Siberia

The weight of the crown felt heavy on her head. It made her feel powerful, but weak and helpless all at the same time.

The fate of my tribe lies in my talons. I could command them to fight against the NightWings, or I could forgive Queen Fierceteeth.

Forgiving them sent anger to her clawtips, and she scrunched her talons. After Darkstalker was defeated, many NightWings stayed in the old kingdom.

Fierceteeth arose as their queen, and when the NightWings in the rainforest heard that the old Night Kingdom was turning into a real tribe, they left the rainforest, leaving Queen Glory with her RainWings.

The NightWings were silent for almost 15 years, but then out of the blue, Fierceteeth sent a secret mission to the Ice Kingdom. I guess the NightWings had never forgiven us for 'killing' their all-powerful leader. But Siberia knew that wasn't true.

That secret mission managed to kill the queen. Somehow they had gotten past all the guards, into the palace, and killed Siberia's mother.

When Siberia thought about it, she could only think of the last time she had seen her mother, during an important meeting where Queen Snowfall had passed her a small smile.

The rest of the memories, everything that happened afterward, were too painful to bear.

Siberia knew that her IceWing's did not kill Darkstalker. They were teleported back to the Ice Kingdom after the empathy blast, and Darkstalker disappeared after that. A popular rumor was an animus found a way to kill him, or he was sleeping again, waiting to rise once more.

She stared down at the scroll, her claw dipped in ink, ready to write out the future of her tribe. She looked up at the five council dragons around her and realized one of them was speaking.

"Your Majesty," The Icewing lifted his head and looked into Siberia's eyes. "The facts are clear. What the NightWings did was an act of war. Retaliating is the best thing to do."

Siberia stared at him, while Avalanche, her newest council member said solemnly, "I hate to agree with Krill, but if we don't declare war on them, or at least give them a fight, our tribe will seem weak. You'll seem weak. The NightWings will take action if we don't. They might attempt to kill you!"

His expression said he would never let that happen. Siberia tilted her head. She quite liked Avalanche. He was smart and always knew his place. Full of so many ideas. That convinced her. If Avalanche thought she should sign the order, she would.

She especially liked how he was older and bigger than her, but still gave her a lot of respect. She would never admit it, but Siberia was pretty sure she had a crush on him.

Focus! She scolded herself. Decide quickly! What would mother do? The pain of missing her mother overwhelmed her, and she was tempted to crumple up into a ball. Being queen was hard.

She thought of her sister, Diamond. They were the only daughters of Queen Snowfall, which meant they were to battle for the throne. But the night Snowfall was killed, Diamond had entered Siberia's room.

"Sister." She whispered, creaking open the door. Siberia looked up from the ground. She was sitting beside a block of ice meant as a chair, slumped with her tail wrapped around her front talon, a habit she did when she was nervous.

Siberia looked up, wondering if Diamond was here to kill her. But her sister's eyes were red and swollen as if she had been crying.

Siberia was glad she had washed her face. Diamond had always been quiet, but she was fierce when she wanted to be, so Siberia needed to be strong in front of her sister.

Diamond sat down. "Listen. I know tomorrow you and I are to battle for the throne, but I came to tell you, I don't want it."

And her world had been different ever since. Diamond lived on the far side of her palace, and she hadn't seen her sister since her coronation. Siberia was only ten, an early age for a supposed strong queen.

She shook her head, growling and clearing away the memories.

Thinking about it, if the NightWings had killed Queen Snowfall's mother Glacier, Snowfall would definitely have turned to war. I need to remember my mother's legacy.

Queen Siberia lifted her claw once more, and scratched her signature across the paper, signing the decree to declare war on those wretched, evil NightWings.

Frost

Frost hated the war! All they did was fight, fight, fight. Battle, battle, battle. EVERY DAY. She especially hated it, because when she could be reading, she had to be in the middle of a blood bath. Fighting innocent dragons, dragons she didn't even know!

I mean, didn't that one animus dragon use that empathy blast so there would be no war? She winced, glancing around at her patrol. Her general had commanded her to scout ahead in the small forest, the one in between the Ice Kingdom and the Sand Kingdom.

But Fierceteeth decided to restart it again. She answered herself, sighing. Her wings felt cold. The war had been going on for half a year, but it felt endless.

"Frost!" She was shaken out of her thoughts as Coldsnap, her general, shouted at her. "Stop dithering and go scout!"

Frost growled, flying down to land with a soft thump. Small whirls of dust whirled around her, and she wondered where she was supposed to go. The NightWings were about to attack, with another fight coming along with it.

She mocked Coldsnap. "Be quiet Frost, do what you're told Frost, go scout Frost!" She groaned. She was the only daughter of Queen Siberia! Her two brothers had both died in the war, and her mother had loved them as much as Frost loved books. She sent Frost to the army to avenge them.

She stopped quickly as she heard a snap of a branch. Frost held her breath, had someone heard her? She sniffed the air, turning her head to hear better.

"Hello?" A strong voice called, tinted with worry. "Nightflower? Is that you?" Frost flexed her claws, ready to fight. But in the bush in front of her, she saw a handsome NightWing, looking fairly troubled.

Frost let out a hiss, summoning her frost breath with an icy gasp. She launched out of the greenery, landing on the NightWing's exposed back. He roared in fury and whipped around, sending her flying into the bushes.

He ran after her, tackling her and pinning her. His back talons flexed, sinking into her scales. She yowled.

What can I do? What can I do? She looked around quickly and spotted a bush full of frozen pepper berries. With her free talon, she grabbed a handful and squeezed the juice into the NightWing's eyes as he bent down to bite her.

He let out a painful hiss, letting go and staggering back. Frost shot away, hiding behind a wide tree trunk while he rubbed his eyes, trying to restore his vision.

I can't take this NightWing by myself! He's much stronger than me. I need to get help.

She turned to run back to her patrol, but the NightWing tripped over, landing with a thud. Frost looked back, pricking her ears.

His tail was caught in a thorn bush, and she felt a rush of sympathy for him.

What? No! Stupid Frost, he's a NightWing! He's trying to kill your tribe! But she couldn't walk away. She couldn't just leave him.

Frost pushed the bushes out of the way, summoning the frost breath in her stomach, just in case. The Nightwing stopped thrashing, blinking several times as Frost bent over and sliced the thorn stems neatly, freeing him. He pushed away. Frost could tell his vision was clearing.

Now leave! She said to herself. But again, she couldn't.

His jaw was chiseled so it looked like he was smiling all the time, and he had midnight blue spread across the underside of his wings. So the white stars under his wings looked even more beautiful. His eyes were the darkest blue she'd seen.

"Hello." She said, trying to keep her warrior physique while bristling her spikes. "Having fun playing in the thorns?"

The NightWing scoffed, baring his teeth. "I should say the same for you. Why did you free me?" His scowl faded quickly. "Is it because I'm handsome?"

Frost raised her eyebrows, standing up straighter. This conversation went from a fight to two friends joking around. "Oh yeah? How did you know you were handsome?"

All the rules and customs slipped away from her, sliding down an icy hill, while she fell for this NightWing. He laughed, wincing as his cut-up tail brushed the ground.

Frost stepped forward and nodded at his scratches. "Can I help you with that?" He looked skeptical for a moment, then nodded. Frost felt her spirits lift. This NightWing trusted her!

He turned so his tail faced her, and she thought he was about to fly away for a moment before he settled his wings. Frost breathed a bit of frost onto the ground, then slid a big leaf under it. She put another one on top, forming a cold package.

Frost laid it gently on his tail, and she felt a shiver run through him. Frost held her breath.

"That feels a lot better," He said, turning to smile at her. "Thanks." He turned towards her again, taking a step forward so they were a claw length away. Frost felt herself smile back.

Why? We've barely spoken. She tried to shake off the feeling. But somehow I know. I know just by seeing him.

"You never answered my question." Frost confronted him playfully. He laughed.

"Oh, I just have a kink." He said. "My betrothed partner jokes that I'm cute." He spread his wings, and Frost held her breath. He was betrothed? Oh no. What did I just do?

The Nightwing must have noticed her heartbroken look, because he quickly added, "I don't like her though. My mother said I'm too old not to have a mate, so she set me up with someone." He shuffled his talons, suddenly looking very uncomfortable. "Are you married?"

Frost shook her head. "No. The queen hasn't set me up with anyone. She thinks everyone isn't good for me. But mothers are protective like that."

The NightWing raised his eyebrows. "Mother? You're a princess?"

Frost winced. She never saw herself as one. "Yes." She said carefully. "My name is Frost. What's yours?"

She could see the flash in his eyes, as he realized he was breaking his tribe's rule as well. But as they stared at each other, it was never a hesitation.

The NightWing took a step closer, his wings barely brushing her. This is so forbidden. Definitely forbidden. I could get kicked out of the tribe for this!

But she didn't care. She knew this dragon would change her life.

"Blackstar."