Hearts of Fire and Ice

Chapter Eight~ Snowdrift

I sat in my little home in the rolling, snowy foothills. My meeting with Jasper a few nights ago was breathtaking... he loved me. He loved me just as much as I loved him. He was a SkyWing prince, and I didn't mind that. I was iceless, and he didn't mind that. We both loved each other's flaws and appreciated each other for who we were. For the first time in my life, I felt wanted by another dragon. I didn't care if he was a SkyWing.

It was starting to snow outside. The flakes slowly drifted on the breeze down from the sky, then steadily faster and faster until all I could see out my window were swirls of white. So this is what a snowstorm looked like... All these years I had been locked inside the palace, I had never seen snow fall from the sky before.

This made me wonder, had Jasper ever seen snowfall before? He would like it, all of the snowflakes drifting on the wind. They were flying free. Just like Jasper wanted to.

And then I thought... Had Icecap ever seen snowfall? When we were dragonets, we were locked in the palace together. We had grown so close. We were twins, after all. We had nothing to do but sit together and talk to each other and play games, as long as Icecap didn't freeze me to death in the process with her frosty scales. I liked it then, when it was just her and me, but in a way, I was happy now because had Glacier not kicked me out, I wouldn't have met Prince Jasper.

The snow continued to fall harder outside, blanketing the ground even more. I could barely see a thing beyond the white drifting wall of snowflakes. I laid down and placed my tail over my snout and sighed.

I was so lost in thought, watching the snow and almost falling asleep, I didn't hear wingbeats outside my home, or the sound of a dragon's talons making contact with the icy ground. I didn't hear a dragon enter my home and sit beside me.

"Well, you look pretty comfortable," a strange blue IceWing said to me. She was exactly my height, and had the exact shade of azure blue eyes as me. Frost seemed to rise from her scales like a glittering mist, chilling the air around her.

"I...Icecap?" I stammered, "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," Icecap replied. She laid down beside me. I could practically feel the coolness of her scales next to mine.

"Why? Why me? I thought ever since Queen Glacier drove me out, you never wanted to see me again?"

My twin sister sighed. "Not at all, Snowdrift. You see... Glacier drove me out, too."

"What?" I was puzzled. Icecap, Queen Glacier's favorite dragon, driven away from the Ice Palace, exactly like myself?

A tear rolled down Icecap's cheek and froze in place as it came in contact with her icy scales. I could tell she was very, very upset. It wasn't like Icecap to cry."After you left, I was depressed and very angry with myself. I felt that there was something I should've done to keep Glacier from mistreating you the way she did. But I let you down, Snow, and Queen Glacier exiled you," she sobbed.

She continued,"And then... I did the unthinkable. I did exactly what you would've done had you still been there. I... I questioned Queen Glacier. I said to her that it wasn't right for her to just banish you like that, when you had done nothing wrong, and-"

"I did plenty wrong, Icecap!" I said, cutting her off,"You know I admitted that! I was mischievous, loud, and just not the type of dragon Glacier wanted to have around. And I'm iceless! I can't use frostbreath! What use is a dragon that lacks an IceWing's greatest weapon?"

"Snow... you did nothing wrong. You can't help it that you can't use frostbreath, and you can't help that you happen to be fierce and bold... everything that I'm not. And when I try to be, I always fail and something terrible happens," Icecap looked at the ground, "And this time, Glacier said I was too dangerous, too powerful. I was a threat to her, and to all of the IceWings of Phyrria."

"So you're a threat, and I'm too weak..." I murmured quietly, just so Icecap could bravely hear me.

My sister nodded, "Yes. Exactly..."

The two of us sat in silence for a few moments. I was happy to have my sister back. My icy, powerful, practical and protective twin sister. Even if she did take all of my frostbreath away from me.

I broke the silence. "Well, we most certainly have a lot of catching up to do..."

Icecap nodded, "I agree. Although, not much has happened apart from my banishment from the Ice Palace. What about you?"

Should I tell Icecap about Jasper? Part of me said not to trust her, but the other half of me reminded me that she was my twin and I could trust her with anything.

"I met a dragon a few days ago..." I started, "A SkyWing named Jasper."

"Hmmm, okay," Icecap tilted her head.

"I've known him only for a little while, but... I swear it was love at first sight! I met him at the border between the kingdoms when I was hunting for food, and we sort of hit it off right there. He asked me to meet him again the following night!"

"Did he show up?" Icecap mused.

"He did more than just show up, Icecap!" I exclaimed with a small shriek, "He sat beside me, and we watched the sunset from the mountains together, and we had a long conversation... It turns out he's a SkyWing prince! Moons, a prince!"

Icecap was giggling. "I've never seen you so worked up and dreamy before, Snowdrift," she laughed.

"I haven't seen him since them, but he declared his love for me, and..."

"And what?"

"And I might've said I loved him too?" I said quietly.

Icecap took my talons in hers. I winced as the cold rushed through my bones. But Icecap was grinning from ear to ear.

"I can't believe this!" She smiled, "Snow's got a boyfriend! Snow's got a boyfriend!"

I laughed and poked her with one of my talons, "Hey!"

Icecap smiled and laughed along. It was amazing to have my sister back.