Crystal was the first up, the sun hadn't even risen over the horizon as she hopped over to her mother and father, jumping up onto their bed before she started jumping on top of her mother, giggling away. "Mommy mommy! I'm hungry" Glacier let out a groan of displeasure, this was the fifth time this week alone her daughter had woken up in the early morning only to ask them for food until either Frostbite or Glacier got out of bed to give their daughter a plate of seal meat.
"Frostbite, it's your turn to deal with her" Glacier groaned into the pillow, she had been run off her paws to keep an eye on her daughter, who always found a way to make mischief within the palace, be it hanging from the main chandelier in the large dance hall to stealing meat from the royal kitchen. She had received countless complaints from the royal guards and council members about the little princess and her misbehaviour, yet no one was willing to harm the princess in any way, in fact, most of the royal guards, as annoyed as they were at times, absolutely adored the little princess.
Frostbite let out a tired huff, he couldn't be annoyed with his daughter. Climbing out of the large bed, Crystal squealed with delight as she hopped off the bed before running towards the double doors, her tail wagging while Frostbite tiredly pushed against the doors, opening them up wide, letting his daughter rush down the hallway. Three guards were standing near the entrance of the Queen and King's bedroom, Frostbite moved past them, yawning as they greeted him, bowing to him and Crystal.
"stressful morning your majesty?" Sleet questioned, her eyes following the little dragoness who made a beeline for the royal kitchen. "You know she is a growing girl, she needs plenty to eat" Frostbite smiled at Sleet, who followed him while the other two guards stood at the doors, ensuring her majesty was safe.
"That I understand Your Majesty, for I have two girls myself. The council have informed me to tell you that you and Queen Glacier have been... putting the war effort aside, they wish for both of you to take the war meetings seriously" The guard who had told Frostbite of this was the lead guard of the group which had been assigned to protect the King and Queen with their lives.
Following his daughter into the royal kitchen, he came to the scene of two of the best chefs within the Ice Kingdom. Watching them feed the little princess with small bites of seal and polar bear meat, Crystal happily ate the chunks of meat, her tail wagging when Frostbite cleared his throat, startling both the chefs, with the one who had been feeding his daughter placing the fork down upon the table before bowing to their King.
"I hope you two are treating the princess well?" He questioned the two dragonesses while Frostbite picked up one of the small chucks, placing it within his one maw as the taste of polar bear meat exploded within his mouth.
"Daddy! That's my breakfast" Crystal whined out, before one of the chefs picked up another chunk, holding it in front of Crystal gently, letting the princess take it into her mouth, chewing on the meat when Frostbite gently picked the little dragoness up, holding her in his forearms.
"Okay you little troublemaker, it's time to go back to the bedroom" He suddenly heard her whine out, her ears drooping while wrapping her small wings around her body, making herself as small as possible. Frostbite sighed, a disapproving look showing on his face slightly as he spoke.
"Crystal, you know me and your mother will be very busy the rest of the month, Snowheart will look after you, but you must be on your best behaviour" Looking up at the two chefs, he thanked them for giving Crystal her breakfast, carrying her out from the royal kitchen while holding her gently in one large forepaw as he passed a few noble Icewings, they bowed to him as to show him the upmost respect.
"Morning" Frostbite bowed his head slightly towards them, his tail flicked in a snake pattern while stretching his wings slightly, folding them back up against his sides. His claws clicked against the icy floor when he turned around a corner to the left, Crystal squirmed slightly in his grasp.
Frostbite sighed, knowing that today would be a busy day of meetings and studying how the war was going. It wasn't going to help with his daughter running around. Upon reaching the bedroom doors, two guards pushed the doors open, the sight of two maids running around his mate made him chuckle, seeing an almost grumpy expression on her face.
Is all this jewellery necessary?" She let out a disgruntled huff, the maids clipping a pair of earrings on her before gently sliding a pair of silver horn rings onto her main horns. "Of course, it is my love. After all the Queen must always look Queenly" Frostbite grinned at his wife, padding up to her before giving her a peck on the lips.
Glacier felt her icy exterior melt slightly from her mate's affection, though she knew that true love had to wait until the meetings and running the kingdom were done and out of the way, which would be later tonight. The maids who before were putting her jewellery on now stood off to the side, awaiting a command from her she waved her paw at them, dismissing them while she made her way off the short yet large circular stand.
She then did a twirl, allowing her mate to see All of her, seeing his eyes roam over her body to which she covered her mouth with a paw, failing to retain a giggle while her husband examined his wife. "You look stunning my love, you always have" He cupped her cheeks with both his forepaws, rubbing his snout against hers gently while staring into her eyes.
Suddenly one of the royal guards came into the room, the room had no doors so they had no warning as he bowed to both of them. "Your Majesties, it is time to go to make our way to the meeting" Glacier rolled her eyes, Frostbite draping his left wing over her smaller form, feeling her nuzzle into the crook of his neck, making a few of the nobles look at them as if it was weird to show affection out in the public.
By the time their mother and father left, Snowheart was awake as he kept an eye on his younger sister, running around the room while Crystal knocked a few plates off the royal table. "Crystal, get down from there!" He whined, catching the last plate with his tail. Curling it around the expensive pottery as he got up, letting out a sigh. he placed the plates back onto the table, being mindful as he made sure to place them in the same orderly fashion they were beforehand. He then started to look around the room, trying to find a certain trouble-making dragonet, suddenly the sound of the door's lock being unlatched filled his ears, making him alert while snapping his gaze to the double doors, seeing a little white tail slither out from the room.
"Crystal! Get back here!" Snowheart called out, making a dash to the doors, pushing them wide open when he saw Crystal scrambling down the hallway, giggling as she made a beeline towards the large meeting room. "Crystal! Guards, stop my sister!" Snowheart ordered, making the Icewing guards snap into action as the small group was now trying to catch the little runaway. the sound of her cute voice echoed throughout the hallway, yet Prince Snowheart was able to locate her, looking to his right led right towards the royal kitchen, seeing a skinny yet long white dragonet tail disappear into the entrance of the kitchen.
"Mother and Father are going to be very angry" He huffed, galloping down the hallway, his claws helping him to grip the icy floor as the sound of crashing cooking pots and breaking glass filled his ears, each smash of expensive wine glasses made him cringe as he entered the kitchen, looking around before noticing a few of the royal chefs chasing after the princess.
Crystal was letting out squeals of delight, loving how the adult dragons chased her, thinking they were playing with her when she suddenly crashed into her older brother. Shaking her head, she looked up, immediately regretting it as she made eye contact with his upset expression.
"I'm sowwy brother" She sat on her haunches, curling her tail around herself when one of the female chefs came up, panting slightly from them chasing the princess. "My apologies Prince Snowheart, We meant no harm towards the Princess" Snowheart gave her a nod before he looked past her at the countless smashed wine glasses and plates. "Crystal, Mother and Father won't be happy with having to pay for all the damage you caused" He looked back down at his sister, seeing her look around the kitchen before staring back up at him, her eyes widening in shock from what had happened.
"I'm... naughty?" She said, her ears drooping while encasing herself in her wings, making herself smaller just like when Father had carried her. She then felt a paw gently cup her chin, making her look up at him as he spoke gently to her.
"It's okay Crystal, you're still an adorable sister and are the best in the world, just try to be more careful around the delicate things, okay?" Crystal gave a nod to him, reaching up with her forepaws, and asking for a hug which Snowheart gladly gave, picking up his smaller sister up her forearms gently, pulling her against his chest while wrapping his wings around her body, allowing her to enjoy the comforting that she got. She loved hugs, she always hugged her Mother or Father, yet also loved to hug her Brother whenever both their parents weren't around.
"Sorry about the mess" Snowheart whispered to the chefs, sympathy in his eyes before the lead chef spoke. "Please, it is okay Your Royal Highness, we will clear this up. And don't worry about payment, there is enough to cover the costs" She said to the Prince, who gave a nod before he let his sister curl up on his back, he may be around two years older than her, but he hadn't grown that much more, only a few heads taller than her.
"Do you want to go to the Moon globe tree?" He asked his sister, who raised her head while wagging her tail, happiness flashing in her eyes which made Snowheart laugh while they both made their way down the hallway towards the entrance of the courtyard, where the massive moon globe tree grew.
It had been a few hours by now, and everyone in the large meeting room was tired from working hard. Queen Glacier looked over the large map that was displayed before her, her husband, King Frostbite let out a sigh while their General, called Icesheet explained how the war was going and how many they had lost in small skirmishes, only a few full-blown battles had erupted along the border. Yet shockingly, not many Icewings had been lost, while the enemy had lost a lot more dragons, making the Skywings and Burn's forces back off for now.
"We have been able to hold back the Skywings, pushing as far as where the Sand starts My Queen, We have them on the run, in my honest opinion we should push further, cut off some of their supply routes so we can starve their ar-" "As much as they are the enemy, I will not starve them, hold our forces where the sand starts, do not push further, if you start to get overrun by the enemy, then fall back to the Ice cliff, is that clear General?" Glacier looked at Icesheet and her council with an agitated expression, huffing out before she pointed at some parts of the Icewall, telling her council where they should station lookouts to make sure no Skywings snuck past the Animus Protection field that flowed through the wall.
Suddenly a maid rushed in, panting while looking like she had seen a ghost. This made the whole council including the King and Queen look at the maid when Icesheet made her way over to her. "Y-your Majesties, Both Prince Snowheart and Princess Crystal are nowhere to be soon!" The maid stared at Glacier and Frostbite, seeing the fear and worry ignite in their eyes.
Immediately Both Parents rose before rushing out of the meeting room, Glacier and Frostbite ordered all royal guards to look out for their children, the Queen becoming panic-stricken as she and her mate galloped down the hallway towards the entrance to the palace. "Where are they, Where are my babies!" Glacier cried out, terror covered her facial expressions when Frostbite suddenly pulled her in for a tight hug, calming her down as he rocked her back and forth gently while countless guards rushed around them, checking every nook and cranny.
It had been at least half an hour by now, Glacier clung to her husband, her claws digging into his forearms, yet Frostbite didn't mind if he bled slightly while he continued to comfort his wife, that was until two guards came trotting back to them, Crystal on the second guard's back while the one in front had a sleeping Snowheart on her back.
At seeing both her children safe, Glacier ran towards them, leaving the grasp of her husband who let out a loud sigh of relief. Rushing up to her daughter, she picked her up from the guard's back, pulling her in for a tight up while the little princess hugged back. "Sowwy mommy, me and big brother went to see the glowing twee" She struggled to say some words, making Glacier chuckle before looking over at Snowheart who was fast asleep.
"It seems Crystal was well protected" Frostbite said, running a forepaw down Snowheart's back, making the Prince purr as he then curled his wings around where his sister was meant to be. When he didn't feel anything, he woke up with a startle, crying out Crystal's name in fright. He then noticed his parents looking at him as his father brought him in for a hug.
"I'm glad you both are safe. Though I must ask, what possessed you to take your sister out to the moon globe tree?" King Frostbite questioned a genuine look of concern and interest shone in his eyes as he looked down at his son.
"Um... Crystal may have escaped the bedroom and ran to the royal kitchen, um... she smashed countless plates and wine glasses" Snowheart cringed, awaiting his parents to rip into him for not looking after his sister better, yet all he heard was a soft sigh.
"That doesn't matter Snowheart, things like that can be replaced, but you two can't be. Just make sure to tell us beforehand" He then, along with his wife and daughter, made their way indoors as the winds slowly picked up, a snowstorm was moving in while the sunset started to melt into the blueness.
It was dinner time, and the whole royal family, along with Hailstorm's family sat around the table. Glacier never really liked how her brother and his mate, Tundra treated their only son, at times she had growled slightly every time she saw a new bruise on the young dragonet.
"So I heard that your... Son and Daughter created quite the stir" Glacier growled slightly, hating the way Narwhal said 'Son and Daughter' as if they were parasites, That was when Frostbite raised his voice.
"Prince Narwhal, you Will respect my children, or suffer the consequences" Narrowing his gaze slightly while Narwhal stared back with a cold heartless expression, lowering his head slightly before he let out a huff. Glacier knew that Tundra was the Alpha of the mated pair, and she hated it, she felt that Tundra, who wasn't a Princess before she got married to Narwhal, had dragged him down to be nothing but an emotionless brother.
Snowheart was at the large windows, away from the adults as he fed Crystal her meat, cuddling her as he too ate his meat. Crystal enjoyed snuggling, looking up at her brother just before every bite, chewing before swallowing. He had to admit, she was by far the best sister he could ask for.
"Okay you two, time for bed" Frostbite said, looking over his shoulder at his children. Snowheart gave a nod, but Crystal let out a whine of displeasure, only causing Frostbite to chuckle softly. "Take yours and Crystal's plates of meat with you, me and your Mother will join you soon" He gave Narwhal the side eye, huffing out while Snowheart, along with Crystal padding behind him, dashed for the exit, making their way to their bedroom to get ready for bed, their plates both had a small mountain of meat on them which Snowheart took great care in carrying.
"Crystal, you need to eat carefully okay? No eating messy" Crystal pouted slightly before smiling, the two guards standing at the royal doors opened them for the two young dragons. Crystal dashed towards the shared bed since she never liked sleeping alone.
"Okay, here you go sis" Snowheart gently placed the plate down next to Crystal, lying down next to her as he picked up a piece of meat and dropped it into his mouth, Crystal watched before she copied him, making Snowheart laugh out in happiness.
Suddenly the door opened up, and both Glacier and Frostbite entered, seeing their two children eating their meals. Glacier came over to her little ones, staring mostly at Snowheart before she spoke. "Snowheart, you did very well in looking after your sister, even with her creating problems you managed to keep calm and control the situation, me and your Father are very proud of you" She smiled at her son, giving him a nuzzle before she joined her husband on their bed, leaving their little ones to finish their meals before they too joined their parents in the soothing slumber of sleep.