Wings of Fire: The LightningWing

Chapter 14 - Queen of the IceWings

Sightseer seemed odd to be a NightWing, considering that NightWings were supposed to be brawny mind readers and future foretellers. Why wasn't this one so NightWingy? "Do you know the way to Queen Glacier's palace?" Shock asked, directing his vision to Sightseer. "Mostly. I don't even know what Queen Glacier is like. I just have this urgent message from the NightWing's that I'm supposed to deliver to her." Shock looked suspiciously at Sightseer. As Shock followed Sightseer, he went over the thought about how she was so clueless and out of flaw from her tribe. The snow that Shock could see under his wings was pure white, even more pure than the clouds in the Lightning Kingdom. The air wasn't fiery and polluted, it was cold and brittle, something that Shock had wanted to feel his whole life. Sightseer didn't ever look back at him to see if he was still following, and Shock thought that the message was just too urgent. "Hey Sightseer," Shock bellowed over the cold wind. "What is your urgent message?" Sightseer flew on, not trying to tell Shock. Shock would stop at nothing though, especially if it was so important that Sightseer could get killed. "Really, I won't say to anyone, if anyone would listen to a peculiar dragonet like me. After all, I come a long ways away from here." Sightseer looked back and sighed. "Urgent may be an exaggeration, if the NightWing's weren't so involved with the prophecy of the dragonets." She said, nearing a snow bank. "Really, it is so urgent because I must tell the Queen of IceWings to find and kill half of them. I don't know how much I want to do it, though." Shock and Sightseer's wings slipped over the bank of snow, send a chill down his wings. Then he saw it. The glimmering castle of pure ice before him reflected in the morning rays. Sightseer sped up, diving at the beautiful structure. The courtyard that they landed in was full of frosted flowers and ice with snow. The palace had markings on it, which can only be created by animus power, as he had presumed. The entrance was wide, wide enough for ten full grown dragons to stand, side-by-side, wings out, and barely touch the tips. Sightseer bounded to the entrance and skidded to a stop before running into a huge glimmering IceWing guard. "What is your business going into this palace?" He boomed, snarling deeply and lowering his head to Sightseer's height. "I have an urgent message from the NightWings." She said calmly. The IceWing guard raised his head and fluttered his wings out of the way, letting Sightseer pass, but not Shock. Admiring eyes from many of the palace IceWings laid on Shock. "What is your business going into this palace?" The guard repeated. Shock shifted to look in the hallway where Sightseer had vanished, until he saw her black tail. "I'm with her." Shock said, pointing his talon at the tail. "Sure you are." The IceWing said suspiciously. Shock growled. "I really am! I need to see the queen! It-it is a message from my dragons, the LightningWings!" All around Shock, dragons gaped and gasped. The large IceWing moved his wing to let Shock pass. "Thank you." Shock said dramatically. Shock swerved through various hallways of ice trying to find Sightseer. "Sightseer!" He bellowed, turning in every direction to find her. "What?" She said, turning a corner to see Shock. "Why did you even follow me?" She snarled. Her tail almost whipped the ice so hard it almost cracked, and she stepped away from the wall. "I need to come with you, and you need to come with me." Sightseer squinted her eyes and looked behind her. "The throne room is this way. I'm going to see Queen Glacier."  She turned around started trotting to an ice door. Shock briskly followed her tail, skidding to a stop when he entered the throne room. Before him was a majestic throne, made from ice and carved with statues embedded in it. Next to both sides of the throne was a dragon carved from ice, shooting a plume of ice at a foe, and the other was of a scavenger. Why a scavenger? From a back doorway, a beautiful, even more beautiful than Queen Droplet, IceWing elegantly shimmied in. She had a veil-like cape strung around her neck. As she neared to sit in her throne, she whipped around and ordered a guard to close the doors. She sat and tapped her claw on the pedestal. "You requested my presence." She said, pointing with one talon, but still tapping the other. Sightseer quickly bowed and jumped back up, Shock following. "Yes, majesty." She said, panting. The queen laid her head on her throne and sighed. "Continue on." She bellowed, slowly closing her eyes as if she was bored. "I have an urgent message from the NightWings. The dragonets of destiny are coming, and my tribe requests you kill the RainWing, NightWing, and SandWing." Shock shook his head. Coming here was just for a death message? No, not happening. "Majesty!" Shock bellowed, bowing and fluttering his wings. "WHAT?" She snarled, stopping her claw from tapping. "I am a LightningWing, the wonders of the wind and sky, the makers of thunder and rain, and the dragons poised on top of the world. I request you listen to me." She sighed, but signaled him on. To be honest, Shock just made up those exaggerations about LightningWings. "One, that is highly unnecessary, killing off dragonets for no reason." The queen let out a muffled sigh, but didn't reject his response. Sightseer scowled deeply at Shock. "Two, I do very much request one of your IceWings as a company on my quest." Queen Glacier's head shot up and she snarled, flapping her wings. "Wonder of the wind and sky, maker of thunder and rain, dragon tribe poised on top of the world, that is outrageous. I will not hand off my tribe to a seasonal greeter." Shock shivered and snarled, whipping his tail hard on the ice. "By all means, majesty, I only request this so my home is not in ruins." Queen Glacier looked up at the ceiling of ice  and directed her vision back to a guard in the back of the room. "Take the NightWing out, I need to talk to this dragonet." Sightseer fumbled and growled at the guards dragging her out, but the guards prepared their ice breath. After Sightseer had left, the queen smiled. "Prepare this dragon for . . . execution."