Chapter Text
His claws scraped on the bare ice below, his heart raced with fear and anxiety as they tread the narrow passages—or rather hallways of pure ice.
I shouldn’t be here.
Of ALL things, he had to remember the grim tale of two brothers who attempted the Diamond Trial. Both went in; only one came out. He grimaced and gripped the ground below firm as they descended into the depths. For some reason, Winter knew he wasn’t going to walk out alive.
“Brother—?” He called. His voice echoed off of the walls with an eerie, hollow sound.
His brother responded in a sigh and a flick of his long, spiked tail. He merely looked on ahead and continued walking, leaving Winter alone with his thoughts. As soon as the tip of his tail disappeared from view, his heart sank into the pits of the deepest ravine in the icy mountains with the familiar twinge of fear following it.
Winter grimaced and grit his teeth, walking (rather briskly) off after his brother. If he was to die, then it would be a death worth dying.
It was all a matter of “striking first” I guess…
A looming sense of anxiety wrung out his lungs, choking him on the dry, crisp air of the claustrophobic tunnels. Each step seemed like a mile as he drew near to the sound of open air—or at least a cave where he could soothe his worries. Just for a little bit.
Just…get there. You aren’t a touchy-lovey Rainwing. Just get. Over. It.
Another pang of fear gripped his throat as he stepped through the opening into a large cave covered in icicles and large stones.
But those…aren’t stones, are they? They’re bodies.
Hundreds.
His brother turned towards Winter with the slightest twitch in his eyes. Was that pity? Fear? It didn’t matter. He just wanted to get out of this place. Back to Moon, to his room…anything.
“What are we supposed to do here…?” Winter asked. He was careful not to let his anxiety drip over into his words. But he didn’t think it really worked.
Hailstorm exhaled and hung his head. He hesitated before leaping over the chasm, miscalculating and slamming into the back wall with a heavy smack. His spear scraped against a large Nightwing encased in ice.
Why is there a Nightwing here?
One of the spears’ spikes caught on a small crevice near the encased dragon’s neck. Almost instantly it started to rumble. Ice cracked and fell to the ground around the Nightwing’s talons. It finally came to him. It might be Foeslayer. Sworn enemy of the Icewings and Prince Arctic’s kidnapper. He felt a bolt of rage run through his mind. He’d teach her never to mess with their magic again. She’d pay for creating that demon—The Darkstalker. Winter bolted, leaping over the chasm with his spear outstretched towards her neck.
But what if I’m wrong?
The Nightwing blinked awake and yelped, sidestepping out of the way. His wings flared out to catch his fall. Winter landed rough on the ice and swiveled to face her. Winter glanced at a pair of cuffs around her back ankles that didn’t seem to be attached to any chains. Strange.
“Three moons, more dragonets with spears-!” She grumbled.
I should take this slow…she’s double my size. Maybe Hailstorm can flank her if I distract her long enough.
Hailstorm snorted. “I’m here to kill you..!” He mumbled wearily.
“Aren’t you all?” She asked flatly. “Why don’t we introduce ourselves, hm?”
Winter was the one who hesitated this time. He felt a bit nervous again, fear overshadowing his jolt of rage.
“I’m…Winter. Prince Winter. That one over there is my brother, Hailstorm.” He replied with a stutter.
“Brothers? How unfortunate.” She said with a raspy, tired breath. She sounded exhausted. (Not like he cared or anything.)
“My name is Foeslayer.”
Winter twitched involuntarily. Winter was hoping that he was wrong, but those hopes were shattered along with his dreams of studying scavengers. He was going to die to this monster. He was sure of that.
“You’ve heard of me.” She said with a hint of surprised amusement.
“But—no—you’re not-“ Winter said, shifting his weight on his back legs to gawk at her.
“Ha, everyone is always surprised. Why kidnap then freeze your worst enemy and not tell anyone about it? So everyone knows how fierce and dangerous you are?” She sighed, exhaling a chilly, shuttered breath.
“You-you shouldn’t be alive right now—after all this time, you shouldn’t be-“ Winter choked, finally wringing the words out of his throat. Foeslayer furrowed her brow in thought for a moment. She folded her wings in and hung her head.
“Never mind. I don’t want to know how long it’s been. They’re all gone already anyway.” She whispered in sadness. “My prison…It’s apart of your queen’s gift. I’ve been frozen in time—I only age when I’m unfrozen like I am now. The goal, I suppose is to keep me here for a…long, long time.”
Winter felt pity for her. Pity. For the mother of The Darkstalker. This was a new low, almost as bad as falling in love with a Nightwing of all things. Or even being friends with Qibli—a Sandwing lowlife—
I shouldn’t go that far. He did help me find Hailstorm after all.
“Well then. If you don’t have much else you want to know—“
“What happened to Prince Arctic?” Winter blurted. If he survived, this information would want to be known by Queen Glacier. Maybe they could get their animus magic back. He’d be a hero.
Foeslayer grimaced. “…Him. Right.” She turned away from Hailstorm to look at the wall.
“I-I don’t know what happened. But he’s gone now. That fact I know.”
“Why did you kidnap him..?” Winter asked, trying not to let his voice tremble too much.
“I didn’t kidnap him—I loved him.” She said in a whisper. “And he loved me…At some point I know he did.”
Foeslayer stared up at the ceiling, seemingly trying to remember someone she knew long ago. She smiled with a look of melancholy in her eyes.
“That’s why he ran away with me.”
Her expression hardened into a blank slate. She sighed. “I suppose that you both should get on with killing me now, huh?”
Hailstorm regained his battle stance, startled out of his boredom. Foeslayer bared her teeth and lunged at his brother.
Winter yelped as Foeslayer’s claws dug deep into Hailstorm’s chest. He yowled, retaliating with a stab at her right arm with his talons.
Winter rushed over to help him, slashing her other arm and part of her stomach so she’d release his brother. Foeslayer shouted in pain.
“Don’t you want to win?! Do Icewings get stupider every year?”
Hailstorm sprang to his feet and dodged Foeslayer’s tail. Winter was smacked in the face instead. Right between the eyes.
Blue blood dripped from his snout and onto the spear as he groaned in pain, stumbling about rather ineptly.
“I don’t need your help, brother! Don’t even try!”
Winter wiped the tears from his eyes and lunged at Foeslayer with his spear. She swiped her tail, knocking Hailstorm off of his feet and grazing Winter’s back legs. He managed to claw her neck before he fell short, dropping his spear in the panic. Foeslayer brandished her claws, ready to slit his throat. She gasped with pain. Hailstorm stabbed her. Right in the large artery on her neck. Blood gushed from the wound. It sprayed across Hailstorm’s face like a cloak, staining his pristine white scales. He snarled at Winter.
Foeslayer started to choke. The wound was cracking like an icicle, growing crystals of blood coated ice that spread across her neck like ice over a frozen lake. She closed her eyes and grimaced as the ice rapidly grew over her face. After barely a moment, she was encased in ice again, unmoving. Her wounds healed over. She was pristine again, without a trace that they’d ever fought.
Hailstorm gasped heavily, catching his breath after the scuffle.
“I should’ve practiced more—“ he choked, “Pyrite’s stupid thoughts-!”
He shook his head and dropped his bloody spear. It clanged on the blood soaked ice below with an eerie silvery echo.
“Uhm…Thanks.” Winter mumbled, smiling at his brother as Hailstorm wiped the blood off of his face. Foeslayer’s blood dripped down his neck and mixed with his, turning a fairly nice shade of purple.
Kind of like Moon’s scales.
Hailstorm gripped the spear and glanced at it, turning it over in his claws. A dark look came over his eyes.
“So…who…wins?” Asked Winter. Invisible claws choked the air out of his lungs. His breathing stuttered in fear as Hailstorm approached him without responding.
“I know what I need to do now. I’ll be a ‘real Icewing’ again.” He said, casting a glare upon his brother. “I want my LIFE BACK!”
Hailstorm lunged at him. In three heartbeats he was blinded. Winter thought he tasted blood.
Another flair of raw pain ripped at his throat as Hailstorm swore at himself. “Crap—too high—!”
“I—I’m sorry—!”
Winter choked out a scream as blood bubbled from his mouth. His vision was blurred. It was painful to open his eyes. Winter tried to claw at Hailstorm, but missed painfully close to his brother’s neck.
“I’m sorry…” Hailstorm said, stupidly remorseful.
Winter struggled against his eyelids, but he managed to open his left eye. He felt something else this time. Something colder than anything in the Ice Kingdom. He heard that cracking again.
Winter tried to get up—to fight back— anything! Anything that would make Hailstorm stop.
I’m so cold—!
Winter couldn’t move. He yelped one last time before his vision went dark.
Moon. Moon-!
Goodbye. I love you.
I didn’t mean it.
I didn’t mean goodbye forever…
I don’t want to leave yet…!
The cold mercy of death gripped at his mind. Father got what he wanted. A son that was actually worth his time, in the end. It got so…so…cold.
He sank into the icy depths. His weary soul knew that he’d never wake up again.
You win, Hailstorm. You win. I love you, even if I didn’t get to tell you that.