The War of Ice and Sea

Chapter 6 - Royal

Whale stepped back, then stepped back again, and eventually had to sit down. He was so confused- he didn't want this to be true- but then again he did- but he could feel all the clues slotting together like a jigsaw, and he knew that it had to be real. Why he couldn't see in the dark, why Queen Dolphin cared so much for him, why he didn't really like swimming and why his stripes flashed a weak eerie silver colour. His head was still spinning. He was part NightWing. His mother was the Queen. He was a prince. His head jolted up in sudden realisation. 

"Snowstorm!" He blurted. "Our dragonets are going to be royal! Wait- they'll be the Princes and Princesses of IceWings and SeaWings. We have to catch that murderer," he said determinedly. "So," Snowstorm said, walking forward, plucking a stick from the ground and starting to stab something into the sand. "What do we know about the murderer," "He or she is a green SeaWing," Whale started. "Who wanted to kill royal IceWings for some reason. but why?! We don't have anything to follow on from that!" Snowstorm hesitated. "Well, we could ask around the palace. But how do I get in? I can't breathe underwater, and IceWings and SeaWings are enemies now.

"I'll go to the Queen's niece, my cousin, Stingray, and I'll ask her for a favour. She's an animus, so I could ask her for a spell to turn you into a SeaWing," Whale said, itching to dive into the cool, dark water to search for his cousin right then. "If she's an animus," Snowstorm said slowly, "then why don't we just ask her to FIND THE MOON-BLASTED MURDERER ALREADY?!" she yelled, then sat back down with a huff. "Her powers are limited. That would be a really big spell, and it would make her lose a large part of her soul. A small tribe-swap spell wouldn't be too bad." Whale explained importantly. 

"Oh," Snowstorm said, sitting down. "Go now! Tell her to enchant these," she said, unclipping her diamond earrings shaped like water droplets. Whale leapt off the beach, flying towards the palace as fast as his wings could take him.

                                                                                 ~Time Skip~

Whale dived into the ocean, letting the clear, sharp salt water rush into his gills, the earrings in a seaweed pouch around his neck. He spied the deep palace and headed towards the doorway, waving at the guards. He burst into the royal meeting room, where dragons were gathering. He noticed a flash of dark blue scales and swam over to the Queen's brother. Do you know where Stingray is? he flashed in Aquatic to Bluefin. Evening Island with Flood, he flashed back, and Whale swam out of the room. 

He dipped into a current heading towards Evening Island and lashed his tail powerfully, propelling himself forward. He was at the island in no time, and rose out of the water, shaking droplets off his wings. He spotted Stingray and her brother, playing on the beach like the five year old's they were. "Ray!" Whale yelled out to his cousin, calling her by her nickname. "Can you do me a favour?"

She hesitated, seeming to know it was about her magic, but nodded. "What?" She inquired as Whale walked towards her. "Can you enchant these earrings to turn the dragon wearing them into a SeaWing, but with all their memories intact?" "Ooooooooooooooh," Stingray said teasingly. "Is it for a certain IceWing - I mean dragon?" She corrected herself innocently. "Okay." She took the earrings, muttering to herself, then passed them back to him. "I hope there aren't any hidden loves spells on these," he joked wearily. "Oh, no," she said cheekily. "You already love each other so much they won't work," 

"Shush, you," Whale said, bopping her on the snout playfully with his tail. "Thank you. Bye, Ray and Flood!" "Bye!" The twins answered, waving. He flew back to the island Snowstorm was waiting on, pacing. 

"Finally," she said as Whale dropped the earrings into her talons. She lifted them to her ears but then stopped. "What was the spell," she said cautiously, and he repeated what he had said to Stingray. "Okay," she said, and clipped them on. 

Suddenly, Snowstorm's scales shifted and changed colour. Beautiful shades of aqua and turquoise rippled across her arms, torso, tail and everywhere, except for her underwings, which darkened into teal, and her underbelly, which turned light green. Her snout shifted shape, her tail thickened and her IceWing spikes shrunk back into her spine. Aquamarine gills emerged from her neck and light-up SeaWing patterns appeared. Her horns moulded themselves until they were curved and webs fluttered between her talons. 

Snowstorm gasped, and admired herself. "What should my name be?" She asked. "You choose," he said. "I'll teach you basic Aquatic, so no one gets suspicious. How about you're from... Possibility, and you grew up there." "Sure," she said, still poking her gills and webs between her claws curiously. "I think I want to be called... Aquamarine. Aqua for short." "Great," Whale said, grinning. "Now let's go catch a murderer."