Master of None: A Wings of Fire fanfiction

19.

Eclipse

The court adjourned after Lake presented his argument against Snowfox: that she was such a terrible ruler that Lady Wolf was actually doing her civic duty by planning to overthrow her. There was a month-long grace period to gather new evidence, and today, the court meets again.

As time has passed, the rumours have grown larger and larger than life–that Polar isn't really Snowfox's biological son, that she's been selling off sacred animus objects to pay for extravagant gifts for Snowflake, that she's secretly been in league with Darkstalker all along, and then... one particular rumour, which seems to scare her far more than the rest.

That she and Snowflake wanted to get rid of Arctic, then Diamond, so they could rule the kingdom together in perpetuity. That they were working with Foeslayer to kidnap him.

The IceWings really, really like my grandfather. Stating the slightest negative feeling toward him is nothing short of heresy. Maybe that's why it strikes a chord. Maybe that's why she's so worried.

And I've been meeting with the members of the jury–the parents of my schoolmates the members of Snowfox's council. Trying to endear myself to them, the same way I did Snowfox.

I'm good at it, and that doesn't mean it makes me particularly happy.

This is about justice, I tell myself.

This is about good, I tell myself.

But sometimes, I'm not so sure.

***

I had to miss school, so I could testify against Lady Wolf. Harp promised she'd give me her notes from Etiquette class. No one questions my absences; even asks for a note.

The courtroom looks so much bigger from this point of view. I stand on a raised dias, looking up at the balconies full of IceWings. Sunlight glints off the walls and the floors.

"Eclipse of the NightWings," Snowflake says like she doesn't know me. "You were the dragon who brought Lady Wolf's crimes to our attention, so: how did you find out that Lady Wolf was conspiring against the IceWing tribe?"

I walk her through the same old story, the one I've reiterated a thousand times over–the party, the conversations we had before it, sneaking into her office and finding the letters. And then, the final confrontation.

"Would you say that Lady Wolf meant harm to the IceWing monarchy?" Snowflake asks.

"I mean--she wasn't planning to kill Snowfox, so much as to convince me to do it for her, then rule through me."

Lake clears his throat from the other side of the room. Snowflake sighs ever-so-slightly. "Yes?"

"Where did Lady Wolf state that?"

"In item 19," Snowflake says without even having to think. "It's a letter to Guillemot–I believe in it, she states that–" Snowflake hesitates, rifling through her notes. "She states that Eclipse would never have the guts to do something directly–I'll need to take her under my wing, understand her circumstance more thoroughly, tell her that she can reform the kingdom that almost ended her tribe if all she does is slip a vial of poison into Snowfox's food. It's just like old times. These princesses mean nothing. It's dragons like you and I who really run things behind the scenes. That seems like pretty damning evidence of treason to me."

Reading the words makes my cheeks burn and my scales crawl.

That's not who I am anymore.

She's gonna see.