Hearts of Fire and Ice

Chapter Three~ Snowdrift

The sun was starting to dip below the horizon. It was much warmer in this part of the Ice Kingdom and not as flat. The tundra had turned into snow-covered rolling hills. I knew that if I went even farther south than I already was, I would reach the Sky Kingdom. It was best to stay where I was for the night.

I found good hill with a nice spot for a shelter. I swooped down and landed at the base. Then I thought, what would my sister do?

Icecap would probably use her frostbreath to build a shelter. A pretty big and grand shelter at that, probably like the Ice Palace in a miniature version. Icecap. I missed her so much. But I had to let it slide. I didn't have a sister anymore, or parents, or a queen. I was my own queen now. Queen Snowdrift of the Outcast IceWings!

The only issue was, my frostbreath was very, very weak. Most IceWings could build a shelter with their frostbreath in three seconds flat. It would take three weeks for me to build one. But I at least had to try.

I opened my mouth and felt the cold seep out of me. A few snowflakes drifted out, but nothing major. I tried again with all of my might. I got a small stream of frost, but it quickly ended, leaving me with just snowflakes again.

I sighed with frustration and flopped on the snow-covered ground. Ugh! Why couldn't I be like any other IceWing? Why did my twin always have to ruin things for me? I could be a perfectly normal dragon, with normal frostbreath and normal IceWing abilities. But I had a twin sister, and Icecap happened to have sucked all of the ice and cold right out of me.

I tucked my head under one of my light blue wings and sighed again. I guess I would just have to use strength instead of frost to build a shelter. So I stood up again and shook the snow off my body. It was time to be serious.

I took my talons and pushed some of the snow around. Because I was in a lithe bit of a warmer climate in the southern parts of the Ice Kingdom and not in the North where the palace was, the snow here was dense and wet, unlike the fluffy powder near the Ice Palace. The snow easily packed together and rolled into a ball. Hey, I might be getting somewhere! I thought to myself.

Soon I had rolled several large snowballs and a few smaller ones. It took all of my strength to make them, but I was eventually able to arrange them to a formation that looked like some of the buildings back north. Packing the snow together, I made walls, a door, and a roof. It was perfect.

I walked inside my new home. It was rather dark. Perhaps I could start a fire... No, that would just melt the entire structure. So I dug with my talons through certain areas in the wall to let some light in. Now my new home was perfect. It was the perfect palace for Queen Snowdrift of the Outcast IceWings.

I walked back outside to see that clouds were starting to gather on the horizon, and the sun was beginning to set. It was getting dark out, and a storm might be coming to boot.

Then I realized, I had no food. Nothing to eat! Not a polar bear or a seal or a walrus or anything fatty or delicious that I could eat for supper. What was I going to do?

I thought this over to myself. There had to be a good hunting ground somewhere. But I was so far south, nothing that I would normally eat would live here. There were no polar bears or seals or walruses. The climate was just too warm.

But then I remembered, I was far south! In fact, maybe I could fly to the SkyWing border before dark and find something to eat there! It was the perfect plan, as long as the storm that was gathering didn't arrive before I made it to the border and back, hopefully with some delicious quarry in my talons.

I spread my wings and took off into the sky, which was now turning shades of orange, yellow, and pink as the sun continued to dip lower. I would have to be quick if I wanted to make it home. Hopefully I wouldn't run into any SkyWings...