Warning: There's a lot of PoV switching in this chapter!! (hope it doesn't bother y'all too much.... -the Author)

Frost's PoV
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I pause, hesitating, uncertain. Who do I go after? Scarlet ordered Peril to go to the battle, but Peril is the one who actually killed her....decisions, decisions. I hesitated a moment longer, thinking.

Finally, I twist and dive towards the sands. Landing with a slight thump, the sand shifts and cracks under my weight, frost rapidly spreading outwards. My wings are raised and tilted slightly forwards in a threatening display, spots of silver dancing on the sands. I arch my neck proudly, but I'm careful to not appear too arrogant. Arrogance and overconfidence gets you in trouble. I curl my lip in a sneering growl, revealing my sharp, white, slightly serrated fangs.

Peril turns unhurriedly, taking her leisurely time. When her face does swing around, one eyebrow is arched in an unimpressed fashion, a scowl cutting through her otherwise perfect snout. Her bright, electrifying blue eyes are watching me intently, although she retains her expression of boredom. I do take note that her tail starts to twitch, and she shifts her legs so she's in a battle stance. Anxious much? I wonder. As I'm studying her, she makes a simple remark. "So you're the IceWing."

That sets my tail lashing, sets the kindling in my gut on fire. Though the raging inferno isn't quite enough to thaw my frozen heart, it does make my blood boil. Not just any IceWing. It's me. And I'm on a quest for your blood, SkyWing. Isn't that how it goes in your kingdom? Blood for blood? Well, here you go.

Peril's PoV
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There's the signature whoosh of a dragon speeding downwards. Figures. I hear a crunch somewhere behind me, and the strange sound of ice crackling. That sound.....it seems to be getting.....closer? How does that make sense? Only an IceWing has ice, but this is different, somehow. The IceWing isn't actually breathing the frost, it's just....there. That's odd. Well, I guess this fight'll be interesting.

I stare down at the mangled, smoking, bloodied corpse beside me, not ready to face another IceWing yet. Suddenly I have the urge to regurgitate the boar I ate earlier, but I quickly steel my nerves and settle my stomach. That's strange. I've killed dozens of other dragons, and why now do I decide to hurl? It makes no sense. I've done everything--wait, almost everything--that my Queen has asked me to. There's just something missing. The spattering of scarlet against frosty silver scales charred black.

I take my time turning around, somewhat reluctant to look away from what used be a living--if you could call it that, the state that he was in--dragon, but now it's just a blackened heap of death. Another one to add to my ever growing longer list of deaths that I've caused. But I'm just following Queen Scarlet's orders. Even after all of this, I still don't feel like I have her approval. Maybe if I kill this other IceWing, the one, she'll finally, long at last, accept me. I guess there's only one way to find out. Kill.

I'm faced with an extremely upset IceWing, the intention of killing clear in her eyes, even from this distance. Her legs are set firmly apart, her neck regally arched in a dangerous fashion, lips lifted in a snarl to reveal her deadly teeth, not yet stained red.
Her wings are tilted so that they reflect the light and makes her appear more threatening than she probably actually is. Pfft. Threatening? What's.....hold on. There's the ice that she's standing on? And it looks like it came from her? So you're not a normal IceWing. I think I'll enjoy this fight.

I shift my stance slightly so I'm more stable on the sands, my legs apart, claws digging into the sand. My tail starts to twitch with the anticipation of a good battle. I hope she makes it worthwhile, because when they commit suicide, it's so boring. And then my Queen isn't happy with me at all, she likes thrilling fights. All I want is her approval. Is that too much to ask?

••••••••

Two dragons stood facing each other. One icy blue, the other a fiery copper. The SkyWing stood in a ring of scorched sand, the IceWing in a circle of frozen sand. A burnt corpse sat discarded to the side, forgotten. Neither moved. Then, Peril took a step forwards. Frost mirrored the action. They stopped when they were a dragon-length away from each other, tails twitching, a burnt path behind Peril and a frozen one behind Frost.

Suddenly, they leapt at one another with earth-shaking roars, glinting talons slashing, fangs flashing dangerously, jaws seeking to find the other's throat and crush it. Blood from both dragons splattered across the sand, staining it blue-red. Frost shot frostbreath at Peril, and Peril retaliated with fire. The two elements met each other before dissipating. The dragons paused, sides heaving, to glare at one other, although Peril seemed slightly surprised and took a moment to peer at the scratches on her hide, watching as the blood evaporated away into steam.  Frost studied her, death in her eyes, the lust for battle and death clear in her eyes. Peril turned her head, returning the look, although there was something else in her gaze--a yearning for approval, 'Maybe my Queen will love me after this....'

Within moments, both had resumed battling with the savagery that no other dragons could fight with, snarling, neither willing to give in.

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Queen Scarlet lounged on her throne, enjoying the fierce battle below. Fire against ice. It made things more...thrilling around here. Unease clawed at her gut for a moment, but she pushed it down. 'Peril's my champion. She's never lost before. What makes it any different now?' she asked herself. But as the thought raced through her mind, she found herself thinking of many different reasons as to why things were different this time, why Peril could...no, she would NOT think about that possibility. Scarlet, annoyed with herself, growled. Mentally cursing herself for even thinking about something like that, she didn't notice the smoke seeping from her nostrils.

"You there," she snarled at a passing servant. The servant froze, terrified. "Bring me some food and a drink," she hissed. The servant bowed and rushed off. The servant returned with a heaping platter of meats, bowed, and withdrew. Stabbing her talons into a pig's head, Scarlet turned her attention back to the fight and waited, drumming her claws on the armrest, causing sparks to fly. Waited for a thrilling death in her arena.

Frost's PoV
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I stare at Peril, rage boiling in my gut, blood pounding in my ears like the beat of a war drum. She killed Borealis and Frostbite. Red starts to seep into the edges of my vision, until only Peril was left at the center: a target. A target I intend to exterminate.

All she does it tilt her head at me, that one eyebrow still arched in a maddening fashion. Growling, I watch as she takes a single step forwards. I don't hesitate to take two towards her. She takes two. I take one. Until we're so close, I can see the smoke rising from her scales, the streaks of white in her shockingly bright blue eyes. I have no doubt she can feel the intense waves of rage radiating of me and my thirst for revenge.

Letting loose a roar that shakes the ground, I hurl myself at Peril, as she does the same. The first contact between us is electrifying. I've need felt such intense heat before, especially considering that I was raised--and live--in the icy cold. But this was more than the normal tingly fire. This was scorching, burning, flaming hot, hotter than anything else in all Pyrrhia. And it scares me. But I have to keep fighting. So that's what I do.

My frostscales are locked in a combat of their own against Peril's firescales. Peril's scales are hotter than anything in the world, but my scales are colder than anything. Fire and ice makes water, but what if it's to the extreme? Peril's scales begin to slightly scorch mine, but my ice pushes back and I'm back to normal again. I realize that my frost and her fire cancel each other out, so we cannot harm one another purely off scales. Soon I just begin to ignore what happens when she touches me, however, I cannot ignore the what happens when she swings her paw around in a deadly arc and catches me on the shoulder.

I howl in pain, I might have frostscales but they don't have the ability to magically regenerate. Peril's talons rip through my scales as easily as I might other dragons, drawing blood. My silvery blue-red blood splashes onto the sands. I'm relieved to find that my scales aren't burned, I'm just bleeding....which is somewhat new. I've never found another dragon who can harm me. I'm curious, but also hungry for Peril's blood.

I snake my neck around and I crunch down on Peril's neck, but it isn't enough to seriously harm her. Her tail whips around and hits me, while her back leg swings around and slices my side, catching me by surprise. In retaliation, I rake my talons through her wing, satisfaction rushing through my veins as Peril's blood spills onto the sands. She roars in pain and rage, and leaps onto my back, clawing at the scales up there. I try to rear up but she's too heavy, so I roll sideways and throw her off, slashing at the softer scales on her stomach as I do so. Rolling to my feet, I flare my wings and hiss, sending frostbite at Peril, but she's up in a flash, and her own fire meets my frostbreath before they both dissipate.

She's unfazed. My attacks don't seem to be taking a large toll on her. Despite my fangs and talons, my attempts aren't seeming to do much--she shows no signs of fatigue, just a bit of pain and fiery rage blazing in her eyes--if anything, it seems to enrage her all the more. I have to start fighting harder. For Borealis. For Frostbite. For my life, for my Queen, for my tribe and kingdom. For the IceWings.

Peril's PoV
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Taking a single step forwards, I carefully watch Frost for a reaction. She pauses, before copying my action. Finally, we're facing each other. I catch her gaze, and the sheer intensity of it makes me want to cringe. Growling softly, I quickly reprimand myself for being....scared? I've never felt nervous in the slightest about an arena fight before, not to mention scared. It's a new feeling, and I find myself surprised about it, though I'm not sure why. But I need to focus now. The way Frost is looking--no, glaring--at me is unnerving. Besides, the intense frostiness and pure rage in her eyes tells me someone would love to see me bleed.

Her tail starts to lash, more than the slight twitching that was earlier. I see slight tensing in her wings and neck, and her legs bend slightly to bring her into a crouch. Realizing that she's preparing to leap at me, I settle down into a crouch as well. Suddenly, she leaps at me with a mighty roar and I follow suit, sending her a fearsome roar of my own, less than a second after her front paws have left the sands.

We slam into each other with the ferocity of a hurricane, the initial contact like lightning. Freezing cold--colder than anything I've ever encountered--slices through my scales. I panic slightly, terrified that I'll lose before the battle has even started. But before long, my own comforting warmth seeps back in, as my scales are locked in combat with th IceWing's. It registers that her scales can't harm me, not on their own, and I assume that the same applies to her.

She pulls back, stumbling slightly to the side. I whip my paw out, toes splayed, talons glinting. Frost shrieks in pain as I slice open her shoulder, silvery blue-red blood spilling from the gash onto the sands. 'There,' I think in satisfaction. 'Something to remember me by, IceWing.' Her eyes flicker down to peer curiously at the wound, before she catches me by surprise when her head snaps around and crunches down on my neck. I feel her teeth pierce my scales and sink into my flesh. My tail flails wildly, and my back legs kick out in an attempt to dislodge her fangs. She snarls in pain as my back foot catches her side, where the back scales give way to the stomach scales. I manage to shake her off, but not before her teeth painfully retract from my neck, the jagged edges sending bolts of pain up and down my neck. Ouch. That hurt. I didn't know getting wounded hurt this much.

I'm barely aware of a sticky substance leaking from the puncture wounds, and as it touches my scales, hissing, it evaporates. I jump back, out of the way of Frost's wicked-looking claws flashing past my ear, but her other paw slashes my wing, turning the edge of it into ribbons. Leaping back again, I take a moment to catch my breath, but soon I'm pressured to dodge a whip thin, spiked tail coming my way. As she spins around, I leap onto her back, digging my claws between her scales, using my hind legs to stabilize myself, I rip my front talons into her scales, watching as blood begins to flow freely from her now wounded back.

With a growl of protest, she rolls sideways, forcing me to jump away to keep from getting crushed. I hear a sharp intake of breath off to my left, and, spinning around, I find that there's some frostbreath heading for my face, eager to turn my head into an ice cube. 'Not today, IceWing,' I think as I pull up some of the smoldering heat in my chest and hurl it towards the frostbreath with a roar. My fire snakes towards Frost's breath, blistering hot, but hers is freezing cold. Her frost meets my fire with a hiss before dissapating.

I raise my head and stare at Frost, defiant. I am the Champion. I will not be beaten, not by you, at least. I wouldn't dare to be beat by an IceWing. Think of how disappointed her Majesty would be....

Panting, I pause for a moment, noticing how tired I'm getting. I battle fairly often, but the fights never last this long, and I've never been hurt--or bleeding--before. I turn my head to peer at my tattered wing, intrigued. It hurts a little, but I'll still be able to fly....I hope. Time to see.

The IceWing is smirking at me triumphantly, the hope of victory shining in her eyes. Growling, I snarl at Frost, tail lashing, a scowl twisting my face. I'm not beaten yet. Let's see how you do in the air, with that back of yours. And you're against a superior flier, an aerial ace. Let's dance, you and I, fire and ice.

Frost's PoV
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I stop for a second to check on myself while Peril is looking herself over. My back doesn't hurt too badly, and I'm sure the wound looks worse than it actually is, but my frostscales might just be cooling the pain. I'm favoring the shoulder that the SkyWing cut open, but it's still functional. I'm alive, and I can still fight. That's what matters; I can not lose, not to her. I refuse.

I watch as Peril glances over towards me, tail whipping furiously, a vicious sneer lighting her snout in the fading light. With a snap, her wings stretch open, and then she leaps into the air, enormous wings stretching across the sky and throwing me into shadow. I barely hesitate to take off after her, wings beating furiously to catch up.

Once I'm in the air, I realize that I'm about to take on a SkyWing....in the sky. What am I doing?! 'Going to get yourself killed,' my inner voice suggests sarcastically. 'Thanks for the support,' I inwardly mutter to myself. I notice that Peril has stopped flying upwards and is now hovering, carefully observing me, blue eyes smoldering. She tilts her head at me mockingly, inviting me to attack her. I pause because she clearly has the upper hand, but if I can tear one of her wings....I pump my wings to get some height, which might grant me at least a little bit of leverage.

Growling, I swoop down towards her, wings cutting the air like knives. One moment she's there, a spot of red in my vision, but with a flash of copper, she's gone. And then I feel a crack and the weight of a dragon on my back and pain goes shooting down my spine. Suddenly, I find myself falling, tumbling through the air, and I get a glimpse of the dusty arena sand below, approaching rapidly, before I flip back up to face the sky, where she is, a smirk of victory on her snout. I flail around uselessly, trying to right myself before I hit the sands. If I hit the sands, I'm done for. Staring up into the sky, my wings flapping helplessly, I look up at the speck of copper in the blue sky. And then she's hurtling towards me, terrifyingly fast. 'It's over......'

Peril's PoV
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I turn my head to look over at where the IceWing is standing, sides heaving, blood dripping from where I bit her on her neck. My lips turn up to reveal my sharp teeth in a cruel snarl. Tail snapping back and forth as I lash it, I stretch open my coppery-gold wings and leap into the air, flapping my large wings once to send me shooting upwards. I hear a noise on the sands as they shift and the steady whoosh-whoosh-whoosh of wings beating behind me. They're beating fast, but she can't seem to catch up to me.

Slowing down, I come to a halt and begin to hover, beating my wings once every so often, so that I manage to somewhat stay in one place. I turn to face the IceWing, sheer determination shining in her eyes. I tilt my head at her, a slight smirk crawling onto my snout. I hear her snarling softly as she gets some height, before flapping her wings, sending her shooting towards me surprisingly fast. As she approaches, her intent clear in her eyes, I hear Queen Scarlet's voice hissing in my ear, "....Kill the IceWing....make it thrilling...." Narrowing my eyes, I beat my wings twice, sending me straight up many dragon-lengths. Tipping backwards, I fall, watching as the IceWing below slows in confusion, frustration seemingly pulsing from her very scales themselves.

Closer....closer....I'm increasing in speed, falling faster and faster towards my target. I few dragon-lengths above her, I flip so I'm right side up again. Folding in my large wings so they don't catch in updraft, I continue to plummet. One dragon-length away. I flex my talons and brace myself for impact.

CRACK! The sound of my talons hitting her spine resounds throughout the arena, a few dragons wincing at the force of the blow. I've hit right where I tore out her scales earlier, right between her shoulder blades. Flaring my wings, I stop my fall to turn lazy circles above. Frost however, isn't so lucky. She plummets, turning talons over tail in the air, her wings flapping helplessly in a desperate attempt to fly, to right herself before she slams into the sands.

The sound of muscles ripping and tearing and the noise of bones being shattered echoes eerily in the arena. Swooping downwards, I land majestically on the sands, the scent of death and triumph in the air. I pad over to sheer Frost lays, twitching feebly. Leaning down, I whisper in her ear, "I win. Now you can go join your boyfriend." All she does is glare at me, despite all that she's been through, she still dares to stare me down, her eyes glittering with determination and disgust. I lift my head, looking straight into her eyes. I lift my paw, toes splayed, talons glinting dangerously in the red sun. I slash towards Frost's throat, and the dusk is spattered with blood.

Glancing downwards in surprise, I look at my stomach, blood pouring from the jagged gashes. Tricky little....I stumble, head light from blood loss, my vision dimming. I glance at the slices I've made in Frost's throat. Turning my head, I look at her back talons, which are dripping blood. My blood. My legs no longer able to support me, I collapse. 'My apologies, my Majesty. I was unable to do what you ordered.....'

Queen Scarlet's PoV
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I roared in rage as the IceWing kicked up a back leg, slicing through my Champion's belly scales easily, even as her throat was cut. I growled, tail lashing. Peril stumbled and fell, blood gushing from the wound. I watched even as they died. Turning towards Vermillion, I snarl, "MY CHAMPION JUST DIED. THAT WASNT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN!!!" My son wisely keeps his mouth shut.

Turning away from him, letting my tail smash into his leg, I leave to let him deal with the pain. Stomping into my throne room, not even the sight of my daughter, Dawn, running rogue in my throne room, fazes me. She turns to me, dipping her head respectfully. "I saw what happened in the arena today, Mother." I barely acknowledge her. My only reply is a grunted "Yes." She pauses. "Mother?" I glare at her, can't she see I'm not in a good mood? Cough cough, my Champion just died, that wasn't a part of the plan?! However, she seems oblivious to my rage, so I let her continue, like the wonderful mother and Queen I am. 

"I, Princess Dawn of the SkyWings, challenge you, my mother, Queen Scarlet of the SkyWings, to a battle for the Royal Throne."