Queens of Ice

Chapter Three

"Moon. Hey, Moon!"

Moon grunted as someone poked her again. Her eyes opened blearily, and she saw Taiga standing over her.

"What do you want?" she muttered.

"One, to get you out of here."

Taiga lifted Moon until she was standing, them stepped away. Moon swayed slightly.

"What time is it?"

"Just before dawn."

Moon blinked in confusion. "Usually you sleep until mid-morning."

"I know. But last night I was thinking about how you got sent down here, and I thought I should have argued harder to keep you out. I mean, you found Arctic dead, you were grieving, and circumstances conspired to make you think it was me. Your emotions clouded your reason. It's not your fault you made a mistake. So I thought I should get you out of here as soon as I could get away with it."

"Fine. Whatever."

Moon limped sleepily out of the cell, and Taiga walked with her up the stairs. As they reached the top, Taiga hesitated.

"I want you to know," she began, "That I don't blame you. I wanted to give you this, to show there were no hard feelings." She produced a bracelet studded with sapphires and white stones. Moon put it on.

"Thank you," she said. Then, on sudden impulse, she threw her wings around Taiga.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered.

Taiga's tail wound gently around Moon's. "I told you, it's not your fault."

Moon nodded, and pulled away. She and Taiga walked up the steps to their respective rooms. Taiga slipped back into hers and curled up on the bed, and Moon climbed the staircase to the very top, where she was confronted with two doorways; the one that opened to her room, and the one that had framed Arctic's room.

Moon walked into her brother's room. It was still the way Arctic liked it; the not-quite-disorganized clutter that mimicked his lifestyle.

The moon globe on his desk still glowed, and it also contained an ever-present scroll on animus magic, and another on whatever subject held his attention at the moment. This time, it was one on the rainforest. One of the polar bear rugs was kicked into the corner, and the other was slightly crumpled on the floor. Moon stared at the room, taking everything in, then curled up on the rug and cried.

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Yes, there is a reason for Moon's apparent change of heart... it'll take a few chapters to get there, though.