Wings of Fire: Melting Ice #2

Chapter 6

The frame of the painting was quite dusty. Aurora gasped, wondering how she hadn't seen that before. She remembered that this chamber used to be used by Queen Iceberg, but then her mother just stopped using it, so maybe she had left the painting by accident.

The RainWing in the painting was quite beautiful actually. His scales were sky-blue, and he had dark blue scales lining the top of his head. His wings were a banana-yellow color, and his eyes were a dark green. The circles that ran down his sides were a grape-purple color. For some reason, there were hints of black in his scales. Some of the scales by his wings were littered with jet-black, and near his mouth and around his eyes, there were also black scales. 

Weird. Maybe he's part NightWing? But what she found most interesting was the color of his scales. They were sky-blue, almost similar to the color of Aurora's cyan scales. And the color of the inside of his wings was exactly the color of the inside of Plum's wings. The purple circles that ran down his sides were similar to the color of Plum's wings and talons.

Aurora kept thinking, and suddenly she had an idea. Is this RainWing our father? She remembered that Iceberg never mentioned their father. She had only stated that he was a RainWing. She also mentioned that he was a decedent of Firefly, one of the dragonets of Queen Glory and Deathbringer. So that makes Plum and me half NightWing. At the bottom of the frame, a plate of gold shone dimly. She wiped off the thick coat of dust, and in capital letters was the name 'HYACINTH.' So that's his name. His green eyes were the exact color of Aurora's green eyes. Then, she turned the painting around, almost gasping as she saw what was on the back.

The wood 'MURDERER' had been scratched into the back of the wood from someone's angered talons. The word must've been carved into it at least a hundred times. That's when it hit her. This RainWing really was their father, the one that had murdered his son.

Aurora growled, almost throwing the painting of her father on the ground. She wanted to ask her mother what had happened. Why did their father murder his own son? Was he still alive? Maybe it's not the best idea to ask Iceberg, it might trigger something. 

Aurora then placed the painting on the top of the shelf. She noticed the indent of a deep mark on Hyacinth's throat, and realized that her mother must've scratched her talon deep into the canvas. She seems really pent up on wanting him dead, but it's understandable.  Aurora felt as though she needed to go to the Rainforest Kingdom, and perhaps find her father. She had questions for him- a lot of questions.

Blinking, Aurora turned away from the bookshelf. Even though I don't like my sister, maybe I should show her this picture of our father. She deserves to know too. But later. Aurora slithered to the large nest she had made, then curled up for sleep. And at the start of tomorrow, I'll head off to find our father.

Aurora blinked open her eyes as a talon poked her. Her vision was blurry and dark as sleep still wavered in her. "Huh, what?" She mumbled.

Surprisingly, standing before her was her sister, her eyes dark with hate. "Ugh, I hate doing this, but mother sent one of her guards to get me to come find you," Plum hissed.

Aurora yawned, her jaws widening and her tongue stretching forward. Her teeth glinted in the sunlight. "Why does she need me?" Aurora asked.

"Three moons if I know," Plum growled. "I'm going too, by the way. I guess she wants us for... war," she hissed.

"What? Really?" Aurora gasped. "But-"

"Have you found her?" The rough voice of a dragon asked. An IceWing, Slick, popped his head in, his black eyes resting on the siblings. "Oh, good. Now come along, you two. We need all the help we can get."

"Hey, what's going on?" Aurora asked, scrambling forward. 

"SkyWings have invaded the south. Like I said, we need all the help we can get," Slick hissed, flicking his forked blue tongue. "Wolverine has been killed."

"That sucks," Plum blurted, flicking her tail. 

"Now come on. Lives are on the line," Slick stated, his head disappearing.

Plum quickly trotted to the entrance, but then was stopped when Aurora grabbed her tail. The snowy white hybrid turned on her, her icy glare piercing through Aurora's soul. "What?" She snapped.

"T-this," Aurora stammered. She scrambled over to the shelf and quickly grabbed the painting of Hyacinth, her talons trembling. She pointed to the RainWing. "I found this painting yesterday. This is apparently our father," she quickly explained, almost stumbling on her words.

"You can tell me later. Right now we have a fight to win," Plum hissed, flicking her tail. She darted out of the entrance, the beating of her wings echoing around.

Aurora grumbled and set the painting back on the shelf. She scrambled out of the entrance, then lifted into the air once she was out. Plum and Slick were flying near her.

"About time," Slick said, flicking his tail. "What, just because you're the Queen's daughters you think you can take your time?" He asked, the tone in her voice showing irritation. Slick can be strict sometimes, but he's a great grandfather. 

"Now, get this," Slick hissed, handing a sharp spear to Aurora. He gave one to Plum as well. Then he dug into the sachet around his neck. His talons clung to an ice-colored helmet, and it glittered as the sunlight touched it. "I was only able to get one, so only one of you will have this," he stated.

"I should wear it," Plum said, grabbing the helmet from the white-and-sky-blue IceWing. She fastened it on her head. The helmet curled around her horns and stretched sharply towards her snout, glittering brightly. "Aurora, you have icescales so I figured that already counts as protection."

"Fair point," Aurora grumbled. Although I would've looked cool in that helmet.

"Now, let's go," Slick commanded, his wings beating the air as they headed south.