Glorious Politics

AN: I really liked this chapter, so I hope you guys enjoy it, too.

Btw, I'm still on Fiverr. If you have an idea for a Wings of Fire fanfic you want to see done but either don't know how to write it or don't have the time to do it, I can do it for you. My schedule is pretty packed with four personal fics and my book, but if you want something done, I'll make time. I also do original, non-fandom stories if that's what you want. Check me out there if you're interested.

And on with the chapter...

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

Chapter Twenty-Nine:

They actually didn't go home, at least not right away. After Winter had gotten his small satchel of personal belongings and returned with Qibli in tow, Glory had told the Sandwing to give Thorn a message. "Tell Thorn to drop by at her earliest convenience. We have some things to discuss," she'd said.

Qibli had nodded and then frowned in confusion. "Why not just go talk to her now? She's not too busy. Today's when she and Blaze do citizen hearings. You know, listen to any concerns from her subjects and deal with small disputes."

"Well...if they're there to talk to the Queen, we shouldn't take up the Queen's time, now should we?" Qibli had pointed out that there was no harm in going to at least check and see if she had a few moments.

"Besides," he continued. "Blaze is usually the one that does all that. Thorn just pops in once a week to check up on her and make sure everything's going smoothly." Under Thorn's tutelage, Blaze had become quite a competent Princess. Still, whenever someone told her that Blaze was actually doing important work, Glory found it hard to believe at first. She still remembered when Blaze was a ditzy idiot.

All of Pyrrhia had been stunned when Thorn announced Blaze as heir to the Sandwing throne. It made sense now why she chose to do that, but it sure didn't two years ago. Sunny had already said she had no interest in being Queen, which was understandable. And Qibli wasn't Thorn's biological son, so his future daughters would have no claim to the throne. Even if they did, there weren't many dragons who would accept a hybrid as Queen, which unfortunately, also applied to Sunny. It was good, then, that Sunny didn't care about the throne.

So unless Thorn got married and had another daughter, Blaze was the only possible heir, provided she was still alive when Thorn died. Blaze was older than Thorn, after all, and she wasn't in much of a hurry to get married, either. Thorn and Smolder had been dating off and on for nigh on a decade, but they'd not made anything official yet. It made many dragons, not just Sandwings, worry over the future of the Sand Kingdom. Thorn was a great Queen in the present, but she couldn't rule forever. And no one wanted another war to claim the throne in the ensuing power vacuum when both Thorn and Blaze were gone.

Speaking of Blaze, it was odd to see her in such a position. When they arrived at the throne room, there was a line of dragons leading out into the halls. Some were carrying tribute while others were clearly there for business. Two Sandwings—one male, one female—were standing a wing length apart and glaring at each other. They looked similar, so they were probably family, brother and sister perhaps. It was clearly a feud of some sort, one which Blaze would inevitably have to pass judgement on.

The crown Princess herself was seated upon the throne. Gifts were placed on the steps leading up to the dais where it sat. A pair of guards were outside the door, another pair just on the inside. Two more guards were positioned at the base of the dais and another sat to Blaze's right. Thorn sat to her left, occasionally sharing words with either her or the record-keeper standing just off to the side.

Years of tutelage under Thorn hadn't done anything to Blaze's friendly and optimistic nature. Her expression was inviting, the smile on her face letting everyone know there was nothing to fear. Likewise, she spoke kindly, though not in a patronizing manner. Dragons could speak their mind without fear of reproach or punishment. Of course, if an argument turned uncivil or even violent, the guards were there to handle that. And if they weren't ashamed by Blaze's disapproval over their behavior, Thorn would definitely give them a piece of her mind.

There would be no unruliness in Thorn's court—a fact everyone was well aware of.

"Well, I'm flattered as always, Dusty, but my answer is still the same," they heard Blaze say. Moments later, a Sandwing around Thorn's age walked by, giving Qibli a wink. Qibli winked back and shook his head with a laugh. Not knowing what that was about, she glanced back at Blaze, only to see her watching 'Dusty' leave with a small, affectionate grin.

"Is he...?" Winter began, only for Qibli to nod.

"He comes in every week on the same day with a new love poem for Blaze. Thirty-four times she's denied him, but he still comes back." Qibli chuckled. "But I don't think it'll be much longer before she says 'yes'. Honestly, I think she's just playing hard to get at this point."

"Well, he's definitely persistent, I'll give him that," Glory muttered. Bloodwalker was watching the Sandwing leave with clear suspicion, but she couldn't exactly blame him. He was an assassin, being suspicious was in his job description.

"I think Thorn approves, but she's never said anything. He's the only son of a pretty respectable merchant, so he's got the appropriate background." Unlike some Kingdoms, namely the Sky and Ice Kingdoms, the Sand Kingdom had no nobility. Instead, there were a number of large merchant families that had all the influence. It was just a different culture. Sandwings had always cared more for coin than blood.

"If she does accept, I'd like to meet him," Glory replied. It would definitely be a good thing to be on friendly terms with him if he was going to be the newest Prince of the Sand Kingdom.

"I'm sure you'll get the chance," Qibli nodded before waving to get Thorn's attention. The Sandwing Queen nodded, whispered a few words to Blaze, and then came over to them. Several curious bystanders were watching their group, so Thorn ordered them all to follow her.

Thorn led them out of the throne room and away from the crowds. No guards had followed them, a sign of Thorn's utter surety to her safety in her own palace. That, even despite the recent break-in. Or it could have been because Qibli, Bloodwalker, and Winter were with them. Glory would definitely trust the three of them over a full entourage of guards any day of the week.

They arrived at a familiar room, and Glory looked around at the familiar shelves and equally familiar fireplace. Thorn's personal study was still as inviting as ever, but it was too bad they weren't here for a mere visit. "Winter, Bloodwalker, wait for us outside. Make sure no one bothers us."

"I suppose there's no sense making tea, then," Thorn commented as Glory's two bodyguards left the room. "I take it this has something to do with Greatness?"

At Glory's nod, Thorn glanced to Qibli. "He can stay," the Rainwing assured her. "He already knows most, if not all, of it, and I trust him." Thorn nodded, inviting them to take a seat. Then, at her behest, Glory got right down to business. "I believe Greatness is innocent."

The Sandwing Queen was quiet for several moments as she glanced between her officially adopted son and her unofficially adopted daughter. Finally, she spoke, "And what proof do you have to back this claim?"

With Qibli adding his two bits here and there, Glory told Thorn about Greatness' secret archive. She spoke of how they found it, what was in there, who else knew of its existence, and who knew the contents of the scrolls within. It painted a rather unfortunate picture, one that Thorn was frowning deeply at by the end. "So it is confirmed that Deathbringer has a part in this, whether of his own accord or not. His knowledge of that archive must be why he set Mastermind free, too."

"Woah...that's a bold assumption, Thorn." Glory intervened. "You just said Deathbringer might have been coerced into this. I don't think we should jump to conclusions and say it was him who broke into your palace. That note we found wasn't DB's writing."

Thorn just shook her head. "I was speaking of Vulture, dear. But you cannot deny that Deathbringer is one of the few dragons who could sneak in here without being caught. He most likely would have had help from someone inside, hence the unfamiliar writing. I cannot discount him as a threat. Not until we find out for sure."

That made more sense. Unfortunate, though it was. "So what about Greatness?" she asked once more.

"Did she tell you what was in the stolen documents?" Thorn asked pointedly.

Qibli and Glory shared a glance. "Other than the story she told us, no," was the Rainwing's answer. And from that story, they knew the gist of what Queen-Maker was, but they didn't know any specifics.

"Then she stays until she does." Thorn's tone made it clear she would abide no arguments. "I want the full story. And I want it before she has the chance to bolt. If she cooperates, I will let her go. Should she resist in any way, I will extract that information through force. Personally, if need be."

Sometimes Glory forgot that Thorn used to be a rather feared criminal—feared by other criminals, but still. Then she'd say stuff like that, and the Rainwing would get that startling reminder of what she was capable of if pushed. "I...don't think that'll be necessary." She hoped it wouldn't be, anyway. Both for Greatness' sake and her own. There would be a lot of trust lost between her and the Nightwings if things had to go that far. "If she doesn't talk at first, tell her I order her to."

"I'll keep that in mind. But if we're sharing intel, I might as well tell you that the Outclaws I sent to track down Shortsail should arrive in the Scorpion Den shortly if they haven't already. We should get a report soon." That was good to hear. "That's Winter's lead being taken care of. Greatness should help us figure out what Vulture and his goons are up to. There is one other lead we can pursue, however. Well...make that two. Magnificent and Sobek. They were last seen in the Sky Kingdom, and I know Sobek is smart enough to lay low after what happened."

"He'll be licking his wounds, too, no doubt," Qibli commented, his expression becoming distasteful at the thought of the traitor.

"Indeed. Which means there's a good chance that he's still in the Sky Kingdom somewhere. Magnificent is another matter entirely, but with any luck, the two will be together." There was a long moment of silence. They all knew how dangerous Sobek was. Glory saw him take down Mistral in the sewers. There was a high risk that anyone they sent after him wouldn't come back. And that was if Ruby allowed them to send someone into her Kingdom now that things between their Kingdoms were a bit...tense.

Neither she nor Thorn expected Qibli to volunteer. "I'll go."

"Absolutely not!" Thorn immediately denied. "Capable you may be, but Sobek is simply beyond your skill! I am not going to let you be killed—especially not by him!"

She and Thorn had already had this conversation before. None of her Outclaws had the experience or skill to take on Sobek, but there was a new dragon on their side since last time. As much as she hated to do it, she knew someone had to deal with Sobek. "I can send Winter after him."

Both Sandwings turned to stare at her, Qibli in horror and Thorn in confusion. "You can't—" Qibli tried, but Glory cut him off.

"I can. He swore his service to me. He still has his enchantment that allows him to remain hidden from all senses. Therefore, it stands to reason that the only dragon that can take on Sobek is the one he literally cannot see coming." It was understandable that Qibli was worried for his friend. However, she couldn't allow personal feelings get in the way of what needed to be done. This was an order that she would much rather not have to give—he was her friend, too—but Winter was the best dragon for the job.

Thorn studied Glory for a moment, no doubt trying to figure out Winter's chances based on what she knew. In the end, she merely nodded. "Do it. Make sure he knows that I want Sobek alive. He's no use to us dead." Then, she muttered, "And I fully intend on killing him myself."

"I guess we better get back, then." At Glory's decree, Thorn escorted them out. Before Qibli left, he gave the Icewing a hug and a quiet 'be careful' before leaving behind a thoroughly confused Winter. "I'll tell you why when we get back to the Rainforest," she told him, to which he nodded.

The trip back was spent in silence. Glory was lost in her own thoughts, and she knew her two escorts were both rather quiet dragons who tended to only speak when necessary. Bloodwalker more so than Winter, but the Icewing wasn't exactly the most sociable dragon she knew.

That silence, however, was broken rather spectacularly as soon as they arrived at her pavilion. No one had interrupted them during the walk there, so Glory dared to hope the rest of the evening would be just as peaceful. Needless to say...it wasn't.

"What did she say?" Mistral demanded as soon as they walked in. He was sitting behind his normal desk with a clearly displeased expression. "And why is he here?" That part had been directed to the other Icewing in the room.

In response to his questions, Glory answered them in the order he had asked them. "Nothing you need to know yet, and Winter swore his service to me, so by definition, it's now his job to be here."

Whatever anger had arisen when she brushed off his first question was replaced with what she could only describe as pure bafflement. "Swore your service to her?"

"Snowfall banished me again, so it's not like I had many other options," Winter shot back. Then, his gaze narrowed when Mistral didn't react to the news. "You don't look surprised to hear that."

"I'm not. I'm the one who advised her to banish you." The silence that followed that declaration was deafening. Glory stared at Mistral in utter shock. As for Winter, his expression was hard, though she knew if Mistral was any other dragon, Winter would be wearing betrayal clear on his face. Even Bloodwalker seemed taken aback, and he didn't even know the two that well.

"You what?" Winter growled. His jaw was clenched and his muscles tensed. The former Prince was angry and rightfully so. His best friend has just given him the proverbial backstab.

"Be thankful it was only banishment," Mistral returned. "By freeing Foeslayer, you betrayed your tribe. Whether you were right to do what you did doesn't matter. Whether the end result justifies your actions, likewise, doesn't matter. You committed treason, Winter, plain and simple. That cannot go unpunished."

"And what gives you the right to decide my punishment, fourth circle!?" Winter snarled. Mistral narrowed his eyes at the jab at his demotion. However, he did not escalate matters by giving in to anger.

"Would you rather have been publicly executed? Your crime told to the entire Kingdom, and your name forever cursed by future generations?" Winter didn't answer, so Mistral came out from behind the desk and closed the distance between them until he was staring right into Winter's eyes. The two were nearly the same height, though Mistral was just a smidge taller. "Because that is the normal punishment for treason. I told Snowfall to banish you, yes, but because of that, your deed will remain unknown to the general public. Like it or not, I saved your life, Winter." Mistral backed away a few steps. "No good deed goes unpunished. I learned that the hard way when I was a mere dragonet." He glanced at Glory for a moment before returning his glare to Winter. "This is the cost of yours."

Right when Mistral was about to turn away, Winter ripped the circle necklace off his own neck and threw it to the ground at Mistral's feet. The former Lord stopped, staring the former Prince down. "What's that supposed to mean?" Glory asked, uneducated in this particular Icewing custom.

Winter's glare was hard and unceasing, and Mistral eventually looked down and picked up the necklace. "I accept your challenge. When and where?"

"The Arboretum in thirty minutes," Winter replied curtly, turning and storming out of the pavilion.

"So be it..." the remaining Icewing muttered.

"What just happened?" Glory had to ask. What was this challenge supposed to be? Most likely a fight of some sort.

"He challenged me to a duel." Glory blinked at the simple response. A duel? Dragons still dueled?

"What terms?" Bloodwalker asked the question Glory was about to.

"For him to decide since he was the one who issued the challenge." Well, that wasn't comforting in the slightest. What if Winter, in his anger, demanded a fight to the death? Having either of these idiots dying in her Kingdom would cause some tension between her and Snowfall. Not to mention that they were both her friends.

"Nobody's dying," she declared.

Mistral just glared at her. "That's not for you to decide, Glory. If he wants a fight to the death, then I am honor-bound to meet that challenge or die trying. To back out is to admit I am a coward." He started walking to the door, pausing long enough to get in her face. "And I am no coward."

"Great..." she mumbled as Mistral walked out. She rubbed her temples with her thumb claws before turning to Bloodwalker. "Go to the healer's hut and grab a blowpipe and some sleep darts just in case. They can be mad all they want when they wake up, but no one is dying tonight." And then, just in case that was taken the wrong way, "Or any other night, for that matter!"

With nothing else to do except go to the Arboretum and hopefully talk one of them out of this farce, Glory hurried there. Winter said much the same thing about backing out as Mistral had, making her realize this was going to happen whether she wanted it to or not. Both Icewings were stretching their muscles to prepare for the coming fight, and it had attracted a rather sizable crowd. About thirty Nightwings, sixteen Skywings, and probably eighty Rainwings were gathered either in the stands or in the surrounding trees to watch the coming fight.

A few minutes before it would begin, Glory surveyed the crowd with a frown. There was a lone Sandwing in the crowd that seemed to be collecting bets on who would win. "I will never understand males," she found herself venting to the Nightwing standing beside her. Bloodwalker didn't comment. "I mean, I get that Winter is angry at Mistral, but why couldn't they just have a talk like normal dragons? What does beating each other up prove?" Bloodwalker still didn't say anything, and in that brief moment, she really missed DB's sarcastic remarks.

"Should I be concerned about this?" a familiar voice asked. Glory turned to her other side to see Horus standing there. He was watching the two Icewings with genuine worry, and she felt her respect for the Skywing commander grow slightly for that.

"I don't know," she answered honestly. That was when Mistral and Winter began to approach each other. "But I guess we're going to find out. As long as you're here, make sure your troops are ready to intervene if I give the word. I don't need either of them killing each other." He nodded and went to spread the word to the other Skywings scattered around the stadium.

"The terms?" she heard Mistral ask. The two Icewings were standing about ten meters away from each other.

"First to pin their opponent wins." Glory audibly sighed in relief at hearing that. Her biggest fear was laid to rest.

"The stakes?" was Mistral's next question. Neither were paying any attention to the excitement of the crowd around them. Their attention was focused solely on their opponent.

"A switch of fates." Glory furrowed her eye ridges in confusion, not understanding what Winter meant by that. Looking around, she could see most of the gathered dragons shared that confusion. "If I win, you take credit for my supposed crime. You can be banished while I return to my tribe."

Glory narrowed her eyes at that. She knew that Winter was upset about being banished again, so she tried to take that into consideration. Trying to shirk the accountability for his crime and foisting his punishment on a dragon that was supposed to be his friend wasn't right, though. And a lot of respect for him just vanished because of it. "Winter—"

"Stay out of this, Glory," Mistral cut her off without looking at her. "And if I win?"

Winter was quiet for a moment, his glare becoming even harder somehow. "If you win, my fate is yours to decide. Kill me, spare me...I don't care. I'll never bring this up again. I'd give you my word, but I doubt it counts for much anymore."

Glory found a bit more sympathy for Winter's plight in that moment. Likewise, Mistral's expression softened ever-so-slightly. "I accept these terms," he eventually nodded.

The Rainwing Queen realized then and there that she was witnessing the death of a friendship. No matter who won, the loser would be full of resentment towards the victor. Winter would forever hate Mistral for ruining his life if the former Lord won. Likewise, if the former Prince won, Mistral's life would be ruined, and he would forever curse Winter for taking away his prospects. And Snowfall would be utterly furious in that particular scenario.

Taking sides in a fight that wasn't hers—especially one she didn't fully understand—wasn't something she liked to do. However, in this situation, she knew who should win. What Winter was doing here was wrong. Morally speaking, Mistral was more in the right and deserved to win. In her heart, however, there was a small, possessive part of her that recognized that if Mistral lost, Snowfall couldn't have him. And while she hated herself for even considering it, in the end, she knew who she wanted to win.

As the two began circling each other, Glory began rooting for a side. So quietly that no one else could hear, she urged her chosen champion on. "Come on, Winter..."

AN: Glory's having a selfish moment. Who do you think is going to win, though? Put your predictions in a review. Whatever end may come of this, you can bet those two aren't going to be friends anymore.

Let me know what you think about it so far.

Until Next Time

AdmiralCole22