The Hidden Kingdom

by Tui T. Sutherland

  Which gave Glory an idea. She turned to study the watching RainWings. Some of them might have seen where Magnificent hid. And all of them had been playing this kind of hide-and-seek their whole lives. They must be scanning the area, too, trying to find her first.

  She noticed that Exquisite and Fruit Bat were staring straight up at a nearby tree swathed in fuzzy moss. They were staring at it a little too hard, as if they were hoping Glory would notice that they were. Fruit Bat nudged Grandeur, and the stately old dragon gave her a look of disgust.

  Then Glory caught a couple of RainWings glancing in the direction of a fruit stand on the far side of the arena. They narrowed their eyes at it, then leaned in to whisper to each other.

  Worth a look, Glory thought.

  She flew across the arena to the fruit stand. It was a wooden platform with low walls that were built to also be tables, most of them covered with mangos, pineapples, the red sticky spheres, and the star-shaped green fruits. Crowded bunches of bananas hung from the branches overhead.

  She swept her tail across the floor of the platform, then studied the tables, but she couldn’t see any sign of a dragon hiding anywhere. She looked up and poked the dangling banana bunches. Finally she jumped over one of the walls and flew up above the bananas. There was something a little odd about the way some of them were hanging — as if something heavy were lying on top of them.

  It was eerie. All she could see were shadows and light, green leaves and bright yellow bananas. But when she reached out, her claws brushed against dragon scales, and the indignant hiss that came from them told her she’d found what she was looking for.

  “Your Majesty,” Glory said with a polite bow. “Very impressive camouflage,” she added honestly.

  “Let’s see what you can do,” Magnificent grumbled, her scales shifting back to purple.

  They returned to the center of the arena as the RainWings all applauded. It took Glory a moment to realize they were applauding for her. She hoped that meant she had found the queen fairly quickly. Now she just had to hide even better than Magnificent had.

  Handsome stepped up to tie the blindfold around Magnificent’s eyes.

  Glory let her scales shift into the greens of the vines below her. She didn’t want anyone to see where she went, especially the other queens.

  Her first idea had been to go straight up and blend into the sky overhead, but to stay aloft she would have had to keep her wings moving, and she was worried that Magnificent might feel the breeze.

  So instead she headed for the tree Exquisite and Fruit Bat had been staring at. She swarmed up the side of it, feeling the shaggy moss squish below her talons. Her scales had changed instantly to the dark brown and yellowish-green of the moss-covered tree. Once she thought she was high enough, she twisted around so she could see every thing below her. Then she flattened herself against the trunk and concentrated, adding the shape of a tiny blue tree frog on her back for extra camouflage, which was a trick Mangrove had taught her.

  Down below, she heard Handsome tell Magnificent that she could start looking. The queen’s eyes popped open and she turned immediately to the other queens. Exquisite and Fruit Bat lifted their wings in befuddlement. Grandeur yawned coldly.

  Magnificent spun in a circle, peering at every thing. She let out a small hiss of frustration, then gathered her wings. Suddenly she bared her fangs and charged toward the edge of the circle where Sunny was standing.

  She wouldn’t dare hurt my friends! But Glory felt herself flinch as Sunny jumped back. At the same moment, Silver leaped off Sunny’s back with a yelp of alarm and bolted toward the tree where Glory was hiding.

  Magnificent saw where the sloth was going, shot past her, and slammed into the tree trunk, nearly jarring Glory loose. The queen scrambled up the tree so fast she stepped on Glory’s wings before realizing she’d found her. With a triumphant yell, she backed up and poked Glory in the snout.

  “Found you!” Magnificent crowed.

  Silver caught up and flung herself into Glory’s arms, shivering. Glory swung onto a branch so she could hold the sloth to her chest and stroke its fur.

  “Did you think that was funny?” Glory asked Magnificent. “Scaring a harmless sloth like that?” From the murmurs and shocked expressions on the faces below them, she guessed this wasn’t a very popular way to treat one of the RainWing pets.

  “She’ll survive,” Magnificent said. “And here’s the important part. I won.”

  Glory looked down at Handsome with a sinking feeling. He spread his talons in a “What can I do?” gesture.

  “The queen is correct,” he said. “Magnificent wins this round.”

  “Oh, look,” Magnificent said cheerfully, pointing to the glint of sunlight on wings flapping through the trees. “The fruit gatherers are coming back.” She flew back to the center of the Arboretum and snatched one of the nuts off the mahogany table.

  Two to one.

  “Wasn’t that cheating?” Sunny called as Glory glided back down to her team. Kinkajou had furious red stripes marching along her scales, and Jambu was back to blue-gray again. Glory wondered if her brother had more than two moods.

  “That was totally cheating!” Tsunami shouted. “You can’t let her get away with that! Boo! Hiss!”

  “Silence them,” Magnificent said to Handsome with a frown. He spread his wings and cleared his throat.

  “Nothing in the rules forbids what the queen did,” he announced. “She is the winner. Officially. If not in spirit.”

  Magnificent glared at him while Mangrove and Dazzling swooped down from the trees.

  Glory was too dazed to chime in. The others might call it cheating, but as far as she was concerned, Magnificent had only found a trick to reveal Glory’s hiding place, the same way Glory had used the RainWing audience for clues.

  So Glory had really lost. She’d lost.

  She couldn’t pay attention to the sorting and counting going on as Mangrove and Dazzling spilled fruits of all shapes and sizes across the greenery. Handsome picked each one up, muttered over it for a moment, and set it in a pile.

  If I were competing alone, it would be over by now, Glory realized. She would have lost the throne in a direct contest with Magnificent. If she won it now, it would be only because the other RainWings made it happen. Tamarin, who didn’t know her at all, Mangrove, and Kinkajou. If they could do it.

  Kinkajou’s eyes were fixed on Mangrove’s fruit pile. She fidgeted with her tail and counted along under her breath.

  Handsome examined the last fruit, a dark blue prickled ball that oozed bright green juice when he poked it. He nodded and placed it on Mangrove’s pile. Kinkajou shot Glory a delighted look.

  “Seventeen to sixteen,” said Handsome. “The winner is Mangrove.”

  “What?” shrilled Magnificent. She whipped around to glare at Dazzling, who had yellow speckles around her mouth and a trail of green splatters down her chest. “You ate some of them! I know there were nineteen there when I —” She stopped abruptly.

  “Sorry,” Dazzling muttered. “I thought sixteen would be enough.”

  “Well, you thought wrong.” Magnificent growled.

  “Excuse me,” said Handsome. “Did you say, ‘There were nineteen there’?”

  There was an awkward pause as the two queens glared at each other. Magnificent flicked her tail and looked down her nose at Handsome.

  “Are you accusing me of something?” she asked coldly.

  “I am!” Kinkajou blurted. “You collected fruits and stashed them somewhere ahead of time!”

  “Ludicrous,” said the queen. The red flickers along her wings vanished abruptly. “And impossible to prove.”

  It occurred to Glory that Magnificent might have chosen to be purple today so that no one would spot any shimmers of guilt in her scales. Clever, she thought, glancing down at her own. The yellow ha
d faded a little, and small gray clouds were gathering around her shoulder blades and wing tips.

  “Doesn’t matter anyway,” Dazzling pointed out to Kinkajou. “You won.”

  Kinkajou jabbed Glory with her tail, and Glory snapped back into focus. There was still a chance. Now they were tied, and there was one contest left.

  “It matters if you’re planning to cheat again,” she said sharply.

  “That won’t be necessary.” Wind rustled through the leaves as Grandeur slid majestically between Glory and Magnificent. Her bones creaked like ancient forests and the silver cast of her scales made her look as if she were reflecting moonlight instead of sunlight. She wasn’t like the other queens. In fact, she wasn’t like any other dragon in the village. Glory thought Grandeur might be the only RainWing who actually looked, moved, and sounded like a real queen.

  She arched her neck and peered down at Kinkajou. “I can crush this little creature easily on my own.”

  “We’ll see,” Kinkajou said bravely, but anxious streaks of green flickered in her ruff. This is asking too much of her, Glory worried. Kinkajou was barely half Grandeur’s size, with hardly any training. The NightWings had been so underwhelmed by her venom that they hadn’t even bothered binding her mouth. How could she possibly win?

  Handsome beckoned the two dragons into the center of the Arboretum. “Standard venom practice rules apply,” he said. “Take the utmost caution to hit no living creature. We’ll be testing distance and targeting. Who’d like to go first?”

  “I,” said Grandeur. She eyed Handsome and his two helpers as they rolled a long, polished plank of wood across the vines. It was as wide as five talon prints and four times as long, with small mea surement marks all the way along it.

  One end stopped at Grandeur’s front talons. She stretched her neck and jaw while the RainWings scurried out of the way, leaving the plank laid out in front of her like a welcoming carpet.

  “Whenever you’re —” Handsome started.

  Grandeur’s mouth snapped open and a spray of black venom shot out. The droplets spattered on the wood near the far end of the plank, sizzling and burning small holes where they fell. The watching dragons all ooooohed admiringly.

  “I’m guessing that’s pretty impressive,” Glory said to Mangrove.

  His sigh answered her question.

  Grandeur stepped aside with a polite gesture at Kinkajou. The little dragonet stepped up ner vously, opened her mouth as wide as she could, and shot a tiny jet of venom at the plank.

  It landed barely a quarter of the way between her claws and Grandeur’s drops.

  Glory’s heart sank. Mangrove dropped his head into his front talons with a groan. Kinkajou turned to Glory with a heartbroken expression.

  “There’s still the targeting part,” Jambu said hopefully. He patted the little dragonet on the back. The helpers were already dragging out a kind of easel painted with three yellow and white circles.

  “What if I fail?” Kinkajou said to Glory. “All those dragons — it’ll be my fault if we never see them again. It’ll be my fault that you’re not queen.”

  “Stop that,” Glory said, placing one talon over Kinkajou’s. “I lost my own contest, remember? It’s my fault more than anyone’s. But I will be queen one day. And in the meanwhile —” She caught Mangrove’s eye to make sure he was listening. “We’ll get Orchid and the other RainWings back no matter what it takes. Maybe I won’t have an army, but we’ll make a rescue mission out of my friends and anyone else who’s willing to go.

  “So don’t think about that right now. All I can ask is that you try your best — and I know I don’t even have to ask, because you’re the kind of dragon who always does.”

  “That’s true,” Kinkajou said. “I am that kind of dragon.” She squared her shoulders. “I will. That’s what I’m going to do.”

  Glory glanced up and realized that Grandeur had been listening, too. The old queen turned around and casually shot a spray of her venom at the painted board. It landed precisely in the center of the first circle.

  Magnificent gave Glory a triumphant smile. It would have been really nice to wipe that smile off her face. And one day I will. I will be queen of this tribe. That’s what I’m meant for. I’m sure of it.

  Kinkajou stepped up beside Grandeur, opened her mouth, and sprayed her venom at the circles. The drops splashed right on top of Grandeur’s, and a hissing sound came from the board as the wood melted a little more.

  The older RainWing made a sound of approval and patted Kinkajou’s head. Then she tilted her head just a little and shot a black jet directly into the center of the second circle.

  Kinkajou took a deep breath and did the same. More sizzling and smoking came from the wood.

  Don’t get excited, Glory told herself, although she couldn’t help feeling impressed with Kinkajou. She knew for a fact that she wouldn’t have been able to aim that precisely. But if the two dragons tied on this part of the challenge, Grandeur would still win because of the distance part. Practice a gracious-in-defeat face. And then get ready to study like life depends on it so I can try this again. I wonder how long I have to wait between challenges.

  Grandeur opened her mouth.

  And then a sloth tumbled out of the trees, landing in front of the board.

  Kinkajou leaped to shove it out of the way.

  And time seemed to slow down, so Glory could watch each drop of venom sail in an unhurried arc to land, splash, splash, splash, right on Kinkajou’s wing.

  All around the Arboretum, RainWings started screaming.

  Kinkajou collapsed in a ball of scales that went instantly white with pain, except for the three spots where black venom was eating through her wing.

  Glory rushed to her side and found Grandeur opposite her, grabbing Kinkajou’s talons. Grandeur’s face was horrified.

  “Help her!” Glory yelled. She remembered what Jambu had told her about how a relative’s venom would counteract your own. “Who’s related to you? Get them over here!”

  “I don’t know,” Grandeur said hopelessly. “I haven’t had any eggs in decades. I haven’t tried matching venom with anyone in so long. I don’t think there’s anyone related to me anymore.”

  “That’s insane!” Glory shouted. “Why can’t you dragons keep track of these things? You must have had dragonets at some point, and they must have had dragonets, too . . .”

  “Maybe, but no one has —”

  Kinkajou shrieked, a high wailing sound of agony.

  “Start trying,” Glory cried. “Try everyone. Try me.” She grabbed the easel and spat a messy puddle of venom on the corner. The wood hissed and melted as if it were burning from the inside.

  Grandeur didn’t hesitate. She sprayed her venom right on top of Glory’s.

  And the melting stopped.

  Glory didn’t have time for the shocked expression on Grandeur’s face. She couldn’t risk trying to aim neatly for the same three spots where Grandeur’s venom had hit Kinkajou; she might end up causing far more damage. Quickly she ripped three leaves off the vine below her, dipped them in the puddle of her own venom, and stuck them to Kinkajou’s wounds.

  The sizzling sound faded and the black acid stopped spreading.

  “You’re all right. You’re going to be all right,” Glory said to Kinkajou, lifting the dragonet’s head in her talons. She realized the little dragon had fainted.

  Also, Grandeur was staring at her as if sloths were parading out of Glory’s ears.

  “What?” Glory said. “So I’m your granddaughter or great-grandniece or something. It’s not like anyone around here really cares, right?”

  “I do,” said Grandeur, “because it means that you are descended from the original line of RainWing queens, and so I am not the last one worthy of the throne after all.”

  Glory blinked at her. “I didn’t think a
nyone cared about royal blood here.”

  “Nobody but me,” said Grandeur. “We used to keep track of the royal eggs, but my daughters were useless, so we merged our eggs with the tribe’s, hoping to find successors who were queens in spirit, if not blood. There were a few who might have been great if they’d ever tried for the throne, but the truth is, I’ve never found a dragonet who both wanted to be queen and deserved to be. Until now.”

  She stood up and faced Magnificent like an enormous storm cloud. “I forfeit. Kinkajou wins.”

  “What?” Magnificent shrieked.

  “Did you hear that?” Glory said to Kinkajou. “You won.”

  The dragonet’s eyes fluttered open and she managed a smile. “That is . . . super-cool,” she whispered. Tamarin came up behind them and slid her wing under Kinkajou’s head so Glory could stand up next to Grandeur. She felt dizzy with disbelief.

  “It’s my throne anyway,” Grandeur said to Magnificent. “I have merely tolerated all of you on it because I thought experience might transform you into worthy queens.” She shot a disgusted look at Dazzling, Exquisite, and Fruit Bat. “That theory turned out to be quite wrong.”

  “You don’t know anything about this dragon,” Magnificent complained, pointing at Glory.

  “I know she’ll be a better queen than you,” said Grandeur. She turned to the assembled tribe with a sweeping gesture. “Behold! Your new queen! Queen Glory of the RainWings!”

  And they cheered.

  Glory stepped back, dazzled, as what looked like the whole tribe rose into the air, beating their wings and singing out joyfully. The rainbow of different colors was swept away on a tide of sunflower-gold excitement, and Glory thought to herself, Wow.

  I’m a queen. Queen Glory of the RainWings. That’ll be my name in the history scrolls — not Glory the mistake, or Glory the lazy RainWing, or Glory who could never be as good as some nameless SkyWing who died six years ago.

  I’m responsible for all these dragons now. We can rescue the missing RainWings and make sure no more dragonets ever get lost again. Starflight can help me teach them all how to read and write. I’ll protect them. I’ll lead them. I’ll make them — us — a tribe we can be proud of.