Silenced Voice

Chapter 36 Winter

Winter reached the ruins of the Great ice cliff in the morning and decided to rest at its foot. Even if he slept for a few hours, he would make it to the palace in time, and after resting he would be able to fly almost non-stop all the way there. The remains of the ice cliff provided some kind of protection in the open terrain. He didn't want to deviate too much from the most direct route just to look for a better hiding place, after all, he had the best possible camouflage in the middle of the snow and ice.

While flying, he had pushed to the back of his mind the questions that had arisen from the scene he saw, but now everything rushed back into his mind, demanding his attention. He tried to dig deeper into the snow and squeezed his eyes shut tightly, but that didn't stop the images from rolling over and over again in front of his eyes.

Why didn't I land? I'm a coward. It's no wonder if she chooses someone who has enough courage to act as the situation demands. Moon might think I've died or given up. Did I even tell her out loud that I love her?

He drifted off to sleep as the questions in his mind turned into a dream. The dream was also penetrated by the feeling that he was not alone. That someone was watching him. A sense of impending danger. Maybe it was the sound of flapping wings, or the rustle of claws on the ice, or just the presence of another creature.

It made him raise his head anyway, still half asleep, and at the same moment, an icy boulder almost touching his snout whizzed over his head, smacking into the snow right where his head had just rested. He jumped up and it took him a moment to fully realize he was awake and remember where he was. That's when another block flew at him, and he narrowly dodged the fatal blow. Looking up, he saw a figure on top of the ice cliff ruins, lifting up the icy boulder again. Now he was fully awake and hastily jumped into the air.

"Polarnight! How did you get out?" He shouted from a safe distance, hovering in place above his attacker.
"Icicle came in the evening to check her apartment. I will do to you what you did to Iceberg, and you will not get up from there again!" Polarnight snarled at him.

"Is he okay? I was afraid that Icecicle would kill you when we ran away."
"Like you care. Icicle promised I'd get my reward when I capture you dead or alive and kill that NightWing. You're a fool for stayed sleeping there, but all the better for me", he growled and launched himself into the air at such a speed that Winter almost got tangled in his wings as he dashed away. A block of ice grazed at his tail and Polarnight roared in frustration.

He cannot know Moon by appearance. Unless... Winter almost bit his tongue. After all, there weren't very many NightWings with white scales in the corners of their eyes. Sure enough, Icicle had described Moon accurately to Polarnight. But if he goes after me, then he's out of Moon's vicinity.

"Wait, can we talk? I don't wish you dead. Why do you obey my sister? She's not the queen", Winter panted as he turned again to address Polarnight, who had descended to pick up another block of ice.
"Soon she will be, and she will be able to provide me with a position and wealth that I could never achieve under Snowfall's rule."
"What do you have against me? I have never done anything bad to you before. Weren't we friends as dragonets?" Winter hesitantly landed on the ruins of the ice cliff.

"Hah. You were a spoiled brat. You don't know anything about the conditions I had to grow up in. You came to our village as a benefactor and I had to bow down, serve and entertain you. To smile and be kind to the prince."
"That's not true! I considered you my equal."
"Like I said, you know nothing about the lives of real dragons", Polarnight hissed. "You've been privileged since you hatched. You don't know what it's like to fight every day for food and a place to rest. You have only fought for a better ranking on the listing wall. You are a blind and naive fool."