Queens of Ice

Chapter Thirteen

Taiga came at sunrise.

Moon watched as she landed, with what seemed like every guard she had. Taiga wore chain mail armor, and had curved spikes that fit over her claws. She looked like a monster.

"Come to finally surrender?" she taunted, but Moon thought she heard a faint note of nervousness in her sister's voice.

"No, actually. I came to talk to you. I want you to stop oppressing the dragons of the Ice Kingdom."

Taiga laughed harshly. "What makes you think you have any say in this? I am queen. I can do whatever I want. You have no right to stop me."

"Actually, I do," Moon countered. "I am in line for the throne. You can exile me all you want, That doesn't change the fact that I'm your sister and that I can stop you whenever I want."

"You didn't put up a fight on the day Aurora died. In fact, I distinctly remember you saying you didn't want the throne."

"You had a spell on me to make me conveniently forget that you had murdered Arctic. Had I known the truth, I would have fought for the throne, if only to protect our kingdom from you."

An idea struck Moon then. "Have you figured out who killed her? Surely your animus magic must have shown you that by now."

Taiga smirked. "I've known all along. I didn't punish him, though. Why would I? Frostbite did exactly what I wanted him to. He was too valuable a tool to throw away."

Moon's eyes widened. "No."

"Yes," Taiga smiled. "He's been under my control since the day Arctic died. I didn't challenge our mother myself, or then I'd have had to deal with you as well. But, if I could get you to surrender the throne to me, then I would be able to exile you, and then everything would've been perfect."

Moon straightened. "I should have done this long ago. Taiga, I challenge you to a duel for the IceWing throne."

Taiga laughed. "I was so hoping you'd say that, if only so I could deny you. I will not accept your challenge."

Moon stared. "You have to! Every queen in Pyrrhia is bound by the rules of the challenge!"

"But who will you tell? And even if you could tell someone, who would have the authority to do anything about it? No other queen could get here, and even if they could, they couldn't stop me." Taiga turned to her guards. "Don't interfere. It's time I finished this myself."

Taiga turned back and lunged at Moon, her long claws flashing. Moon fell back, and Taiga's claws grazed her wing. Even the small cuts blazed with pain, and Moon cried out.

Taiga grinned. "Turns out, the necklace hadn't been stolen. Mine is the real one. Yours was a fake."

"It got you out here, didn't it?" Moon gasped. She shot a blast of frostbreath at Taiga's face, and her sister roared as the frost covered one eye, fusing it shut.

"Does that feel like what you did to Arctic?" Moon gasped. "Losing your sight?"

Taiga dug her claws into Moon's foreleg. Pain exploded from Moon's claws to her shoulder like her leg had been dipped in RainWing venom. Her leg collapsed under her and her vision flickered. Taiga stood over Moon, her eye still covered with frost.

"You have been a pain in the tail for the past month. I want you to feel as much pain as possible before you die."

She reached her elongated claws towards Moon's face, but Moon grabbed them and rolled, pulling Taiga off balance. Her sister landed heavily on top of Moon, and Moon dug her teeth into Taiga's shoulder. Taiga roared and leaped off Moon, whirling to face her again. Moon darted forwards, tugging at the chain mail Taiga was wearing. It didn't budge, and Taiga took the opportunity to shoot frostbreath at Moon's spine. Moon rolled back, shivering, but swung her wing forward and caught Taiga across the face. Taiga stalked towards Moon, hissing with rage. Moon swung her claws forward...

And her eyes widened in shock as her claws dug deep into Taiga's throat.

Taiga stumbled back, blood pouring from her torn neck.

"You—" she choked. "You couldn't—"

She staggered forward, reaching for Moon's throat, but collapsed halfway there. Her eye stared blankly at Moon as the pool of blood widened around her head.

Moon stepped back, staring at her sister's body. Taiga, the dragon who had tormented her dreams, had oppressed the IceWing civilians, whose lies and traitorous schemes had destroyed her family, lay dead on the snow.

One of the guards stepped forward and bowed. "Queen Moon Stone."

Moon shook her head. "No," she whispered.

"You challenged her," another guard said. "She denied your challenge, but that doesn't mean anything. By attacking you, she showed she accepted. Even if she hadn't, with her death, you are the only female member of the royal family. You have to take the throne."

Moon nodded, still staring at Taiga's body.

One month later, Moon stood in Taiga's workshop, staring at the animus necklace. She had already ordered the animus gifts to be opened to any dragon in the kingdom, and she had released the prisoners Taiga had kept in the dungeons. The old queen had left them without light in the cells, just as she had left Moon there so long ago. Moon had already fixed most of the damage done by Taiga and other queens of the past, and now there was only one thing left to do.

She put the necklace over her head and poked at the diamond.

No dragon may use this necklace more than once, she thought. And they will not be able to use it for enchantments that will harm other dragons or other dragon tribes unless it is necessary for the tribe's survival.

She placed the necklace back on the desk and left the room, closing the door firmly behind her.

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And so endeth the first story I've ever posted. Vote, comment, let me know what you think!