The Smuggler: Chapter One: Flamesilk

Chapter One

Flamesilk

    "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" Peacock's voice sounded in Moth's ear. "It's time to wake up!"

    Moth grunted and rolled over. "A few more minutes."

    "No! It's your Metamorphosis day! You can sleep later! For five days!"

    "Peacock. Be quiet. We're trying to sleep," said Moth's sister, Julia, from another web. "We don't all wake up at midnight like you do."

    "I don't wake up at midnight, Julia. Wake up, Moth!" Peacock jumped and landed on top of Moth.

    Moth let out a startled oof, and groaned. "Fine. Get off me and I'll wake up."

    "Okay." Peacock leapt off and went over to wake up Julia.

    Moth opened his eyes. The webs stretched in all directions, from Cicada Hive all the way to Hornet and Mantis Hives. He and his brother and sister didn't have a regular house like the rest of the SilkWings. They had managed to convince the orphanage owners to let them sleep outside of the orphanage, away from their cruelty and neglect.

    Moth turned his head to look at his wingbuds, which were starting to unfurl. He tried to push away a prickle of dread, but found he couldn't. Once he got his wings, he wouldn't be able to look after his younger siblings. His mother's last words to him before the HiveWing guards had taken her away from them was, "Moth. You are my oldest dragonet. You must look after your brother and sister. You have to always be there for them, but you also must need to know when to run. Moth, promise me you will keep yourself and Julia and Peacock safe." Then the guards had grabbed her and dragged her away.

    Moth shivered slightly, and Julia noticed. "Are you all right? Are you cold?"

    "I'm fine." Moth got out of the web and reached for a nearby lantern. He examined the flamesilk carefully, and grinned. "It's still here." The silk was a bright golden orange. Their mother's. Not every dragon knew this, but each flamesilk had a different shade of golden. This was their mother Pieridae's silk. Julia took it and smiled.

    Peacock, not noticing the lantern or the flamesilk, ran to the door. "Aha!" he cried. "We have mail!"

    "Really?" Julia set the lantern down and walked over. "Wow. We do."

    "Who's it from?" asked Moth. They had only gotten mail on rare occasions, from the orphanage or something.

    Julia flipped the envelope over. "Oh! It's from Mother!" She held it out. It was made with unburning flamesilk, an official stamp on it stating that it had been checked for suspicious content. "It's for you, Moth."

    Moth took it and eased it open, careful not to tear it. "Dear Moth," he read. "Happy Metamorphosis Day! It seems like just yesterday you were a dragonet. I look forward to hearing about how it goes. I hope you get assigned a not-to-hard job somewhere close to Cicada Hive. You have probably found out by now that this is my flamesilk. I was careful not to make it burn. I wish I was there to see you. Give my love to Julia and Peacock! Love from your mother, Pieridae." Moth frowned and flipped it over. "That's all it says."

    "Doesn't it have anything about if you're a flamesilk?" asked Peacock.

    "Shh!" Julia shushed him. "Don't talk about that!"

    Moth sighed and returned the paper to the envelope. "No. It doesn't." He cast a glance up at the sky. "We should probably get moving." He picked the lantern containing his mother's flamesilk from the wall and started along the webs. He paused and waited as Julia secured their section of the webs and she and Peacock joined him.

    Peacock glanced at Moth's back. "Your wingbuds are unfurling!"

    "Yeah."

    "I'll never get mine. You get yours, and then Julia has her Metamorphosis ten days after, and then I'll be alone for like three years!"

    "Five months," Julia corrected him. But she and Moth exchanged worried glances and he could tell she was thinking the same thing. Who would take care of their little brother after they had their Metamorphosis? And worse, what if they were all flamesilks?

    "Names?" asked a HiveWing guard at the entrance to Cicada Hive.

    "Moth," Moth replied and held out his palm with the triangle, M, P, and G, or Gatekeeper, for his father. Apparently he had died before Moth had hatched, but Pieridae had never talked about him much.

    The guard frowned at his palm, and Moth knew he was remembering he was a possible flamesilk. He nervously drew away as the guard waved him through, and waited for Julia and Peacock. The three of them walked through the crowded streets, Moth and Julia silently thinking, and Peacock practically shouting at the top of his lungs about how it was going to be boring without Moth around for five whole days. Julia shushed him while Moth lead the way to the Mosaic Garden.

    Moth suddenly felt a twinge under his scales on his wrist and his talons flew up instinctively. Julia broke off mid-sentence and frowned worriedly at him. "Moth?"

    "I'm fine," Moth said quickly. "Just the silk coming in." He quickly turned his wrists away from his siblings, glimpsing suddenly something that looked like a ball of fire underneath them. They came out into the garden and sat on the grass.

    Looking out across the garden, Moth wondered suddenly how different it would look if there were trees, but quickly eliminated the thought from his mind. Wasp had killed every single tree except the ones in the Poison Jungle.

    "Moth? Can I see Mother's letter again?" Julia took it and frowned. "It seems like she would say something else. And what about this part about being careful not to make her flamesilk burn? Shouldn't that be obvious?"

    "Maybe she's hinting at something," Moth replied absentmindedly, rubbing his wrists, and trying to not let his brother and sister see he was doing it.

    Julia's eyes widened. "Give me that lantern with her flamesilk."

    Moth gave her a questioning glance but obliged. Julia held the paper up to the light and gasped. "Look! Invisible ink!"

    Peacock paused in his dramatic retelling of his dream that no one had been listening to. "What does it say?"

    "It says, 'Moth, if there are any symptoms of you being a flamesilk, run. I know I told you to look after your siblings, but I also told you to protect yourself. Now is that time. I cannot let you be captured by Wasp. If you are a flamesilk, she will catch you unless you hide. There's so much arguing here, no one's ever happy. Run, Moth. RUN!'" Julia looked up. "Moth..."

    "I'm not a flamesilk," Moth said quickly. "Definitely not." He quickly snatched his wrist away and held it behind his back in a very inconspicuous way.

    Even Peacock looked worried. Julia dropped the envelope and grabbed Moth's arm, despite his protests. She gasped as she saw the ball of fire and jumped back as if stung, dropping his arm. "MOTH!"

    "It's nothing! Totally nothing! All silk glows when it's coming in!"

    Peacock scrunched up his face as if he was trying not to cry. "You're a flamesilk!"

    "No, I'm not!"

    "Yes, Moth!" cried Julia. "You are! Go!"

    "No! I can't!"

    "Why not?"

    "I just can't!"

    "You have to!"

    "I can't!"

    "Why?"

    "Because I can't leave you!" They were all deathly silent. Moth was aware of tears streaming down all of their faces. "I can't leave you, Julia, Peacock. Mother wanted me to protect you."

    Peacock started to sob.

    Julia wiped away her tears and met Moth's eyes. "I get it. You don't want to leave because of us. Because your loyalty to us is too strong." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "So I won't give you a choice."

    Moth opened his mouth to ask what she meant when Julia grabbed his arm and swung him around, sending him flying into the web hanging out over the savannah. He grabbed onto it and was faintly aware of HiveWing guards starting to charge towards him. He met Julia's tearful gaze and saw her mouth one word. Run. And he did. He ran.