Work Text:
Frost was a daughter queen of Indigo Cloud. She was – well, she wasn’t a seasoned warrior, not like Jade or Pearl or Moon, but she’d fought Fell and she’d bloodied them as a true queen should and that had been when she’d been small enough even the dakti could take her.
She had also - and that was even more important – sat in a meeting with Pearl and Malachite and queens from other courts, just like a real daughter queen.
(Not that she wasn’t a real daughter queen because she was, even if she didn’t have blood-ties to Indigo Cloud. But Moon was theirs, hers and Bitter’s and Thorn’s, and they were Moon’s, all three of them, and Moon was Indigo Cloud’s First Consort so they were Indigo Cloud, too.)
And as a daughter queen of Indigo Cloud – as the oldest daughter queen of Indigo Cloud – it clearly was her responsibility to teach the younger queen and consort fledglings to swim. Especially if they were Moon’s and Jade’s fledglings and therefore almost her siblings.
Even if it truly was hard.
But that was okay, a true queen was never flinching away from her duties, no matter how hard they were.
No matter that it meant getting splashed full of water for the third time in a row while her useless brothers doubled up with laughter safely away from the splash zone.
(Okay, Thorn was doubled up with laughter, Bitter was patiently sitting next to him and keeping an eye on the fledglings because that was the whole reason she’d asked them to come in the first place.)
It had also been Bitter who’d helped her find the perfect spot for the swimming lesson – a branch that was easy to get to, even for five fledglings that couldn’t quite fly yet, with a shallow depression that the water from last night’s rain had pooled in and that wasn’t deep enough anywhere to let the fledglings drown. Also out of the way of where the members of the court usually went because Rain was shy and would never go in if all the court watched.
After that it had only needed her sneaking off with the fledglings from under Dream’s eye and getting them out here.
Theoretically.
Because apparently it also needed the fledglings wanting to learn to swim.
It hadn’t been a problem with Cloud and Solace who’d pretty much jumped in as soon as they’d seen the water, but Rain had needed some convincing to step into the pool, cautiously sniffing at the edge of it before carefully setting a foot in, and Fern had refused outright and was now sitting a little away on a thicker knot where a twig had fallen off, watching her siblings and Frost as if wondering what they were all doing.
And then there was Sapphire.
Who’d apparently decided to be her clutch’s trouble maker – Frost had known that, she’d heard the teachers speak about that before, but she hadn’t known known known it.
Hadn’t expected for the little queen to sit down at the edge of the water, put her little hand under the surface – and splash Frost that the water had hit her right in her face.
That had been the first time, and the moment Thorn had apparently changed his mind about this outing from this is dumb to this is the greatest thing ever.
But Frost was a queen, and she would do her duty.
And if it was the last thing she would ever do.
Narrowing her eyes at the fledgling, sitting there all innocent, with wide eyes and laughing mouth, she shook her head. “No. You are not supposed to splash the water, you are supposed to go in there and learn to swim.”
Sapphire only laughed again. “Splash!”
Oh no. “Swim, not splash.” Frost took a step into the water herself, trying to demonstrate how to move her hands and legs in the pool. "See, like this."
It wasn’t quite working, she couldn’t move quite right with her being far too big for the pool. But it made Rain chirp happily and Solace come closer, trying to move her own hands like Frost was. Success!
Well, until Sapphire, who had watched just as carefully, got her feet under herself and jumped up, moving her arms wildly, and then fell back into the water.
With an even bigger splash.
Frost had to suppress a growl. She was a daughter queen, she was not going to give up!
She was Frost, daughter queen of Indigo Cloud. She would not give up.
Even if maybe she actually wanted to.
Wiping another load of water out of her eyes she stared down at the fledgling who had just splashed her again, refusing to learn to swim and instead splashing water all around her and at Frost, that she couldn’t even try and teach her far better behaved siblings.
In fact, Rain had shied away again, fleeing towards the edge of the pool and looking ready to join Fern, and even Cloud and Solace kept their distance.
Which probably wasn’t what Sapphire had intended; the little queen simply seemed too energetic to keep track of what havoc she wrecked.
A ripple of movement made her look over to the side, to find that Bitter had come down to the edge of the pool and somehow managed to convince Rain to return into the water with him. Holding him carefully around the middle he mimicked swimming motions with his arms, then looked imploringly at Frost.
Not to help him, she thought; Bitter still talked very little to anyone not his siblings but he still had little trouble making himself understood. But if he needed someone to demonstrate swimming …
It only took a couple steps to reach his side and show a raptly watching Rain how he was supposed to move his arms and legs while Bitter supported his middle, keeping him afloat while he struggled to get it right.
With the splashing over Solace and Cloud quickly joined them, looking on curiously, and Frost seized the opportunity and offered her well behaved little sister: “Rain is swimming. Do you want to learn how to swim, too?”
Solace watched another moment, intent in the way of young fledglings, then flicked her scales in assent and took Frost’s hand. “Want to swim!”
Frost had to restrain herself. Yes!
Instead she carefully grabbed Solace around her middle, holding her up like Bitter was Rain, and let her pedal her way forward.
It didn’t take Solace long to get the hang of it and Bitter smiled at her while they passed each other with their respective fledglings, then tugged his chin down in a specific way, flicked a few scales – let her swim on her own.
It took Solace a full round to realize that Frost wasn’t there anymore, then she stopped, surprised – and simply started to swim again on her own. Very obviously she was just as adventurous as Sapphire – who, as Frost checked, sulked on the edge of the water, obviously put out that no-one was paying her any attention anymore -, just far better behaved.
Letting the success with Solace byon her up Frost turned to Cloud and offered him her now free hands. “Want to learn to swim, too?”
With both Solace and Rain gaining confidence in their abilities of moving through the water it didn’t take Cloud long to nod, and not long after three little fledglings were moving through the little pool like colorful fish.
It made Frost remember their little troublemaker, still sulking with no-one paying attention to her.
(Not that she couldn't understand - if she'd been ignored like that she would sulk and be angry, too.)
Of course, with her being a troublemaker it shouldn’t come as a surprise for her to wait just until all her siblings were safely swimming away in the little pool to call, "Now Sapphire!", and when Frost turned she found herself watching an animated fledgling run directly into the water, making waves as she jumped forward - and started to swim.
Because apparently little troublemakers had to be able to swim right from the start.
Frost might have been more angry if that didn't mean she had fulfilled her self appointed duty (almost, but Fern didn't count. What was Frost supposed to do, push her into the water?) and she was really proud of herself for that.
Of course, that was before they returned to the teachers hall, four still absolutely wet and dripping fledglings in tow, and found that the whole court had been alerted that they were missing and been trying to find them.
Oops?