Chapter Text
Don't you leave me Father Time
Take me with you
Tell me, does your sun still shine
Come squeeze the world and drip it down my throat
Minus Human ~Metallica
Tundra stared down at her writhing newborn dragonet with discontent. She didn’t care that she had a second egg in this clutch; two wasn’t needed… but it doubled the chance of having a female between the two.
But this was a male, and his older clutch sibling had hatched into a healthy young female.
To make matters worse, this dragonet didn’t look anything special like his eldest brother Hailstorm did at birth.
He wasn’t large for his age or very active as he writhed around in her talons.
She looked up at her mate, who didn’t look any more impressed than she did. “What do we do with him? We never planned on having another son.”
Narwhal looked down at his son with narrowed eyes, not saying anything.
“We don’t need him,” Tundra said in a hushed tone. “All we needed was a daughter to take the throne.”
“Do you think we will have any use for him at all?” Narwhal asked as he poked their son with a talon, wanting to see him fully.
Tundra thought for a couple moments silently. “I don’t see him being completely useful at all,” she said as she placed the dragonet back in the nest by himself, his older clutch sibling already sleeping.
“We already have a successful son in Hailstorm who will likely graduate to become a General, and even if he was as good as Hailstorm, then we take the chance that he will take the spot on the wall from Icicle,” she explained.
Narwhal nodded, listening with narrow eyes, judging what she had to say.
That’s what she loved about him. He was just as careful and smart enough to make sure all their plans worked perfectly.
“So what do we do with him then? We can’t just get rid of him so easily,” Narwhal asked.
Tundra glared down at their newfound burden. “How old does he have to be to ship him off to the border again?”
She already knew, but she wanted to hear it from him.
“Three, and by then he could have already started problems for us,” he answered with a quiet hiss.
“Is there anywhere we could send him off to right now that will keep him out of the way at least till Icicle takes the throne?” she finally asked, not knowing of any other option.
Narwhal’s ice mane clacked together as he raised his head back up to look her in the face. “There is one, but I doubt my sister would like it. So it might put a target on our backs for a while.”
Tundra remained quiet, waiting for him to continue.
“The Queen’s personal assassin group, the Ice Watch, they would take him with the Queen’s permission,” he started explaining. “They will take him in as a dragonet, as they do all their other recruits.”
He paused in thought; then he continued when he saw the gleam in her eye, waiting for him to continue.
“He will never know who his parents are. He will never take a mate, and he will listen to the Queen and group leader only. He will never take credit for any mission he does…” he finished.
“So he will never be helpful to us if we send him to that group…” she said quietly in thought. “He would never know who we are to him?”
Narwhal nodded. “The only thing they are allowed to be attached to is the Queen and Kingdom.”
She closed her eyes and remained quiet for a couple moments.
“Get the Queen. We stand a better chance with him gone than being with us,” she said with a cold tone as she placed the male dragonet back in the nest he hatched in.
Narwhal nodded and left the room, the sound of his serrated talons clicking on the icy floor as he walked out.
The moment she wasn’t able to hear Narwhal anymore, she looked down at the now sleeping dragonet.
Already asleep… how would it be any help to us if we keep you? You can’t even be awake for this important moment of your life. I guarantee if I go into your sister’s room, she would still be awake and waiting for us.
She shook her head. It was a shame she had no use for this dragonet. She would have liked to have another princess just in case Icicle failed at becoming Queen.
She stood back up and turned to the door of their room when she heard two sets of talons clicking on the floor.
Queen Glacier came through the door first, a wicked glare on her face as she stared down Tundra.
“Of all the vile things you could do, Tundra, this is a new one for you. Do you even have a clue what this would do to your son?” she asked with a hiss, her ice mane rattling as she spoke.
Tundra nodded her head. “He will never know who I am or—”
She was cut off by Glacier’s hiss. “He will never have a mate, his own life, dragonets, a real dragonethood,” she said as her tail started thrashing, Narwhal staying quiet beside her.
“Not only that, but death is almost guaranteed. Most recruits don’t live past ten…” she explained as her tone stayed calm but her glare was still as deadly. “Tundra, most of the dragonets that are put through this are from IceWing parents who have either been shamed or are about to be executed… do you really want that for him?” she finished, pointing at the now awake dragonet.
Tundra nodded. “We have no use for him, so he might as well go to someone who does have a use for him.”
Glacier hissed. “No use for him—Tundra, if this is your version of a sick joke, then drop it now!”
Now Tundra was glaring. “You know I hate jokes. We don’t want him. That is all.”
Glacier closed her eyes and growled, frost flying out from between her teeth.
Tundra stayed calm and collected, not feeling threatened by her sister-in-law’s display.
“Tundra, I never had much respect for your worship of the walls to begin with, but now I can properly say I have none for you at all,” Glacier finished as she walked up to the baby dragonet, who was now looking at her with wide eyes.
Her eyes softened at the sight. “Hello, little one,” she said calmly as she picked up the dragonet gently.
“What’s his name?”
Tundra’s frown deepened. “I haven’t given him a name.”
Glacier firmed up and stood her ground. “I’m not leaving with him until you give him a name.”
Tundra now glared at her Queen. “If this is your idea of trying to make me take him back, then it’s-”
“That’s an order, Tundra, from your Queen!” Glacier hissed as she held the now squirming dragonet close to her.
Tundra snorted. “Fine, if it will make you leave with him…”
She remained quiet for a couple of moments.
“Winter… his name is Winter.”
Oh, you should go and join the WinterWatcher discord server at https://discord.gg/GuJCVjGJ