Deep in thought, Snowstorm made his way through the palace halls while his claws clicked against the icy floor. Even with the Royal family out of the way, albeit closing in on the palace, he still had the problem of Narwhel and Tundra, knowing they would not stand for this revolt.
Letting out a groan of displeasure, he heard claw clicks behind him, the huffs of a dragoness echoed in his ears when Snowflake came to a stop beside the old male Icewing, looking at him as she steadied her breathing.
"Sir, the rebel forces are outnumbered by the palace guards, though we have managed to take a few of the small villages dotted out in the empty outskirts of the kingdom"
Shifting upon her claws, Snowflake, who was Snowstorm's second in command, waited for a response from him. She watched him make his way up to one of the many enchanted walls, which resembled the outside, with snowflakes that fell from the sky. He let out a sigh, dragging his left forepaw down the icy wall, the screech of his claws racking down the wall made her wince before Snowstorm turned to face her.
"Very good, the more we can enclose our enemy, the less of a chance they have to call for backup from their pro-royal villages. Snowflake, tell our generals that they are to capture the southern town of Icestone. Once we seize it, then we can spear our way towards the Palace... This would have been easier if most of our rebel forces weren't located in the villages far from the capital"
He growled, tail lashing about while Snowflake listened to him. She then quickly nodded, turning on the spot before darting in the direction she had come from.
"You know, you shouldn't do this Snowstorm, you know what will happen" Snowstorm looked behind him to see Narwhel looking at him with an upset look.
"And why should I not go ahead with this? You can't stop us, if me and my forces have to slaughter you and your useless family, then we will" Snowstorm growled with a wide grin while he turned on the spot, his tail smacking Narwhel in the snout before he went on his way down the corridor, leaving a stunned and worried Prince alone.
Upon exiting the palace, he watched as his undercover rebels all gave a subtle nod at him, he had strictly told them to not engage any of the Icewing guards or army yet, for he knew that it wasn't the right time yet.
Making his way towards three Icewings, two of which were on his side, he put on his friendly mask to cover his true intentions, not wanting to alert anyone to the growing rebel.
"The army has taken quite a beating from the last Skywing atta- Oh, Hello Snowstorm, aren't you meant to be at the current meeting with Tundra, who is covering the Queen?" Icespear questioned, tilting his head while the other two Icewings quickly glanced at each other before they looked at Snowstorm, who spoke up.
"No, I am not needed, though perhaps we should speak somewhere more... private about matters such as these?" He gestured towards a long dark alleyway, looking towards his two rebel allies who both grinned, with Icespear not noticing as he gave a hesitant nod.
"Alright, It sounds rather classified if you need to speak in private" The four Icewings made their way into the wide yet cornered-off Alleyway, Icespear turned around, with Snowstorm's two Icewing rebels making their way around the Icewing recruit who began speaking once more.
"Have you seen the way some of the Icewings have been acting lately? The way they looked at each other and nodded at each other... It's like they are communicating?... But I digress" He shook his head, his tail flicking about gently as Snowstorm spoke up again.
"It seems you know too much, and for that, we need to silence you" Icespear gave a tilt of his head when suddenly his eyes widened when he put the pieces together. he attempted to make a run for it, jumping up only for the two Icewings behind him to dig their claws into his wings, ripping them, while Snowstorm covered his mouth to silence him.
"Poor little Icespear... If only you kept quiet and turned the other way, you may have been left alive!" Icespear looked up at Snowstorm with pure fear, trying to say something, yet all that came out were muffled cries. Snowstorm then grabbed hold of his left horn, while grabbing his right shoulder and twisted Icespear's head, a loud crack was heard as the struggling Icewing became limp and his neck was snapped.
Letting go of the now-dead Icewing, Snowstorm cleaned his claws of the bit of blue blood that had stained his scales. He then looked up at his two rebel Icewings as they both saluted to him.
"The element of surprise may be compromised, which is why It's time we strike. Now, both of you, fly to the villages and spread the word!" They both gave a nod, flapping their wings as they ascended into the sky, leaving Snowstorm alone with the dead body of Icespear. He looked around and noticed a large pile of snow before an idea formed in his head, smirking as he proceeded to start covering Icespear's body.
Snowheart was by now a bit further in front of his group, having just reached the outer circle of the capital when one of the rebel Icewings came flying up to him, greeting him with a smile and a bow of his head.
"Your Highness! It Is wonderful you have arrived back intact. Though may I ask, where is the rest of the royal family?" The older Icewing questioned, tilting his head slightly while the necklace with four circles dangled around his neck. He held a spear in a protective position, his eyes jumping about when Snowheart replied.
"They are a bit slower than me, but I'm sure they will arrive soon enough" He narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at the oddly acting Icewing before he flew past him. Firn was a good friend of his father Frostbite. "So, what has happened while I have been away Firn?" He studied the Icewing who flew after him, watching how the older male jumped at his question.
"Oh! Nothing much, ju-" "Firn! Why are you here, you're meant to be standing guard at the entrance to my brother's room!" Queen Glacier roared, scaring Firn as he turned to face her.
"Y-yes your Majesty, please accept my deepest apologies" He bowed to her before flying off as fast as he could, not wanting to stay around the angry Queen. Glacier then turned to her son while he had started to search the capital below them, his eyes trailing over each and every structure before he dove down towards where the entrance of the palace was.
The guard sitting just in front of the massive diamond-shaped ice slab which sat between the two entrances of the Palace looked up to see Prince Snowheart and the rest of the royal family, he immediately straightened his posture, banging the butt end of his spear against the block of ice he was sat upon three times, the sound echoing throughout the whole palace which stirred the whole palace to life. Servants went rushing about, from cleaning to getting the best royal meals ready, they made sure to please their royal overseers to the best of their abilities.
"Prince Snowheart, it's a pleasure to have you return after your training sir!" The guard spoke, bowing towards the large Prince who returned with a nod, moving past the guard, only for two servants to greet him with a small dish of seal meat and a cup of blueberry ice wine.
Snowheart stopped in his tracks, the two smaller female servants looking up at him, both looking tired, with large dark blue markings under their eyes and the left dragoness shivering and swaying slightly. "Are you two alright? you seem like you have had no sleep in ages?" Snowheart questioned, watching as the right dragoness spoke up.
"I'm... sorry Your Highness, but we have been unable to sleep. Prince Narwhal had told us not to rest, he said that the guards had been reporting an increase in suspicious activities" Snowheart glanced around the long hallway that led into the main part of the palace where the Moon Globe Tree was. Feeling as though something was wrong or someone was watching them. Shaking his head to rid himself of such thoughts, he focused back on the two servants before speaking.
"Go and rest, I'll be having a word with Tundra and Narwhal" He then proceeded to storm past the two girls, both of them looking at each other before they retired to their rooms.
Meanwhile, Snowheart's family entered the palace, being welcomed by all the staff who came to them. Frostbite noticed all the tired looks while he looked over all of them, frowning before he dismissed all of them to their rooms.
"I need to have a chat with Narwhal" King Frostbite huffed as he wandered past Snowheart, giving his son a slight nod before he moved hastily down the corridor.
Snowheart let out a sigh, misty breath left his maw while he made his way into the main open interior area of the palace, looking up at the giant Globe Moon Tree before he reached up and pulled one of the globes off the tree, holding the glowing orb in his forepaws when he suddenly became aware of paw steps behind him. He let out another sigh while he continued to look at the Moon Globe before he felt paws on his shoulders, feeling those claws dig into his tense muscles when Icesheet's voice filled his ears.
"Why so tense darling? Is something wrong?" Her voice was silky, like whispers in the wind. he closed his eyes and just listened to her breath, listened to her purr, he then laid back against her, with her holding him in her grip while she hummed softly to him.
"Something is going on in our Kingdom, from what some of the servants have told me, it's not good news" He looked up at Icesheet, seeing her looking down at him before he commented. "You'll make an amazing Princess and Mother"
Icesheet gave him a loving smile, her tail curling around his while he slowly got back up, running her paws over his wings and muscular form when Queen Glacier came padding up to them.
"Son, I want you and Icesheet to come to the council meeting in an hour" Snowheart bowed to her, as did Icesheet before Queen Glacier turned and went back the way she came, they both looked at each other before they decided to head down the corridor in the direction the Queen had gone down.
Unknowingly to them, one of Snowstorm's scouts had watched the whole thing, her white tail lashing before she quietly ran off, though not before Snowheart turned around and caught sight of her tail, confusion written all over his face before he continued to follow Icesheet.
It was roughly an hour later when Prince Snowheart and General Icesheet both entered the royal council room. Snowheart saw his mother, father and sisters sitting around the table, as were Icesheet's most trusted and loyal soldiers, along with Prince Narwhal, Princess Tundra and their two children, Icicle and Winter, Hailstorm had been captured by the Skywings. A large portion of the royal council was also loyal towards the Queen as they all looked to see Snowheart.
"Your Highness," They all said simultaneously, bowing to him except his family who looked on with pride, though that quickly diminished when Snowheart questioned why Snowstorm wasn't here, yet no one had an answer.
"Your Majesty, we believe that their leader is situated around the southern parts of the capital and may be planning an uprising against Her Majesty. we also found this" One of the council members slid what appeared to be a diary along the Icy table towards Snowheart, with the Prince catching it before he opened it up and began to read through it, his eyes widening to just how dangerous this Icewing truly was.
Step 1: Begin consulting with fellow Icewings who are loyal to the anti-monarch regime. (completed)
Step 2: Begin to track what each royal family member does at all times, and track their friends and close ones. (completed)
Step 3: Begin finding weaknesses within the structure of the royal guards and the council. (not yet completed)
Step 4: Assassinate Prince Snowheart, for he is the biggest threat at this current time. Once he is out of the way, then me and my rebel forces can storm the palace with force. (Not yet completed)
(If Snowheart returns sooner than expected, then step 3 is to be skipped and step 4 is to begin)
Snowheart continued to look through the diary, flicking over page after page, seeing detailed weapons and traps, with some being so disturbing that these weapons were considered war crimes. He then flicked to the near end of the diary, only to see a kill list.
.Icespear (dead)
.Snowflare (dead)
.Icefang (alive)
.Coldsteel (dead)
.Snowshower (dead)
.Arcticstorm (alive)
.Icewave (alive)
.Snowtail (dead)
(The names below are high-priority targets)
.Prince Snowheart (alive)
.Princess Snowfall (alive)
.Princess Mink (alive)
.Princess Crystal (alive)
.Queen Glacier (alive)
.King Frostbite (alive)
.General Icesheet (Capture and use her as bait if unable to kill Snowheart)
Snowheart felt his blood run cold when he whispered each name, panic began to set in as he read more and more of the diary, seeing just how evil the rebellion was.
.Number of Icewing Dragonets killed due to them being Loyal to the Queen (41)
.Number of Icewing adults killed due to them being Loyal to the Queen (93)
Most deaths were made on the battlefield to not attract attention.
On the pages after were detailed drawings of what each assassination looked like.
Snowheart felt sick from what he had just read, placing a forepaw to cover his mouth as he retched while some of the council members ran around, looking for something to contain the Prince's vomit if he were to do so.
"Prince Snowheart, for the monarchy to survive, Icesheet is to be treated like a Princess from now on, since you and she have already unofficially shown deep attraction towards each other, thus this puts her in harm's way, and we can't allow her to be injured for she is now in line to potentially become the next Queen" Snowdancer, who was one of the oldest Council and most loyal members said, making her way around the table with an Ice bucket, passing it to Snowheart who threw up into it. Both Icesheet and Snowdancer rubbed his back as he emptied his stomach.
"I'm... going to murder that fucker" Snowheart growled when he was done, clenching his fists before he walked over to an icy glass of water and cleaned his mouth before he threw the water down the sink that led to an underground river. He then turned to face everyone, seeing that they were all looking at him with hope in their eyes.
(Are they expecting me to lead our army against Snowstorm?) He wondered to himself before Snowdancer spoke up once more.
"Your Highness, from what we have heard of your training, you are the best to lead an assault at where we believe is the rebellion's main hideout here" She pointed to a map of the Ice Kingdom, with Snowheart making his way over to overlook the same map. "You have our full support and I'm sure the army will be honoured to follow you, Your Highness" She and the council bowed to him while he stood there, an angry expression covering his face while he looked over the map before he grabbed the diary once more.
"I want twice as many guards to be assigned to Narwhal's family and mine, and to patrol the Palace and capital, as well as the surrounding towns and villages as well, do not attack unless I or General Icesheet give the order, only defend for now until we are more organised" He then turned to Icesheet, taking her forepaws in his larger paws. "I need you to promise me that you will be safe"
Icesheet smirked as she leaned into Snowheart, nuzzling into the crook of his neck while wrapping her wings around him. "Of course my love, I'll be protected by the best soldiers. Isn't that right boys" She glanced over at the few royal soldiers that suddenly stood to attention at their General's voice, all shouting out as one. "Yes Ma'am!"
Frostbite made his way up to his son, in full battle armour since he had gone to the armoury next door and got ready, as had Tundra and Narwhal, along with Arctic and most of the Council members. "Son, you need to get ready, for this most likely will get bloody" He placed a forepaw on Snowheart's shoulder, studying his son before he looked over at his soon-to-be-daughter-in-law. "General Icesheet, you should get ready as well, there are plenty of Armour sets in the armoury" He then went to join his mate and Brother in law, chatting to them on how to flush out the rebellion's forces while Snowheart and Icesheet both went to the armoury, entering it to see a few servants dressing both Crystal and Snowfall up in armour.
"Oh no! You are not joining the fight!" Snowheart cried out, yet Snowfall stopped him as she looked up at him with a confident expression. "Brother, we are all in this together, yes the Sandwing war is going on, but we need to destroy the rebellion's forces first before we can focus on the continent-sized war" She then turned to look at Winter, hearing the metallic clinking of his armour as he made his way up to his older cousin.
"Snowheart? I didn't expect you to be so.. big?" Winter exclaimed as he looked up at Snowheart, who chuckled lightly before ruffling Winter's head spikes.
"Well, you know, growing up, training and all that. But what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with the younger dragonets who are protected by the royal guards?" Snowheart asked, a hint of concern in his voice.
Winter shrugged, adjusting his small armour plates. "I wanted to help. I may not be as big or strong as you guys, but I can still do my part."
Snowheart smiled warmly at his younger cousin. "That's the spirit, Winter. But promise me, you'll stay safe out there, alright?"
Winter nodded eagerly. "I promise, Snowheart."
With a final pat on Winter's shoulder, Snowheart turned to Icesheet, who had been watching the interaction with a soft smile. "Let's gear up and get ready. We have a fight ahead of us."
Icesheet nodded in agreement, her eyes filled with determination as they both began to put on their armour, preparing themselves for the impending battle against the rebel forces. Together, they would face whatever challenges lay ahead, united in their determination to protect their kingdom and their loved ones.