Glorious Politics

AN: Happy day after Thanksgiving! I meant to have this finished on Wednesday, but it just didn't happen.

As promised, though, there's some answers to questions posed from the last chapter as the characters recover from and discuss both what happened and what's next.

Disclaimer: I do not own Wings of Fire. My OCs Horus, Mistral, Diamondback, and Levante belong to me. Mystic the Nightwing belongs to Flerovium.

Chapter Twenty-Two:

The area around the sewer entrance they had come out of was bustling with activity, though she couldn't exactly see any of it. The time she spent underground had left her eyes sensitive to the bright sunlight, and she had to screw them shut with a grimace. "Much as I love the sun, can someone turn it off for a bit?"

Almost immediately, the brightness dimmed, and Glory's eyes snapped open, half-expecting Anemone to be standing next to her with the Seawing having taken her joke seriously. While the Seawing Queen was nearby—and she appeared thoughtful, to Glory's horror—she wasn't responsible for the sudden shade. Moon was holding her wing over Glory's head, the black membrane absorbing most of the sun's rays. "That better?" the Nightwing asked.

"Yeah, thanks." Then, she turned to Anemone. "And I was joking, by the way. Don't actually turn off the sun." Anemone just snorted, highly amused by Glory's stern warning. She traced an 'X' over her heart with a mischievous grin.

Then, she walked over and gave Glory a hug, showing how relieved and happy she was that the Rainwing she considered a sister was alright. "Don't ever scare me like that again," she spoke quietly.

Glory hugged her back, though she huffed at Anemone's words. "I didn't exactly plan to." Anemone backed away, patting her shoulder affectionately as if to say, 'I know. I'm just happy you're okay.'

Qibli had been standing nearby the whole time, but he began walking away with a quiet, "I'll be back." Glory watched him walk away and share a few words with General Levante, who had just come up from the sewers along with several other Skywing soldiers. She saw the general nod, and then the two dragons were walking off, deep in conversation. Despite the number of dragons hustling around the area, mostly Skywing guards, the two were left unimpeded as everyone parted before them.

Horus, Mistral, and Winter were being tended to off to the side by a group of combat medics. The whole area was encircled by curious and concerned civilians being held back by a perimeter of stalwart, heavily armed and armored Skywing soldiers. "How long was I down there?" Glory suddenly asked. Judging by the position of the sun and how long she felt she was down there, it had definitely been more than a day. She winced slightly when she realized what that probably meant for Ruby's wedding. "And uh...how mad is Ruby?"

"Three—almost four—days," Moon said, her voice and expression full of guilt. Glory recoiled in surprise at the unexpected answer. Though she was about to ask what was wrong, it turned out the question was unnecessary when Moon revealed what was weighing on her. "I had a vision of you being kidnapped, but by the time we got to your room, you were already gone. I'm...I'm so sorry." Moon's wing drooped a bit along with her posture.

Glory, however, shook her head. "Don't be. It's not your fault, Moon. I'm glad you tried. And even though you couldn't get to me then, I'm thankful you had that vision when you did. Otherwise, it probably would have been hours if not days before someone figured out what happened." Apparently, Moon hadn't thought of it like that. Her frown slowly disappeared, and she nodded to her Queen, accepting her words and her wisdom.

"Oh, and to answer your other question," Anemone began. "Ruby is pissed, but not at you." That assurance was enough to make Glory sigh quietly in relief. She doubted Ruby would be mad at her for something she couldn't control—especially in this particular scenario—but she still felt bad for the Skywing Queen.

Everyone in the nearby vicinity started at the furious voice that carried easily over the noise of the crowd, but surprisingly, it wasn't the Queen they were just discussing. "WHERE IS HE!? I'M GOING TO RIP THAT TRAITOR APART!" The sudden commotion in the crowd had them turning to see Thorn stomping through the quickly parting civilians. The Sandwing Queen looked around at the scene furiously before she caught sight of the lone Rainwing in their midst, and she rushed over. "Oh, thank the stars you're alright!" However, her relief suddenly turned to nervousness and mild anger. "You are okay, right? He didn't hurt you?"

Glory almost admitted that there was torture involved but decided against it. "It's not anything lasting," she instead said. Thorn narrowed her eyes at that. It was an admittance that something did happen without going into detail about it.

"You're sure?" Thorn pressed, urgently taking in every scale on Glory's body to try and figure out if something was out of the ordinary. "You're sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine, mom," she assured the Sandwing absently, having caught sight of both Ruby and Snowfall arriving. She watched as Ruby spoke with a few of the nearby soldiers, and Snowfall went to fuss over Mistral and her no-longer-missing cousin. Glory turned back to Thorn to point out the new arrivals, only to find the Sandwing staring at her in shock. Both Anemone and Moon were staring at her, too—the Seawing looking positively giddy. "What?" Glory asked, genuinely confused. And that's when she realized what exactly she'd said. She blinked a few times before uttering a soft, "Oh..."

That hadn't been a sarcastic comment. That had been sincere. Her mind had known who she was addressing even if she was consciously focusing on something else, so it was her subconscious that supplied the moniker. If she hadn't been distracted, that term would have never slipped. But it had...and suddenly Glory was questioning every other relationship she had. Yeah, she'd thought of Thorn as 'motherly' before, but she'd never considered the Sandwing to be her mother. At least until now. And it felt...right. Which made her wonder if her conscious and subconscious minds disagreed about other dragons.

No doubt a question that would involve a lot of inner reflection.

Suddenly, she found herself in a tight embrace which Glory all but melted into. After days of being locked in a cell underground, there was no one else she felt safer or more comfortable with than Thorn. The Sandwing Queen was always looking out for her, and she was the one dragon Glory felt comfortable opening up to completely. She'd never learned who her real mother was, and her time with her grandmother had been cut short when Grandeur unfortunately passed away. But Thorn had always been there for her, whether as an unshakable ally for her Kingdom or as someone to talk to when she was feeling down.

"So...what did I miss?" a curious yet amused voice asked. Thorn pulled away, and Glory noticed Qibli standing nearby looking between the two of them.

Before anyone could say anything, a Skywing guard came up to their group. "Queen Thorn?" The Sandwing Queen gazed at him curiously before her expression turned to one of sadness when she took the earring from the Skywing's claws. "I'm sorry. He took out quite a few of them before he died if that counts for anything."

"Of course he did. It was why I chose him to be an Outclaw," she muttered. Thorn stared at the earring sadly for a few moments before clutching it tightly in her talons, her expression turning into one of rage. "Find Sobek and bring him to me!" she hissed. The Skywing saluted, but Thorn continued before he left. "And make sure Diamondback's body isn't left down there. He deserves a proper send off." Only then did the Skywing leave, and then Thorn snapped a glare to Qibli, who shrunk under her fury. "As glad as I am that Glory is safe and sound, you should know better than to engage the enemy so openly without backup when they outnumber you!"

"But—" Qibli tried, only for Thorn to interrupt him with a snarl. Glory tried to intervene, but Thorn ignored her.

"Diamondback is dead!" she yelled at him, and he looked away, clearly upset at making his mother so upset. Many of the dragons nearby were staring at the scene, but neither Thorn nor Qibli paid any attention to them. A few seconds passed as Thorn calmed herself with breathing exercises. "I'm sorry," she eventually apologized to her son. "This is just...a lot to take in at once."

"If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at me." The group looked over to see Winter standing there, and while he was clearly in pain from the venom scarring across his chest, he was doing a remarkable job of operating despite that. "It was my idea to go before the Skywings were ready."

"Winter..." Qibli tried, but the Icewing just glared at him until he looked away.

Thorn actually seemed to ponder this information, but it was Anemone who spoke next. "This is all very interesting, but maybe we should wait until we're in a more secure location to discuss this further. We don't want the civilians panicking any more than they are." For indeed, the gathered crowd was looking a bit restless—not just from the soldiers and injured dragons but also from Thorn's rather furious entrance.

"Agreed," Ruby spoke, walking up to the group. "Everyone involved in this mess will meet me in my throne room in an hour. Do not be late." With that, the Skywing Queen turned away, her guards following. "That means you, too, Levante!" was the last thing she said before she disappeared into the crowd, on her way back to her palace.

"Easy for her to say, she doesn't have a broken wing," Mistral grumbled, walking closer with a wince. The medics had placed a splint over his wing, but it was stuck out a bit from his body. Glory looked at him with a concern, remembering the brutal fight he had with Sobek. "I'll live," he told her when he noticed her expression. "My bruised ego hurts worse than my wing. I must be getting rusty."

"One way to find out," Winter commented with a small grin. Mistral just looked at him in mild surprise.

"Oh, this I have to see," Anemone grinned. Then, to everyone's confusion, she took off the necklace she was wearing and held it in front of Winter. "But I'm sure you're in more pain than you're letting on. This'll help."

Winter grabbed it cautiously. Everyone gathered was under no illusion about what Anemone meant. That necklace was enchanted. The Icewing Prince studied it for a moment before hesitantly putting it on at the Seawing's nod. Once secure around his neck, Winter gasped in surprise, and then everyone else followed suit. The scars on his chest were healing rapidly, and he raised his wing to reveal the horrendous burn mark was healing, as well. Both areas were now covered in fresh, unmarred scales. "Wow..." the prince whispered in awe.

"Nifty...but I don't suppose that could heal a broken wing?" Mistral wondered as Winter took the necklace off. His wounds remained healed, so the enchantment was permanent. Anemone gestured for him to give it to Mistral, who also put it on. He winced and then groaned in pain, but after a few seconds he removed the splint on his wing to reveal it was fully healed. He sighed in relief, giving Anemone an appreciative nod.

"Go ahead and let Horus use it, too," Anemone told him, and the Icewing went over to give it to the injured Skywing." Thorn smiled gratefully at the Seawing Queen, and Winter properly thanked her. Glory still wondered where exactly the Icewing had come from and what he'd been up to lately. From the constant glances Qibli was sending, he was probably wondering the same thing. And then there were the looks Winter occasionally sent Moon, who was oddly quiet. It made her think of that first time she dreamvisited Winter. He clearly still had feelings for Moon.

"Qibli," Thorn called, making him look to his mother warily, no doubt worried he'd be yelled at again. "Escort everyone to the palace, would you? I'll remain here for the time being." Thorn's solemn gaze never once left the sewer entrance, and it wasn't hard to figure out why she was sticking around.

Right when Qibli opened his mouth to argue, Levante placed a claw on his shoulder. "Go. I'll bring Queen Thorn to the palace when she's ready to leave. I'm not leaving quite yet, anyway."

Qibli nodded and called everyone who needed to go to him. Then, she, Winter, Moon, Anemone, Mistral, Snowfall, and Horus began navigating through the crowd as they returned to the palace. The whole trip was quiet and tense, and it wasn't just because of the lingering fear of something else happening before they got to safety. Winter's presence shook things up a bit too much for her liking, thought she was surprised at how cold his reception was, no pun intended.

She thought his friends and family would be welcoming him back with open arms, yet they all seemed distant, uncertain almost. Hailstorm was really the only exception as he walked next to his younger brother in a show of support. Moon and Qibli kept glancing between each other, both wondering what issues Winter and his obvious feelings for the Nightwing might cause. Though she doubted that was the only thing their worry stemmed from. She was almost certain the two were worried for their friend, too, but didn't know how to approach him yet.

Snowfall almost appeared as if she was having trouble believing her cousin was actually here, and Mistral just appeared deep in thought. Winter appeared completely stoic, his eyes resolutely forward. Never once did he pay any other dragon any mind, not even Hailstorm. He was clearly uncomfortable, and she couldn't exactly blame him.

Eventually though, they made it to the palace without any issue. Once at the throne room, Ruby dismissed everyone except a clawful of guards and Queen Moorhen. "Where is Queen Thorn and General Levante?"

It was Qibli who answered, though his voice was quieter than normal. "Taking care of a fallen brother, Your Highness."

Ruby's gaze softened in sympathy. "I see... A friend of yours?" Qibli merely nodded, and Moon nuzzled his cheek in a show of comfort. "You have my condolences. As cruel as this may sound, I need you to put aside your grief for now. You will have time to mourn later; this I swear. But I need to know why one of my guests—and a Queen, at that—was captured from inside my own palace on the day of my wedding. Was this a personal strike against Queen Glory? Or is she merely the unfortunate target of this terrorist attack?"

Ruby's gaze landed on her, but that was fine because she had already decided to speak. "A bit of both, actually. Sobek and Magnificent were definitely in it for personal reasons. The rest of them admitted they could have chosen from...a few other targets." She was going to say 'from the rest of my friends' but thought that might be a bit tactless.

"Magnificent?" Moon asked in genuine surprise. "What was she doing with a group like that?" With all the curious looks Glory was getting, she decided to tell her side of the story. From her initial capture at Sobek's claws to her waking in the cell, Magnificent's reasons for joining the group, the torture she underwent, the parts of their plan she could recall—which wasn't much. They had been pretty vague regarding it. All she knew is that they needed her alive until some point, and then they planned to kill her. Thorn and Levante arrived around the time she was finishing up her story.

And then came the interesting part. "I'm sorry you had to experience all of that, Queen Glory," Ruby began before turning her attention to the rest of the assembled dragons. "But there is a question that remains unanswered. We know it was Sobek, a Sandwing traitor, who captured Glory. We also know his extensive training allowed him to infiltrate my palace whilst the guard was stretched thin due to the number of dragons in the city. The third thing we know is that Sobek—and apparently Magnificent—are now part of a terrorist cell that captured Glory as a part of their unknown plan. But that isn't my question. My question is what cause this cell was created under. If they're mostly Nightwings and Sandwings, I would assume they're either enemies of Thorn or Nightwing fanatics. Perhaps both."

At first no one answered. Glory knew, of course. As did the four Icewings in the room. As did Moon. Probably Qibli, too. But the rest of them were in the dark. And as much as she wanted to blurt the answer out, it wasn't her place. Snowfall was the one who needed to explain the situation, but it appeared as if she was keeping quiet. One of the other Icewings, though, wasn't so tight-lipped. "They're cultists."

"Winter!" Snowfall snapped, but the Prince ignored her.

"They believe Darkstalker is a god and are trying to find a way to resurrect him, thereby allowing him to claim total control over Pyrrhia." Everyone who didn't know that, namely the other four Queens, were staring at Winter in surprise, horror, and perhaps a bit of skepticism. Snowfall, however, just appeared outraged that her cousin would defy her so openly. But Winter wasn't done, apparently. "They've killed a total of forty-nine Icewings in the past three-and-a-half years, and I would have made fifty if their plan had worked. They captured Glory to force me out of hiding."

"Why?" Thorn asked, momentarily ignoring the first part.

"To stop me from revealing the next part of their plan." Winter stared straight at Qibli and Moon with a glare when he continued. "They're going after target 'PM', and I had no idea what that meant until Glory told me Peacemaker was actually Darkstalker." Both Moon and Qibli couldn't meet their friend's angered expression. He had every right to be angry, and they both knew that. The simple truth was that they'd actively lied to him about Darkstalker, and Winter seemed to take that to mean they didn't trust him.

The rest of the dragons, Glory especially, were rightfully worried. Did that mean her Kingdom was in danger? Did she need to be going back there, like, now? Her restless shuffling caught Thorn's attention, and the Sandwing wrapped a wing around the smaller Rainwing. "As...troublesome as that is, I'm more concerned about what you said before about the cult. I thought they were wiped out a decade ago?" Ruby wondered aloud. "I believe I assisted you with taking out one of their bases...which was in my city." Ruby sighed with a facepalm. "Exactly when were you going to tell me about this, Snowfall?"

The Icewing Queen's anger toward her cousin was quickly replaced by slight anxiety when she addressed her significantly more powerful peer. "I thought since they were much more subtle this time and they were only targeting Icewings, that it should be my problem to take care of."

"Not anymore it isn't!" Thorn snapped, making everyone turn to her in surprise. "If they were bold enough to capture—and would have killed—a Queen, that makes it Pyrrhia's problem. But seeing as how Sobek, a traitor to my Kingdom, is involved, and the Queen in question just so happens to be my daughter, I will not sit back and do nothing!"

There were a lot of surprised expressions when the word 'daughter' was applied to Glory, but they became even more surprised when Anemone spoke up next. "I agree. This isn't an Icewing problem anymore. Plus, nobody messes with my sister except me."

Moorhen was looking between the three Queens, clearly uncomfortable. "Should I be worried about this alliance?"

Ruby was glaring at the three Queens in mild anger. "We'll talk about this clear upset in the balance of power later. For now, though, we have more immediate concerns. If we know the cult is targeting this 'Peacemaker', we should take steps to stop them." After another moment to calm herself, Ruby continued. "Now...is anyone else keeping valuable knowledge we can use to themselves?"

Glory looked around before she remembered something. "Well...Winter said he was following another lead?" she asked the Icewing, who nodded. "And Mistral said he recognized the cult leader's voice."

Everyone looked to the two Icewings expectantly, and Mistral shared a brief look with Winter. It was the former Lord, however, that spoke first. "I highly doubt she was the actual leader, but I did recognize her voice. Mystic." Snowfall just scoffed as if utterly unsurprised. At everyone else's desire for explanation, Mistral continued, "She's a Nightwing terrorist who has it out for the Icewings, especially the royal family. I've crossed paths with her before, but she's been quiet for a while. Last I heard, she frequented the Scorpion Den." He said this with a glance towards Thorn, who quietly growled at the mention of that infernal place. Despite all her efforts, the Scorpion Den was still rife with criminal activity, and while there was no proof he was involved, everyone had a pretty good idea Vulture was responsible.

"That was my lead, too," Winter nodded. "When I was attacked by a Nightwing, my first thought was that Mystic was somehow involved. I've spent the last three years tracking her down to see what she has her claws in nowadays. And you might want to track down a Sandwing by the name of Shortsail. He lives in the Scorpion Den as a stonemason, and he and Mystic are quite close. From what I could gather, he doesn't know what she actually does."

Thorn looked to Snowfall with a victorious smirk. "See? You would've needed my help, anyway."

"So...does that mean he is involved?" Qibli asked, and he clearly wasn't looking forward to the answer. Even after all this time, he was still afraid of his grandfather.

"...Possibly," Thorn admitted, and her expression was reminiscent of someone who had bitten into a lemon. "But I'd...rather not go looking for him unless we know for certain he's involved." She received a lot of skeptical looks, but no one argued with her. Maybe it would have been wiser to go after Vulture directly even if he wasn't involved. At least that would be one less threat to the Sand Kingdom. Then again, Vulture was a cunning and highly dangerous adversary, provoking him without a reason, especially if he wasn't involved with all this could spark a whole lot of unpleasantness like bombings and possibly even rebellions.

"Well it won't exactly be hard to locate him since, you know, I can bend reality to my will and all," Anemone spoke, both Moorhen and Ruby looking distinctly uncomfortable with that reminder. "If you need me to use a spell for anything else, let me know. Regardless of your opinion on animus magic, it is quite useful to have."

"I believe we should discuss that later, too," Ruby muttered, though Anemone just rolled her eyes with a huff. "Try to understand things from our point of view. There hasn't be an animus Queen since Diamond. We're just a bit...concerned is all."

"You realize I don't need to be a Queen to use magic, right? I could've used it against you anytime I wanted as a Princess. Or I could have used it against mother to make her cede the throne to me. But I didn't," the Seawing Queen defended herself. "Besides, if you really don't want me to use my magic on you, it just gives you extra incentive to stay on my good side."

Moorhen and Ruby shared a look. "Are you threatening us?" the Mudwing Queen stared down at the Seawing imperiously.

"No," Anemone said simply. "Just giving you some friendly advice." Thorn and Glory looked at her disapprovingly, making the Seawing huff in exasperation.

"Speaking of animus magic," the one Icewing who hadn't spoken yet spoke up. "What did you need that scrap of Darkstalker's scroll for, Winter?"

All eyes were suddenly locked on the Icewing Prince. Everyone except Glory had known about it, but she could understand their concern. She was curious, too. Most Icewings didn't rust animus magic these days, and Winter had been one of them. Besides, that scrap of scroll may seem harmless, but it was extremely dangerous in the wrong claws. Rather than say anything, Winter reached into a small pouch around his neck that she hadn't noticed before now and pulled out a necklace that Hailstorm seemed to recognize. When he put it on, Winter was simply gone.

Everyone except Anemone reeled back in surprise. "What the..." Qibli muttered, taking a few sniffs. "I can't even smell him." Mistral passed a claw through the area Winter had been standing.

On the second pass, Winter reappeared. "You can't hear me or touch me, either. I used that spell to stay hidden. I took inspiration from Turtle's dumb stick."

"Well...not so dumb now, is it?" Moon half-joked. "I couldn't even read your thoughts."

Winter nodded. "It's how I found where they were holding Glory. Of course, I'd been down there for a few days before she was even captured, trying to figure out their next move before I left an anonymous tip for the guards. I decided to expedite those plans when they started torturing her."

"Alright, wait a minute..." Glory interrupted. "So you did tell the guards?" Winter nodded. "Then why were you five alone when you came for me? If the Skywings were there, Diamondback would still be alive."

It was Levante who answered instead of Winter. "The sad truth is that we were stretched far too thin. It took time to gather a force large enough to do any good. But sending two dozen guards into the sewers is no easy feat even had the city been at normal capacity. The tunnels are simply too narrow and too convoluted to send an entire legion down there. It was I who suggested sending a smaller group down ahead of time."

"And every one of us volunteered," Horus nodded. "Including Diamondback."

That's probably where the meeting would have ended. In fact, Ruby had just dismissed them all after a few more minutes of deliberation. Everyone was getting ready to leave when a familiar Seawing appeared mere feet in front of Glory, who jumped back with a startled shriek before calming down upon recognizing him. To their credit, the guards were quick to react, and the Seawing was on the floor in mere seconds before Anemone asked Ruby to call them off. "What are you doing here, squid-for-brains!? You know better than to pop into another Queen's throne room unannounced!"

Turtle didn't answer her, instead standing and giving Glory a look that sent chills up her spine. His dire words matched his fearful gaze. "The Nightwing village was attacked. Peacemaker is gone..."

AN: Now we know what Winter's been doing. We also know why the Skywings showed up late to the rescue (pesky logistical issues). Diamondback went out with a bang, but Sobek is still at large for now. Or is he? No answers about him because it'd take longer than an hour for a manhunt like that to be wrapped up.

We've also got Glory getting caught in a Freudian slip.

But...right when they realize what needs to happen next, the bad guys beat them to it. Peacemaker is gone, and I wonder what that means for the rest of Pyrrhia. And what exactly happened in the attack? Is Foeslayer alright? Stick around to find out because the next one is going to get good.

Until Next Time

AdmiralCole22