Queen Ash crumpled the paper in the talons.

"Arrgh!" She roared. "Do you know how INSUFFERABLE those NightWings are? How INSANE this war is to have to ally with them?" 

The messenger quivered in front of the age-old queen. 

"I-"

"SHUT IT!" Ash yelled. Her barbed tail arched forward. She started pacing the sandstone floors of her palace. 

"Y-Your Highness," the messenger started again, cautious as to not get set on fire. "The-the advocate for Queen Avenger suggested we make a trade." 

"A trade?" Queen Ash hissed. The messenger nodded. "What kind of trade?"

"He said a trade of students. As in...we send a member of the royal family and they send one back." The messenger answered.

"Trade...Whatever would they need a trade for?! They're the moon-saken NIGHTWINGS! Shouldn't they know-no. Ah, I see."

Queen Ash continued pacing, licks of flame escaping her nose at random intervals. The messenger edged towards the door nervously. 

"And where do you think you're going, lizard?" Ash barked at the nervous messenger. He stopped in his tracks. 

Ash sighed and rubbed her temples. "You know what, fetch me a scroll and ink. NOW!" The messenger jumped in surprise. He bowed, nodded, and hurried off. 

"Rrrrgh. Trade." Ash grumbled, sweeping over to a large map on the wall. The continent of Pyrrhia was inked out delicately. The map had many different red dots and blue arrows and green swipes. 

The ongoing war with the SkyWings was infuriating. Although Queen Ash had a bit of a temper, she cared for her subjects and really didn't want any more deaths than she could spare. 

And that's why she balked at the idea of a trade. 

She felt protective of her children, even her males. However, she clearly couldn't send any of her princesses into strange, unfamiliar NightWing territory, no matter how much they called themselves allies. 

And what did the NightWings want with the SandWings anyway? 

Ash was not stupid. The NightWings were smart, their libraries held great knowledge, but some close-kept SandWing secrets still escaped their talons. 

Ah, yes. It was coming together now. 

Ash swept outside the cavernous battle room. 

"Hey, you! Rash, right?" Queen Ash called to one of the guards in the halls. Rash, a handsome SandWing in his prime years, backpedaled under the queen's fierce gaze.

"Y-Yes, your Majesty?" he called.

"Fetch Prince Longhorn." she instructed. Rash bowed his head and scurried off.

Queen Ash bit her tongue and swept back into the battle room. She strode over to the map and dipped her talons in a bottle of red ink and swiped a circle over Queen Avenger's palace.

In several minutes, the messenger arrived again. 

"Your Majesty?" he called. Queen Ash whirled around and snatched the papyrus from him. She started scribbling furiously. 

Ash forced the paper back into the messenger's claws. 

"Queen Avenger. Now." she instructed. He nodded and flapped into the air. He flew through the large window that opened onto the sprawling deserts surrounding the palace. 

There was a sharp rap of talons on the ground and a slither of barbed tails. 

"Your Highness?" Rash called. A dragonet, about age six stood beside him. 

"Thank you, Rash. Dismissed." Ash said. Rash bowed his head and left the dragonet standing with his shoulders back.

"Mother." The dragonet said after a moment.

"Prince Longhorn."