Gelid liked who she was and where she was as an icewing. From a bloodline of icewings that had never entered anything higher than the fifth circle in the last seven generations, Gelid never saw herself go anywhere near the palace as an adult. She imagined herself patrolling and perched on some island off the coast, following her parents expectations of course. But now she basically sat and flew next to Queen Blizzard all the time, now she lived in the palace, now she flew to all parts of the continent - or at least, starting to. She'd only been to Queen Thorn's stronghold a few times. Nevertheless, life couldn't be any better for her and she definitely didn't need her parents to run it through a field of ice spikes.

It was her first time traveling to the other side of the continent for the Winter-Spring celebrations in the rainforest. The rainforest! She'd read scrolls of all the birds, the constant symphony of echoing music, colours that expressed more than white, blue or grey and the rainwings of all dragons. Gelid admired their colour-shifting scales, how they could be the brightest thing in the sky or as invisible as a star during the day. The rainforest itself was full of wonder with new discoveries every year unknown to the rest of the continent. Did the seawings share the same curiosity in their ocean home?

The teeth and claws of Jade Mountain didn't fit within her talons anymore as her wings soared in the sky, steering her closer and closer to the destination of the rainforest. Flying over Jade Mountain seemed like a scary thing to accomplish when she was a dragonet. The spires grasped the sky and the teeth looked as if it was about to crush her the closer and higher she flew. But as an adult, she imagined the mountain giving up on that objective. If it couldn't swallow her up as a dragonet then how in the blazes was it going to do that to her as an adult? Take that stupid mountain.

While thinking of Jade Mountain, Gelid pondered if it was appropriate to ask if they could have a quick stop at Jade Mountain Academy. She wondered if anything other than the flow of dragonets had changed since she left.

Gelid attended the academy for almost year before she decided to return to the ice kingdom to work on raising her ranking. She didn't talk to many of the other dragonets, apart from one of them. Besides, this was all before Queen Blizzard personally approached her and offered Gelid the chance to prove herself and join the first circle. She didn't want to follow her family into the sixth and seventh circle and remain overlooked.

A dragon flew down beside her, eying the horizon before meeting Gelid's face.

"Excited, eh?" Asked Pale.

Gelid imagined herself as a flurry of random and bright colours if she was a rainwing. "Very. It's my first time going to the rainforest for the celebrations. It's my first time going to the rainforest in my entire life. So yes, I'm very, very excited." She responded as calmly as possible.

She liked talking to Pale when not around other icewings, or at least far enough away from them. Needless to say, icewings had a stricter code of linguistics than other tribes, which Gelid found infuriating. Or perhaps it was because she only experienced this language in the palace and no where else. Her parents definitely never cared how she spoke, as long as she didn't talk back or talk rudely.

What? Rude like them? I'm better than them. I'll be better than they could ever imagine - not that they could imagine either.

"You're going to love it on the rainforest." He flew closer to her, feeling his wing beat the wind over her wings and he whispered into her ear. "Between you and me, I wish the ice kingdom had as much colours as the rainforest. Don't tell Queen Blizzard I said that." He glided away, wingtip to wingtip with Gelid with a small smile.

"Deal," Gelid said. "Many times have you gone?"

"This is the 30th year, right?" Gelid nodded. Pale started to count with his talons but made it counterintuitive as he looked upwards as he counted. "So...fifth time, I think. I was skeptical at first, thinking it was just the rainwings having a party with their colours splattered all over the rainforest. But after the first time, I was hooked. There's music and dancing and performers...you're really going to love it." he said to her.

"Wow. I really can't wait." With the image Gelid had in her head she only wished she could've attended the celebrations earlier.

"You should visit the nightwing village at nighttime, you'll not be disappointed. Well, I mean it's more like a kingdom of its own instead of a village. They just don't have a proper queen..." Pale almost trailed off.

"But they do have a queen, they have Queen Firefly." Gelid responded, questioning his perspective.

"I know. What I meant to say is that they don't have a queen to themselves. Sure, Queen Firefly is technically their queen but she's also queen of the rainwings. It surprises me that she finds time for both tribes." Pale answered, redeeming himself.

"Well queens are certainly hardworking." Gelid said. She shot a glance at Queen Blizzard above her. She looked calm as usual but a with a closer inspection, she had a curve over her eyes, as if she was thinking of something bad or unpleasant.

"As I was saying. Go to the nightwing village at nighttime, you'll not be disappointed. I can even come with you if you want." He offered with a smile.

"Thank you, Pale. I'll definitely think about it." Gelid said. A thought entered her head, a question, a question she just had to ask. "So, want to give me a hint to what's in the nightwing village at nighttime?" Pale shook his head with a small grin. "A nightwing secret? A secret monster? Dragonets throwing mud everywhere including but not limited to: other dragons?"

"You'll have to see for yourself," he responded.

That didn't help calm Gelid's scales one bit. If anything, it only made her wish she had skywing wings so she could fly faster, or even the magic of an animus so she could teleport herself. Queen Blizzard would probably think it'd be a waste of magic though, not that it would stop Gelid from doing it.

She stayed silent, imaging what the rainforest would look like during the celebrations.

Approaching Jade Mountain, their security detachment of sandwings departed from them, completing their mission of protecting Queen Blizzard and the group of icewings flying through the desert. Gelid appreciated Queen Blizzard and Queen Thorn's relationship as well as being neighbours.

Gelid had seen Queen Thorn numerous times during visits, even possibly saving her and Queen Blizzard's life when Gelid stomped on a dragonbite viper that snuck through a hole in the palace. Queen Thorn was a big dragon but also quite kind, which Gelid found surprising. Considering that Queen Thorn had been challenged five times throughout her life, two by her daughters and three by her nieces, her kindness and patience had not died out either. Though, both of Queen Thorn's eldest and youngest daughter was still alive and one of them was probably going to win the next challenge if Queen Thorn didn't step down by the next decade.

Jade Mountain and beyond was the safest place in the continent: the rainforest. The border was patrolled by invisible rainwings during the day and the nightwings during the night where shadows were everywhere and everything looked like the snout of a dragon. The trees themselves formed the pillars in the kingdom where the trunks reached into the skies and roofed the kingdom with its canopy.

Though, Gelid argued with Pale that the rainforest was the second safest place on the continent, behind Jade Mountain Academy as first. Gelid stated that the academy was full of easily-provoked dragonets that would happily claw any dragon that threatened the mountain. Not to mention that the fabled dragons of destiny lived in the mountain. All the queens supported the dragons of destiny.

Focused on sweeping her eyes over the crevices of the mountain, a blue dragon caught her eye, along with half a dozen dragonets following it. Tsunami, Gelid guessed. And her very vestigial hunting party I bet. She watched the dragons until they became dots in the distance.

"Halt!" Ordered Queen Blizzard. Gelid pushed her wings forward, stopping herself and then hovered in the air, watching the queen. "Stay here. This is the border of the rainforest where I will announce our arrival to the rainwing patrols."

Queen Blizzard flew ahead towards the bright forest columns that swathed in the sunlight, fencing the rainforest beyond the borders as if it kept the darker shadows within instead of leaking it out to the rest of the continent. She's not going alone, Gelid decided, flying after Queen Blizzard.

Queen Blizzard landed upon a wooden platform that extended into the rainforest and slowly walked in, looking around before staring at Gelid. "I thought I told you to halt." She said. She sat calmly, coiling her tail around next to her talons.

Gelid landed on the platform. "You did but my job is to protect you, no matter what."

"Your devotion is charming," Queen Blizzard said. "But next I say halt, you halt. Glory implemented some strict rules during the celebrations when she was queen which Queen Firefly has done well to duplicate."

"Yes, your majesty." Way to mess up, Gelid, good job. She scolded herself. She might as well toss me out of the palace for a few months.

Four rainwings suddenly appeared out of thin air, like snow falling from a snowstorm but with an exhibition of colours with bright red, green, a darker green and orange colours between them. They all bowed deeply.

"Greetings, Queen Blizzard of the icewings, and uh," The red rainwing looked over Queen Blizzard's wing at Gelid with confusion. "Princess? Apologies for my confusion, I did not know a princess was accompanying you." He said to Queen Blizzard.

"No apologies needed. This is my personal bodyguard, Gelid. She has only recently received the important position and orders, which she follows with remarkable precision." She said, glancing at Gelid with a small smirk that was almost impossible to notice.

Oh now she's making fun of me. Gelid forced herself to not to smile. Instead, she watched the rainwings. The green scaled rainwings held small pouches on the side of their front legs while holding what looked to be a hollow, wooden tube as long and thick as an individual spike on Queen Blizzard's crown of spikes. The red and orange rainwing both held spears with the blunt end perfectly flat on the ground, as if the rainwings weren't even holding them up at all.

After a quick chat between the warmer coloured rainwings, the red rainwing spoke again. "All is accounted for, if you could call for your icewings to gather here, we'll escort you to Vine Square where the celebrations will be taking place."

"Gratitude," Queen Blizzard said. She looked to Gelid. "Maybe it is a good thing you followed me after all. I need you to call the others so we'll all travel in one group."

Gelid obeyed, lifting off towards the flying retinue of icewings.

"Did you get in trouble?' Pale asked, not looking tired from hovering in the air all that time.

"Only for a second," Gelid replied "But I'm surprisingly lucky."

"Hah," He almost barked a laugh. "I bet. You should be called Lucky, suits you more."

Gelid snorted. "Come on now, Queen Blizzard had announced that we may travel into the rainforest. She asks for us to assemble on the platform to be later escorted to Vine Square." She said.

The icewings landed upon the platform after Gelid and Pale, one by one. Gelid realised just how out of place the icewings look in the forest. There was no place for white or pale colours in the rainforest at all.

Soon, they all flew into the shade of the rainforest following the orange rainwing. Apparently, with the help of the nightwings, the rainwings had demolished a wider and clearer path from trees and shrubbery to help other tribes fly through the dense trees. Vines still hung from the trees and the canopy, which Gelid almost flew into numerous times. Gelid guessed that very few of these paths were made, if there were any more than the one they followed, to keep other dragons with dangerous intents unable to travel through the rainforest. Not that it would've been possible to attack the rainforest with all the invisible rainwings.

Bright light caught her eyes. Skylight poured down into a flat wooden platform above the ground. Wooden stilts supported the giant platform and long interweaved vines hung like chains from the trees. Rainwings and nightwings walked interchangeably around the outskirts. Gelid found some dragons from the other tribes as well such as sandwings, skywings and mudwings. Their queens must be here already, Gelid determined.

In front of them was a large nightwing talking to a much smaller purple and orange rainwing. Gelid heard them speaking.

"It was a white dragon, I'm sure of it." Said the nightwing.

"A white dragon you say, attacking the celebrations?" Asked the rainwing.

"Yes, your majesty...I mean, I think so. My visions aren't usually so vague and this one wasn't so clear. I just...I remember seeing a white dragon attacking another dragon with red scales, a rainwing I think."

"Do you know where?"

"No, it was blurry and grey. I think it might be at nighttime." Answered the nightwing.

The rainwing looked at Queen Blizzard approaching. "Alright, thank you Moon. I'll consider what you've proposed to me but I can't cancel the celebrations, not when all the queens are attending. Please come to me if you have anymore visions. I need to know who and I need to know where." The rainwing said hastily.

The nightwing bowed and walked away carefully, as to not shake the entire platform with each step.

Landing, the rainwing half bowed to Queen Blizzard who bowed back.

"Queen Blizzard," said the rainwing, completing her bow. "A pleasure to greet you as queen and to be the one to greet you arriving in time for the celebrations."

"The pleasure is mine, Queen Firefly." Queen Blizzard responded.

So that's Queen Firefly. Queen Firefly looked about the same size as Queen Blizzard but thinner. The bottom half of her legs were uncharacteristically black and the same as her tail, which didn't seem to curl like the other rainwings did. That's because she's a hybrid. Wow. Never thought I'd see a rainwing and nightwing hybrid in all my life.

Apart from her black scales, Queen Firefly had dark-violet scales throughout. Her underbelly were orange and her wings were a watery blue, like she captured the sun rays of a sunset and sky and stuffed it into her scales. Between her horns was a crown of yellow-golden scales and dots of vibrant purple raced down the sides of her body where the night apprehended her scales.

I don't know what I expected from the queen of the nightwings and rainwings but she's absolutely gorgeous. Gelid thought. I wish I had rainwing scales.

"Trouble?" Queen Blizzard asked, glancing at the big nightwing.

"A minor problem. My best seer had a vision, she thinks something may happen tonight but I wouldn't rush to conclusions not when the rainforest will be the most guarded place on the continent tonight. All the tribes will be here." Queen Firefly explained.

"All the more reason to worry, wouldn't you think?" Suggested Queen Blizzard. "But I trust you. Now, where is our area? My icewings are feeling exhausted from the journey."

"Of course, right this way."

Queen Firefly led them to a dais with a wooden pavilion large enough to fit twenty fully grown dragons. Along one side was a table full of bowls and plates of colourful fruit, fluffy pastries and an assortment of raw fish, cleaned and cut. Along the back was a walkway with a fence to warn dragons of the edge and sheer drop. But Gelid only saw rainwings and nightwings walking along it and staring out into the forest every few moments. She guessed only guards used that walkway.

Gelid looked around, noticing things for the first time. First of all, Vine Square had an open canopy to the sky. The sun barely touched the edges of the leaves, indicating that there was at least four and a half hours until it fell below the horizon.

Second of all, the Square had three layers. Seven pavilions stretched around on the top layers, which Gelid guessed was meant for all the queens when they came to celebrate plus one for the nightwings. The icewing pavilion was next the rainwing pavilion, which Gelid assumed when Glory landed upon it and briefly chatted at Queen Blizzard before flying off once more. Queen Thorn and King Smolder were perched on their pavilion alone, while Queen Fuchsia and King Sanguine were talking to their skywing subjects on their pavilion.

Below the pavilions were all the shops and stalls, selling various fruits and trinkets, and buskers singing and playing instruments. The bottom layer was a drop and was the center of the Square. A stage sat opposite all the pavilions at the bottom, devoid of any dragons. Occasionally she saw a sandwing or a rainwing walk along the edges of the bottom layer into what looked to be a storage area.

What intrigued Gelid the most was the lighting. Tied with vines and hung around each layer were small luminescent bulbs, each with their own different colour than the one next to them. Though, with unlit bamboo torches along the edges of each layer before the sudden drop made Gelid think these lights were more decorative than practical.

"You should go look around," said Queen Blizzard suddenly, almost startling Gelid. "Instead of staying by my side," she added, looking down at her.

"I should stay by you, just in case." Gelid justified. She looked over her shoulder at the icewings behind her. Half of them were resting with their heads over their talons, while the other half were eating the assortment of foods.

"You're protective and I appreciate that but seeing as it's your first time here I suggest you go look around. Try some new food, buy some souvenirs, greet some of the dragons. Make the most of your time and experience here while you can." Queen Blizzard calmly suggested.

Gelid considered it, reminding herself of Pale's comment to go the nightwing village. She wondered if she was even allowed to go there.

"But-"

"No buts, it's an order. Go, shoo, experience something you don't everyday." Queen Blizzard nudged Gelid's shoulder, almost knocking her over.

Gelid's first thought was that this was a test, a test to examine her abilities to argue and to strengthen her voice and opinions, even against the queen. Previous icewing queens did this often, especially to first circle dragons to personally test their place. But Queen Blizzard almost never did this and when she did, it was a test of moral, like whether a dragon should go to prison or be exiled.

"Alright," she agreed. "But I'll be back by the time the sun falls." Queen Blizzard nodded, returning her gaze over the Square.

Gelid admitted that she wanted to go down to the second layer where all the other dragons walked. So she did. She walked by and peaked her head into every stall. The vendors greeted her politely and patiently waited as she gazed at every little thing. She even tried a dish that consisted of some kind of fatty meat resting in a small pool of green liquid.

"Roasted camel meat boiled in sweet prickly pear cactus fruit and sugar cane," offered the sandwing vendor. "Care to try?"

Gelid thought about it. "Never tried camel before, or cactus...Does it taste good?"

"Of course it does, it's my father's recipe, he owns a camel farm, and this cactus is found between the desert and the sky mountains. It's ethical I assure you. Though, you'd be the first icewing to try it. I implore you to try - you know what, I'll make it half-priced just for you, fine dragon." Said the sandwing with a polite smile.

She had to try it then. "Sure. One please." She handed the sandwing some gold coins. After sitting by a table, the sandwing came to her and carefully placed the plate in front of her and retreated back behind the stall to serve a rainwing. Gelid ate the dish, admiring the unusual taste and structure. She'd remember this in case Queen Blizzard ever wanted to eat something different while in the sandwing kingdom.

Gelid wanted to compliment the sandwing but by the time she was done there was a line of rainwings and nightwings by the stall. I think I might have given him some unexpected attention. Good for business I guess. I did something good. Gelid thought, feeling happy with herself.

She checked on Queen Blizzard, realising that she was across the Square from her. Maybe I should stay closer, just in case. No, no, I shouldn't worry. This is the safest place in Pyrrhia. Looking around the pavilions, Queen Ibis and her sibling group had arrived. A smaller mudwing sat next to her, looking like she wanted to be anywhere but in the rainforest. She guessed that was Princess Willow, Queen Ibis's daughter.

Midway through the second layer was a short tunnel under the layer of pavilions that extended to a covered area under the canopy of the trees. It was wide, large enough to fit more than half a kingdom of dragons. The flat floor of the platform was occasionally interrupted by tree trunks, allowing the trees to grow despite the development of the platform. Small vine chandeliers hung from the canopy, each one with a large coloured bulb of light with a ring of smaller ones around them.

Guess they're brighter than I thought they'd be, assessed Gelid, impressed.

A mixture of dragons from different tribes walked and sat around this area, probably to escape the bustling noise of all the markets. Most of the dragons walked in pairs or small groups, which was why Gelid spotted a lonesome nightwing sitting and staring over the edge of the platform.

It was the same one that was talking to Queen Firefly when she arrived. Queen Firefly's best seer, supposedly. I can take this opportunity to talk to her about her vision. Gelid knew that nightwings born under one or more full moons can get the ability to predict the future but she also knew that they could be quite obscure with their place and meaning.

She approached the big nightwing, feeling like a tiny snowball next to dragon talons. How should she greet this nightwing? Should Gelid greet her like the nervous writhing reptile she was? Acting as "an icewing in the first circle" and regal as possible? Casually?

While Gelid was thinking, she almost didn't notice the nightwing looking down at her with a calm expression. Gelid jumped back in surprise.

"Can I help you?" Asked the nightwing.

"Uh, yes, actually, I was hoping I could hear about your vision? The one you were telling Queen Firefly earlier." Gelid said, trying to sound as calm and composed as Queen Blizzard usually was.

"Why should I tell you?" Asked the nightwing.

Gelid almost felt offended. "Because my queen's safety is my responsibility, because if she gets hurt or even killed when I could've stopped it, it's my fault. Because I think it's important and so do you. You went to Queen Firefly straight away to tell her of your vision because you think some dragon might get harmed and that you could've stopped it before it happened because you care. Because I care and if I had a vision of some dragon getting hurt I'd do something about it too." Gelid said, breathing deeply afterwards.

The nightwing stared at her for a few seconds. "You're definitely more caring than most," Gelid expected her to add: "for an icewing" at the end of her sentence. "What's your name?"

"Gelid, first circle, personal bodyguard to Queen Blizzard." Gelid introduced.

"You look young to be a bodyguard. Very well. My name is Moonwatcher but everyone calls me Moon." Moon said with a faint smile.

"So, Moon, can you tell me about your vision?"

"I think you've convinced me enough. Yes I had a vision about two hours ago." Moon looked out towards the dense rainforest and then closed her eyes. "I couldn't see much, there was darkness, like a fog or a cloud. The next I see a dragon with white scales and long claws. The dragon was attacking another in the darkness, a dragon with red scales. That's all I saw." She described, returning her gaze to Gelid. "Usually my visions are much clearer but this one...this one's different and I'm not entirely sure why."

"So a white dragon attacks a red dragon somewhere dark." Gelid said concisely. "Do you think the white dragon could be an icewing?"

"Could be. At first I thought it could be you but your scales are more grey than white. The dragon I saw was whiter. So it could be another icewing." Moon said.

"And the red dragon...do you think that could be a skywing? Skywings are usually have red scales." suggested Gelid. Like King Sanguine, his scales are as red of molten iron.

"No." Moon shook her head. "The dragons scales were too vibrant, too red. I think it might be a rainwing."

Gelid reminded herself of the red rainwing she saw first entering the rainforest, after disobeying Queen Blizzard's order of halting. Could be him...Maybe, Gelid thought. But he was nice.

"An icewing attacking a rainwing," Moon said. "Do you know of any icewings that might attack a rainwing?" She asked Gelid.

Pale was the only icewing who had travelled to the rainforest prior, other than Queen Blizzard but Gelid knew she wouldn't risk breaking the icewing's relationship with the rainwings. And Pale was one of the nicest icewings any dragon could know.

"No, I can't think of any dragon. Except maybe one," Gelid reminded herself an icewing she had never seen before. An icy-bluish icewing with a strange iron helmet over his head and horns. He was flying with them. "But it's an icewing I don't know."

"Perhaps. But maybe Queen Firefly was right. I don't know when this happens. It could happen tonight, it could happen tomorrow, it could happen next week. Maybe I'm just being a bit paranoid." Moon said.

"Well if you're being paranoid then I'm being extremely paranoid." Moon snorted. "Have you had anymore visions? Maybe a clearer one or-"

"I haven't had a vision since. I wish I could. But no matter how much I concentrate I can't seem to see anything. I think it has something to do when the all the moons are black." Moon explained, looking up at the canopy. "A friend of mine once said that nightwing powers are less powerful with each moon that is black, even if it's day; that nightwing powers are greater when even one moon's crescent is glowing in the sky."

"That sounds annoying." Gelid said, following Moon's eyes.

"It is." Moon looked at her talons, stretching each one as if she'd been standing like an icewing guard for hours. "As for my vision," she said to Gelid. "I don't think you should worry. Enjoy the celebrations. Enjoy tonight because I don't think the tribes will be as calm around each other today than any other day."

"Alright." Gelid rose to her feet. "Thank you, Moon." Moon nodded and presumed watching the rainforest with a sad expression.

Gelid headed back towards the markets, pausing as she entered to the sudden wave of noise. The sky was still bright but the sun was almost completely under the leaves of the canopy where the other side started to glow golden. Queen Blizzard was in the sandwing pavilion talking to Queen Thorn and King Smolder.

Queen Auklet had arrived with a sour expression on her face, stamping past the other dragons and sitting on her spot of the pavilion. Blue and green seawings accompanied her, sitting around her as she did. Gelid watched as Queen Fuchsia in the pavilion next to the seawings tried to call Queen Auklet in an attempt of a conversation.

Who stepped on her snowflake? Gelid wondered.

Something white moved in the corner of her eye. Gelid looked around, quickly spotting a rainwing with pure white scales walking down to the steps to the bottom layer where the stage was. His torso looked particularly big for a rainwing. His left leg had a gold metal covering like armour as well as a golden helmet-like crown between his horns. Long blue and green feathers went shortly down his neck.

Looks like a white dragon to me, Gelid thought. She walked to the top of the steps and watched the white rainwing. He disappeared into a wall of orange curtains behind the stage. Gelid followed, walking down the steps quietly and across the stage where she peaked her head into the curtains. Behind was another wall of blue curtains. Behind that was a large rectangle room fitted with wooden walls.

There was only one light source and it came from the odd light bulbs she saw outside. They were in an oval array around a mirror. In front of the mirror was the white rainwing. He was handsome, more so than Pale.

"I thought I heard some dragon follow me," said the white rainwing, not looking away from the mirror.

Gelid jerked back away from the curtain. "I saw you, icewing," he said. How did he see me? I thought I was far enough away that he didn't see me follow him. "It's okay, I don't mind the attention. You can come in if you want to meet me. I'm not the kind of dragon that bites." He added calmly.

Gelid thought that he was far too nice to attack someone, at least by the way he spoke. She thought of at least interrogating as subtly as possible. Gelid peered into the room again, meeting the gaze of the white rainwing. He had a calm, yet curious expression.

She walked in. "Sorry, I don't mean to stalk. It's just that...I've never seen a white rainwing before."

"I am a peculiar flower aren't I." Said the rainwing. "Every other rainwing chooses a bright colour used by a rainwing before them but how many choose the simple elegancy of white?"

"I apologise for my bluntness but what's your name?" Gelid asked.

"You haven't heard of me?" Gelid shook her head. "Well, I should've guessed that my name wouldn't have crossed any further than half the continent." He stood up and walked towards Gelid, taking her talons and squeezing them gently in a small bow. "My name is Swan, performer. Yours?"

"Gelid," she took her talons back. "First circle, personal bodyguard to Queen Blizzard."

"Gelid." Swan echoed, turning his back and walking towards the mirror. He ran the tips of his talons under the edges of his golden crown which Gelid saw through the reflection of the mirror. "That name doesn't suit you."

"It doesn't? I think it's a fitting name for an icewing." Gelid responded, looking down her leg and examining her scales.

"For an icewing, perhaps, yes you are correct, but not for you. Gelid means cold, too cold, like a lone snowflake falling into an ocean. You deserve a better name, a name like...Opal. Yes, that sounds better. What do you think?" He asked Gelid.

"I think I'll stay with the name my parents chose for me."

"Yes, I think that's the best course of action, forgive me." He carefully picked up his headdress with both his talons and resettled it. "What do you think of my peacock feather headdress? I've had it personally fitted and made for me; the first of its kind."

"I think it's...different but it works, especially with your white scales." Gelid said. "So I'm going to guess you chose your scales to be white because your name is Swan, right? Swans have white feathers."

"Some also have black feathers but I live next to a village of nightwings so black wouldn't stand out as much as white." He explained.

"Right. Do you have many friends, Swan?" Swan looked at her with a confused expression. "I mean, as a performer and your politeness you seem like the kind of dragon with many friends." Too blunt, Gelid, too blunt.

"I have friends, not many, but enough that I'm satisfied."

THWOOP.

Queen Firefly's head stuck through the curtains, surveying around the room and then at Gelid, appearing relieved as she did.

"Oh, Gelid, thank goodness." Queen Firefly, her body appeared from the curtains as she walked towards Gelid. "Sorry for the interruption, Swan, I need Gelid for a moment."

"Of course, your majesty. I hope you stay for the celebrations, Gelid, it was a pleasure speaking to you." He waved politely.

Queen Firefly lead the way out onto the stage where she breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought I'd never escape Queen Fuchsia." She exhaled heavily

"Something the matter?" Gelid asked.

"Uh no - yes!" Said Queen Firefly with a sudden burst of energy. Gelid felt conflicted with the queen's words. "Actually I was looking for you and then I saw you come down here and I was about to call your name when Queen Fuchsia basically kidnapped me and held me hostage with her words. I need a favour from you."

"What kind of favour?" Gelid asked.

"Great, great. I need you to get something from the nightwing village," she said simply.

"Wait, me? Why me? Surely there's some other dragon you could choose to go instead of me," Gelid suggested. A part of Gelid felt honoured that Queen Firefly knew her name and had selected her to do this very mission, but the other part felt ridiculous that Gelid would be chosen to simply retrieve something.

"You're right, you're absolutely right, you probably haven't been to the nightwing village before. Have you?" Gelid shook her head. "Right, sorry." Queen Firefly ran a talon under her neck, breathing shakily as she did. Gelid guessed she was stressed but was surprised that her scales never changed colour like Gelid expected. Rainwing scales usually reflected the emotions of the rainwing, which Gelid understood.

"It's just that I've been thinking about what Moon - my seer said to me. Could a dragon really want to attack another during the celebrations? Maybe they might think that I'm a bit lenient because it's my first time doing something like this and that I haven't been queen for very long, maybe they think I'm unable to be in control of situations or...questioning my leadership." explained Queen Firefly.

"I'm thinking that something might happen tonight. So that's why I came to you for some help," she said to Gelid. "I figured because Queen Blizzard chose you to be her bodyguard that you're a very trustworthy dragon, probably one of the most in this entire rainforest and that I too can trust you."

Gelid considered Queen Firefly's words. Looking up, the sun was a mere crescent under the canopy and remembered what Pale said about the nightwing village. "What do you need me to retrieve?"

The queen's face lit up like the sun. "Excellent. It's a gift for Queen Blizzard, really precious and fragile and just...I won't say what it is because I want it to be a surprise but it's extremely valuable. Something personal from me to your queen and for both our kingdoms."

"For both our kingdoms," Gelid echoed. "Sure, I can do this for you. Just point me in the direction of the nightwing village and I'll have this done before the moon rises."

Queen Firefly's scales flashed gold for a split-second before resettling back to purple and orange. "Follow me." she said, lifting into the air. Gelid followed her to the top layer, quickly glancing at the dragons that stared at them. The queen pointed beyond the trees and towards Jade Mountain. "If you fly this way, you should get to the nightwing village in no time. If any nightwings stop you, tell them that I sent you and they should let you pass."

Gelid stared into the dense trees, wondering if she might get lost on the way or get attacked by other dragons. She felt suddenly overwhelmed but swallowed it down.

"The gift I have for Queen Blizzard is in the blacksmith's hut. The blacksmith's name is Forgelight. Tell her that I sent you and she'll give you a box. Be very, very careful with it." She explained.

Gelid nodded and lifted into the air, flying into the labyrinth of trees and towards the nightwing village.

Remember, use Queen Firefly's name in case any nightwings hold me up. The blacksmith's name is Forgelight. She will give me a box which I need to be careful with. Very important, for both our tribes. Why am I doing this? I'm going to get lost I just know it.