Glow landed swiftly and tip-toed quietly off to her dorm when she was stopped by Peril, with a rather cross look on her face. "So, what were you two talking about?"  Her voice was stinging with contempt. Glow was caught incredibly off-guard by the harshness of the question.

       "We weren't  really talking about anything. We talked about you for a bit and then we  talked about ourselves for a bit. Nothing, really." Glow explained.

       "Yeah. You talked about how I apparently 'don't know any better.' And here I thought you  actually cared about what I felt." Peril spat. Glow widened her eyes in shock.

       "You spied on us?" Glow accused.

       Peril scoffed. "Well, I mean, I couldn't leave you two completely alone, now could I?"  She said angrily. Glow felt offended by her remark.

       "Are you saying you don't trust me?" Glow asked directly.

       "Well, you don't seem to trust me either, so I guess we're even." Peril hissed. Glow  furrowed her brow, trying to contain her anger.

       "Look, what I meant by what I said was that...the only life you've known was a life of  violence. Scarlet just let you do what you wanted, and that's not healthy, for anybody." Glow defended.

       "Why can't you just understand that I like the way I am? Scarlet does, and Clay does too. So why can't you?" Peril accused, steam coming from her furious blue eyes.

       "You like murdering dragons for fun?!" Glow spat. "Is how you feel all you care about?! What about all the dragons you killed for Queen Scarlet's amusement, all the dragons that had homes and families waiting for them?! What about Horizon!?"

       "STOP IT!" Peril spat back.

       "Why should I? Are you just not used to having to think about your actions?" Glow hissed.

       "You think after sharing a drink with me at a tavern suddenly makes you the expert on who I am and what's best for me?!" Peril questioned.

        "I saw who you really are that night, and who you really are isn't what Scarlet made you; a monster!" Glow answered, frustrated.

       "What do you know, Glow?" The fiery copper dragon demanded. Peril turned around to walk away when Glow finally lost her composure. 

        "I know that you invited me to that tavern because it's important to you! I know that you invited me there because you thought you saw a friend in me!" Peril stopped and stayed chillingly still. "I know that all you really want is for someone to really care about you, not like a toy they can play with, but as a friend– someone important to them. You act like you're happy with your life, but I think you're just complacent with the position Scarlet put you in because it's easy. It's easier for you to not think about it and just accept it than to try and change it to be better." Peril remained entirely quiet – even her breathing was inaudible.  "And you know that...don't you?" Glow calmly probed.

       Peril turned around, her eerie blue eyes glinting in the darkness. "Can I ask you something, Glow?" She whispered. Glow sat down, ready for whatever Peril was going to throw at her.

       "Sure." She said simply.

       Peril sighed deeply. "Do you really think I'm a monster?"

       Glow tilted her head to the side. She didn't really know how to respond to that. I mean, yes. She's murdered countless dragons. But it isn't her fault. Scarlet made her that way, and if she had a different life, she would have chosen different. "Not to the point where I don't think you can't change, or can't be happy."

       "I mean," the copper dragon paused. "You talked about me like I'm just a normal dragon, when you were talking to Clay." Glow listened pensively. "Just someone you liked as a dragon. Someone you enjoyed being around. Someone..." She paused. She  blinked a few times, more steam pouring out of her eyes. "Someone you cared about. Did you mean all that?" The eyes that were boring through her were not those of contempt or anger, but of anguish and seeking validation.

       Glow slowly nodded her head. "Of course. I do care about you. A lot." She looked back up to  meet Peril's gaze. "I really do consider you as a friend. Even after everything that's happened today, I still think of you as a friend." She paused. "I just want what's best for you. I just want you to be happy. And this life you're living, no matter how much you deny it, won't make you happy. And not only that, other dragons are suffering because of it." Peril blinked again, the steam clearing slowly from her eyes.

       Peril sat there for a while, her bright eyes darting back and forth toward the stone floor and between her talons. It felt like an eternity before she spoke. "I think I understand. Thanks." She said quietly. She turned to walk towards her dorm until she turned back to look at Glow. "You know, I'm really glad I have you as a friend." She muttered. Glow gaze softened.

       "You do? Even after just now?" Glow asked, uncertain.

       "Yeah. The way you talked to me, it – no one's ever thought about what I wanted, or whether or not I was happy. Even Her Majesty only ever cared about me when I was doing what she wanted me to do." She looked down at her talons dejectedly. "But you care about whether or not I make you happy or make you angry, and that's honestly more than I can say for anyone else in my life." She admitted.

       Glow smiled and dipped her head to Peril. "Well, hey. That's what real friends are for." She responded, cheer in her voice. Peril looked away embarrassed and scraped  the stone with her talons again, like she did earlier. It wasn't long before Glow heard her voice again.

       "So, are we kindling?" Glow was confused again by her language, but guessed it was one of her "fire slang" words again.

       "Sure. We're kindling." Glow agreed. For the first time since they got back to the palace, Peril smiled a genuine subdued smile that could put the beauty of the stars to shame. Peril shifted awkwardly until she got to the  question that seemed to be steaming in her mind for a while.

       "So, what do you think of Clay? Do you like him?" She asked directly. Glow shrugged nonchalantly and nodded.

       "Yeah, I like him. He's a nice dragon and he's very big-hearted and mellow." Glow answered.

       "No, I mean," Peril hesitated. Glow silently willed her to finish her question. "I mean, do you like him?" Peril asked more directly. Glow finally properly understood her question.

       "If you mean romantically, no. Honestly, male dragons were never really my thing, if you know what I mean." Glow admitted boldly.

       Peril shook her head bewildered. "Really? Like, what do you mean?" She asked, unsure. Glow shuffled a bit.

       "Well, I mean, I like male dragons and all and I don't have a problem with them. But they're just not my thing, you know? Something about female dragons draws me to them and gives me the butterflies in my stomach, if that makes any sense." Glow explained.

       Peril blinked a few times before her eyes widened in realization. "Ooooooooh! So you like girls!" She exclaimed.

       "Well, I mean, yeah. Pretty much." Glow answered again. Peril looked over awkwardly.

       "Phew, that's a relief." Peril murmured. Glow raised an eyebrow at her and Peril looked away embarrassed, her talons beginning to sear the stone beneath them. Glow's mind then drifted to Sunny's small golden figure glinting in the moonlight and suddenly remembered her objective.

        "Anyways, speaking of Clay, I've been meaning to ask you something." She said.

        Peril shrugged. "Yeah, sure. Go for it." She said casually. Glow shook herself, cracking a few stiff joints in her bones.

        "Do you know where Sunny is? She's the SandWing of destiny and she's small, she's got  really pretty golden scales that shine brilliantly in the sun, she  doesn't have a barb, and her eyes are deep green like soft moss." Peril stared at her with knowing in her lidded gaze.

        "Oh yeah, the weird looking SandWing. I've seen her. She's in the dining hall. Why?" Peril inquired. Glow shifted, embarrassed, trying to hide her warming face from Peril.

        "Clay asked because he was worried about her." Glow answered.

        Peril was wearing a confident smug smirk like the one Corona often wears when she's  teasing Glow. "And is that how he described her?" She asked smugly. Glow  realized the blunder she's made. Oh three moons, I'm an idiot! I took that bait without a second thought. Glow, you bird-brain, get your mind on track, here!

       "I, um. W-well,  you see, I-I, um..." She stammered, trying to find an excuse to tell Peril, but her searching eyes were boring into her very being itself.

       "I knew there was something about you that was odd." Peril said firmly. Glow started to  tremble and panic. Peril then smiled brightly. "Don't worry, you've been  keeping secrets for me, I think it's about time I returned the favour. Peril tried to reassure. "So, who are you really?"

       Glow leaned in close, trying hard not to wince at Peril's intense heat. "Listen, if you tell anyone about this, I'll tell Scarlet everything you've been up to, even if I get in trouble, you'll be worse off. Alright?" She snarled.

       Peril backed up in response. "Easy. I won't, okay?" She promised. "Just tell me what's up." Glow breathed in deeply, trying to calm herself down. Can I really trust Peril with this? Even if I can't, there's not really any backing out, is there? Peril's eyes were honest and clear. Glow really didn't have a choice this time.

        "Okay, long story short, I kind of spied on the dragonets of destiny for two days until they got captured and followed them here the next day." Glow admitted. Peril cocked her head confusedly.

       "Why would you do that?" She asked reasonably.

       Glow hesitated, but then remembered that she couldn't really back out. You just haaaaaaad to go on about how amazing Sunny is, didn't you? Glow then paused to reevaluate herself. Then again, maybe Peril suspected something before then. The red SkyWing swallowed her doubts hard and took in a deep breath. Here goes nothing. "Because, I'm the SkyWing of destiny from the Dragonet Prophecy. Frigga didn't find my egg abandoned – she saved my egg from crashing to my death from Burn." She finally confessed.

       Peril's eyes widened in horror and she began to tremble. Her voice was quivering. "Y-you...You need to get out of the kingdom as soon as possible." She stammered.

       Glow shook her head. "But why? I'm not done here. I can't just abandon the others." She reasoned.

       Peril was shaking her head wildly. "No, you don't realize the danger you're in. If Her Majesty finds out about you," She paused. She took a deep breath and sighed. "Do you know what happened to the SkyWing eggs that were due to hatch on the Brightest Night?" Peril asked.

       Glow nodded. "Vermilion told me the eggs were destroyed." She answered.

       "There's a reason why. I can't tell you why, but I can tell you this – if Queen Scarlet finds out that you're alive, you'll...you'll," She hesitated. Glow  waited for her to finish her sentence.  "You'll suffer a worse fate than me. And...you deserve better than me. I care about you." Peril finished.

       Glow nodded and sighed. "I know you do, but I need to help the other dragonets. I don't care if I'm in danger – I have a job to do and I'm going to do it." Glow said determinedly. She looked Peril dead in the eyes. "This isn't about me. This is something greater than me, and I need to do my part." Glow  added.

       Peril sighed. "Does Vermilion know?" Glow nodded. "Alright. Be careful." Peril began walking towards her room. "We'll keep this a secret, but we'll talk about this tomorrow, okay?" She added. Glow nodded once again. "Goodnight, Glow. Be careful, please." Peril said as she walked into her dorm to turn in for the night.

       Glow trudged into her dorm to find everyone still sleeping like they were when Glow left.  She curled back up next to Frigga's cold body and noticed a tear fell down her cheek when she didn't notice. She let out a long and tired sigh and closed her eyes. Peril's conflicted blue eyes glimmered in Glow's mind when she began to fall asleep. I hope there's something we can do to help her. She deserves so much better.

       Glow let herself cry a little on purpose. She needed to let out some of the feelings she's held in for a little while. She deserves to be happy.