Frigid Straits

by magmagon

Stuck at the bottom of the rankings, Auster has always believed discipline and hard work would be her savior to attaining her rightful position at the top of IceWing palace society. When a sudden opportunity presents itself, she takes it eagerly in hopes of a promotion. However, what appeared to be an easy path to the top turns into an exploration of her true self.

8. Auster's Expedition

This is the longest chapter so far, beating the previous record holder (Mink's trial) by almost a thousand words, but for good reason. There might not be another update this week, which means I have broken my weekly upload schedule (oh no), but that is because I am currently working on a side project related to this story. Anyone wanna take a guess what it is? Anyways, I hope you enjoy this longer installment in Auster's tale. -MAG

Flying back along a slightly different route didn't yield much difference in scenery. The steep, craggily mountains gave way to rolling fields, then hills, but several leagues before the hills met the beginnings of the boreal forest, we turned north east, towards a hulking monolith of a mountain, with twin snowcapped peaks rising above the massive block of rock.

At its foothills were numerous lush clumps of various different trees. Scanning around, I sought out the strand of oak trees that Stream had told me. Having found my query, I dove down and landed gracefully and as quietly as possible. Stream had told me there was only a single guard, but it could very well be a trap.

We strolled through the woods, which were mostly silent apart from the soft patter of small bugs. So far, there was nothing suspicious, which naturally, only aroused my suspicions.

In the center of the woods, in a hastily cleared out area stood a small wood fort, carelessly constructed with rough imperfections protruding from the walls. Basically, the opposite of IceWing architecture.

"Auster, are you sure about this?" came a secretive whisper from my side. "I know you're really strong and have combat training, but there could be a lot of soldiers inside."

It was logical for Bering to be concerned. Even though I was trained in combat much more extensively, that wouldn't be enough to fend off more than a couple SkyWings at a time. And given my partner's overall lack of fighting aptitude, he would probably prove to be a lousy backup.

But something told me to keep persisting. If there were any guards milling around defending this remote outpost, then we would have seen them already. As of right now, the chimney emitted no smoke, the door was barred, and the building looked dilapidated, vines and moss having encroached on the weathered stones at the base.

I examined the surroundings further for any signs of habitation, any telltale clues that would indicate that this decrepit hut contained any opposition. But there were no tracks, trampled vegetation, evidence of fire, anything to show the residency of any SkyWings.

Stalking forward cautiously, I made my way behind the hut. If I remembered correctly, there was always a small backdoor for maintenance.

"Where are you going?" Bering hissed.

"I'm finding a different way in. Typically, this entrance is unguarded, though a bit tight." I mused deliberately while I searched the stone wall for the hidden hatch. "In fact, I might not even fit. Bering, you go into via this entrance and infiltrate them."

"ME?" he squeaked.

I patted the top of his head warmly. "Of course. Once you poke your head in there, just tell me how many guards are in there. Less than 3 and we will be fine."

"And if there's more than three?"

"Then we do the reverse of attacking."

"That's called retreating."

"Nonsense, IceWings don't retreat. Now go in there." I had found the small loose stone and plucked it out. Reaching in, I pulled out the wire and a wooden hatch popped open.

Bering gulped apprehensively, but he complied and compressed himself to fit. It was tight, even for him, and I was glad that I had made him do it. It wasn't that I was claustrophobic, I just despised confined spaces and spent as little time as possible in them.

My partners tail disappeared between the stones but no scuffling or brawl ensued, so I took that as a good sign. He hadn't called back about the interior situation, but I assumed everything was fine.

I headed back to the front entrance where the same crumbly door stood in the same spot as it always did. It didn't take more than a firm push to open and it creaked as I entered the dusty, musty cabin.

The room was full of grime, ancient filth that gathered on my talons and enveloped everything in a layer of deterioration. Clearly, nobody had even touched this place in years.

At least that was what my eyes told me. Sniffing the air, I detected a faint, subtle, but distinct odor, something that I had smelled at the market. It was the same as the caribou that were caught roaming the tundra and became dinner, the seals brought in from the morning hunt, though less oily and more burnt. There was fresh meat in the room, which meant that someone was around.

Scanning the murky shadows, I spotted a bright orange tail peeking out from the gloom, and it moved when my gaze fell upon it.

But I was faster. I whipped my tail into the puny SkyWing as he leapt past me, knocking him into the wall. He tried to stand up and run but I grabbed his tail and swung him around, dumping him in the center of the room. With little effort, I pinned him down with a single talon.

"Hey, Auster, you mind helping me a bit?" The voice came from a different corner, at the back of the room. I spotted Bering, or rather, his snout poking through a gap in the wall. "It would seem that I miscalculated the size of the exit and cannot fit the rest of my body through. I'm stuck."

I couldn't help but laugh. The way he scowled when my merry laughter bounced only increased the humor, his pouty expression fit him so well, and he looked like a petulant child who got caught raiding the currant juice cellar.

Meanwhile, the little dastard of a SkyWing had been intently plotting his escape, which consisted of an unexpectedly vicious bite and a zealous struggle, in which he managed to free himself briefly and smack me with his wings. He sprinted over to my poor employer and pulled out a wicked blade, pointing it at his skull.

"You move and he dies," he snarled assertively.

"Woah woah, Mister SkyWing, do we really need to resort to violence? Can't we just talk this one out like civil dragons?" Bering implored the enraged SkyWing and received a smack in response.

"Silence. You're in no position to negotiate," the SkyWing spelled out bluntly.

"True," I added, casually pretending to scratch my back, but really I was reaching for my spear, strapped securely and well hidden. I hoped the SkyWing hadn't noticed it.

The SkyWing hissed, "Stop moving."

I ignored him and continued to 'scratch' myself absentmindedly. "Bering, you have always been kind of annoying. Serves you right for sticking your head where it shouldn't go. Normally, I don't agree with SkyWings because they are filthy creatures, but this feeble fellow is doing both of us a favor."

"Who are you calling feeble? I will jab this blade between your eyes if you don't watch your mouth, you old hag." The SkyWing turned his blade towards me, threatening me, which was absolutely adorable.

Bering seemed to catch on quickly, protesting my rude statements. "Auster, those were some really mean statements. Just for the record, I want to make it clear that I only hired you because you were so cheap that nobody else wanted you."

Even though I knew he was being facetious, it still hurt. I countered with my own acetic response, mostly out of desire to distract, but somewhere deep down, maybe I meant it too. "Well, you smell terrible. Always drunk on currant juice and talking about hopes and dreams. Newsflash idiot, the world is terrible and everyone sucks, including you, and especially, you." I pointed at the red SkyWing, though my talon was only a few degrees from Bering's freckled snout.

"How dare you, grubby worm, I will make you pay for your insults," he growled. The SkyWing lunged forward but suddenly stopped, whipping his head around to find his back talons encased in a solid block of ice. Bering had used the momentary opportunity to utilize his frostbreath.

The SkyWing groaned in pain but shook off the ice shards. He turned to reciprocate the pain, striking the immobile IceWing fiercely, and I watched, aghast as Bering took beat after beat from the angry devil. The SkyWing paused momentarily, summoning his fire to counter the insolent IceWing who had shamelessly attacked him, and intending to burn him to a crisp.

But when he opened his snout to unleash the inferno, I was already easily crumpling his frame against the wall. Despite his struggles, I held him down easily with my weight, using my wings to smack him any time he tried to use his jaws to bite me.

"No use struggling, little one," I cooed softly in his ear. "You're stuck now."

"EEp! What do you want from me?!" he squealed in pain as I flattened him against the wood floor.

"Retribution."

"I don't even know what word means," he complained. He howled in pain when I folded his wing backwards. There was something satisfying about hearing little pops and cracks as I contorted his body into unnatural positions. "Fine fine! I will give you retribution! Or is it gold you want? I have gold! Anything but don't touch tha-YOwcH!"

"Let him go," Bering muttered beside me. I had almost forgotten that he was still stuck in the tight tunnel." My employer looked at the sorry SkyWing, then back at me, making up his mind. "Let him be," he said firmly.

"Are you sure?" I asked incredulously. Bering had just suffered low blows from this rat and now he wanted to be merciful? Not even simple remodeling of the scum's wings?

"Yes. I am definitely sure. What you're doing is cruel and uncalled for, IceWings are better than this, we don't torture our prisoners for personal pleasure," he lectured.

"But this little vermin hit you repeatedly! Don't you want at least a little satisfaction? Wait, I understand now. I'll tie him up and get you out of the hole so you can punish him yourself." Yes, that's why Bering wanted me to stop, he wanted to dole out the beating personally. That made a lot of sense to me, and I squashed the little dragon into the fireplace.

I strode over to Bering and pulled him out of the hole and he gave me a thankful nod before turning his attention to the insubordinate prisoner. He inspected the SkyWing's frame, prodding his wings, eliciting satisfying groans of pain, and generally being more delicate in his operation. Strange way of torture but I suppose it was his unique style.

Bering finished scrutiny and dug through his satchel, retrieving a small vial of pale blue liquid and a few white capsules, which he dumped unceremoniously into the SkyWing's mouth, rubbing his throat to force him to swallow.

While Bering was busy with his detainee, I had spotted something in the corner of my vision, a shiny metal piece poking out under a dirty old tarp, hidden away as to appear insignificant.

The tarp released little dust when moved, indicating that it had been put there recently, but what really caught my attention was the prize underneath.

A sizeable arsenal, complete with spears and swords and other assorted weaponry, looked back at me, almost challenging me to pick them up, and I did. I selected a blade, not a weapon that guards used, but there was something alluring about its straight and true shape, and it felt heavy and powerful in my grasp.

Bering walked over to the pile, and his eyes widened when he noticed the glint of the metal. "This is quite the treasure you found," he breathed reverently.

"Indeed, these are much better than any of the weapons I've seen at the palace. They're lighter, sharper, stronger, I think the council will be quite pleased when we bring these back."

"Absolutely," Bering nodded in agreement. "We should go now, you found the stash, now let's leave before anyone finds us."

That was a good plan. I stuffed as many spears, swords, pointy objects as I could into my spear holster, and Bering did the same with his satchel. I glanced back at the immobile SkyWing, deciding to give the body a good kick on the way out; the SkyWing did not respond, continuing to droop lifelessly.

Laden with our bounty, I took off, and a moment later, Bering had followed suit. We hurried back to the palace, encountering no opposition, though I checked behind us constantly, expecting angry SkyWings to show up at any time and chase us down. Perhaps Stream was being honest.

I slowed my pace to fly beside Bering. "What kind of poison did you give that SkyWing? It acted pretty fast," I called out to my employer.

"Poison?" he responded, baffled.

"Poison," I stated again. "The pills and vial you fed to the SkyWing, it knocked him out pretty quickly, where did you get such a potent blend?"

"It's actually Manta's recipe, but it's not poison at all. The vial contained a sedative because the poor dragon is going to be in a lot of pain. The pills are pain killers. You really took out your frustration on that fellow, but he'll heal."

"Really can't believe you let him get away, now he's going to report us and the SkyWings are going to send some patrols this way" I retorted. "And that birdbrain certainly deserved every ounce of pain and suffering for standing in our way."

"Your way," Bering corrected.

I snorted. "Whatever. He was being an annoying brat and I dealt with him as I pleased. Not my fault if his body wasn't strong enough to deal with the punishment. I'll have you know that if a guard is even a second tardy, they are flogged."

Bering frowned with displeasure. "I must talk to Mink about changing that. How uncivilized and unnecessary, I thought the palace society had moved beyond such vulgar behavior."

"Well, Mink was one of the more lenient commanders. She never actually flogged anyone. But you can't get rid of the harsh punishments, it builds character and keeps the guards in line."

"Like you?"

"Uh, I… what are you trying to insinuate?" I sputtered.

"Nothing."

We flew the remaining distance in silence. I kept shifting my eyes to Bering, but he never returned my looks, his gaze focused stolidly on the horizon. The palace came into view after several more hours, at which point Bering headed straight for the east wing, descending into the sparring grounds.

We landed unceremoniously and I followed him to the armory. Several IceWings gave me odd stares but either out of habit or discipline, they quickly lost interest.

The first hallway we walked down was familiar to me, but instead of taking the right door towards the sparring grounds, Bering turned left into a restricted area, off limits to guards, but not to me anymore. This chamber was where the high-ranking nobles trained, with better equipment, adversaries and presumably a more luxurious environment.

At first glance, the elite training ground was much the same, flat, austere ice walls and empty sparring arenas denoted by simple flat lines on the ground. The main difference was that on the walls, instead of the silly drawings and gibberish that adorned the regular hall, elegant names were carved in an orderly fashion. Family names, the prolific and mighty, powerful and imposing.

The towering, commanding IceWing standing at the end of the hallway was Narwhal, looking down his snout condescendingly as we approached but Bering gave the snooty dragon a firm nod and breezed past the monolith without second thought. I tried to pass Narwhal with the same upright attitude, but I shivered slightly when I felt his intense judgement passing over me. I couldn't tell if he approved or not, but I hoped it was the former.

Bering stopped at a particularly ornate doorway, rapping on the door with his talons and patiently waiting.

"You better have a good reason for disturbing," a voice behind the door grumbled. "Oh, it's you, Bering. And I see you brought your coarse apprentice, how lovely."

Alpine opened the door and bowed in mock formality. "Will the most noble knight and his squire please enter my facilities? I know it's not up to the same level of luxury that you're used to."

"Alright Alpine, enough. Auster, put the weapons onto that central table," Bering commanded.

I took each weapon out and put them carefully on the indicated table. I slowed my pace and did it agonizingly slow and dramatically when I noticed Alpine watching me with narrowed eyes.

"I get it Auster, you found some nice weapons, no need to draw it out so painfully, hurry up already" she complained.

I deliberately slowed my pace further.

Eventually, I ran out of swords to annoy Alpine with and had to cease bothering her. I stepped back, allowing the elite soldier to inspect my findings, which she did with relish, holding up blades and examining them closely.

"I'll say," she announced to no one in particular, "these are high quality, very strong but flexible, shouldn't shatter like the flimsy stone blades. These are clearly a SkyWing design, but there must be at least one genius among that pile of rats, because this is better than anything our genius can come up with." Alpine glared not subtlety at Bering.

Bering scowled. "I already told you the reason why I can't make the same alloys."

"Blah blah, you're a genius, make up a solution then. Or let Auster here make the decisions, since she clearly has the actual brains around here."

Subconsciously, I puffed out my chest in pride, but my pride deflated a little seeing my employer's crestfallen expression of mild defeat. Alpine was being quite mean after all, and it was Bering's expedition in the first place, I had just tagged along.

"Anyways, these will make a fine addition to the arsenal, don't have to replace those dusty pieces of junk anymore," muttered Alpine. She called out to me as I walked towards the exit. "Auster, I think the council will really like your find, don't be afraid about showing off. You might even end up with two rings after the meeting tonight."

Second circle? That would be an upgrade, make the whole trip worth it, but I was skeptical, my third circle promotion was a surprise, but second circle would be outrageous.

Once we had exited the narrow hallways and took off for the south tower Bering huffed away his frustration and assumed his normal jovial self. "Hey Auster," he shouted over the wind. "Go get some rest, but don't forget the council meeting tonight."

A part of me anticipated the meeting, eager to show off and demonstrate how the lowly guard was now a valuable, productive member of the higher caste, but I also dreaded the potential reactions. Alpine seemed to be optimistic, but she had nothing to worry about. What would Narwhal say? Or the queen? Would they be pleased? Or angry that we had brought back SkyWing trash?

Their faces of disappointment loomed in my mind and kept daunting me even as I landed back on my balcony. That portrait of generic imposing noble on my wall, did it approve?

Maybe I could ask Stream, or Walrus, but Walrus had been strangely quiet and unresponsive for the past day, and I didn't want to risk falling asleep in order to contact Stream lest I miss the council meeting. That would be truly embarrassing.

Then I realized that I did have a more authoritative figure to confide in, the dragon living next door, my former commander. Mink always knew what to do, how to think, always confident even in doubtful situations.

I tried opening my door but it creaked open slightly and remained stuck, with something heavy on the other side. A couple hard pushes revealed a crate stacked in front of my door, and it smelled of sweet fruit.

Right, the old fisher promised to send up some currant juice, this was probably it. Opening the revealed that indeed, there were several bottles of the dark liquid sealed away. Even though I found the taste of currant juice rather sour, it would be a good gesture to at least try the gift later.

There were more important things to do in the meantime, such as preparing for the council meeting. Unfortunately, Narwhal and Glacier and other disembodied voices continued to instill doubt, and no amount of confident mental shouting kept them at bay. It wasn't until a loud knock at my door shook me out of my argument.

"Hey, are you coming or not?" the door knocker outside called.

I opened the door to find Bering waiting impatiently. He had used his time much more wisely than I, as demonstrated by his polished scales and shined horns. Someone was more excited than me for this meeting.

"There you are, now let's go before the council wonders where their wondrous adventurers went." He sounded giddy.

And so we flew north towards the courtyard, dipping under the doorway into the central atrium with the Gift of Light, and ambling into the courtyard where the entire council had already assembled, including the queen, wearing an impartial and neutral expression, Narwhal with his signature indifferent disdain and Alpine, who smiled. Our seats were next to her.

Upon our seating, Queen Glacier cleared her throat and the already quiet members immediately shut their gossiping. "The council is complete, we shall commence with the agenda. First order of business, I believe that Bering and his apprentice, Auster, have a positive announcement to make. I yield to Bering."

Bering stood up and announced with joy, "My observations and calculations have concluded that there is indeed a way to utilize the intersecting air currents for accelerating flight paths far beyond normal capabilities and I am currently drawing up charts to map out the wind patterns in the region."

A few of the IceWings took a mild interest in the statement, but other than that, most remained stoically bored. Apparently this was not an exciting announcement for any of the commanders.

Noting his audience's apathy, Bering grimaced and abruptly adjusted his topic. "We also brought back some weapons."

Now this got the attention of nearly everyone at the meeting. Even Narwhal became attentive and almost seemed delighted.

My employer drew a medium sized broadsword wrapped in hide from his satchel and placed it on the table, where it drew the gaze of every council member to its foreign symbols and exquisite craft, except Queen Glacier, who remained passive.

After a tense period of quiet gossip between neighbors, Narwhal stepped forward and picked up the sword, unsheathing it for everyone to admire. He rumbled with approval, "These are quality. They will do." He passed the sword to the queen to examine.

That was the best praise I had ever heard from the indomitable IceWing royal and I half expected him to renege on his words and find something acetic to say, but instead he fixed me with his scrutiny and continued speaking. "Good work Auster, I expect good results in your future." That was the end of his speech, far shorter than any of the inspiring talks the commanders would give to try to rouse the morale of the troops, but it gave me more validation than any of those empty speeches.

Queen Glacier finished her examination, feigning interest in the whole topic. She placed the sword back in its sheath and gave it back to Bering, who accepted it with a smile. "Wonderful. These are an excellent find," she nodded at me. "Bering, you will share with me those charts later."

Bering nodded respectfully.

"Now that we have taken care of those subjects, we can move on to the next set of topics on the agenda. General Fox, I yield the discussion to you." The Queen gestured to an old stately IceWing sitting across from me.

"Of course, your Majesty. It has come to our scrutiny that the SkyWings appear to be abandoning their western flank. Our scouts report fewer patrols and encounters over the past few days, and any skirmishes have resulted in the enemies retreating quickly. Their attention is focused elsewhere."

Stream had told me the same thing, but now it seemed her words were worth something. Not that it mattered, since my voice was still worthless as military advice to the more elite council members.

Once the elderly General Fox finished his report, Alpine stood up without waiting for anyone's response. "If the SkyWings choose to divert their resources away from us, then we must take advantage of it and strike when they're weakest," she proclaimed. "If they think that we are going to take this lightly, then that will make their defeat more satisfying."

A few of the dragons, the same ones that had the more exuberant reactions to the sword, nodded in agreement. However, General Fox and the higher ranked nobles glared at the upstart interrupter, with none less pleased than Queen Glacier.

The queen coughed quietly, but Alpine and the spirited members of the council spoke over here, oblivious to her discontent. They were arguing about how long this would last, the actual counts of troops, the directions to attack, even at one point discussing how best to attack, as if they were making plans.

"The SkyWings are weak, attack now and the war will be over!" One voice clamored.

That dragon was immediately shouted over. "This is a ruse! If we attack, they will bring in the filthy MudWings and surround us!"

"You are braindead, if the SkyWings are getting distracted, then the MudWings will be doing the same. They grovel to Scarlet and Burn anyways."

"Don't underestimate the MudWings, they decimated several squadrons before. I say we sneak over from the northern ocean and storm the palace."

"Are you asinine? Storming the palace is a death sentence for everyone involved! That place is guarded more heavily than the queen's tail."

"What did you just say about Queen Glacier?"

"Are you accusing me, because I'll claw those ugly eyes out of your unsightly snout!"

"Unsightly? You look like the hybrid between a SeaWing and a pinecone!"

"Enough," Queen Glacier growled softly, but no one heard.

"You take that back! Otherwise I'll tell your squadron that you don't share any of the currant juice-"

"-if you do that, I will tear you apart limb by limb-"

"-sand snorter-"

"-mud eater-"

"-gilled coward-"

"-stupid dunce-"

"-I'll smash your hideous necklace-"

"-after you clean your soiled chambers-"

"-you're lazier than a RainWing-"

"-are you a NightWing in disguise, you have no spine-"

"-more than you-"

"-insulting me is a dangerous proposition, worm-"

"-I'm not insulting, merely describing-"

"-why don't you go back to dragonet training-"

"-I've met seals more intelligent than you-"

"-crummy moron-"

"-putrid fool-"

"-nitwit-"

"-twit-"

"ENOUGH!" Queen Glacier had finally been annoyed enough to act. She slammed her talons on the table, causing the entire table to vibrate with her irritation. "STOP. YOUR. INCESSANT. SQUABBLING."

The bickering IceWings shut up and took their seats meekly.

"It is a shame that my most trusted inner circle of dragons are a crowd of quarreling idiots," the queen seethed. "We will decide the next course of action as we always have, by vote. And if I hear a grumble, I will banish you to the arctic outpost myself. Any objections?"

Formerly zealous dragons suddenly found new interests in staring at their talons, zipping their mouths for fear of being exiled.

Queen Glacier took a deep breath and shuffled her wings. "Good then, we will proceed as our procedures indicate. All those in favor of invading via the mountains raise your glass."

Alpine unashamedly raised her glass, but apart from a few stragglers who were still muttering insults to each other, the majority kept quiet.

"Then it is settled, we will take no additional action."

One of the young elites who had held her mouth so far burst out, "We're not going to do anything? But this is the best opportunity we've had in years!"

Immediately after her outburst, the young dragon held her snout in shock, and a look of terror spread over her snout as she realized the blunder.

The queen glared at her menacingly. "Demotion to 4th circle for interrupting, effective now."

"What? You can't do that!"

"5th circle then. Another peep and I will send you to arctic outpost. Remove yourself from the council immediately." Queen Glacier spoke with an ominously calm voice.

The interrupter sulked out of the courtyard, carving a groove on the polished floors with her tail on her way out.

The queen clapped her talons together, indicating that there were no more topics on the agenda to cover. "The council is dismissed, Bering, I will follow you to your laboratory to discuss the results of your expedition. Auster, I want you to send Mink to the laboratory. Everyone else, go do something productive, and don't annoy me."

The council members hurried out of the courtyard like rats, bounding away from any possible risk of demotion or castigation. I followed Bering and Queen Glacier towards the south wing, but instead of descending into the corridor, I split off and headed towards the residential tower, landing on Mink's balcony.

My former commander was reading a scroll, but perked her head up when she heard my arrival and beckoned me into her residence. "Did you find the answers to your questions?"

I regarded her sincere self with suspicion. I answered cautiously, "I found the answers I needed to hear."

"Good. There's always multiple answers, and sometimes, the truth is in between. Seems like you found that out without my help."

I sighed, remembering Bering's revelation and consequent agreement to follow my 'instinct.' He might had hired me simply to keep the council away from his precious studies, but that didn't mean I could sit around and twiddle my talons.

"Commander-" I started.

"Mink. I'm not your commander anymore."

"Right. The queen requests your presence in Bering's laboratory."

"Then she can wait. Is there anything else you want to talk about?" Mink inquired kindly.

I did have a question burning in the back of my head, and seeing Mink next to the portrait of her mate had reignited it. "Mink, how did you and Hvitur meet and … you know..."

To my surprise, Mink started chortling, making me feel more awkward asking such a personal question.

"To put it simply, we met in the guard academies. Handsome devil, worked ten times harder than everyone else, and got promoted through the ranks in no time. My meager attempts only landed me in 5th circle. What really drew me to him though was his steadfastness. When he was promoted, he didn't act like the snobby elite, he maintained his old friendships, made sure we felt like equals, and in time, I guess we gravitated towards each other. His decision to mate with me was scandalous at the time, a fifth circle commoner and a second circle elite general? Unheard of, but Queen Glacier approved. I tell you, the queen is one of the few royal dragons I admire. Which is why though I would love to keep divulging my secret life to you, I think it's best that you get some rest and I go see the queen for whatever business she has with me."

I vigorously shook my head in agreement, still taking in what she had told me.

"This old peasant brought up a crate of currant juice today, insisted that he deliver it himself, even though his daughter and ten other guards tried to stop him. A gift for you I presume."

Unconsciously, I corrected her. "An old fisher. He was a fisher."

"Sure. That would explain the talons. So he dragged the old crate up here, wheezing and puffing the entire way, scratching all the polished stairs and generally giving the guards and palace keepers a hard time. You know how it is with the old fossils. Now I wonder what you did for him to gain such loyalty."

"I helped his daughter with a project."

"Light on the details eh? It's your business, I won't intrude though. Anyways, if I were you, I would try a bottle. I know you don't drink, but I think you deserve a bit of celebration."

I bowed my head gently in acknowledgement, and I watched my former commander walk down the stairs before heading back to my own room. The crate contained at least four bottles of currant juice, and I took the top bottle, popping the cork cap.

Immediately, I remembered the reason why I avoided currant juice. The smell was disagreeable, like something had expired, but surely the old fisher's product was the same as the vile brew that the guards enjoyed. So I heeded Mink's advice and took the bottle over to my balcony, where I could watch over the vast polar expanse.