a trail of bubbles.

        Tidal stood there alone in the dark, just the sound of the water crashing against the rock in front of her. She reviewed her spell in her head one more time before she agreed it was good enough and thanked Anemone silently. She just wished she could talk to her more. She may have an attitude but she was a great dragoness to be around and learn from.
        The water warmed up a little as she approached the palace, the vibrations became more intense as there seemed to be a lot of dragons inside. She quickly rose up and flew to the top platform where Coral was yelling orders. Although she was used to her, it sounded like the Queen wasn’t as vigorous as she used to be.
        Landing there gently as to avoid making noise, even if her spell was supposed to cover those, she tiptoed closer looking around. The guards didn’t pay attention to her, they were the usual close ones to Coral that she remembered. The Queen looked almost sad but no one else seemed to take notice. She was reviewing the latest news about her territory and had a couple guests from the SkyWing and MudWing kingdoms.
        As she glanced around, everyone appeared serious as it was common in such meetings but no one acted like they were overly implicated, even the guards were more relaxed than usual, one had his spear leaning against his shoulder, something that Coral would never have let slide before. The second one started yawning and Coral continued speaking as if it was a normal behavior.
        Tidal then crossed eyes with Anemone and then gulped loudly thinking she had seen her or that her spell had vanished. She frantically checked her body, legs and tail but she couldn’t see them.
        That’s when she realized she had sit at the exact same place that she used to when she [i]worked[/i] for Coral. It both troubled and relieved her as she forced her breathing to slow down. 
        No one had noticed her and Anemone had stopped looking in her direction.
        The meeting continued for a while and Tidal grew bored of it so she flew away and dove back into the water to go visit the Deep Palace where her parents were. The mere thought of seeing them again brought shivers. [i]How have they been since she left? And how would they react to her knowing she was banished from the kingdom?[/i]
        The further down she swam, the more her mind thought about it and she had to force herself to stop constantly coming up with weirder and weirder scenarios, what was done could not be undone and if there were consequences, she would have to face them.
        As she arrived at her mother’s place, she paused for a second then slowly opened the door and slid inside. Her mother was cleaning the floor but her father was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he was still working.
        Tidal took a moment to decide how to approach her mother, would it be better if she showed herself or if she stayed hidden. She was fiddling nervously with the stone in her talon when she dropped it and the spell dissipated.
        She tried to reach out and grab it when a short burst of blue flashes stopped her.
        “[i]Tidal?[/i]” the flash asked.
        She looked up and noticed her mother staring directly at her.
        “[i]Yes.[/i]” She flashed back.
        “[i]Is that really you?[/i]” her mother continued.
        “[i]Last time I checked, yeah.[/i]”
        Her mother looked around and rushed to the door, Tidal’s heart skipped a bit when she thought she would run for guards but instead closed it and pulled her further inside.
        “[i]What are you doing here? Are you unbanished yet?”[/i]
        “[i]I...[/i]” she hesitated for a second. “[i]am not. As a matter of fact, Coral doesn’t know I’m here. And to answer your first question, I wanted to check on you all...[/i]”
        “[i]Ah! Of course, you wouldn’t[/i]” interjected Sponge, shocking Tidal a little. “[i]Don’t tell me you’re too proud to ask for Queen Coral’s pardon and get reinstated... You had quite a good career opportunity there, one of a lifetime. One that reflected good on your family, one that...[/i]”
        “[i]MOM!”[/i] she interrupted her. “[i]I know. I don’t need you to scold me on that...[/i]”
        She paused and looked at her mother, the SeaWing was standing there with her broom, made of a long, almost straight, driftwood piece weighted down and on which were attached thin pieces of kelp at the bottom end, in her talons. She didn’t look mad at her or even angry at all. She just seemed to wait for an explanation.
        “[i]I chose this,[/i]” she finally admitted, “[i]it’s a long story and I will tell you everything about it, but know that I chose this path and ever since I did it, I thought of you and the consequences...[/i]”
        Her mother eyes softened.
        “[i]Oh Tidal... Yes, I agree, you should have thought of them before taking a rash decision... It could have been very bad for you. Thankfully, Queen Coral always punishes the person responsible, not their relatives, she had never had a bad word for us and she had been quite protective when others tried to blame your behavior on us... But what are you going to do now?[/i]”
        -[i]Probably thanks to the spell I put on you both and this place, mom... I’m glad it worked.[/i]- She thought to herself. 
        She had buried a stone with the spell back in Night City, next to Moonlight’s cove, where no one would search for it but she was still worried that she might had not spelled it carefully enough or that it wouldn’t work from such a distance even if she knew that this was completely silly regarding animus magic. Still it had taken her several iterations and a few headaches to make sure she covered everything, Anemone wouldn’t have anything to say about this one. 
        Or maybe she would...
        “[i]I am still an animus mother, just because Coral...[/i]”
        “[i]Queen Coral.[/i]” Sponge corrected.
        “[i]Queen Coral... banished me that doesn’t mean I don’t have my magic and animus dragons are pretty rare and in demand.[/i]”
        “[i]Also quite hated by a good number of dragons.[/i]”
        Tidal knew that and she wasn’t really sure what to answer. She could, of course, have gone all sassy and just claim “No worries, I got this!” but that didn’t feel right, not saying it to her mother anyway.
        “[i]I... know, mother. But I made friends and I know a Queen who doesn’t hate me and and...[/i]”
        “[i]I’m glad you found someone but do they love you too?[/i]”
        “[i]Yes! I mean, WHAT? How...[/i]” Tidal frowned, “[i]Yeah yeah, you’re my mother and you know me like you made me.[/i]”
        “[i]I did, didn’t I?[/i]” Sponge smiled and it warmed Tidal like she hadn’t in a long time.
        “[i]If you truly love them, you’ll do what’s necessary and not just what your heart tells you.[/i]”
        “[i]Yes mom, and her name is Moonlight.[/i]”
        Sponge nodded softly and turned her back to her as she flashed.
        “[i]Come, I’ll make dinner before your father arrives and you’ll tell us all what happened since you left.[/i]”

        Tidal had stayed much longer than she had wanted to but she felt that it had been both needed and worth it. Even if she was worried for Moonlight, she had been assured she was well guarded and that the new doctor was the best one they could find, MayFly said he had a thing for rare diseases, like he could just research and treat them so easily, she even said she suspected he could be using spells, but then she laughed and just dismissed it.
        So she flew leisurely along the small islands forming the tail of Pyrrhia, regularly stopping to eat and rest, but only releasing her invisibility cloak once she had cleared the Kingdom of the Sea and flew past that Scavengers village which had her a bit intrigued after she had heard of an IceWing being the leader in human research, the way the Scavengers called themselves, in Possibility. She had used a quick spell to eavesdrop on them but she couldn’t come close enough to the village for fear of hurting them or destroying something and so she only heard bits about guards and monitoring dragons. Nothing that really kept her interest for too long but enough to bring some stories to cheer Moonlight.
        The rest of the flight to the RainForest was monotonous but not boring. The RainWing village being on this side of the forest, it made for a shorter flight than if she had to go to the NightWing part. She flew silently as many RainWings were still sunbathing but landed quickly as she still wasn’t used to flying in the understory.
        The place was eerily calm, a few birds sang here and there. A cool breeze made her shiver as she approached the hut Moonlight occupied. The door was made of intertwined soft vines thick enough to block the view from outside. The dome was not very tall but it was enough to fit a couple dragons comfortably, even of the larger tribes. Tidal was mesmerized by what the builder did in such a short time. It was decorated with flowers from someone who knew them thoroughly and the window and door frames had some intricate patterns carved into them.
        As she didn’t really feel any urgency, thinking that Moonlight might also be asleep or maybe already with the new doctor, she extended her neck to take in the scents of a couple flowers. It was intoxicating, like something she had never smelled before. A very intriguing but also charming mix of essences that felt like she was being massaged by a velvety flowerbed. She [i]would[/i] have to find out who made those later.
        She sighed quietly with her eyes closed hoping to enjoy the moment for a little while longer, but that’s when she heard a little scream. One so faint that she thought she had imagined it for a second. But that voice was unmistakable and it had come from inside the hut. It took her mere moments to clear her head and pull the vines away as she stepped inside.
        Near the furthest part of the room, Moonlight had her tail squished between her back and the wall, trying to push it away. Her gaze was staring straight towards a white and black dragon, his head partially deformed under one of his horn and an icy steam appeared to rise from his lighter side. The dragon was holding a scroll on a rigid tablet and was writing frantically as he observed Moonlight. Tidal wasn’t sure what was going on and paused for a second to try and make sense of the scenery. Was it another dream she had or was she shocked at the other dragon appearance? 
        The SeaWing eventually deduced that he must be the doctor MayFly had called and relaxed a bit as she reflected that Moonlight should be in good claws now.
        She sat up and opened her muzzle but as she was about to say something, Moonlight collapsed on the ground, her pale eyes fixated on the other dragon.
        “It’s [i]you[/i]...” she said feebly, “[i]You[/i] killed my parents.”