Glorious Politics

AN: I actually had this chapter done on Monday but forgot to post it. And then when I went to post it yesterday, my computer wouldn't connect to the internet for some reason, so... oops. But I'm here now, and I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Wings of Fire. Nimbus, Sobek, Mistral, and Veneno are my OCs. Bloodwalker belongs to SpyroAndSisuFan. Certus, Solstice, and Swiftback belong to Epsilon33. Bear belongs to Schwanze. The concept for the character Soulseer partially belongs to SpyroAndSisuFan. Mystic belongs to Flerovium.

Chapter Fifty:

Mistral sighed and nodded, gesturing for her to follow him. She did, and they ended up going through the other door in the throne room, the one that lead to the royal wing where Thorn, Blaze, and Qibli's personal quarters were. Smolder stayed in one of the towers away from everyone else. Apparently, he was a bit of a recluse these days. Speaking of Blaze, though, Glory realized she hadn't seen Thorn's Ward in a while.

They stopped outside a room that Glory knew was empty, as it didn't belong to any of the three royals that lived in this part of the palace. Mistral entered, Glory followed, and as she suspected, the room was completely unlived in. Oh, it was furnished and clean, but there wasn't a single sign of anyone actually living here.

It was as private a place as any, she supposed.

As he shut the door and turned to her, his expression was less than enthused. "I'm not going to like this, am I?"

"Probably not," she admitted, to which he growled and looked away. "But…that's kind of the point, right? We need others to think we're fighting, so what better way to have an actual fight?" Her tone had an air of levity and humor to it, to let him know she wasn't being fully serious. But still, he was clearly unhappy.

"I assume this has to do with why she's here?" With the way he emphasized 'she', Glory instantly knew who he was referring to.

"I needed a new bodyguard," she responded simply. "With both Peril and Bloodwalker otherwise engaged, and us supposed to be fighting, I needed someone else to stay with me."

"Bear has ten soldiers with him, and I'm sure he wouldn't mind lending you one," he argued. "Plus, I know Qibli is supposed to be night guard, but Veneno is still around, too."

His arguments were valid, but there was another reason why she chose Foeslayer, one that she imagined he wouldn't agree with. "We've already seen that the cult wants her alive, which gives her an advantage in any confrontation."

"It also puts a bigger target on your back," he scoffed. "Because now, not only are you wanted by them, you're traveling with Darkstalker's mother. And how can you even trust her, knowing who she is!?" He raised his voice for a moment before looking away with a growl. Then, he continued, his voice back to a more reasonable level. "What makes you think she's even remotely on our side?"

"Because she told me that she wants to destroy Darkstalker," she countered.

"And you believe her?" he asked incredulously. "For all you know, she could just be telling you what you want to hear, and she'll betray us the second Darkstalker enters the picture."

Glory shook her head in denial. "She's not lying."

He scoffed. "And how could you possibly know that?"

"I just feel it, okay!" she snapped before looking away herself. Despite knowing this was probably going to end in a fight, she was still hesitant to actually go that far. If it was a fake fight, that was one thing, but if they didn't control themselves, this fight could end up very real. Sure, that was the whole point of bringing Foeslayer in without telling him, but the fact was that she loved Mistral. And fighting with him for any reason hurt. "Based on the conversations we've had, I trust her enough to believe her in this. I really do think she wants Darkstalker destroyed."

"Sometimes, I can't tell whether you're too trusting or just plain naïve," he muttered before shaking his head.

"And sometimes I can't tell if you're actually thinking about things logically or just letting your emotions rule you," she shot back, to which he actually snarled and looked away. "Look, I get it. You have a legitimate reason to hate some Nightwings. What Greatness did to you was terrible. And what Darkstalker did to your whole tribe was horrible. And what Morrowseer and Battlewinner did during the War was inexcusable. But those four dragons do not define their entire tribe. All Foeslayer did was fall in love." By the Nightwing's own admission, that wasn't true, but she figured mentioning that would only make him hate her more than he already did. "Your tribe has spent two thousand years hating someone because she fell in love."

"She stole Prince Arctic from his tribe!" he snapped back. "And his animus gene with him! We've not had an animus since while the Nightwings have abused the power they stole from us. And what good did that do them?" he asked sarcastically. "They have the power to rewrite reality, and their tribe is on the verge of extinction because of their hubris and incompetence. And I, for one, won't be sorry to see them go."

The unfettered hatred in his eyes was a horrible callback to how she remembered him when they first met. She'd thought he'd gotten better over time, that he had begun to let go of his hate. But it seemed that hope had been false. "You would condemn an entire tribe to death based on the actions of a clawful of individuals?" she asked, her voice calm. Dangerous even.

To his credit, he didn't answer right away, the look he gave her making her aware that he knew he was in trouble, so he wisely refrained from saying something that would make things even worse for him. Instead, he started with this, "Hatred runs deep in my tribe, Glory. Not only for the other tribes, especially the Nightwings, but also towards ourselves. Every Icewing tries to ignore how Queen Diamond's treatment of her son drove him away. We remain in denial because we don't want to admit how flawed our society and culture is. And that, in turn, only makes us hate ourselves even more. In a world where we have to be perfect but are told we never will be and that that makes us worthless, there's not much room for anything other than anger, hatred, and spite." He swallowed heavily before looking her right in the eye. "I hate the Nightwings because it's easier to hate them…than it is to hate myself. And believe me…there's a lot to hate in that regard."

Glory just stared at him, utterly blindsided by the direction this conversation had gone. What had started off as an argument about Foeslayer turned into a argument about—and let's be frank—Tribeism then turned into an admittance of how much Mistral hated himself and Icewing society. The look upon his face was a mix of uncertainty and anger, probably directed at himself at this point. "That, uh…that came out of nowhere…"

"Yeah…I've got problems," he snorted humorlessly. "I'm…trying to work on them." He looked at her again. "You make me want to be better." Glory felt her breath hitch at that, and she smiled lovingly at him. Then, as soon as she remembered Foeslayer's words, her smile fell, and Mistral instantly picked up on the shift in her mood. "Something wrong?"

At first, her instinct was to say that nothing was wrong, but after hearing him confess his inner turmoil, she would be wrong to keep hers hidden away. As much as it might hurt to hear, she'd be honest with him. "I'm just…worried that this—us being together, I mean—isn't…the best idea."

His posture immediately stiffened, and he looked at her cautiously. "Care to elaborate?" There was an edge of anger, and something else, in his tone. Something she couldn't quite identify.

"I'm just worried about what Snowfall might do. It's not that I don't want to be with you because I do. Let me just put that out there, so you're not worrying about something that isn't true. I'm more concerned about the potential consequences. What if this ends up the same way Foeslayer and Arctic's…situation?" She was about to say 'romance', but his dirty look convinced her to change the word at the last second. "What if Snowfall actually declares war on my tribes?"

Mistral studied her for a long moment before looking away with a sigh. "I won't say your fears are unfounded because that is a legitimate concern. Even I don't know how badly Snowfall will take this, but I do know you have a right to be worried. Just leave her to me, though. She'll take it marginally better if it comes from me."

"And if she claims I enchanted you?" Glory asked, to which he snorted.

"Just leave her to me," he reiterated. She frowned at his insistence. "I'm serious. No matter what you try to say or do, you'll make things worse, so just let me handle Snowfall."

"Okay," she relented. "But do you have a plan for 'handling Snowfall', at least?"

He opened his mouth to say something, closed it, and then huffed. "I'll get back to you on that one." She snorted, and he sighed. "Look, just…tell it to me straight. I promise I won't be angry. Do you want to call this off?"

The massive risk, and Foeslayer's warning made her want to say 'yes', but as she thought, she watched as his posture slowly began to deflate. Eventually, when he looked away, unable to meet her gaze, she sighed and shook her head. "No…" Yes, her decision was partly because she pitied him. He'd never had feelings for anyone before her, and this was a whole new mess of emotions for him to deal with. Plus, it was obvious that he actually did love her, even if he didn't know how to show it sometimes.

And, well…she loved him, too. Maybe she was being naïve and way too optimistic, but she'd trust Mistral to handle Snowfall. Maybe he really could solve this with words and things wouldn't devolve into full-scale war. It was probably a horrible decision, and she'd be the first to admit that, but in the end…wasn't there a saying about love triumphing over adversity?

He sighed and nodded, a deep look of appreciation in his gaze. "I know this is a change in topic, but…I spoke to Moon about our idea. Her insight was, indeed, valuable."

"Yeah?" she pressed, wondering what his thoughts on the matter were. She was also glad to get away from the depressing and worrisome stuff for a moment.

"She said she wouldn't recommend something so intimate—her word, not mine—without being absolutely certain that we would spend the rest of our lives together. She also said, and this part concerns me, that if one of us were to die, the other might go mad with the sudden loss. Supposedly, we'd become so used to the other being in our mind that the sudden silence might make the survivor go insane."

"Yeah, that doesn't sound ideal," she agreed. "So maybe we need to think about the wording or structure of this spell a bit more before we go through with it."

"We can't wait too much longer, unless you'd rather come up with a temporary solution? I don't want you hanging around Deathbringer unless I have a way to keep tabs on you." His protective streak was quite endearing, she would admit. And he did have a point.

"A temporary solution might not be a bad idea." Both of them thought about a workaround for a few minutes before an idea struck her. "Maybe a pair of bracelets? I say a certain phrase or touch it in a certain way, and then yours will vibrate or something to let you know I need you."

"Sounds promising. I'll confer with Qibli and Turtle about it. That way you don't have to worry about it." She sighed in relief, knowing at least one thing was taken care of. "I still think you should follow up with Moon, though, hear what she has to say for yourself.

"I will, don't worry." He nodded, satisfied. "And, uh…you know how we're supposed to be fighting?"

He nodded, suddenly suspicious. "Yeah?"

She grimaced. "Sorry about this…" She slapped him, claws and all, and four small marks appeared on his face, slowly weeping small blue tears.

He stared at her in utter shock before growling. "You couldn't have warned me?" he hissed, touching his cheek with a wince. "Or pulled your strike? That actually hurt."

"It's gotta be believable," she responded apologetically.

He growled and stormed away. "Oh, I am not going to enjoy this," he muttered as he slammed the door behind him. Glory winced at the loud bang, already feeling bad for hitting him. But it was part of the ruse.

Not even thirty seconds later, the door opened again, only a crack, and her heart skipped a beat when a familiar black head poked through. "What in the world did he say to you?"

"You're not supposed to be back here!" she hissed at him.

He fully entered the room, leaving the door wide open, which she was honestly thankful for. If he'd shut the door, alarm bells would've gone off in her head, to be sure. "Yeah, well…you know me. I never do what I'm told." He gave her his signature smirk, but she could see the hint of anger and betrayal in his eyes. "So…what were you two talking about?"

The fact he was keeping his distance was the only thing keeping her calm. "He didn't approve of my new bodyguard," she responded carefully.

"Understandable, given who she is," he said, catching her off guard. He chuckled. "I get your meeting earlier was supposed to be secret, but dragons talk. And the name Foeslayer tends to stir a lot of interest. I overheard a few whispers." He shook his head, amazed. "Crazy to think Darkstalker's mom was living in the Rainforest with us for so long. I always thought she was just a normal dragon."

"So did I until recently," she remarked. She looked him over for a few seconds, trying to determine what he might be thinking but unable to come up with any significant revelations. "Why are you here, Deathbringer?"

He blinked, seeming to be genuinely surprised by the question. "Talking with you?"

"No, I mean…" She sighed and started over. "I treated you horribly for years. I'll freely admit that I was wrong to treat you like that."

"That's a first," he muttered bitterly, interrupting her.

She bit back a snarky reply and merely nodded. "And I'm sorry for all that. But why do you even still care about me after how I treated you?" As much as she was fishing for information, she also genuinely wanted to know the answer to that question.

He stood with a sigh, taking a few steps toward her, and she matched his steps backwards. He paused and looked at her. "Are you afraid of me?" he asked, almost sounding sad.

"You show up out of nowhere with a Nightwing I've never seen yet you claim is your father after killing Sobek, the one dragon that scared me more than anyone else, and rescuing Hailstorm. It all just seems…too convenient." That was the thoughts of everyone else involved, and she wanted to see how he responded to it.

But he just shook his head with an amused huff. "You're being paranoid, Glory."

"After everything that's happened to me over the past several months, I have a right to be a little paranoid," she shot back.

"Fair…" he acquiesced with a nod. "Alright…despite how many times I've already told you, I'll start from the top. I never meant to hurt you. I was just playing hard to get. I didn't think you would take it so badly. And I stuck around for so long because I had hope that you would one day forgive me."

"Too bad I have a gold medal in holding grudges," she muttered.

He nodded. "I do love you," he confessed, taking her completely by surprise. She gawked at him in utter shock. "Is that such a surprise? Why else would I stick around so long with how you treated me?" He looked away with a sigh. "It was hard, but I held out hope that you'd realize the truth one day. And…that's why I came back." She cocked her head, and he explained. "I came back after I learned you were in danger because I love you. I don't want you to get hurt. And maybe…maybe you'd finally see how much you mean to me." There was an awkward silence for a few moments before he suddenly asked, "Do you actually love him?"

She blinked before figuring out who he was talking about. "Who, Mistral?" He nodded. "I thought I did. Turns out he's a complete tribeist. Not my idea of a good guy." The words almost burned as she said them, her stomach twisting at the utter lie she was telling.

He perked up. "So…you two broke up, then?" Glory nodded, trying not to let him see how nauseous this whole ruse was making her. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, after all… "I know this might seem opportunistic, but…would you want to go get a bite to eat with me?"

She looked at him in genuine surprise and saw the almost dragonet-like hope in his gaze. "Are you asking me out on a date?"

"Only if you want to call it that," he assured her. "If not, we can call it…dinner between friends?"

This was what she wanted, she kept telling herself. To trick DB into thinking her and Mistral weren't dating anymore, get close to him, and figure out his true intentions. But she hadn't expected to feel so…dirty. The unfettered hope and sheer joy in DB's eyes at finally having a chance with her after so long left her with a sour taste in her mouth, and it made her stomach twist worse than the lie about Mistral had. In the end, however, she knew what her answer was. What it had to be.

She nodded. "I'd like that."

AN: Not a lot happens here, I know, but that's a downside of shorter chapters. We at least got to see some more interaction between Glory and Mistral, another hint at Mistral's broken soul, and DB's back, baby! I'm actually really looking forward to next chapter because Glorybringer's going on a date! So look forward to that. And Blaze is going to make an appearance here shortly, too.

Until Next Time

AdmiralCole22