GRIM REAPER¹, bellamy blake

045 ━━ ice nation

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DARKNESS HAD begun to take over the beautiful light within the forest, setting dim shadows upon Athena and Iona as they approached a clearing. The buggy wasn't far behind, slowing to an eventual halt beside the horse, Octavia following from behind.

Iona took Athena's reins in her hands, hopping off the horse and running her fingers through her matted hair.

After a long, comforting second, she tied the reins to a nearby tree just as Octavia had. Bidding farewell (for the moment) to Athena, Iona jogged over to the buggy, joining up with Bellamy and Monty as they hopped out.

"These woods must be the border," Bellamy said, noting how the woods ended suddenly and gave way to a large, open field.

Iona hesitantly looked, an odd feeling overcoming her at the proximity of her old home. Her old village was near the border, perhaps she could pay the burned city a visit one of these days- at the cost of her life, most definitely.

"So, where's all the ice?" Jasper asked, and Iona wondered if he was being serious or not.

At Octavia's response, Iona realized he definitely was, and sighed to herself.

"Much further north. Azgeda stretches for 1,000 miles."

Monty sped up his pace, eyes staring down at his radar, still observing the red dot. He looked up before looking back down, nodding, "Good thing we only have to go 200 meters."

When Monty almost passed him, Bellamy outstretched his arm, stopping him momentarily, "Slow down. Remember, rules of engagement are nonlethal force. Tight formation on my command. Raven, you stay in the rover."

Raven scoffed, "Yeah, right."

"We need every gun we've got," Octavia said, nodding at Raven with a tight-lipped smile. She glanced over at Iona, who had unsheathed her katana and held it close to her with unrecognizable gaze, "...or katana."

Iona smiled.

"Hey!" Monty said suddenly. "They're coming."

He began to count down the meters as the red dot blinked closer and closer until a group of horses broke through the trees, running down the trail and heading straight for the group.

As they drew closer, however, Iona recognized the white war paint, and her heart came to a momentary stop.

"Ice Nation..." She muttered under her breath, holding out her katana at arms' length threateningly.

Finally, the horses had approached, all coming to a halt at the will of their riders. The men, all decorated in white that coated their typically tan skin a light grey, narrowed their eyes in suspicion.

"Who are you?" One of them demanded.

Her old people.

As Octavia attempted to take the stand, Iona held an arm out, shaking her head, and insisted upon taking care of this situation.

Hesitantly, she replied, "Iona Valana."

A ring of gasps ran through the Azgedan tribe, observing the daughter of their former commander closely. Surely, she would be recognized as a traitor to her previous lands, but when in the face of danger, she had to make her choice.

Either tell them who she was and her new allegiance, proposing the threat her blood still presented, or allow them to kill her and her friends.

She made the choice.

"Daughter of Malik Valana," She said through gritted teeth.

"You are not welcome here anymore, Princess," A man said- their leader, no doubt- and shook his head, "You are not Azgeda."

"I am not Trikru either," She argued, though she assumed it wouldn't help her case. Azgeda did not allow for anyone beyond their clan to enter their lands. If they did, they die. "I am Skykru-" She gestured between her and the rest of her group, "-we are Skykru."

"We are looking for our people," She said slowly.

"Looking for Wanheda," Another man said, and the hair on Iona's arms began to stand straight up.

Wanheda?

"Wanheda?" She echoed.

"Who's that?" Bellamy questioned. Iona turned to him, and for the first time, he saw a look of pure fear within Iona's eyes.

A woman he had always viewed as fearless now shook, eyes wide and teary, as she thought about the title.

"I am surprised you are not Wanheda, Princess," The leader said slowly. "We all heard about your little... incident. Maybe we can claim the reward if we bring you in, yeah?"

Iona washed away her fear, scoffing.

She held out her katana, "Try it, I dare you. You will die either way."

The leader hopped off his horse, beginning to approach Iona- whether it be for a duel or to gain a threatening proximity, she didn't know- and a flash of red appeared behind the man. She narrowed her eyes, and Monty appeared to recognize it too.

"That's the beacon."

Suddenly, Jasper pushed past Iona, approaching the man and roughly grabbing the beacon, ripping it right off the string it had once been attached to.

"Where's Wanheda?" The leader spit, grabbing Jasper and holding a knife to his neck.

Jasper began to breathe heavily, then he started laughing, smiling up at the man.

He really had gone crazy.

Just as the knife slit Jasper's throat, a shot rang through the air.

All of it happened so fast; Iona's mind still hazy, processing the information, and she was forced to weakly watch from the sidelines.

One shot became five, and at once, several of the Azgedan guards fell off their horses. The leader died by Octavia's blade, just as Iona fell in her place, taking a seat upon the grass and leaning back, outstretching her arms and staring up at the sky.

"We're all going to die."

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