As soon as every dragon was in the other side of the portal, the dragonets were quickly separated from their guardians. Dolphin had screeched and fought to stay with her son, but was dragged off down another hallway, her cries eventually fading. The dragonets were taken further into the strange building, which Shiver couldn't guess for the life of her. It wasn't made of ice, nor was it any cold, so it couldn't have been the palace.

"General Taiga," Queen Vortex commanded. The IceWing hurried to her side.

"Yes, your majesty?" she asked.

"I want every dragon in this building rounded up into the Grand Hall for an announcement," Queen Vortex said. "Leave no stragglers. This is something everyone needs to hear."

"Yes, my Queen," the general nodded. She took the rest of her troop, save for two guards beside the queen, and headed off.

Eventually, the dragonets were taken to a small room behind what Shiver assumed was a stage.

"I assume this is your first time being seen by other dragons," the Queen began. "There will be many dragons out there in a moment. I'd advise to be on your best behavior. Try anything funny, and that's how the continet will see you."

Shiver flicked her tail, her heart speeding up with realization. This would be the first time they were seen by the dragons of Pyrrhia. Suddenly, she felt a lot less inclined the snap at the first soldier in sight. They had to make a good first impression.

One by one, the soldiers took their spears and picked the locks on the clamps holding the dragonets. Shiver raised her head slightly, but didn't make a move. She noticed the way Dusk curled his tail up, the way Beautiful's scales shifted to appear a lot less menacing. Thankfully, they seemed to have taken the hint as well.

The room was soon filled with the chatters and murmurs of the dragons outside. Shiver shifted her talons nervously. She hadn't expected to be revealed to the world so soon. What would they think of her? What if they believed she was unworthy of being a Dragonet of Destiny for her weird scales?

After a long while of waiting, a soldier stepped into the room. "They're ready for you, your majesty," he said.

"Splendid," Queen Vortex smirked. "Follow me, dragonets." The Queen stepped out onto the stage, the dragonets hesitantly following after. The crowd quickly erupted with gasps and whispers at the sight of them.

Shiver looked around the large room. The place was illuminated by many moon globes that floated in the air. The walls were decorated with stained glass windows, all of which seemed to tell tales of IceWing history. And the crowd- IceWings, SandWings, SkyWings, so many dragons of all tribes gathered together.

Only dragons on Pyrrhia's side, Shiver noted.

"Welcome, dragons, welcome!" the Queen announced. "I'm so glad you all could join us today. As I'm sure you're already aware, me and my crew have managed to find the great Dragonets of Destiny."

Aether raised his head up, folding his wings as neat as he could. Beautiful's scales were dotted with shades of indigo and green. Every eye in the room was on them, the Dragonets of Destiny. Shiver was beginning to feel pride swell in her chest at the way the dragons looked toward them in awe.

"Of course, this couldn't have been done without my dear friend, Diamondback," the Queen continued. Shiver's head snapped toward the crowd, suddenly noticing Diamondback in the front of the crowd. "Come on, get up here," Queen Vortex beckoned.

The hybrid leapt up onto the stage, turning toward the crowd. "It was thanks to this noble dragon that we were able to track down the Dragonets. And when we get back to the palace, he'll be promoted to the top of the first circle!" The room was filled with roars and cheers for Diamondback.

"Oh, give me a break," Aether grumbled. "Dragonets of Destiny right here, but nooo, HE gets all the attention."

"I can't believe he did this.." Cascade frowned. "I thought- He loved us?"

"Clearly not," Starseer sighed.

"Isn't being at the very top of the circles like- the highest honor?" Beautiful questioned.

"It is.." Shiver growled. "And if it should be going any dragon, it should be one who's worked hard and earned it. Not someone who cheated their way to the top.."

"Now, I would like to stress that these dragonets are our guests," Queen Vortex continued. "And they will be treated as such. My soldiers will have their eyes out at all times. So if anyone tries something sketchy, we will not hesitate to toss you out into the cold."

"At least we're protected.." Meadowhawk sighed.

"Ah yes, our captors don't want us to die. We must be the luckiest dragons in the whole world," Dusk huffed.

"Be glad they're not executing us," Beautiful hissed, smacking the back of his head with her wing.

"I assume you all will treat these dragons with respect," Queen Vortex said. "They are meant to end the war, after all... You are dismissed."

So many dragons rushed to the front, buzzing with questions. Shiver tensed, noticing even young dragonets hurrying up to them.

We're their role models, she realized. We're who they look up to.

The dragonets, however, were ushered away by the Queen and her soldiers, much to Shiver's dismay. They were taken through the backstage room and back into the halls.

"Why'd you make us leave!" Meadowhawk frowned. "They wanted to meet us."

"Oh, you'll have plenty of time for meet and greets," Queen Vortex said. "Anyway, you'll like where we're headed.

"I haven't liked where we've been headed all night," Dusk grumbled.

The dragonets were lead back down the strange maze of hallways. They were soon taken to two large doors, the two soldiers opening them for the group. The room was large, and uncomfortably warm (at least, too warm for Shiver's liking). There was a huge furnace at the back of the room, the floor littered with pillows and blankets. Shiver spotted many different dragons huddled up in different areas. Two RainWings, tails intertwined, reading a scroll together. A group of SkyWings, all with mugs of tea, sharing stories together. Dragonets of every tribe running around, playing some sort of game. And off in the corner of the room, guarded by three IceWing soldiers, were the Guardians.

"Mother!" Cascade squealed, rushing to the group. Dolphin embraced her son with open arms, holding him close.

"Oh, my sweet boy!" she exclaimed. "Are you alright? Did they hurt you?"

"Surprisingly no," Aether piped up. "We have royal protection and everything."

"That's right," the Queen agreed. "You should know I'd never bring harm to the ones meant to save us."

"If that's the case, why'd you bring us here?" Goliath huffed. "We were doing fine under that mountain."

"Yes, but imagine if another queen had gotten ahold of them," Queen Vortex pointed out. "Queen Titanota is quite known for her strange methods of torture. Only the moons know what she'd do if she decided the Dragonets were an obstacle. Queen Quagmire has made it clear many times that she wants to take Pantala down without anyone getting in the way. And the NightWing queens- everyone knows how vicious they are."

"Lies," Farcaller hissed. The Queen ignored his comment and continued.

"I've brought you all here to keep you safe from the outside world. No army has ever been able to make it here," she said. "You're all perfectly protected."

"We were protected in our cave," Atlas grumbled.

"Were we?" Shiver started. "I mean, Mallard and Leafstalk.."

"That was an accident!" Farcaller exclaimed. "You know that."

"It still happened!" Shiver frowned. "We were found once. What would've happened if another tribe caught us? One that doesn't believe in the Dragonets of Destiny?"

"You can't seriously be siding with our captor," Aether started.

"It seems your little IceWing is a smart one," Queen Vortex pointed out. Shiver glanced over. The Queen gently tipped the dragonet's head up to face her. "Yes, I sense a great spirit in her. What is your name?"

"Shiver," the younger dragon answered.

"Shiver, that is a nice name," the Queen smiled. "Shiver, walk with me."

"No way!" Meadowhawk yelped, jumping in front of Shiver. "You're not taking her anywhere!"

"We go with, or she doesn't go at all!" Dusk growled.

"Guys- It's fine," Shiver said, gently moving Meadowhawk aside.

"You can't go with her!" the HiveWing yelped.

"She's not gonna kill me, Meadowhawk," Shiver pointed out. "I just wanna know what she has to say."

"You're putting an awful lot of trust into a dragon who just kidnapped us," Atlas growled.

"Who is also now providing you shelter. Did we skim over that part?" Queen Vortex commented.

"Stuff it!" Atlas snarled.

"Atlas, that's enough," Dolphin scolded, pulling him closer with her wing.

"Your choice," the Queen sighed, looking at Shiver.

On the one talon, the young IceWing desperately wanted to know what the Queen saw in her. On the other talon, following her would mean upsetting the others...

They don't dictate what I get to do, Shiver decided.

The IceWing headed toward Queen Vortex. The larger dragon smiled, opening her wings.

"Shiver!" Meadowhawk yelped. Shiver glanced back at them.

"I won't be long," she assured, before looking back up at Queen Vortex. The Queen lowered her wing over Shiver and lead her off to the exit. Shiver turned her head to get one last look at the others, who were now discussing things amongst themselves. The IceWing snorted, looking ahead once again.

"If I may ask," Shiver started. "What is this place?"

"Ah, curious dragonet. This is a sanctuary for those who've lost their homes during the war," Queen Vortex explained. "It was initially created as a meeting place for my great grandmother, to discuss things with dragons of other tribes. Eventually, more was added on, and when the war started, I figured this would be a perfect safe haven for those in need. After all, most armies on the other side wouldn't last a day out here. They have no fire."

"These dragons wouldn't even need protection if you and the other queens hadn't started a war," Shiver huffed.

"War was the only option, dear," the Queen pointed out.

"For a trade dispute?" Shiver huffed. "Queen Quagmire wants an entire continent dead because they didn't wanna share their resources."

"It is much more than a trade dispute," Queen Vortex argued. "Lots of things happened on the night of the meeting.. a lot of which was never shared."

"So why would a join a war when you don't even know the whole story?" Shiver questioned.

"I was a younger queen then," Queen Vortex sighed. "The threat of enemy attacks from over the seas worried me, especially since a Pantalan army could reach the palace without having to face the freezing temperatures for very long. Besides, nowadays, a trade dispute isn't really the problem anymore."

"That's what Starseer said," Shiver sighed. "That now everybody is just angry at each other."

"He is right," the Queen agreed. "Every tribe has lost so much to this war. It's more a matter of a revenge now."

"It shouldn't have to be," Shiver huffed. "This whole war should never have started in the first place. Keeping it going isn't gonna fix the problem. More dragons are gonna lose their lives everday."

The older dragon lead Shiver to a balcony. Shiver scanned the room below. It seemed like a large prey center, with dragons gathered at almost every table. Getting a better look at them now, she realized how many had scars along their body. Missing limbs, broken horns. Most of these dragons had been warriors, she figured.

"Look around," Queen Vortex spoke. "Many of these dragons, some as young as a year, were victims of the war. Some were even hatched here, not knowing what their home was like. It isn't as easy as you think for dragons to forgive. They lost their homes, family, friends, so much."

"But that's why we need to end the war, not keep it going," Shiver frowned.

"Shiver, dear, we need to win the war," Queen Vortex explained. "If we don't teach Pantala their place, they'll just keep going."

"That's not what the Dragonets of Destiny are about," Shiver huffed. "We're not here to pick sides, we're make you crazy dragons quit fighting."

"Well, it'll take a lot more to make us stop fighting than a high status," Queen Vortex frowned. "I am merely trying to protect my tribe, and this is the only way. Just consider, ok?"

"Yeah, yeah," Shiver sighed, turning back out to the dragons below.

"You should hurry on back to your friends," Queen Vorted commented. "They may assume something happened to you if you're gone for too long."

"Knowing them, probably," Shiver huffed. She sat by the balcony until the Queen had left, her eyes glued on the prey center. They needed help, sooner better than later. But what if the Queen was right? How easy would it be to convince these dragons to forgive Pantala, when they were stuck here because of Pantala? What if the only way to end the war was to help one side win it?

Shiver shook her head. That couldn't be the solution, it just couldn't. Dragons of all tribes were counting on the Dragonets to end the war peacefully, without favoring either continent. That's what her friends wanted. It's what the Talons wanted. Did the IceWings want it? Or were they just as eager about victory as their queen?

She couldn't think about this. It was too much - too much on her shoulders, and too sooner than she expected. Shiver couldn't handle it all, not right now. Perhaps heading back to her friends and trying to get some sleep was the best idea.

I'm sorry, Shiver frowned, turning her nose back to the dragons below. I'll figure this all out soon. I just need more time.