A/N: So this one took a just a little bit longer than I had wanted it to, but that's because I got a little distracted by another project (which is already completed, so it won't get in the way anymore; don't worry!). It's called "You Keep Me Smiling", so go ahead and check that out if you haven't already. Other than that, I don't have much to say for this one.

As always, feel free to favorite/follow and leave a review if you like the story. And, of course, enjoy the next chapter...

Ch. 20: Best Laid Plans

Queen Vigilance laughed in his face.

"Are you serious?" she spat incredulously, "You think that you can just end a war by force of will? With magic I might believe you, but your claim to do so without? Ridiculous." She waved her claw in complete dismissal.

Darkstalker twitched his tail in irritation. He'd been expecting his ideas to not be as well received as he'd like, but he didn't expect quite this reaction up front.

"I don't think it's as unlikely as your reaction suggests," he said as calmly as he could manage, "I've seen a few futures; it's possible."

Luckily, her reaction was not shared by all the dragons in the war meeting. A few of the military officers seemed to roll their eyes, but several seemed to have more interest. That was why he'd decided to raise this issue to the queen here and now; alone she could ignore him, here not so much.

It was more or less a typical war meeting, strategizing the next phases of their northward offensive in the desert. He'd been in many such over the past several months, so he was rather familiar with the goings on, as well as with the generals present. His father was here—a regular attendee—as well as Clearsight, who often delivered her reports on the future and was typically asked to do on the spot future seeing when certain issues arose. Some in the meetings resented his presence, others put a little more value on him. Most times he just watched silently, seldom actually commenting on the plans. Which is why he was pretty sure none had expected him to sudden make the declaration that he intended to end the war pretty much by himself.

"And how, do tell, do you plan to do this?" Vigilance asked, "Write Queen Diamond a letter? Ask her nicely to stop attacking and go back to behind her Ice Cliff?"

"Actually," Darkstalker said, "I plan to ask her to meet with me."

Vigilance paused, the laughter on her tongue dying. "You want to have some sort of peace meeting," she growled, "Do you think we haven't tried that before. Every offer we've made to negotiate with has been refused."

"Well, she's never been asked by me." He put confidence in his voice; he had a feeling that he would make the difference.

Vigilance shook her head. "Ridiculous," she said again, "Why would she listen to a call from you, of all dragons."

"Because I'm an animus," he told her, "And her grandson. And…" he looked over at his father, who was frowning, "Because Arctic will be at the meeting."

The Icewing's eyes narrowed but he didn't protest. At least not yet. Darkstalker had a feeling that there would be an argument later, but for now Arctic's mind was more curious as to what he was thinking.

Vigilance tapped her tail. "It wouldn't work," she said after a longer pause.

"Actually, it might," the new voice to the conversation was one General Stargazer, one of the top generals in the north and a seasoned veteran of the war. He was one of the most respected dragons in the room, both by the other officers and Darkstalker himself. "We've been pushing the Icewings steadily north for the past several months and have almost complete freedom of operations throughout the desert. The Icewings may be willing to negotiate now, before their situation becomes too dire."

"That's true," another general spoke, this one being General Warbringer, head of Military Operations. She was one that was at nearly every strategy meeting and one of the most influential dragons in the war effort. "It may be better for us, as well. We're reaching the point where we may have to give significant thought to invading the Ice Kingdom itself if the war situation remains unchanged. If we have to do that to end the war, I shudder to think how many soldiers will be lost."

"I disagree," this time it was General Swiftclaw that spoke, another dragoness that was normally at the front but had come for this meeting, "The situation is not quite as advantageous as you make it out. The Icewing army, despite their territorial losses, have still maintained a significant portion of their military strength. They're far from being on their last leg."

Colonel Nightflight, one of the chief strategists on Warbringer's staff nodded in agreement. "General Swiftclaw is right," he said, "Despite our advantages with an active seer, the Icewings always seem to still stay almost a half-claw ahead of us. We see victories, but no decisive ones. We can push them back, but we've yet to defeat them."

"That is true," Queen vigilance tapped her talons in a kind of annoyance, "The Icewings still remain a significant threat, with numbers that cannot be discounted. One victory may be enough to change the tide of war to their favor."

"Which is odd," General Swiftclaw said, "Considering how detailed our seer is, one would think that we could have forced a decisive battle by now. But the Icewings are always able to just escape. I fear that either we have a spy and a traitor, or that the information we are getting is not as good as we're led to believe." She and many other dragons gave pointed looks at Clearsight, who shifted nervously.

"I can't always see everything perfectly," Clearsight defended herself, "If one or two things change, everything can collapse. But I almost always get the important stuff right, don't I?"

"Yes, you do," it was General Stargazer that answered, "I've avoided a half-dozen ambushes and miscalculations due to you," he looked at his fellow officers, "I believe that Clearsight's skills in these things are well established."

The other dragons backed down, but Swiftclaw seemed dissatisfied. Darkstalker could hear the skepticism in her mind. And he could understand why, too. With Clearsight leading the way, they should have been making much more progress in winning the war than they had been. Back when she'd become top seer, the expectation was for them to have victory after victory and drive the Icewings back within a month. Yet despite all her skill, a swift victory had not materialized.

"Yes, yes," Queen Vigilance said in an almost annoyed voice, "But the issue here is not with my seer. The issue is the plausibility of reaching some sort of peace with the Icewings. Do you truly believe that they will accept such a proposal, with the war being as it is now?"

Darkstalker nodded, "Yes, I believe they will."

"So long as we go about it the right way, they certainly will," Clearsight confirmed. He'd asked her to check some futures as well when he'd given his plan to her, and although she admitted that specifics were fuzzy farther down the futures, it seemed likely that they could make it work.

Vigilance snorted. "And would we want to?" she asked her generals.

Generals Stargazer and Warbringer looked at each other, then to the queen, and they both gave curt nods. "With all due respect, your majesty," Warbringer spoke, "This war has never been an ideal one for us to fight. We're gaining no territory, nor wealth or influence. Even if we defeat the Icewings completely, there's no way that we can hold the frozen north. Our soldiers are fighting and dying every day for nothing."

"I would hardly call animus magic nothing," Vigilance growled, almost as a warning.

"General Warbringer's point is, I imagine," Stargazer dared, "That all things considered it is best that we end this war as quickly as possible. If a diplomatic solution does so quicker, I believe that it should be explored. Especially while we hold the advantage and can negotiate from a position of power."

"General Stargazer is correct," Arctic spoke up from where he'd be listening, "The Icewings may be willing to talk now, but as soon as they get the upper claw they won't be. If we're to do it, now is a good time. Besides, it's summer now. If we wait until winter, they may already be too committed to their next offensive to agree to a meeting."

Most of the dragons in the room seemed to agree with Arctic, giving small nods or words of agreement, even Swiftclaw and Nightflight. Whether or not the Icewings would agree to a meeting, the consensus appeared to be that now was the time for them to seek one out.

Queen Vigilance's mind was, as always, extremely difficult to read. But Darkstalker thought he could catch a hint of frustration coming from her. Like she didn't like the answers she was hearing.

"Even so," she pushed, "How exactly do you expect to go about such a thing? Diamond would never come down to our palace for this, nor am I willing to go to the Ice Kingdom."

"Simple," Darkstalker said, "We use a neutral site in the desert. With how the territory looks right now…I'd say either Sunset Springs or the town of Redstone would be a good place."

"Yes," General Stargazer agreed, looking at one of the many maps of Pyrrhia in the room, "That would work, if they agree to it. It would only make sense for Queen Scorpion to mediate the procedures, then?"

"I don't trust Scorpion," Vigilance hissed, "Any queen that would let two foreign armies wage a war in her territory just for a few coins in her treasury cannot be trusted to remain impartial. It would be easy for Diamond to buy her out. I'd fear treachery with her."

"Well, I don't believe we will be able to do it without some Sandwing involvement, but I believe we have alternative than can satisfy both you and Diamond," Darkstalker told her, "What if things were moderated by a truly neutral tribe, one that has no involvement or connection to the war at all?"

"That would work, but where would get one?" Vigilance asked, "These things take time, Darkstalker. You cannot simply call on royalty like that and expect them to rush to our help."

"That's the thing," Darkstalker smirked, "We don't need to. We have a member of the Seawing royal family within our halls right now. A trained diplomat whose tribe is neutral in the conflict. Prince Fathom can take on this responsibility." Well, Fathom wasn't exactly the very picture of a trained diplomat, but he was royalty and with these things that was usually good enough.

"But he's been living with us!" General Swiftclaw spoke, "Why would they agree to it?"

"Because the Icewings don't know," Darkstalker answered, "Think about it, what better dragon to have lead the peace proceedings than one that is already partial to us? What reason would the Icewings have to think that a Seawing prince was connected with us in any way? None of us have exactly advertised his presence here to them."

"Nor have we taken great pains to conceal him…" Vigilance said, but less confrontational this time. The sneakiness of the idea seemed to be resonating with her a bit more.

"It will work," Clearsight spoke, "If we tell Queen Diamond that Seawing royalty has agreed to mediate the meeting, the Icewings will agree to it. After all, the Seawings have the least involvement in this conflict of any tribe."

"Prince Fathom has already agreed to offer his services," Darkstalker went on, "He is at our disposal."

Vigilance gave a puff of smoke out of her nostrils and gave a rumble in her chest. She turned to Arctic. "And you agree to attend this…peace meeting," she said the word "peace" as though it was distasteful.

Darkstalker swallowed. Of all the pieces to his plan, his father was the toss-up. He'd not had a chance to explain what he was plotting to the Icewing prior to the meeting. If he said no right now, then everything would fall apart.

His father looked at him and they met eyes. He gave a deep breath as he tried to wordlessly communicate to Arctic to please say yes. With the discussion they'd had before, he felt like it wasn't guaranteed either way, and the harsher, colder, mind of his father wasn't giving him anything to go on in the moment. Yet, Arctic seemed to see the pleading in his eyes, and the Icewing made his decision.

"Yes," he answered the queen with a very small nod, still looking at Darkstalker, "So long as my security can be guaranteed, I will go."

Darkstalker let out a sigh of relief. We'll talk more, he heard his father think loudly and ominously in his mind, though, and he knew it was directed for him.

Queen Vigilance fell silent for a moment, considering it, then shook her head. "It's a waste of time," she said, "Even if we had the meeting, I doubt we could come to any agreement. They won't be satisfied with anything short of us giving you, your sister, and Prince Arctic back to them. I am not so ready to just give up your power so easily."

She says that like its hers to give up, Darkstalker's thoughts growled, but he kept his composure. "This war isn't just being fought over magic, its being fought over a person," he said, pointing a wing at Arctic, "And the reason it's being fought is because of a misunderstanding, little more. If we can prove to Queen Diamond that my father was not kidnapped like they think and is not a hostage like they suspect, we may be able to resolve everything right there."

"Hah!" Vigilance laughed, "If only it were so easy."

"But it may be worth a try," General Stargazer spoke up, "My queen, both soldiers and civilians are growing tired of war. If the opportunity for peace presents itself, we must explore it."

"It's your duty as queen to look after your tribe," Clearsight dared to speak, "This has the possibility to save so many lives—"

Vigilance whipped her head around to Clearsight, a fire in the older Nightwing's eyes. "Do not presume to tell me my duty!" she spat loudly and venomously, lashing her tail, "You forget your place. You may be a seer, but you're far from knowing everything."

Clearsight wilted as the room fell silent. Such an outburst was rare from Vigilance, who normally intimidated with silence rather than with anger. In fact, Darkstalker didn't know if he'd ever seen her lose her temper like that. As moments passed in silence, it seemed that none of the dragons knew what to do in the moment, himself included.

"If I may…" Darkstalker finally found his voice to break the silence, "It is my firm believe that should at least try. If we do and we cannot come to a peaceful solution…" he took a deep breath, "Then I am prepared to begin using my magic against them."

Both Clearsight and Arctic shot him looks of surprise, hers more so than his father's. Vigilance began to tap a claw on the ground in interest. He could tell from what little he could read of her mind that she was thinking very hard.

"You should be doing so anyway," she told him, "But I think I see what you mean. Do I have your word that you will do what you say? That you will begin to pull your weight in this conflict that you brought us into?"

He lashed his tail, more than a little resentful of how she'd phrased that. He didn't want to answer in the affirmative, but he knew he had to. Some of his own future seeing had told him it was a gamble he'd have to make.

"Yes," he told her, meeting her eyes. Depending on how things went, after all, he may want to be using it before everything was over. If not…well, he'd rather break his word than let his magic be in Vigilance's control, if it came to that.

"Hmm…" she gave a hum, pondering what he'd laid out. Her eyes drifted over the officers present, which was why he'd made so sure to raise this issue in front of them. She could hardly refuse such a reasonable request in front of all of them.

"Very well," she finally relented, "Draw up your letter asking her to meet us, and I will send it. This is on your wings, though. If it falls through, I expect you to not to hold any sympathy for your father's tribe."

"It won't fall through," he told her. He would make sure it wouldn't.

"We shall see."

The strategy meeting went on for a few more hours until he and Clearsight were finally released, meeting the freedom of the corridors outside of the palace's "war room". Most such planning sessions didn't take nearly as long, but several more officers than normal had been away from the front lines and attended, so there was much more to discuss than usual. Requests for additional troops and more supplies, endless reports of enemy positions, status on the activities of neutral tribes…it was all there, and it all took forever. He understood that he was, would be, or could be a vital part of such things, but all the same he often felt like an unnecessary bystander when it came to most of what was discussed.

Honestly, he had a feeling Vigilance only made him come to half of those meetings as some sort of a punishment for being less useful than she'd like.

Shaking his head, he gave a small growl at the thought. Especially considering what he'd found out a few days ago. Bearing Vigilance had always been easier when he had overthrowing her to look forward to when the time was right, but if he chose to put Indigo ahead of such things…well, he really hoped that his plan would work and he didn't put himself under the queen's talons.

"I know, it's been a long night," Clearsight said in response to his growl, walking alongside him and nudging him with a wing. "Hey, why don't we take a little flight?" she suggested, "It's been a while now since we've done something together, just you and me."

It certainly had been a long night. The meeting had started just a little bit after sunset, and it was already well past midnight. If it wasn't for what he'd achieved in getting things started for his plan to end the war, he'd have considered that a lot of time wasted.

"A flight does sound nice," he told her, "But maybe not right now. I was thinking more along the lines of seeing what Fathom and Indigo are up to. They'll be wanting to hear how things went."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Clearsight said, "Maybe later once we talk to them. I should…oh!" she paused and swished her tail.

"What's wrong?" he asked her in only mild concern. He was pretty sure he knew what was happening…

"Nothing, nothing," she assured him, raising a claw to her head, "Just…just a vision," she gave a small growl and closed her eyes, concentrating. "I…I think I should probably go write this one down," she told him, "Something's about to happen in the northern desert, I think. I need to look closer…"

"I'll go on ahead, then?" he half asked, half told her, and Clearsight nodded.

"I should be there in a little bit, but…" she trailed off and gave him an apologetic look as she stepped away from him, taking a different path towards her room. He watched her go until she disappeared down the corridor, vanishing from sight.

He lashed his tail. I doubt I'll be seeing her for the next few hours, he thought, feeling only a tiny bit guilty. Clearsight seldom only took a few minutes with these things. Once she got going, it could be hours. Ah well, I suppose it can't be helped.

He went on his own way and soon found himself at Fathom's familiar quarters. He gave a small knock and smiled when Indigo answered the door.

"How'd it go?" she asked eagerly, stepping aside to let him enter, "Did Queen Vigilance approve of your plan?"

"She did," he told her, feeling a bit of pride well up in him at the words, "I just need to draft up a letter and have it delivered to Diamond, then it's just a waiting game for her response."

"That's good to hear," said Fathom. The Seawing was lying on a large cushion, idly reading a scroll. He was trying to look aloof, but Darkstalker could read genuine relief in his mind. Ever since Darkstalker had told him his plan, he seemed to lighten up a little bit more from his previous mood. Fathom still wasn't completely over it, but he did seem to finally be understanding that Darkstalker wasn't as spell crazy and as power crazy as he'd thought.

"Clearsight and I have been looking at a lot of the futures, and I think that it should work," Darkstalker went on, "Well, at least Queen Diamond agreeing to it should happen. Once we actually do it…well, it's much less clear."

"What do you mean?" Indigo asked. Shouldn't Clearsight be able to see what will happen? he heard her mind think. Fathom, too, was wondering something similar.

He twitched his tail, trying to figure out how best to explain it. "Trying to see what will happen at the meeting just isn't as easy to see as other things," he tried, "There's a lot more variables to consider, and a lot of things that hinge on chance, things that aren't as easy to see or predict. Especially ones Clearsight and I don't even know about and can't even see because we aren't even aware of them. It's…well, admittedly it's one of the biggest failings of future seeing. When searching for those kinds of futures, you just don't know what to expect. Even the most likely ones shift almost hourly."

"Especially because this is a new development," he went on after a brief pause, "We're trying to look very fast at a lot of different futures instead of slowing down and seeing the common threads between the more likely ones. At any rate, it should become easier to predict what will happen once the meeting gets closer to happening."

"But…you do think you can end the war, don't you?" Fathom asked.

Darkstalker gave a nod. "Yes, I'm sure its possible. It's also possible that I could die there. Or that nothing ends up happening and the war continues as it has been. As I said, it's difficult to see what's most likely and what can be changed to ensure the war's end, but it is definitely possible for it to happen."

"And what if the solution to ensure what you want is to use magic?" Fathom challenged him, his voice a little wary but not hostile.

"I already told you, I won't be doing that," Darkstalker told them, "Unless it's an absolute emergency and a matter of life and death, I won't cast any more spells than I already have."

Fathom took a deep breath but said nothing. I wish I could truly believe that, his friend thought, and Darkstalker internally winced. He looked at Indigo, who was actually thinking something similar, which hurt even more.

"Hey," he told her, resisting putting the hiss in his voice like part of him wanted to, "You're the one who actually suggested I use magic to end the war. Isn't this better than that?"

She nodded. "I just…" her voice faltered, but her mind went on. It should be wrong to use it at all, but shouldn't it be fine if it's done for good like that? Isn't ending the war worthwhile? And besides, Darkstalker isn't the kind of dragon to lose himself after something like that. I…he…

She didn't completely finish that thought, but Darkstalker got out of it what he needed to. "I'm not to going lose my soul because of doing something like that," he assured her and Fathom, "I don't want to have to. That's why I'm doing all of this in the first place, to prove to you that I'm not defined by my magic. That the me without my scroll is the same as me with it."

"But there's still that temptation," Fathom said, "So long as you cling to that scroll, how are Indigo and I supposed to believe you?"

Indigo shifted on her feet. I think I already believe him, she thought, and that made him smile a little inside, I really want to, at least.

He looked at her, and a small smile graced her faced as she met his eyes. If there was any dragon that he wanted to believe him, to just believe in him, it was her. Already he knew that she was having other feelings about him similar to his about her, but this was probably the last hill to conquer. The one thing that may still stand between them. Once he was sure that it didn't, well…he wasn't sure what he'd do. He knew what he wanted to.

"You can believe me because I am your friend," he finally answered Fathom's question after a too long pause, his eyes never leaving Indigo's. "Believe me, I don't want to let you down."

Those last words were meant more for her, too.

Her eyes glimmered, and she began to reach out a claw to take his, but paused and cast a nervous glance to Fathom, her mind suddenly shaken out of the moment just as she shook her head. Not here! Not now! Her thoughts screamed, and he while he wasn't sure what she meant, he had a pretty good idea.

"Here," she said to both him and Fathom instead of vocalizing her other thoughts. "Why don't we take a flight and Darkstalker can tell us more about his meeting?"

"That sounds good!" Darkstalker immediately responded. Well, flying with Indigo sounded good; he'd almost prefer it if Fathom stayed behind.

"I'm afraid I can't," the Seawing prince informed them, "Darkstalker's meeting isn't the only one today. I also have one with Queen Vigilance in about an hour; I'm not even sure what over. I thought you knew that, Indigo."

"Oh…right," she gave a small growl, "I remember now." There was a bit of frustration in her words and mind; Indigo was not normally a dragon to forget that kind of stuff (she thought it too important as part of her "guard" job), and it irked her when she did. Or maybe it was because she wanted to go on that flight with him as much as he had…

"Well, I would still like to fly, so…perhaps…" Darkstalker began to say, a bit hesitantly. He'd never asked for something like this before, and he worried a bit if it may be too much. "What if Indigo and I went? I could fill her in and then she could tell you all about it when your meeting is done."

Fathom blinked in a bit of surprise. While the Seawing had known that he and Indigo were no longer on bad terms, he had never exactly been around to see them becoming more friendly. As far as he knew, Indigo had never really told Fathom about their little flying trips while she was off duty, and nor had he ever mentioned it. And he certainly had never asked for Indigo to have a break so he could spend time with her.

"I…sure, I guess," Fathom said, "I don't see any harm in it. I can get Lionfish to fill in. I just…I guess I was just expecting that you'd sit down and talk like normal until my meeting."

"I've been sitting down and talking, or listening to other dragons talk, all night," Darkstalker said in justification, "I want to stretch my wings for a bit."

"If you prefer I stay, then I can," Indigo told Fathom, "But I think I'd like to stretch my wings, too."

Fathom's eyes flickered back and forth between them for a second. Wait…the Seawing prince's mind went, Are they…? Darkstalker just barely kept a straight face as Fathom put together a few of the pieces, but then kept in a sigh of relief as his mind dismissed it. Nah. I don't think so.

"Go ahead, then," Fathom said, "I won't hold you up. I should probably be preparing for my meeting anyway. Let's see, I know I have a scroll with the details on it around here somewhere…"

Fathom was still looking for the scroll when Darkstalker and Indigo took off into the night sky, flying east towards the sea but with no real destination in mind. He found his heart beating a little faster with her there beside him. And he found himself smiling just at her presence. He was already looking forward so much to the next few hours or so, and dreading their ending.

If this wasn't what Arctic had meant when he talked about falling in love, Darkstalker had no idea what was.

"Is there anywhere you want to go?" Indigo asked him as she spun lazily through the air.

"Not particularly," he answered, then hesitated, "Well, wherever you want to go, of course."

"Of course," she laughed, "I thought that was already a forgone conclusion."

He smirked. "Come on, I'll race you to the sea," he challenged her, "Once we're there, we'll figure out what we want to do."

She did one more spin and fixed him with a mischievous grin. Yes, he was indeed looking forward to these next few hours with her. "You're on!"