Dernen awoke. The ancient "hybrid dragon" had felt something. Meaningless to a common dragon, this was earth-shattering news to a lightning-ice dragon as old as He. His guards looked up as He sat up. It was both amazing and terrifying. They stepped back as the dragon sighed. In a weary voice, laced with the ribbons of Time, He spoke.

"And now the die is cast."

Trouble stirred in the public. The king was no longer safe. And this is why Xano went to the castle. Apart from his normal work, which was rather uninteresting, he found it to be his personal guard to his brother. Frevonite had always denied the presence of guards. He would say, "If Fate comes to take me, I want to be there greeting it with open arms, not hiding behind the sword and shield of another. Fate is divine, and who am I to interfere with that?" Practical thinking. But that was before. That was different. Now came a time of change. With pressure from the FDFNO, the recent invasion, and general unrest, it was clear that something was coming. And it was even more clear to Xano that the king is top priority. His life is to be spared above all others.

Darting into the palace, made almost entirely of ice, Xano headed for the second floor balcony, as it was where his brother would be at a time like this. He took off, landing on the balcony with as much grace as he could muster. No king. He pushed open the door, hearing a soft thud. Pushing open the doors fully, he turned to face what had stopped him. Xano's heart leaped into his throat. His brother lay on the floor, unconscious and possibly dead. He said nothing, laying down to immediately inspect the condition, turning Frevonite's body on his back. No blood, no cuts, not even a bruise. Was this a disease? Did he fall? Turning to the left side of the head, his eyebrows fell. Charred flesh. There was no lit flame anywhere in the palace, as it was all electric. Xano felt no need to look for falling light fixtures. He lowered his head as tears sprang to his eyes, and he bellowed. He knew. And because he knew, he set himself free from the shackles of restraint and common sense.

Fraiden took the stage in front of the palace. It was a daring move, as it was usually where the king would make his own speeches. Everyone knew the dragon was brash, but such a display of power was not one that was taken lightly. A proud smirk on his face, he immediately hid it with one of sorrow so the crowd could not notice his true emotions.

"Brothers and sisters alike, I stand before you bearing what may be some of the saddest news I've heard in a long time. It's come to pass, that our king, his highness King Frevonite, is no longer with us." Gasps from the crowd and some quiet mourning.

"He was good to us!"

"Such a horrible happening!"

"It is true, friends!" Fraiden wiped a fake tear from his eye, one full of venom and malice. "The hospital has already confirmed it!" The crowd was overcome by grief to the point where not one of them dared to ask how this had happened. A lie had been prepared in the event of that, but the fire dragon was glad to see all was going well. The earth trembled, as Fraiden glanced upwards towards the ice palace. Screams of fury. He could not recognize it, but it terrified him. It was a scream of pure anger, pulsing with vexations and intent.

Xano had been listening, and he descended the stairs slowly, carrying his dead brother on his back. He did not weep, he only thought. The light shadowed him as he stepped out of the palace's left wing entrance and turned to face Fraiden.

"Xano! We are all mournful, but it was not necessary to take his body from the hospital!" Xano glared at him, piercing his fake visage with his narrowed eyes. Fraiden began to sweat.

"Fraiden!" he mocked. "We all felt that he was not fit for rule, but it was not necessary to murder." He dropped the body with a thud. He turned the head so that the crowd saw the burn marks. "You are the only one of your party here, and you are the only who has said he was in the hospital. He lay dead on the palace floor, and you knew it." Before Fraiden could respond, the earth dragon pinned him to the ground with his right leg, his claw gripping around his neck. Xano screamed again, and the earth trembled once again. The crowd stared in horror as he pushed the fire dragon into the earth, the ground cracking and shaping under the pressure until a ring had formed around his body. Then Xano began to beat him, slashing at him with claws and throwing him to the ground again and again. Blood filled the area, and Fraiden's bones snapped. He let out a cry before Xano shut his jaw. He pressed down on it, until he felt his teeth shatter, finally letting go and dumping him in the crater he had left.

"Guards!" he called. To his surprise, they followed him willingly. "Take my brother to the hospital. Perhaps we can revive him." He took the stage as the audience followed his trail with their wide eyes.

"You absolute fools! Fools!" Xano yelled again and again, venting his anger, his irriation, his everything. "Why do you dare turn against our king? Did he not do you well? You cannot deny it; I heard from amongst the proudest of you! Surely you did not partake in this act, but why did you have to conspire in the first place?! Are we not all happy?! What more do you need from him?" He began to sob softly. "After all of this, do you still forget the real enemy? You are so wrapped up in your own selfish desires that you have forgotten the truth already! Was it not the changelings who attacked us? Did they not tear us apart?!" Quick nods. "Then why do you seek to throw my brother out?! It's idiocy. Idiocy..." His voice trailed off as he looked into the stars once more. Cold and dark answers, yes. But that was the way the world worked. And now the world was his. He controlled his voice. "Now," he started in a commanding tone, "I will be your leader. Perhaps I can be what he was not. But he did what he could for you." He left the stage, picking up Fraiden's body for the final time and feeling his pulse. Dead. He nailed his body on the face of the palace as a reminder to all. There was a new leader in town. Dead brother and a dead mind. But he was ready. Xano was king.

Author's Note

I apologize for the wait.