DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN WINGS OF FIRE OR THE CHARACTERS IN THIS FANFICTION FROM THE WINGS OF FIRE SERIES; THEY BELONG TO THE WONDERFUL TUI T. SUTHERLAND. SNOWDROP IS AN OC, BUT YOU MAY USE HER. (just give credit and all dat good stuff :) PRINCESS NORTH IS ALSO AN OC, BUT I RETAIN RIGHTS TO HER.
Ch. 6
Things started to move very quickly too suddenly.
Snowfall crossed the room in two beats of a wing, nearly knocking over some statues, and seized the smaller Icewing by the wing. "Who are you, really?" she said, her voice not loud, but just as dangerous.
"I – I didn't –" stammered Snowdrop, trembling.
"GUARDS!" shouted Snowfall. Two guards swept through the doorway and grabbed Snowdrop. "Take her away."
They bowed and flew through the door.
"And you," said Snowfall. North was at her side, both ready to fly out the door. "Harboring a fugitive is a serious crime, but maybe I'll pardon you for leading me straight to her." She smiled, a wicked grin full of malice. "Thank you, Winter."
And the two of them flew out the door.
Winter didn't even hesitate. One wing flipped the 'Open' sign to 'Closed' as he shot through the air towards them, fueled by fear and determination.
It took Winter four days to get to the Ice Kingdom. He decided to stop and rest each night instead of flying nonstop, but every morning when he woke up, knowing that Snowdrop was getting further from him every day, he regretted it.
In the center of the palace was a hearing room. Winter knew that was where Snowfall was now, probably planning a spectacle for the whole kingdom to watch. Maybe Snowdrop would die like the animus she had portrayed, killing herself as hundreds watched.
He shook his head. Don't think about that.
Snowfall was indeed in the justice hall. North was right at her side, sitting next to the huge throne in a much smaller one and watching the double doors slam open as Winter barged in. "Mother – Your Majesty, we have a visitor."
"A rather unwelcome one," mused Snowfall.
"Should we take him away, Your Highness?" asked one of the guards gruffly, moving closer to Winter.
"No, no," replied the queen, waving a talon at the guards. "Let him watch. If he is to protest, then throw him in the dungeons too. They can be killed together." She laughed maniacally.
The guards flew him up to a balcony where he could see the whole room. The judges were stationed in a circle, and spectator seats were located on the outer edge. In the very center was an iron cage, and inside was…
Winter felt a scream building in his throat.
Inside were two adult Icewings, one female and one male. Both were bleeding onto the floor of the cage, a splatter of dark blue blood against the pristine white and gray tiles. One moved weakly, then was still.
How cruel had Snowfall turned, to let these dragons die, life seeping out in clawfuls? Nobody deserved this death, no matter what they had done.
Was this what was going to happen to Snowdrop? Tomorrow, would it be her blood on the stones? Would Snowfall kill her by her own claws, thinking it a fair punishment for a crime never committed? Would Winter die besides her, or be forced to watch as she died, a slow painful death? Which one was worse?
Snowfall's voice brought him back to the present. "As punishment for resisting authority, Snowdrop will be sentenced to death by frostbreath. Like the animus she portrayed, she will be killed, inside out."
"NO!" screamed Winter. The guards pulled him out the door, both of them tightening their grip around his wrists. "Snowfall! Don't you - "
The last thing he saw was Snowfall grinning at him, North's face with emotions Winter couldn't identify – Pity? Surprise? Sadness? Indignation? Why was she feeling these things? – before the huge doors closed and he blacked out.