A/N Guys I am SO very sorry this took so long! I had it finished, but there is limited internet where I live, and I ran out of mobile data too, so I couldn't post... thank you so much for being patient though, you're the best readers EVER!!!

Organized, loud, and idiotic.

That is the only way to describe the Queen's army in its current state.

Organized, because, as I've learned, everything that happens here is documented, whether it is the training sessions or lunch times, nothing is overlooked. 

Them being loud is something I had suspected from my time studying enforcers in the Scorpion Den, and here I just managed to confirm that.

The reason I call them idiotic, is because everything they teach us here, I already know how to do.

Really, what properly trained dragonet doesn't know every tribe's weak spots, or how to kill a dragon in less that ten heartbeats? (I put that in there because in book 10, they count in dragon heartbeats instead of seconds. I might still slip up though and start counting in minutes or hours, so if I do, please correct me, as I want this book to be as accurate as possible)

But something that honestly surprised me was how ignorant these dragons can be, for example, right now.

After my second day's lessons, I decide to give myself a self guided tour of the barracks, as none of these sand-brained soldiers thought about doing it.

I waited till after the sun has set, and everyone was silent and asleep. That afternoon I had memorized every creaky floorboard, and used that know how as I navigate my way down the hallway, and then the stairs.

Poking my head put of the doorway, my eyes scan the terrain, noticing where on the walls the torches were located, and the few moving figures I identified as guards on patrol.

Just to make sure we don't escape, I'm betting, my thoughts take a sour turn, and I can't help but compare this place to a prison.

I shake my head, focusing on the task in front of me again. Waiting till everything was clear, I silently darted out of the building, instead moving over to the more shadowed part of the wall.

From there on, I explore.

Turns out, the whole training camp is shaped like a ring, the walls forming the band, and the palace sitting on the northern side, just like a diamond would. 

The whole western quarter is dedicated to the sleeping barracks, and the southern part to large arenas, witch I'm guessing would be for larger fighting matches. 

The eastern side is what really interests me though, because instead of big buildings like where we are spending our nights, large tents are pitched up in neat rows, laugter and shouts spilling from most of the entrances.

I was just about to try and glimps what was inside, but as soon as I came close, a small, peach colored dragon came though the flap, before hurrying off into the darkness again.

Getting caught isn't worth whatever I might see in there, I thought, and move on, catching only part of any conversasion.

"...weapons will be strengthened..."

"...and this one is from a SkyWing's claws..." 

"...Queen Gazelle loves her treasure, but counting it takes forever..."

My wanderings bring me back to the barracks again, but just as I'm about to head back in, a muffled voice rings in my ears. Following it, I head towards a darker part of the camp.

"But General, isn't two weeks too short a time to train all these dragonets?"

I slither along the wall, keeping my wings and body out of sight, a tactic I do practically subconsciously, and peek around the corner. 

There, mostly hidden in shadows, stood General Marage, his large body erect, and with military precision. Another dragon stood next to him, this one minuscule against his bulk. 

She seemed nervous to talk to him, but the three golden chains around neck suggested a rather high position in the palace hierarchy.

That's the same dragon that came out of the tent before, the peachy scales flashing in the firelight.

"We don't need them fully trained," the General's voice was deep, sending a shiver down my wings. "All we need is numbers."

"Excuse me sir," the small dragon spoke again, constantly shifting her weight. "But I'm afraid I don't understand your reasoning."

"Let me put it this way, lieutenant Dusk," Marage said, starting to walk towards the palace. I followed them, keeping my distance, yet still staying close enough to listen in.

"If a IceWing comes at one dragon with a spear, and kills that dragon, another dragon can come and attack the IceWing while he is distracted. It is as Queen Gazelle said, whether our new recruits are trained or not, it's the amount of dragons that counts."

As I listened to this, a new level of resentment formed in my heart, though it was his next words that pushed it from dislike to hate.

"After all, who cares if they all die."

And that did it, those words are what solidified my belief, my knowledge, that Queen Gazelle is a monster, that doesn't care about her citizens anymore that what they can do for her.

I started backing up again, leaving the two dragons to continue their late night meeting in secret. 

A short while later, as I slipped into my room, I thought again about what the General had said.

"Who cares if they all die?"

I care, I realized with a jolt, laying down on my reed mattress, I care about every single Scorpion in that Den.

And I will keep them safe.

No matter what the cost.