"Moon, I have to exile you."
Moon stared at her sister. "What?"
"I don't want to do this, either," Taiga sighed. "But with what you did when you found poor Arctic, I'm not sure you can be trusted around other dragons. I understand you were grieving, but your anger clouded your judgement, your reasoning. If something like that happens again, I don't want you to be in a position where you may hurt other dragons."
Moon nodded reluctantly. "What — what are your orders?"
"I won't order you to leave the kingdom, but you can if you wish to. However, you may never go so far north in the Ice Kingdom that you cannot see the Great Ice Cliff. If you do, I will know."
"When should I leave? And what will happen if I return to the Ice Kingdom?"
"You are to leave immediately," Taiga answered. "And you won't ever return, will you?" She stared into Moon's eyes, and Moon shook her head.
"Of course not. I won't come back."
She took a step away, then turned back and threw her wings around Taiga.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm sorry I broke your trust."
Taiga nodded, then pulled away. "Now go. You have until nightfall to get to the Ice Cliff."
Moon nodded, tears misting her eyes, and left the Ice Palace. As she left, she heard laughter behind her.
Moon reached the Ice Cliff just as the sun was setting. She curled up on the northern side of the cliff, wings over her head. Few IceWings ever came this far south, so she would be doomed to a lonely existence.
Not necessarily, she thought. I could go to the Five-Tail River delta, unless the SandWings and SkyWings are fighting for it again.
Then she shook her head. No. I'm an IceWing princess. I belong here. And if I did go there, what would I tell the other dragons? That my own sister, the queen, exiled me?
Moon sighed. Then a thought struck her. What if Taiga had exiled her because she thought Moon would challenge her for the throne? Moon had always won when she and Taiga had fought, except for her attack on the day Arctic had died. But she hadn't fought smart then, had she? She hadn't thought at all. If she had, Taiga would probably have been killed. Sure, she had told Taiga that she didn't want the throne, but what if Taiga didn't believe her?
YOU ARE READING
Queens of Ice
FanfictionPrincess Moon Stone has gone around the royal edicts for most of her life. She has visited dragons in the lower rankings or outside the rankings entirely, and has taken advantage of her position as royalty to sneak food and moon globes to those who...
