A Trail of Blood-Soaked Ice (Angel)

A Trail of Blood-Soaked Ice is a fanfiction written by me, Angel, and made for Clouded Day's Fanfiction Genre Contest. This page is still a huge WIP, and beware that the little 'Chapter Overview' section will contain the plot for the chapter, but not have the actual chapter written out yet. Read the 'Chapter Overviews' at your own risk of spoiling the story. 
The Joy Ang styled cover uses bases by Peregrinecella, and was designed and colored by Poppy. 
Character Pages (Beware, these may contain spoilers for the story!) - Sei - Nivis - Timber - Mistral - Queen Celestine - Queen Alora - Wolverine - Princess Khione - Princess Morgana - Husky - Caribou - King Sharkeye - King Boris 
== Prologue==
Queen Celestine
Hatching days were always something to be celebrated. It didn't matter who you were, or where you came from - It was such a wonderful day that it couldn't go unnoticed, even if you were the only one.
As a matter of fact, someone's hatching day was the exact reason the IceWing queen and her family (plus a few bodyguards) were standing in the Island Palace, surrounded by SeaWings of all sizes, ages, and colors.
"Alright," Celestine said, crouching down to be on level with her dragonets. Caulrife was her eldest, his large and majestic form making him look like he was made of ice, but he still wasn't even close to her size. "You three have been given free range to explore the palace to your heart's content, confirmed by Queen Alora's word. She gave me these to give to each of you." From a small bear skin pouch, Celestine produced three silver rings. Each one was carved with a delicate-looking snowflake on it, and she passed one to each of her dragonets. 
"It's certainly shiny," Khione, her daughter, commented, "But what are we supposed to do with it?" 
Celestine smiled and gave Khione a soft pat on the head. While the two of them didn't see eye-to-eye on jewelry, (Celestine liked to wear as much of it as she could while Khione found no point) it wasn't a huge conflict between them. They had a strong bond to each other, enough that made Celestine confident enough that she'd never be challenged by her daughter. It's going to be Husky or Caribou, she thought, shuddering. Her sister and niece weren't threats to be taken lightly, especially after the conflict for the throne Celestine had gotten into with her sister all those years ago . . .
The Queen realized she was getting sidetracked in her thoughts and gave a small laugh. "Khione, darling, it's a symbol that tells these SeaWings not to question you unless you're doing something explicitly against the rules." She reached out and carefully helped her youngest, Frore, slide the ring on his talon, though he wiggled away and sidestepped closer to Caulrife.
"Rules, yes, Mother. We are all well-rehearsed in them," Caulrife said, a little bored, while gently sweeping his wing across his siblings. He smiled and leaned forwards to touch his snout to Celestine's, and she closed her eyes as he did. She loved her dragonets so much. They deserved the world, and it was the world she had been giving the three of them. Especially Khione, since she was the only female dragonet. The three dragonets looked at each other, and then set off in the same direction. Celestine gave a crisp nod, and the royal dragonets each soon had a bodyguard following them out of sight - just in case.
King Boris, Celestine's dear husband, popped up from the ocean near the island, scratching at his scales a bit. "I always forget it's saltier and much, much warmer here. I'm going to have seawater in my scales for days," he said, laughing as he stepped up onto the dry, sandy beach next to the palace. It was dawn, and the sun was just rising, bathing everything in a dim, pinkish light. The SeaWings always made their parties tailored to their guests, and there were clear signs of it here. Carved ice statues dotted the beach, snowflake decorations made from coral hung from palm trees, and every plant seemed to have something glittering hidden in it, making things shine and dazzle like snow or frost. 
"What, were you expecting it to be cold?" Celestine teased, wrapping her wing around Boris. "Come on. Lora and her pretty little King are waiting for us," she said, starting to walk slowly alongside Boris. As they headed into a small area naturally shaded by trees where the tables of food had been carefully set up, Celestine picked out her fellow queen easily. She was sitting regally on a smoothed rock, her bluish-purple scales vibrant as the rising sun landed on them. She was draped in veils of silk and pearls, likely a gift made by the SilkWings they'd been talking with recently. Next to her was the small, sturdy turquoise figure of King Sharkeye.
When the two queens locked eyes, the both practically ran to greet each other. Foregoing usual greetings, they both wrapped each other in a hug. The two queens had been close friends ever since they first met each other as dragonets and remained pen pals since. 
"Celestine, you made it!" Alora said in her sweet, excited voice. "I've been making things just gorgeous for you and your family. By the way, I see that new paint on your claws," she smiled, looking at Celestine's talons. "I like it. Blue just really suits you, y'know?"
"Aw, you're too kind, Lora. It's your hatching day, you should have made things the way you wanted them," Celestine said quietly, brushing part of the pearl veil from Alora's face. "You're practically shining in the dawn," she added. 
Alora's eyes lit up and she suddenly smiled wider. "Thanks, Cell! So . . . there's still seven of you, right? You, Boris, your dragonets, and your sister and her dragonet." She glanced around at the tables of food. "Do they still like dolphins?" 
Celestine's snout scrunched up a bit. "Husky and Caribou were busy. Apparently Caribou wanted to try and get promoted to a general, so she's working extra hard in training. Husky's helping her." She had her doubts about the situation, but they weren't stupid enough to plot right under her nose.
"That's a nice goal. Shame they couldn't make it."
A thought struck the IceWing queen, and her face lit up. "Oh, I almost forgot about someone!" She turned back towards the waves, where a sheepish-looking gray IceWing bobbed in the water. "Don't be bashful, come up here."
The dragon slowly trodded towards them, bowing his head. "Greetings, your majesties."
"Hm. Who is this one?" Alora asked, tapping her chin. "Adopting a child doesn't speak your nature, Cell, though you are full of surprises sometimes. He seems like a fine dragon, after all."
Celestine snorted. "Oh, believe me when I say he'll be part of the family soon enough." She spread her wing, giving the gray scales a blue backdrop to stand out from. "Alora, this is Wolverine."
"Princess Khione's fiancee," he said, a smile tugging at his mouth. 
"Ooh!" Alora squealed, "How long have they been together?"
"About . . . fourteen Oracle cycles."
Alora's eyes widened. "Oh, wow, that's simply joyous news for both of you! I have some news of my own, too! Sharkeye, dear, come here," she looked over her shoulder and some of her glowing scales flashed in a pattern. From simply being around Alora so much, and from some minor basics, Celestine knew that the Aquatic was just reinforcing what she'd said verbally, not a hidden message. From the tables of food, King Sharkeye smoothly padded over to her and nodded at the IceWing King and Queen. Alora smiled. "Cell, why don't you and I grab our daughters and let them chat for a bit while our husbands talk about . . . " She waved her talon, waiting for them to finish the sentence.
"Usually, we like to discuss recipes for fish," Sharkeye offered. Boris nodded. 
"Arctic versus tropical. It's quite interesting, actually."
"Anyway," Alora said, smiling and turning to a passing SeaWing. "You. Could you be a dear and fetch Princess Morgana and Cichlid?" The SeaWing, a royal blue color, nodded and dashed away, sliding into the water and turning sharply right before disappearing under the waves. Celestine nodded and turned to her bodyguard.
"Can you get Khione for me, Harp? I'll be fine on my own for a minute." The IceWing hesitated for a bit before finally nodding and quickly walking the way the royal IceWing dragonets had wandered off in.
The IceWings returned first, Khione, her bodyguard, and Celestine's as well. Shortly after, the two SeaWing princesses came up as well. The older one seemed to be highly anxious, always looking around and pushing up a pair of glasses on her snout higher. She was a darker, more violet color than Alora. The other princess, the younger one, was a color much resembling her father, King Sharkeye. Queen Alora gently nudged them forward. "Morgana, Cichlid, I'd like you to meet Queen Celestine and her daughter, Princess Khione."
Celestine smiled. "Khione, these are Alora's daughters, Morgana and Cichlid." Khione stepped forwards, closer to the violet one, and gently reached out her talon. The other princess did the same, and they exchanged a small talonshake. Then, she pushed up her glasses again and glanced away, but smiled. 
"I've heard wonderful things about you, Khione," Morgana said as she looked the silvery princess up and down. "Mother thinks very highly of you and Queen Celestine."
Khione smiled. "She won't stop talking about Queen Alora, either. I've always wanted to meet you, Morgana."
"Me too."
Alora smiled and glanced at Celestine. "Do you know what I see in them, Cell?" She asked, leaning over. Celestine thought she knew, but she let Alora speak. "I think I see you and me. The two little princesses bonding at the first meeting. Maybe they'll even become pen pals, like us!" She chirped, grinning. Celestine watched as Morgana and Khione began to move away, both princess flanked by respective bodyguards. Cichlid followed along, too, and Khione reached down and picked up the much younger dragonet. 
"Yes. You and I, friends forever. I swear on the moons," Celestine said, smiling.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
As Celestine was heading to sleep in the palace, in her own special guest room, she decided to check on her dragonets beforehand. She peered into Caulrife's room, where he was soundly asleep. His bodyguard looked up at Celestine and nodded as she walked on. Next, Frure, who was awake and chatting with one of the SeaWing princes. They paused and looked at the IceWing Queen, and Frure waved. Celestine waved back, smiled, and moved on, hearing their conversation pick back up as she walked away. As she looked into Khione's room, her mouth fell open and she screamed.
"KHIONE!"
She rushed forwards into the room. On the ground at the foot of the bed was Khione's bodyguard, her throat slashed and blue blood making a mess all over the room. She was covered in smaller wounds and scratches and dents, and her solid narwhal horn spear was snapped in half. But resting on the bed, quite violently killed, was Princess Khione. Her stomach and chest had been cleanly sliced, her insides laid bare for all to see, and she had a deep stab wound just behind her eye that matched the shape of the broken, bloody spear. Blue blood was everywhere, staining the floor, walls, and Celestine's talons, but it didn't matter. She pulled Khione's body close to her, feeling how cold she was, even by IceWing standards. 
Dragons, namely the bodyguards for each royal IceWing, had entered the room, drawn by Celestine's cry. They were equally shocked. One of them dropped their spear with a clatter and ran back down the hall. Another followed them, heading to distract the princes. Boris's bodyguard stepped forward to cradle the broken body of Khione's bodyguard, whispering something. Harp came forwards and started speaking, but Celestine couldn't hear anything. Nothing but the blood rushing in her ears. 
She had just lost an heir.
Screw that.
She'd lost her daughter.
And I'll make Alora pay for her carelessness. 
==Part One: Hope for Peace==
===Chapter One===
Being a hybrid was usually not a good thing in this kind of day and age. They were far more common, yes, but even still, dragons didn't like the idea of rubbing wings and getting all cuddly with mixed blood dragons. Sei knew she should consider herself extremely lucky, and she did. As she powered through the water, the ocean rippling around her and small fish darting out of the way, she was glad to be half SeaWing. Not because of gills, no, she didn't have those-but instead for her webbed talons, of all things. 
IceWings were great swimmers too, she knew. Especially so when the water she was swimming in had chunks and sheets of ice floating lazily about on it. Being part SeaWing just made her extra-good at it. Sei peered through the water, able to see rather clearly ahead for quite a distance. Aside from the fish that still sharply turned and fled from her, she could see a large group of seals continuously sliding into the water, one after the other. 
She turned upwards and broke the surface of the water, taking deep, yet steady gulps of air. As she turned and pinpointed where the seals were, she could see them even better now. It was like a thick gray blanket covering a large sheet of ice in the distance. Sei licked her lips, her non-forked tongue slipping out from sharp rows of teeth. But as she turned, Sei could also see another contender. In fact, two of them on opposite sides: Polar bears. One of them was in the water, further ahead but paused, staring at the seals and sniffing. The other wasn't actually that far from Sei, and she found herself staring at it. 
"Ugh, come on, bears. I'm hungry too, you're going to just scatter them," she muttered, getting a little upset. Now that there was some competition, she knew she had to move quicker. Sucking in a breath of air, she dove back underwater and began quickly swimming, trying to disturb the water as little as possible while still moving fast. She could see the shaggy white fur of the polar bears in the water, advancing as well. 
Sei knew she could just kill a bear and get two birds with one stone-remove competition and feed herself. However, she had a fondness for seal meat and a distaste for polar bear. So while a huge, meaty white bear was all she could get, she'd take it, but if seals were an option, she'd rather try for that. Now, she was close enough to the seals that she had to be much more careful or she'd startle them all. She broke the surface of the water again, hiding behind a large and thick ice sheet, watching the seals and the bears closely. A little too closely, in fact, so that when the sheet of ice she was hiding behind suddenly seemed to get bigger, she didn't notice at first.
Then Sei heard the ragged breathing and turned to look at it. There was a huge walrus on the ice, staring at her and huffing in the unique way that walruses seemed to do when they were trying to be intimidating. Unfortunately for this walrus, it happened that Sei was much bigger than she seemed in water, thanks to the light distortions. So when she surged out of the water and spread her wings, she was double the size of it. 
The huge creature suddenly turned and began trying to move back into the water, floundering across the ice, but Sei had her sights set. It was just so blatantly easy to catch, trying to scare a dragon like that. The gene pool is better off without this one, she thought as she dove, doing a little spiral just to show off. Despite the efforts of the walrus, it couldn't move fast enough. It's flippers had barely touched the water when Sei swooped down, stabbed her claws into it's sides, and hauled it into the air. Warm blood trickled around her claws and talons as the creature tried to thrash and free itself, but she was determined to hold it. After all, it was her lunch. 
Holding onto such a large creature wasn't the hardest thing she'd ever done, but she was starting to think it was up there. She sighed. Nothing could ever be harder than that missing dragonet case. Sei blinked a few times, digging into the limply struggling walrus more and drawing a deep wail out of it. She'd promised herself she'd never cry at a case, but when a terrified and worried mother bursts in a begs for you to find her child, it was hard not to. Especially when Sei had to be the one to find the dragonet's body, mauled by polar bears, and to tell the mother about it as well. 
She nearly dropped the carcass and faltered in her flight before she finally got a grip on her emotions. Focus on relaxing. How good this is going to taste with some iced coffee, maybe. Curl up in the furs and rest for a bit. Sei smiled warmly at the thought as she spotted her small house, a large dome of ice with two windows, but no door. Of course, there still was a way to get in, but you had to know how to do it. 
She landed on the ice and switched from carrying the walrus to dragging it in her mouth. If she wanted, after she'd cut all the meat out of it, she could likely sell the rest of it for some money. The right dragon would pay a pretty penny for a pair of good walrus tusks, and the blubber could be sold to a shopkeep who'd turn it into oil lamps and sell the product. Sei slowly moved across the ice with her prey, dragging it towards a small, hollowed-out cave near her house. She set the carcass down and pulled on the thick wooden door until it swung open and hit her in the face with the overpowering smell of meat. 
She stepped inside and pulled the walrus in with her afterwards, scanning what was still in her cold meat cave. There was still half a polar bear and a small seal, along with a pile of smaller rodents and some fish-all frozen over with the power of the cold around her. She kicked the walrus body into the corner and sat down, curling her tail neatly around her legs as she raised her talon, carefully placing a single claw at the base of one of the tusks. Slowly, bit by bit, she began to use her claw like a saw, until she'd cleanly cut off the tusk. Then, she moved onto the next one, and set the sawed-off tusks next to the huge creature. 
Sei left her meat cave, shutting the door as quietly as she could, and felt ready to relax. She turned until she saw the large hole in the sheet of ice, and skipped towards it, diving into it headfirst. The cold water felt wonderful on her scales as she plunged in, bubbles rising around her and a tiny bit more of the ice sheet cracking and falling in with her. Then, she swam only a little bit in a direction until she could look up and see a second, much neater hole, perfectly cut by her own talons. She stuck her head up and smiled, glad to be home. 
Once she was out of the water, shaking off the excess, she walked into her small kitchenette where she kept a few things-mostly fruit or non-meat items that needed to stay cold. For example, milk, which had been something she'd been picking up from MudWing traders for quite a long time. She took the small bottle of it out, and grabbed the chunk of ice that had fallen into the water with her, carefully stabbing at it and picking at it until she'd broken it up into several smaller pieces. Then came the most nerve-wracking part of making coffee-using flamesilk to carefully heat a small pot of water. As she set that up, she pulled out a nice, ornate mug she'd bought a few years ago, and set a piece of cloth over it to act as a filter, before adding some coffee grounds that she'd bought off of HiveWings, whenever they came around. When the water was hot, she poured it over the grounds, shook the cloth a bit, and then moved it away to put the ice and a bit of the milk in. After using a small stick to stir everything around, she'd finally made herself a nice cup of iced coffee. 
Something smacked against her window. Sei moved to check it out, and saw her daily newspaper resting on the snow outside her house. She grinned. Iced coffee and the news were two things that went together amazingly well. She dove back through the water, heading around to her window and picking up the rolled-up scroll. To prevent it from getting wet, she wrapped it with a thick cloth and moved through the water quicker than usual, emerging back into her house with the news now in talon. 
She settled on a large, soft pillow and pulled some polar bear fur blankets around her, taking her mug of iced coffee and sipping on it as she unrolled the scroll of news. Spread out before her, in thick, bold letters, was the top headline. 
"PRINCESS KHIONE: A COLD CASE." 
===Chapter Two===
The Princess was dead.
Sei started at the scroll, staring at the headline. It looked like it'd been almost slashed into the paper, aggressive and threatening, sketched in black ink. She looked at it until she was sure the words were seared into her brain. Princess Khione is dead. She's dead. The Princess died and they've declared it a cold case. That...that can't be. "They had to have at least tried," she whispered to herself, trembling a bit. Shakily, she set her coffee mug down on her table and picked up the scroll, reading it thoroughly. 
"PRINCESS KHIONE: A COLD CASE 
Two days ago, Queen Celestine took her family to celebrate the SeaWing Queen's hatching day. When they arrived, all seemed well, but Princess Khione and her personal bodyguard were found murdered the next day. There were no witnesses, no clues, and no hope for the peace between tribes. Detective Snowstorm was put on the case, but as of now, no new information has been found. 
Those who were close to the Princess are even more devastated than the tribe as a whole. Prince Caulrife and Prince Frore were both interviewed yesterday to present their thoughts on the matter. 
"She was more than a sister to us," Caulrife says, "She was everything. She was a friend, a playmate, a peacekeeper, and a hard worker. I don't know how we can go on without her." 
Frore has a different idea on the matter. "I want to find whoever was responsible for it. I want to stab them over and over, I want to tear their body apart and make them suffer like they've made us suffer." The rest of his interview has been undisclosed out of respect for the royal family" 
Respect, and maybe to save face. Sei stopped reading and set the scroll down, rubbing her eyes. "Snowstorm is an idiot," she muttered, "Totally incompetent. I guarantee he's being bribed not to look too hard." She took another sip of her iced coffee before picking up the scroll again. She needed to finish reading it if she was even thinking about pursuing the case. 
"Wolverine, Khione's fiancee, is inconsolable, even now. 
As many IceWings know, Princess Khione was a symbol of hope for a prosperous era under her rule. She was kind, fair, and walked among her dragons. She never raised her voice when she didn't have to, and could be both generous and just when needed. Princess Khione was even said to have been getting along well with the SeaWing Queen's daughters, promising that her reign would continue peace between the tribes. 
Unfortunately, such is no longer the case. Within the next moon, war may be unavoidable, and justly so. The SeaWings refuse to admit it, or provide a dragon responsible, but the evidence is against them." 
Sei sighed. She'd miss the princess too. But what she'd miss more was if she lost the chance to meet her mother because of an IceWing-SeaWing war. But in order to decide what to do, she'd need to see everything. The bodies, the weapons, wounds, everything. This means paying a visit to Queen Celestine. I can ask for permission to re-examine the case. Maybe I should flip through old cases first...I can look for similarities. She got up again and padded over to the dresser where she kept cases that she had already solved and began to paw through them. 
There were dozens of tough cases to solve, ranging from missing dragonets, homicides, even one about a string of connected murders that she had worked hard to trace back to one dragon-who was promptly executed. After looking a bit in some of the newer ones, she found a case about a prisoner of war who escaped, killed an IceWing, and fled. She had been able to track them down, and they had been captured, but were still alive. Perhaps they've struck again...she thought, reading into the case. It was a possibility. 
A SkyWing could live in the cold for some time and be fine, plus, they had fire. It matched up with everything, though Sei had a feeling it was an IceWing's doing. Snowstorm was just famous for not doing his job properly. Either way, she slid the case back into the drawer. She was going to move onto some of the IceWing cases. There were a few in recent times that she'd discovered, hiding away, such as Aqualon, who was a possible suspect. She also knew that, more likely, it was one of the IceWings who'd come on the trip with Queen Celestine and her family, meaning it could have been another bodyguard. Or one of the dragons that had been brought along, like Coldwave. 
Sei pulled out the four most recent IceWings captured for murder: Aqualon, Brinicle, Blanche, and Moonglobe. She started with Aqualon and looked through all of the evidence that she herself had gathered. He was a male IceWing, forty-two years old, and notoriously grumpy. His crimes had been killing two female IceWings, a mother and her dragonet. "So he's clearly not against attacking the young ones," she murmured, reading over the information. She'd marked down that his punishment was supposed to be life in prison, but she'd need a more solid alibi to totally rule him out as a suspect. I really should have started writing the tactics down sooner, she thought, realizing that Aqualon's file didn't have any of the murder tactics written down. 
Moving on, she opened Brinicle's, and was instantly reminded of the stinging pain his gaze alone could cause. Even the image in his file seemed to be piercing into her soul, and she turned it around. Just in case. He was sixty-six, and had been caught for killing four IceWings total, with unclear rhyme or reason. His tactics had been written down, those tactics being befriending those he was plotting against and building trust. Sei shuddered just remembering how calm and friendly he seemed before she'd caught him. Just like another member of the community. But as she read further, she saw her own note about Brinicle's punishment being execution. She exhaled loudly and leaned back. "Just what I need," she muttered, "Forgetting my own notes when the Princess is the victim." 
On a new, blank scroll, she wrote down the names of her suspects, but made sure to thoroughly cross out Brinicle's name as she put the case back. Blanche was quite an interesting one, since her case had originally been ruled self-defense before a witness came forward when someone threatening them had died. Her case had turned out to be second-degree murder, not self-defense, and she'd been sent to prison for forty years after being convicted of another murder. She was still supposed to be serving that sentence, but just like Aqualon, she could have escaped. Blanche didn't exactly have tactics, but she was simply rather prone to violence and had ended up killing someone over it. Notably, her case stated that before her imprisonment, she had been Prince Frure's personal bodyguard, meaning she possibly had ties to the royal family still. 
Lastly, and most interestingly, was Moonglobe, the only hybrid case she'd ever tackled. The Ice-Night hybrid had been sneaking into the Ice Kingdom and killing off IceWings who still had that burning hatred for NightWings. She even was able to cleverly stage it to look like an accident, or even suicide. Sei still remembered that Moonglobe was simply someone they'd talked to passing through, and she ended up breaking down and confessing everything. It stabbed at Sei's emotions to know how bad the dragon had felt, but that didn't change the fact she'd killed and could easily kill again. In the end, she'd been sent back to the NightWings for punishment. 
Sei took another sip of her iced coffee and pondered over the cases. Nothing in common with what she knew so far about the murder, but she'd have more information soon. She could wait another few hours before talking to the queen, though, there wasn't a rush. Might as well read the rest of the news, after all. Perhaps there was something . . . less violent going on somewhere. 
"TRAITOR LOCKED AWAY FOR THEIR HEINOUS CRIMES!" (Said traitor turned out to be an old article about Blanche.) 
"BEARS ARE OUT, SEALS ARE IN!" (This was unfortunate. Sei liked her seals, but apparently they were the new hottest thing to be eating and fashioning into accessories.) 
"ICEWING CALL FOR TROOPS: OFFICIAL NEWS!" 
The last one caught her eye. She liked to know if troops were being called, mainly because she wanted to make sure she could spend time with her father if he was going to be heading to war soon. Sei started reading into the article further, and noticed that it was directly beneath the article about Princess Khione. 
"In light of the murder of Princess Khione, Queen Celestine has been determined to make the SeaWings pay for their crime. Seeing as they are not cooperating, Celestine is sending out the call to gather IceWing adults from far and wide to amass the armies and make the SeaWings pay, one way or another. War is uncertain, but if nothing changes soon, there will be war between the two tribes-The biggest war yet." 
Sei stopped reading immediately. She couldn't let the SeaWings and IceWings go to war over this. She wanted to meet her mother, who'd left when she was just a year old. But if her mother died in the war, it would never happen. Plus, the more wars that were avoided, the longer she would be able to have her father around for. Hastily, Sei threw the scroll into her soft seal-fur pouch, grabbed a translucent, glittering blue scarf from her dresser and draped it over her shoulders, and grabbed her coffee. Slinging the bag over her neck, she hurried through the water and out of her house, speeding off towards the palace as fast as she could. 
=== Chapter Three===
Sei started the journey soaring through the air, mainly so that she could finish her coffee at the very least, and scanning the ground below. Every now and again, a cloud passed over her, gently misting her with chilly droplets that she hardly paused to shake off. Wind whipped past her ears like a high-pitched, faraway whistle right next to her. It flowed around her, giving every single scale a wonderful feeling of air that she'd normally savor and spend time to enjoy during a flight. But I'm on a mission right now, she thought, fiercely beating her wings faster and faster, tearing through the sky. 
Far below, on the ground, she could see the villages scattered throughout the Kingdom, the buildings looking like mere ice cubes and the dragons nothing more than specks beneath her. Up here in the empty sky, she didn't have to worry about hitting much-other dragons and most birds would move out of the way of a sightseeing dragon rather than risk a collision. So, she dropped a little lower, catching a light, lazy air current that made the flight slightly easier, and watched the ground. The villages were buzzing with activity and energy. Sei struggled to remember the names of the villages, since she was more of a recluse, and the villages had weirdly long names anyway (the only one she remembered was 'Beyond-the-Arctic-Seas', which was a ridiculous name). 
Right below her, the large ice buildings started to seem more like buildings, though she was still so high up that words were lost in the wind and dragons still seemed like tiny creatures scuttling about. IceWings were hurrying from place to place, rushing, dashing, dropping things and being too focused to pick them back up. There were tiny clusters of dragons, some of them locked in fights, others hugging (presumably) family close to them. Sei realized they were most likely saying goodbye to members who were drafted for the possible upcoming war, and she remembered her entire point of flying out here. 
Sei pointed her nose downwards and tucked her wings in, building up speed before flaring her wings back out and moving with this newfound speed she'd gotten. She hated flying for long stretches of time, and each time she dropped closer to the ground, the water looked more and more enticing to just dive into and keep moving there. Sei shook her head, focused ahead of her, and took another sip of her iced coffee before realizing it was empty. Shoot, she thought, hastily stuffing the mug into her pouch while flying, only having to slow down a bit from it. Without her coffee in talon, there was little reason to not go in the water. For one, it was easier for her, and two, she could get to the palace without making it seem like a crazed dragon was frantically flying at them.
She tucked her wings in again, aiming for a small crack in the ice that ran seemingly forever along the sheet, and started spinning around as she dove snout-first into the cold water, splashing droplets everywhere and causing a cascade of bubbles as she settled in the aquatic familiarity. The ocean was darker here, since there was a lot more ice and lot less sunlight, but she could still see incredibly well, and especially better when she made the small diamonds along her sides glow softly. As she swam through the water, she wondered if, from here, she could pick up on conversations if she sat near the surface. Carefully, though still trying not to delay for long, she poked nothing more than her head above the water, just enough so her ears could hear and she could still swim quickly. 
Words went in one ear and out the other as she passed by various IceWings, each one talking about something different. One group was arguing about hunting, another about the latest fashion accessories, and she'd heard someone mention Khione at least once, but couldn't figure out who it was and gave up searching. She couldn't waste time trying to find one dragon when the entire tribe could be at stake over this case. No conversations about the war, or soldiers, or anything interesting aside from that one quip about the Princess. Why is it that, once I try to find something, I can never find it, she thought, ducking back underwater so she could swim faster.
After it felt like her lungs were about to burst out of her chest and fly to the surface for air, Sei jabbed her head out and gasped, gulping down air like she'd lose it. After the breathing break, she took in her surroundings-and there it was. The majestic IceWing Palace, built upon the snow and ice and standing regally, a symbol of power, status, and tribe pride. It was beautiful, glistening, and like it was carved directly out of ice. The point was, Sei loved the palace. It was a shame she only visited it when there was trouble afoot. 
After soaring out of the water, Sei dove to gently land on the ice, spreading her wings as she did to slow her descent onto a soft pile of snow that gently gave as she swooped on it. Taking a second to shake off any dripping water from her scales, she began towards the palace. Snow crunched under her feet as her claws dug into the ice and helped her keep a steady grip despite the slippery conditions. The pale blue ice that loomed solid above her slowly began to tower over her more and more as she drew closer, her wings tucked at her sides and her mind focused on nothing but the unfortunate situation at talon. 
Under the layer of fluffy snow, a set of smooth ice stairs began to emerge, gently leading upwards towards the main palace entrance. On either side of the yawning opening was a vigilant IceWing guard. Sei felt their cold glares digging into her scales, but she toughed it out and ignored the way they saw her-a hybrid. As she neared the top of the stairs, the guards quickly leaned their spears together like an 'X' over the hole, forming a block to stop anyone entering. "Halt, in the name of Queen Celestine," one of them ordered. 
Sei stopped and swept her tail closer to her body, leaving a trail in the snow. The guards both wore shiny armor, made out of thin metal with pieces frozen together. She knew because before she'd become a detective, she'd been one of the many dragons who helped make such armors. The guard who'd originally spoke to her, on the left, had silver scales that caught the sunlight and made them look bejeweled despite having nothing. They also looked bigger, older, and commanded more authority than the other one-a white with pale blue hiding around their spine and the very edges of their scales. "Who are you, and why do you wish to enter the palace?" 
She started with a bow to the guards before lifting herself up and speaking in (what she hoped was) a confident tone. "I am Sei, hatched in the Ice Kingdom. I request an audience with Queen Celestine to re-open the murder case regarding Princess Khione." 
The silvery guard lowered their head a bit, wisps of frostbreath gathering around their snout. "Refrain from using her name. We refer to the deceased as 'Her Royalty', as per order of the Queen." 
"However, we find your reason more than fair," the second guard said, lowering their spear. "Snowstorm himself proclaimed in secret that the case was not as open and shut as he thought, and a second detective is more than welcome. I will accompany you, fair lady." The guard reached down, gently lifted Sei's talon, and pressed their snout to it, cold as ice. Sei felt a little awkward during the exchange, but didn't fight it as they gently set her talon back down. The first guard moved their spear out of the way, silent and stiff as a statue, and gestured for Sei to enter. 
As she did, the second guard followed her, just as promised, watching her every move while remaining silent the entire time. The only sounds as they walked through the palace was the faint clinks from the chandeliers far above (lit by light globes from the Gift of Light) and the scratch of their own claws and spikes against the smooth floors. Sei could almost see her own reflection beneath her. After a point, trudging through a never-ending hallway in complete, awkward silence was biting at Sei's mind like tiny jaws. 
"So," she started, but then stopped. She wasn't sure of a thing to say, but the guard's ears perked. There was a conversation to be had now, and Sei regretted trying to speak at all. "Um-What's your name? I'm Sei." 
The white-blue guard nodded, saying something under their breath that she didn't quite catch. "I am under orders to not speak my name. You may call me 'Sir' or 'Guard'." 
Sei looked away, feeling bad about saying anything. "Understood, Sir," she said, swallowing the anxious lump in her throat. "Do-Do you know-" she paused, took a deep breath, and started over. "When did you become a guard?" 
They didn't respond, only shuffled their wings a bit and picked up the walking pace. 
"I guess you're not much of a talker. I mean, I'm not really, either, but-Bad example, right now." Sei couldn't keep going. She needed to find a way to end the conversation and just shut up from there. But I just have a feeling about them . . . something's just not right. What if they're connected to the murder somehow? 
"Here we are," the guard said suddenly, stopping dead in their tracks. "This door-" they said, tapping on a thick ice door, "-is the last thing between Her Majesty and you. Once you enter, there will still be guards, and you will have an escort on the way out." Slowly, they leaned into Sei's ear and whispered the last part, their breath cold and whispy. "So don't try anything in there." 
"I wouldn't dream of it, Sir," Sei affirmed. "Thank you. For the escort." 
Her guard just nodded towards the door, but otherwise stayed still and silent. With a sigh, Sei turned and pushed open the door. It was heavier than it looked, but it still moved easily. Now, she found herself standing in the throne room-a place she'd never thought she'd be-in front of dozens of IceWing guards. In the far back of the room, there were two dragons, both sitting there and watching. Sei locked eyes with one particular IceWing. Someone who looked irritated to see someone like her walk into the throne room. Someone who could have her killed in an instant. 
She was looking at Queen Celestine of the IceWings. 
===Chapter Four===
Sei was stunned. The Queen had been said to seem imposing and regal in person, but she was beyond words. She was so . . . majestic. Gorgeous. Every glamorous word under the sun and then some more. Sei's tongue felt tied up, unable to speak as she lowered herself into a deep bow, spreading her wings. "Your Majesty-" she began, but was cut off by Queen Celestine herself.
"How peculiar," she said, in her odd Ice-accented voice. Though, underneath the husky accent, her voice was cold and prickly and made Sei's spine crawl. "A hybrid. No less, an Ice-Sea hybrid," she growled. Sei lifted her head quickly to see the fury building on the IceWing Queen's face. "Does Queen Alora really think she can send hybrids to try and rationalize what she's done?"
From the smaller throne beside Queen Celestine, the almost pure white IceWing reached out and softly bumped his wing to the Queen's. "Dear, calm yourself," he whispered. Sei realized it was most likely King Boris-he looked heartbroken, his scales somewhat scuffed, and his eyes were bloodshot and red from crying. It was impressive how he was able to try and calm down a situation when he himself was so disheveled.
"Your-Your Majesty," Sei swallowed, trying to keep her composure as she tucked her wings at her sides. "I was hatched in the Ice Kingdom. I have been nothing but loyal to the crown and have never set talon in the Sea Kingdom. I beg of you, I bear a hope for peace."
Celestine growled. "Peace? Peace? My daughter has been killed and you talk of PEACE?!" she roared, flaring her wings and rearing on her hind legs on the throne, nearly doubling her size. Sei felt like a young dragonet in the presence of the Queen, and she wasn't alone-nearly every dragon, even King Boris, shrunk away. However, after the outburst, she began to settle back down on her throne and speak much quieter, though her voice was still full of hatred and anger. "No, peace is dead. It died with my beloved Khione, and it can never return." Sei thought she saw the Queen's eyes beginning to water, so she spoke quickly.
"Your Highness, I am sorry about what happened to the Princess," she spoke softly, bringing her tail closer to her body. "I am a detective, and I'd like to examine her case."
Queen Celestine shook her head. "It's not your fault . . . " she whispered, over and over, not answering. King Boris looked at Celestine, then turned to Sei and spoke in the calmest, gentlest, most broken voice she'd ever heard. 
"I'm sorry. We have a detective already, and he's solved it. My wife's mind is made up."
"Alora has a moon cycle to apologize and pay tribute," Celestine hissed suddenly, "Or we will exterminate her family as she has done to me."
Sei fought the urge to roar how stupid she thought all of this was. Instead, she managed to hang on to her confident, though gentle, attitude. "I believe the case was incorrectly handled. I'd like permission from you to gather a team and re-examine the case. If war can be prevented, I wish for it to be so."
"Snowstorm is not an incompetent detective," Celestine retorted. "You may need to learn to hold your tongue sometimes." 
Sei felt crushed. The Queen and King hadn't even addressed her concerns, simply dismissed her out of talon. I have to solve this. I can't risk a war. I have to meet my mother someday. 
"Though, I suppose there is no harm in allowing you to look . . . " Boris mused, mostly to Celestine. "Snowstorm insisted on not touching the scene of the crime just yet beyond what has happened, so our daughter's body is still there. You and I have been so busy preparing her funeral," he whispered. Celestine shut her eyes and touched the gem in the middle of her choker. 
"Little wyrm, what did you say your name was?" she asked, still with her eyes closed.
"My name is Sei, Your Highness." She didn't want to risk angering the queen by mentioning how she'd never actually said her name yet.
"Sei. Very well, then. I give you my full permission to re-open the case, but there's one catch involved."
"Whatever it is, Your Majesty," Sei said, stepping forwards, "I'll bear it."
"I figured you might say that." Celestine looked at her claws and scrunched her eyes before looking back up at Sei with a weak glare. "You have the moon cycle of Imperial to solve it. If you don't do it by then, I'll see to it that you are personally executed for wasting my time and delaying the war. Giving the enemy time to prepare is never a good thing, after all."
Sei felt squeamish about this now. She didn't want to die, of course-nobody did. It was somewhat of a relief when King Boris said, "Are you-Sure about that, Cell? I mean-She still has quite a lot of life ahead of her."
"Don't push it, Boris," Celestine spat, narrowing her eyes. Sei shuffled her talons awkwardly and started thinking hard. She would need a detailed account of what took place that night. A play-by-play from someone who was there. Witnesses to a crime were always hard to find, but witnesses to a situation before a crime were plentiful-and it just so happened that Sei had one right in front of her.
"Your Highness, it would be best if I could start with your view on what was going on leading up to Prin-Her Royalty's murder," she said, catching herself before she said 'Princess Khione'. Queen Celestine looked around the room, then at King Boris, and nodded slowly. 
"Very well then. Everyone, you're dismissed. Except for Harp," she said, pointing at the guard who was standing most vigilant beside Queen Celestine's throne. They snapped closer to attention as the rest of the dragons, including Boris, quickly filed out of the room. As the heavy ice door slammed shut with an icy thud, Sei found herself alone with the Queen and her bodyguard. It felt . . . surreal. Like a dream, almost. Sei jabbed herself with a claw just to double check that it wasn't a dream. "So, you wish to know what happened that night."
"Yes," Sei affirmed, sitting down and pulling out a small notebook and a pencil. Ever since the Pantalan tribes had showed them what books and pencils were, they hadn't looked back. Sei found it much more portable than carrying around ink, a quill, and having to unroll a scroll just to jot something down. She was planning to write down the IceWing Queen's account of what happened the night Khione was murdered. It would serve as useful evidence for later.
"It was Queen Alora's hatching day. Every year, me and my family go to the Kingdom of the Sea to celebrate it with her. This year, Husky and Caribou wished to stay behind so that Caribou could train." Celestine cleared her throat and sat down as well, before carrying on.
"Everything was perfect. Alora had the best decorations set up, all kinds of food set out that she loved-lobsters plated with lemons and lettuce, shark fin stew served alongside the shark meat itself, and more kinds of fish than one could even hope to imagine. It was all so wonderful. She greeted me the same way she always does, and we let our husbands talk to each other as they-"
"Wait," Sei said, feeling guilty for interrupting the Queen, of all dragons. "How does Queen Alora usually greet you?"
Celestine made a tsk sound and nodded. "We give each other a hug. We were very close friends, after all. Were," she added, growling a bit. "Getting back on track. I gave each of my dragons a ring that said they were free to roam the Island Palace, and sent them on their way with a personal bodyguard. Then Queen Alora wanted our daughters to meet each other so that they could be friends when they became Queen. Princess Khione, my beloved daughter of course, got along so perfectly with Morgana and Cichlid. I thought things would be fine as they left to talk. Alora even said that she saw us in them-young princesses bonding at the first meeting. I spent the rest of the day eating, partying with Alora, and enjoying myself. Things were wonderful." She sighed. 
"I was heading to bed myself, and I decided to check on my dragonets. Prince Caulrife was asleep already and had a bodyguard vigilantly watching him. The guard's name is Bleak. Prince Frure was chatting with one of the SeaWing Princes, but I don't know who it was. Queen Alora has three, and it could have been any of them."
"What are their names, if you know?" Sei asked. It would be worth writing down if she ever got to talk to Queen Alora.
"Oh, let me think . . . " Celestine was silent for a long time before saying, "Island, Bottlenose, and . . . I forget the last one. They're not the point. The point is that that's when I walked into Khione's room and I saw her. Her body. Her bodyguard's body. There was blood everywhere. It stained everything." Celestine looked at her claws and began to cry softly. "I can still feel how cold she was . . . it was like touching death itself. She'd been sliced open and her head had been stabbed-It was awful. I-I-That's when it was found by others. I had to witness her body first. It was so horrible . . . "
The IceWing Queen fell into tears, sobbing and falling to the floor. "Why . . . ?" she whispered, then lifted her head and shrieked at the ceiling, "WHY ME?! WHY KHIONE?! WHY TAKE HER AWAY FROM US?!" Her cries got louder and louder, and Sei suddenly realized that Queens were not these divinely powerful figures incapable of emotions. They were, at their heart, just dragons. They could be scarred forever in ways like this-losing a daughter. It was a pain Sei hoped she'd never have to face.
"Apologies for Her Majesty's mood," the guard-Harp-begun. "But I have to ask you to exit the room now. This one-on-one talk is over."
Sei nodded and began to back up. "Of course. Tell Queen Celestine I said thank you," she said, bowing before walking out the same heavy ice door she'd walked in from.
===Chapter Five===
As the first guard had told her, Sei was escorted out of the palace by another guard. This time, she didn't even try to talk to them. Her mind was whirling, spinning, thinking too fast of everything she needed to do and then some more. The Queen gave me her permission to look into it. But it's my head on the line. I have to do this. She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself, but she was starting to get dizzy. It felt like she was being choked. Sei sidestepped and leaned into one of the walls of the palace, digging her claws into the ice to try and get a grip on reality.
The guard paused and turned back to look at her, but it was hard for Sei to look at anything without feeling like she was going to throw up, pass out, or both. She'd solved cases harder than this. Why was she so nervous? What about it made her unable to focus? Maybe it was the fact that the stakes were so high, but she'd been risking her life before by merely talking to criminals. Maybe it was because it was the princess who had been killed, but Sei had solved the death of other high-profile dragons before. 
So why did this one rock her to her core?
Her talons slipped and she fell forwards with a yelp, leaving scratches on the wall as she tried to grab it and stop herself. Luckily for Sei, the guard escorting her had quick reactions and was able to catch her. "Ms, you seem unwell," he said, sounding genuinely concerned for her health. "Perhaps you should return to your house and rest for a day or two."
"No, no," Sei muttered, "Every day counts." She used the guard to get herself back on her talons, but she was still wobbly and felt horribly light-headed. "I have to solve this." 
The guard sighed. They looked like they wanted to say more, but they were silent. Sei looked at them before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. I can do this. I can do this. It will be okay. I just need to gather the right dragons for the job. But...who? As she finally made it outside, the sun shone down on her scales and made her gleam like a dull, polished rock. It felt nice, the warmth in the midst of snow and ice. Sei took another deep breath and started thinking aloud on the palace steps. 
"Father will be good at this," she started. "He's smart, like me, and he's been in a few fights himself. I'm sure he wants this case solved just like anyone else does." She smiled softly, looking up at the clouds. "He'll be easy to convince to join me, too, since we are family, after all. I'm his sweet daughter, his 'little icecube', as he used to call me." Sei sighed and closed her eyes. But who else? I need to know how a murderer acts. All my evidence can't amount to knowing what goes on in their heads. She started thinking about the most recent dragons arrested for murder. North Star, Freeze, Mistral, Hypothermia . . . those are the recent ones I can remember.
Of those four dragons, Sei knew nothing about any of them. They weren't cases she'd had to solve, so she hadn't even seen the convicts, only read about them in newspapers or heard about them from whispers on the street. "Besides," she told herself, "Queen Celestine would never let a convicted murderer out, especially so soon after what's happened to her."
If I can't convince her . . . maybe I can find someone who can, she realized, a shine in her eyes. "Father will know dragons who have fought long and hard, dragons who are in the queen's graces. Someone who can reason with her. Yes, that's it!" Sei jumped up, nearly falling over from moving so quickly, and leapt into the air, flapping hard. "Father, here I come!"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"I'm sorry, what?"
"We're going to solve the murder of Princess Khione!" Sei said, flaring her wings and knocking a few vases off some shelves. Nivis lunged forwards and caught them in a blur of gray scales moments before they would have shattered on the icy floor. 
"Sei," he hissed, annoyance in his tone. 
"Oops. Sorry, dad," she said, shuffling on her talons. "But we're going to stop a war! We're going to figure out who really did it. Please, dad, I need your help."
Nivis sighed. He'd always been a serious, grim dragon who didn't take well to surprises, but she still expected him to be more eager that they were doing something so important. Once we solve the case, we'll be heroes in the eyes of every IceWing. And Snowstorm can stuff an icicle up his snout if he wants to argue! Sei stamped her foot and stared at Nivis, waiting for, or even daring him to say anything. "Sei . . . " he trailed off, before clearing his throat.
"Sei, please. I love you dearly, and I'd hate having to go to war-but you can't bring up a silly fantasy about solving this case." He walked over and put his wing around her. "What's done is done. I know you've solved cases that were difficult before, but you don't want to mingle with the royal affairs."
"I want to mingle with them if it means stopping you from going to war!" Sei said, shaking off her father's wing. "And if it means I'll finally get a chance to meet Mom!"
Nivis looked pained. Sei could see his mouth moving, trying to form words, but he seemed choked. "Sei . . . I don't know if either of us will ever see her again," he said, very quietly. Sei dipped her head and nudged her father's up. 
"Dad, we can't think like that," she said, trying to force herself not to cry. She's out there . . . and even if she's not, we can't give up. She took a step back and sighed. "I don't want to force you, or have to keep asking. Please." Sei lifted her head up and tried to meet Nivis' eyes, though he wouldn't meet hers. "Help me solve what happened to Princess Khione." 
The large gray IceWing sighed again, and Sei gently reached out and touched his face, nudging it so that he'd face her. "Alright. Just for you, my iron dolphin," he said, a small smile creeping onto his icy face. 
"And for Mom," she added. 
Nivis gave Sei the saddest look she'd ever seen on his face. "Yes, for Torrent." Her mind began to spin again, rapidly, a mix of thoughts, happy and sad all at once. Torrent? Is that my mother's name? Torrent, it sounds so majestic, like she'd be carved from ivory and inlaid with sapphire. I want to meet her someday, so badly, but first I have to solve the murder. Which he agreed to help with! But him alone isn't enough, I need more-but shouldn't I take some time to be happy that I convinced him? No, she thought, finally settling her mind. I have to use every second of every day wisely. 
After a long silence, Sei spoke again. "So, Nivis," she began, then started over. "Father, do you know any generals or valiant fighters from any battles? Someone who the queen would view highly? Perhaps even highly enough to . . . let out a prisoner if they asked?" 
Nivis' head snapped up in alarm. "Why would you want to free a prisoner?!" 
"No, it's not permanent, Dad, I promise!" Sei said quickly. "I need to know how they think! Maybe someone who was accused of something like stealing, or assault, or treason-" 
"TREASON?!" 
"Please, calm down," Sei sighed and rubbed her temples. Convincing her father to join was one thing, but convincing him to join and having him be okay with the idea of working with an actual criminal would be so much harder. "Just . . . just answer the question. You've been in the army. You've fought. Who is someone the queen holds dear to her?" 
Nivis closed his eyes and thought for a moment as he seemed to steel his emotions. "Timber," he whispered, then said it louder. "Timber Wolf. She was on the right path to becoming a general-held in high favor by the queen, excellent fighter," he smiled a bit. "Devilishly cute." 
"Daaaad," Sei said, rolling her eyes. 
"I'm just messing around a bit, Sei," he said, the smile dimming a bit. "I still miss Torrent too much. But we're getting sidetracked from your question." 
She nodded, smiling to try and cheer her father up. "Come on, then. Let's go say hi to Timber." 
===Chapter Six===
[Chapter Overview: Sei explains that it's to find the true murderer of Khione and possibly avoid a war with the SeaWings, a point Nivis backs up quite well. Timber, not wanting to have to survive another war, nods and joins the team. With Timber's status and some convincing, they go back to Queen Celestine and convince her to let Mistral out. Once she has the whole team, Sei introduces herself thoroughly and explains what the goal is and why she picked each one of them.]
Sei had almost forgotten what it was like to soar through the sky with her father. The sun was beginning to lazily hide behind the horizon, and the moons were coming up. It reminded her of all the stories she'd been told by Nivis when she was nothing more than a hatchling. She still remembered her favorite story. It was a beautiful tale of how the moons came to exist, them being the eggs of the Great Ice Dragon. Someday, they would hatch, and the moons would disappear as the dragonets took their place with their parent. 
She stretched her wings and smiled, gently bumping her wing against Nivis'. "You remember those stories you'd tell me when I was a dragonet?" Sei asked, speeding up to be next to her father. "Those little bedtime stories or things to pass the time when we flew together, right?" 
The older pale gray dragon let a small, shy smile creep into the edges of his mouth. "Of course I do. Your grandmother told me them, and I couldn't not pass them down to you." He paused, then flicked his ears against the wind. "What makes you mention it?" 
Sei tossed her head and tried to shrug while flying. "Just being out here . . . flying with you . . . it brings back a lot of good memories. I guess those stories were part of those memories." 
"Heh . . . I suppose so," Nivis said, still smiling as his eyes trailed down and his smile eventually faded away. Oh Father, Sei thought, looking at his eternally tragic face, Lighten up a little. I'm the one who should be nervous. It's my neck on the line for this case . . . her thoughts trailed off. She'd nearly forgotten about that part, she'd been so excited to work with her father again. 
"How much farther 'till we reach Timber's house?" 
Nivis angled himself downwards and responded, "Down here." He then sped downwards, leaving Sei in the sky for a moment before she followed. Wind whipped against her face, almost laughing in her ears that she would never solve the case. Was it her own doubts, or was it fate? Sei shook her head, nearly veering off-course, to get rid of those thoughts. Nivis had already landed and was tucking in his wings in front of a rather large home. It loomed out of the ground, the ice structure imposing and much, much bigger than any house Sei had seen before. Excluding the Palace, this might be the biggest thing I've ever seen, she thought as she landed. Every time she looked at the house, she saw another small detail she'd missed before. It was so carefully crafted that Sei thought it might be talon-carved instead of with magic like most ornate homes were. 
Nivis casually walked up to the door and knocked on it. "Hello?" There was no response. It was entirely quiet, save for Sei and Nivis breathing in the crisp arctic air. She paced up to beside Nivis, but then backed up a bit to be behind and to the side of him. "Hm. She's usually home," Nivis said, his forehead creasing a bit as he knocked again. Still, no answer. A light snow began to fall, being whipped around into wintery swirls by the wind. 
Sei started to lose hope. She needed Timber in order to convince Queen Celestine to let a convicted prisoner out. "I hate to barge in," she heard Nivis mutter as he looked at the door's icy lock. Sei snapped to attention and reached out to grab her father's talon as he was raising a claw. 
"Dad, woah, calm down!" she said, gently holding him back. "We-We'll find another way! We don't need to go sneaking into her house, we'll look like criminals!" Secretly, Sei actually did want Nivis to pick the lock and get them in, but as a detective and a good citizen, breaking into someone's house was wrong (no matter how badly she needed their help). 
"Sei, darling," he said, but stopped. "Ugh, no, you're right. I'm sure she's home." Nivis turned back to the door and raised his talon, knocking again. "It'll just take some time-" 
The door swung open with enough force that it made Nivis jump back to avoid a hit to the snout. Sei blinked, startled. A huge dark gray IceWing was sitting in the doorway, sporting a seriously grim expression and many scars and battle wounds. A silver breastplate with dents and scratches adorned their chest, and their tongue flicked in and out. "Nivis," they said, with such a deep voice Sei would think them male. 
Nivis smiled and took Sei's talon gently. Part of her had actually wanted to run away a bit, but that stopped any of those ideas. "Timber! So glad to finally see you again, isn't it?" he asked. Her father's paler scales contrasted so much with this ashen IceWing, but he was perky as ever. "How's Skua?" 
"Dead," Timber muttered, looking at the snow falling around them. "Died doing what she loved, at least. Bless her soul." The gray IceWing sighed and looked down, closing her eyes in a brief bit of mourning. Sei suddenly felt awkward, wanting to ask something of someone who had lost someone she assumed was close. I mean, if something happened to Father and then I was asked to solve a murder . . . I don't know how I'd feel. Awful, probably. Nivis seemed to have a similar reaction, his face falling. He reached out, patted Timber's shoulder, and looked down with his eyes closed too. 
"May she rest with the Great Ice Dragon. You had a wonderful sister, Timber." Nivis looked back up, and Timber's tongue flicked again. 
"So, come to bother me about recently deceased relatives, or is there something you actually need to talk about?" Sei felt her face flush blue, the embarrassment of actually asking for help setting in. Nivis unhelpfully nudged Sei forwards, and she squeaked, looking up at Timber. She was just so imposing, with the scars and the breastplate and that serious expression. It made Sei nervous, but she found her voice eventually. 
"T-Timber, I'm Sei. Nivis's d-daughter." She stuck her talon out for a shake, and Timber grabbed it roughly, giving it a brisk shake. Sei was stunned, not expecting the strength with which Timber grabbed it. Moons, wow, I-Focus, Sei! There's a lot at stake here! Clearing her throat, she continued on, slowly gaining confidence. "You know that Princess Khione was murdered, right? I-I really think that it wasn't the SeaWings, and I want to solve it myself, but I need you." 
Timber's face turned amused. "Me? What could you need me for?" She barked a sharp, sudden laugh. "What, want me to hold your claw like dear old dad?" 
Sei blinked, feeling more flustered. "N-No, I mean, I wanted you b-because of your battle training and I needed a-a criminal to be on our team. Her Majesty would s-surely let them out, w-watched of course, if you asked . . . " she trailed off, seeing Timber's confused and uninterested expression. 
"I'm not a detective, and I'm not busting any criminals out. I don't know where you got the impression that I was either of those things, actually," she said, flicking her claws at some of the snow on the porch. "That all?" she asked, looking back up at Nivis. "Though, I suppose I'll say that your daughter is quite a mess. Flusters too easy." Sei bit her tongue. She wanted to scream at this point, her nervousness boiling over into anger the way it usually did. 
"Do you want to start a war?!" she cried. "You're calling me a mess when you seem to have your head so far up your own tail that you won't stick your neck out for peace, but you'd do it for a fight?!" 
"Sei, calm down!" Nivis said, putting his wing over Sei, but she batted it away and stepped forwards, staring directly up at Timber with no fear left. 
"No! I need her help, and we're not leaving until we get it! The choice is yours, Timber," she said, frowning. "You can be the deciding factor between ending a war and starting one." 
The dark gray IceWing stared at Sei, mouth agape. "I take it back," she said, slowly. "You do have a decent bit of fight to you." Sei stared at her, breathing hard. 
"So will you help us?" 
Timber smirked. "What do you want me to do, exactly?" 
Sei paused to breathe a sigh of relief. "I need to know how a criminal thinks. There's a few cases I've heard about that the dragons imprisoned seem less . . . bad than others. I was hoping that if you backed us, Her Majesty might let one of them come with us." 
"Alright." She clacked her teeth together. "Besides, if anything goes wrong I'll be here to snap their neck in a flash." 
Sei was silent as the hulking IceWing stepped out of her house and looked at Nivis. "Seriously, though. This is why we don't mix with other tribes." 
He huffed. "There is nothing wrong my my mate or my daughter, Timber." 
==Part Two: Hide and Seek==
=== Chapter Seven===
[Chapter Overview: After discussing some, they agree that if they split up, they could find more witnesses, possibly. Timber and Nivis plan to stay in the Ice Kingdom and talk to Khione's close friends, dragons at the party, and even to the Queen herself. Sei and Mistral plan to fly all the way to the Kingdom of the Sea, or use water where they can since they both can swim well. Their job is to talk to SeaWings who were at the party, but they really want to talk to Princesses Morgana and Cichlid, as well as Queen Alora.]
===Chapter Eight===
[Chapter Overview: Travelling to the Sea Kingdom. Sei and Mistral start making basic conversation, with Sei trying to initiate most of it and the ex-prisoner simply grunting or not responding. Every now and again, she says something, but not for the most part. Sei learns what Mistral did during this conversation.]
===Chapter Nine===
[Chapter Overview: The last leg of the journey to the Sea Kingdom. When they arrive, guards instantly surround them and Sei frantically tries to explain. They demand to see some kind of official seal or document, and since Sei can't provide, they take Mistral away and throw her in the prison. Celestine can get her out, or a royal document saying she can leave. Mistral attempts to fight back, but Sei freezes up and only watches as Mistral is dragged away into the rebuilt Summer Palace.]
===Chapter Ten===
[Chapter Overview: Sei rushes towards the Palace, but isn't allowed in. When she says she's here to solve the murder of Princess Khione, the guards change their tune just a little bit and barter for Sei to talk with Queen Alora for a bit-but her IceWing friend (Mistral) can't come out without Alora's permission or Celestine's demand. Sei nods and takes what she can get, and as she's being led to the SeaWing queen, they pass by the guest rooms, including the one Khione was murdered in. Sei stops and asks if she can go in an examine it. The guards say yes, but not for long.]
===Chapter Eleven===
[Chapter Overview: Sei walks into the room and the first thing she notices is that the bodies are still there. After nearly vomiting, she asks the guards why, though she has a guess. As it turns out, Snowstorm insists they stay there until he'd solved the case. Sei realized that the news of Snowstorm blaming the SeaWings hasn't reached their ears yet, and she takes the chance to look around while she can. She looks at the old wounds, the bloodstains, weapons, the room itself, and she begins to gently look for clues. Near the spear, she finds a few pale gray scales that she picks up and puts near Khione and the bodyguard. The scale color does match Khione's, but Sei decides to keep the scales just in case they came from the murderer. She also opens a drawer and finds an ornate silver flower decoration that she pulls out and takes with her as well, since it may be connected in some way. Then, she notices smears of blood near the window in the room, but before she can investigate, the guards call her out.] 
===Chapter Twelve===
[Chapter Overview: Sei is led straight to the throne room of Queen Alora, which she notes the differences between Alora and Celestine quickly. Alora seems excited and quickly steps down to talk to Sei directly. She asks if she's bringing news that Celestine has stopped hostilities, or the like. She's deeply hurt by Khione's death, and wants the murderer found just as quickly, since Morgana and Cichlid have been upset in the past days because of it. Sei politely asks if she can talk to the SeaWing princesses, which Alora nods and seems enthusiastic about. As she leads Sei towards a meeting room, Alora talks about how excited she is for good news, how she still dearly cares about Celestine, and she's only going to fight if Celestine provokes. Sei starts to say something, but then she's let into the room and waits for the princesses as Alora walks away.]
===Chapter Thirteen===
[Chapter Overview: Sei waits for the princesses, thinking about what she should ask, before she sees them led in and instantly, her jaw drops when she sees just how stunning the two were. True beauties of the sea. After Morgana and Cichlid introduced themselves, Sei introduced herself and started asking basic questions, unrelated to Khione. After seeing how Cichlid is still young and naive, and Morgana is borderline depressed, she finally starts up about any information. She wants to know how the two felt about Khione and her bodyguard. Morgana didn't like the guard being so close and found Khione wonderful and beautiful, and Cichlid didn't mind the guard and liked Khione. Sei then thinks for a bit, writes some notes, and asks to speak to Morgana in private.]
=== Chapter Fourteen===
[Chapter Overview: Morgana is nervous, and Sei starts asking Morgana if anyone was watching them or anything. Morgana is close to crying, but does answer that nobody seemed to be eyeing them, but about halfway through the party, an IceWing about Khione's age joined her and the two seemed close. Sei asks if Morgana ever met him, which she says yes. Khione introduced Coldwave, her boyfriend, to her. Sei writes that down, remembering that it mentioned a Coldwave in the news, and planned to question him later. Morgana then mentions that Coldwave and Khione's bodyguard would both insist on walking beside Khione, even when Khione insisted Morgana walked beside her. Sei blinks, interested, and asks Morgana if Khione seemed to have some kind of attachment to Morgana. The SeaWing princess looks flustered and stutters no before finally breaking down in tears. Sei excuses herself and leaves the room.]
===Chapter Fifteen===
[Chapter Overview: Sei notes that Morgana likely knows more than she lets on. She dismisses Cichlid, who is nearby, before deciding that the best course of action is to head back to the Ice Kingdom to discuss with Timber and Nivis. Once she gets there, Timber and Nivis greet her, though ask where Mistral is. She explains the situation, and they agree to see Queen Celestine afterwards. However, they've found a few interesting characters they believe played heavy parts in Khione's murder: Husky and Coldwave. They share a few suspicions before Sei tells them about Morgana's statements, and shows them the silver flower and mentions the blood she saw. They agree to switch places, with Timber planning to grab the official pardon for Mistral.]
===Chapter Sixteen===
[Chapter Overview: Sei is told to meet up with Husky at her house-a large ice place near the palace, where she lives with her daughter, Caribou. As Sei enters, Husky seems to know what's happening, and invites Sei in. She tells Caribou to grab them refreshments and then go to her room for a bit. Before Sei can start, Husky says that she has a clear alibi-she was training Caribou that day and didn't go to the party. Sei says they can't rule out her telling someone, and Husky laughs a bit, agreeing. Sei notes down that Husky is being casual about things, and that's when Husky says something. She says that it seemed like Coldwave and Khione were drifting apart in recent times, however, Coldwave did not seem like the type of dragon to do such things. Sei shows Husky the silver flower, and Husky says that it was an accessory of Celestine's. Sei thanks Husky for her time and asks if she can talk to Caribou.]
===Chapter Seventeen===
[Chapter Overview: Sei heads upstairs and meets Caribou in her room. She talks down and gently to the dragon, even though Caribou was only two years younger than Sei. Caribou quickly makes it clear that Sei needs to respect her or get out, and Sei chooses respect. She asks questions related to Khione, Celestine, and the previous parties. Caribou confirms she was training the party when Khione was murdered, though she had met the SeaWing princesses in prior years. She says that Khione always had an eye on Morgana, and according to Celestine, she was always hanging out with a particular guard home in the Ice Kingdom-her personal bodyguard. Sei shows Caribou the silver flower, and Caribout says she'd never seen it. Sei writes this down, thanks Caribou, and leaves.]
===Chapter Eighteen===
[Chapter Overview: After talking with Husky and Caribou, Sei returns home to look over notes. She hadn't planned to talk to Coldwave yet, but halfway through the chapter, he knocks on her window. He is wearing mostly black accessories, mourning the loss of his girlfriend, and says he wants to share his side of the story with Sei, since he was the first to find the body. Coldwave is invited in and begins to tell how Khione and Morgana were close friends. Eventually, Khione wanted to speak to Morgana privately, and the only other dragon in the room was the bodyguard. He pauses, tearing up a bit, and Sei says she'll make them hot chocolate to calm their nerves.]
===Chapter Nineteen===
[Chapter Overview: Hot chocolate now in talon, Coldwave resumes his side of the story. He says that when he walked in, there was blue blood everywhere, an open window, and no sign of Morgana. The window had blue blood smeared near it, and he believes that Khione had tried to climb away from her attacker, but was dragged back and killed on the bed instead. Sei writes this all down before finally showing Coldwave the silver flower. A spark of recognition glimmers in his eyes as he reaches out, but Sei takes it back. Coldwave begs for it, saying it was Khione's and that it could be one of the last things of hers he could have. Sei is firm, however, and does not give him the item. Coldwave looks grave, thanks Sei for the hot chocolate, and leaves.]
==Part Three: Catch of the Day==
===Chapter Twenty===
[Chapter Overview: After a few sleepless nights, Sei gets a letter from Nivis to meet them in the IceWing throne room. She does that, shows the letter to the guards, and gets in. Once inside, Timber and Nivis are in there, along with Princess Morgana, Husky, and Coldwave. Celestine steps forwards and says that the three of them are the prime suspects, and while she wholly thinks it was Morgana, she is willing to let Sei interrogate all three. Sei also believes it to be Morgana, and Nivis and Timber agree. Morgana didn't tell them anything new, and she just broke down. Sei decides to start by interrogating Husky.]
===Chapter Twenty-One===
[Chapter Overview: Now in a side room, the only dragons in there are Sei and Husky. Through a window, Nivis and a guard watch, but cannot hear. Sei begins by asking Husky basic, obvious questions, like 'Did you order someone to kill her', etc. Husky eventually stands up, looming over Sei, and says that she would not risk her own image. Not now, and not ever. While she'd love to be on the throne and not worry about Khione, she would not do anything that would put Caribou in danger-killing Khione would cause Celestine to likely kill Caribou in return. Sei is stunned, speechless, and afterwards, Husky apologizes for her outburst and settles back down, suggesting they move on.]
===Chapter Twenty-Two===
[Chapter Overivew: Sei slowly builds back up into conversation, asking about things again. Eventually, she asks Husky for an exact description of what she was doing that night. Husky goes into great detail about how she was training Caribou. The cover story was that they were training to be general, but in reality, Husky admitted that she was training Caribou to be able to fight Celestine, copying her tactics in the sparring, etc. Sei swears to secrecy on that topic, and Husky is released as a suspect.]
===Chapter Twenty-Three===
[Chapter Overview: After Husky, Sei listens to Coldwave next. She starts with the blunt questions, to which he denies it all. Coldwave spirals on about how much he loved Khione, how close they were, plans for their life when she was Queen and he was King, etc. He talks about what they had planned for their dragonets, and how they'd live together a long, happy life until she peacefully passed away and one of her daughters ascended to the throne. Sei notes bits and pieces of it before steering them back on track, and Coldwave restates that he loved Khione and was the first to find her body.]
===Chapter Twenty-Four===
[Chapter Overview: Sei prompts Coldwave to make a final statement about how he pleads. He, of course, says Not Guilty, and backs up Snowstorm's case, saying that it was Princess Morgana who did the deed and escaped. Sei nods, but does realize something that seems off in her notes. One of her very first notes was that Queen Celestine claimed to have moved the body and messed with the crime scene after seeing the dead princess. Nobody else had been in the room, which makes Sei suspicious of Coldwave since his story doesn't line up. She doesn't elaborate on it with him, though, and lets him leave.]
=== Chapter Twenty-Five===
[Chapter Overview: Sei moves on to Princess Morgana. She leads with blunt questions, and Morgana begins to break down again, but Sei isn't having it. She says how important it is for Morgana to answer because right now, she'll be convicted if she can't defend herself. Morgana finally agrees to talk, and Sei begins asking, mainly asking about what Coldwave said. Morgana speaks of how Coldwave seemed clingy and protective of Khione, almost like he was trying to be the only one close to her. Sei asks about the private talk Khione and Morgana had, and Morgana stops talking. Sei presses, and presses, and eventually Morgana answers with hardly a whisper: That Khione was confessing her love.]
===Chapter Twenty-Six===
[Chapter Overview: Sei doesn't believe it, but as Morgana keeps talking, things fall into place. Prince Frore mentioning that Khione was always acting close to her bodyguard. That she had letters declaring a profuse love for one she could not have. Sei questions if Khione may have given Morgana a letter like that the night she was murdered, and Morgana nods. Sei realizes it was the letter she saw but couldn't read. Morgana retells what Khione had said, how Khione had been in love with Morgana since they met, and she'd had a crush on her bodyguard for a while. She wanted to run away with Morgana so they could be together. Sei listens and nods, and then asks if Coldwave knew. Morgana silently shakes her head.]
===Chapter Twenty-Seven ===
[Chapter Overview: Sei asks about Coldwave again, and Morgana says that Khione had never told him about it. Khione had once loved Coldwave, but said that she'd felt more close to female dragons than she ever could to him. She didn't want to hurt him and had planned to keep up the act as long as she had to until she could run away with Morgana. Sei asks if Khione ever planned to tell Coldwave, and Morgana says she planned to tell him the night she was murdered. Sei slowly starts to form an idea, and believes she now knows who the guilty party is and why.]
===Chapter Twenty-Eight ===
[Chapter Overview: Sei is left alone to think and reflect. She begins to piece together notes, check out stories, see what matches and what doesn't, and eventually finds a few key gaps and pieces that point to something. Coldwave did love Khione deeply, but Khione didn't truly love him. She planned to tell him the night she was killed. Coldwave was never found with the body but claimed to have been the first one there who raised the alarm. Signs point to Coldwave, and she thinks she's finally ready to spill it to everyone.]
===Chapter Twenty-Nine===
[Chapter Overview: Sei walks into the main throne room, and Celestine prompts her to say who it is. She announces the murder of Khione was done by Coldwave. Everyone is stunned, but she begins to read of evidence and theories, such as the silver flower being something he wanted to discard, the letters, the blood only being blue, and everyone looked at Coldwave. He tries to defend himself, but finally cracks and admits. He couldn't handle not being Khione's one and only. He loved her so much that he thought he was the only one who could have her. Her bodyguard fought back and wounded him badly, but he escaped, smearing blood on the window just like Sei saw. Celestine arrests Coldwave and sends him to the dungeons.]
===Chapter Thirty===
[Chapter Overview: Sei is told to rest at her home before she can come back to the palace to be personally congratulated and join the King and Queen with their family for the more personal part of Khione's funeral. Sei is relieved, glad to go home and rest with a case closed and war avoided. She first goes to Timber and Nivis, and thanks them for their help, and she finally spots Mistral-who looks scuffed and sad. She thanks Mistral, who doesn't want to talk, and Sei notices she has raw marks where chains held her. Sei sighs, bids farewell to Husky, Caribou, Morgana, everyone who she worked with. She could never have solved the murder if not for them. Then, she goes back home and begins to make herself some iced coffee.]
===Chapter Thirty-One===
[Chapter Overview: Sei is making iced coffee, and once she finishes it, she hears something. Someone enters her house, and before she can react, she's hit with something heavy. Dazed, she tries to fight back, but is dragged out of her house. When she comes to, she's chained up in what looks like an abandoned guard outpost, and there's a dragon in front of her-Mistral. Sei doesn't say a word as Mistral begins to yell at her. She left her in the Sea Kingdom. Forgot about her. Left her to die. So, with Coldwave's recent hatred for Sei, they both saw a way to make the other happy. Mistral reads off a letter Coldwave wrote, explaining how much a thorn in his side Sei was. How much he hated her. Mistral lunges to attack, but Sei is quicker, throwing her attacker off and fleeing. ]
=== Chapter Thirty-Two ===
[Chapter Overview: Sei fleeing across the ice before realizing that she was wounded by Mistral, badly. As her flight begins to falter and she hears the wingbeats behind her, Sei dives into the sea, knowing that she'll be safer there. She continues swimming even as blood clouds her vision, and Mistral even catches her, dragging her towards land. Mistral, enraged, begins shouting, but Sei is able to dodge an otherwise fatal blow and suddenly, Mistral is dragged off, screaming. Sei watches as a huge polar bear drags her underwater and disappears with the IceWing, the last bubbles popping and leaving nothing but quiet. She then limps back to a village in the distance-none other than 'Beyond-the-Arctic-Seas', the one village she remembered.]
==Epilogue==
[Chapter Overview: Nivis at Khione's funeral, Sei by his side, being congratulated. The dragon who found the real murderer of Khione and avoided war. His daughter. Nivis and Timber are both beside her, also enjoying the festivities. He glances at the icy coffin, glass letting everyone see the IceWing Princess' body, forever at peace now that her murder has been solved. He seems overjoyed that he avoided war, but does treat Sei gently. She had told everyone that she'd had an encounter with death, and even had a nasty wound that would likely scar. At the funeral, there's a few special guests: Queen Alora and her family showed up to support Celestine, and the queens reconcile. And just behind the Queen, Nivis sees the familiar sapphire scales of his dear mate-Torrent. As they run towards each other, Sei finally gets to meet her mother. They embrace, and the story comes to a close.]
==Trivia==
-Originally, this story was going to be a tragedy. However, after I finished Chapter 5, I decided that I should leave the story on a happier note.
-In the Prologue, the Island Palace Queen Celestine refers to is the newer one, mentioned to be in progress at the end of Darkness of Dragons, not the one where the Royal SeaWing Massacre took place.
-I literally learned how to make iced coffee just for the sake of getting it right in Chapter One and beyond. I try to be accurate.
-The Cover by me is actually Sei in Chapter 3 (just without the scarf)
-The Cover by Poppy and Pere is Sei in Chapter Nine
-When Husky speaks, I am not trying to make fun of or stereotype those who have a Russian accent. Her speech pattern is mostly based off of the Heavy from Team Fortress 2. 
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete)
Category:Fanfictions (Fanon)
Category:Genre (Mystery)
Category:Content (Angel Of Madness 001)