Part 2 Chapter 13: Impasse
It had been a week since they'd left the Ice Kingdom and yet Blaze still found herself troubled by what had taken place there. She had initially believed that, being allies, Queens Thorn and Glacier would see eye to eye and would be able to settle the wartime agreement easily. Instead, she'd borne witness to such heated arguments between the two monarchs that, at times, all she'd wanted to do was to find a place to hide.
Worse still, nothing had been settled by the end of it. Unable to come to an agreeable compromise and with their scheduled trip to the Sea Kingdom rapidly approaching, the two Queens had had to arrange to meet at another time to settle the wartime promises. There had been a tension between the SandWings and IceWings and even Blaze realised things hadn't exactly been as cordial as before between the two sides during the departure. That wasn't how things were supposed to turn out. Weren't allies supposed to be able to find compromise?
Blaze was afraid it had all been her fault. After all, she had been the one to promise Queen Glacier such vast tracts of land in exchange for her and her tribe's support. She knew why Queen Thorn believed giving away so much land would be a bad idea-it would displace countless SandWings families and relations with the Ice Tribe might not remain as friendly in the future.
But on the other talon, she could understand why Queen Glacier wanted the land so badly. She had no idea how many IceWings had given their lives in the war but she was sure that being the good monarch she was, Queen Glacier felt responsiblility for the families who had lost someone. She would've wanted the promised land to show them that their sacrifice and that of their loved ones' hadn't been in vain.
Neither Thorn nor Glacier was to blame for the current predicament. They each saw the situation from their own perspective and acted according to what they thought was best for their own tribe-just as a good ruler would. Instead, Blaze felt the fault lay with herself for being so reckless with the Sand Kingdom's land during the war. Had she simply promised Glacier less, Thorn might've been more willing to give away the land and both sides could've gone home happy.
"Hey Blaze," a voice piped up, distracting her from her reverie. "You've been awful quiet. What's on your mind?" It was Sunny, the little, strange-looking SandWing-Thorn's daughter.
They'd stopped by the Jade Mountain Academy while making their way to the Sea Kingdom. She'd joined them because she and Thorn wanted to spend a bit more time together-something which their respective duties as teacher and Queen had deprived them of.
"Oh it's nothing, Sunny," Blaze said, not wishing to burden Sunny with her own concerns and fears.
Sunny smiled and said, "In my experience with the dragonets at the Academy, it's never good to keep things to yourself. You'll feel a lot better telling someone about it."
Blaze sighed. "You're not going to give up till you get some answers are you?"
"Nope."
"Well alright then." Blaze explained the source of her concern to Sunny and how she felt wholly responsible for the mess that the Sand and Ice Kingdoms were in. Sunny was the perfect listener. She paid close attention and almost never interrupted save to clarify things occasionally. At last, Blaze was done.
"I'm afraid," Blaze said finally. "I'm afraid I'll never be as good as Queen Thorn. I mean, just look at all the things I've done, everything I've bungled. I've always relied on other dragons to take care of my problems for me. First I had Queen Glacier fight a war that wasn't her's to begin with. Then I tried to get you and your friends to get rid of my sisters. And now Queen Thorn's trying to clean up the mess I've made." She shook her head miserably, the full gravity of the responsibility she would have to shoulder eventually bearing down on her like some impossible load. "What am I going to do?"
Sunny regarded her warmly, never once passing judgement. "Hey, don't feel bad," she told Blaze. "I think you'll do just fine."
"You're just saying that to make me feel better," Blaze accused.
"No," Sunny said. "Not at all. I genuinely think you'll be okay."
"How so?"
"Well you've shown that you're aware of consequences," Sunny said. "That means you'll be less likely to make bad decisions. All your mistakes last time-they happened because you didn't consider what would happen later on. But now you know and that's the first step."
"When we first met you, we were told that you were a bit absent-minded," she continued. "And maybe that was the case in the past. But you seem a lot better now. It may sound strange coming from someone like me but you've come a long way." She put a comforting talon on Blaze's shoulder. "You'll do fine. I believe in you."
Blaze smiled, now a little more reassured. "Thanks. I needed that."
"No problem," said Sunny amiably.
The rest of the day passed without much incident and by dusk they had arrived at the place they were supposed to meet Queen Coral and her SeaWings. But there was no one there.
"Where are they?" Thorn asked, her crown glinting in the light of the setting sun. She didn't usually wear it-it was far too flashy for her tastes-but she'd made an exception for her meeting with Queen Coral.
"Not sure, Your Majesty," Camel said, stepping forward. That was odd. Camel had been the one who'd arranged the meeting with the SeaWings. "Maybe they're late," he said. "I'll go scout out the area. See if I can find them."
Not hesitating, he took flight, scanning the surrounding area. His outline shrank against the backdrop of the now dark skies until he vanished from sight.
"We may as well make camp here," Thorn said. "There's no telling how long he'll be. Never thought Queen Coral was one to be tardy."
The SandWing guards pitched tents and got some fires started. The Queen sat off to one side with her daughter, catching up and generally trying to make up for lost time. Meanwhile, Blaze lay down next to a fire with Dust.
"I could get used to this," she said. "Just you and me seeing the world together."
Dust shook his head. "I really don't know, Blaze. I've been thinking lately… about our relationship. I don't think it'll work out."
"What?" Blaze said, dumbstruck and deeply hurt. "Why? You don't like me anymore? Is that it?"
"No, no," Dust said. "I love you, Blaze, and I always will. What I meant to say was that you're of royal blood. I'm just a commoner. You have a duty to the Sand Kingdom as its ruler in future. I don't want dragons to start pointing talons at you for breaking tradition."
"Dust, we've discussed this before," Blaze said. "Queen Thorn is absolutely fine with it. I don't see why other dragons wouldn't be."
"Well, you haven't heard Camel then," Dust said with a sigh.
"Camel? That rot-mouthed pile of viper droppings?" Blaze asked. "Has he been the one putting all these thoughts in your head?"
Dust gaped at her. "You've clearly learnt a lot more from Queen Thorn than just how to be a good ruler," he remarked at last.
"She needs to take more care that I'm not within earshot when she's swearing," Blaze said. "Dragons like me are easily influenced. We tend to repeat whatever we hear. Now answer the question."
"Yeah, it was Camel," he conceded. "But he has a point. Queen Thorn may be willing to overlook it but other dragons might not. I don't want your image to be tarnished because of me."
Blaze put up a talon to silence him. "First, I'm going to wring that dragon's neck when he gets back," she said seriously. "Second, you don't need to worry about that. If anyone makes any noise about you not being 'royal blood' I'll be sure to let them know that technically neither am I. Thorn's Queen now and her daughter should be the one to inherit the throne. It's only through her goodwill that I'm to be her successor."
"But Blaze, you can't. That might affect your claim to the throne," Dust said concernedly.
"I don't quite care," she said. "I don't need to be Queen and that's that. I know that I want to be with you more than I could ever want the throne." She left out her fears over her inadequacy. Dust didn't need to worry himself over that too.
Dust smiled. "Blaze, I'm really touched. But you don't have to do this. Not for me."
"I can't think of anyone else I'd rather do it for," Blaze said. "Now can we please talk about something less contentious? I'm in the mood for an enjoyable evening." She leaned her head on Dust's shoulder.
They didn't talk much though. They just lay together in the light of the fire and enjoyed the time they had together-something Blaze cherished. She wasn't going to let anyone force Dust away. But she was afraid that he might decide to leave if he thought it in her best interests. Far from that, it would just hurt her all the more. Eventually, her mind still troubled, Blaze slipped into a fitful sleep next to the dragon she loved and never wanted to leave.
Meanwhile…
"The moment we've been waiting for is here, General Cobra. Queen Thorn doesn't suspect a thing."
"Good," Cobra said. "You've done well. The usurper walked right into our trap. We could never have done it without you."
"I hope you remember what I'm owed."
"Oh yes," Cobra said, stifling a growl of irritation. "After this I'll see to it personally that you get your payment."
"Good. When shall I expect it to be over then?"
"By dawn," Cobra replied. "My dragons will attack under the cover of night. They won't even know what hit them."
She turned to a SandWing standing not too far behind her. "Commander Gobi," she said. "Have your troops move out. Tonight, we end this."
Author's Note:
Hey guys! Sorry for not updating for so long! Work's kept me busy and I've struggled to figure out how I wanted to write this particular chapter. As you can see, everything is heating up now. Queen Thorn could be in real danger as Cobra and her renegades close in for the single act of regicide that, if successful, will change the face of Pyrrhia forever. Will they succeed? I hope not XD
Anyway, thanks for bearing with the long period of no updates and I really hope you enjoyed this chapter (think of it as compensation for your patience)!
Thanks to all of you who have reviewed in the past-it's your kind words that've kept me writing all this time! I will definitely be trying to update far more frequently from now on! Please leave your feedback and tell me how you're finding the story so far!:) And see you soon for the next update!