Storm had the urge to complain, but instead he stayed silent. He didn't want to seem like a wimp. The air was beginning to cool, and the sun had shyed behind the trees in the west. It was late afternoon, but it felt as if time went a lot slower than that. The grass became coarse under their feet, and the two slowed before they crossed the Ice Border.

     "Do you know where we're going?" Storm asked skeptically. He had a slow growing ball of anxiety welling in his chest. What if they were lost?

     "Didn't father teach you anything on basic tracking?" Harmony retorted. Storm opened his mouth to reply, but before he could Harmony spoke again. "Oh yeah, sorry. I forgot you were Mr. Too-scared-to-leave-the-cave dragon." She mocked.

     "AM NOT. SHUT UP," Storm hollered.

     "You literally never leave the cave, you're such a baby," she complained.

     Storm pouted. But as much as he wanted to NOT believe it, it was true. He hated going outside, his mother always told him the world was dangerous, he was the only one who took it seriously.

     'If Melody didn't go outside, she would've still been here, and none of this would've happened,' he thought. But he also didn't know why those Ice Dragons invaded his home. Did they come to take Melody back? Or was there another reason? Who were they? What did they want?

     "C'mon," Harmony said from ahead, motioning her head for him to follow. Storm scampered next to her.

     The air was slowly chilling. How did Melody survive here? Well- HE felt perfectly fine, but he was unsure if Melody could handle the cold, let alone she could barely swim. Harmony suddenly grabbed Storm and pushed him into a tree.

     "YE-" Harmony clapsed her claws over Storm's mouth.

     "Shh!" Harmony hissed quietly, slowly releasing her claws.

     Storm heard footsteps. Large footsteps, crunching through the snow. And another pair of footsteps alongside that.

     "I swear I saw something," one dragon said.

     "You're seeing things. We have the whole family and the Earth Dragon, and no way the Sea Serpents are comin' here," another dragon snorted.

     "You won't be saying that when I'm right," the first dragon retorted.

     "Just go guard the outskirts, we need to wait for the boss to get the egg," the second hissed with annoyance, shooing the other with her wings.

    Storm caught a glint of her ivory scales as she paced by the trees. She stopped and paused, glancing around. Storm met her eyes for a second and flinched, she didn't seem to notice anything. She gave a gruff sigh, flying off. After a while he could finally breathe.

     "C'mon," Harmony trudged on like nothing happened.

     "But what about them?" Storm stuttered.

     "What about them?" Harmony glanced back frowning.

     "They-" Storm started.

     "Look, it doesn't matter how scary, or how big other dragons are. If I want my family, I want my family," she finished. Harmony was always the sassy one. "Let's go." She continued.

     "How close are we?" Storm creeped up beside her.

     "The camp isn't far, when I was underwater I saw which direction they flew," she answered.

     "You can see that far?" Storm asked confused.

     "No," she facepalmed. "I've been tracking them." Harmony flicked her tail toward the footsteps along the ground.

     "Ohh," Storm exhaled.

     "And see that?" Harmony pointed toward the sky.

     "Where?"

     "The yellow."

     "Huh?"

     Harmony took Storm's face and twisted it to look at what she was explaining. He saw eerie yellow glowing from some trees in the distance.

     "Lights. Lights equals camps." She let go.

     "What do we do when we get there?" Storm asked nervously. "We can't exactly fight those big guys."

     Storm heard Harmony snort, like an offended sounding snort. Did she actually think she could take them? The guards were like, twice their size, maybe three times their size.

     "Size doesn't matter. We're small and have brains. It doesn't matter what we have and if it's different from other dragons, what matters is how we use those traits," Harmony said calmly. Sometimes Harmony sounded really smart, except for when she was being all sassy.

     They were getting awfully close and yet Harmony hadn't told him a plan. He felt anxious. What if they got caught? What if their parents and sister were hurt? Or worse, dead? What if they got locked up too? But they didn't know who they were, they didn't know Harmony or he existed. That was one thing they had that the Ice Dragons didn't. He didn't understand one thing though.

     'What egg?' Storm thought. Did they really go out and steal one? Was it special? Why did they need it?
    
     Storm snapped out of his thoughts when he felt Harmony stop him with her tail. He glanced around the endless forest of pine trees. A few dragon paces away was a camp, it was a smaller camp with fewer dragons, but just as dangerous.

     "They're in there somewhere," Harmony mused.

     "So what are we doing now?" Storm asked, his wings twitching.

     "Getting them back," Harmony said plainly, as if he didn't even need to ask.

     "Harmony!" Storm whisper-yelled, but before he said anything else she had already scampered off.

     Wow, she REALLY didn't think this through. He lightly padded after her, trying to keep his footsteps as quiet as possible. He backed up against a wooden crate, using the shadows to hide himself. Hiding wasn't really his strong suit. He poked his head around the crate, eyeing Harmony. She was across from him, doing the same. She slithered along a sidewall that had an entrance, it was late in the evening now so there were less dragons wandering around. Storm watched as she poked her head inside and looked down the hall, then spied the opposite way. She stared at Storm then flicked her tail, disappearing into the cave.

     Storm followed suit, shifting silently along walls and inbetween trees and boxes. The air was now increasingly colder and light little snowflakes fell from the sky. He poked his head indoors and slid into the cave, trailing behind Harmony. The cooridors seemed eerie. Like he could feel the presence of those who used to be here. It felt... depressing. Harmony made a small gasping noise, pushing Storm into a new hallway and cowering behind a stalagmite with him. Storm looked around wildly, but Harmony yanked his wings until he was flush against the wall with her.

     Another guard passed by, dragging his tail behind him tiredly. He was probably too tired to even notice them down the other hall, but he walked past stretching his wings and yawning. He mumbled something under his breathe then disappeared around a corner. Strom flicked his ears, hearing something. Harmony pulled Storm out again, making sure the coast was clear, then darted back into the main hall. She dashed to each stalagmite, keeping her body tensed. Storm transfered to the opposite side of the hall, doing the same.

     Harmony made another small gasp, and gave Storm a 'STAY RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE' type of look. She curled her body and tried cramming herself into the smallest crevice she could find in the stalagmites. Storm heard it again. It sounded like faint murmurs of a conversation, but that conversation went sour VERY quick.

     "Yes, we're taking the egg, HOW MANY TIMES MUST I EXPLAIN," Storm heard a familiar voice roar.

     "But the deal-" Another dragon quivered.

     "The deal is off, I can gain the throne without her, all I needed was her egg and she'd hand it to me," Peak said dangerously, hissing at the cowering dragon next to him.

     "But what if she sends her dragons after us?" He said shakily.

     "Then I'll threaten to smash her egg," Peak growled, storming down the hall. Storm flinched when he stomped past, lashing his tail around. He ducked behind a tall stone and dared not show his face.

     "But boss, what about those prisoners?!" The unknown dragon called out, scampering down the hall.

     "If she refuses to give up the throne," Peak said. "I kill them all," he hissed. "Even the egg."

     Storm gave a worrying glance at Harmony, she held the same terrified face. Smashing an egg? That was murder. Everything he was doing was murder, blackmail, and backstabbing. He thought the assassin was working for the Queen, more like the Queen was working for him.

     If Peak managed to take the throne, there would be no stopping him. This war would last for another 20 years, and so many more dragons would die under a corrupt leader.

     "No.." Storm said quietly in disbelief.