— Chapter 26 —
Pyrite/Hailstorm
Pyrite had been left kinda shaken that night, and she was doing whatever she could to keep herself calm, like thinking of Queen Scarlet, that always works.
But the issue here is that… Even thinking of her beloved queen couldn't stop her from shaking so much all the way back to the caves where the Talons of Peace reside.
They all had gotten ambushed, and she brawled against a Nightwing, she'd never seen one of these dragons fight before in Queen Scarlet's arena, so that was brand new, and she felt shocked that she wasn't dead right now, she has killed a few dragons, but someone like her could never beat someone like that… The Nightwing maybe wasn't fighting to kill, like, that's the only possible reason for Pyrite to still be alive after that fight.
And then… Cirrus! Oh moons, Cirrus is dead! He had always been looking after her, following her and making sure she remained safe, and now he was gone… It didn't matter much to her that he actually was somehow a whole other type of dragon, Cirrus is Cirrus! And to make it worse, he was a follower of Queen Scarlet! She would feel so disappointed when she learns a trusty follower died…
And that made Pyrite realize with her heart beating fast, that it's possible Queen Scarlet is the reason why Cirrus protected her. Such a wonderful queen, even in the middle of an unfair exile, she might have got one of the followers she had left to watch over her, her queen has always cared and she knew it, that's why she's the best queen!
So that makes the loss of Cirrus all the more bitter, but who is she to complain? The others left these dragonets alone, so she had to as well, it's not like she'd pick a confrontation with them herself.
So anyway, they went back to their residing caverns. Pyrite felt bad about just leaving the body of the Rainwing that just a bit ago was Cirrus just… Laying there, but the others decided to get onto that matter the next day, so Pyrite had to follow.
She immediately went to her cave and plopped down on the ground, feeling quite tired after what happened recently. And at the end of the day she literally saw a half melted face! She heard some word spread around over the months that Queen Scarlet looked similar to that, with her face showing her bones. Oh the poor queen! And now she'd seen a face melting from up close and she's sure she will have nightmares tonight after that.
After settling down in her cave she began to sleep. Her best dreams as far as she can remember have always been the ones that had Scarlet talk directly to her, they felt so real as if she were truly in her mind and talking only to Pyrite. She hoped tonight would be one of these nights where one of these dreams occur but sadly there was no great queen in them, just a lot of bones and melted Pyrite faces.
Next morning she woke up and rubbed her eyes, that was definitely not a good night, and now she was feeling hungry, so she walked out of the cave and onto the big cavern that they mostly used for meetings and talks, and also where the main exit is at. And there she saw Riptide talking to one of the Sandwings that stayed with the Talons, Sunbeam, who's been rather grumpy for a while now. Pyrite didn't know what his issue was and she didn't want to know, especially after hearing the bickering he often gets into with Avalanche.
Riptide was the first to take notice of her and he gave Pyrite a nod. "Good morning, Pyrite. I was discussing with Sunbeam what happened yesterday, we're about to go talk to these dragonets," he said.
"Will you, um, be okay? These dragonets were… Quite violent? I mean, they attacked first and… Cirrus is dead, what if you die?" Pyrite asked.
"That's what I've been saying, especially since that group has two Nightwings from what I was told, they cannot be trusted with anything," Sunbeam said with a gloomy tone.
Yesterday was the first time that Pyrite got to interact with Nightwings, but she had to agree it wasn't a very good first look, and then she recalled something else.
"Was that Seawing, um, magical? It looked like he used something magical to heal that Nightwing," Pyrite asked, and Sunbeam immediately squinted his eyes at Riptide, who kept a neutral expression.
"I don't think so, I've seen a healing rock like that back on the Sea Kingdom, so he probably just took it before leaving," Riptide replied within a second.
Well, he's the Seawing here and she's just a Skywing, so he should know what goes on with other Seawings and their items, so she'll believe that.
Sunbeam apparently didn't quite believe it, staring some more at Riptide, who looked back unbothered. Finally the Sandwing gave up and began to walk to the exit.
"Canyon is already on the way there, we'll talk to the dragonets and return later," Riptide promised her and walked away too.
Pyrite watched them leave, and afterwards she went to get herself something to bite before simply wandering around the caves and thinking of her queen.
After over half an hour, Pyrite got suddenly surprised when Canyon walked over towards her, the large Mudwing looked tense as he approached.
"Pyrite, you're needed. Same spot we went to yesterday," he grumbled.
"Huh, me? Why would I be needed again…? Did these dragonets ask for me? But, um, what if they try to kill me now too?" Pyrite quickly asked nervously.
"Just go there, I'll be right behind," Canyon said with a tone that clearly wouldn't take a "no" for an answer, so feeling very twitchy, Pyrite walked off the cave and flew towards the spot, landing after ten minutes.
She had descended right next to Riptide, with Canyon right behind her, Sunbeam looking down from a side, and 5 dragonets looking directly at her from some distance, the Icewing was looking at her very thoroughly.
"Hm… Hello? I really don't know what I could even do for you, and I don't know if I'd want to do much for you? I mean, not that I wouldn't want, but that I just wouldn't," Pyrite said.
"Pyrite," Riptide said with a conflicted tone. "We were told a few things, quite the bold stuff, and so we had to bring you here."
"H-Huh? Bold stuff? Is it about me? I am not bold, and um, there isn't anything interesting about me, so it can't be me, right?" The Skywing asked.
"That pouch you have, I've never seen you take it off," Riptide commented and Pyrite began to twitch more, did they talk about that?
"It's something important to me and hm… Nothing else, it's just like, personal significance," Pyrite quickly replied.
"You have to take it off," the Icewing suddenly spoke in a tone that she couldn't quite decipher.
"What? No! I can't do that!" Pyrite quickly shook her head and stepped back, but Canyon was blocking the path behind her.
"And why would that be…?" Canyon grumbled now.
"Why does it matter so much? What have they told you? They ambushed and attacked us, right? Do we just listen to anyone that does that?" She tried to argue.
"Very defensive about this, aren't you? If what we were told is not true, then you shouldn't have any issues taking that off," Sunbeam hissed.
"No! I can't! You don't understand, it's life or death! I have to wear it, I can't take it off, you can't take it off!" Pyrite said desperately, there's about 8 dragons near her, her own comrades in the Talons of Peace have seemingly turned against her…
But her words did seem to reach Riptide, Canyon and Sunbeam at least as they looked at each other, seeing her desperation and fear in her voice.
But as she saw the Talons doubt this and reconsider, she noticed how the quite small Nightwing had gestured at… Something?
And then she yelped as an invisible force pulled at her pouch, and before she could step back or fight… The chain broke.
Pyrite's last thoughts were directed to her queen. Queen Scarlet, I'm sorry! I failed you, I failed you…
Hailstorm stood up in the middle of this clearing, rubbing his head. He felt dizzy and his thoughts were absolutely scattered. What was he even doing here? What happened? He moved his head quickly, and his blue eyes spotted 9 dragons looking at him, and among this group there is…
"... Winter?" Hailstorm muttered, his gaze meeting his brother's. "How'd you get so big this fast…? Where's Queen Scarlet? I need to find Scarlet…" He then looked down at himself and his expression looked shocked upon seeing his body. "Why are my scales white? Winter, why am I feeling so cold?"
His brother quickly stepped closer, the others were looking in stunned silence at the family reunion, and Hailstorm immediately gripped Winter's talons when he approached. "Where am I? Who am I?"
My name… What's my name? Am I Hailstorm? Am I Pyrite? The ice dragon thought dazed.
"You are my brother," Winter said clear and softly. "You are Prince Hailstorm of the Icewings. Son of Princess Tundra and Prince Narwhal, nephew of Queen Glacier. That's who you are."
"Queen Glacier… And what about Queen Scarlet? Where is she?" Hailstorm demanded, shaken.
"I don't know where Scarlet is, but we'll be getting you away from her," Winter assured, and Hailstorm gripped
"Refer to her as Queen Scarlet," Hailstorm snapped at him. "And she surely wants to find her most loyal subje-'' Hailstorm could feel his face twitch and shift as he made a horrified look, his breath stiffening. "What am I saying? Winter, why am I saying this?"
"I think I am feeling as confused as the Icewing there… What's going on?" Sunbeam hissed.
"Prince… Hailstorm? Last I heard, you were lost during the war," Canyon said, squinting his eyes.
The war… Hailstorm thought as he remembered the day of his capture. But then he realized that there were memories after that, fuzzy and they felt distant, but he saw herself fighting alongside Skywings, she… He… Killed other Icewings, in his mind he saw blue blood dripping from her talons…
"I could help explaining a few things…" Suddenly a small Nightwing had stepped closer and Hailstorm stared right at him.
"Winter… Why is a Nightwing here?" Hailstorm asked, then looking back he saw something shocking… "Two. Why are there two of them?"
"They're on our side. They've helped at finding you, same as the others back there." Winter said reluctantly.
"You allied yourself… With Nightwings," Hailstorm replied deadpan.
Brother, what have you been doing? Just how much have I missed? Why is everything… So wrong? It all feels just… Not right. Hailstorm thought.
"Prince Hailstorm, a pleasure to meet you, my name's Oracle," the Nightwing said with a respectful tone, bowing his head, startling Hailstorm slightly.
A Nightwing bowed at me… A bow. Have I missed them finally learning their place?
"Winter… Is this real? Am I just dreaming? I must be still somewhere in Queen Scarlet's castle, having hallucinations…"
"It's all real, Hailstorm. I am real, and I'm here to bring you home," his brother said with a serious tone.
"Home…" Hailstorm said with a confused yet nostalgic tone.
"Now Prince Hailstorm, if I may, I can give some explanations," the Nightwing that called himself Oracle offered.
"He is kind of a know-it-all," Winter admitted, which surprised Hailstorm even more.
Does he trust a Nightwing's words? What is he doing? Hailstorm questioned in his mind, but Winter must've seen his expression.
"I know… It looks bad, but he's the one that came to me saying he knows where you are and how to free you," Winter grumbled.
That made Hailstorm pause, that couldn't be right. Am I back to being me due to… a Nightwing? What?
"Okay, speak up," Hailstorm commanded him.
So the Nightwing now said how he'd gathered info from one of Scarlet's loyalists, learning about the truth behind Cirrus and Pyrite, and so had devised a plan to take care of such a dangerous asset that Scarlet commanded, and free the prince from magical captivity.
The Talons and Hailstorm listened attently, and the Icewing was in absolute silence upon hearing all this. A Nightwing went through all the effort to help him? That doesn't make any sense, and yet here he is listening to him and apparently everyone in the Nightwing's group was agreeing with that.
After the explanation was done, Hailstorm remained silent, and yet he could feel many eyes on him, this was too much to take when his mind was already extremely fuzzy and conflicted with Pyrite's memories, but he assumed he should try to be professional as a royal should.
"... You've done well," Hailstorm simply replied, that's professional and more than enough for the Nightwing.
"Thank you, Prince Hailstorm," the Nightwing said with a small bow and stepped back.
"Oracle, are there any more transformed dragons or possible secret threats in the Talons that I should know about?" Riptide asked after that explanation was over, and the Nightwing shook his head. "Okay, that's good to know, thanks."
"Well, guess now you could leave and go home…" Canyon grumbled, Hailstorm had noticed the Mudwing gave him plenty of looks during this whole conversation, and Hailstorm randomly wondered if it's possible he might have killed any Mudwing related to him during the war, if so he had to admit it'd feel bothersome to know you've been with the dragon that did that for half a year.
"That's exactly what we're planning to do," Winter said, staring at the Mudwing after the brown dragon used such a tone on him.
"You could tell your queen that the Talons have been protecting a prince for most of the year," Sunbeam quickly added with a hint of greed in his tone.
Winter looked at the Sandwing for a moment after he said that. "I… Will make sure she learns of this whole story," he just said.
Talking of the Queen… I wonder how she and the tribe have been faring. Winter looks fine… What about Icicle? Same as always? Hailstorm pondered, and then when he thought of Winter looking okay, he suddenly felt some guilt in his chest. He looked for me, he listened to a Nightwing… Even though the last words he heard me say were insults to make him leave the danger…
"Prince Hailstorm," Riptide suddenly called to him. "I am glad to have met you, and I hope your return goes smoothly now that you probably can take care of yourself quite well."
I've met and talked to basically everyone that remained at the Talons… And they all saw me as a ditzy, scaredy fanatic, not my best look realistically. Hailstorm thought, mentally wincing, but he gave a nod at Riptide.
"Thank you for helping when I was trapped in that shape, I wouldn't have fared well like that if she hadn't decided to come here after Queen Scarlet disappeared," Hailstorm replied, thinking of how bad things could've gone.
He also rummaged more into his memories as Pyrite, so many things there that he would never speak to anybody, Cheering on Scarlet's arena like any other Skywing during these thrilling fights, seeing several Icewings die, and with the hindsight he has from these memories, there were many faces he recognized, like Fjord of the Second Circle, he had died in a horrific manner…
Looking a bit at the distance, he spotted the unbothered body of who once was Cirrus, still laying there in the same place he died… That faker had been nearby during Pyrite's life a lot, telling her to stay safe, to not follow wild dreams… And Hailstorm recalled with an internal grimace how Pyrite had grown to start feeling things for Cirrus… So that meant Hailstorm had a crush on the fake Icewing too, is that how it works? How should he feel about that?
…
And then the even worse memories… She was flying in the middle of her legion, about two dozen other Skywings surrounding her, she was holding a spear on her talons, and in the distance, coming like a white cloud, was a troop of Icewings. Both sides charged, fire vs ice, a lot of dragons falling for both groups. Pyrite saw an opportunity to do something, at a side there was a young Icewing, probably a dragonet that joined not too long ago. Pyrite was weak and insecure, she can hold herself just okay in a battle but her great queen wanted her to fight for the kingdom so she will.
The dragonet would be an easy picking, she's a fast flier at least, so she dove forward…
Hailstorm tried to stop that memory from replaying in his mind, he couldn't see the end of it again, he closed his eyes for a moment as he saw the struggling dragonet getting impaled, cold blue blood was on her talons, and sprayed to a side of her face with the impact.
"Winter… We have to go…" Hailstorm spoke up, holding himself back from visibly reacting too much. They had to leave, he couldn't let everyone see how vulnerable he is at the moment, how shaken he's feeling, how uncertain.
That's not my crime, not my deed, it was Pyrite.
I am Pyrite.
I was Pyrite.
Same mind, same memories, what she did, you did.
Because I ignored all warnings and didn't act as I should have.
Because I was weak too.
He felt Winter grab one of his talons, he heard the wingbeats of Riptide and the other two as they left.
Outside it was silent and empty.
Inside it was his mind arguing with himself, guilt and suffering creeping up while he struggled with the mental turmoil.
"We're going, Hailstorm. Tomorrow we'll be back home, you'll be received with all honors," Winter promised.
Hailstorm slowly nodded after a moment and began to extend his wings, although at that moment, the Sandwing on Winter's group spoke.
"Hey I wanted to ask, what about your sister? Maybe she can be a bit less evil if she sees him back in one piece," he said.
Hailstorm looked perplexed by that, did he mean Icicle? Is she not at the Ice Kingdom?
"Icicle is an Icewing princess and the niece of Queen Glacier as a reminder for you, and not evil," Hailstorm said, staring down at the Sandwing. He didn't get along with Icicle as much as he did with Winter, but that didn't mean some Sandwing can just believe they're allowed to insult her.
"Right… She is still at Jade Mountain…" Winter muttered.
"And what is she doing there exactly?" Hailstorm asked, wondering why that one out of all the mountains.
"Oh it's something really cool, you know about the Dragonets of Destiny, right? Well after the war they decided to get the tribes together so they can learn more about each other and prevent more super big terrible wars, so they started a school at Jade Mountain where 5 from each tribe were selected to join and learn, and that includes your siblings!" The nearby Rainwing said excitedly, and Hailstorm felt like she could give him a headache.
"I… See? So you two have been at school?" Hailstorm said after some seconds from receiving all that info, and Winter nodded at that.
"She… Got into some issues recently, but hopefully seeing you maybe makes her calm down," his brother said.
"What do you mean by… Issues?" Hailstorm questioned.
"I'll… Explain on the way to the mountain," Winter muttered.
"Well, mission accomplished, right? We can go back now to the mountain, and then the three of them can go back to the Ice Kingdom to celebrate," the Seawing commented.
Hailstorm noticed the other Nightwing, a female, had looked at Winter after the Seawing said that, and it looked like she was about to say something.
"Will… Will you come back? You're still in our Winglet, and you know what we've been told," the Nightwing asked.
Hailstorm's eyes immediately gazed on his brother, why is the Nightwing asking him that? And what kind of question is this? The three siblings are going to return to Queen Glacier, and Hailstorm would hope that Winter would be justly rewarded, like getting to a high rank, that matters more than some odd school.
Winter looked back at her, and Hailstorm could swear his brother had glanced towards the small Nightwing too for half a second. And Winter was looking… Hesitant?
After some moments he spoke. "I… I'll see what happens. I'll certainly need to stay at the Ice Kingdom for at least some time, but I am still one of the Icewings picked by Queen Glacier to represent the tribe at the academy," he responded, and the female Nightwing gave a small nod.
Hailstorm felt shocked by this, what was that? And there's more, he could tell that Winter was averting his gaze away from him, not looking at him after saying that, and he had flared open his wings to take off.
Hailstorm knew they'd need to talk about this at some point, but right now he opened his wings as well and took off, remaining by his side. Meanwhile the rest of the dragons flew at a good distance behind them, they'll get Icicle, and then they will return back… Home…
It was just some very few hours until they reached their destination, the tall peak being at sight, and Winter guided them towards one of the entrances above, and then everyone landed.
During the trip, Winter had talked to him about the trouble that Icicle caused, and Hailstorm couldn't believe what he just heard. His sister worked for Queen Scarlet, attempting to murder Scarlet's enemies on her behalf… And all in an attempt to free Hailstorm.
Icicle… To work for Queen Scarlet… Now that is two of us whose lives were ruined by her. He thought bitterly.
"So hm… I should probably go talk quickly to my sister, she's the head of the academy and well, a lot of going in and out lately," the Seawing said, and the small Nightwing stepped closer to the sea dragon.
"Want me to come along? To help with telling the tale and all that," he offered, and the Seawing nodded at him then they headed into the mountain.
"I guess I'll head to my cave while you talk to your sister, will you tell us when you're leaving?" The female Nightwing asked.
"Yeah! You better not just ditch us without saying goodbye!" The colorful Rainwing agreed, and Winter gave the subtlest of nods, which just made Hailstorm feel even more confused, these two smiled a bit and went in.
"Take good care, nephews of Queen Glacier, have a good talk with your not evil sister," the quite annoying sounding Sandwing said with a grin and stepped inside too.
"Your… Group is interesting for sure…" Hailstorm commented in a low voice, and he saw his brother wince and walk into the mountain, ahead of him to guide to where their sister is.
After some minutes, Hailstorm saw something that did not make him happy at all, sitting in front of a cavern was a copper and orange dragon with gold veins visible through her wings, and smoke coming from her body.
It was a dragon he had seen a lot of times as Pyrite, the bringer of a lot of gruesome memories and deaths, the reminder of several burned down Icewings.
"You." Hailstorm grunted, and then Queen Scarlet's Champion looked up to them.
"Oh so now there's three of them. The one I'm guarding barely ever stops throwing insults, you know? Based on your tone I'll assume that you're probably like that too, but I recommend not trying anything or else you'll melt down into water, very cold water," she quickly said as she stood upright.
Hailstorm took a step forward, but Winter quickly got in the middle. "Hailstorm, right now is not the time, Icicle is literally right there in that cave, are you going to get yourself burned right before seeing her?" He questioned, using a disapproving tone.
Hailstorm flinched slightly but stood his ground, glaring at Peril, who just casually glanced back, and with a grumble then Hailstorm gave up, looking down to the ground.
"This is my brother, Prince Hailstorm, we need to talk to our sister, Princess Icicle. Let us through," Winter commanded.
"You know, I'll let you talk to her, but not because you ordered me to, I don't take orders from any Icewing. But because that'd probably be the right thing to do, and if you can deal with her so she stops being so insulting then also fine by me, okay? I've had to deal with plenty of prisoners and captives, but nearly nobody I've dealt with had as sharp of a tongue as her," Peril said with a huff as she stepped back, wings and tail close to her to give space.
Winter slowly stepped forward and into the cave and Hailstorm reluctantly followed, being on high alert in case the firescales moved at all but at least she was just sitting down and staring back at him.
They entered the cave, and near the opposite wall he saw Icicle sitting down against it, her head was down and she was muttering stuff to herself, and Hailstorm was able to see a chain around her, it was very long and wrapped around her, although he felt that with such a dangerous guard, the chain was more like a formality.
And to see a princess of the Icewings, his sister in such condition, all because of him, from her desire to free him… It wasn't fair.
She lifted up her head upon hearing footsteps entering her cave, and she immediately froze. For the first time since he could remember, Hailstorm saw such a wild mix of emotions in Icicle, surprise, doubt, anger, and the very slightest bit of awe.
Icicle stood up and stepped forward as much as the chain allowed her, so Hailstorm moved closer too to be right in front of her.
"Hailstorm?" She said in a surprised voice, her eyes looking at him then darting to the side to look at Winter behind him.
"It's me, Winter brought me back, and we're here to get us all back home," Hailstorm said, she knew that Icicle may see this as weakness, but he spoke in a softer tone to his sister.
"Scarlet held you prisoner for two years, tell me that she is dead, that she is gone," Icicle requested, her eyes staring up to his, and Hailstorm looked down slightly.
"I… Didn't even see her these last few days, I wasn't held anywhere close to her, she still lives," Hailstorm admitted now, and Icicle grunted to that.
"Hopefully for not too long…" Icicle said, squinting her eyes for a moment but then sighing. "You're back, that's the most important thing. Mother and Father will be most pleased to see you, and so will Queen Glacier, we have to get you back to the top rankings soon," Icicle stated, already sounding more like how Hailstorm remembered her, proud and direct.
"Right, my rank…" Hailstorm nodded distractedly, realizing he has no idea of how this will go, or from where he'll start. Will he be given back the rank he had at the time of his capture? Probably the mere fact of ending prisoner of Scarlet should take points off him. And how will his parents react to this?
Hailstorm barely felt like an Icewing since his return, when he was Pyrite, everything was much simpler, simpler thoughts, simpler life. He had fire, now he just had ice and he… an Icewing, he often felt cold now.
He saw Icicle looking inquisitively at him, she must have noticed his distraction, and her expression didn't look too pleased by that.
"What did Scarlet even do to you? You sound off, very different from before," she said in a tone that showed a hint of disappointment.
Hailstorm was reluctant to tell her, she's already sounding disappointed, what if she learns he wasn't even an Icewing for 2 years? For most of his life he was able to poke fun at his sister at times thanks to being number one, and try to make her less cold as if some of his personality could latch onto her. But right now he had no rank, and barely even had an identity, she could say a lot to him if she desired without consequence.
"I think that should wait until we return to the Ice Kingdom, Queen Glacier will want to hear this most likely," Hailstorm replied, and Icicle simply shot him a questioning look, not appearing very pleased by that response.
She grumbled, and then looked back towards Winter for a second and her gaze hardened.
"What's with that look? Do you expect me to say something to you?" She hissed, Hailstorm turned and saw Winter step back. "You simply didn't disappoint more, finding him is the bare minimum of what you should do."
Winter flinched and looked down to the ground, and Hailstorm couldn't believe this.
"Icicle, I believe that Winter deserves some respect after everything. Shouldn't finding me be a big achievement?" Hailstorm said with some slight disappointment in his tone, but his sister took his tone rather badly.
Icicle huffed at that. "He only began to care about searching for you two days ago! Other Icewings considered you a goner some months ago when you were removed from the rankings, but I didn't. I kept searching, any Skywing that I took down during war I'd interrogate them about you before killing them when they had no answers, I did not give up on you and went to some extremes for you, so don't you act like that towards me, Hailstorm!" Icicle snapped, her tone getting increasingly angrier the more she spoke.
Hailstorm was shocked from outright hearing this coming from his sister, she'd always been cold and what he would consider the perfect example of an Icewing, the lessons of their parents always sticking on her the most, and yet he could hear the rush of emotions in her voice as she showed for the first time that she actually truly cared about him.
Hailstorm lowered his head after his sister said that. "I'm sorry… For everything you went through due to me."
And Icicle just looked even more baffled after seeing him like this. "Hailstorm, you are truly different now…" She muttered, and he imagined she was feeling disappointment after seeing her brother did not act normal after the extent she went through to get him back. And he could understand that, he's both a disappointing Skywing, and an Icewing.
Before he could respond, footsteps were audible approaching the cave, and there at the entrance was a Seawing, she looked familiar… Hailstorm tried to recall, then remembered seeing her at Scarlet's arena, fierce fighter during the queen's hatching day.
The Seawing looked at him and gave Hailstorm a nod. "You must be Prince Hailstorm, right?" She asked now and the Icewing nodded. "Well, I'm Princess Tsunami, the head of this academy, and some of my students have told me about some of their escapades they did without permission."
Tsunami's gaze went straight to Winter, who stood his ground, but Hailstorm could see he looked awkward.
"I am aware it's not the best look, but it was of utmost importance to retrieve him," Winter replied.
"So I was told… I truly don't like to have half a dozen of my students suddenly run away from school, including my own brother," she said scrunching her snout. "But at least all of you seem to be fine, otherwise I would need to send a report to your tribes and it would suck."
"We need to go back to the Ice Kingdom to bring Hailstorm home, can I be released already?" Icicle said now that the head of school was right in front of them.
"I'd watch your tone considering that you wanted to kill me and my friends," Tsunami retorted. "And also yesterday we sent a letter to Queen Glacier since we couldn't just hold you chained down without saying something, so enjoy your homecoming, princess," she said with sarcasm, and Icicle just looked even angrier now.
"Anyway, you can release your sister and go. Although by request of some, we'll hold on for some days before deciding to fill the empty spots in the Winglets," the Seawing princess said and stepped out of the cave.
After she left, Winter and Hailstorm worked on unchaining Icicle, Hailstorm felt slightly odd upon touching the chain, but just assumed it was due to its warmth and ignored it, then their sister was now free and standing.
Icicle huffed as she stretched her limbs. "I am not coming back to this stupid mountain ever again, let's just make haste and get back to the Ice Kingdom by early tomorrow," she grumbled, stepping towards the cave's exit.
Hailstorm looked at Winter who was standing still and seemingly thinking, then Winter met his gaze. "I… Will catch you two at the exit of the mountain in some minutes, I need to pack some things before leaving," he said and quickly stepped outside.
Icicle couldn't know for sure, but Hailstorm felt that his brother was going to actually say farewell to the others, including the Nightwings.
It felt odd, but Hailstorm realized that all three of them had changed, not just him, things were different, and will probably remain different.
They had left the mountain half hour later and since then had just been flying in silence for the most part. Hailstorm thought that this moment should feel better, the three siblings together and heading back home after crazy times… But it was all feeling so very hollow.
They flew west for hours non-stop, crossing the vast sandy plains of the Kingdom of Sand, and while as usual for Icewings, Winter and Icicle didn't seem to like the heat, but Hailstorm felt okay, he was enjoying the feeling of warmth against his scales, and once more made him miss being a firebreather.
After seeing sand for hours, at the distance on the horizon it was starting to become visible the white sight of snow and the mountains at the Ice Kingdom, but at the same time it was late night by now so they had to come down to rest.
Winter had offered to stay awake and watch over just in case, but Icicle argued with him.
"I doubt you could do much as a sentinel, and as much as you should do absolutely everything to repay for your mistakes, I don't want cut-throat Sandwings to sneak on us while you "guard" and kill us right before we arrive back home, so I'll do it," she had said.
Winter probably knew better than to argue much with her and nodded, laying down on the sand while Icicle remained up and watching all over with her sharp eyes.
At least the night went by without any complications and they stood up in the morning, and after some quick stretching, kept flying towards the Ice Kingdom.
After a few more hours, Hailstorm was able to feel the significant change in temperature around him, and he did his best to not shiver, it wouldn't be a good look for him, not that he was looking good anyway.
They flew over a tall wall, and Hailstorm was about to question why would they need that when they're dragons with wings so walls aren't really meaningful, but given Icicle's bad mood, he chose not to show his forgetfulness of the kingdom.
And then after flying over snowy landscapes for some time, Hailstorm gasped in awe upon seeing Queen Glacier's castle.
"I had forgotten… Just how gorgeous it was…" He muttered.
"Wait until you see it up close," Winter replied with pride, and even Icicle at a side looked slightly less mean after he said that.
They landed eventually in front of the palace's gates, Hailstorm's eyes wide as he saw it all better, so brilliant and gorgeous.
There was a guard standing at front of the entrance, who quickly got into a straighter position upon spotting them, and then his expression looked absolutely shocked upon seeing Hailstorm.
"Princess Icicle of the First Circle, Prince Winter of the Third Circle, and Prince Hailstorm, currently unranked, we request a meeting with Queen Glacier," Icicle demanded with an imperative tone, looking down at the soldier.
The soldier bowed and spoke now. "I'll go tell the Queen, she's currently at the throne room, if she's now occupied then you'll be called in," he said and then quickly stepped inside with haste, the three siblings followed.
Hailstorm took that chance to look at everything as he walked, being in awe at how pretty his old home looks.
That 's right. He thought, feeling some of his Icewing pride coming back. We have the most beautiful and greatest palace in all Pyrrhia.
After 10 minutes, another guard appeared, bowing to the three of them, and announced that Queen Glacier requests their presence.
They headed into the throne room, its gates open, and Hailstorm just marveled more at its intricate and elaborate design, the ice on the wall flourishing on patterns so complex that they must've been made with magic, with the throne itself being tall and high up, without a single rough surface or imperfection.
And there was Queen Glacier sitting down and looking down at them, crown shining brightly on her head, and Hailstorm felt ashamed of having forgotten how magnificent the queen was.
More magnificent than Queen Scarlet…? A voice slithered into his head.
Scarlet is queen no more. This here is a true queen, he thought back, although he felt uncertain in his self-answer.
"Princess Icicle, Prince Winter, Prince Hailstorm, welcome back home. I must say that I am gladly surprised to be seeing you again, Prince Hailstorm," Glacier spoke, her tone serious and evoking a perfect neutrality, Hailstorm remembered just how… Perfect the queen always was, even in rough moments she never allowed her emotions to cloud her, nor she showed weakness.
The three of them bowed their heads until Glacier told them to stand back up.
"So two days ago I received a letter sent by Princess Tsunami of the Seawings, detailing to me some events that transpired at Jade Mountain Academy, with you two being a center of attention," she spoke, her gaze fixating on Winter and Icicle.
Icicle looked back at the queen, keeping perfectly her composure. "Your majesty, I am aware you are probably not satisfied with my actions, so I want to request if I may speak in my defense."
"You may, Princess Icicle," Queen Glacier nodded, looking down at her.
Icicle cleared her throat. "I assume that Princess Tsunami has detailed my actions and the fact that I've been temporarily imprisoned at the mountain. But I had most justifiable reasons, I was on the search for Prince Hailstorm and doing that would net me knowledge of his location, and he's here with us now, isn't he?"
"Princess Icicle, while I believe that your intentions started as pure with the intention of bringing us back one of our best Icewings, I also believe that the methods to achieve that are more than questionable and not up to the tribe's standards," Glacier responded and Icicle kept looking up to her. "From what the letter detailed, you had wanted to murder these Dragonets of Destiny, but if I may remind you, that group has the oldest Seawing princess, the newest Sandwing princess, and the actual Queen of both the Rainwings and Nightwings."
Icicle kept a stern expression, but she had very subtly shifted on her talons as Queen Glacier spoke again.
"So if you had committed these deeds, it's basically a certainty that these tribes would see it as an act of war from the Icewings, so your actions could have put us against at least 4 of Pyrrhia's other tribes, or possibly even all others, given that both Mudwings and Skywings could easily join as allies and most likely don't see us with kind eyes."
After saying that, the queen stood tall in all of her magnificence.
"Us against all of Pyrrhia could have turned into the darkest years in our tribe's history, and it could all be pinned down on you if it had occurred. Princess Icicle, what is your response?" She said now.
"... Nothing… Your Majesty…" Icicle hissed.
"Then you are dismissed and are to return to your chambers, meanwhile I will talk to your brothers to hear their side," Glacier ordered, Icicle immediately looked as if she wanted to say something, but reluctantly she stepped out of the throne room, looking back at Winter and Hailstorm.
Icicle as the cause of the biggest war in our history… Did she realize that risk beforehand? Did she feel I was worth all that trouble? Hailstorm pondered.
"Now, Prince Hailstorm, may you tell first your side of the tale? I'd like to know what you've been going through these last 2 years," Glacier requested, and Hailstorm felt sure that her voice had softened up very slightly after Icicle had left.
"Very well, your majesty…" Hailstorm nodded and took a deep breath, here it is, the time to tell everything to his queen. Would he be blamed? Would she understand? He believed that no one else ever in Pyrrhia must've gone through something like this.
He had to, so he said it all. He spoke of the day of his capture, being knocked out and then brought to Scarlet for his imprisonment.
He revealed to Glacier how his identity as Hailstorm had evaporated completely, and instead he had turned into Pyrite, a Skywing with unwavering loyalty to the Skywing queen and the total opposite of what he was, following orders no matter what. He did not mention how he was forced to fight in the war and kill other Icewings, but he felt that Glacier might possibly guess that with how attentively she's listening.
He spoke of these last 6 months where she was with the Talons of Peace, protected by an Icewing that called himself Cirrus. Hailstorm could see Glacier had raised an eyebrow slightly at that mention, probably due to not hearing of such a dragon before, but she didn't interrupt.
"Now I believe that my brother, Prince Winter would be able to fill in the rest better from this point," Hailstorm commented with a small bow, and Queen Glacier nodded at him before looking at Winter, who was caught off guard but he quickly explained himself now
He said that someone at his group in school found out about Icicle's intentions, and not wanting the issues that would arise if his sister prevailed, he was forced to work together with this group to stop her. Then he said the part that Hailstorm was told earlier of a small Nightwing that managed to pry off important information from one of Scarlet's supporters, leading them to find the true identity of Cirrus… and thus, Pyrite's.
After the whole tale was finished, Queen Glacier sat back down in thought.
"What you two have told me, it was beyond any theories I could've crafted about your absence, Prince Hailstorm, I hope you may be able to get back in shape and take back your life here with your tribe and your family," the queen said, and Hailstorm was shocked to hear how a lot of formality had slipped out of her tone for a moment, truly sounding like she was hoping for the best of him, so he quickly bowed.
"Thank you, your majesty, I will confess that my mind feels conflicted and my thoughts scattered, I might need some time, but I will try to go back to how I once was," Hailstorm replied, and Glacier nodded in a dignified manner.
"And Prince Winter, although your methods are unorthodox to the Icewing way, they have proven effective and have brought back a prince to us without any evident setbacks or deeper issues. And now I must tell you that tomorrow at sunrise we'll hold a ceremony to decide for the ranks you two and your sister may hold, and may you two have a good day here back home until then, you may stay at the palace until your rank is decided," the large Icewing spoke, and with another gesture they took it as their meeting being now finished.
They stepped out of the throne room, side by side as Winter looked at Hailstorm. "You're back home now, what will you do until tomorrow?" He asked now.
"I… Think I'll get something to eat, the moons know I haven't eaten something fit for an Icewing in a while. Then walk around to familiarize myself again with the palace, then just rest in my room," Hailstorm replied, and Winter nodded at that.
"Okay… I'll let you be, if you want to talk to me at anypoint, I'll be there," he promised and then stepped away slowly.
For the next few hours Hailstorm did as he said he would, he went outside and managed to quickly catch a penguin which he rather gleefully devoured, then he went back inside, just walking slowly and appreciating all the architecture.
He was dreading the idea of already having a meeting with his parents, he'd probably look very disappointing in their eyes, but luckily that didn't appear to occur today, being told they were extremely busy with some politics, and so that trouble is out for the day.
And finally, the cold night was coming, he asked for some directions and was then led to a familiar bedroom, taking a deep breath he laid down and was ready for some relaxing sleep.
But his rest was far from relaxing.
He was in a very familiar place… It was Queen Scarlet's horrendous arena, and Hailstorm was right there on a seat along a crowd of faceless dragons without features, looking down at the arena while everyone cheered as they saw an Icewing get charred and evaporated by the Queen's Champion, Peril, who was looking twice as large and far more bloody and fiery in his dreams.
And then Hailstorm felt a presence right by his left, on the seat next to him, he turned his head and then he saw the face of Queen Scarlet smirking wildly at him.
Hailstorm flinched and stepped back in surprise, the queen looked as she always did, and unlike everyone else in the crowd, her features were all there.
"So I see that you're reminiscing of the good old days, Pyrite, so do I, so do I…" Scarlet spoke, her voice also the same as always.
Being called that out loud when referring to him, Hailstorm, felt like a slap on the face, and he was quickly starting to move through the crowd around, heading to another seat, but Scarlet quickly followed him.
"Pyrite, have you forgotten that stepping away from your queen while she's still talking is very bad manners? Moons you truly can be such a silly dragon at times," Scarlet said.
"You… You are not my queen…" Hailstorm muttered while walking away.
"Oh? You're saying that to me right to the face? Oh my little Skywing you're just confused, I know that you love your queen that's done so much for you," the Skywing replied.
"This is such an odd dream…" Hailstorm whispered, and to his surprise, Scarlet began to laugh at that.
"Always blissful Pyrite, you truly can't recognize when your real queen is talking to you face to face?" She said with an unnerving look.
"What…?" Hailstorm questioned, turning his head back at her.
"I'll say this directly so you get it in that small scatterbrained head of yours, this is a dream, yes, but I am here, to talk to you," Scarlet said slowly as if talking to a toddler.
Hailstorm froze in place, this couldn't be… How could Scarlet herself be there in his dreams? But at the same time, how could his mind just randomly make up that?
His first instinct as all his defensive instincts flared was to quickly throw Frostbreath right at her face…
And it just phased through her, harmless, with Scarlet looking unamused.
"Pyrite, you know you can't just throw ice cubes at the queen, it does nothing besides looking disrespectful and disobedient."
"What in the world?" Hailstorm questioned as she smirked and suddenly before he could even react, she had lunged forward from where she was standing and extended her front talons, at the last second he brought his forelegs in front of his face… and Scarlet's claws just phased through him.
"I am "here", but not physically, we're talking mind-to-mind in your dreams, we cannot harm each other, not that youtruly want to harm me. And I'd never do something to my most loyal subject," Scarlet explained. "After a while of absolutely no news, I finally got some news… and I learned of what happened with the Talons, of course the first thing I did was to reach out for you."
"I am not your subject…. You are not my queen, and my name is Hailstorm…" He managed to say but she just laughed it off.
"Oh dear Pyrite, I get it, I truly do," she said with what for her must be an attempt to sound motherly, but for him it just sounded creepy and unsettling. "Always so weak and insecure of yourself, enough that you decided to try taking on a new identity, you tried to act as an Icewing royal because they looked like the opposite of what you are, cool, collected and reserved, living in the coldest place in Pyrrhia, I feel sorry for you…" She said slowly.
"You… You don't, I doubt ever in your life you felt sorry for someone or pitied them," Hailstorm retorted, trying to stand his ground although his thoughts were flooded with her thoughts.
"Now that's just a lie and you know it, I've always showed you my appreciation, protected you, and when I wasn't there I sent someone to protect you in my behalf, your mind is too filled with the stories others tell of me, that you forgot what you've seen yourself," she said.
Hailstorm weakly shook his head, no… No, it's not true, he'd seen her in the arena and outside, clamoring for death, for war, for her own entertainment, Scarlet only cares about herself.
But then that other side of his mind recalled her talks with Scarlet, the queen always sounding so benevolent from that perspective, constantly giving her new chances and forgiveness when she messed up since she always did.
Within his mind, both things looked like Truth. Scarlet is an evil tyrant that always wants to have fun, But Scarlet is also the greatest queen of all Pyrrhia, having ruled for decades without a true challenge due to how incredible and powerful she was.
"What… What are you trying to accomplish?" Hailstorm muttered, trying to face away from her, but she'd keep moving in whatever direction he looked.
"Is it not obvious, Pyrite? I'm here to help you, so you can break that mask of yours here in this distant kingdom where the only way I can reach is through your dreams. You know you were happy as a Skywing, you don't need to hide as something you are not," she said softly and calmly.
"I am an Icewing, my name is Prince Hailstorm, later this year I'll be 7…" Hailstorm complained but Scarlet interrupted him.
"Your skills at trying to stay in character are surprising, I have to congratulate you for that, but you know the truth, you've been a Skywing for years, you can't forget where you truly belong, and that's not with the Icewings, they always sound so serious and stuck-up about rules, that doesn't sound like an environment where you'd fit, actually you don't fit there at all, they will hate you for how different you are. But you also know I would never hate you…"
Hailstorm shook his head, Scarlet is just trying to degrade him, to make him keep feeding on her lies.
"Lies… Everything you say is just lies…" He said, and she raised an eyebrow.
"Lies? Well I don't believe you're the best to judge character like that, given you're living a lie right now, in a place you don't belong, and I am here to help you remember."
"What are you going to do?" Hailstorm questioned, standing upright and looking at Scarlet face to face, straight on.
"Oh it's very simple, we're going to talk every night from now on, and I'll help you remember who you truly are, who you serve, and where you belong, I'll teach you again the story of Skywings, remind you of all the good times at my kingdom," Scarlet replied and Hailstorm looked in horror.
"Every… Night? No, you can't do that, you won't do that!"
"Pyrite, you are not the one that gives orders here, I'll have to make you remember that again, I promise you this will be so thrilling, remembering everything good of being a Skywing, it'll be so fun! Not anyone can brag of having me as their tutor, but you'll be able to when you come back to me."
"I'll never go back to your side," Hailstorm promised and Scarlet just casually looked back at him.
"That, we're going to see. I'm sure that someday after enough lessons you'll ask me to forgive you for everything, telling me you'd do anything for me once more, and I am looking forward to that."