(Previous version) Queen of Ice, Sword of Iron, Heart of Crystal

Chapter 10 ~the Queen

Mists of snow drifted up from the barren grounds in sparkling clouds, as the Queen's ice dragon banked and descended to a landing. She'd only brought fifty or so of her most trusted knights to the edge of the Enchanted Forest. The faint sun was dipping low in the sky, with the promise of dusk and twilight approaching swiftly. Another day had gone by.
Screeches and impatient wingbeats stirred the air, echoed across the snowy field as part of her army also followed in her landing and secured their mounts. The rest of her forces had been gathered near the mountains on the other side of the small river, waiting for the Queen's command to advance.
The Queen wasted no time. In two swift maneuvers, she gathered her long white skirts and dismounted from her saddle.
"Fenn, Ishdar, Terrin!" She called out to her three lead sentinels who had been following close behind in the past hours. A sharp scraping sound sliced across the field as she withdrew her sword of iron, gleaming in the fading light. The Queen moved with grace, her own body a weapon honed throughout the years.
Footsteps crunched in the snow as the three commanders came up to her. "Make haste," the Queen said to them, her breath an icy gust. "I want to be in the Forest by nightfall." She began walking briskly, then stopped and said to no one in particular, "By any chance, have any of you brought the mirror? The one that the trolls have gifted me with when we made our alliance? Has it been fixed?"
For when she unleashed her powers, the mirror would help to triple the strength of her magic. The mirror contained a force greater than most magic, something stolen long ago from the gods. With it, she'd completely obliterate everyone and everything near her.
Fenn, the first sentinel, stepped into her path. "Queen Freida, we are most dreadfully sorry. Some of it is still in pieces, but most of it has been put back together."
Not many knew of the Queen's real name, since she'd become well known as the Queen of Ice by most. Her three sentinels were among the few who did.
The Ice Queen's eyes narrowed and her lips pursed. "And, just where might it be?" Her long fingers curled over the blade of her sword.
Her second knight, Ishdar, came up beside Fenn. "It's still back at your palace, my Queen, but we can send a few forces back to retrieve it right away for you," he said quickly.
The Queen raised an eyebrow and gave a mirthless laugh. She toyed with a long strand of hair between her fingers of her free hand. "And what use would I have for a still-broken mirror? To throw the shards into the faces of peasants?"
"Why would you need it anyway when you already have such tremendous power and an enormous army at your command?" Ishdar asked. "You haven't told any of us, hadn't mentioned this plan before-"
He shut his mouth at the Queen's dark look.
"If I wanted to hear questions, I would have asked. Do your loyalties lie with me or your pathetic selves? Now watch your arrogant tongue unless you'd prefer to grovel at my feet." She curled her fist.
She'd made several men and women, Fae and mortal alike, kneel at her feet before. For what it was worth, kingdoms had yielded to her reign. Kings and queens, young and old, had all fallen to her submission. All but the inhabitants of the forest, a few odd locations and towns, and... a certain half-breed prince, Khalan. Even though she'd cursed the wild Unseelie-elf prince for refusing her offer to join her army, and for smashing her troll-mirror a few decades ago, he'd kept finding ways to escape her clutches. One day though, she knew, he wouldn't be able to resist the urge of her curse. Even a mighty lion could not stand forever against her fierceness.
But that didn't solve the mirror problem. It had been several years, and her mirror still had not yet been fixed properly.
Right now, she had two rose lockets to destroy forever, two maidens to slaughter, and a forest to freeze and decimate. With her spells being undone, no matter how slowly, the mirror would have been a huge help tonight to amplify her powers. Gods, she could have even snapped the Crystalhenge Spire completely in half.
"So, my Queen, we are at your disposal on what to do next," Fenn said. Her knights looked to one another, then back at the Queen, as she studied them.
Freida's eyes blazed with Icefire as she gazed ahead into the forest, so piercingly green.
"Well, without that mirror, what other choice do we have?" She hissed coldly. "Tell the rest of my army to move out into the forest. We're all going in."
For the first time, her third sentinel stepped up to the Queen and dared to interrupt. "But- your majesty, wouldn't it be much better to take them all by surprise? What if we went by another scheme?"
The Queen whirled sharply around to face Terrin. These generals were asking too many questions today. She wondered whether if she should freeze or cut out their tongues.
"What in the realms do you mean? You dare to disobey your Queen?"
"Never you, Queen Freida. What I meant to suggest-"
"Oh, do stop wasting my time and get to the point," the Ice Queen said, her grip tightening on the hilt of her sword. Frost and a thin layer of ice crept up the guard from her hand.
"The forest's inhabitants would most definitely hear an entire army coming their way, and try in some ways to prepare for it. What if you were to somehow, sneak in yourself first?" Terrin suggested. He fingered his white hair with gauntlet covered hands. Like all her knights, the three generals all wore iced white armour under their furred cloaks, nearly translucent, but slightly more adorned. "Like in a disguise, or something. We could position the army around the forest's edge. And when you send the signal with your magic, we could all converge and demand their surrender. We would catch all the revellers off guard, making for an easy attack. It would be wiser. More organized."
The Queen paused to consider, as she slowly lowered her sword and a slow, sinister smile spread on her face. "Ah Terrin," she purred, looking directly at her sentinel. "Always the twisted, forward thinker. You've been quite the bold bastard, I'll give you that. But that is why I've made you my third, isn't it?" She smirked. "A disguise, you say? Perhaps that might indeed work in our favour."
"But my Queen, what of those two lockets and their wearers?" Fenn asked.
Icefire flashed in the Ice Queen's eyes once again. "Don't worry, I'll take special care of them."
***
A short while later, there was a sharp flash of white light. Cold, unearthly, unnatural. No one else, besides a few remaining knights guarding hers and their dragons, had spotted the figure in the setting sun, as she moved like a phantom wind deep into the trees. No, most of her army had dispersed around the great forest like they'd carefully planned. The rest of her forces gathered across the river would also march and fly in on their dragons when she sent a signal with her magic. This forest was gods-damned enormous, but she had an army to match.
No one else noticed the Ice Queen, glamoured in a woven white gown, hooded under a long, blue cloak edged in white furs. Her diadem and armor were nowhere to be seen, her sword carefully hidden away. She still wore the snowflake around her throat, but it was tucked under her peasant's gown. No more than a stray traveler going to the the Spring Festival. Ahead of her, there was a screech of a snowy owl, one of her ever loyal spies. The Queen followed the thin, crooked path, willing herself to spool in her magic so it wouldn't be visible. Just for a bit longer, she told that quivering, shuddering power deep within her core. The Queen flicked her wrist, unsheathing those iron claws she wore on her right hand. She allowed herself a thin smile.
She'd come upon the revellers before they even knew what hit them. She'd unleash herself; find the two maidens and destroy those lockets, to stop Spring from coming. Whichever came first. And so the Queen began her hunt.
***
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