The Tale Of Crystal And Gharial

== The Tale of Crystal and Gharial ==
==== Do not steal this or I will come and haunt you in your dreams. -SundewRAGE46 ====
Would it be ok if I edited some of this for you? ~IntrusiveThoughts101
===== Chapter 1 =====
Crystal swung her tail in a giant arc smashing the points into a sandwings head. She turned her head around and bared her teeth ready to defend an attack but she was surprised to see a Mudwing fly down beside her, He flew over her shoulder and slashed his talons at a skywings throat. Crystal was momentarily perplexed before she realized there was a battle going on. She tucked her wings in and plummeted down in a tight spiral knocking many skywings out of the air, throwing her wings out to stop her from crashing into the rocks below. She soared up fending off attacks and surveying the rocky plateau below for any spies.
Dodging a stream of fire Crystal turned around to see Burn herself, she had an icewing between her huge talons and was staring squarely at the icewing general who was shouting commands to a small squadron of mudwings. The mudwing Crystal had seen earlier was in front of the group, he was bigger than the others and had the darkest scales. Crystal ducked below another blow of fire and soared closer towards the group to hear what the general was saying, when all of a sudden Burn was on top of her, her huge talons slashing and preparing to strike with her poisonous tail. Her weight started to drag Crystal down and fracture her bones.
Crystal snarled and inhaled deeply, calling out the cold but coughed and choked when Burn’s talons twisted into her stomach causing blue blood to spurt out uncontrollably. Crystal closed her eyes tight and fought with the talons trying to free herself. She thought about the peace and quiet of death, no fighting, no pain, just nothing. But then she thought about what would happen to her mother if she lost Crystal; she would be furious about her death, she might punish her fellow icewings or make a mistake in the war. Crystal couldn’t let that happen, otherwise her family would be at risk.
Opening her eyes again Crystal stared into the dark malicious eyes of Burn and made a vow that she would never win the throne. Summoning the cold from inside Crystal swung her jaw open and Burn jumped off as she shot a jet of ice crystals past her head. Crystal started to fall aimlessly as the pain from her wound seared. Talons grabbed her again and Crystal turned around slashing her talons at who she thought was Burn. The mudwing yelped with alarm and loosened his grip on Crystal but quickly tightened it again.
The mudwings' soft brown scales rubbed against Crystal and she looked up into his determined eyes. Crystal seized up as the mudwing landed on his back talons in an awkward position that pulled on her wound in a painful way and several icewing doctors rushed out and brought Crystal into a camouflage tent that blended in with the rocky tundra. Fresh ice and snow was pushed into Crystal's wound, soothing the pain so Crystal’s head didn’t ring but not enough so that she couldn’t feel the sting of the needle pushing through Crystal’s scales. Looking down at the doctors talons pushing thin string through the wound Crystal passed out her last thought wondering who the strange mudwing was.
===== Chapter 2 =====
Blinking in the shimmering daylight, Crystal looked around the large space. She stared around at the beds and dragons who laid on them. There were so many, how long had Crystal been asleep? Had they won the battle? Who was the mudwing and where was he now? Struggling to her talons she looked down at her bandaged torso and saw speckles of dark blue that had bled through the polar bear fur bandage. A doctor rushed over to Crystal and tried to escort her back onto the bed but she pushed away the talons and limped out of the tent where her fellow tribemates lay maimed and nearly dead.
Looking around the battlefield Crystal saw many bodies, icewings she knew and was friends with were framed on the ground in different poses of agony and despair. She spotted many flashes of red and yellow amongst the constant pale blues and whites. A small dragonet no more than the age of 8 was on the ground in front of her, their ice blue scales mangled and barely visible underneath a coating of dark blue and red blood. The dragonets head lay facing backwards and was nearly fully removed from the body. The dragonets legs were broken in odd ways that went opposite directions in unnatural ways that sickened Crystal.
She moved around the body, careful not to step in the blood and moved towards the place where she had fought Burn. A slender light brown body rested on top of a skywings and was positioned in a way that made it look like the dragon was running. Looking at the peacefully resting body Crystal was reminded with a twinge of guilt that she had hurt the mudwing who had rescued her. Her ears perked up as Crystal ducked low to the ground, but a moment later she realized that the noise was a soft sobbing.
She stood up again and turned in the direction of the noise, which she realized was coming from behind a small hemlock tree not too far from the dead dragonet. Crystal cautiously approached the tree and looked behind it to see the mudwing sitting on the ground besides 3 other dead mudwings. Each one looked similar to the large mudwing as he continued to sob woefully with his snout in his talons. Crystal pushed through a small bush making the mudwing turn, standing, and abruptly stifle his sobbing.
“Yes ma’am?” His voice was stone hard but hints of sadness oozed over his words. Crystal stiffened, it felt odd to be referred to like that by him for some reason.
“Please, it’s just Crystal. I wanted to say thank you for saving my life earlier.” Crystal tried to smile but it didn’t seem appropriate so instead she looked down at the mudwing bodies, one of them was just a body without a head and red blood covered the sharp point of their spine, another had a vicious hole ripping straight through their chest and jagged holes ripping through their wings, the last one had been killed quickly and cleanly with only three streams of dried blood running from claw marks on their neck. The mudwing stared back at her sitting back down.
“You saved yourself. But if it helps, you're welcome.” He stared back at the bodies, avoiding Crystal's gaze. She considered this for a moment and then turned to go, not wanting to interrupt his grief. “I’m Gharial, by the way, and just to clarify, I do support Blaze.” Crystal looked back meeting his eyes, he just looked heartbroken. Sitting down next to him wordlessly, Crystal stared at the mangled bodies and guessed that these were his dead siblings. She shuffled her talons awkwardly as Gharial began to cry again.
“I’m sorry,” he said when he regained his breath, “they were my last siblings. We hoped that if we were with Blaze we wouldn’t have to fight as much. We were wrong I guess.” his voice was soft and fragile as he bowed his head low. His dark brown scales stood out against the gray and white of the battle field. Crystal watched him for a moment, What does he have to be sorry for? He just lost his siblings and saved my life. I would have plummeted to my death had it not been for him.
"You don't have anything to be sorry for Gharial, Absoloutely nothing. Burn on the other hand, has everything to be sorry for." Gharial looked up at Crystal and she smiled at him. He smiled back weakly and leaned into Crystal. Supriesed, she started to move away but found it comforting for the moment to find someone who wanted this war to be over and to have things go back to normal just as much as Crystal did, He set fire to the bodies and she hugged him as they watched the fire burn out.
===== Chapter 3 =====
Crystal had been sent home not long after her meeting with Gharial, she had protested fiercely, suggesting that this was the place she was most needed. Apparently it was the decision of Glacier herself, so Crystal could not refuse. Flying back over the ice wall Crystal wished that she could still be fighting and making sure Gharial was okay. She sighed softly as she pictured the body covered battlefield and the poor dragonet, Crystal should have been helping to prevent that from ever happening again, she should have been making sure that didn't happen to any other tribe mates or Gharial. Crystal hadn't told anyone about her meeting with Gharial, not even her closest friend who happened to be the icewing general.
It felt like something private, just for her and Gharial, not something to be judged by her friends who would have thought it outrageous to associate with "inferior mudwings''. Slowly time dragged on and the inner courtyard of the palace came into view. Drifting down on a soft wind Crystal was reminded of how beautiful the castle was, especially at sundown. Her squadron moved off to the training grounds to meet up with their families while Crystal swung in an arc and landed on a small balcony belonging to Snowfall.
Snowfall was fierce and often prickly but she was Crystal's sister and she was also kind to those she knew well. Scooping up some snow and breathing with relief as she pressed it to her healing wound, she knocked on the door and sat down on a small snow bank that had accumulated. Snowfall stepped out frowning and looked at Crystal with a look of suprise and joy flashing across her face. "Crystal! Your back!" She reached out to hug Crystal but stopped short and frowned again. "Why are you back? Also, What happened to you?" She gestured to her stomach and then sat down with her arms folded firmly across her chest.
Crystal laughed and threw some snow at her face, "Mother asked me back, you can stop frowning, its not like we lost or anything." As she said it Crystal was brutally reminded of the battle field and Gharials lost siblings and the dragonet. We didn't win either though. Snowfall seemed more or less content with that answer and she beckoned Crystal inside, where strews of scrolls and weapons lay cluttered on the floor. Snowfall had never been one for jewelry so instead sculptures and mementos filled her desk space. "Where is mother anyway?" Crystal asked, eyeing a blobby sculpture that looked like Mink's handiwork.
"Mother is away checking in with Blaze about the most recent battle, the one by the tundras end." Snowfall waved her talon as if it was just another thing to be referenced and not that important. I was in that battle, So many dragons died. Crystal thought fiercely, wishing Snowfall could read her mind and see how awful it was. Snowfall walked out the door talking about how boring her time in the palace had been while Crystal was gone. Huffing, Crystal hurried after her and tuned out her chatter. For the millionth time that day Crystal caught herself wondering what Gharial was doing and if he was alright. She kind of wanted to see him again, she had only known him a little while but it had felt like longer. She wondered how he felt, so far away from home, all alone without his siblings.
It wasn't for a couple minutes that she realized Snowfall was waving a talon in front of her face and saying her name. "Huh? What?" Crystal turned to Snowfall, shaking her head a little.
"Geez, space out much? Come on, were checking where you are on the wall." Crystal rolled her eyes but Snowfall pulled her along down into the main courtyard and out into the open space. Slowly the gift of order came into view. Crystal had never been a huge fan of the circles or the gift of order because it implied certain dragons were better than each other. Crystal looked down the dragonets rankings and found her name neatly nestled between Lynx and another dragonet she didn't know in first circle. She had lost her ranking necklace in battle so it seemed rather odd to find her name in first circle. Gently, she rubbed her wings together and tilted her head down so Snowfall couldn't see she lost it.
Examining one of her claws she pushed her talons into the snow to clean off flecks of blood from the battle. She saw that Snowfall was rolling her eyes and preparing to start scolding Crystal on who knows what. Standing up abruptly Crystal murmured a quick farewell and went off to find the doctors. Snowfall yelled something after her that sounded like "Where are you going?" but Crystal didn't want to answer. She passed rooms where higher status dragons stayed and flew down a set of stairs turning into the medical wing. She glanced around at some of the wounded icewings and winced as she saw a dragon with half of his lower jaw torn out and a loose hanging bandage attempting to slow the bleeding.
walking swiftly to the other end of the room, Crystal picked up a small jar of medicine plants and shook out a leaf, taking it between her talons. She closed the jar carefully again and walked out of the wing to the nearest window. She spun the leaf in her talon and watched as small snowflakes landed on its frozen form. She crushed the leaf and threw it in her mouth, swallowing it quickly. It would help with the pain and nausea that was clouding Crystal's mind when she thought back to the battle. Crawling out the window Crystal threw herself into the sky and soared above the trees and snowy fields, she flew towards the open ocean, away from the mud kingdom and battle, away from her family and Gharial and all the bodies. She flew until she was on one of the farthest Islands and nestled down watching the sun set and rolling around in the cool snow.
Night had fallen before Crystal heard a voice, it was soft but commanding and the heavy footsteps that followed it told Crystal that Glaciar was standing beside her. "Beautiful night Crystal, I can see why you came here."
===== Chapter 4 =====
Crystal jumped surprised, and turned to see the imposing regal icewing queen towering above Crystal in a none-sinister way. Her mother sat down next to her and gently put her wing over her, looking out into the rising night. Glacier was regal and graceful in a way that made Crystal respectful and also strangely envious of her, but regardless there was something about her tonight that made her look weary and… sad, Crystal realized. Curling up close to her mother Crystal felt herself calm down and feel safe, even if it was just for a moment. “What brings you out here mother?”
“Oh, you know, the usual, tracking down my daughter, attending meetings with Queen Blaze, watching the night sky.” Crystal stifled a guilty laugh and looked up to see her mothers warm smile, Glacier was calm out here as far as Crystal could tell, and with no guards she seemed peaceful. 
“Sorry I dragged you out here.” Crystal mumbled, tucking her snout under Glacier's wing, She could feel her confused look tracing down Crystal’s spine. 
“You don’t have to be sorry Ry, it was my choice to track you down as soon as I landed, and my choice to bring you back from the battlefield.” Her voice started breaking and she looked down at her claws, Crystal took her snout out from under her wing and studied her mothers sorrowful and heartbroken expression. “We lost so many dragons, too many dragons. You were even injured.” Crystal hesitated, not knowing exactly what to say to soothe her. Crystal gently felt the two talon holes left in her stomach and remembered the dead dragonets mangled body. She knew exactly what she was feeling and there weren’t any words that could soothe that.
“It was an awful battle.” She said instead, “Burn herself was there murdering our fellow dragons.” Her mother stared at her perplexed and sad with tears in her eyes. “We shouldn’t have had to fight in that battle, or ANY battle, for a Queen who we don’t like or have anything to do with.” Crystal carefully side-stepped around the word princess because her mother was still Queen and wouldn’t tolerate that. 
Glacier considered this for a moment, then started shaking her head, in agreement or disagreement Crystal couldn’t tell. “We shouldn’t have to fight these battles, your right, but we now have to fight these battles, there is no other option. We have supported Blaze for too long and also we need the land she is offering us.” Crystal looked away, disappointed and mad. Glacier lifted her snout and stood up. “Let's go back to the palace before we can’t see anymore.”
Crystal studied her face once more in the fading light and found guilt as Glacier avoided her gaze. She outstretched her talon to help Crystal up, which she reluctantly took as they started flying back to the palace. Casting one last glance at the Island Crystal soared away, decidedly not thinking about Gharial and what he was doing now.
***
They arrived back at the palace shortly after night fell and Glacier had decided that they would wait until morning to discuss what she had called Crystal back for. Crystal was passing the moon globe tree when she saw Mink playing quietly by herself in the corner, a smaller moon globe bouncing over her shoulder. She landed softly out of her sight and crept up silently, she straightened up next to her and walked into the small circle of light, “Whatcha doing?”
“AARGH!” Mink yelped and scrambled backwards, accidentally bonking her head on the tree. Crystal laughed and helped Mink up, “Where did you come from!?” Mink exclaimed, the moon glove bobbing up and down next to her. She had been sculpting a small blobby wolf face.
“Space, whatcha doing?” Mink stared down at her sculpture and hid it behind her back, Crystal faked a grab from the right so Mink turned around and she could snatch it up with gentle talons. “Woah, this is a really good Mink!” she snarled, taking it back and glaring at Crystal.
“Don’t lie, Ermine told me. They are awfu-ful.” Crystal stared into the courtyard in stunned silence. What adult would tell a 1 year old their sculpture was awful?! Of course it's not perfect, but at least Crystal could tell what it was, which was better than most sculptures. 
“Ermine is a rotten whale carcass, your sculptures are awesome! Just ask anyone, And anyway, Why do you care? From my point of view, there is not anything wrong with it.” she smiled at Mink who was smothering a giggle. “Now come on, let's go to bed.”
Crystal brought Mink up to her room and waited until she was sure she had fallen asleep. She then walked down the long ice corridor until she got to her room. She pushed the door open and shut it behind her softly, looking around she could see someone had been through, tidying up and fixing some of the mess. She sat down at her desk, picking up a blank scroll and an ink bottle and began writing a letter.
Dear Gharial,
I hope you are doing well and that you are staying safe at the base. I wish I could be back there with you, fighting to avenge all the fallen warriors, including your siblings. Queen Glaciar hasn’t yet told me why she brought me back, but I am sure I will be back soon. Have there been any recent battles? Everyone here acts like the battle at the tundra wasn’t that big of a deal, but I keep thinking back to it and can’t help but wonder if those dragons have ever even seen a dead dragon. I miss you very much and will see you soon.
Sincerely,
Crystal
Crystal hesitated, then scratched out ‘Sincerely’.
Sincerely Love,
Crystal
Before she could change it again she rolled it up and tied a ribbon around it, she addressed it to Gharial and prayed that he was still alive. She ran over to the messaging room and gave the letter to one of the messengers. The messenger nodded and walked towards the nearest courtyard. Crystal exhaled a sigh of relief and walked back to her room, walking onto the porch and falling into a small snowbank and falling instantly asleep, her dreams all including Gharial.
===== Chapter 5 =====
Crystal awoke groggily the next morning to see the graying sky twinkling with a few stars, she allowed herself to stay lying down for a while until she woke up more. When the first glimmer of orange peeked out over the hills she rolled over to see Snowfall staring intently at her, She yelped with alarm and sat up. “What the heck Snowfall?! Do you stalk dragons in their sleep now?” Snowfall coughed to cover up a snort of laughter.
“Of course not, I just wanted to spend more time with my dear old sis.” She replied rather suspiciously.
“Well this is certainly a strange way to go about it. What do you really want, Snowfall?” She tried not to sound too annoyed, but she felt uneasy about being watched while she slept, especially by her sister.
“Nothing, It’s like I said, I want to spend more time with you.” Crystal raised her eyebrow and rubbed her wing tips together behind her back. Snowfall scrunched up her face as if to scowl without saying anything. “Okay fine. I want to know where you were, why weren’t you here? Also where’d you get that?” She gestured towards Crystal’s stomach and Crystal quickly wrapped her wings around herself to cover it.
“Fraid I can’t tell you dear sis.” Crystal emphasized the last two words earning an annoyed scowl from Snowfall.
“I know you can! And besides, if you don’t tell me, then who will?” She cried in frustration.
“Sorry to disappoint you Snowfall, but no one.” Snowfall glared at Crystal with such anger that Crystal thought it best not to provoke her anymore. “You don’t want to know anyway.” Snowfall looked at Crystal curiously with a small hint of seriousness and pity sliding through her glare. Crystal began rubbing snow on her scales, cleaning off the remaining sleepiness.
“Can you please tell me Ry, I worry about you and I should know what’s going on out there.” She meant outside of the great ice cliff, but it felt like she meant outside of the palace. Crystal knew she was really just trying to get Crystal to tell her, but it was working, and she never called Crystal ‘Ry’ unless she really wanted to know something or was actually worried. Crystal sighed, Why did she have to be so convincing?
“You know how I am in the army, so you should know I was out fighting for Blaze and the Icewings, which I think is more important than staying here and trying to bring up my rankings.” At this Snowfall grimaced but let her continue, “I was in the battle by the tundra, and that’s where I got this injury. I went away to fight, because I want this war to end and I do that the only way I know how.” Snowfall waited for more, but Crystal didn’t want to think about it anymore than she had too so she stood up and went inside.
“That can’t be it, What aren't you telling me?” Crystal paused in the doorway in front of her sparkling ice bed. For a moment, she couldn’t believe that her sister had been so demanding when Crystal had clearly not wanted to say more.
“Maybe I will tell you more sometime later, but for now, I don’t want to talk about it.” She growled. She could feel Snowfall’s glare burning a hole in the back of her head.
“That is so unfair! You said you would tell me!” Crystal swung around staring straight into Snowfall’s surprised eyes, her tail knocking over a light purple vase.
“I don’t have to tell you anything! I don’t want to talk about it anyway, so stop badgering me!” Snowfall scoffed, and walked towards the door, shoving Crystal as she walked past.
“Sounds to me like you're weak, eh Cry?” Crystal flared up in anger, that was the nickname other dragonets had used to call her because she had cried during her first hunt when she had been scarred by a polar bear larger than her, she hated it with a burning passion. Also, what in the three moons did Snowfall know about war!? She wasn’t weak, she was tough as they came but of course Snowfall would call her weak, she had never seen a real battle before.
“Maybe you would like to fight in these terrible battles, maybe you would like to see your friends die in front of your eyes, maybe you would like to be injured and have to kill other dragons who have lives like yours!” Crystal glared at her with what she hoped was unwavering ferocity. Snowfall sucked in a breath and ran out on the door without another glance.
Crystal waited until she couldn’t hear the footsteps and slid down onto the floor, wrapping her wings around herself. Why couldn’t Snowfall just have left her alone? Why did she have to rile her up to the point of yelling? Crystal stayed on the floor for a while, until a messenger knocked on her door telling her that Glacier wanted to talk to her in her chambers. Crystal got up and walked to her room, wishing she could be back on the battlefield with Gharial instead of dealing with her sister and trying to follow all the royal customs. She entered her mothers room and noticed something was off.
Glacier was staring at an old portrait of Crystal’s father, King Caribou. Crystal got the feeling this conversation wasn’t going to end in her favor; but then again, so far had any conversation ended in her favor? “Mother,” Crystal said. She moved towards the corner so as not to take up too much space.
“Hmm? Oh, Crystal dear,” Glacier responded, not averting her eyes from the portrait. In the portrait King Caribou was young and laughing as if someone had told a funny joke. He had cheerful eyes and wore a single silver band on one of his horns. Glacier turned around with a sigh. “Good to see you came.”
“You did send for me, did you not?” Glacier considered this and winced slightly.
“You're right, I did, for a very important reason.” She pulled herself up regally and towered over Crystal the way she did when she was making an ultimatum. Crystal's heart fell, she knew what was off now. Caribou had not died in the war of the sandwing succession but had fallen ill during that time with fatal after effects. Crystal could tell why she had been brought back and feared it. “I’m pulling you out of the war,” Glacier said.
Crystal started to protest but Glacier cut her off, “I’ve decided that it’s far too dangerous and I don’t want to lose you to this awful war. I decided this after the battle of the tundra when I got word that you were wounded,” She gestured to Crystal’s stomach, “By Burn herself!” Crystal thought out her next words while her mother barged on, “Furthermore, I shall not allow another family member to be lost in this war or during this war, my mind has been made up and you shall not change it.” Crystal paused, she would have to plan her words carefully.
“What use am I, if I do not fight to protect my fellow Icewings? What good will I do if I cannot help end this war? I do not value myself over my fellow Icewings, regardless of what The Wall says, nor should you spare my life instead of the life of my fellow,” Crystal emphasized every other word to prove her point. Glacier chewed her bottom lip and narrowed her eyes.
“There is something else going on here,” Glacier stated, to herself more than Crystal. Her heart jumped up into her throat as Glacier continued on, “Why would you be so desperate to get back to that battle field?” She muttered,
“Could it be because of a dragon? No, I don’t think so… but what if…” Glacier stopped, she must have realized she was talking aloud because the muttering subsided. Crystal fiddled nervously, her mother was smart, really smart, so she suspected her secret wouldn’t be a secret much longer.
As if the thought summoned her mother Glacier looked squarely at Crystal.
“You’re in love.” Crystal opened her mouth and closed it. Was she in love with Gharial? No, they hadn’t known each other long enough, but did she like him? Yes, A lot? Also yes, she liked him enough that it was sad and it hurt a little, not knowing if he was okay or not.
“I don’t love him, not yet at least, but I do like them quite a lot.” Crystal responded quietly, Glacier smiled sadly.
“I’m sure he will be just fine, Icewings know how to take care of themselves after all.” Crystal winced, how was she going to tell her mother Gharial was a mudwing? Only one way TO tell her I guess. Crystal tried to speak but found her voice failing her.
“He’s not an Icewing, Mother,” Crystal said in a barely audible voice. Glacier frowned, and looked at the wall, She began grinding her teeth as she thought of a good answer.
“Regardless, I’m sure he can take care of himself. And who cares if he’s not an Icewing? You like him, that’s what matters.” Crystal thought, for the moment, that her mother might just be the best queen in the world.
“Really?” She asked.
“Of course, As long as he makes you happy,” She paused, “and he’s good enough for my little girl.” Crystal giggled, and nodded, easing away Glaciers frown. “You're going to find a way back to the battlefield, with or without my permission aren’t you?” Crystal nodded hesitantly, “Well, this dragon better be something if I’m letting my daughter risk her life for him.” Crystal's hopes rose, Her mother had agreed! Glacier leaned over and put her wing over Crystal, hugging her close, they stayed this way until a messenger came to take Glacier to a meeting.
“Thank you mother,” Crystal said. Glacier nodded, and was pulled out the door by the messenger.
***
When Crystal returned to her room that night, a small scroll lay on her desk, it was tied in a thick reed and addressed TO CRYSTAL, FROM GHARIAL. Crystal nearly fell over, she scrambled to undo the Reed and held the scroll in between her claws like it was the most delicate treasure.
Crystal,
I am doing well, there have been no invasions or offensive battles yet, though it's only a matter of time. It's mostly been boring scouting missions and guarding shifts. Everyone is having nightmares of the tundra battle, At least one person a night has a nightmare that causes crying and screaming. The bodies were tossed into the ocean yesterday and some soldiers were sent home to their families. It’s been so gloomy here over the past days, I hope you can come back soon. It’s more lonely here without you. Do you know why Queen Glacier called you back yet? The commander is a fair bit more paranoid without you around to calm her nerves. I hope you are faring better than I am,
Yours,
-Gharial
Crystal’s heart sighed with happiness. He had responded, even if he didn’t sound like he was doing too well, he was safe. That comforted Crystal enough to help her sleep. She would be able to see him soon, and she could hardly wait.
===== Chapter 6 =====
She awoke, heart pounding in her chest, she had dreamed something scary, something real, something that felt too real and it was scary. The dream world was slowly fading and Crystal came to her senses once more. What was the dream? She had forgotten, only that it was terrifying. She turned over and saw the letter from Gharial and her heart leapt. After re-reading it a couple times she jumped off of her ice bed and ran over to her desk, picking up ink and paper.
Gharial,
My mother didn’t want me to keep fighting because she was afraid. But I talked her out of keeping me in the Ice kingdom and I should be coming back soon. I won’t write much more because I know I'm coming back very, very soon.
Love,
Crystal
She looked down at her handiwork and nodded approvingly, standing up and running out the door, straight. Into. SNOWFALL. Snowfall fell and icy talons grabbed at Crystals heart as she remembered her dream, She had brought Gharial to see the great ice wall and Snowfall had been there, ready to meet only Crystal, she had seen Gharial and without a second thought slashed his throat and watched as the scarlet red blood stained the fresh snow. Mother had been there too, congratulating her on a successful rescue. They had thought he had kidnapped Crystal and was a threat. Crystal had wept but they had callously ignored her and then she had died too, killed this time by his siblings, their ghosts lived out eternity alone, separated only by a sheet of glass.
Quick as lightning, Crystal hid the letter behind her back and dropped it into a small ice sculpture so Snowfall wouldn’t see. Snowfall growled, getting back to her feet. Crystal tried to help her up but Snowfall pushed her talons aside. “Get off of me,” She hissed, Crystal backed off and walked away when Snowfall pushed in front of her.
“Hey! Rude,” Crystal said. Snowfall ignored her and plowed on, “Geez, see you tonight I guess,” Crystal snorted, Snowfall stopped, turning to narrow her eyes at Crystal.
“What’s tonight? Your hatching day or something?” Snowfall glared but remained for an answer.
“No, I am simply leaving tonight and I figured that most of the day you wouldn’t want to see me.” At this, Snowfall’s eyes widened. Crystal shrugged off her gaze and shuffled back into her bedroom to avoid any questions. Snowfall caught her talon before she could fully step into her room though.
“What do you mean ‘leaving’?” Crystal looked around nervously as her sister pulled her back out into the hallway.
“I mean I’m going back to help with the war,” Crystal replied. Snowfall’s mean demeanor left her and was replaced with an even meaner, slightly sad, one.
“You’re WHAT?!” She roared, digging her claws into Crystal’s scales. Crystal squirmed, trying to soothe her grip, but it only got tighter, “You JUST got back! And now you want to leave us AGAIN?!?! What kind of a SISTER is that!?!?” Snowfall yelled so loud that the ice sculpture with the hidden letter cracked.
“I- I thought you didn’t want me here,” Crystal said.
“OF COURSE I WANT YOU HERE!!! YOUR MY SISTER!!!!” A tiny piece of the sculpture came off.
“But- just yesterday we had a huge fight,” Crystal said, fighting to understand her rage.
“JUST because we had a fight, DOESN'T MEAN I WANT YOU TO LEAVE!!!!” The sculpture splintered and more bits came off, revealing the corner of the scroll. “IF I WANTED YOU GONE, YOU WOULD BE GONE! BUT (for some reason) I DON’T WANT YOU GONE!” The ice sculpture fell, shattering and embedding bits of ice between the sisters scales. “OW!” Snowfall hissed and let go of Crystal, beginning to pick up the ice pieces, her gaze landing on the letter. “What the–”
Crystal ran, grabbing the letter and sprinting down the hallway before Snowfall could shout. Hisses of rage followed from behind the hallway corner but Crystal didn’t stop until she was at the messengers room again. She gasped for breath, she had taken several detours to lose her sister, but the letter was a giveaway. Handing the letter to the messenger Crystal gave them the address and they were gone. She sighed, grateful, and began picking out the ice chunks. Did her sister really not want her to go? Crystal turned over what she had said and started to feel guilty. I’m of more use in the fields. My skills will only collect dust in this castle. Besides, I don’t feel stressed when I’m there, with him, than when I’m here, with rules. She repeated these thoughts to herself as she started walking to the dining hall for a meal before her flight.
***
It was a little past noon when Crystal gathered her belongings and started packing them into a small pack. Mink had come in not too long ago, being super sweet and sniffling her sorrows about Crystal leaving. She had given her a new ice sculpture of a snowflake and Crystal loved it. Shame she couldn’t bring it with her, it was sure to melt. Crystal sighed, shoving a couple scrolls and tightly closed ink into the pack. Looking around, Crystal went through a mental list of what she needed to pack, she was pretty sure she had everything, but you never know.
Crystal hummed as she finished cleaning up a little and threw the pack over her shoulder, flying down to the courtyard. Her mother was waiting patiently, smiling as Crystal landed, giving her a small hug. “You promise to be safe, right?” Glacier asked with concern.
“Of course mother, that’s the whole point of the army, to keep us safe.” Crystal gave Glacier a reassuring grin and looked up to the hallway, where was Snowfall? Crystal narrowed her eyes at the doors and spotted Snowfall angrily storming into her room. She sighed, guessing that meant she was not forgiven for leaving. She talked with her mother some more and said farewell to a couple other friends and took off, a couple soldiers returning to the battlefield following her.
She looked into the setting sun, its beautiful golden rays making the snow look like it was made of diamonds. She glanced back at the castle a couple times, but never once did Crystal wish she was staying. After all, she was going to meet back up with Gharial, and that felt like where she was meant to be.
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete)
Category:Fanfictions (Canon)
Category:Genre (Romance)