Glorious Politics

AN: A couple of things happen in this chapter, but I won't spoil anything quite yet. Some questions are answered while others are posed, but this story has still yet to truly begin. It is, in fact, the 'end of the beginning', though. Things are only going to get more interesting from now on.

In other news, the Nightwing OC submissions are now closed. I haven't gotten any since the first group, so I don't think that really matters, anyway. We do have a cameo in this chapter, though, which means only one more is left.

Disclaimer: I do not own Wings of Fire. My OCs Mistral and Diamondback belong to me. Blacklight belongs to his owner, ADAClives.

Chapter Twelve:

Glory took a moment to study the Icewing a bit more as she pondered his seemingly good mood. He'd been missing for years after a failed murder attempt, yet he seemed...happy? He was healthy, physically speaking, from what she could see. Of course, this was a dream, so she probably shouldn't take that at face value. For all she knew, he could be starving and chained up somewhere as a prisoner. "You seem to be in a good mood despite the fact you were apparently missing for years. Are you okay?"

He shrugged, though he did seem appreciative of her concern. "I'm alright, everything considered..." He trailed off, sending a suspicious glance to her as he appeared to think deeply on something. Eventually, he huffed and looked away. "Not that it's been particularly easy on me, but I've survived well enough on my own." Another pause and a small sigh. "Gets lonely, though..." he admitted quietly.

"Then why haven't you come back?" she wondered, feeling for him. Loneliness was a hard thing to endure, but they were both strong dragons. There was no doubt in her mind that Winter had suffered a bit these last few years, but he appeared to be holding together well enough.

"Because I couldn't," he replied. "Snowfall was keeping the murders quiet, so I didn't even know my life was in danger until someone sunk a dagger in my side." He lifted his left wing to reveal a long, jagged scar where it appeared a weapon had not only pierced his hide deeply but had also been ripped a good length through his side, as well. The scar wasn't the only thing of note, however. All of the scales—those that remained, anyway—around the wound and across the majority of his side were discolored and crossed with ugly marks she recognized as a healed burn wound. She winced at the wound, knowing it must have felt like utter agony at the time he received it. "I was extremely lucky to get out of that alive. I tricked the Nightwing into breathing fire onto my side, which cauterized the wound. It was the worst pain I'd ever felt, especially since I still had to fight my would-be assassin off afterward."

She couldn't help the look of awe crossing her face when he lowered his wing. There were stories from the war of dragons who somehow did the most incredible things, surviving wounds that would have killed most others or taking on hundreds of enemies with nothing more than their wit and will to survive. Some were harder to believe than others, obviously, and she was sure more than a few were exaggerated in some way. But hearing Winter's experience and seeing his proof was shocking, to say the least. The sheer willpower needed to endure pain like that and keep fighting was almost unheard of. "Well, she's actually doing something about them now," she revealed, regarding Snowfall. "She sent someone down to the Rainforest to begin an investigation. Mistral?" She was curious to know if Winter recognized the name.

Apparently, he did, as he actually smiled in relief. "He's a good dragon—one of my best friends." But then his smile fell. "I heard that Frost was killed recently, too, and I know Mistral can be hard to deal with when he's...distressed." Glory couldn't help but snort at that. Mistral may have apologized and explained his behavior—and she sympathized with him—but 'hard to deal with' was a gross understatement. Winter, however, didn't appreciate her reaction as his gaze grew stern. "Whatever he's done is nothing compared to what happened when his parents were killed. Remember that."

Glory nodded, though she was curious what could have been worse than what she had experienced from him so far. However, if the subject was as sensitive and volatile as Winter seemed to imply, she would leave the question unasked, especially around the other Icewing. "Anyway," she began, returning to their previous topic. "I'm doing what I can to help his investigation, but you could help us. With your...incident, I'm sure you have more knowledge of the perpetrators than we do."

To her surprise, he actually seemed to think about it, but then, he responded in the way she predicted he would. He shook his head. "Tempting as that offer is, I'm chasing down my own lead right now."

"Where?" she immediately asked, hoping she could at least know his general location.

Unfortunately, he wasn't going to reveal that if his head shake was any indication. "I can't tell you. Not yet."

"Can't or won't?" she challenged. "If you're in some kind of trouble, Winter, I can help you. You don't need to do this alone."

"Both," he responded to her original question. "And I do. They know I'm alive, but they don't know where I am...yet. If I come to you or you come to me, that will change, and a lot of dragons will end up getting hurt." Glory sighed at that but nodded. She figured something like this would end up being the case. Winter survived an attempt on his life, so whoever it is that wants him and the other Icewings dead will doubtless be looking for him, 'the one that got away'. "And Glory? Don't tell anyone you spoke with me. The last thing I want is one of my friends getting hurt because they know I'm alive and start asking questions. Keep me updated on your investigation, too...and be careful."

"I will," she nodded, promising to honor all of his requests with that simple motion. "But you better come back alive. The last thing I want is to have one of my friends killed. Seriously, if you die, I'll kick your tail from one end of Pyrrhia to the other." He snorted at that and turned to walk away as the dreamscape around her disappeared.

When she woke, it was already morning, and, like every time she had used the dreamvisitor, she was surprised at how quickly time seemed to move while she was using it. While she hated leaving Winter to fend for himself, she trusted him and understood his reasons. As much as she did want to help, endangering the rest of her friends was unacceptable. She sighed as she stood and stretched, knowing that her worry for him would only compound with her other problems.

Once she left her quarters, she spied Diamondback sitting in his usual spot on the wall between her bedroom and the entrance to the pavilion. He nodded to her in respect when he saw her before speaking. "Your Highness, Mistral wanted me to inform you that he, Qibli, and Moon will be waiting for you at the Arboretum."

At first, she simply nodded, but then she paused mid-step when his words fully registered. Mistral hadn't actually demanded she wake up? Maybe yesterday was the start of something better. "How long ago was this?" she asked the Sandwing.

"Maybe ten minutes ago? He stopped by and asked if I could retrieve his satchel and papers for him. Once I gave it to him, the three left." Seeing her look of genuine surprise, he grunted. "I know...caught me off guard, too. Never thought an arrogant prick like him could actually be polite."

She thought on his words for a moment before thinking back on what Winter said and also on her conversation with Mistral yesterday. "Maybe we've been too quick to judge him," she suggested, though with a hint of uncertainty. Apparently, that was the second time Diamondback was surprised today. "Still...I don't know how much yesterday's events will change things around here, so keep your guard up just in case."

"I always have my guard up," he responded, feigning insult that she would suggest otherwise. Or at least, she thought he was feigning it. Emotions still weren't her strong point. The two left the pavilion, the other two guards staying in their assigned positions to make sure no one entered her pavilion while she was absent. That wasn't something she was normally concerned about, but the events of the last week made her glad for the extra security.

The trip was uneventful, like most things were in the Rainforest, and a crowd of Nightwings greeted her when she and Diamondback arrived. Qibli was talking with a few of them, and Greatness was busy looking at a scroll. Moon and Mistral were nowhere in sight, yet when Qibli noticed her and motioned to the interview room, she understood where they were. She wasn't surprised that Mistral hadn't wanted to wait for her, but she was mildly surprised that he had decided to actually work with Moon until she arrived. Yes, he had once said he would work with the Nightwing dragoness, but he never had until now.

Glory motioned for her bodyguard to stay put and then walked over to the building. Inside, she saw Moon standing behind Mistral, who was asking his normal questions and writing the interviewee's responses down on his scrolls. The Nightwing being questioned was a bit older than Glory herself from the looks of it. He was missing his left horn, but that wasn't the most notable thing about him. His spikes and claws seemed to glow a faint purple, almost like a Seawing's bioluminescent scales, and she had to wonder if maybe he actually did have a bit of Seawing in him from generations past.

Not paying attention to the interaction between him and Mistral, she peeked over the Icewing's shoulder to see who this was. She remembered seeing him around, obviously, but she couldn't recall his name. Blacklight, she read, and she would admit it was a fitting name for a Nightwing with glowy parts. The Nightwing stood, apparently done with the questions, and left with a polite, "Good day," to the three of them and a respectful nod and friendly smile directed at her.

Glory watched the Nightwing leave before a decidedly unexpected thing happened. "Good morning, Your Highness," were the words that were spoken, and they were a common enough greeting, sure. However, it was Mistral who had said them, and he had never greeted her before, properly or otherwise.

She turned to stare at him in shock for a couple of seconds before shaking off her surprise. "Good morning," she responded in kind, though she sounded a bit uncertain. If he noticed it, he never said anything. Of course, he never saw her surprised expression because he was focused on his scrolls, but still...Maybe yesterday did make a difference in the Icewing. Winter's words regarding Mistral came to mind. Maybe he would be less confrontational now that he had released all of his pent up emotions. Speaking of Winter, though, she figured Mistral, at least, needed to know of the Icewing Prince's survival.

A small gasp reminded her that there was a mindreader in the room, and a quick glance showed that Moon had indeed heard that stray thought. Glory groaned in frustration before walking over and grabbing the Nightwing, guiding her outside just as the next interviewee came in. Mistral gave the two an odd look but decided to go ahead with the questions. The fact he hadn't demanded one of them to stay was another indication of how much he mellowed seemingly overnight.

Glory dragged Moon behind the building to an isolated area where no one could hear them even if they could still see them. Scrutinizing the surrounding foliage intensely to make sure there were no pesky Rainwings camouflaged anywhere was the first thing she did. After that, she turned her attention to Moon, whose expression was concerned and hopeful both. The Nightwing went to speak but silenced herself at the look her Queen was giving her. "You will say nothing about this!" she hissed.

"But—"

"Nothing!" she repeated, cutting of Moon's protests. "I am not asking you as a friend, Moon. I am ordering you as your Queen. No one can know about this, and if I find out you ended up telling someone—even Qibli—I will have you arrested. Darkstalker's prison is still sitting nice and empty, and I won't hesitate to make you the first guest there in six years."

Moon stared at her, utterly dumbstruck by the threat. Not that Glory blamed her. She actually felt really bad for having to say such things to her best friend, but Moon needed to know how serious she was about this. Winter had explicitly asked that no one knew of his continued survival. The only reason she planned on telling Mistral was because he was also investigating the murders—or attempted murder in Winter's case. This was something he needed to know in case it became relevant to future plans.

The Nightwing's mouth opened and closed several times like a fish before she finally regained her wits. "O-Okay. I-I'm sorry, I swear."

Glory didn't believe that apology for a second for one reason. And Moon looking away in shame as that thought crossed her mind was the precise reason why. The Queen cuffed the Nightwing across the head with her wing, making Moon flinch at the unexpected hit. "And stop reading my mind!" she all but shouted. "I know you have better control over yourself than that, and you invading other dragons' thoughts without permission is becoming a bad habit of yours. You need to stop."

Moon sighed as she rubbed her sore head. "Alright..." she conceded. "Qibli and his soldiers don't mind it, so I sometimes forget that not everyone is so accepting of my powers." Glory huffed at her choice of words. It was an attempt at guilt-tripping her, she knew, and it wouldn't work.

"Don't be petty, Moon. You know you're my best friend. You know how much I love you, and I do accept you and your powers. But there's a time and place for everything, mind-reading included. You don't try to pry into Queen Thorn's thoughts, do you?" Moon looked away, knowing she had been called out. Then, she shook her head. "I thought not. I'm not asking for much, Moon. I just want the same level of understanding and respect you give to your mother-in-law. I may be your best friend, but I'm a Queen, too." She placed a comforting claw on Moon's shoulder, the Nightwing meeting her softened gaze. "Do we have an understanding?"

Moon studied her for a while before nodding. "It's hard to read others' emotions without my powers," she admitted. "I'm still not used to being so...deaf."

Glory placed her other claw on Moon's free shoulder. "Then work on it. I'm sure your highly intelligent husband would help if you asked." Moon snorted in amusement, a small smile on her muzzle. Then, she nodded again and uttered some thanks, the two sharing a brief hug. Since it wasn't something Glory offered very often, it just made the gesture that much more special.

With that, the two parted ways. Even if this interaction hadn't started out the greatest, they had made up in the end. She just hoped Moon would keep her word and not tell anyone about Winter. The Nightwing ended up joining Qibli, so Glory headed back into the building where Mistral was already interviewing yet another Nightwing. He paid no heed to her presence until his current interviewee left. Then, he motioned for her to come forward, pointing at the two previous names. "Is this information correct?"

Glory read through it and shrugged. "I already told you I don't know all of the Nightwings," she said, making him sigh in annoyance. Even if there were a mere fraction of Nightwings compared to any of the other tribes—after spending so long on a volcanic island with little food and water, they were pretty much an endangered species at this point—there were still several thousand, and Glory already had one tribe to keep track of. "Once the census is done, I can have Greatness look over the whole thing. She'd be able to find any discrepancies better than anyone else."

As when she had mentioned involving Greatness before, Mistral did not look happy at the suggestion. "I have said before that I will not tolerate her presence," he growled. Apparently, he hadn't grown completely soft.

"You wouldn't have to," Glory argued. "I can handle her myself if you don't want to deal with her."

"No," he stated firmly.

The Rainwing stared at him flatly. "And...why not?"

"Because I don't trust her!" he snapped.

"Again...why not?" Glory met his glare with one of her own. She was getting tired of hearing about some mysterious beef between these two and being kept in the dark. First, Greatness wouldn't speak of it, and if Mistral's expression was any indication, he probably wasn't going to say anything, either.

In fact, he actually did say something. But it was just as vague and mysterious as Greatness' earlier statement on the situation. "It's...personal," he eventually replied, and his expression made it clear that he would not be elaborating further. She sighed at her answers being denied her yet again. Hearing her reaction, he spoke once again. "What happened yesterday does not make us friends, Your Highness. You gained my respect, yes, but I am not about to share my life's story with you."

Glory studied him for a minute before nodding. "I understand." Everyone had their secrets, she knew. Unless Mistral and Greatness' mysterious past were needed as a matter of life and death, she would allow their secret to remain just that, secret. It was much the same thought process from when the former Nightwing princess had denied her.

"Thank you," he said appreciatively, once more taking her by surprise at how polite he was being. A few more interviews went by, and Glory only knew one of the three. Therefore, she could only fully confirm that one of them was telling the truth about themselves. Mistral huffed in frustration at her lack of knowledge, but he didn't seem to blame her. "Very well...you may allow her to look over the completed census when I am done," he allowed, and she smiled appreciatively at how he was willing to compromise now—and without someone getting stabbed or threatened, she might add. "Just keep the snake away from me."

"I can do that," Glory swore. "Both of you are going to be necessary for this census, but I promise that neither of you will have to deal with the other." He gave a crisp nod of understanding before shuffling some of his scrolls around.

"Then...I suppose if she is going to help, your presence here is not necessary." He looked to her, awaiting her response to his declaration.

She was surprised yet again, but that was becoming a common theme with this dragon, she noticed. He was so unlike the dragon he was mere days ago, and she was actually starting to believe everyone that said Mistral was a good dragon. As of now, she was still a bit suspicious, but she was willing to give him a chance as long as he remained well-mannered. Call her cynical—because that's what she was—but it would take a while before she completely believed that this Mistral in front of her was the real one. "I'll probably stick around a bit, anyway. It'd do my subjects good to see that you and this census have my support. There'll be less complaining that way."

And it's not like she had much else to do. A Queen she may be, but in the Rainforest that was more of a title than anything. At least she did more than the idiots who were Queen before her. But there was only so much she could do before she started fundamentally changing this tribe's way of life, and that's not something she was interested in doing. The Rainwings had been pacifist isolationists for centuries, and she wasn't going to tell them to change just because she thought they needed to.

"I'll be outside if you need me," she said, and Mistral nodded just as another Nightwing sat across from him.

Once outside, she headed towards Greatness, who was still studying that scroll—at least she assumed it was the same one. Occasionally, she would call a name, so Glory assumed it was a roll of the gathered dragons. "You seem less frustrated today than you have lately," the Nightwing observed when she approached. "Is he actually cooperating?"

Glory nodded, and Greatness seemed relieved to hear that. "He wants you to look through the census once we're through with it. You'd be able to find any discrepancies better than anyone else."

At that, the Nightwing actually dropped her scroll in utter bewilderment, staring at Glory as if she had just said Darkstalker had returned and was looking to court the former Nightwing princess or some other equally unbelievable thing. The Rainwing Queen just blinked in confusion at the, in her mind, unnecessarily dramatic reaction. "H-He...wants my help?"

"Well...I had to convince him a bit, and I don't think he's too happy about it still, but...yes?" Glory raised an eye ridge at seeing Greatness' entire posture deflate.

"O-Oh..." She shook her head with a sigh. "I dared to hope...never mind. Yes, I'll help." Glory studied the Nightwing, wondering about her strange reaction and what she was about to say before she cut herself off. "In fact, tell him to make a second copy, and I can start looking over it sooner rather than later."

Glory nodded. It was a good idea, and one she would definitely relay. She paused before turning away completely, sending one last confused glance to the Nightwing before walking off. She didn't miss the relieved sigh when she didn't ask any further questions. Even if she had resolved not to ask either of them, the constant reminders were making her more and more curious. Just what happened between those two?

AN: So if you haven't noticed, Winter is going to be a bit of a BAMF is this one. We'll be updated on his activities, but his actual appearance won't happen for a while yet.

I'm on Wings of Fire Roblox every Saturday from 6-7 pm Central US time. Come join us in the dining hall if you want to chat. Though, I was on a road trip the past two Saturdays, so I wasn't able to log on. Sorry if anyone was actually waiting for me.

Until Next Time

AdmiralCole22