Mixed Blood (Fanfiction)

Mixed Blood is a fanfiction written by SagepawOfWindClan. It follows Leopard and their story as they learn how to fit in with society despite their mixed blood.
== Prologue ==
One year ago . . .
Snowdrop's heart was thumping in her chest as she flew. She knew she had to make it back to Brimstone before the eggs hatched, but where would they go after that?
The IceWing risked a brief glance over her shoulder and instantly wished she hadn't. General Silverfox was leading a fleet of ice dragons to pursue her. "Traitor!" she roared. "I thought you were better than Blizzard!"
She focused her gaze ahead of her and beat her wings harder, picking up speed. There was no turning back now. Brimstone had the eggs - she'd smuggled them out of the Ice Kingdom the night before, but had wanted to stay and say goodbye to her friends before she left. She hadn't known - she should have, but she hadn't - that they would turn against her this easily. Her allies in the Second Circle, dragons she had once thought of as her brothers and sisters, were racing after her.
The Ice Palace was far behind her now, but the other IceWings were closing the distance between them and her. She could see the border with the Kingdom of Sand in the distance. She realised the only sound of wingbeats she could hear were her own, and looking behind her once more.
The other dragons were gone. She felt her muscles tense. Maybe they'd given up. But she didn't think so - they had been so angry. Worry clouded her mind as she flew on more cautiously, casting her gaze around her as she went.
WHISH!
She heard the flutter of wingbeats and saw a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye. Snowdrop whirled around too slowly, and she hissed as the blueish-silver shape crashed into her. Alabaster had pinned her wings to her side, and they were falling. The male IceWing suddenly sprung away and swooped below her, slowing her fall. They crashed into the snow in a jumble of wings.
Alabaster shook snow off his scales and sat back. He watched Snowdrop as she scrambled to her feet again. "Don't try to leave," he called, just as she was spreading her wings. "The others will find you." He heaped some of the snow around him in a pile with his tail. "And they wouldn't have let you live."
Snowdrop's eyes widened. She folded her wings in again and crouched low to the ground, burying most of her feet in snow. She thought she saw the ghost of a smile cross Alabaster's face. Was he feeling triumphant, having beaten her? He wiped the expression off his face and straightened, holding the posture of a good IceWing guard. "I'll let you go," he said slowly. "I don't- I don't blame you for what you did." He paused, and Snowdrop noticed a hint of wistfulness in his voice when he spoke next. "I hope Blizzard's okay."
"Didn't you just say I couldn't leave?" Snowdrop snapped.
Alabaster sighed. "Yeah, I did," he said. He glanced at the sky and then stood. "Go now. Don't fly. I'll tell them you're dead."
"But won't you get in trouble? They'll need to see a b-"
The other dragon cut her off. "It doesn't matter. You need to survive. I haven't forgotten how we used to train together as dragonets." He gave her a small, sad smile. "With Blizzard. I miss those times." He shook his head and looked down at the ground. "You're a good dragon, Snowdrop. Your dragonets will be lucky to have you." Alabaster sighed again and shoved her back. "Now go!" he hissed.
Snowdrop didn't need to be told again. Ignoring the guilt, she raced off, trying not to think of the dragons she was leaving behind. I'll miss you, Alabaster, she thought, stepping lighter on the snowy ground. She knew she'd leave tracks. The others would know she was alive. She just had to hope she had enough time to put some distance between them and her first.
== Chapter One ==
One year later . . .
Leopard stretched her small dragonet wings. Her sister was waking up beside her, and their parents were still in bed. She wrapped a wing around the other tribrid with a smile, and Cottontail looked up at her, returning it.
She heard the sound of talons scraping on stone and pricked her ears, straightening. "I'll be right back," she said quietly to her sister. She hurried out of the room she shared with Cottontail and headed to the door. Leopard opened it just a crack and dawn light filtered into the room. She peered through and saw a large SkyWing with a leather pouch hanging around his neck. He had an envelope in one talon.
"Is this the house of Snowdrop of the IceWings?"
Leopard blinked and glanced over her shoulder. "Uh-" she stammered. "Who's asking?"
The SkyWing smiled. "I'm Whirlwind. Just a messenger. I have a letter for Snowdrop, though, little dragonet. Is that your mother?"
Leopard shuffled her feet and nodded. "I can take it to her," she offered. Whirlwind held out the envelope, still smiling. She took it from him. "Goodbye," she said, dipping her head politely as her IceWing mother had taught her.
Whirlwind waved and stepped back as Leopard shut the door. She resisted the urge to open the envelope and raced to her parents' room, where Snowdrop was resting on an ice ledge with her tail curled around her snout. Leopard shivered at the cold coming from the IceWing's scales. "Mother?" she whispered, tapping the wall quietly. Her father was sleeping in a nest of leaves on the ground, his four beautiful wings sprawled out beside him. Leopard carefully stepped past him, avoiding his venomous barbed tail. She nudged her mother gently. "Mother?" she repeated.
Snowdrop groaned, and Leopard shook her. "Mother, it's past dawn, and there's a message for you."
Cottontail appeared at the door, a curious look on her face. "Who was at the door?"
Leopard glanced at her, shrugging. "A SkyWing named Whirlwind. He had a letter addressed to Mother." She shook Snowdrop harder. "Wake up, Mother!"
Snowdrop lifted her head. "Leopard?" she questioned wearily. "What's up, sweetheart?" Leopard held back a sigh as she handed the letter to her mother. The spikes along Snowdrop's back shivered as she opened the envelope and unfolded the letter inside. Leopard saw the IceWing dragoness's eyes widen as she read. She and Cottontail waited patiently, curiously. When Snowdrop was finished she jerked her head up, now fully alert, and poked a sleeping Brimstone hard in the side. The four-winged hybrid let out a soft moan, but shook himself awake. "It's important," Snowdrop said with a note of urgency to her voice. She gazed at her daughters, and a moment later wrapped her wings around them both.
After a second, Leopard peered up at her mother. "What did it say?" she asked, somewhat hesitantly.
Brimstone nodded, sitting up and shaking his wings out. "Yes, I'm rather curious as well," her father admitted. He flicked his tail and the dragonets instinctively shifted away from him. He chuckled softly. "Don't worry, kiddos," he said affectionately. "I've had training."
Leopard nodded, but didn't move closer. The three dragons stared at Snowdrop. She pulled away from them and looked at the letter again, as if checking to see if it was real. Finally, she took a deep breath, and started to read from the envelope:
Dear Snowdrop,
You were a good dragon when you lived with the IceWings, and would have been for the rest of your life, had you not made such a traitorous choice. I am sure you are regretting your decision deeply, so here is my offer: kill your dragonets, give me proof you have done so, and you may return to your true tribe. I will give my dragons orders to never speak of your past mistakes again. We will forget it ever happened.
And by the way, Snowdrop, I found out about that helper of yours. He was executed. Very loyal, that one - to the wrong side in all this mess. He refused to say anything about where you had gone. He would have been useful if he had had the brains to stay with us instead of joining you as a moons-cursed traitor.
You have one week to return. If you try to come back after that time is up, you will be killed on sight.
- Your true queen, Queen Alaska
The room went silent. Her mother had a tear in her eye - perhaps thinking about the "helper". A friend of hers? She reached over and pulled Leopard and Cottontail closer. Leopard tried not to flinch at the coldness of her IceWing scales, and she managed to, as her own IceWing blood made her more cold-resistant. Her father soon wrapped his wings around the others, and Leopard felt herself squashed in the huddle of wings.
"I will never take that offer," Snowdrop whispered into Leopard's ear. She felt certain Cottontail heard it as well. Her sister was shaking.
Leopard was starting to feel overwhelmed. She wriggled away from the group hug and sat back, watching her family. When they finally broke apart, no one spoke for a long moment. Then Snowdrop said, in a quiet, gentle voice, "This is more important to me than the Ice Kingdom." Leopard saw her gazing at Brimstone, and him gazing back. Her mother smiled at her dragonets. "It's morning anyway," she said. "Why don't we go into town?"
The four of them headed into the town of Possibility, the two dragonets staying close to their parents as the adults scanned their surroundings with caution. Leopard could feel the curious gazes of some of the other dragons in town on her and her family as they walked through the streets.
She kept her head down, the words of the letter haunting her mind. Kill your dragonets, Snowdrop. She knew her mother wouldn't do that to her and her sister, but should she? Snowdrop was so often sad, and she always slept on her ice ledge, possibly to remind her of the Ice Kingdom. And now she had an extra layer of sadness that probably came with finding out that her friend was dead.
"Mother?" Leopard asked, tilting her head at the big IceWing dragoness.
Snowdrop looked down at her dragonet. "Yes, sweetheart?"
"Are you sure you won't take the offer?" she said in a quiet voice, huddling closer.
Snowdrop wrapped a wing around the one-year-old dragonet. "I'm sure," she murmured. "If I went back, Alabaster would have died for nothing." She smiled, but Leopard could see sadness in her eyes.
She really does miss the Ice Kingdom. But she seems to think she'd miss us more.
== Chapter Two ==
One week had passed since the letter had been delivered. Mother hadn't taken the offer, as she'd promised. Instead, she had grown more protective of her daughters. Now, Leopard was in bed, her wing draped over her sister's smaller body.
Talonsteps thumped on the stone floor as the door was shoved open and soldiers filed in. Leopard tensed, standing in front of her sister as the two of them slowly stepped closer to the door of their room. She could see Brimstone and Snowdrop leaving their room next to hers and striding over to meet the soldiers. There were eight of them, all big and imposing, with expressionless faces. Leopard peeked around the corner as the biggest dragon, a silver male with blue freckles on his snout, stepped forward.
"Snowdrop," he hissed in a slithery voice.
"King Iceberg," Snowdrop said, her voice shaking as she crouched and bowed to the royal dragon.
Iceberg lifted his head triumphantly. He opened his mouth to speak again, but a small dragoness spoke first. "Have you decided to take the offer?"
The king turned his expectant gaze on Snowdrop. Leopard watched her mother bowing even lower. "No, Your Highness."
The IceWing shot forward, his talons suddenly gripping her neck roughly. "What did you say?" he demanded, gritting his teeth. Leopard felt her whole body tense.
To be continued...
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete)