Winter Storm (Esdeath x Male Reader)

Improvise

Unlike the man you were supposed to protect, you woke up with a woman in your arms. Esdeath obviously preferred to be the one spooning you, but that did not mean you would return the gesture, if not reverse it. The Ice Queen expressed her surprise at the change, but then she welcomed it. Simply put, she was just fine with you in charge if that meant she was getting cuddled. And unlike the objective, neither of the couple intended to go further as of now, let alone exploit one's beliefs. In fact, Esdeath did not seem displeased when you admitted to assaulting Bolic.

"You'd think he would have known better than to do something to irritate his bodyguard." She smirked.

In light of the incident with Bolic, namely him choking on his aspirations, you were placed on a different assignment. You would be patrolling the city and the cemetery at night. So there was a point to enjoy the day before the perils of darkness came. Even so, with that came boredom for many people, including the General. So she came up with a remedy.

"(F/n), follow me to the courtyard." Esdeath said after the morning meal. So you did, following her to the open area within the complex the Path of Peace religion occupied.

When the pair made their way there, Esdeath stopped in the center of the courtyard and turned to face you.

"Draw your swords." She smiled eagerly as she said this. Now you were getting it. You drew Galen Marek and Stormbreaker, and shifted into a ready stance with the weapons in both hands. Esdeath responded by drawing her rapier. The lovers turned opponents stared one another down for a few minutes, a dramatic tumbleweed blowing past.

In an instant, long shards of ice materialized like a wall of pikes and fired in quick succession. Your instincts took over, deflecting and dodging the incoming barrage. Sidestep one there, deflect one here. It was not anything you could not handle, but the pace was too quick for you to do anything other than defend.

For a spar, this seemed to be way too lethal. Any of these icicles could kill you if they connected. But in the back of your mind, you accepted that it was what it was. This was Esdeath you were talking about. A spar with her would be life threatening by definition. That said, you doubted she would do this if she did not think you could handle it.

Which brought you to another thought while continuing to defend from the cold projectiles. This hardly seemed fair. Drawing swords implied it would by swordplay, not a one sided fight. And Esdeath could very well step it up if she wanted to. So why would she not?

'She wants me to push myself.' You realized. 'Starting with using my Imperial Arms.'

So with an outstretched hand and focused thought, the next incoming wave of icicle projectiles halted in midair. With a throwing gesture and mental heave, they shot back at their creator. Esdeath's smile widened further even as she cut through them with ease.

Instead, a freezing sensation went up your feet. They could not move. Esdeath had encased your legs in ice. Your mind raced over how to get out of this. Telekinetic abilities would not work. And what good was casting lightning at it?

Wait.

Your mind flashed back to the moment you first used Stormbreaker. The tree it struck had straight up exploded. Not to mention the charring and smell of burnt flesh when you used it on a living creature. That was it.

Lighting arced from Stormbreaker into the ice block encasing your legs. The ice not only shattered, a good part of it become water or vapor instantly.

"Good. Good." Esdeath praised. "It's estimated by the Empire's scientists that the temperature of lightning is far hotter than anything known to man."