Glorious Politics

AN: Copy/pasted from previous chapter:

Has anyone heard of Fiverr? It's a website for freelancers to do business, and I recently signed up for it. A have a few gigs published right now if anyone is interested in checking them out. My username there is the same as on here (admiralcole22). Money's a bit tight for me right now, so if you want to support me and get an original story or commission a short WoF fanfic you'd like to see done, check it out. I'd really appreciate the support, and you'd be getting something cool out of it, too.

Second, Glorious Politics is one of four fanfictions I'm currently writing, and each one is for a different fandom. If you're interested in Godzilla or want to see Ghidorah as a good guy, check out The One Who Lost His Way. Another one, titled The Good Life, is a crossover of Zootopia and the Bad Guys, two movies I thoroughly Disclaimer: I do not own Wings of Fire. My OCs Horus and Mistral belong to me. Bloodwalker belongs to SpyroAndSisuFan.enjoy. And my newest fic, Life is Precious, is a LoTR au where Smaug survives and is basically hoodwinked by Gandalf into being bound to a mortal (thus being forced to become an ally to the free peoples of Middle-Earth).

Disclaimer: I do not own Wings of Fire. My OCs Horus and Mistral belong to me. Bloodwalker belongs to SpyroAndSisuFan.

Chapter Twenty-Eight:

After finding Greatness' secret archive and making sure the Skywings weren't doing anything they weren't supposed to, Glory knew she needed to head back to the Sand Kingdom to interrogate the Nightwing again. However, she did have a few more things to attend to before then. First and foremost, Anemone was preparing to head back to her own Kingdom. Since Glory couldn't ask her to stay even longer to keep an eye on things and Greatness under investigation, there wasn't anyone else that she trusted to keep an eye on things for a few hours.

Well...that wasn't entirely true. There was someone she trusted to watch over things in her absence, but he wasn't exactly popular with the locals. Plus, she knew he wanted to continue with this investigation, but...she wasn't going to let him. "Mistral..." He turned to her, his expression difficult to discern. This was going to spark another argument, she knew, so thankfully, they were alone save for the two Skywings outside her door. "I need to go back and discuss a few things with Greatness. I want you to manage things here while I'm gone."

At first, the Icewing seemed utterly bewildered that she was leaving him, a foreign official, in charge of her Kingdom. Even if it was only for a few hours, that was just...unheard of. The level of trust she was placing in him was simply beyond words, and he clearly recognized that.

However, he quickly registered what else she said, and he frowned. "You are going to discuss things with her? Not we?" He shook his head. "Unacceptable. Stay here and run your own Kingdom. I'll deal with the investigation."

If this were any other situation, that would definitely make the most sense. But there were several reasons why she didn't want him involved. "Not this time, Mistral. Things just got a bit more complicated. There's...sensitive information involved now—information you don't need to know." For the most part, it was because it was clearly classified Nightwing documents, and he had no right or clearance to know about them. Secondly, and probably more important for him specifically, "Plus, you don't need to be on this investigation right now."

"Excuse me!?" he growled. He definitely wasn't happy to hear that, but he was keeping his teeth hidden, at least. She liked to think it was because he didn't want to purposefully intimidate her anymore but knew that was probably wishful thinking. "This is my investigation, Glory."

"Not anymore." He opened his mouth to argue, but she held up a claw to silence him. He did, though he narrowed his eyes at her. "You're too emotionally compromised to continue this investigation with an unbiased mind right now. Just step aside and let me handle Greatness. I'll brief you on anything I think you need to know, but until the matter with Greatness is resolved, I'll be taking it from here."

He scoffed, incredulousness and outrage clear in his eyes. "You have no right to cut me out! After everything she's done to me, I'm not going to just stand aside! I deserve answers!" He looked just as stunned as she when his voice cracked near the end. That old wound, newly reopened, was still raw, it seemed. After a few moments, however, his composure was solid once more. "Fine," he relented with an unhappy huff. "Just keep me updated."

"I will," she promised.

Still, though, she didn't turn away quite yet. Leaving without saying something just didn't feel right. She'd only seen him break down once before, right after Sobek's trial when his poor behavior had been publicly revealed. Most of the time, he kept a professional, calm façade, though he did let his anger slip out when he was upset about something. What happened just now was the closest she'd seen him to having his usually locked-down emotions slip out since that first incident.

"Mistral..." she began, then sighed. She wasn't very good at this from-the-heart stuff. He studied her while waiting patiently to hear what she had to say. "I don't want you to think I'm doing this because I don't trust you. I do. I absolutely do." He furrowed his eyes at that but didn't comment. "And I know you can take care of yourself. Heck, you've already saved my life twice now, so I know that in most situations, you'd be the one protecting me. Right now, though, I'm just trying to protect you from, well...you."

A strange look entered his eyes, which was quickly replaced by great inner conflict. He looked away before she could figure out what that was about. "You should get going," he instead declared. "There's no use wasting time with needless platitudes." She recoiled at both his sneer and the venom in his tone. She hadn't expected that kind of reaction from him, but she didn't push for answers. Instead, she left since she knew he was right. There really wasn't any time to waste.

Still, she'd ponder his strange behavior when she had some free time. Maybe she'd ask Winter if he was still around here somewhere.

But unless she ran into him on her way to track down Bloodwalker, her curiosity would have to wait. She wanted to talk to the assassin about being her personal body guard, and she figured right now was as good a time as any. The conversation with Greatness probably wouldn't take very long, so she should have time enough to track him down and ask.

Fortunately, she didn't even need to spend that time. Bloodwalker simply appeared next to her as she started walking towards the Nightwing village. He must have been waiting for her to leave her pavilion. It was creepy how quiet he could be. "I heard you were back and figured you might want to hear my report," he explained. "But I didn't want to interrupt anything."

Report? Oh, yeah, he had searched the Nightwing island for any signs of the cult. "Yes, I would. And I need to talk to you about something that may require your...particular skillset."

The Nightwing cocked his head at that, interested yet cautious. "Alright...do you want to cover that first?" She shook her head and asked for his report first. "Well, I didn't find any other signs of the cult, but...I did find the survey team."

Any spark of hope that statement would have lit was snuffed by the way he said it. "They're dead?" He nodded somberly. "How?"

"From what I could tell: just bad luck. They were in what was left of the old Nightwing fortress, and one of the room's ceiling collapsed—probably from one of the tremors we felt while tracking the cultists. One of the dragons nearly got out of the way, but her lower half was pinned by the rubble. She died a few minutes after I found her." As horrible as that was, she was thankful, at least, that they weren't murdered. Still, hearing that they'd died in a freak accident didn't really make her feel better.

"Do you think we should recover the bodies?" she asked him. "Give them a proper burial?"

"No," was his immediate response. "The island is too unstable and the air too poisonous. You'd lose more in the recovery effort. The volcano will bury them sooner or later, anyway." She nodded. She didn't like it, but she would heed his advice. "So who do you need me to kill?"

She looked at him oddly before realizing the miscommunication. "Hopefully, no one. I was referring to your other skillset. I want you to be my new bodyguard." He stopped walking, then, and she turned to face him. They were in the middle of the burnt area, so there were quite a few dragons around who were sifting through the debris—Skywings mostly, to her surprise.

Bloodwalker was gazing across the destruction with a critical eye, and Glory had a feeling she knew what he was thinking of. Her suspicions were confirmed seconds later. "You've done a lot for my tribe, Queen Glory, and you have both my respect and loyalty for that. But you also personally wronged my cousin, who I love very much, and drove him away. Now, you want me to take his place?" He pinned her with a serious expression, and she sighed, knowing he was right.

However...he didn't even know the worst of it. And honestly? She feared his reaction.

"I made a mistake, Bloodwalker," she admitted quietly. Ever since acknowledging Thorn as her mother—and her growing feelings for Mistral—Glory had been reevaluating a few things. The situation with Deathbringer was at the top of that list. "I was hurt and bitter and didn't know when to let things go, and..." She trailed off with a sigh. "I want to apologize for how I treated him."

"I'm not the one you need to be apologizing to," he replied neutrally.

She was beginning to think asking him to become her bodyguard was in poor taste. When he learned the truth, she doubted he would help her, but even if that were the case, he still deserved to know. "You are," she insisted, taking him by surprise. "Things are...complicated right now. I don't know if you heard yet, but Cobra was broken out of prison." Based on his expression, he did not know that. "The perpetrator left a note behind, suggesting they had multiple assassins going after multiple targets. With the number of dragons I've wronged coming back to haunt me, Thorn suggested—"

"He wouldn't," the Nightwing suddenly snapped, cutting her off. "Deathbringer is a better dragon than you give him credit for. He stuck by you for years despite how horribly you treated him. You think he'd turn on you now when he could have at any point?" She remained silent as she pondered that. Bloodwalker stepped in closer, and she found herself growing uncomfortable as she continued to meet his gaze. He wasn't angry, per se, though he did seem almost disappointed. "He screwed up, alright? He knows that more than anyone, but he has never, ever thought poorly of you for even a second."

She really wished she had his confidence. "But what if?"

He backed away an studied her for a moment. "Then I'll deal with him." He'd deal with him? So did that mean he accepted her request? When she asked as much, he nodded. "Yes, on one condition: the two of you make up after all this."

It only took a second's deliberation before she nodded. She would apologize to Deathbringer, and though she feared things were too broken between them, she hoped they could maybe become friends again one day. It was time to let go of the past and focus on the future.

Preferably one that had a certain Icewing in it.

"Alright, it's a deal. Make sure to make any arrangements you need when we get back. And maybe tell Jewelwings, so she doesn't worry needlessly." He nodded, following after her as she continued on her way to the portals. He didn't ask where they were going or why, and she could appreciate that. He didn't care for knowing the tedious wherefores and whyhows, it seemed. He was just along to do his job.

And so it was that several minutes later, Glory was once again walking through the Sandwing outpost on her way to the Sandwing Palace. A quick flight later, and she was being escorted by a Sandwing guard to...somewhere. Actually, she didn't really know where the young dragoness was leading her, but they seemed to be heading towards the royal wing of the palace, so maybe they were going to Thorn's room.

They weren't going to Thorn's room. They were, however, stopping at the door next to hers. The young guard knocked, and a familiar face answered the door. The guard bowed, the left, and Qibli was left there to smile at his friend's arrival. "To the dungeons, then?"

"Mind if I come along?" To Glory's surprise, Winter stepped out beside the Sandwing, who shrugged and looked to the Rainwing Queen. Glory nodded, and Winter's shoulders sagged in relief, a motion that was nearly imperceptible to anyone that didn't know how to read Icewing body language. Because of Mistral, she was able to pick up on their subtle cues. "Good. I didn't feel like sitting here and doing nothing."

Qibli snickered at that, and Moon called out from somewhere in the room, "If you don't feel comfortable with being left alone with me, Winter, just say so!" Qibli snickered again. Winter blushed but didn't speak.

The four left pretty quickly after that. Glory still remembered when she dreamvisited Winter that first time. She hoped his lingering feelings for Moon weren't causing irreparable harm to their friendship. "So...how are things between you three?"

"Awkward," was the Icewing's eventual reply. "The dragoness I love is married to my best friend, which is exactly why I left in the first place." Glory raised an eye ridge at the blunt admission of love for another male's wife and glanced at Qibli to gauge his reaction. Other than glancing at Winter uncomfortably, he didn't say anything. "He already knows," Winter commented when he saw Glory awaiting Qibli's response.

"Well, then he seems unconcerned about it," she replied.

"Moon already told him she doesn't feel the same way," Qibli explained as Winter looked away. "She said he's a friend and nothing more. She also made it clear that she would never forgive him if he made any attempts to pursue her."

"As I said," Winter growled softly. "Awkward."

Glory sympathized with him. She knew exactly what it felt like to have your love unreciprocated. "I'm sorry, Winter." He didn't respond. To give him a break, she decided to change the subject. "So...what's your plan now that you're back? Are you going back to Sanctuary? The Ice Kingdom?"

The Icewing stopped walking, then, and Glory wondered if she said something she wasn't supposed to. Even Qibli seemed confused. "I don't know..." he mumbled so quietly she could barely hear him. "I have nowhere to go."

Qibli and Glory shared a look, both equally unsure what he meant. "What do you mean?"

At first, she didn't think he was going to answer. But, after nearly a minute, he did. And what he revealed, shocked them into silence. "Snowfall rebanished me. P-Permanently..." As soon as that word left his mouth, he closed his eyes and lowered his head almost to the ground with a soft keen before starting to sob quietly.

Qibli was quick to bring his friend into a hug, one that Winter didn't try to escape from. Glory just watched the scene, feeling pity for the former Prince. First Mistral and now Winter? Today must be a day for emotional Icewings. "That doesn't make any sense. Why would she do that?" Qibli wondered aloud.

Winter, too upset to answer, didn't respond, but Glory had a good inkling as to why Snowfall would banish her own cousin permanently. "Foeslayer?" she asked quietly.

Winter nodded, beginning to calm down. Eventually, he pulled away from the Sandwing, blinking away the remaining moisture in his eyes. "Sorry..." he whispered. "I'm not ashamed of what I did. I saved my brother that day, and Foeslayer didn't deserve to be punished for falling in love."

"That's a surprise coming from you," Qibli commented.

"Yeah, well...I can understand her predicament a bit more these days." In other words, he fell in love with a Nightwing just like Foeslayer had fallen for an Icewing.

"I assume, then, that you'd rather not stay here," she assumed, to which he nodded. Qibli seemed to understand. There was no sense in Winter staying anywhere near Moon. It was best to keep away from any temptation. "You can stay in the Rainforest if you want, and I'm sure Turtle and I could convince Anemone to let you stay in the Summer Palace." She wished she could help more than that, but Winter had always been a rather independent yet lonesome soul. Much like herself, actually.

"I don't know," he repeated with a sigh. "I'll figure something out." He resumed their trip after a few moments, so the rest of them started following.

When they reached the dungeons, Glory asked Winter and Qibli to remain outside the door while she and Bloodwalker went to question Greatness. Like Mistral, Winter didn't need to know about the secret Nightwing documents, but she didn't want to make him stand out there by himself.

Greatness perked up at their approach. Upon seeing Glory's less-than-pleased expression, her smile fell. Before the Nightwing had a chance to say anything, Glory went out and bluntly stated, "We found your secret room."

Greatness froze, her eyes going wide and blood draining from her face. "M-My archives?" Glory nodded, her glare demanding an explanation. "Oh...uh, you weren't supposed to know about that."

"Oh, really?" Greatness winced at her Queen's displeased tone. "And why not? So I wouldn't know that you actually were selling secrets to our enemy?"

"W-What? No, I wasn't!" The Nightwing gripped the bars, pressing her face against the unforgiving metal as she tried to plead with her Queen. "You have to believe me, Your Highness!" So she was using titles now instead of names. Smart. When Glory was angry with someone, she always made them call her by her title. To her, it was a show of respect.

"Then why is the Icewing Gift of Diplomacy and all of the Queen-Maker files missing?" she hissed, Greatness recoiling backwards as if struck. "Who did you sell them to?" Greatness collapsed to her belly, tears in her eyes, as the dragon she considered her best friend accused her of treason.

"I-I didn't betray you, My Queen," she swore, her voice wavering. "You have to believe me."

Bloodwalker stepped up and placed a claw on Glory's shoulder and shook his head. "I believe she's telling the truth. Princess Greatness would never betray you, Queen Glory. You know this."

She studied him for a moment before nodding. "If you didn't sell secrets, someone had to. Who else knew about the archive?" She imagined it would be a short list if even she didn't know about it.

To her great surprise, it wasn't Greatness who answered. "Just me and Deathbringer." Glory stared at the assassin in utter shock. "We're the ones who moved all the sensitive documents for her. We had the highest clearance of the Nightwings who survived the eruption."

"And I trusted them," Greatness whispered.

"There was no one else. You're absolutely sure?" Greatness nodded solemnly, and Glory sighed. If it had been a doubt before, there could be none anymore. Deathbringer was looking more and more like the true perpetrator here. "Did he know of the contents?"

To her relief, Greatness shook her head. "No." Then, however, that relief was replaced by dread. "But Mastermind did. He knew about everything, including the bracelet." The Nightwing bowed her head. "I'm sorry for not telling you sooner, but I never thought anything like this would happen."

"Why even keep those documents in the first place?" That was the real question that had been bugging her. With dragons like Morrowseer and Battlewinner dead and gone and the Nightwings living peacefully in the rainforest, why did Greatness need to possess such incriminating and dangerous information?

"Because I had to," was the unexpectedly fierce reply. "My tribe has lost so much in the past two thousand years. We lost our home because of Darkstalker. All of our art and history and stories—our entire culture—gone! And then what little we had regained was lost yet again when the volcano erupted!" Greatness stood and looked the Rainwing in the eyes, her own gaze full of loss and defeat. "We've lost everything that made us who we were. I had to save something." She sighed in resignation. "But it doesn't matter, does it? There's more Nightwing hybrid dragonets these days than there used to be. Less full-blooded Nightwings, too. We'll be bred out of existence soon enough, and there will be nothing for Pyrrhia to remember us by."

Glory glanced at Bloodwalker, who seemed rightfully perturbed by his Princess' words. "I'm...sorry to hear that," was her lame response. "I'd do something if I could, but I don't know how to."

"I know," the Nightwing muttered. "So am I staying in here?"

Once again, she glanced to Bloodwalker to gauge his reaction. He shook his head, and she nodded in return. "I'll talk to Thorn. See what I can do. You know what's in those scrolls, right?" Greatness nodded. "Then as long as you cooperate and help us predict what their next move might be, I'm sure you'll be set free."

Glory turned to leave, but Greatness asked a question that made her pause. "What about Mistral?"

The Rainwing was silent for several moments before eventually responding. "I'll handle him." It would be tough to convince him, but she was hoping he would listen. If anyone had a chance of convincing him, it was probably her. He was starting to listen to her more often, she noticed, but this situation was a bit more personal for him.

That particular Icewing would have to wait, however, as her other Icewing friend was waiting patiently for her to return, and it seemed as if he had something to say. "I'm still not really sure what to do with the rest of my life now, but I know I can't just sit around and act like nothing's wrong and everything hasn't changed. I need to do something, Glory, so...I was hoping you might take me with you. I could help with the investigation. I'd even settle with being a bodyguard if it meant I was involved."

His offer to help didn't really surprise her. She knew Winter probably wouldn't be content with sitting on the side while the cult was still running rampant across Pyrrhia. What did surprise her is how desperate he seemed. It was almost like he was afraid that she wouldn't accept. He was afraid to be useless, she realized.

He wanted somewhere to belong now that he had nowhere to go. He was too good a dragon to feel that way, in her opinion. She didn't want to demean him by making him a lowly bodyguard, but that didn't mean he couldn't be of great value to her. "You spent years being hunted down, yet you not only survived, you were able to gather intel on the ones hunting you. It would be a crime to waste that kind of skill."

Winter didn't seem to catch on, though Qibli was starting to grin. "So...is that a yes or no?" the Icewing asked for clarification.

Glory didn't bother answering, at first. "Recent events have shown that I need dragons of exceptional skill to do things I myself cannot—agents who can take care of problems across Pyrrhia for me. Much like Thorn's Outclaws, in a way." The Icewing was starting to understand, though his expression said that he couldn't quite believe it. "I want you to be my Right Claw, a sword to Bloodwalker's shield. I can give you a purpose and a home."

This wasn't a small ask. In essence, she was asking him to pledge his life to her. Winter understood the weight of this decision, so he was thinking hard on it. Nearly five minutes of anxious silence later, he finally spoke. "I suppose...that makes you my Queen, then."

He was just about to prostrate himself before her, no doubt to give his oath of service, when she stopped him, much to his confusion. "There's no need for any bowing, Winter. We're not simply Queen and subject, you and I. In public, I would prefer that you address me properly, yes, but in private, we are just friends." She smiled. "And friends don't bow."

Qibli wrapped an arm around Winter's shoulders with a proud smile. "Congratulations, Winter! Glory will treat you right."

The Icewing nodded, standing tall with a new surge of pride in himself. "Thank you, Queen Glory." Then, he placed his right fist over his heart and bowed his head. "You have my oath. My life is yours, and your will, my command. I will serve you as long as you shall have me."

Glory nodded, giving him a reassuring smile. "Then grab your things if you have any. We're going home." He nodded, and Qibli lead his friend back to his room, excitedly discussing Winter's new position as the Icewing listened with a small smile. She certainly hadn't expected this to happen, but she would take care of Winter as long as he was in her service. And he would have friends around him, at least.

Like her, he wouldn't have to be alone anymore.

AN: Yay, Winter's going to be a semi-main character now! And evidence seems to piling up against poor, ol' DB. There can't be much doubt now...right?

Leave a review if you'd like. I appreciate all of them.

Until Next Time

AdmiralCole22