forum The Queen With A Heart Of Ice // One-On-One // CLOSED

Started January 14, 2020 by Deleted user

tune

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Leste walked through the market, a basket of fruit on her arm. She paused at a stand, examining an apple, and heard someone talking behind her.

"Did you hear? The Queen might be responsible for the Cold we've had."

Another voice spoke. "Do you think she'll ever let us get warm?"

A sudden memory flashed through her, and she shook her head with disgust, clearing her mind of the thought.

"Five years." Izira was in front of her guards. "FIVE YEARS IT HAS BEEN AND YOU STILL HAVE NOT FOUND HER!"
"In all fairness, my Queen, there are so many kingdoms she could be hiding in," A knight spoke up.
Izira's eyes narrowed. Throwing a hand towards him, ice shot through his heart. "Do not tempt with me."

Shaking her head, Leste pulled her cloak tighter around herself, breath puffing in the cold air. She was used to the cold now, as it had been winter for nearly five years. She lived on the border between two kingdoms, ice and normal, so she could be in either climate as she wished.

She started the long walk back to her house, boots thumping quietly along the icy path. She examined the trees as she walked. When they had frozen, there was no time for the leaves to fall, so every single leaf and blade of grass was perfectly preserved in a layer of ice. It was beautiful, she had to admit. And it had happened because of her.

She felt a flash of guilt - yet again - and shoved it down. Don't be so weak, she told herself harshly.

Another knight stepped forward, avoiding the knight that was impaled in the icicle. "My Queen, there have been a few sights of Celeste in both Rhelas and Nelinnon."
"Then search Nelinnon for her! What I don't understand is how it's taken five years for this information to make its way back to me!"

(Because her guards are useless…)

Weakness was always bad. It left you vulnerable and open to attacks, both emotional and otherwise. She couldn't let that happen to her - she stopped suddenly. Did she just use her father's reasoning? She could hear his words, one of the rare times when she wasn't on an errand for him, or being beaten. "Weakness is what brought the Sanguinems to ruin. One of them doubted what they had done was right, which collapesed the entire system, and now I'm stuck with this legacy. The moment you regret your actions, you doom an entire line of family to failure. And you don't want them to fail, do you?"

(yeah exactly)

"General Pandora! Take half of your men and comb Rhelas! The other half will comb Nelinnon! There will be no excuses! Go!" With that, Izira put up a wall of ice. She sat in her throne, rubbing her temples. She didn't understand how hard it was to simply find someone.

Her hand spasmed on the basket of fruit, and one dropped to the ground, touching the frozen ground and freezing over.

And idea started to form in Leste's mind.

"ALASTOR!" Izira yelled, and after a few moments a shadow could be seen on the other side of the ice. She made a gap big enough for him to fit through and then closed the gap.
"Yes, my Queen?"
"I am sending you personally to try and find Celeste. You are my best assassin. I don't want you to kill her, I just want you to find her."

(https://www.notebook.ai/forum/limited/the-purple-lantern-reboot-4-4-closed
hey here's a link to the purple lantern reboot in case you haven't found it)

(Thanks!)

With the idea growing in her mind, Leste started to walk faster, humming. When she lived at the castle, everyone instantly adored her. It would be the same this time. What if she went back the castle, pretended to be apologetic, and then killed the queen? The Ice would be over, and she would be a hero.

"Do you want me to try and bring her in?" Alastor asked.
"Yes, that would be quite splendid. And I don't care if she's a little battered and bruised. She's strong and will fight, but you have been blessed. Do your job."
She opened the ice wall long enough for Alastor to slip out, then closed it back up.

Smirking, Leste made plans to return to the castle.

When she got home, it was dark. But something was off, and she was instantly alert. Glancing around, she slipped a blade into her palm. "Whose there?"

Alastor stayed in the shadows, ready to take a shot at any time. He had an arrow in his bow, and his bow was slightly drawn. He thought he could at least shoot her arm.

Gathering her power, she closed her eyes and sent her senses out, looking for blood. A dead deer nearby, a wolf feeding on it… there! A human. A warm-blooded human.

Without letting him know she knew he was there, she made a clenching motion with her fist, eyes still closed. From this distance, she couldn't do much with her weak ability, but she at least moved the figure a few inches ahead. Panting, she threw her knife in that direction.

"Shit," Alastor hissed, somehow managing to avoid the knife. He shot an arrow towards her, briefly seeing that it hit Leste's thigh. He moved back into the shadows, catching his breath.

A sharp pain shot through her, and she glanced down to see an arrow in her thigh. She screamed in pain and rage, pulling out a long, narrow piece of metal. She placed something in the end, faced toward him, and blew. A small dart shot out at him, covered in a sleeping drought.

"Shit," Alastor hissed again. As he began to fall to the floor, exhaustion covering, he shot a blast of magic to the sky. It found its way to Izira, revealing what had happened and where Celeste was.
"Brilliant job, Alastor." Izira said to herself.

Smirking, unaware of what the man had done, Leste put her basket down and pulled him by the legs into her house, tying him - after a long and very difficult amount of heaving - to a chair and leaving him in her basement.

"Now, how to go about using this information," Izira wondered, tapping her forehead. She considered showing up to Celeste's cottage, but that probably would not go very well. No, she would have to wrack her brain for this.

Humming, Celeste went back outside to get her basket and hurried to check on Alastor.

"Gerti!" She yelled. Another assassin appeared behind the ice, and Izira let her through. "You are my second best assassin. I need you to go find Alastor." Izira saw the look on Gerti's face. "Do not talk to him about his actions. I will do that."