Glorious Politics

AN: This is kind of a short and fun one, but it gets more serious at the very end. Mostly, this one just moves the whole romance plot forward a bit (as this is primarily a romance story), but there'll be some more moral questions in the next one, and some action in the chapter after that (or maybe the next one, though it probably won't take that long).

Another quick reminder: One of the OCs submitted to me will end up appearing much later in this story, permission already given for this. And he decided to make a Glorious Politics canon-compliant backstory/tie-in of his character. If you're interested, the story is called 'Wings of Fire: Paths of Blood' by SpyroAndSisuFan. There might just be a teaser (two now) for a future plot point in this story within his...

He's still working on it, and I think, and he can correct me if I'm wrong. I think he plans on redoing the earlier chapters, too. Give it a read when you can and go support his story. See if you can catch those teasers before this story addresses them.

Disclaimer: I do not own Wings of Fire. My OCs Mistral, Tortoise, Sobek, and Diamondback belong to me.

Chapter Fifteen:

Glory quickly became convinced that drafting the treaties would be the least annoying part of Tortoise's stay. The most annoying part was something she honestly hadn't expected. After only a few hours, she concluded as to why Anemone had chosen him specifically.

The Seawing had a crush on her.

Romance may not have been her strong suit, but she knew when someone was flirting with her. Even if she had only ever returned the feelings of one dragon—to her great regret—she'd had her fair share of suitors over the years. She was Queen after all, and there were many dragons out there that wanted to be King. Most of them had been Nightwings, oddly enough, but it was still something that didn't bother her.

Tortoise wasn't obvious with his affections, yet he showed enough for her to figure out the truth. All of the unnecessary compliments, the fact he wouldn't meet her gaze too often, and the nervous shuffling all pointed to it. Sure, he could just be the nervous or shy sort, but it was unlikely it was that simple. In fact, she was about ninety percent certain he had a crush on her. And she usually didn't ignore her instincts, so she saw no need to do so in this situation.

Currently, he was going over the specifics regarding trade between the two Kingdoms. What was being traded, how much was being traded, tariffs, trade routes, frequency of trade, and all that stuff. Important if dull. And it was getting pretty late, too, so she supposed he was going to leave for the night soon, which made right now a perfect time to interrupt him. "Tortoise," she grabbed his attention, interrupting his analysis. "Sorry to interrupt you..." She wasn't. "But it's getting late, and I doubt we'd finish this section tonight." They probably could, but she didn't want to stay up that late. "And there's something I need to ask you, anyway."

He blinked, looking down at his scrolls thoughtfully before setting them aside. "Alright..."

Now that he was listening, she decided to be blunt about the whole thing. "Do you have feelings for me?" Her expression was absolutely neutral, and her scales were under control to give him no hint as to what she was thinking. Tortoise's reaction was a bit less composed. He sucked in a breath so quickly that he started choking on air and had to take several minutes to stop coughing and figure out how to breathe again. "I'll take that as a 'yes'."

"No! No, I don't! I—" He fell silent at seeing her deadpan expression. "When did you figure it out?" he asked timidly.

"About five minutes after you first opened your mouth," she revealed, her expression still neutral and her talons clasped together atop her desk. This wasn't a question anymore, and he knew it. This was an interrogation. She leaned forward and narrowed her eyes at him. "Why? I don't know you."

"No..." he admitted with a sigh. "But with how much my sisters and Turtle and even Kinkajou talk about you and all the good things they say, I feel like I know you, and...well, you inspire me." After he didn't continue for a few moments, she looked at him expectantly with a silent demand for him to explain. "You were a nobody before you became Queen," he replied. "And I thought that a nobody like me could be something if you could. Plus, well...you are quite beautiful."

She sighed at his blush. "Listen, Tortoise, I'm not—" She cut herself off. Originally, she was going to say that she wasn't looking for a relationship right now, but that was a straight-up lie. In fact, she was looking for someone to share her life with because she was tired of being alone. So if that lie wouldn't work, then she would share the truth. "You're not my type...and it has nothing to do with you being a Seawing," she added at his hurt and mildly indignant look. Then, he sighed and looked away, his dream apparently crushed. As much as she felt for the poor fool, it was better to deal with this now than later. "I have no problems working with you, and if you wish to be the Seawing envoy for my Kingdom, I'll put in a good word with Anemone. But I'm afraid I don't return your feelings."

He sighed again, this time with less sorrow and more like he had expected it, unfortunate though it was. "Ah well...I suppose I was reaching too far."

"No hard feelings, then?" she asked to make sure, her expression growing softer to show she wasn't heartless to his plight. He shook his head. "Good."

"I will take you up on that offer, though," he responded with a small, slightly strained smile.

"Of course," she nodded, taking a mental note to discuss it with Anemone later...and to mention this whole conversation. The Rainwing Queen had a feeling the new Seawing Queen had a part in this. And it appeared this conversation couldn't have ended sooner as Mistral landed outside, and she waved for him to enter. "Why don't you head over to Turtle and Kinkajou's house. We can continue this tomorrow." His brother had been gracious enough to allow him to stay with them, so at least she didn't have to worry about preparing another guest hut for him.

Tortoise left with a small bow, almost running into Mistral on his way out. The Icewing glared at the Seawing in a silent demand to watch where he was going and snorted in disdain as the clearly nervous smaller dragon left. Now that his way was unobstructed, he went to drop his satchel off at his desk but stopped when he realized most of the documents on it weren't his. He growled in frustration at the clear, in his mind, discourtesy but wordlessly dropped it next to hers. At her questioning look, he spoke. "I'd rather not risk having that Seawing take something of mine." She made a noise of understanding, though studied him curiously when it appeared he was doing almost the same. "And it appears I was correct. You do look nice," he commented before turning to leave. Though he didn't see it, she blushed slightly at his compliment. He paused halfway to the exit before turning back to her. "I might as well ask how it went with the Seawing today."

She shrugged, putting his previous comment aside. "Tedious and boring. It's important stuff, yeah, but that doesn't make it any more exciting. At our current pace, I'd say we'll be done in a few days."

"Good. Then you can start helping me again." She raised an eye ridge at him. "Not that I need the help with the current arrangement, but..." He trailed off and looked away. "I find it easier to hold a conversation with you than the Nightwing."

She smirked at him. "Missing my company already?" He just glared at her, and she shrugged, not too concerned with his nasty look. She'd seen enough of his nicer side to not pay too much attention to his...colder side. "Bad day?" she instead asked, and he grunted, as much of an answer as she needed. "Well, if you want to have that conversation that you so missed today, sit down. I have a little while yet, and there is something I wanted to ask you, anyway." Curious, he did indeed sit, and Glory told him of the invitation she received about Ruby's wedding and the name of her soon-to-be husband. "Since you seem more connected with the rest of Pyrrhia than I, and you once mentioned you were the dignitary to the Sky Kingdom once, I had to wonder if you knew who she was marrying. Does the name Levante sound familiar?"

"Yes," he replied immediately, taking Glory by slight surprise. "And I am honestly surprised that you don't know who he is."

"Enlighten me," she pressed, once again feeling as if she was too isolated in this Kingdom, not knowing such apparently important dragons.

"He's the commander of the entire Skywing military," he revealed. "Though I met him a few years ago when he was captain of the city guard. Apparently he impressed Queen Ruby enough to get quite the promotion, and I don't doubt their relationship had something to do with that. Though that's not to say he doesn't deserve it."

"They've been together that long?" she wondered. Seriously...how had she not heard of him?

"A few years from what little I've heard, but their relationship wasn't made public until a few weeks ago. And their wedding wasn't made public until now apparently." He looked out the window for a moment before asking. "When is it?"

Glory understood why he was asking. That kind of event would easily mess up his investigation because she had no doubt that Snowfall would want him there, too. "About a month," she answered, and he looked a bit relieved to hear that. "You should have a good amount of time to find who you're looking for."

"That remains to be seen..." he muttered, then shook his head and looked back to her. "Was there anything else you wished to say?" She debated telling him about Tortoise and his crush he had on her but elected against. That kind of gossip probably wasn't something he was interested in, so she merely shook her head and bid him good night. However, she looked at him curiously when he didn't move. "You obviously have something else you wish to talk about," he stated.

"I didn't think you'd be interested is all," she shrugged.

"Try me..." he responded immediately, and Glory decided to comply, telling him about the conversation she had with Tortoise right before the Seawing left and how she wasn't interested. She also told him that she suspected Anemone's involvement. He gazed out the entrance and into the jungle as if he could see Tortoise through both the brush and the darkness. "So is that just Anemone being Anemone?" he asked, turning back to her. "Or are you truly looking for a romantic partner?"

She blinked at him, dumbfounded at his apparent interest. "I suppose I am," she admitted, then smirked. "Why? Interested?"

He just deadpanned at her before shaking his head. "No. But it does strike me as odd that you wouldn't like the Seawing. He's smart and polite from what you've said, and you happen to be friends with his near-identical brother. If that isn't your type, I have to wonder what is." He hummed in thought.

"I have to say I'm more than a little surprised that you're even interested in this kind of conversation. It's not very professional, is it?" She wanted to know why he was, so she was hoping he would be kind enough to share.

"Even I need some mindless chatter every now and then to break up routine." That was a good enough reason, she supposed. Just when she was about to tell him her type, he cut her off. "Let me guess, first. I am supposed to be an investigator." He took her form in for a few minutes, no doubt going over everything he knew about her. Admittedly, she was a bit uncomfortable with the close scrutiny. "Being Queen, I suspect you do like having a partner with brains, yet from what I've seen brawn is more important to you." She blushed at that but didn't say anything. "But it's not just brawn, is it? I've seen you staring at myself and a few other dragons, such as Qibli, Sobek, and Diamondback." The Sandwing guard spluttered at that, but they both ignored him. "Plus, adding in your previous feelings for a particular Nightwing, I have to conclude that you prefer physically larger dragons that know how to fight yet have above average intelligence. The tribe doesn't particularly matter."

Glory's mouth opened and closed a few times, all Mistral needed to see to know he was correct. However, it was Diamondback that decided to put his foot in his mouth. "Have you been checking me out, Your Highness?" he asked, and genuinely seemed uncomfortable with the notion.

The withering glare he received in return for that question silenced him before turning it on Mistral. "Alright, yes!" she admitted. "I have a thing for big males with big muscles! Why do you even care!?"

Mistral didn't answer. Instead, he asked his own question. "I think I already know your answer, but what three tribes do you find most attractive?"

Again, she stared at him speechlessly. "Again, why do you even care!?"

He shrugged. "You're helping me avoid Snowfall. The least I could do is help you find someone of your own." She narrowed her eyes skeptically. "And no, I'm not really what you might call a matchmaker, but as we've already seen, I know more dragons than you do. I'm sure someone I know might catch your attention."

Now she was really wishing she had just kept her mouth shut earlier. This was utterly embarrassing, discussing something so personal with a dragon she hardly knew—and who she didn't even like at first. But she had walked into this, and while she highly doubted he could help, she could at least go along with his questions in the off chance he could. "Sandwings, Nightwing, and...Icewings..." she muttered, looking away with another blush.

A quick glance back at him showed he was raising an eye ridge in surprise. "Really? Interesting...I would have said Skywings over Icewings. Well...you and Prince Hailstorm are quite close, are you not?"

"Friends, yes. But I highly doubt he would be allowed to marry anyone other than an Icewing, seeing as how he's really the only one other than Snowfall whose future daughters would have a claim to the throne." Icicle's crimes from over a decade ago meant her right to the throne was taken away. And Winter had expressed no interest in returning to his tribe even if Snowfall had pardoned him years before he went missing.

"A good point," he allowed. Then came an interesting series of questions. He would ask what qualities of the dragons mentioned previously drew her attention, and she would answer—except for when he asked about Diamondback since he was still in the room.

Qibli was easy to answer for. With his roguishly handsome looks, his wit and charm, and his unique way of seeing the world and reading others like an open scroll, he was the complete package. And yes, she did find him attractive, though she was pretty sure everyone thought Qibli was attractive.

Sobek was a bit tougher to think about. He was handsome, though not quite at Qibli's level. He was dangerous, for sure, due to his unhealthy liking for killing, yet he wasn't cruel or sadistic. He was an odd mix of compassion and understanding for his friends and superiors, yet cold and brutal towards his enemies. The fact he was so dangerous yet so harmless at the same time...intrigued her.

Deathbringer... She didn't know. He had betrayed Morrowseer to save her life, and maybe she felt indebted to him. He had wormed his way into her heart without her really knowing how. Yes, he was attractive and charming and witty like Qibli, yet he was also simultaneously dangerous and harmless like Sobek. Or maybe those qualities in him were the reason she liked the two Sandwings.

"And me?" Mistral asked.

"Excuse me?" Glory stared at him, surprised that he would even ask. "What makes you think—"

"Don't play coy, Your Highness. As I said, I've seen you staring at me when you thought I wasn't looking. There's something about me that you like." He was being completely serious, and at a particular look she gave him, he continued. "And no, I am not being presumptuous. I am stating a fact. Besides, whatever attraction you have towards me is not returned, I assure you."

Glory just glared at him, clenching her jaw at his statement and wondering why it affected her so much. Why should she care if he wasn't attracted to her? It's not as if—

Oh stars...she had a crush on him, didn't she?

When the hell had that happened!?

Yeah, he had started out as the biggest jerk she'd ever met, but then he changed. And though she had seen a much better side of him since, that wasn't reason enough for something like that! He was a good listener, sure. And he was very smart as evidenced by having to do this census and also how quickly he had figured out her type. There was also a bit of mystery about him, what with his reaction towards Greatness. He was also stunningly handsome, and...

She mentally shook her head, forcing a neutral expression onto her face. "Wouldn't you like to know..." Not giving him the chance to respond, she continued. "Regardless, this whole conversation, while highly embarrassing, was also quite pointless. I don't need anyone to find a date for me; I can manage just fine on my own. Who knows, maybe Ruby's wedding will open some opportunities for me."

Taking her pointed look as a dismissal, Mistral studied her for a moment before standing and leaving. After he was gone, she smacked her head against her desk and just left it there. "Should I give you some time?" Diamondback asked, and her affirmative grunt was all the answer he needed as she heard his clawsteps heading towards her door mere seconds later.

"I've not even known him for a month...what the hell is wrong with me?" she muttered to herself. But a small crush didn't necessarily mean anything. Yeah, she liked him—more than she ever thought she would. But did she love him? Pfft...not even close! She barely even knew him for Pyrrhia's sake! There was nothing there that would even compete with what she once felt towards Deathbringer, and that's really the only reason she hadn't completely melted from embarrassment. A simple physical attraction was leagues different than romantic feelings, and that was something she took solace in.

She eventually lifted her face from the desk and sighed. It'd pass. This whole thing was just a result of her loneliness, so she was just latching on to anyone she thought she might like. Once she found someone to share her life with, these silly feelings wouldn't matter anymore. In other words, she was desperate but not that desperate.

By the next morning, she'd already forgotten her silly little crush, and she went back to working with Tortoise. Thankfully, her talk with him didn't seem to dampen his spirits too badly, which meant her addressing it early like she did was probably for the best. The treaties were finalized three days later, and the Seawing bid his brother, Kinkajou, and the Queen farewell.

After that, she went back to working with Mistral over in the Arboretum. He never mentioned their talk, and neither did she, so things went back to normal. Qibli, however, did smirk and wink at her the next time they saw each other, and she had a feeling she knew who was responsible. Mistral being who he was, though, never confirmed it. But the mischief dancing in his eyes was tell enough. It was all in good fun, and Moon and Qibli both teased her endlessly for it. She also noticed that their conversation seemed to make the Icewing open up a bit more, too. He seemed less formal and more willing to partake in the jokes. He still didn't talk about himself that much, though.

Five days after Tortoise left, and they were on the last day of interviews. Even after a little over a month, she could see a massive difference in Mistral's behavior regarding Nightwings. Whereas before he was cold and borderline hostile, now he just seemed annoyed. It was clear he still didn't like them, but it was a step in the right direction, at least.

Today was when Peacemaker came in, and she was honestly surprised it had taken so long for the half-Rainwing to come through. If Mistral was surprised by seeing the hybrid—there weren't many Nightwing hybrids in the rainforest, though she was aware they were more common outside her Kingdom—he didn't show it. He merely went through his normal questions, which Peacemaker answered succinctly. And then after he left, Hope came in.

Mistral glanced at the large Nightwing as she entered, did a double-take, and immediately stood with a furious snarl. Hope froze when she saw the Icewing, and just before he pounced, she sighed with a quiet, "Ah, shit..."

AN: Uh oh...that can't be good. Seems like Mistral might know the truth about Hope. I wonder what kind of conclusions a smart dragon like him might make? Guess we'll find out in the next one...

I'm on Wings of Fire Roblox every Saturday from 6-7 pm Central US time. Come join us in the dining hall if you want to chat. My username is the same as my name on here if you want to send a friend request.

Until Next Time

AdmiralCole22