Jade knew a lot about the city. She knew that it had many possible hiding spots. She knew which fruit sellers could be easily deceived for some seconds while fer sister stole pears and apples. And most of all, she knew how one could sneak into the royal castle.
The giant stone building had many spots that were hidden from the guards' eyes. With Filde they climbed up on a hidden gutter line which led up to the castle's upper parts and the towers. She and Filde stopped at the outer foundations of a dome, that Jade knew was right above a circular room.
A small vent hole on the dome gave them a great opportunity to peek into the castle. Below them was the council's hall, with the council members and the visitors already sitting in a circle. Jade could not hear their important conversation, but instead tried to focus on what she came for.
"You saw how many dragons cheered for them down at the city? They must be super rich!" Filde whispered next to her. The orange dragonet could hardly contain her excitement. Jade tried to keep her calm and senses sharp in case any dragon saw them.
She tried to get a better look at the royalty.
On her left side, a big, black scales dragon sat next to the council. He had some kind of heavy chains hanging from his neck. She found this quite usual, since the rich dragons of the Woodlands always wore treasures that gave them a feeling of standing above the ordinary dragon. A supposed King not wearing gold or gems? Jade was sure that those down there were all royalty. They saw the city celebrate their arrival a few hours ago.
The dragon on his opposite site did not even wear any treasures. She had a necklace of flowers on herself, something that only playful dragonets did in her home realm.
"That one looks like it's worth a dead mouse at best!" Filde said. "We can find better treasure stealing from the local blacksmith."
Jade was losing hope when she finally saw the dragon in the middle.
He was around the same age as Jade. But, judging from his heavy golden necklace, he was certainly a King. And that treasure on him was huge. One of the biggest she had seen. It had some kind of black stones in the middle, shining like stars in the night sky. He was the most fabulous part of the whole meeting.
It looked super expensive. The necklace around the young dragon's neck was an elegant golden piece of treasure.
And the dragon who wore it looked around the same age as Jade, with his scales having the color of red clay instead of vibrant green.
"That is our best find," Jade pointed her talons towards the young King. Filde jumped a little in her excitement upon seeing it.
"Calm down! They might see us!"
"Okay, okay! That dragon is the dragonet King!" Filde said.
"Do you know him?"
"Yes! People in the town told me that he is the leader of the Fire Realm now! A large volcano ate up all their land and even his parents they say. Now he has to be king at that age."
Jade had heard about the rumors, but did not expect him to be here. And to be this young.
"Imagine being a king as a dragonet! All the treasures!" Filde wondered.
"I doubt they are having a real royal life right now," Jade reminded her. "I thought they lost an entire city."
"They did!"
Jade was a bit confused about that. Do they really want to rob the unfortunate dragonet, and steal perhaps the only treasure left from his realm?
Of course, they had to. And a king, even if young, probably had all his wishes granted at any second. Jade and Filde's life was all about survival. And if it meant stealing an inanimate object, she was ready to pay that price any day.
"We wait until nighttime, then try and get into his room. The necklace will probably be there too."
"And we will be rich!" Filde said a bit too loudly again.
"Probably not that, but we will have food guaranteed for a lot of days."
Jade moved away from the dome's hole. She could already feel the smell of fresh prey in front of herself. They would not have to worry about hunting in the scarce forests for a while at least.
Filde often mentioned food, but their hunts were not always successful. A small dragonet like her needed meat at least every day. Meanwhile, the reality was that the two sisters were happy if they could eat at least twice a week.
They both returned to the city buildings. The main street was busy in the afternoon. Dragons were trading living and dead prey to others, exchanging it for other materials or treasure. Jade hated that.
They went past a purple dragon, skinny as a skeleton. He was perhaps ill, but most definitely incapable of hunting. Jade's heart ached when he thought of all the dragons starving in their realm.
Most dragons did not know the truth. But all the orphans and sick dragons who had no help were left to hunt on their own. And the forests were not as rich in prey as they used to be. Still, they had to survive.
Jade wanted to make sure Filde was no longer starving. No matter what.