"Get the dragonets out to safety!" Gelid said to Swan and Turry, then exited out the cave and spread her wings out with a snowstorm swirling in her stomach. "I'll deal with this!"

"What? Wait!" Swan shouted but it was too late, Gelid already lifted into the air and beat her wings towards North.

North was her problem now. She had the opportunity to kill him earlier. (although, it would've been very gutsy to strike and kill him instead of running her claws over his face like she did) He was still a threat, even without magic, Gelid heard all about his military strategy and how often he defeated his opponent in talon-to-talon combat. (Though, if you asked Gelid, they were probably an over exaggeration because he didn't seem like the smartest dragon at all)

She waited until his wings stretched across the horizon and then she lashed her talons out. He swiveled, punching her stomach and herself to the side. Her tail spikes raked over him and North yelped, pausing for the moment to gaze at the fresh streaks of blue blood running down his hind leg.

"ARRG! Asinine dragon!" He roared.

North darted at her and she twisted over and above him, reaching to scratch over his back but was a talon too far and she missed. He spiraled back around, and she heard him take a deep breath. He was preparing to use frost breath.

Frost breath wasn't inherently dangerous to other icewings, only other dragons as they didn't have cold bodies like icewings did. It did, however, make ice condensate over their scales, locking up their joints and causing temporary paralysis.

She'd never experienced this but from what she heard from other dragons, suddenly falling from the sky wasn't ideal. And the ocean below them wouldn't forgive it at all.

A cold wintry blast headed towards her. Gelid ducked to the side but he anticipated this, following her with his bitter bellowing mouth gaping open. Pressure fell over her back that felt like she had pebbles rolling over her wings.

Gelid felt North's piercing stare as she circled around below him but she was gliding dangerously closer to the water. She tried to pull herself up but her shoulders weren't moving and only her wingtips obeyed.

He froze my wings up, Gelid thought. Which was not what I wanted at all.

Turning her tail, she aimed for the island, hoping to make it before she fell into the water.

The sand was within a wing length when cold claws wrapped around her neck and she was yanked forward, thrown to the sand with half her body splashing into the shallow. She grasped for talon hold into the sand but was pushed down with talons on her neck and claws digging into her back.

"I knew you weren't worth a sliver of my magic!" North said.

Prying for a moment to be free, Gelid felt the ice around her wings dissipate. She rolled to the side, smacking him with her wing. North stumbled but then stamped on her wing, then the other and now she was trapped between the sand and facing him in his vile regality.

"Ending you with my own claws will be so much more satisfying then to watch you kill yourself," he snarled.

"What an original idea." Darkstalker killed his father that way. He enchanted Arctic to kill himself. The thought sent a shiver down her spine. That wasn't a way she wanted to end. "What are you even doing here? Don't you have a precious queen to appease and a battle to lead and pretend to try to win?"

"Auklet is not my queen. We work together, not for each other," he said. "I want revenge for what you did to my face!" He turned his snout to stare at her with one dark eye next to lines of dry blue blood that she inflicted earlier.

"You have magic, you egg-head! You can heal it!" She protested.

North pinned a talon to her neck. He had the opportunity to kill her, yet he wasn't taking it. "Scars never heal," he hissed. "I want you to know exactly what you've done and how much you've screwed up everything!"

Claws stabbed into her neck and she bit her tongue and closed her eyes as pain flashed and blazed as she felt her blood touch the open air. She wasn't giving into this sadistic dragon, even if he was a prince. He was no prince of hers!

"How did you even find me?" She asked him, trying not to sound like she was choking up.

"A little spell."

"I thought you said I wasn't worth any of your magic."

His jaw tightened and eyes narrowed, as if fighting the urge to kill her this instant. "You're not but this is." She finally shrieked as he ran his claws over her stomach. "And to that pathetic queen of yours. She's going to find me, eventually, like she always does and I will kill her."

She closed her eyes for a moment, opening them back up to found her snout sideways in the sand. There were shapes of many sizes flying away which she easily assumed to be Swan, Turry and the kidnapped dragonets. She was glad to be seeing them escape, even as she dealt with this.

Wait...Swan was tailing back. Was he coming back for her? Don't come for me, Swan. You'll get hurt.

North seemed to read her eyes and he followed it, then finding the escaping dragons in the sky. He gasped.

Gelid took the opportunity. She dug her claws into the side of his neck and knocked him over with a thunk, freeing herself. Everything felt dizzy as she stood up in a rush. Her sight was a blur and she nearly toppled over to the sand once more. Blue drops dotted the sand below her and that was when she figured out how much she was bleeding.

A tiny squeal came from the cave. Gelid rose her neck to see what it was, blurrily staring at a green object between the mouth of the cave. When her sight cleared, the object was actually a rainwing dragonet holding a yellow fire berry. That must've been why Swan was returning. He must've realised that they were missing one.

"Eeek!" Screamed the dragonet, then turning and ran back into the cave.

"Wait! No! Come back!" Gelid called to him, rushing into the cave after him. The rainwing was at the other end by the time she stepped into the cave. He huddled the fire berry close to his chest, shaking like a penguin shooting from the water. "Hey, it's alright. I won't hurt you." She took a step closer.

The rainwing looked down, looking at her with one eye and he flicked his tail at her.

What does that mean? Gelid wondered. Does he mean get away, when I'm clearly trying to help him.

Then he flicked his tail again and she twisted her neck, pivoting to look.

Suddenly half her body met the sand and there was North's freezing eyes looking into hers. He gaped his mouth open, showing his bloody teeth, leaned back and prepared to bite her neck. Gelid smacked his jaw and threw him off, his scales sliding on the wooden cave floor. She rose to her feet and snarled at him, spreading her wings out.

She darted at him, bringing herself to clout at his shoulder and neck. North grabbed her shoulders, digging his claws in. Gelid bit her tongue, this time tasting her own blood. She jerked up, hoping to unlatch his claws but it didn't work. Balancing with her tail, she dug her claws in his shoulders on the way down.

He swung his teeth at her and she narrowly dodged, letting his snout fly past her shoulders and she bit his neck, sinking teeth in. North roared and flung her to the wall with a crack, slinking down. Her claws and teeth slid from his scales, leaving deep blue gashes.

North leaned his shoulder against the wall, brushing his neck with a talon and observing the blue blood.

Gelid could only guess how she looked at that moment - a bloody and bruised icewing in the midst of war.

Swan ducked in, looking disconcerted, especially when he froze like an icewing guard with eyes locked on her.

"Go! Get the dragonet!" Gelid glanced at the rainwing. He was shaking even more so and then it dawned to her that he saw everything. He saw Gelid and North fight and bleed. Sympathy rolled over her and she wished it never happened, not in front of him.

"But you - what..." Swan was lost for words, seeming torn between saving Gelid and the dragonet. That was her guess though.

"Get him!" She urged.

"Such a noble dragon," North commented, watching Swan and the dragonet with piercing eyes. "Enchant-"

Gelid leapt at North, closing his snout with a talon and then two. That was when Swan bounded across the cave, grabbed the dragonet and took one more glance at Gelid struggling to keep North's stupid snout closed. Then he flew off. Safe.

North grabbed her and tossed her backwards. Her claws dug into the wood, stopping herself as her tail hit the wall.

North stepped away from the wall, still glaring at her with those black eyes. "Screw up everything why don't you!"

"Oh yeah?" I need to keep him here, distracted. The more he's absent from battle, the better. And if I die then maybe it was worth it. "Why don't you tell me exactly what I've done?"

"You took my daughter away from me!" North uplifted a wood panel, stripping it from the floor and threw it. Gelid twisted out of the way. "Now she'll never love me again!"

"You're the one who was going to use her! You got what you deserved!" Gelid said, feeling blood drip from her teeth and tongue. She started to circle him to anticipate his next move and think of a strategy to take North down. She was on her own now after all.

"Use her? Use my daughter? I was merely showing her her true destiny. Her destiny as the true queen of the icewings! Not that blubber-headed excuse!"

Least Gelid knew where Mist got her insults from.

Edging the wall, her wing knocked into a long, blunt stick. Sparing any attention from it, she watched North and slowly tucked the stick under her wing. She needed to be closer to be able to use it if she wanted to.

Then North suddenly ran at her. Gelid was stuck between jumping to either side when instead, she froze and he head butted her straight on. Her back hit the wall hard and she dropped under him, feeling all too reminiscent of the situation from the beach all over again.

North didn't have the chance to glower down at her. Gelid kicked his hind leg and rolled out from under him, and North fell forward to the sand.

Gelid lifted to her feet and stepped back, feeling her lungs lurch for breaths, as if she was drowning.

"You mean your sister?" Gelid prompted. "Your sister that you grew up with? The one that loved you as a brother?"

North slowly hoisted himself up. "And I admonished every moment of it. That putrid waste of space has no right to the throne-"

"She challenged the previous queen and won! Is that not the Icewing Royal Challenge?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing! Queen Blizzard had every right to be queen!

North turned towards her and Gelid stepped back more, not quite recovering her breath yet or a way to take him down.

"She succeeded, yes. But her future actions clearly show exactly why she wanted to succeed. She craves power. She bends rules so that she may get what she desires. No tribe deserves a queen like her," North said.

"That's not - you're-" Her mouth remained open, trying to speak. Gelid reminded herself of what Queen Blizzard had done for her.

Queen Blizzard gave a nobody's dragonet attention. How was that fair that the queen herself picked a dragonet down in the lower rankings a chance when there were clearly others that deserved it more? The queen's judgement? Queen Blizzard had the authority to do that.

Not to withhold punishment of crimes, though, Gelid thought, thinking of Mist's deliberate attack on the Winter-Spring celebrations all that time ago. She let Mist go even though Mist's actions wounded so many dragons, maybe even killed a few. She caused so much havoc.

Her claws dug into the sand, thinking. But what choice did Queen Blizzard have? She was about to lose her only heir.

"And what does that make you?" Gelid asked him. "You just happen not to do either of those things?"

His eye twitched, growing irritated, and he lifted his chin at her. "I am nothing like her," he said firmly. "I love my daughter. I loved my wife. I have magic; I already have all the power I need and nothing more. The only rule I bend is putting family over family. Glorious children over disgraceful siblings. I see a beautiful future where my illustrious daughter is queen and the ice kingdom is prosperous like it should be."

"And then what?" She asked. That got his attention. "She'll have dragonets and then they'll challenge her. She'll die sooner or later. What will you do then?"

North considered carefully. "Then I will honour her death as a true and righteous queen and behold the new one. I honour tradition."

"Tradition is where Mist would challenge Queen Blizzard for the throne instead of being forced into it!"

"Not if I kill Blizzard myself!" North growled with annoyance. He leapt at her, covering the distance between them with ease.

She waited until the last second, then turned herself ever so slightly. She threw her wings out, hitting him. North groaned and stumbled back.

A little trick she learnt from Mist.

Her other wing loosened, dropping the wooden stick. She picked it back up and bit one end of it, creating one sharp side full of splinters, and she spat into the sand.

Sorry, Mist, you'll probably hate me forever but it'll be me and no one else at least.

Swallowing her courage, she aimed the makeshift spear at North's heart and launched it. But the spear didn't leave her talons. The prince's cold eyes stared at her from the other end and Gelid froze, realising that he had caught the spear with both his talons.

He pulled it, taking it away from her talons and then swung it, hitting her head and she blacked out. His chuckle echoed the cave and was abruptly cut off by a loud thud and the ringing in her ears.

Everything hurt, as if suddenly her jaw and shoulders dislocated and she was being dragged across hot charcoals. And drowning too, not that that would've made sense but then again, she was fighting an animus. (That hadn't, suspiciously, made any useful spells yet)

Opening her eyes, she found that her head landed on the wooden floor with the dark-brown cave walls blurred and caressing her sight. She slowly lifted herself and then a talon stamped on her tail. When she turned to look, it was North and he watched her with beady eyes that displayed the dark depths of the night sky.

North grinned, opening his mouth as to either bite her or freeze her into a fountain statue.

She scrambled up, trying to pull herself closer to the wall and further away from him but her tail was anchored under his talon.

Just as she expected the worst to happen, something else happened.

"NORTH!" Bellowed a voice.

Queen Blizzard stormed into the cave, taking a look at Gelid and then at North.

"You slithering sand serpent of a stupid idiot!" Queen Blizzard growled, standing firmly and raising her chin at him, showing the edges of her teeth.

"Sister," North said, taking his talon off Gelid's tail and then turning to face Queen Blizzard.

Gelid kicked herself closer to the wall. "No! Your majesty! You need-"

"Silence!" She demanded. "This is my fight. I'm sorry you got mixed up into this."

"Yes, throwing hapless dragonets into the battlefield hoping to solve your problems," North said, lifting a brow.

"I am not a dragonet!" Gelid defended.

North ignored her, instead keeping his eyes on Queen Blizzard. "Pathetic."

"Says you! You abandoned our kingdom and for what? Because you hate me even though I could've never asked for another brother instead of you?" Queen Blizzard asked.

"Well I would've asked for another sister instead of you!" He roared.

He pounced at Queen Blizzard but she swerved to the side, dodging and then pacing backwards, as if she and North just switched spots.

Gelid was certain they started fighting, even as the world started to fade. Everything suddenly moved slowly and her neck drooped closer to the floor, wanting to sleep in the middle of a calamity.

She closed her eyes, hearing the voices.

"You're greedy, sister. Just as I knew, just as I thought when we were growing up," she heard North say.

"I am not! I've done everything I can as queen!"

She tried to tug onto those voices for longer but even they were fading.

That was when she knew she blacked out.

Gelid regained some level of consciousness later when a putrid stench of blood flooded her nose.

There was an over-encumbering warmth on her head that suddenly moved away as she awoke and she opened her eyes, realising that it was Swan. Her head laid atop both of his front talons.

His neck curled back and he tilted his head at her, his snout slowly forming into some kind of gentle smile. "You're awake," he said. "I was afrai - I thought you were dying.

"Not yet." She moved her head away from his talons, then realising there was some of her blue blood on his scales. She checked the wound on her neck and discovered that the blood had dried out, forming an unmistakable hard scab.

"I'm glad you're not dead yet, I would've missed you," Swan said.

"Yet, as opposed to earlier when -" Her eyes widened, flashing with North's eyes imprinted in her vision. Her heart felt as if it stopped beating for that moment, trapping itself in her throat.

Gelid wanted to get up but the moment she put weight on her hind legs to lift herself up, she fell forward and Swan caught her. He swayed closer, wrapping a wing over her back.

"Easy, easy, please. You're very, very badly hurt," he said, poking her snout with his.

Gelid looked around, welcoming the breaths of orange golden rays into the cave. There were claw marks along the ceiling and they trailed down to the centre of the cave, stopping abruptly, and her eyes followed the drop into the sand. There was a body furthest to the wall.

It was North's body impaled by the wooden spear she made earlier. His snout pointed at her with an expression of both surprise and pain, as though she was the last thing he saw before he was killed by Queen Blizzard.

She saved her.

But where is she? Gelid thought. There were blood splatters on the sand that Gelid didn't think were hers, so she followed them but Swan's body was in the way and she reach forward, pulling herself until she could see.

At the end of the trail of blood was Queen Blizzard with her back turned to them, but clearly she was covered in scratches, deep gashes, and one of her wings were broken.

Gelid lifted herself up, managing to find strength in her legs and made her way to Queen Blizzard. Repeatedly, Swan tried to pull her back with his wing.

"No - stop, I need to see," she said to him. Eventually he gave up and draggled beside her.

Gelid walked around to meet Queen Blizzard face to face, observing how deeply the queen was breathing and the pool of blood around her.

There was no way Gelid ever envisioned her majestic queen being so hurt, by her own family of all dragons. She never pictured anything bad happening to her queen, not while she was around but clearly, that wasn't the case. She failed but she couldn't muster to blame herself. What was she to do?

North was a bigger dragon than her, had lived for nearly four times as long as her, had animus magic - Gelid never hoped to stop him, only delay him.

Queen Blizzard slowly opened her eyes.

"Gelid, I thought he killed you," Queen Blizzard said. "I tried to save you but I - I couldn't."

"But you did save me, your majesty," Gelid said. She watched as Queen Blizzard tried to reach for her but her talon fell to the sand in defeat, twitching. There was an unmissable slowness to her.

Was Queen Blizzard dying?

"Can you help her?" Gelid asked Swan.

Swan sighed, sounding as though he'd rather not answer and slowly shook his head. "I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do."

"But - no - there has to be something." She looked at Queen Blizzard once more, thinking. There had to way for Gelid to save her queen. Any way.

If only she had magic. If only she had magic instead of North.

"Maybe if we can get you to the doctors. They could save you." Gelid reached for Queen Blizzard's talon, leaning down to pull it over her shoulders but she was too heavy and all Gelid did was roll Queen Blizzard onto her stomach.

Swan pulled Gelid back, making her let go of Queen Blizzard. She hissed at him.

"No, stop! I told you there's nothing anyone can do!" He put a talon in front of her and Gelid brushed it away, breaking free and reaching for Queen Blizzard once more.

"Stop, Gelid," Queen Blizzard said softly through her teeth.

And just like that, Gelid stopped and dug her claws into the sand.

Queen Blizzard rolled back to her side. "He's right," she continued, taking a deep breath. "There's nothing - nothing any dragon can do for me right now."

"But you can't die. You can't!" Gelid protested.

"I wish that was the case but in truth, I was always supposed to die. The irony of being a queen," she gave a short and stout laugh, then choking up and coughing blood all over the sand.

Gelid stepped back.

"Listen, I've always been proud of you. Perhaps you were the daughter I was supposed to have - the rough-headed, determined and eager princess like I was," Queen Blizzard said. "Don't let any dragon tell you otherwise."

"I could never be a princess."

"I was thinking a queen," Swan offered, brushing a wing over hers.

Queen Blizzard snorted. "And you wouldn't make a bad one either. But rules are rules. Now, Gelid, I have one last order for you."

"Last? But you-"

"I'm dying. I can't go on for longer. I thought I could stop North before, but...clearly he was the better fighter," Queen Blizzard said.

Gelid glanced at North's dead body. She spotted his blood-ravaged claws and begun to wonder just how long they were fighting for.

"Understood this for me, please. I'm going to die soon."

Gelid didn't want to. Every scale on her body wanted her to scream that her queen was wrong, that she'd survive but after everything - adding what both she and North had kept saying all this time: That Queen Blizzard would die. Maybe this time, she had to believe it, even if she didn't want to.

"Yes," Gelid finally gave in, closing her eyes as she did, not believing what was happening. "I understand."

"Good. Now, my last order: tell Mist that I'm proud of her and that I've always been proud of her, like you. Tell her that she'll be a fine queen. Tell her that I've always believed in her."

"I will, your majesty," she said.

"I'm not your queen anymore, Gelid, you can stop that," Blizzard said.

"Yes, your maj- uh, yes."

"Good. Very good." Blizzard breathed deeply, closing her eyes, looking as relaxed as ever. "Good indeed."

Gelid waited at that spot, sitting down in a low bow with Swan next to her. She didn't want to leave just as Blizzard was dying. Even if it was in silence. There was that feeling of betrayal if she left her former queen alone to die.

So she waited and waited until Blizzard stopped breathing, until the coldness was Gelid's own scales, until a melancholy weight was dropped on top of her. So she leaned on Swan's shoulder, feeling him furl a wing over her.

"I'm sorry," Swan said.

"It's OK. Maybe - maybe this was supposed to happen."

"I know that she was a good queen, a great one, even. Your kingdom will mourn, I'm sure."

"They will," She said, then standing as soon as she found strength in her legs. "I need to tell them, Mist especially. I have to tell her everything."

"Everything?" Swan said sheepishly, taking a glance at North's body.

"No harm in doing so. Besides, we need a new queen now.

Gelid stepped outside, taking a brisk moment to stand in the sunlight. Finally, she could see the sea, the sand and the sky. She missed it, all of it.

"Are you sure? You're still hurt," Swan said beside her, pointing at her shoulders.

She looked at them. Gashes and dried blood covered her shoulders. "My wings are fine, I can fly." So she spread them and lifted up into the air. Sure enough, flying didn't hurt at all, and she welcoming the crisp air whistle past her scales as they returned to the mainland.

They flew over the beach where Gelid was once enchanted to stamp around, and spotted bodies dotting the sand. Many seemed to be seawings and nightwings, with some of the involved tribes here and there.

It was all North's fault. For what reason Gelid still couldn't figure out but as far as she was concerned, all these dragons could've been alive still and enjoying their life instead of being pulled into a war and forced to fight.

But there didn't seem to be any fighting.

There were dragons walking around, collecting, identifying the dead bodies and writing their names on a list. There were numerous guards around, holding their spears and vigilant, ready for any more conflict.

"Did we win?" Gelid asked Swan that flew beside her. "Has the fighting stopped?"

"It appears that way. I wished it stopped earlier - I wish it didn't start at all. All these dragons...Too many wars, too many battles, too many dead dragons that could've friends."

Gelid had to agree with that. "I wish that too but those dragons in charge didn't care. You saw North. He didn't care what dragons died fighting for him as long as they fought as long as they did. I'm glad he's dead." Even her claws yearned for another moment to scratch North, gouge his eyes out perhaps but then again, she was no match for him.

Swan didn't say anything after so they continued to fly over the beach until Gelid spotted Mist and Hyena on the sand below and carefully descended.

Mist looked up, catching Gelid. "Great moons, what war-zone were you dragged through?" She asked as Gelid landed on the sand opposite her, as did Swan.

"It's a long story." And not one I want to recount, Gelid thought. "What happened?"

"We managed to capture Auklet but the king - Coast disappeared. I sent some dragons to track him down," Mist said, pointing a wing at the sea. "The remaining seawings have surrendered and were put in the Hall to be counted. I think Firefly is taking care of that."

"No thanks to me, I see," Hyena said.

"Oh go eat a dead fig. It was my idea and what dragon managed to save your magical tail twice?" Mist sneered at Hyena.

"I saved your tail four times, clumsy aurora dragon, you clearly haven't passed your perception test which I excelled at."

Mist flicked her tail at Hyena and he leaned back to avoid it.

"As you can see," he added.

Mist sighed, regaining her focus on Gelid. "Beetle was injured so we had to take charge of her sandwing soldiers. The skywing general did a good job to eliminate the seawings attacking her before Beetle was killed so, there's that."

"So what do we do next?" Gelid asked.

Mist shrugged. "List the dead, put the prisoners somewhere, tend to the wounded. Speaking of which, you didn't answer my question."

Gelid quickly felt the eagerness to turn around and fly away. For some reason, she was having difficulty finding the courage to tell Mist what happened even though she shouldn't have.

So she looked to Swan for support. "You said you were going to tell her," he said.

"Tell me what?" Mist questioned.

Gelid sighed. "Queen Blizzard is dead."

"What?" Mist said in serious tone.

"I didn't expect that," Hyena said.

"What do you mean she's dead?"

"North killed her. I'm sorry, Mist," Gelid said.

Mist suddenly stood and turned away, taking a few steps before freezing and looking down.

Gelid slowly rose to her feet. "I'm sorry, truly. It should've been me. North was about to kill me when Blizzard fought off North and saved me but...she was gravely injured. There was nothing we could do to save her."

Mist didn't move or say anything for what seemed like an eternity, instead, she stared at the sand. Was she mad at her? Gelid would understand why. Blizzard didn't deserve to die.

Or was she mad at North? Her own father that was responsible for the murder?

Mist exhaled heavily, finally turning around again with her mouth open, prepared to speak but lost of words.

"Her last order was to tell you that she was proud of you and always has been," Gelid said. "And she wanted to tell you that she knew you'd make a fine queen."

Mist's expression turned to shock. "Me? Is she joking? I can't be queen."

"But Mist...you have to," Gelid insisted gently. "There's no one else. You're the only heir."

Mist stepped back. "But I can't! I can't be queen! I - I just can't!"

"Mist, take it from me, honestly, I think you'd be a good queen," she offered. "I know maybe, at first, I would never have pictured you as even a princess but truthfully, you've proven me wrong at every interval of doubt. And if Blizzard believed in you then I should too."

Gelid stepped towards Mist. "You know as well as any dragon that the icewings need you as queen, otherwise our tribe will fall into despair and maladroit." And finally, Gelid bowed deeply at Mist.

It was a genuine bow too, which Gelid never pictured doing at all except to Blizzard but the former queen wouldn't be around anymore. All they had now was Mist and Gelid was sure the ice kingdom would be fine.

"Ack. Stop that. I hate it already," Mist said.

Gelid turned her snout up to observe Mist's expression as she said: "Yes, your majesty."

Mist whacked her with a wing and Gelid laughed.

"And I hate you," Mist said, looking up and then trudging past her and towards Hyena. Gelid followed.

"Given your prowess in battle, I can't see why you wouldn't make a good queen," Hyena said, looking proud with a formidable smile.

"Indeed," Swan agreed. "From what I've heard about you, your majesty, you'd make an impressionable queen."

"Oh stop it. I'm going to rip the tongue out of the next dragon that compliments me," Mist said ferociously.

"The very best queen," Gelid said.

"Brave idiot," Mist scorned at her.

"Aren't they the same thing?" Hyena asked.

"Oh yes, and they describe this snob perfectly." Mist nudged a wing at Gelid.

Gelid held back a laugh, instead, finding Pale flying overhead and soon landing on the sand to join the small group.

"Hey Pale! Greet our new queen!" Gelid invited.

"Oh?" Pale stopped a tail length away from Mist and bowed deeply. "Your majesty," he said.

"Oh great moons," Mist grumbled.

Then Pale spiked his head up. "Wait? Does that mean -"

"Yes, Blizzard is dead," Mist said. "Killed by the talons of North, my father. Still something I don't want to believe."

"We must hold a burial ceremony then," Pale suggested. "And your coronation. I'll go gather the icewings." He then lifted off into the sky, leaving as swift as he arrived.

"I need to get Firefly to help me. Dealing all you dragons is going to drive me insane," Mist said, pivoting around to meet Gelid.

"It hasn't already?" Gelid asked.

"You wish."

Gelid sniggered.

"What will you do now? I heard somewhere that Blizzard made you a commander before she passed. I don't suppose you'll work under me now," Mist said to her.

"Well, you were already higher ranking than me but I don't know," Gelid said. "Don't get me wrong, Mist - Erhm, Queen Mist, I really do think you'd make a good queen but without Blizzard..."

"It doesn't feel the same," Queen Mist finished. "Would you believe that I understand that."

Gelid took a glance at Swan as he chatted with Hyena. A life as a high ranking icewing was all she wanted she was a dragonet but being there for a substantial amount of time - the gloss had started to wear off, so to speak. And Queen Mist was precise: it didn't feel the same without Blizzard.

"If I can, your majesty, I want to be ousted from the kingdom and my name taken off the rankings. I want to find another place in the world, one I couldn't find before or even dream of finding," Gelid pleaded.

Queen Mist considered it. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm certain. This is what I want."

"Seems like the least I can do," said the new queen. "Very well, Gelid, your name will be taken off the rankings. However, if you do wish to return, I'll gladly scratch your name back on myself."

Gelid nodded. That was all she wanted.

And after everything, why wouldn't she want that?

She helped save the world. She traveled all over the continent. She was held in deathly situations more than once.

And now?

She was tired. She wanted some peace and calm, and maybe she'd fulfil that with Swan - that was if he shared the same feelings for her.

I've always wanted to follow my dream and be the dragon I've always wanted to be. That was to find the best place for myself in the world but maybe I was never supposed to find my place.

Maybe my place is always shifting and never in one place.

Maybe my dreams weren't always supposed to be my dreams, like a nightmare will never by my nightmare forever.

This is who I am.

I am Gelid, a dragon who'll carve my own future with my own claws. An ever-winding future.