Peril had always been cold, proportionally speaking. Her body was so hot that pretty much everything else around her was freezing. So, when she felt the ice crawling through her veins in the aftermath of Ruby's statement she first just assumed that a draft had blown through. "T-that's ridiculous. I'm just as much a dragoness as you are."

Ruby tilted her head, giving Peril a deeply disappointed expression. "Come on, you're not fooling anyone." She waved to the crowd. "See for yourself. Scoria's 'heir' is nothing but a deluded drake."

The curious looks she'd already been getting intensified tenfold, and she felt every slight nod or whisper of agreement like a spear in her chest. She crouched lower to the ground, drawing her wings over herself to hide the bluntness of her horns and the twigginess of her limbs. "N-no…" she mumbled, her quick tongue failing.

Someone brushed past her, and she was hopeful until Scoria's voice rang out in opposition to Ruby. "Peril is mentally female and was raised as female by Queen Scarlet. I see no requirement in our laws for the heir to have one set of genitals or another."

Ruby's laughter was stiff and devoid of warmth. "'Mentally female'? That's nothing. Females lay eggs, and males fertilize them. That's the way it always has been and the way it always will be. Who cares what he thinks?"

"You're one to talk, 'Ruby.'" Peril had peeked out enough to see Scoria wiggling her tail sarcastically. "Or did we forget that you're only mentally the queen, but physically a totally different dragon?"

Ruby growled, and she raised one claw to her earring. "I'd rip your head off for that, but you're not a proper challenger. Now get out of here, and take that drake with you."

Peril felt the tears teasing at her eyes, and she quickly pulled her head in before they began to fall. Not in front of all these people. She expected Scoria to give up and leave, but there was no rustle of wings or howl of defeat. "Leave? That's rich. Don't you remember that we outnumber you two to one?"

"And yet your claim to my throne will never be accepted if you take it by force. Showing up with a bunch of other dragons to take the throne is not strength. It is pure cowardice!"

Man, they're really going on about this. Maybe everyone will just… forget what they've heard about me. She couldn't go anywhere to escape their stares, though. If she tried to run off, Scoria would kill Clay. If she convinced Scoria to retreat, she'd find out about Scorch and kill Clay. There was no good option, except to crumple on the flagstones and sob. At least that felt good.

"Look at your so-called champion, crying on the ground like a little boy! I guess even my mother couldn't make him totally-"

"That's enough, my queen!" Gannet shouted from the sidelines. The sound of her voice was like a firework going off in Peril's heart, except without the horrible painful death afterwards. "How does insulting Peril protect your people?"

"I'm not insulting her, Gannet. I'm simply stating facts. Unless you really think that a dragoness can have a penis?" There was a murmur through the crowd, but nobody bothered to disagree.

Gannet growled, and pushed past the guards around Peril to stand at her side, just next to Scoria. The traitor gave her an odd look, but said nothing. "I do, my queen."

Everyone tensed as Ruby began to move, but she just sat down on the stage, sighing. "Well, I'd love to hear your reasoning."

"Okay," replied Gannet, and Peril was perplexed to see a hint of excitement on her face. "Well, for starters, we need to establish a difference between sex and gender, with the first being what you are, y'know, biologically, and the second being how you prefer to be called. Can we agree to those definitions?"

"I'd say so, but why should I care what someone else prefers to be called?"

Gannet tensed. "Why you should care is a pretty complex question, but what matters is that you already care about what gender people are."

Still frowning, Ruby laughed. "I most certainly do not."

"Yes, you do. Tell me, how do you know that, say, General Scoria is a dragoness?" Scoria glanced up suddenly, and Peril realized that her eyes had been glazing over as Gannet talked.

"Well, she can lay eggs. That's what makes you a dragoness."

"Have you checked?" asked Gannet, and Scoria blushed.

"Wh-of course not! How dare you suggest that-"

"Then how can you be sure? All you have to go on is how Scoria looks and acts, and she's unmistakably female. As is Peril."

Ruby shrugged. "Have you looked at Peril? Sh-He's super manly." Peril shrunk down, but she saw Gannet's claws digging into the dirt and took a little strength from that.

"No, she isn't! Nobody ever thought that until she told them her history, and that includes you! You just assumed, based on how she acted. And you're still doing it, too. I just heard you almost get her pronoun right." Gannet held out a hand to Ruby. "I get that it's easier to pretend that you can't see it, but you're really hurting Peril, and she doesn't deserve that."

"Doesn't-what are you talking about? She chose to betray me!"

"Scoria kidnapped her boyfriend! What was she supposed to do?"

Ruby grumbled, but she couldn't muster a response. At some point the eyes of the crowd had drifted away from Peril and up to Ruby, and now they were a bit miffed. "... why do you care? If I'm hurting Peril so much by telling the truth, she can defend herself. Not like you'd know how it feels."

There was a long pause, and Peril could see all sorts of emotions fighting for control of Gannet's expression. You don't have to do this for me, Gannet. Just back down. "I know because… well, because I'm trans too."

"Hm?"

"Sorry, I mean, I'm biologically male but…" Gannet trailed off, losing her previous confidence.

"No, I get that. But your hatchery certificate very specifically states that you're female."

"I had it changed. Nobody had a problem, but I'm not in line for the throne so…" She let that linger, and the crowd murmured. "The point is, calling Peril male is insulting, incorrect, and it makes her feel really bad. What would Prince Cliff think?"

"Prince-Leave my son out of this! I should have you strung up for insubordination! In fact, guards, arrest this dragon!" She sneered, confident in her victory.

Gannet sighed and held out her wrists, but nobody appeared from the crowd. As it turned out, all the loyalist guards were still pretty busy being held at spearpoint by Scoria's troops. The traitor laughed, and patted Gannet on the back. "Thank you, er, whatever your name is. You've done me a great service." Shivering, Gannet glanced at the sky, as if looking for something. Luckily, Scoria was too busy pontificating to notice. "Yes, I'll have you put up in one of the suites in my old estate, once we take the palace. You'll love it there, much brighter than the barracks here."

Grunting, Gannet pushed her away and drew her sword. The screech of steel on steel silenced the crowd again, and Scoria quickly returned to the present. "I'm not your friend."

Like she had with Anopheles, Scoria lunged for Gannet and attempted to throw her, but Gannet grappled right back. They struggled for dominance, rising into a sort of inverted as they used their hind legs to add even more force. Peril noticed a web of scars on Gannet's underbelly, and wondered where she'd gotten them. Scoria growled, baring her teeth and snapping at Gannet's snout. That was enough to break her concentration and send her clanking to the ground, pinned under Scoria's claws.

Grabbing the glass knife from her belt, Scoria pressed the blade against Gannet's throat. "It'd be a shame to kill this one, really, after she made such a good argument. Don't you agree, Ruby? I think the crowd agrees." There were nods and murmurs through the assembled dragons, and Ruby sighed. "Now, why don't we let Peril issue her challenge again and listen a little more closely." She looked back at Peril, who was still panicking, making herself small, and maybe crying a little. "Go on, you know the words."

Ruby gave her a pained look, but nodded nonetheless. I can't believe I'm really about to do this… there's no way I can disarm Scoria before she kills Gannet, is there? She gulped. "Queen Ruby, I-do you hear that sound?" She looked where Gannet had looked, but there was nothing there, just the sound of flapping wings.

"Quit stalling!" Scoria shouted, pushing the knife down a bit further and drawing forth a drop of blood. Gannet glared up at her, fearless.

"Okay, okay. Queen Ruby, by right of Soror Avitas and considering Gannet's proof of my femininity-" Gannet glared at her and Peril tried to make her expression as apologetic as she could. "-I… I challenge you for-" She was finally cut off by a battle-cry from behind the stage. Even if she had kept talking, the wave of loyalist soldiers descending from the sky would've drowned it out with the beating of their wings.

Scoria glanced back and forth between the army, Gannet, and Peril, flipping the knife end-over-end in her claw. It took a javelin thunking into the dirt in front of her to make her release Gannet. She took to the air, shouting her own battlecry, and Peril rushed to Gannet's aid.

Just in time, she avoided trying to help Gannet up, and instead just watched as she rolled over off her wings, grabbing her sword and yanking the javelin from the ground. "I can't thank you enough, Gannet. If you hadn't been here…" She trailed off as Gannet turned to look at the battle beginning above, and sighed

"Don't thank me yet, there's still a fight to be won," she replied, and took off towards the aerial skirmish.

Peril wanted to follow, but the dragons had drawn into such a tight group that it would be impossible for her to fight inside without killing some friendly forces. Instead, she turned to Ruby and inclined her head. "My queen."

Ruby glared back at her, one claw rising to her earring as she spoke. "Now is not the time, Peril," she snapped, and took out the earring. In an instant, she was Tourmaline, and in the next she was charging into the boiling mass of SkyWings above. Peril glanced to the crowd, most of whom were departing as quick as they could, and wished she could help. At least the broken-legged MudWing's friends were dragging him to safety, so she could afford to just sit and wait for something to come up.

At least Scoria didn't have a chance to send any messengers back to her estate. Clay and the dragonets are safe, she thought, looking towards the mountain pass that led to Scoria's protected valley. An injured soldier, one of Scoria's, fell next to her with a crack, and moments later two more fell. She looked up to see that the tide of battle had turned. The loyalist forces seemed to be trying not to kill, and catching those they injured, but plenty of blood was still falling from their opponents. More and more broke away from the fight, spreading to the four winds, including one particular fighter with blue-barred scales.

Scoria was flying as fast as she could with a javelin stuck in her tail, angling away towards the valley as she made her escape. Peril was in the air a moment later, flapping as hard as she could. No! Not after all this. Scoria was fast, but her bulk held her back compared to Peril's lithe form, and soon they were neck-and-neck. The general looked over at her, surprised, and let out a jet of flame.

It washed over Peril harmlessly, not even heating her scales, and she grinned. "Nice try. Why don't you land while you still have the chance?" she said, miming a slash at Scoria's wing.

The general growled at her and tipped down, towards a tunnel opening well out of view of the other soldiers. She was running as soon as she hit the ground, but Peril gracefully touched down just in front of the cave. Scoria still towered over her, but any fear she'd had was gone now, replaced by righteous fury. There was nothing the traitorous general could do to hurt her now.

"Out of my way, Princess," Scoria spat, not even pretending to respect the title. She pulled the glass knife from her belt. "Or I'll make sure your boyfriend never sees the light of day again."

"Too late. He's already far from your prison, along with your dragonets."

The look of fear that flitted across Scoria's face at that comment gave Peril a great deal of satisfaction. "I don't know what you're talking about. Step aside before I make you." She raised the knife, falling into a warrior's stance.

"With that thing? I can melt glass, you know."

"Not before I cut your throat!" Scoria leapt at her, stabbing down with the obsidian blade. Peril stumbled under the force of the impact, feeling the knife force itself partway into her shoulder-scale before stopping. She grunted, trying to pull it free, but it was stuck fast. A reddish glow began to spread up the blade, and a few seconds later it cracked and shattered with a loud snap.

Peril brushed some shards from her shoulder and raised her claw, talons extended in a killing stance. "You were saying?"

If she hadn't known better, she would've said that Scoria had been enchanted. In an instant, her aggressive demeanor was gone, replaced by cringing submission. "N-now hold on, we can talk about this… I just wanted to help you see your full potential!"

"Well, congratulations. You're about to see it." Peril stepped forward and let out a small snort of fire.

"P-please. What would your boyfriend-what would Clay think if you killed me?"

She shrugged. "He'd get over it." Dammit, she's right. I can't kill her, not without betraying him and Scorch.

Scoria squeaked, backing towards the cliff. The drop behind her was at least a hundred feet, and they both knew that Peril could knock her out of the air if she tried to fly off. "I can still help you! We can put this all behind us-you can have the mines, the estate, even my dragonets! Anything!" Crocodile tears dripped from her snout as she teetered on the edge of the cliff.

Peril growled, and didn't stop advancing. "They're not yours to offer."

"I-I was only following orders! Wasp-she's the one you want! This is her scheme, and Anopheles, he's in on it too! Please, I'll tell you every--glk!" Scoria was cut off quite sharply as Peril thrust a claw into her mouth, cracking the incisors, and wrapped her talons around her tongue.

"You've said enough."

A cloud of steam came from Scoria's mouth along with a low whine that gradually intensified to a terrified screech. Scoria writhed in her grip, gnashing her blunted teeth against Peril's wrist and trying to pull away as the steam petered out and the burning began.

She stared Scoria right in the eyes, ignoring her screams, until at last Scoria managed to wrench herself free. She fell in a heap, gagging and coughing up ash. Peril tossed aside the mass of charred flesh in her claw, grimacing.

Scoria looked up at her, rage in her eyes, and opened her mouth to rebut. All that came out was a low whistling. She clawed at her throat, sputtering incoherently, then just hissed at Peril in a rage. Her back foot was still inching towards the edge of the cliff.

"If you jump I will catch you, and I don't think either of us want that."

Growling, Scoria flapped her wings and leapt straight over Peril's head. She reached up, trying to catch Scoria's tail and knock her out of the air, but her talons only grazed it. As soon as she was back on the ground, Scoria scrambled away into the cave, lighting her way with a gout of fire. Peril gave chase immediately, following the light of Scoria's fire through the twisting passageway as it grew narrower and narrower, until at last her bulky opponent could go no further.

Scoria slammed into the too-small tunnel with a grunt, trying to force her way through, but the effort was fruitless. Peril coughed, and she turned around in the tunnel, driven up against the back wall.

Before she could dart away again, Peril stretched out her wings, forming an impenetrable barrier across the cave. Then she hunched a bit, panting and trying to catch her breath. "You're really making a good argument for me killing you right now."

Tears of rage were forming in the corners of Scoria's eyes as she screeched and charged Peril again. Peril only just managed to roll out of the way. Scoria made no effort to escape, whirling around and making another suicidal attack. This one forced Peril to batter her with her wings, leaving thin burn marks on Scoria's neck and shoulders.

"Why are you doing this!?" Peril shouted, easily avoiding a slash. Scoria could do nothing but wail in response. I can't let her kill herself! What would Scorch think? Desperately, Peril looked for a means to restrain Scoria. All she could find offhand was a large chunk of rock on the cavern floor, which she took up in one claw. It quickly warmed in her grip, but didn't melt.

For a split second before her next attack, Scoria paused to give her a quizzical look. Then she charged, and Peril swung the rock wildly. There was a loud crack, and when Peril opened her eyes she saw Scoria sprawling on the floor, one leg broken but still clawing at her toes.

Peril stepped back, tossing the rock aside, and sat down on the other side of the cave. Hopefully the palace guard would be here soon, or anybody else who could put some cuffs on Scoria without burning her claws off. Right now, she just wanted to take a nap…

"We've got to stop meeting like this," said Gannet, poking Peril with the blunt end of her spear.

Bleary, Peril lifted her head from the cave floor, then groaned. "How long was I out?" She glanced over at Scoria to see a couple more guards fitting cuffs around her wrists, and a third keeping a spear at her throat to stop her from snapping at them. All of them were bruised and battered, and there was a long gash in Gannet's armor that luckily didn't seem to be leaking any blood.

"It's been about three hours since the loyalists arrived, so a bit less than that. You're lucky that I saw where you two landed, or you might've been down here all night."

"Actually, can I stay down here all night? I haven't slept in… days."

Gannet grimaced. "That stinks, but I'm sure the beds at the palace are more comfortable. Assuming either of us are still allowed there."

"Yeah… is Clay okay?" Peril asked, trying to ignore Scoria's wails as she was dragged off by the guards.

"He's fine, and so are Scorch and his dragonets. They've already told us the whole thing.

"Wow. You've had a busy three hours."

"Yep. Oh, also, Ruby ordered me to bring you to her as soon as I found you, so hop to!" Gannet gestured for Peril to stand.

She stumbled to her feet, feeling a bit better but still awful after all the commotion of the past few days. The thought of seeing Clay again was enough to get her on her feet, though. "Okay, let's get going."

Gannet nodded, and led her out of the cave. The other guards had already taken off with Scoria. "What's going to happen to her?" Peril asked, as the two of them took to the air.

"She won't be executed; Ruby doesn't condone the practice. Probably just thrown in prison for the rest of her life."

"I hope she gets stuck in the deepest, darkest cell. See how she likes it," Peril suggested, and Gannet murmured in agreement. "How did you know the loyalists would show up?"

"I was the one who sent out the distress message, once you told me what Scoria's plans were. That's why I debated the queen, too, as a delaying action. Well, that and because I couldn't just sit there and watch her tear into you like that."

"At least there's a few good dragons out there." Peril crossed her forelegs and blew smoke from her nostrils.

Gannet sighed. "I know that what she did was horrible, but people like her… it's not entirely their fault for not knowing. We-trans dragons, that is-aren't exactly fond of making ourselves known."

If any other dragon had said that to her, Peril would've set them on fire. But Gannet of all people was one to understand how it felt. "Yeah… maybe someone should do something about that!"

"How?"

"Well, what if we started some kind of… club? Like, a society for trans dragons, so nobody would feel like they were alone. Plus, if we all worked together we could argue against dragons like Ruby way more effectively."

Gannet nodded. "That's actually really clever! Would we meet here or…" she trailed off, unsure if they'd ever be able to return to the Sky Kingdom.

"Jade Mountain is neutral ground, plus I can be sure that most of the people in charge are on-board with transness."

"Mhm. Speaking of…" Gannet pointed down, at the rapidly approaching palace. They landed gracefully, and there was no honor guard to stand in their way as they headed to the throne room. In fact, the whole palace was surprisingly empty. Peril pointed this out, and Gannet explained: "Most of the guard are in hospital, right now. We took heavy casualties in that fight."

"Oh…"

"Don't worry, none of ours died," Gannet assured as they reached the doors to the throne room and she pushed them open with both claws. "Firescales first."

Peril walked through as slowly as she felt comfortable, sweeping the room with her gaze. Ruby was atop her throne, flanked by two mostly-intact royal guards. There was a bandage over the right side of her head and neck, and one of her wings was held out in a splint. Still, she glared down at them with her exposed eye.

"My queen…" Peril said, and bowed. Gannet bowed too, but said nothing.

"Peril," she replied, and before Peril could make her case she continued: "You made a personal threat on my life and aided an enemy agent in an attack on my people and my guests. There's literally no crime worse than that. By the law of the Sky Kingdom I am well within my rights to kill you. "

A curl of smoke came from Peril's scales as she tensed. If Ruby wanted her dead she'd have to do better than two guards.

"However, I have decided to spare your life. Gannet's testimony has made it clear that you were coerced into your treason, and Scoria is the real criminal here."

"Thank you, my-"

"-I cannot simply allow you to run free, though. When I allowed you to return to my kingdom, I placed my trust in you, as my mother did before me. Perhaps I made the same mistake she did, of assuming I could control you. But I am not my mother." She paused to take a breath. "Peril, you are hereby banished from the Sky Kingdom, and stripped of all titles I have granted. That goes for you as well, Gannet. By sunset today, I expect you both to be gone."

"Wha-Why Gannet?" demanded Peril. "You know that she was acting in your best interest!"

"And I also know that she aided a traitor in front of a massive crowd of my guests. I cannot allow this to pass with no consequences. That is what leads to dragons like Scoria rising to power."

Peril sputtered furiously, but Gannet took a knee. "I accept my punishment, queen." Peril stared at her, open-mouthed, but she said nothing.

"Thank you. You are dismissed. Peril, stay." Ruby waved Gannet out of the room. She took a moment to un-strap her armor and lean her spear up against the wall before heading out. Peril stepped forward, still smoking. "Thank you, Peril."

"What do you want?"

Ruby sighed, resting her head on her claws. "I… want to apologize. For how I've treated you."

"Bit late for that." Peril pointed out, and the guards raised their spears.

Ruby put up a claw to stop them. "You're right. Gannet and Clay explained matters more fully to me, and I realize now that I was in the wrong about you. I was acting out of political expediency instead of respecting my people."

Peril remembered all the things she'd said to Clay, just a few weeks ago. Had he felt that bad? "You were… and I forgive you. It's not an easy thing to wrap your head around."

"Thank you. You may go."

Peril had almost left the throne room when she remembered something. "Wait, can I ask you one more thing?"

"Make it quick."

"What's happening to Scorch and his dragonets?"

Ruby raised an eye-ridge. "I'm surprised you care. They are banished as well, of course, since none of them actually attacked me and Scorch was instrumental in rescuing a foreign diplomat.

"But they don't really have anywhere to go…"

"Clay has already agreed to house them at Jade Mountain, conditional on the other trustees' approval."

Her heart leapt at the queen's words. Jade Mountain would be perfect for the dragonets, and she was already looking forward to helping them get settled. "That's all I had to ask, thanks." She turned away from Ruby and headed towards the door, where Gannet was waiting, and beyond that… who knew?

Author's Note: So there it is, the final chapter of Embracing Peril. Well... for now. I don't have any really standout ideas for continuing Peril's story, but I do have a couple ideas for fun things to do with some other trans dragons. Look forward to that in the coming months.

Before you go, I'd like to give thanks to Denri, my beta reader/cheerleader/very good internet friend, as well as all the members of the WoF Wiki server for their support. Most of all, I'd like to give thanks to you, reader, for giving me a chance to work my literary magic. The reception this story has gotten has been wonderful, and it means a ton to me, as a trans woman, that you all love Peril so much.