— Chapter 17 —
Hailstorm
"Yes Pyrite, just like that, great job!" Scarlet's voice echoed through his mind, a smirk never leaving the ex-queen's face during her visits as she observed in front of them.
"Oh great ice dragon, not this…" Hailstorm grumbled as he stared at the scene in front of them.
"Great ice-who? That's not proper Skywing dialect and you know it, you silly dragon," Scarlet said with a patient smile and a shake of her head, but the smile only served to make her look creepier.
Unsurprisingly, they were by the Sky Kingdom's mountains. All of his last dreams have been either there or at the palace itself for the previous 3 nights, so it was doubtful it'd change now.
"This is pointless and you know it," Hailstorm said through gritted teeth, snarling at Scarlet, who was just casually hanging around by his side. "Your "lessons"... Your so-called reminders, they will never accomplish anything to change my mind."
"Shh, I'm still watching this part!" Scarlet complained, just sitting down while watching the memories pass by.
Of course, Pyrite had to be the main character of his dreams and memories, no matter whether he was asleep or awake, he'd just always see her, see… Herself.
Pyrite was flying down the mountainside, her wings quivering and her head constantly looking anxiously from left to right, as if trying to find something in particular and having trouble doing so.
"Come on Pyrite, you can do this, you have to do it. Queen Scarlet asked you to show what you can do and hunt something, and you can't disappoint her!" She muttered to herself, her talons twitching at the thought.
"It would truly be such a shame if she wanted to act disappointing in any way later on," Scarlet said with clear sarcasm as she stood by his side, before giving him a sweet smile. "But luckily, you have not been disappointing, just… Troubled."
"Oh, I wonder what might be troubling me," he snapped at her, but she just rolled her eyes.
Pyrite swooped down after letting out a surprised gasp, having clearly seen something far below, and both Hailstorm and Scarlet were moved along while remaining on their airborne spot in the dream world.
The twitchy Skywing landed on the ground, lowering her body to the point she almost plopped down onto the floor and looked forward, staring at a rather large goat that was enjoying itself with the grass around.
I think… I remember this myself, but it just feels so distant? Hailstorm pondered to himself.
"Hm, oh yes, I think this was one of the first days after you first joined me, you were just so helpless and innocent, and you still are, of course," Scarlet said as she recalled something.
The twitchy Skywing remained crouched and slowly walked closer to the goat, which stood at a quite decent size by reaching the base of her leg, and its horns looked comparable to a small dragon's.
"Okay, the prey is right there, you must do this, for Queen Scarlet, one thing right for the queen, it's time," she muttered to herself, before leaping forward.
Hailstorm felt instant second-talon embarrassment. Or would it be first-talon considering it's still him-? No, it is second-talon. Either way, having recovered his own memories of how he expertly hunts in the Ice Kingdom, remembering and witnessing how she tried to catch a simple goat actually made him wince while he watched with chagrin and Scarlet with amusement.
Pyrite's jump wasn't even any good, she did a bit of a stumbling leap and didn't land outright on the goat but right by its side instead, which allowed the prey to actually react and move, so by the time she stood up and moved her talons forward, the goat was already running.
"No! Come back here! The queen wants you!" She complained, having to now run after it after that failure.
But she was clumsy when running on land, and chasing after the goat on the mountain, she ended up tripping and stumbling back several steps all the while the prey was easily getting away further above at a quick pace.
"Noooo! Oh I'm just so clumsy, not even a goat I could get!" Pyrite protested, sighing sadly as she saw it getting away, somehow the Skywing not thinking of using her wings to chase it better.
However, fast wingbeats suddenly were heard above, making Pyrite and Hailstorm look up, but they barely even managed to spot a red shape that went up the mountain right towards the spot the goat went to.
"Huh?" Pyrite questioned the sudden newcomer, and then looked even more confused as she let out a yelp and stepped back when the goat was thrown her way, dead.
And then, walking down the mountainside in a regal way and with her wings still open, another Queen Scarlet, this one from the actual dreams, made her presence known.
"Oh gosh, Queen Scarlet! My queen!" Pyrite said excitedly and nervously, quickly standing straight on her talons while shaking more. "I'm… I'm so sorry! I wasn't able to do as you asked. Oh I'm such a failure!"
Pathetic, this is pathetic to watch, and yet I am watching myself being so… No, that's not me, I am not pathetic, I am not so shallow, I am…
"Ah Pyrite, you don't have to worry, it was just a dumb goat, nothing too thrilling," the dream Scarlet said with a smooth tone.
"I couldn't even capture it! I literally tripped due to how clumsy I am, so sorry!" She said in an apologetic tone.
"Of course," Scarlet said with a nod, not even trying to refuse it. "I know, and that's just fine for you. This was nothing more than a small test you know? To see your qualities, and now I'll know to not send you out for more hunts, that's all."
"Oh!? So are you not mad at me, my queen?" She asked with a hopeful tone, and Scarlet shook her head.
"Ohoho, no, I couldn't be mad at you, I know you too perfectly well to feel like that towards one of my most loyal subjects," she said with what Hailstorm considered a sly grin.
"Thank you! I will not disappoint again, or at least I'll try, or I will disappoint less at the very least, I would like that," she said quickly with clear relief.
"Perfect. Now pick up that goat and let's go back, it's great to hang out with such a good subject, but I need to go back to some very important responsibilities," she said, raising her head high and taking off at a quick speed, with Pyrite scrambling forward to awkwardly hold the prey and fly after.
"Ah, your mind just knows what's a good dream, doesn't it?" The Scarlet next to Hailstorm said smugly. "Just remembering one of these early days during the good times, and showing it to you. Good, wouldn't you say?"
"No."
Scarlet let out a tired sigh. "You have not disappointed me at all, but I do have to say this more… Brooding, complicated personality you picked, it is slightly tiring."
"I did not PICK it, it's literally who I am!" He snapped, and like he always ends up doing during these dream encounters, he threw some frostbreath at the queen. It was worthless and it just went through, he knows, but he had to set the point across, use his ability as an Icewing to show he… Remains one.
"I should have known that expecting you to change back your mind to set you right might've taken longer than 4 nights. Oh well, I still have plenty of time and nothing else to do, so we'll just continue these activities until you can feel happy again," she said with a shrug of her front shoulders.
"I… Wasn't happy, you literally forced my body and my mind to-!"
"Have a simple, blissful life outside these cold dragons you call "family", giving you the freedom of a new life? All I asked of you back then was to remain a loyal dragon, and to not take off that necklace, because I knew that the day might come where that happened, and you'd feel so much despair," she interrupted him, saying everything with almost no pauses.
Hailstorm hesitated for a moment, literally half of his mind trying to make him agree, reminding how very simple these last two years were. No Circles, no ranks, nobody looking up to her with jealousy, and besides that one time, she never really had to go into fights all the time and risk her life… And there was Cirrus…
He gritted his teeth and shook his head, glaring at the ex-monarch. "Shut up and leave my mind alone! It… Is obvious what you're doing, so desperately trying to get someone, because you have literally nobody on your side! It's… Pathetic!"
At last he managed to change her face, usually one of amusement or mere annoyance, for a moment he saw her actually looking outraged, the "mask" of the dreams slipping away momentarily and showing off her real, ugly face before it got covered once more.
"Pyrite…" Scarlet said, clearly through gritted teeth while attempting to regain her composure. "That's not how you treat your queen. And besides, even if you were right and for some reason someone such as I actually had nobody, doesn't that just speak up of how important you are to me? The queen's hope, one who could become the second most important dragon of the Sky Kingdom!"
As she was exclaiming this, the world around them suddenly started to lose colors and things turned dim, and he realized with relief what was happening.
"Hmph, waking up already. Oh well, see you tomorrow, Pyrite, and maybe try to get just one good thing from being in that place and learn again some respect, it is a good quality to have," Scarlet said with a grunt as she was vanishing from his mind.
"Oh, and by the way, I saw your expression there, you hesitated," she added with a smug tone right as she left.
So for the following minute, while his mind was still trying to wake up, Hailstorm just rested his body in the dream world while bringing his talons over to his head, feeling the internal conflict, the inner war, among themselves.
Waking up was always the best part of the day ever since he came back home. There was that feeling of relief of getting up and seeing himself, as Hailstorm. At night, Scarlet managed to make part of him feel like it was slipping away, but then he had the rest of the day to only be himself.
He left his room, slowly walking through the halls of the palace, and when he passed by any dragons he'd acknowledge them with a nod but wouldn't actually start any conversations as he stepped out of the palace.
Luckily he did not see his parents on the way, he… Did not feel like interacting with them right now. They were professional and they didn't make it too outwardly obvious, but to him it was clear they were seething at the situation with Icicle, her wounds from the trial were treated yesterday, and then she was put in another trial, but this one was the more "legal" type.
And the punishment was decided in a short time. For the acts she committed, Icicle had to leave the palace and already take her spot in one of the faraway outposts of the 7th Circle, so in a way even more dishonorable than mere prison, as if her fate had already been decided.
Harsh, and it just made Hailstorm feel even more down at the fact he won't even be seeing his sister that often after he came back, but all things considered it was fair as well, given the level of Icicle's actions in general.
The cold breeze hit him outside and he took a deep breath. He was slowly getting used to feeling cold instead of warmth, not fully and he still missed having fire, but at least he was able to go around the place.
It only took him twenty minutes to find a good meal, having decided to head for the shore and he happened to spot a rather large walrus, perfect to distract him for at least some time.
After he was done he started to make his way back to the palace, unsure of what to do. His 7th hatching day will come in just a few weeks and he is still in the middle of the 3rd Circle. He should be working to improve his ranking, show off his ability… And yet he did not feel like doing so yet, he was too tired and too conflicted to care much at the moment… If anything, at most he would be more than satisfied with reaching the 2nd.
However as he was reaching the palace's doors, he stopped when he saw someone else stepping out, Winter.
"Hey brother," Hailstorm greeted with a nod.
"Hailstorm, good morning," Winter replied, stepping closer. "I'm glad to have found you on the way, I wanted to talk to you."
"Sure, what is it?" He asked, walking along his brother as they left the palace's grounds, Winter likely wanted something to eat too.
"So, what do you want to tell me?" Hailstorm broke the silence after seeing Winter not saying much and seemingly immersed in thought.
"Right, sorry, it's just that…" Winter avoided Hailstorm's gaze as he turned his head. "I'm leaving, later today, I am going back."
Hailstorm stopped in his tracks, looking perplexed at his brother and turning to him.
"What? Leaving? You mean going back to that mountain with all these dragons?" He questioned in confusion.
"That's right, I already had a short audience with Queen Glacier and she told me I am allowed to go back there as a representative," Winter nodded.
With the topic being about that mountain, Hailstorm felt it was about time he questioned his brother on a few confusing aspects, he needed answers.
"Winter, what's going on? With that mountain and that group of yours," he whispered, looking around and seeing there weren't other nearby Icewings out here.
"There's nothing going on, I accepted to be part of this promising project, and I'm just going back to the task," Winter replied, but his gaze evaded him.
"I don't think it's very usual for an Icewing to want to just leave like that, especially for a place like it," Hailstorm insisted, then added the most confusing part. "With Nightwings, that seemingly wants you to come back."
It was subtle, but Winter's body stiffened ever so slightly, at least Hailstorm's eyesight and senses hadn't left him while he was out of his own body.
"One of them was part of the group I was placed into on my first day, and the other is the one that found the information to rescue you," he replied nonchalantly.
"Sure, but that doesn't explain why that female one directly asked if you would come back."
Winter let out a sigh at this. "Listen, that Nightwing is just… Friendly for a Nightwing and I did require help from that group, so at least with these two, if they don't act directly in an improper way or turn on me, then I merely have no need to cause in-fighting first, and Queen Glacier would be disappointed considering the point of that place" he replied, raising his snout high.
That… Made some sense at least, but Hailstorm didn't feel fully certain yet, and Winter must have noticed.
"Hailstorm, if you're worried that I might be in any danger with a talonful of Nightwings at the mountain, you don't need to worry, even if they wanted, they wouldn't be a threat to me," Winter appeared to be hesitating for a moment before saying something. "Maybe being in speaking terms with that tribe is not too bad."
That wasn't really everything he had in mind, but decided it'd be better to not dig into the topic for too long. He wanted to comment on how his brother had changed, but Hailstorm had no right to call out someone on that.
"Fine, Winter, good luck, and… Get permission from the queen to visit from time to time, we still have to catch up," he said, giving him a nod.
"Thank you, and I will, I didn't leave the mountain to search for you just to leave you back here. At the soonest I'll ask to be here for your hatching day, so I'll see you again soon," his brother said, nodding back.
The conversation appeared to be ending there, and Hailstorm wanted to say just one more thing, to talk to Winter about Scarlet, his dreams and worries… But as he saw his brother walking forward, the words weren't able to leave his mouth.
That's his young brother, Hailstorm had surrendered to Scarlet's troops for Winter a few years ago, and then he came back to his rescue. He had changed, clearly more daring in several aspects, but he couldn't bring himself to risk him, because if Winter had already escaped from that school to save him, what if he did again to find Scarlet?
No, he just couldn't imagine his brother ever being in front of that dragon, and as weird as this whole situation with the Nightwings was, if he wanted to just be at the school then he should be able to.
Hailstorm regretted his decision to not talk with Winter about this literally two days later.
The next two nights following the day his brother departed were just terrible. Scarlet was relentless with her "teachings", reminding him constantly of everything she's done for her, of Skywing customs, of loyalty to one's queen, of the many thrilling times he got to experience over there, of how her palace and banquets were better…
The second day after Winter's departure, he just sat down in his room for an hour, rubbing his head and yawning, by now it's been almost a whole week of talking in dreams to Scarlet, and every single time he'd wake up tired because his mind didn't really get to actually rest, and he had no idea for how long he'd be able to hide his tiredness until it was obvious to everyone.
I hope Winter is safe at school… But now, what will I do? I need help, but what would any other Icewing think if I told them that Scarlet has been talking to me for almost a week? And that only now I'm telling it? I might be seen as a threat, they might think I revealed information…
In the meantime during these days, Hailstorm had done some basic Icewing stuff, like being sent to hunt and search for specific things, which he was glad to confirm was still able to clear without much struggle, making him go up one rank within the Third Circle.
But going up the Circles wasn't going to magically make Scarlet go away, he needed someone, and at this point there was just a single dragon that might be able to do something regarding the Skywing without turning on him.
Next time he was free, he left the palace and quickly took off, heading southwest for a while, going past one of the villages and the evergreens woods, going the furthest possible to the west until ironically enough he passed the Diamond Caves, and then a few miles ahead, where the end of Pyrrhia's lower jaw would be located, he saw his destination as he descended.
Is that an igloo? Was his immediate first thought upon seeing the outpost, and his mouth instinctively curved upwards in a smirk for a moment after having that thought, but he quickly put back on a neutral expression. She won't appreciate it if he seemingly was making fun of the place, less so if he outright calls it an igloo.
It wasn't too far off to be honest, it obviously was more refined than some simple igloo, but the basic circular shape was clearly meant to remind of one, he slowly approached it then knocked on the door.
Unsurprisingly, the response was almost instant, with it swinging open about five seconds later. And there stood Icicle with a clear frown on her face and looking outraged, but some of that went away after seeing him.
"Hailstorm?" She asked in a baffled tone, looking at Hailstorm as if she was examining him.
"Hi, Icicle. I thought I would come over here for a visit," he replied with a nod, using a formal tone to not potentially bother her.
"After 3 days… I'm surprised," she admitted begrudgingly. "I believed that nobody in the family would ever look at me again."
"Oh come on, I would never do that to my sister and you know it. May I come inside?"
She remained at the door for another second, before stepping back inside to let him come through.
The place was… Really not much for a princess like her. A table, two chairs, a window, and a sleeping spot with a few rugs, and then not much else. He saw some half eaten fishes on the table, meaning he probably caught her in the middle of a snack.
"Apologies, this place is… Unworthy, I'm sure I have to be the first princess to land in one of these, I must be," Icicle grumbled, signaling one of the two chairs for him to sit on while she took the other.
"At least it's only something temporary," he assured, making Icicle stare at him in silence for a moment. "What? You still have well over a year until your 7th hatching day, enough time to go back up the ran-"
"It's not going to happen," she cut him off, her face one of anger and calculated fury. "It's naive to think so. The fact that I'm here shows what it's expected of me for the rest of my life, to be some outcast that messes up and never gets back to the palace!"
Hailstorm remained silent for a minute, looking at his sister who clearly was barely even containing herself. He was very well aware that rising up from the 7th was a daunting task in general, and it could be even more so with Icicle's circumstances, but he didn't want her to lose all hope already.
"Is there anything I could do to help you?" He asked, earning a slow raise of an eyebrow from his sister.
"Help me?" She repeated, then let out a "hmph" sound. "Oh I see, so I am just that pitiful looking, is that it?"
"No, no, that's not it, listen, I just want to be a good brother and help, after all, you were the one that started the search for me. You helped me."
Now it was her turn to keep silent for a moment, his words clearly catching her off guard, and it was to be expected. Icewings, nobles from the Circles at least, usually aren't that open to lend a talon to someone, even family.
"Even if I accepted your help, there isn't really anything we could do to reliably get me back to the palace. I was a threat to Glacier's dearest Snowfall, so surely can't accept having me around again," she said bitterly.
"Are you sure? Maybe nothing reliable, but there are at least special circumstances that can wildly affect someone's rank as we both know."
"Oh yeah, I am very well aware of that," she said with clear sarcasm. "And care telling me what special thing could be done to make me jump at least four circles?"
Hailstorm let out a sigh. He'd been thinking about it and he didn't like it, more so considering he already refused to pull Winter into this whole dilemma. But Icicle… She was one of the fiercest dragons he knew, determined, strong, and with skills that allowed her to formerly be so high up, so just this once… Maybe they could both help each other.
"I've been thinking about it, and… Capture. Exceptional captures or killing of particular individuals should merit a lot of points. Renowned criminals, deserters… Queens that wronged us."
Icicle immediately stood up from her seat, her eyes staring at Hailstorm and her expression turning bewildered.
"What are you trying to get at? Be direct," she ordered.
"Okay, here goes…" Hailstorm muttered, and then quickly proceeded to explain his situation. Every night since he returned to the kingdom, the dreams and conversations, his whole identity issues… All due to one particular dragon.
Icicle listened attently, not speaking up or interrupting him even once, and when he finished she remained silent for a second, before suddenly slamming down a talon hard on the table, making that spot crack.
"Scarlet! She didn't have enough with taking you away from us for so long? She's been resorting to this? In your dreams?" She asked, huffing and gritting her teeth. "I've had Scarlet in my head too, it's not pretty, but I accepted it for our deal. But this is going too far."
"And I'm worried… That she might actually make any sort of progress, that I might end up changing again and doing something I'll regret. So I need your help. I know I should've told our parents, or go to Queen Glacier, but I was… Scared. I only want my life back, truly back, and in the entire Ice Kingdom, I believed only you might understand."
"Oh I do, you've come to the right dragon. I despise Scarlet, and you can believe I'd be "thrilled" to finally take her down, and you gave me an actual motivation to try."
"But I want you to be careful too," he quickly added with worry. "I don't want you to just suddenly rush to the Sky Kingdom and search for her or something like that."
Icicle just rolled her eyes at him. "Hailstorm, I know, that'd be a stupid thing to do, I know very well to plan ahead."
Hailstorm sighed relieved, glad to hear his sister won't be that desperate to just launch herself blindly into danger.
"We'll come up with something," she stated, standing upright. "This will benefit both of us greatly, you will be able to actually have your peace, and I… Might actually be brought back to the higher ranks. Nearly all of Pyrrhia had issues with Scarlet, not just this kingdom, if I catch her then I'd be the heroine of many tribes, and Glacier would be foolish to not do something with it."
"Thank you, sister, I knew I could count on you. Whatever I might be able to help you with, I'll try to do so," Hailstorm said, actually wanting to throw a smile at his sister, but he knew she wouldn't appreciate it.
"There just might be something…" Icicle said in thought, locking eyes with him. "Next night, when Scarlet visits you, tell her that her former loyal assassin would like to have a talk once more."
Author's Note: Well here we go, being finished with the Sandwings, I can set up some other plotlines for later now! And well, with the quite early death of Chameleon, that means everything about Scarlet would have to change, so for the butterfly effect here, the Icewings will be more involved for that one.