The Ice Queen

The New World

Neytiri

It's very different seeing this world like this. The pictures don't do it justice. The people clamor in the overcrowded streets, the noise pollution is unlike anything I've ever heard, and the buildings stretch taller than any castle I've seen. If what Cassian pointed out on our way in is truly the stretch of this "city", the world has truly expanded outside of our own. I now see why Cassian thinks it's so dangerous for us.

Cassian's hand gently close around my shoulders, slipping the heavy coat from my shoulders. I turn away from the window just in time to see him tossing it on the nearest chair. I hate that thing. It's hot and heavy and makes it very difficult for me to move my arms. You can tell the world has moved away from the air of war. No one would ever battle in such uncomfortable clothing. Unfortunately, I must wear that coat in the coming days to blend in with humans.

I shift my gaze back to the balcony that overlooks the city. We're staying on the top floor of one of the taller buildings in the city, allowing me to overlook everything below. I chuckle bitterly as I take in the surrounding buildings. Humans have closed themselves in on one another without a care about how they are affecting their planet or each other. They have no idea of the world that once existed.

"How are you feeling?"

Cassian's voice pulls me out of my thoughts. He steps around me, taking a seat on one of the cushions that overlook the balcony. He has a glass in his hands, taking a sip as he watches me. Part of me hates how at ease he is in this strange world, but the another part of me understands that it is necessary. He raises a brow forcing me to realize I still haven't answered him.

My fingers involuntarily drift to the necklace around my throat.

"They've taken over."

The humans below won't even take a moment to acknowledge one another as they drift by with their heads down. It's strange. I find myself once again looking at the architecture. While it is impressive, it is nothing like what the ancients created. Our ways of life were rooted into our homes. Everything about this world is foreign and impersonal. Cassian's childhood home was in the floating mountains that no longer exist. And mine was a crystallized wonderland in the heart of the mountains which has now been overrun by them as well.

"Do you ever get jealous?" I ask as my eye catches a plane flying by overhead.

"Jealous?" he asks.

"Of planes," I clarify pointing to the giant machine blasting pollutants through the sky. Cassian's form easily dwarfs the large machine that helps humans travel faster.

Cassian laughs, rising from his seat. He comes to stand next to me, studying the plane. A small frown forms on his lips as his dark gaze follows the plane's trajectory.

"Why would I be jealous of a lifeless machine?" he asks.

I gently place my hand along his back. Although the question sounds silly aloud, we both know why he would be jealous of this machine. It roams the sky, free of fear, traveling around the world. A world the Dragonborn once owned and now they cannot even properly roam through it for fear of being attacked.

I release a breath laying my head against Cassian's shoulder. I feel his heat as if it were my own.

"How would you do it? How would you take it all back?" I ask.

Cassian turns to face me, a small grin on his lips as he wraps his hands around my waist, pulling me in close. He tilts his head, raising a brow as he does so.

"Are you asking for a war, my queen?"

I release a bitter sigh.

"I wouldn't be so cruel as to wish war upon them. At least with us."