Wings of Fire: Melting Ice #2

Chapter 3

The three dragons arrived at the palace, Aurora still bleeding. 

"So, what is it?" Plum asked, lifting her wings slightly.

"Well, Messagespreader came here and told me of the news," Queen Iceberg sighed. "Queen Fissure... she went to the Night Kingdom to get the hybrids. Queen Dreamstalker refused and...." the queen trailed off, her voice drenched in grief. "Three moons, she was killed," Iceberg cried.

Plum's eyes widened with surprise, and Aurora gasped with horror. Queen Iceberg held up a picture, and it showed a drawn picture of Queen Dreamstalker. There were two large holes in her throat, and there were tons of messy gashes in her face. Her eye seemed to be stabbed out, and one of her nostrils connected with one of the gashes. There was blood under her, staining the stone red.

"I.. honestly feel bad for the dragon who sketched that," Plum muttered, flicking her tail.

"Not the time," Iceberg growled. "Dreamstalker and I were great friends, and now she's been murdered!" She hissed, slamming her tail on the ground in anger.

"S-sorry," Plum muttered, her purple scales washing over with a green.

Poor Dreamstalker. She must've been in so much pain before she died. "Soo... who is the new queen?" Aurora asked, leaning forward.

"Moonglider," Iceberg answered. She flicked her tail. "Listen, you two. We're going to end this. I'm going over to the Night Kingdom with some IceWings, and I'll inform Queen Moonglider that I'm going to help her fight."

 "B-but you can't! You'll get dragons killed!" Aurora gasped, her claws scratching the floor. "Please, mother, don't fight!"

"Then what should I do? I'm not going to just stand around and do nothing, while Queen Fissure kills innocent dragons," Iceberg snapped, her wings spreading. Her eyes clouded with anger and guilt. "If only some of the tribes had stood up earlier, maybe Queen Dreamstalker wouldn't be dead right now, with all those gashes in her face."

Aurora avoided her mother's hard gaze. It's pointless trying to convince her to not fight. My mother is stubborn. She drooped downwards, her tail curling around her talons. "I... just don't want you to die. Then who'd be queen of the IceWings?" She asked, staring at Queen Iceberg.

"Y-yes... Remember what happened when the last IceWing queen started a fight with the hybrid killing queens? She was killed," Plum reminded, flicking her tail.

"Yes, I do remember. But this isn't like the past.... there's only Queen Fissure and Queen Scorpion. My mother lost because Queen Deadlyteeth and Queen Sandstone were still alive," Iceberg reminded.

Aurora stood up, spreading her wing forward to touch her mother's shoulder. "Think about this, please. You're up against HiveWings and SkyWings," she reminded, her eyes glazing with a pleading look.

Iceberg seemed to stare off into space for a moment, as if she was thinking. But then she lifted her head high. "I know what I'm doing," she said, lashing her tail. The IceWing queen then began to stalk down the hall of the palace, her head hanging low, as if she knew that this plan wasn't a good idea.

"Hmph," Plum grunted. "Oh well," she muttered after Iceberg had turned a corner. She spread her wings and took off into the sky suddenly.

Aurora then almost gasped as she remembered that Dreamstalker had been killed. What happened to Abysswatcher? She then spread her wings as she scrambled on the icy floor, her talons etching gashes into the ground. She lifted into the air, flying fast as she headed towards her secret spot. Queen Fissure, you better not of killed him! She tucked her arms inward, clutching her chest. 

Aurora dove down, her wings catching the icy wind. Her talons plunged into the snow, and she began making her way towards the bottom of the palace. She turned a corner, snow crunching beneath her claws. Then she walked over to a spot where a large stone was, her tail flicking as she brushed snow away from the spot. It revealed some kind of door, and she opened it. 

Aurora dropped down into the torch-lit room, her tail brushing the stone floor. She reached up, pulling the door back down. Then she sat, and closed her eyes. She reached into her sachet with shaky talons, and pulled out the shiny stone.

Aurora held the stone to her mouth, then sighed. "Stone, is Prince Abysswatcher.... alive?" She asked, holding back a sniff as her tail dragged across the floor slowly.

The stone shook softly. "Yes," it answered, the tiny flecks of ice in it shimmering for a quick second.

Aurora gasped. He really is alive! She circled around the small room with joy, her eyes becoming as bright as the torches that hung from the wall. "Stone, where is Abysswatcher?" She asked, the cyan and blue scales shifting from green to gold.

"He is with his father in the Deep Sea Palace," the stone answered.

Aurora breathed a sigh of relief, her wings folding at her sides. "Oh, three moons, I'm glad he's alive," she breathed softly, sitting back down. Hopefully he wasn't hurt, though.

"Stone, was Abysswatcher hurt in the attack?" Aurora asked.

The stone shuffled slightly, and the icy flecks in it reflected Aurora's worried eyes. "Yes. He has burns on his chest, and burns on the end of his tail," it replied.

 "W-who caused those?" Aurora growled, her tail lashing. Queen Fissure, if you did this, I'll make you pay! 

"Nightmare," the stone answered.

"T-that's a bit vague," Aurora sighed. "Uh, stone, who is Nightmare?" She asked.