Glorious Politics

AN: I actually had this done like four days ago, but I waited until today to update it so the chapters didn't release too close together. And for those of you waiting on the next chapter of Dragons Change, it's coming. It'll be out by Wednesday at the absolute latest. Until then, I hope everyone enjoys this one.

Consider this chapter a part 2 of the previous one.

Another quick reminder: One of the OCs submitted to me will end up appearing much later in this story, permission already given for this. And he decided to make a Glorious Politics canon-compliant backstory/tie-in of his character. If you're interested, the story is called 'Wings of Fire: Paths of Blood' by SpyroAndSisuFan. There might just be a teaser for a future plot point in this story within his...

Disclaimer: I do not own Wings of Fire. My OCs Mistral, Tortoise, and Diamondback belong to me.

Chapter Fourteen:

As much as she hated to admit it, last night was kind of fun. Even if Glory wasn't the biggest fan of wearing jewelry, she would also admit her new ear and ruff piercings did look nice. Mistral chose well, though that was still an odd thing to think about.

As for the others, Kinkajou ended up with quite a few earrings, horn bands, a necklace, and a pair of bracelets. However, Turtle drew the line at her wanting wing chains like Anemone's. Kinkajou had huffed but reluctantly agreed. And other than the earrings and necklace that Qibli picked out, Moon did end up with a small tongue piercing. Glory still couldn't quite wrap her mind around that one since it seemed so unlike the normally modest Nightwing. Then again, it's not like anyone else would see it or even know about it unless she showed it off to everyone, which she probably wouldn't.

The rest of the night after all that was spent just catching up as the four of them weren't often in the same room. It may have been less than a month since Turtle and Kinkajou were last in the Sea Kingdom, but that didn't mean they spent a lot of time with the former Princess. It was a nice chance for the four of them to unwind and just forget all of their troubles, even if only for one night.

The Seawing Queen decided to turn in about an hour before midnight, and Glory offered to let Anemone take her bed, figuring it was the least she could do to make visiting royalty comfortable. Anemone half agreed, saying she would take the bedroom floor and allow Glory to keep her bed. Not wanting to argue about it—and honestly being grateful she still had her own bed—Glory accepted.

The next little while was spent clearing some space in the center of the office and setting up some rudimentary sleeping spots for Moon and Kinkajou, who decided to turn this night into a slumber party. Though, Glory suspected is was more the fact that their partners were probably already asleep and they didn't wish to wake them...or they didn't want to walk through the dark forest alone. Probably both, now that she thought about it.

Once they were settled down and ready to go to sleep, Glory blew out the candles and quietly entered her room. To her surprise, though, Anemone was still awake. "I thought you'd be asleep by now," Glory commented quietly, careful not to wake the sleeping dragonesses in the other room.

Anemone snorted, clearly finding something funny. Right now, she was facing the wall, her chest's lid opened. The Seawing reached a wing over and began unhooking the chains from them. "Did you seriously think I slept in all of this stuff?" she chuckled. Glory shrugged, but then realized the Seawing hadn't seen the gesture. However, the Rainwing was more interested in studying Anemone herself. It had been almost an hour since she came in here, and most of her jewelry had already been removed. Now that all—or most of—the gold was gone, she could focus more easily on everything underneath.

"Well, you certainly look like you've been working out," Glory commented. Indeed, the Seawing seemed every bit as muscular as Tsunami used to be back when she still trained every day.

"A little," Anemone shrugged. "Though I have to admit my physically fit appearance is the result of a small spell I put on myself." Just then, the chains finally came undone at the bottom, and Anemone carefully pulled them out through the holes in the tops of her wing membrane. Now, her gill, neck, and lip piercings were all that remained.

Too curious to not ask about it, Glory decided to address the Seawing's new appearance. "So...what brought all of this on? You wore a lot of jewelry last time I saw you, yes, but it was nowhere near this much."

Anemone's claws stilled, her left side gill chains only half undone. The Seawing sighed, and Glory studied her curiously. Her entire posture almost seemed defeated now, quite unlike the Anemone from earlier tonight. That Anemone had almost been too much to handle after a few hours, especially with Kinkajou in the same room, but looking at her now, she seemed almost nervous and uncertain. The Seawing allowed her claws to fall back to the ground as she gazed at Glory over her shoulder. "It's...personal," she whispered, not able to meet the Rainwing's gaze.

Glory was still surprised by the sudden shift in mood. The difference between Anemone now and her from an hour ago were like night and day. This sort of change wasn't right, and Glory was admittedly a bit concerned for her friend. "Anemone," she pressed gently. "What happened?" Because that was the only thing she could think of. Something had to have happened to spark this new interest, even obsession, of hers.

Anemone didn't say anything for a long time. Instead, her claws reached up to continue messing with her remaining jewelry. She finished up with that side of her gills, then moved to the others, and then her neck. Glory couldn't help but wince and run her tongue across the inside of her lips once the Seawing pulled out her lip piercings to reveal the sizable holes left behind. The whole process took about five minutes, and Glory had stayed quiet the entire time, sensing that the Seawing was wrestling with herself over whether to speak or not.

Finally turning around, the Seawing's gaze was lowered and she began to speak quietly. "A few years ago, when I first started putting myself out there, I, uh...noticed I wasn't getting much attention from all the eligible bachelors out there." She swallowed thickly. Apparently, this was something difficult for her to talk about. "I had no idea why. I wore all the same stuff as my younger sister, Auklet, yet she was getting all the attention instead of me. At first, I thought they all were afraid of my magic, and that's why no one wanted to date me. I tried a few things regarding that theory, but nothing ever worked. But then, about six months ago, I...learned the truth."

She paused, and to Glory's surprise, she seemed to be holding back tears. "A noble I'd never met before came to the palace to discuss business with mother, and he brought his son along. Things...didn't go too well. As soon as he saw me, he accused mother of lying, saying he was promised a strong, healthy wife for his son, yet all he saw was a sickly, skinny dragoness."

"An arranged marriage?" Glory asked in shock. She didn't think Coral was that kind of dragon.

A nod was her answer. "Yes...and one that was broken off at the mere sight of me. Some...rather unsavory things were said that day, and his son looked horrified at the thought of marrying me." Glory watched, speechless, as the first tears began to fall from the Seawing's eyes. "I demanded mother tell me what happened, and...it turns out I'm quite ugly by Seawing standards."

Glory recoiled at that. She remembered all of the dragonets being fascinated by Anemone back during her Jade Mountain years. "That's not possible," Glory denied, shaking her head. "You were voted 'most beautiful dragoness' during the 'who's who' thing during your last year at the Academy. How could you be ugly now when you weren't back then?" Glory didn't really care about her own physical appearance all that much, so she could care less of what others thought of her. But Anemone did care a lot about how others viewed her. Being considered ugly might not be much of a concern to some, but to Anemone, it meant a great deal.

To her credit, Anemone did smile a bit at that. "I never said I was ugly to everyone. I'm just ugly to other Seawings. Funnily enough, most dragons from the other tribes all see me as unique because of my coloring, which makes me beautiful to them. And I think I'm beautiful...or I tell myself I am. It's kind of hard to learn you've been lied to about your physical appearance your entire life." Glory still couldn't quite believe her claims, so Anemone asked, "When was the last time you saw a Seawing with pink membranes?"

She thought deeply on the question. She'd met quite a few Seawings over the years, but she couldn't ever recall another Seawing with pink membranes like Anemone's. "Only you," she said after several minutes.

Anemone nodded, looking at her wings with a small frown. "Turns out it's a result of a rare genetic mutation, like one in half-a-million rare. I have no idea what causes it. I doubt anyone does. But it's rather unattractive to other Seawings, who are all various shades of purple, blue, and green. So pink on a Seawing? Doesn't 'look right'." She furled her wing and held up an arm to look at her pale blue scales. "And the last dragon to ever have scales this color was Albatross...and we both know what Pyrrhia thinks of him." She sighed and lowered her arm again. "The unfortunate truth is that I ended up with the two worst colors a Seawing could end up with."

"I'm sorry to hear that," she said. Again, while Glory didn't care about her own physical appearance, it wouldn't be right of her to play it off as silly, for it was important to Anemone. Therefore, as her friend, it should be important to her, too.

"Thanks," the Seawing smiled shyly before looking back at the chest. "The jewelry was my attempt at fixing myself. I didn't want to just change my entire appearance because I genuinely like my own appearance. Plus, I didn't want to look like a completely different dragon, either. So I put on a bunch of pretty things, thinking it might distract everyone from my actual appearance."

"Well...I'd say that worked," Glory commented. "That was the only thing I could focus on when I first saw you."

Anemone nodded. "Which is what I noticed, too. The more I put on, the less other Seawings focus on my scales and pink membranes. Over time, it just...became a part of me, I guess. As long as I was wearing all of it, my abnormalities were hidden and I could be myself. Taking it off makes me feel naked to the world, like everyone can see my weirdness again and judge me for it. Now...I never leave my room without it on. You're the first dragon to see me without it in months." And if the fact she had never once met Glory's gaze was any indication, she still felt the way she described, even knowing the two were friends.

"You look fine if that's what you're worried about," Glory revealed gently, making Anemone smile appreciatively. "All the holes are a bit strange to see, especially the ones in your lips," she admitted. "But other than that, you look fine." She could see teeth through those holes, and when Anemone ran her tongue over and through them, she couldn't hold back a shudder. The lip piercings had been interesting, but the aftermath was something else.

Anemone hummed thoughtfully. "They feel a bit weird, too, but these were the latest ones I got. About three weeks ago, if I'm remembering right. Maybe a bit longer. I guess I haven't gotten used to them yet." She started poking them with a claw before noticing Glory's slightly disconcerted expression. "...It's too much, isn't it?"

Glory sighed. "Admittedly, yes. It is a bit much. To me. But I've never been one to care for how others see me. I'd say you shouldn't, either, but I know you. If wearing all that stuff makes you feel confident about yourself, that's what matters."

Anemone studied her appearance in the chest's mirror before sighing. Then, she shut the lid with a soft click. When she looked up at Glory with an uncertain expression, the Rainwing silently hoped she hadn't upset her friend with her honest opinion. "I wish I had your confidence," she instead whispered, making the Rainwing blink in surprise. "I wish I didn't care about what others thought of me." She felt around her lips again for a moment, her expression nervous again. "Maybe I should start weaning myself off of it. Turtle told me it was bad to depend on it so much."

"He was right," Glory agreed. "You shouldn't need to wear all of this to be yourself."

She nodded, giving the Rainwing a genuine smile. "Thanks, Glory...for listening to me. I guess I needed to get all that off my chest."

"No problem," Glory smiled back, patting the Seawing on the back. "What else are friends for?"

Anemone chuckled, settling herself down on her makeshift bedding. "Who said Queen Glory wasn't good with emotions?" Without waiting for a response, she laid her head down, a soft smile on her muzzle. "Good night."

"Good night, Anemone," the Rainwing Queen whispered, blowing out the candles and settling down on her bed. However, she found that she couldn't go to sleep right away. Anemone's words about Glory not being one for emotions wasn't sitting right with her. Maybe that was true. It was certainly what she always told herself, but...maybe she didn't want to think that way anymore. It was like Tsunami said a few weeks ago: she needed to move on and start opening up to others. After all, she had been slowly doing that for the past week, talking with her friends and Mistral. She'd probably spoken more words in the past seven days than the previous seven weeks combined!

And it was nice.

She suddenly wished this investigation would take a good long while. Because once it was done, Qibli and Moon would no doubt return to the Sand Kingdom. She would even be sad to see Mistral leave. Even if he had started out as a complete jerk, Moon was right. After giving him a chance, he really had become a nice dragon. She still wasn't sure if he could even be considered a friend since they'd only known each other for two weeks—and he had been a jerk that first week. He'd even said they weren't friends the day after his emotional breakdown. Even still, when he left...she'd be alone again. Sure, Diamondback would still be around, but he was just a guard.

Glory sighed, closing her eyes against a rising wave of depression. Minutes later, she was fast asleep.

Surprisingly, she slept pretty well that night even if she did wake up earlier than she wanted after such a late night. She blinked a few times to focus her vision and saw Anemone standing over her. "Good morning, sleepy," she smiled.

"Ugh...what time is it?" she asked, looking out her window to see sunlight streaming through.

"About an hour before noon," came the rather unexpected response. Glory had to blink a few times while her brain tried to process that. She hadn't slept that late for a decade, at least. "I've got to get going pretty soon, and I thought I should wake you before I did."

"Yeah...thanks. Sorry, I don't normally sleep in this late." Glory turned to regard the Seawing Queen only to stare at her in mild surprise and confusion. Anemone was wearing her pearl necklaces, a few earrings, her horn bands, and her bracelets...and that was it. Plus, there was no sign of all the holes left by the other piercings—another enchantment, she assumed. "You're not wearing everything," she pointed out.

Anemone nodded with a small smile. "Yeah, I really thought on our conversation last night. I doubt I'll ever give it all up completely, but you were right. I shouldn't have to be so dependent on something like this."

Glory smiled at that, glad to see her words made some kind of impact. "Glad I could help." Then, she had a thought. "Maybe you could find someone to talk to about it if it helps?" she suggested.

Anemone just rolled her eyes with a small scoff. "I don't need a shrink getting in my head, thinking they know me better than I know myself. Besides, if you really thought it would help, you would have done the same thing already regarding your Deathbringer problem." Glory looked away with an annoyed huff, knowing she had a point even if she hated to admit it. "But..." Glory looked down when she felt Anemone patting her claws in a soothing manner. "I think I already found someone to talk to."

It didn't take a genius to figure out what Anemone meant. "Me?" Anemone nodded, but Glory was skeptical. "We don't see each other all that often," she reminded the Seawing, who merely smirked, nodding to the small dresser where Glory usually kept her few personal belongings. Atop it lay the dreamvisitor, exactly where it was supposed to be, but next to it was another similar gem, made out of amethyst instead of sapphire. "You made another dreamvisitor?" She picked it up, her expression understandably dumbfounded at the Seawing's offering.

"I made two," Anemone nodded. "One for me, and one for you. That way we can talk to each other whenever we want." Glory stared at the gem in her claws for several moments before Anemone continued. "And...I was kind of hoping we could, you know...talk." Based on the way she said it, Glory assumed she meant in a therapeutic way.

There was one thing the Rainwing didn't understand, though. "Why me? Why not Tsunami?"

Anemone just shrugged. "I suppose I could've gone to her. But I thought you would understand me better." At Glory's raised eye ridge, she explained. "For starters, we're both Queens now. I figured you could help with some things if I needed it. Secondly..." she smiled a bit shyly. "Well, I look up to you." She smiled at Glory's surprised expression. "If I can rule the Sea Kingdom as well as you rule the Rain Kingdom, I think I'd be doing a good job. And since you and Tsunami are basically sisters because of how you were raised, I figured maybe we could be like sisters, too."

It was a surprising offer coming from Anemone, to say the least. Personally, she had no idea that Tsunami's sister thought so highly of her, but she supposed they did get along rather well. She could help but chuckle a bit at everything, though. Seeing Anemone's confusion, she elaborated. "It's just that I recently discovered that Thorn thinks of me like a daughter. And now you think of me like a sister. Plus, I have a Mudwing, a Sandwing, and a Nightwing as brothers. And a Sandwing and another Seawing as a sister." She laughed again, and Anemone chuckled, too, when she realized what Glory was saying.

"Sounds like a strange family," she joked, making Glory snort in amusement.

"It is," Glory smiled wistfully. "And I have a feeling it's about to get stranger."

Anemone gave her another short hug, but to her utter surprise, Glory prevented her from pulling away and squeezed the Seawing in a tight embrace. "I won't ever forget this, Anemone, and I'll make sure to keep in touch with your gift."

When Glory finally released the dumbstruck Seawing, Anemone gave her a genuine smile. "I'll be looking forward to it. And don't worry about the whole treaty thing. Most of the stuff will be the same, but you know how it is. There's a process to this stuff. The Sea Kingdom will always answer if you call for help."

"Same," Glory swore, and Anemone waved farewell, leaving the room. The Rainwing was about to call her back to remind her to grab the chest, but when she looked over to where it used to be, it was gone.

Deciding it was way past time to get up, Glory started leaving her bedroom, only to bump into Anemone, who was on her way back in. "Oh, sorry! I forgot to give you something." She waved to Tortoise, who was waiting just inside the entrance to her office. Turtle's lookalike came up and deposited a scroll into Anemone's waiting claws, who then passed it to Glory. "Ruby asked me to pass these to the other Queens for her, and since I was already going to meet with them, I decided to help."

Sure enough, the scroll was stamped with the Skywing Royal Seal, and Glory stared at it curiously. "Do you know what it is?" Anemone nodded with an excited smile but said nothing, merely motioning for her to open it. Cautious, but still curious, Glory opened the scroll and read the short message...or invitation. "Queen Ruby is getting married?"

Anemone was pretty much vibrating in excitement. "Uh huh! And she's invited like half of Pyrrhia for it! It's supposed to be the celebration of the millennium!" Anemone was clearly overjoyed to be able to attend such an event, though Glory was a bit more reserved. The Icewing murders were still on her mind, and a massive gathering like this would be the perfect cover for something big to happen. "You don't look too excited," Anemone commented, calming down after seeing Glory's mildly worried expression. "Snowfall mentioned that something in the Sky Kingdom was worrying her, but she didn't go too deeply into it. Is that part of why that Icewing is here?"

She was tempted to tell Anemone. By the stars was she tempted! Having an animus on their side during this investigation would be a massive boon to them. But it wasn't her place to tell. Snowfall had specifically asked for discretion, and Mistral was the only one who could bring others into this operation. "It is," she finally admitted. "But I can't tell you per Snowfall's request."

Anemone huffed. "Oh, come on, Glory! I could help, whatever it is!" She held up her talons and wiggled them around in emphasis.

"I know you could," she said, gently pushing Anemone's talons back down. "But if you really want to help, you need to go ask Snowfall about it directly. I'm sure she'd accept your help."

Anemone hummed in thought before shaking her head. "I'm not going to beg her to accept my help. I offered, and she refused. So if she wants my help in the future, she'll have to come to me." She huffed. "Whatever...I'm sure it's not that bad, whatever it is. You're taking care of it just fine, right?" She couldn't find it in herself to argue with the Seawing and say that it was actually pretty bad. If she did that, Anemone sure as the tides wouldn't drop the matter. So she nodded. Her and Mistral were working on it. The whole process may have been slower, but they were getting there. Already, Greatness had uncovered a few suspects, but no one was going to be questioned further until the census was done and they had a complete list compiled.

So with that, the two bid each other farewell, and then Glory was left alone with Tortoise and Diamondback, who had been silently standing guard off to the side the whole time. The Seawing smiled at her and set up several scrolls, quills, and inkpots on Mistral's desk. "My estimates say we should be done by the end of the week," he assured her, and she sighed.

"Alright, then. Let's get this over with." She sat down at her own desk as they began the tedious process of drafting a new treaty.

AN: A bit of a different side to Anemone in this one, and she explains a bit of why she is the way she is. Yeah, her reasons are probably not a big deal for most people, but it's important to her. I tried to show that Glory tried to empathize with her even if she didn't fully understand it herself. And Tortoise will be sticking around for a chapter or two.

Plus, a bit of foreshadowing for the future, perhaps?

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. My username is the same as my name on here if you want to send a friend request.

Until Next Time

AdmiralCole22