Glorious Politics

AN: The only reason this chapter is coming out so soon is because I finished most of it while on vacation. That, and I usually like to have pretty quick updates for the first few chapters of a new story. That being said, this is the first one with Glory's POV, so I hope her character isn't too OOC.

Disclaimer: I do not own Wings of Fire.

Chapter One:

Today was a good day. She'd not had a lot of those lately, but today was better than normal. And that fact was making her suspicious. There was always something to make her days terrible, but so far there had been nothing of the sort. There was no pressing business she needed to attend to, Jackass hadn't been bothering her, and Moon, Turtle, Kinkajou, and Tsunami had stopped by to visit earlier.

Moon had dropped by to visit her mother, but she had also taken the time to visit with her. Kinkajou had been staying with Turtle in the Sea Kingdom over the past few weeks while Tsunami had been visiting her home. The three of them had stopped by the rainforest—Turtle and Kinkajou to stay at their home here for a time while Tsunami was on her way back to Jade Mountain.

When Turtle and Kinkajou finally got married a few years ago, they apparently couldn't decide on whether to stay in the Sea Kingdom or Rain Kingdom, so they switched back and forth every month or two. She found the arrangement odd, but it wasn't her position to judge. Sure she missed Kinkajou when she was gone, but it just made her visits that much nicer.

Moon wasn't staying long—only a week or so—and then she would be back off to the Sand Kingdom. From what the Nightwing had told her, Qibli was off on assignment, and Moon was only staying until he was scheduled back. The two had been married happily for almost six years now and continued to live in the Sandwing Palace.

Tsunami was still headmistress of Jade Mountain, and she didn't think that would change anytime soon. She and Riptide had gotten married not long after Turtle and Kinkajou, as if their union had been the catalyst for their own. To her, it felt like all of her friends were getting married and having their happy endings. Tsunami and Riptide, Turtle and Kinkajou, Clay and Peril, Starflight and Fatespeaker, Moon and Qibli. Only Sunny and Winter were still single. At least she assumed Winter was single. She hadn't seen him in over five years. And Sunny seemed happy being single.

It only ticked her off to think about since her own story didn't have such a happy ending. She'd opened up her heart to only one dragon before, thinking all his flirting was a sign he wanted a relationship. When she had finally spoken to Deathbringer about it, he had straight up friend-zoned her, claiming his flirting was part of his personality. He was just being himself and hadn't intended on misleading her. That was over four years ago now, and she hadn't forgiven him since.

She'd always been moody, but ever since that debacle, she'd become cynical, distrusting, and yes, even moodier. She never let that get in the way of her duties as Queen, though. It didn't matter that she hated being Queen now because of near-constant depression and anger caused by Deathbringer's betrayal. If it was up to her, she'd spend the days brooding or on vacation…or brooding while on vacation. Friends helped with that, and for that, she was thankful.

Speaking of which, Tsunami was still visiting with her despite the hour beginning to grow late. They'd just finished supper not too long ago and were now just talking. Over the last eleven years since Darkstalker's defeat, the two hadn't seen each other as often as Glory would have liked—though she'd never admit that to the Seawing. Jade Mountain had expanded to almost twice its original size, meaning Tsunami was kept busy. And, of course, her having two tribes to rule instead of one meant that she was constantly busy, as well. It being the Academy's summer break meant that Tsunami had a bit more free time, but she had no such luxuries. Fortunately, she was the Queen and hadn't taken a day off in years.

She could afford one day off.

"—you even listening to me?" a frustrated Tsunami asked.

"Hmm?" Glory responded, not completely paying attention. She found herself staring at the Seawing's wedding ring, a curious mix of emotions rising up within her. The cause was something she was well aware of but would never admit to anyone—not even herself. When Tsunami's words finally registered, she shrugged. "Not really. Was it important?"

When she looked up, Tsunami was studying her critically. Raising her claw with the ring around it to look at it closer, she rolled her eyes before lowering it and speaking. "Still upset about being single, huh?" There was no sympathy in her voice, and Glory narrowed her eyes dangerously, not liking the sudden turn in conversation. "I get that Death—"

"Don't say that name!" she snarled her fury sparking at hearing his name. "It's Jackass. You call him anything but that, and you're breaking the law."

Tsunami stared at her, deadpan. "You made it a law?" Another eye roll and a scoff. "Get over yourself already. If you want a relationship, you need to get over what happened and actually move on. You're never going to find anyone if you keep acting like…this." She pointed at the now-aggravated Rainwing for emphasis, making Glory's ruff flare in indignation.

"And you think you'd be any different in my place?" she challenged.

"I know I would," the Seawing shot back. "If Riptide wasn't the right dragon for me, I'd move on and find someone else. That's what anyone would do…so why can't you?"

Glory looked away, carefully controlling her scales to be neutral. "I think it's time for you to go. I've got business to attend to," she spoke evenly. This must be the part she had been dreading, where her good day gets ruined because of nosy Seawings.

Tsunami scowled then stood, about to chew into her Rainwing friend before the aforementioned Nightwing they had been talking about burst into the room. "Glory! I have—"

Glory stood so fast that if Tsunami had blinked she would've missed it. The Rainwing's scales went blood red as she all but roared, "It's Queen to you, Jackass!"

The Nightwing froze, flinched, mumbled an apology, and then continued. "Sorry…but this is for you." He held out a scroll, and Glory studied him and then it for a few seconds before walking forward slowly and snatching it out of his claws—glaring at him for a few seconds longer before glancing down at the scroll.

Upon seeing the seal on the scroll, she immediately forgot her annoyance with the Nightwing. Curiosity and intrigue took its place, though they were tempered by caution. What reason did the Icewing Queen have for writing her? She broke the seal with a claw before unrolling it carefully, scanning the contents with a critical eye.

Queen Glory,

Within the last year, several Icewings have been murdered across Pyrrhia, and I have reason to believe that these murders are connected. Until now, I have had no clues as to who the perpetrator may be, but the most recent murder, though unfortunate, gave us a lucky break. Several witnesses report seeing a Nightwing fleeing the scene.

Since the majority of all Nightwings reside in the rainforest, I thought it the best place to start the investigation. I am sending a trusted friend of mine down to find the culprits, and I will appreciate any assistance you can give him. He should arrive tomorrow afternoon and will no doubt wish to begin the investigation immediately. I expect your full cooperation until this matter is resolved.

Signed,

Queen Snowfall of the Icewings

Scratch what she thought earlier. This was the moment her day was ruined. "Everyone out," she spoke quietly. The Nightwing left immediately, but Tsunami lingered for a moment. "That means you, too."

"What did it say?" the Seawing asked.

Glory stopped and sighed, wanting to tell her but knowing she couldn't. "I'm expecting company tomorrow, apparently, and I need to prepare for their arrival." She paused for a moment before gazing around at her rather messy office. Icewings were notoriously orderly, and while she didn't particularly care what any dragon thought of her, a good first impression never hurt. It'd be better to clean it up at least a little before this Icewing got here.

"Who?" Tsunami asked, genuinely curious.

Glory groaned in frustration at these incessant questions but answered, nonetheless. "An Icewing, okay? Now will you please leave?" she glared at the Seawing who only rolled her eyes once more.

"Since you asked so nicely…" she muttered, though she left, regardless.

Glory watched her leave for a moment before turning back to the organized chaos that was her office. Most of the room wasn't too bad. It was just the area around her desk that was cluttered, so it shouldn't take too long to clean up. There was one thing, however, that also needed tending to. "Jackass!" she called, knowing the Nightwing would still be nearby.

She heard a sigh come from outside the entrance before the Nightwing poked his head in. "Yes, Queen Glory?" he asked, his voice despondent.

"Have a hut prepared for an Icewing guest," she ordered him, to which he bowed and left to complete her demand. After that, she looked back at the pile of stuff she needed to organize and then decided that maybe there was some more things she could do to prepare for her guest.

Her new course decided, she left her quarters and started making her way towards the Nightwing village. There was a particular dragoness there with experience dealing with Icewings as well as mind-reading capabilities. Having Moon with her when she met this new Icewing would at least let her know if he actually could be trusted. As much as she respected Snowfall, she didn't know the Icewing Queen personally and wouldn't take her word at face value.

The Nightwing village wasn't too far away from the Rainwing village, but it was technically a separate area all its own. After over a decade of living together, it was much more common to see the two tribes intermingling, but the Nightwings still preferred to have their own village. Despite inviting them all to join the main village several times, they still never accepted her invitation. She didn't know why, but if it made them happy, she let them keep their own space.

Luckily, they all seemed to have accepted her rule and treated her like their own Queen. Because of that, many bowed their head in respect as she passed or exchanged greetings with her. From what she understood, they liked her as Queen better than their previous Queen, Battlewinner. When she allowed Greatness to keep her title and took her as an official aid/advisor, her popularity spiked even further since, to the Nightwings, that was a sign that she respected their previous royal line.

Now that the hour was starting to grow late, there weren't many Nightwings roaming about, and she could take in the rather peaceful evening without being bothered by too many others. For the rest of Pyrrhia, it was nearing the end of fall, but seasons didn't really matter in the rainforest. In fact, they really only had two seasons here: the wet season, and the wetter season. This was tourist season for both the Sea Kingdom and Rain Kingdom. Skywings and a few Sandwings left their summer homes during the colder times of the year for a more temperate climate. Most went to the Sea Kingdom and the tropical islands there, but a good portion came to the Rainforest, as well. Despite living here for more than half her life at this point, she had to admit the rainforest had a special kind of beauty to it. It had lost its charm to her, but for others, it was an experience.

And apparently, she would be adding an Icewing to her temporary residents this year.

She was brought out of her ill-tempered musings when she found herself outside her destination. It was a plain hut like every other hut around here, and it wasn't very large, either, but that suited the occupant just fine. Secretkeeper lived alone, and Moon didn't visit often enough for her to find a bigger hut. Other than her daughter, Hope and her twelve-year-old dragonet, Peacekeeper, were the only other dragons who visited. In fact, if the muffled voices she could hear was any clue, the small hut was probably packed.

She raised her talons to knock, though the door opened before she could to reveal a smiling Moon. "I heard you coming," she said sheepishly at Glory's questioning look. "You needed me for something?"

"Oh! Queen Glory!" another dragon exclaimed, and the mentioned Rainwing looked up to see Secretkeeper approaching. "I had no idea you were coming. Would you like to come in?"

A single glance at the other two dragons filling the small main room was all it took for Glory to come up with her answer. "No, thanks. I need to speak with Moon for a minute…if that's alright?"

Secretkeeper looked down at her daughter for a moment before nodding. "Of course. Take all the time you need."

"I just need a moment," she reiterated before motioning Moon to follow her. They didn't go too far, just until Glory heard the sound of the door shutting. Once she glanced back to make sure no one was trying to listen in, she turned to Moon and spoke. "Queen Snowfall's been having some…troubles lately and is sending someone down to the rainforest for a while. I wanted you to be there when he arrives just to make sure he isn't here to cause trouble."

Moon looked at her curiously at that before shaking her head. "What business would an Icewing have down here?" she asked. "And what kind of trouble do you mean?"

Snowfall never said she needed to keep anything a secret, and while she didn't plan on blabbing to everyone in sight that an Icewing was coming down to find a Nightwing murderer, she knew she could trust Moon. Besides, Moon could probably just read her thoughts if she really wanted to. Sparing one last glance to make sure they were alone, she spoke quietly. "An Icewing was murdered recently, and the witnesses say it was a Nightwing who did it."

Moon gasped in horror, and then fear entered her expression. "Do you know who it was?" she asked.

Glory paused in confusion, wondering why she seemed so worried before the answer dawned upon her. "No, but I doubt it was Winter if that's what you're worried about."

Moon looked away at that. "You're probably right, but… Well, it's just that I haven't heard from him in a while, and Qibli and I are starting to get worried."

"Then go find him," Glory suggested, the answer seeming obvious to her. They both knew where Winter was supposed to be, so it wouldn't exactly be difficult to go up to Sanctuary and find him. Or if he isn't there for some reason, it would be a simple matter to ask around.

Moon seemed unsure, though. "You think I should?"

Glory shrugged. "Why not? After tomorrow, obviously, since I still need your help."

Moon thought deeply on it for a few moments. "I'll talk to Qibli about it when he gets back," she decided, and Glory simply shrugged again. It didn't really matter to her either way. Yes, she considered Winter a friend and hadn't heard from him in years, but she wasn't too worried about him. He could take care of himself.

"Do what you think is best. Just be at my pavilion around midday tomorrow." With that, Glory dismissed Moon to go back and visit with her friends and family. As she headed back towards her pavilion, she thought of anything else that needed to be taken care of before the Icewing arrived.

It was getting dark, though, so everything else would have to wait until tomorrow, anyway. Once she arrived at her quarters, she spared one annoyed glance at her messy desk before shaking her head and heading to bed. She had time enough to take care of it tomorrow, so that's what she would do. Once properly situated, it didn't take long for her to fall asleep.

Her rest was quite good, but that wasn't too surprising since she'd never had trouble sleeping before. The previous eleven years of being Queen had trained her body to awake shortly after sunrise. A few blinks were enough to clear her eyes of sleep before she stood and gave a mighty stretch followed by an equally mighty yawn.

Like every other day when she first woke up, she went out to her office and grabbed some fruit from a bowl that was left by one of her aides. At least she never had to go hunting for breakfast. As she munched on a papaya, she looked at her desk area once more. She couldn't exactly clean up her desk while eating, now could she?

Once she was finished with her fruit, however, another thought occurred to her, so she called for the one dragon who could elucidate the matter. "Jackass!"

The usual sigh was followed by the usual depressed response of, "Yes, Queen Glory?"

When he poked his head in, he was met by the scowling Rainwing, who asked, "Did you get that guest hut ready like I told you?"

"Yes, Your Highness," came his immediate response.

She was going to let it be, but another thought occurred to her when she glanced at her desk again. Did she really trust Jackass to prepare the hut the right way? For all she knew, there was something horribly wrong, so it was probably best for her to inspect his work. "Take me to it."

His expression was curious as he glanced between her and her desk, but he ultimately conceded and escorted her to the hut he had chosen. It was out of the way—one of the furthest from her pavilion, in fact. Residents were sparce over here, so if the Icewing liked his privacy, she supposed this was a good choice. However, something Snowfall wrote in her letter made her think that this Icewing would rather be closer to her pavilion so as to waste less time on the commute. The inside wasn't much different from the standard hut, but it had been cleaned and organized. All in all, it looked good...

But a few minutes of thought made her believe that a closer hut would be better.

"This hut is much too far away. Find one that's closer to my pavilion," she ordered the Nightwing, who sighed in frustration before nodding. Jackass walked off, Glory following behind, and pulled out a list of reservations. He couldn't take one that another party had reserved, so he had to cross-check everything before making another choice. They stopped at a hut that was near the middle of the village and about half the distance from her hut compared to the other one. "Is there nothing closer?" Jackass merely shook his head. "I suppose this will do, then."

She decided to stick around and supervise while the new hut was prepared, and by the time it was done, it was nearly lunch time. It probably wouldn't have taken near as long as it did if she hadn't taken every opportunity to criticize Jackass' every move, but it got done in the end. It wouldn't be long until Moon arrived at her pavilion, and it was probably a good idea to be there before she did.

Stepping inside, she looked around and deduced that Moon wasn't here yet, so she figured that now was probably as good a time as any to start reorganizing her desk. Almost twenty minutes passed of her just staring at the contents scattered haphazardly around the area before she picked up a single scroll and stuck it on a shelf on the other side of the room with a disgruntled huff. She hated cleaning.

Honestly, she could probably just tell someone else to do it, but she didn't trust them to put everything in the right places. And she hated watching others clean as much as she hated doing it herself, so there was no way she was going to stick around and bark orders while one of her aides cleaned her office. But there was nothing for it. It needed to be done...

But she couldn't very well clean when company was present. Relief at dodging having to do any more flooded her entire system as Moon entered her pavilion. She took a look around at the space with mild surprise. She had been here yesterday, of course, but she had probably expected Glory to have cleaned it up a bit since she was expecting rather important company. "Despite the risk of sounding like my mother...shouldn't you clean your room before your guest arrives?"

Glory rolled her eyes. "Well, I had just started when you arrived, but..." she trailed off with a shrug, not too concerned with the whole thing. "It can't be that bad, can it?" Glory and Moon stared at each other for a moment before glancing around the room. Despite trying to delude herself into thinking otherwise, it was pretty bad. Starflight would probably have a stroke if he could see the amount of scrolls scattered around the space with absolutely no organization whatsoever. She had shelves, but she just never used them.

"Well..." Moon began uncertainly. "I have seen a messier office before. I mean, I can't think of when I have, but I'm sure I have at some point."

Glory's unimpressed deadpan told Moon quite clearly that the Queen wasn't buying her false platitudes for a second. "I don't even care, anyway. If that Icewing wants to think I'm unorganized, let him. I couldn't care less of what he thinks of me."

"Well, I guess we'll find out," Moon replied, her gaze fixed on the door. "Because he's almost here."

AN: Yeah, poor Deathbringer. Poor dude messed up, didn't he? DB strikes me as having a really flirtatious personality, so I don't think what happened between him and Glory is too out of the line of possibility. He just made the mistake of misleading the Queen, of all dragons.

Next chapter will be the first meeting between Glory and Mistral, so we'll see how that goes. And I think I'll aim for two weeks for the next chapter.

Until Next Time

AdmiralCole22