A/N: Sorry this one took a bit, but as I think I said last chapter, school's taking its toll. I'll keep doing my best to get these out, of course, but things may be slow on the update front for a little bit as my writing is focused on papers and not stories. That said, things should (hopefully) pick back up once Christmas break hits, and I do have a one-shot story finished that I've been sitting on that I'll release if the next update for this story takes longer than I'd like, so here's hoping you won't all be too deprived of content.
Anyway, this is a shorter one, and by shorter I mean only slightly longer than my original intended chapter length. Next one might be a bit more brief as well, but we'll have to see how it goes.
I have more to say, but that will wait until the bottom. Till then, remember to favorite/follow if you like the story so far, and leave a review of you feel so led. And as always, enjoy the chapter.
Ch. 27: Arrival
Indigo had never been in the Sand Kingdom before. Being a Seawing, there really was no reason for her to ever make the journey, save perhaps as a guard for her queen in a diplomatic meeting—which had yet to happen. Between the hot, scorching desert sands and the dry, arid heat, it was not exactly a place appealing to a tribe that liked cool water and plenty of moisture. Indeed, Indigo had never had any desire at all to visit the barren wilderness the Sandwings called home.
Being in it now, however…well, it was worse than she had ever expected. The sun baked her scales during the daytime, the breeze blew sand into her mouth and gills whenever she was close to the ground, and even at night when they did most of their traveling, the whole region turned a frigid cold far too uncomfortable for her to enjoy her flight in.
It was miserable, and already she wanted to just be done with the whole affair and go back to the Night Kingdom.
Fortunately, the Nightwing diplomatic delegation had made rather good time in traveling the desert, and with the town of Redstone appearing on the horizon as dawn broke to the east, Indigo gave a sigh of relief knowing that there would likely be some rest and relief from the days of traveling once they got there. She was certainly looking forward to it.
"I am too," she heard Darkstalker say from beside her, no doubt catching that last thought of hers, "We'll probably have a good rest today once we get settled, but I expect things will pick up tomorrow."
"At least we'll be inside, though," Indigo muttered more to herself. If nothing else, it would make things better just to be out of the desert heat of the day and desert cold at night, she thought.
"Yeah, it will be," he agreed, giving a beat of his wings to keep his pace with the rest of their group.
The flight seemed to be much easier on him than it was on her, at least in the nighttime, but then again, he was a Nightwing. Still, the heat of the day got to him, too, as well as quite a few of the other Nightwings that weren't used to the heat. She knew that it had made sleep difficult for more than a couple of dragons—herself included—and it had been a bit of a drain on their strength and stamina. Really, it was impressive that they'd made the time they had getting here, but perhaps they were all driven by that promise of a bit of rest at the end.
She gave a groan as she looked towards the town ahead of them, already looking forward to relaxing her wings after the hard night's flight.
"Do we need to break off and fly in separately?" she heard Fathom ask Darkstalker from beside her. Considering she was still the prince's bodyguard, it was only natural that she fly with him. And luckily, since Darkstalker was his friend as well, no one thought anything of him spending his time flying alongside the Seawings. Occasionally a matter would arise that required his attention and he'd have to fly farther up or back down the line of dragons in flight that made up their rather large party, but the Nightwing always returned. If she was honest with herself, having him near her and getting to talk and laugh a little as they flew was about the only thing that kept her going through the desert's elements.
"Nah," Darkstalker dismissed Fathom's question with a small snort, "The Icewings know you'll be arriving with us. You'll probably be led away to your own quarters once we land, but there's no need to make anyone think that you didn't fly with us. I know Vigilance wants you to give an impression of impartiality, but there's no need to overdo it."
Fathom nodded. "Good to know, then," he glanced back at the Nightwings behind them, "Speaking of the meeting…has Clearsight told you any more about how she sees it going? I know that things between you were…well…they aren't exactly…" he stuttered a moment, trying to find his words, "I just figured that she'd have said something by now."
Indigo looked over to see Darkstalker shaking his head, an answer she'd expected. Clearsight still hadn't seemed the least bit interested in saying a single word to Darkstalker, good or ill. Once or twice she'd flown up to them and engaged in some small talk with Fathom (completely ignoring or shooting a glare at Indigo, of course), but always when Darkstalker was off doing something else. It was clear that she was still looking at futures—Vigilance clearly was conferring with her about things, and if Clearsight had completely washed her claws of the meeting then they probably wouldn't have gotten this far—but she certainly wasn't sharing them to anyone but the Queen.
With a small sigh, Fathom gave a huff. "Lovely," he said, a little more sarcastically and less Fathom-like than normal, "And you?"
"Things haven't gotten any clearer, if that's what you're asking," Darkstalker answered, "Believe me, I've been trying. But things just aren't clear. They seem to shift by the minute, and almost every future is different." He paused and gave an annoyed sounding growl. "I know that I can do it, I know I can bring peace. I'm still just not sure how it can be actually done."
"I'm sure it will work out, though," Indigo assured him, trying to be a bit more confident than she felt. Even if it didn't…well, she'd stand by his side until the end of whatever would be to come.
"Yeah," Darkstalker breathed, then added so quietly she almost missed it, "I hope."
She looked away back to the horizon, the town growing closer, but also so much more becoming visible. There, stretched out in a line in the sand ahead of them, were hundreds, if not thousands, of black shapes in the sand. It took her a minute of looking and flying closer to realize that they were the tents of the Nightwing army that had gone ahead of them, all spread out to the south of the city to stand guard for their queen and dissuade any attack.
And soon enough, she was flying over those tents, looking down at dots that were Nightwing soldier's looking up at them. A few of the dragons in the group of diplomats broke off and flew down, and a few rose from the sandy ground to join them in the air, but for the most part Queen Vigilance and all those with her flew on towards the city…and the white tents beyond it that Indigo could now make out. For just as the Nightwings had a massive army arrayed to the south, the Icewings had their own to the north. Looking almost equal in size and strength, it was obvious that Queen Diamond would not allow them to have the only threat of force in the area.
Three moons, Indigo thought to herself as she looked the two armies over, If things go wrong…
Well, she didn't want to think about it. It was clear that for all the good the meeting could accomplish, it could also very well light the dragonfire cactus and set off an explosion in the form of a massive and terrible battle between these two rival foes—which was exactly what they were trying to avoid.
"We'll be going in for a landing in a moment," she heard Darkstalker tell her and her fellow Seawings, "Stay close to me when we do, and slow down for now. We'll let the others catch up."
Fathom nodded and slowed his wingbeats, turning to more of a glide, imitating Darkstalker who was doing the same. Several Nightwings passed them by until they resumed flight again, but this time in the company of Queen Vigilance and her top advisors, as well as Arctic and Clearsight. The seer gave them a cold glance before looking away.
Vigilance gave a half-interested hum at their joining of her and scanned around them with her eyes. "Is everything in order, then?" she asked one of her aides, who answered in the affirmative after looking around quickly to double-check.
"And for you two?" she asked, directed towards both Darkstalker and Fathom.
"I believe so," Darkstalker told her after a quick glance at his father. The Seawing prince simply gave a curt nod.
"Very well," Queen Vigilance said with a soft snort, turning back the same aide from moments before, "Give the signal that we will begin our landing."
As it turned out, "the signal" seemed to mainly be a bunch of shouting between dragons instead of the more elaborate ram's horn that had sounded for their departure (she wondered if something might have happened to it during the trip). Either way, they were making their decent within moments, tilting down to the Sandwing town below. It probably took less than a minute before her talons rested on the hot desert sands on the outskirts of Redstone, looking over what would be the place that might very well decide the fate of the war.
Redstone was…well, smaller than she'd expected. Unless her eyes had been deceiving her flying in, there was only one small oasis that gave the town life, and if she had to guess by the number and state of the buildings she could see, probably only one of the armies stationed outside the town exceeded the population within. It was hardly the place she would have thought would be chosen for something as important as what they were doing, but then again, from what she'd heard it was chosen more out of convenience than for its fanciness.
She continued to peer around, looking in alleyways and towards rooftops for any signs of an ambush or other dragons wishing to do them harm. It was her job, after all, to be alert, and she would carry out that assignment to the best of her abilities. She noticed Wharf and Lionfish doing the same as several Nightwing guards surrounded Vigilance and the other diplomats and began to lead them through the streets of the town towards where she assumed the town hall would be.
They'd still only barely entered the town, however, when Indigo saw the first Icewing. Or rather, a group of Icewings. There were about a dozen of them, at least half of them soldiers, making their way directly towards Vigilance, and she also made out a few more dragons behind them that looked far more Nightwing-like. Indigo relaxed as she realized that this was more than likely just a welcoming delegation from the Icewings, and she gave Fathom a nod to approach along with the Nightwings.
Both parties stopped within a few dragons-lengths of each other and for a moment nothing happened. Then the Icewing guards stepped aside and a dragoness about Arctic's age with pure white wings and rippling scales of blue and light grey stepped out from behind them, carrying an air of dignity and authority. Indigo didn't even need to see the single circle on the Icewing's necklace or the small crown on her head to know that this was who is in charge.
"Queen Vigilance?" she asked, and when the Nightwing stepped out from the protection of her own guards, the Icewing gave a respectful nod of her head—but not a true bow. "On behalf of the Icewings, I welcome you. Queen Diamond sends her regards, but regrets that she was unable to meet you in person."
"We will meet soon enough, I'm sure," Vigilance responded with queenly grace, "I know well the duties that come with being a monarch in these times. But many thanks to her for this welcome. And well met, Princess Snowfox, or do you prefer General Snowfox?"
The dragoness that Indigo could only assume was Snowfox flashed her teeth in an emotionless smile. "I prefer my royal title, but either works fine."
"Very well, then," Vigilance said, "I must say that your reputation proceeds you, Princess Snowfox. My own generals have spoken at length about your prowess on the battlefields. It's almost a pity that the war will end; whatever shall you do?"
"There will be other wars, I'm sure," Snowfox answered, and this time the grin on her face seemed ominously more genuine, "…But that is not the point of our meeting. We seek to end our own, do we not?"
"Of course," Vigilance assured her, "Why else would we have crossed a desert to be here?"
"Why indeed?" Snowfox gave a twitch of her tail and glanced behind her, giving a gesture to her guards, who brought forward a half dozen Nightwings, bound in chains. "And as a show of good will for this upcoming meeting, Queen Diamond has instructed me to release to you these prisoners. They were chosen at random from one of our camps. It is Queen Diamond's hope that the freedom they now will enjoy will be a foretaste of the freedom from war our two kingdoms will soon share."
Indigo gave a quick look over the prisoners as the Icewing guards removed the iron shackles from their claws and wings. They all looked thin and weary, and at least three of them appeared to have frostbite on their claws, wings, or tails—with at least one missing a few talons. She wondered just how long some of them had been prisoners, and how poorly they must have been treated in the frigid tundra of the Ice Kingdom.
"Many thanks to Queen Diamond," she heard Vigilance speak, drawing her attention back to the two royals. She similarly motioned behind her, and a dragon stepped forward bearing a small, wooden chest. "We too brought a gift for your queen: some of the finest jewels of the Night Kingdom. May the Icewing queen wear them well."
"I am sure she will," Snowfox said as one of her attendants stepped forward and accepted the chest. "We look forward to the possibility of entering a new era of peace between our kingdoms."
Indigo had been around royalty long enough to know when the words of diplomats were just that—words. She frowned as she heard Snowfox speak, for those words really did sound empty. Hopefully it was not indictive of the queen, but all the same it made Indigo a little bit wary. Of course, if the Icewings weren't serious about peace, then why would they have agreed to meet and make a show of good will like they had?
"If that is all…" Vigilance spoke after a small pause, "I am afraid that my entourage and I am tired from a long flight. It would be best were we to find our quarters and rest in preparations for tomorrow."
"Of course, of course," Snowfox said, stepping to the side, "Would you like one of my attendants to show you the way…?"
"That will not be necessary, thank you," Queen Vigilance told her, "I believe our own escort knows the way." Indeed, Indigo could see a group of Nightwings approaching from behind the Icewings, with a dragon she recognized as General Stargazer at its head, the dragon who had overseen much of the military operations around Redstone and was certainly more than familiar with the town.
Snowfox gave a nod, and slowly the Nightwings began to move again, making their way into the city. Two dragons stopped, however, to talk a moment longer: Arctic and Darkstalker. As Fathom was standing still, clearly unsure as to if he should follow the Nightwings, she listened to the exchange.
"It's good to see you again, Snowfox," Arctic said, and she was sure she could hear genuine relief in his voice, "I'm glad you're here. Really, I am."
"Cousin," Snowfox said with a respectful nod and a brief smile, "Likewise. It's been a while."
"It certainly has," the Icewing prince agreed, "But now we might be finally able to explain what happened and get my mother to see reason. I know that you did what you could to help us, and for that I'm forever grateful, but I think we both knew that this meeting would be inevitable."
"Yes, well, you know how your mother is," Snowfox gave a small snort, "She is nothing if not tenacious."
"Yes, she certainly is," he looked down and sighed, then glanced over to Darkstalker and touched his side with his wing. "Snowfox…I'd like you to meet Darkstalker…my son."
"Darkstalker," Snowfox spoke his name and looked at him with a kind of gleam in her eye that Indigo found suddenly uncomfortable, "You're the one who convinced Queen Diamond to even agree to this. We've heard a lot about you. Suffice to say the Queen is interested in meeting you…cousin."
Indigo cocked her head a little at that. Sure, she supposed that being a princess would make Snowfox related to Darkstalker, but she never really recalled Darkstalker speaking much about his Icewing heritage.
"And I am interested in meeting her as well, cousin," Darkstalker spoke, although he seemed to have to bite out that last word. Indigo wished she could read his mind like he could hers; she was curious what he was thinking about meeting some of his family for the first time.
"Then that is good, since she wishes to meet privately with you before any meetings with the Nightwings begin," Snowfox told them, "Only if she is satisfied with that will she agree to actually enter talks to end the war."
Arctic frowned but nodded. "I expected as much."
"As did I," Darkstalker agreed.
"The meeting time will be on your schedules. I'm sure you will receive them soon," Snowfox said, "Now, I will not keep you, and I'm sure you need the rest as much as the Nightwings do."
Arctic thanked her and a moment later he and Darkstalker followed the Nightwings, Darkstalker casting a glance back at her as they left. Fathom began to move to follow them, but it was him who was next intercepted by the Icewing princess.
"Prince Fathom," Snowfox greeted with a nod of her head, stepping in front of them and cutting them off from the Nightwings, "It is good to meet you. Queen Diamond would like to thank you for agreeing to moderating this mission of peace between our tribe and the Nightwings."
"I am happy to be of assistance," Fathom told her, putting on his own "diplomatic" face and voice. He was never actually very good at it, Indigo knew, but he was still a royal and trained for these kinds of interactions. For her part, Indigo stood tall and proud, displaying her strength as a guard. This part was hers to play just as much as Fathom's.
"Excellent, excellent," Snowfox swished her tail behind her delicately as Indigo truly sized her up for the first time. The Icewing was lithe and actually rather weak looking; Snowfox certainly didn't appear particularly intimidating at first glance. Looks could be deceiving, of course, but Indigo's first thought was that she could take her in a fight if she so needed…not that it was necessary, of course.
"And the Sea Kingdom, too, is glad to be a mediator of peace in Pyrrhia," Fathom continued, "War harms all our tribes, just as peace benefits every tribe."
"But of course," Snowfox agreed, "It is in the interests of so many that this war meets its proper end."
Depends what you mean by "proper", Indigo thought to herself. Princess Snowfox seemed to be saying the right things, but…well, something struck Indigo as off about her. Maybe she was just being paranoid, but then again, it was kind of her job to be. Also, she had the feeling that she had heard the dragoness' name before somewhere, and it sat uncomfortably in her gut as she watched the princess.
"Here," Snowfox said, offering Fathom a wing, "Allow me to show you to your room. Your quarters have been prepared in advance by the Sandwings, and if you are anything like us Icewings, you'll want to be inside before the heat of the day hits."
"I…well, yes, thank you," Fathom said, accepting her offer, if for no other reason than she at least seemed to know what they should do.
Snowfox gave a wave to the guards who had accompanied her, and the Icewings departed as she led them through the streets. Indigo kept an eye out for anything suspicious as they went, but there didn't seem to be much out of the ordinary. In the streets stood a few groups of Nightwings and Icewings that looked to be soldiers, each tribe eyeing the other but making no moves to engage them. A few Sandwings moved from place to place as well, no doubt the actual residents of the town, and Indigo felt a little bad for them at having their homes be put right in the middle of such an important event that could easily break out into a missive conflict.
Fathom, too, noticed the Sandwings, and he commented to Snowfox about it. "As we're in the Sand Kingdom, is Queen Scorpion going to be attending as well?" he asked, "I would be rather concerned at such a gathering in the Sea Kingdom."
Snowfox gave a shrug of her wings. "She might, but Queen Scorpion cares little about the matters of her kingdom so long as she gets her gold. One could probably slay half the populace and she wouldn't notice or care until she notices the lack of wealth coming in. And she'd probably slay them herself if she somehow would profit by it."
"Oh," Fathom said simply, and fell silent.
But to Indigo, her words of massive death like that stirred a memory. She'd thought that the Icewing's name sounded familiar in a sense larger than being a princess and general, and she suddenly recalled where she'd heard it. It was back on that day when she helped Darkstalker save his mother. Darkstalker had wanted to enchant something to kill Diamond, and Clearsight had stopped him, saying that if he did then her niece, Snowfox, would take the throne. Indigo couldn't recall exactly why it was so imperative this not happen, but the phrase "genocide of entire tribes" came to mind.
Suddenly, Indigo was far more wary of the Icewing that was currently leading them to their quarters.
Snowfox paused in front of a large building that Indigo took to be the town hall, a sprawling structure that seemed almost of place in this small town. Some marble columns in front of the entrance gave it a bit of majesty and grace, and looking it over Indigo tried to remember the layout from the diagrams she'd seen of it in preparation. At any rate, she was certain that this would be where the meeting and fate of the war would be decided.
"This is where the meeting will take place," Snowfox told them, echoing and confirming her thoughts before the Icewing pointed just across the street, "Your quarters will be in this house, here," the building looked nice enough, plain sandstone construction and likely multi-roomed, which would be nice for her and the other guards to stay in the same building as their prince.
"I thought that we would be staying in a wing of the hall," Fathom pointed out questioningly.
"Yes, well, unfortunately there was a delay by the townsfolk in ensuring those accommodations would be met," Snowfox explained, "The Nightwings have been notified of this, and are aware of the change. We tried to ensure that you were roomed as close to the town hall as possible."
Fathom gave a huff and tried to look displeased, even though Indigo could tell he wasn't really bothered by it. "Very well," he snorted, "So long as it is satisfactory."
"I hope you will find it so," Snowfox nodded, then looked away behind her before returning her gaze to him. "As it were, I am afraid I have other matters to attend to now. If you are in need of any assistance by the Icewings, merely let me know or alert any of our soldiers. You are our guest just as much as the Nightwings'."
"Thank you, I shall keep it in mind," Fathom told her, and with another polite nod of her head, Snowfox departed.
As soon as she turned a corner and was gone, Fathom let out a long sigh and allowed his wings to droop to his sides. He looked at Indigo and shook his head. "I've never liked that," he grouched, no doubt referring to the façade he'd had to perform, "Why can't we all just talk normally?"
Indigo chuckled and rolled her eyes a little. "Maybe you're just tired," she suggested, "It's been a long flight, and I think we could all use a rest."
"Think? I know," Fathom shook his head and gave a yawn. Without any more words he turned and entered the building that would be their home for the foreseeable future.
She and her fellow guards followed behind him, except for Lionfish who actually stopped Fathom at the threshold and entered first to ensure that the place was safe. Once they got the all clear, however, the three remaining Seawings entered to find a place pretty much how Indigo had envisioned. There was a large common space with three rooms, which was rather ideal; Fathom and Indigo could each take one, Lionfish and Wharf could share the last one.
As Fathom tidied himself up for sleep with a washbasin in the corner of the room, Indigo and the rest of the guards determined the order for watch. Lionfish volunteered for the first shift, and Indigo took the last, which she was pretty satisfied with. As far as she was concerned, the sooner she could go to bed, the longer.
She had the thought of asking what Fathom thought about Snowfox and the general situation, but by the time she herself freshened up for sleep, he was already his own bedroom. Oh well, she thought tiredly, it can wait until we wake. She bade her fellow guards goodnight and entered into the room she'd claimed as her own, finding a simple bed, nightstand, and desk in the corner underneath a window. She shut the curtain to darken the room from the sunlight pouring in from the outside, set the bag she'd brought with her containing a few belongings down, and laid on her bed.
Concerns about the upcoming meeting swum about in her head as she closed her eyes, but they were not enough to overcome the ache of her wings and the weariness of her body. Within a matter of minutes, she was asleep.
A/N: So, Snowfox is finally back 27 chapters after the prologue. Hard to believe it's been that long, actually, but we finally get to see some Icewings besides Arctic again. Time will tell if this turns out to be a good thing, though...
On a different note, today just so happens to be my birthday, so hooray for me! I thought about writing some Winterwatcher fluff to celebrate (if any of you have read my other works, you likely know my love for the ship) but, again, schoolwork got in the way and this is all I could get to for today. That said, if you're like me and enjoy the pairing, or just a good story, I'd like to take this chance to point out and give a shout out to a couple other recently published fics that helped fill that void.
First, shirzadym just released a fic entitled "Wings of Frost Guide Thee", which is a bit of a rewrite of the book 10 epilogue. It's beautifully written with a rather poetic feel, and it is definitely worth your time if you're looking for a nice one-shot.
Next, Theresalwaysthatone recently put out a story called "A Moonlit Winter", a rewrite/expansion of a previous story that you may recall entitled "A Moon's Winter", which is one of the original Winterwatcher fics that got me into this fandom and writing fanfiction and served as part of my inspiration for the beginning of Shadow of the Mind. "A Moonlit Winter" is a well written and enjoyable read, and it's only just getting started. If you haven't seen it already, go give it a look.
Anyway, that's all I have for now. I'll see you all next chapter.