Chapter 514 (Patreon)

A/N

Just a heads up, trying something a little new with adding a 3rd person POV from the Winter Queen because I was struggling to write her in First person. If it’s too jarring or doesn’t work, I can change it later.

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POV – Winter Queen’s Throne room, 3rd person.

A cool air filled the throne room, many whispers could be heard from nearly every corner.

It was filled with the who’s who of the Winter Court, who the Queen favors, the rising stars and the ones who hold any semblance of power.

“The ambience had been greatly increased.” An elf in rather flamboyant clothing held a glass of presumed whine in his hand.

“Of course, of course” Another similarly dressed elf nodded. “It simply matches the decor of her highness. Why, I think this should have happened far sooner.”

Katerea Leviathan stood at the far end of the hall, listening to these Fae ramble on. It wasn’t just those two, the group gathered within the Winter Queen’s court was extensive and varied.

She looked at them then at the gaping hole in the side of the building that let the snow storm blow inward.

There were plenty of Fae literally covered in snow and ice that made no move to remove it, smiling as if it was all planned and normal.

It wasn’t merely the throne room that needed repairs. A significant portion of the Winter Queen’s castle was destroyed in what only could be described as an arrow made of sunlight slamming into it.

Of course, the Winter Queen herself didn’t simply sit there and wait for it to happen.

She was by no means weak. Despite some….whispers around the court, her losing her arm many months ago in the human world was not a matter of her losing her strength.

It was one matter to extend her reach beyond her seat of power and leave herself so vulnerable. It was another matter entirely for her when sitting at her strongest.

Even still, she suffered a wound from blocking the vast majority of that attack.

One might look at the destruction and think the attack succeeded, they would be wrong.

It contained enough power to annihilate the castle and everything within miles, yet the damage merely equated to about half the castle – albeit rather large in stature – in ruins.

“Is that a new dress?” One of the Fae women asked towards the other.

“Oh, this old thing? I simply decided to match her highness with the new fashion.” She smiled slyly, her dress covered in snow from outside and she also made no effort to clean herself off.

Backhanded compliments, insulting directly without doing so with a smile on their faces. Event heir Queen was not safe from this behavior as it was ingrained deep within them. A moment of weakness showed was an opening one needed to pull you down into the mud.

It was the normal court for these Fae.

The normal behavior continued despite the dilapidated room until a screech caused the music and festivities to cease.

The Winter Queen, high up on her throne, ran her nails against the arm rest of her chair.

Everyone shivered and immediately went quiet. It was one matter to subtly insult her without actually doing so. It was another matter to be flippant with your tongue while she was angry.

And the many – many years they have lived, they had to know when she was angry in order to survive in this court.

“Where is my royal pixie!?” The Queen’s voice, like shattering glass resounded throughout the icy domain.

With a flash of purple and pink dust, a small, two-foot ‘person’ appeared within sight. “I am here as called, your majesty!” The man spoke with a cheerful tone and a strange wooden wand in hand.

Pixies were a strange people even among the Fair Folk.

It wouldn’t be wrong to call them the darlings of the world. While the vast majority of Fae were blocked from entering the Human World, the Pixies could come and go if they wanted. However, most of the time, the thought never occurred to them, or it wasn’t enticing.

They had the mentalities of children often time, but that didn’t belittle their frightening intelligence and capability. They only seemed to move when something interested them or due to previous commitments.

Perhaps the least malevolent of all Fae, but prone to mischief all the same.

They were even capable of certain feats that the Summer or Winter Queen could only be envy towards despite their power being significantly higher.

“I want you to divine the background and status of the one who dared attack me and my castle!” She demanded, killing intent palpable.

The pixie began to move around in a circle, as if dancing awkwardly, fidgeting and twitching at certain intervals.

If someone from the human world saw this, they may have assumed there was a problem with him.

He raised his wand up as if casting a spell and his eyes widened. “Oh no!”

Everyone around him, they seemed used to his actions, treating it all as normal. However, the Fae seemed surprised at his sudden exclamation, even the Winter Queen paused in her angry tapping of her throne to stare at him.

“Secret technique – escaping punishment!” He shouted and ripped his own head off, tossing it far to the side.

His headless body raised its ‘wand’ up and caused a new hand to grow just before a bolt of lightning fell from the sky and turned him into a smoking corpse.

The original head twitched and gruesomely regrew its body.

“Whew, that was close.” The pixie hopped back up on his feet. “I was almost consumed by the causality backlash. Thankfully, I was smart enough to kill myself before the backlash could kill me.” He said proudly.

“Royal Pixie.” The Queen said, her chilling tone still present. “What are the results.”

“No can do, Queenie. You’re on your own this time. I can’t touch the background of the one you want. A big Tree and the scary Night gave me a warning not to play around!” He winked at her before poofing out of existence.

Katerea, who had been there this entire time on the behalf of Lord Rizevim was just staring at the scene in shock, wondering if she was hallucinating, or if she drank far too much.

It took a moment, but the Winter Queen’s fury was made apparent even if she was silent and unmoving. The cold winds bashed against the castle, causing it to creak and groan with each passing tempest.

It all started because one of the Queen’s stray children had decided to venture off on her own.

She had several children, some of which had fallen out of her favor and she stopped paying attention to. One of which, ventured into the human world in an attempt to curry her favor or win her praise.

Both Summer and Winter as well as all the realm knew about the upheaval that arrived not long ago.

The Winter Queen was forced to acquiesce to the closing of the Realm to the Human World.

The Lake dwellers had many favors to call upon, and when debts came due, they moved in a way that shook the realm all those years ago.

Not to mention the First Dream silently supported their efforts.

Not even Summer or Winter dared to have thoughts on matters regarding the First Dream.

Neither Summer nor Winter were particularly thrilled at the closing off the Realm, but there was nothing they could do. So both of them ruled over the Seasons, so too did the Lake Dwellers control the paths and they had to begrudgingly accept the course of events.

And as tensions escalated as they tend to do between the two rotating Seasons, everyone felt it.

A new path opened up, a foreign path, a path that didn’t exist before but suddenly revealed itself.

It wasn’t impossible to send people out to the human realm, merely consuming time and effort that could be used elsewhere and with a certain cost.

Her daughter snuck out among the ones meant to scout and infiltrate.

As the Queen, once discovered, she of course had to provide a proper response. How dare some creatures outside take prisoner her daughter? It was only right that she show them her wrath.

Winter’s wrath had long been forgotten by the human world, she felt it appropriate to remind them.

What she did not expect was for some….thing wearing flesh and blood to sever her arm. She could admit that she overextended herself in a moment of fury seeing one of her trusted captains – one of her doted lovers about to be killed.

To extend her reach across realms like she did….well, it wasn’t a surprise that her hand was severed so ‘easily’.

She could not immediately retaliate, her position was shaken, as comical that was. She was Winter, who could dare claim her position as the Winter Queen?

Despite this, there were whispers, intentionally revealed to probe her.

She had to squash all opposition quite thoroughly.

And it was enough time for those creatures outside to do something so laughable that she couldn’t even imagine it beforehand.

They invaded.

It was the first time in the history of the realm that things from the human world invaded and conquered.

She could feel it, she knew that Summer could feel it.

Part of the realm was usurped.

Divine Authority?

She knew about Gods. They mocked gods, depending on the sustenance of such fragile creatures like humans, despite how much amusement their compatriots took in the lesser ones.

To her, at best, they would be cute pets.

Regardless of her feelings, the power couldn’t be denied, which is why deities were treated with a certain…respect.

There was even a time where both her and Summer shared the same lover – a God in the far past.

Despite this invasion, her court was…..unconcerned.

Even she only found it mildly amusing, a reprieve from the normal cycle of monotony.

Sure, their farm lands were being taken over, but that only made them laugh at the thought of animals thinking they’re superior for ruling over other animals.

The mocking notions of the creatures outside thinking they achieved some great victory by conquering farmland.

The only more ridiculous thing was the ‘devils’ strutting around her domain.

They were useful, so she allowed it.

However, everything seemed to be turned upside down by what happened just recently.

She felt rather clever about the defense she left at the entrance to her domain through the ocean. No need to put some of her people to guard, it would take care of itself.

What she never envisioned was someone using that to destroy parts of her domain!

Thousands of her warriors were dead.

And her monthly offerings were destroyed!

She normally didn’t care about the farmlands, but now it would take far too long to restock her amenities.

How was she supposed to offer tea when she had no tea to offer?

Utterly ridiculous and an insult to her as the Winter Queen!

Just this alone had her executing hundreds of people in her court that she didn’t like. They had no hand in it, but all the same, through clever word play, she easily had them confess to the crime.

As for others, well, she gave them a light punishment.

They would become bricks to repair her castle.

And it was a short punishment! They simply had to tell her when they wanted to stop, and she would let them go.

It didn’t matter, that as bricks, they couldn’t speak.

That was their problem.

But that was all irrelevant.

She was going to intervene, to show that despicable creature her wrath for not only destroying part of her domain, but also for cutting off her arm!

She recognized the feeling of the one responsible. Truthfully, she was content to sit back and watch the show previously as his reflect killed him in her stead.

Yet, when she made the decision to involve herself directly, he retaliated in a way that she never could have imagined.

Even now, after experiencing it, she couldn’t’ understand it.

It was wrong.

An object in the shape of a bow, so much power contained within it. The creature could only use a fraction of that power, but it was still enough to get the advantage on her.

She hid it well, but she was wounded from taking the brunt of it.

Even at this moment, she was using the power of Winter to crush the warmth that permeated her body against her will.

Under her dress, her body cracked, light seeping through before quickly being snuffed out by the deathly cold.

That should have been the end of it. The peak of her being mocked and shamed but a lowly thing.

However, then that arrived.

Oh, she noticed the other creature initially. She noticed the little god that ascended from a former resident of the realm. The large snake that held impressive power. And even the sapient wand, of which piqued her interest.

But that was all overshadowed by the fourth among their group.

The Winter Queen initially thought it was one of her kin at first glance. Yet it only took a blink to not recognize the being that trespassed within her domain through unknown means.

It was no Winter, No summer, no Autumn nor Fall. Yet, all the same, it felt wholly welcomed within the realm as if it belonged. IT was seemingly also a being of their caliber at least in existence.

She was beyond the common Fae of the realm, a higher sort.

So too was this thing higher in scope.

Casually, with a wave of its hand, it was able to assert dominance over her domain!

And then, it did something that nearly made her faint.

It created its own realm.

A large castle that dwarfed hers, and a Red Moon that hung high up in the air that sent fear down her spine.

Her, the cold and ruthless Winter, felt fear.

The only grace she acknowledged was that the creature didn’t seem innately hostile. Because she questioned how she would defend against the creature dropping the literal moon ontop of her head.

The answer was unsurprisingly concerning for the Winter Queen.

Caution was needed, but no longer could she sit idly by.

At the very least, the creatures that invaded the realm needed to be dealt with appropriately. She needed many more bricks to repair her castle and she was running out of dissenters.

“We are at war.” The Winter Queen spoke, hushing all murmurs. “The creatures have invaded the domain of Winter!”

Katerea, the Devil still standing far in the back, she wanted to blurt out an ‘obviously’. But to all the Fae in the room, they were surprised, shocked even.

It was an acknowledgement.

They acknowledged that the things they thought funny, the ‘animals’ they considered taking as pets once captures – they were something worthy of them going to war in that only the Queen considered the Summer Court her match so far.

“Your Majesty, it’s merely some farmland. I will personally lead my warriors to capture them, is there a need to declare war?” One particular Fae took up, bright and large butterfly-like wings on his back.

“Wilan.” The Winter Queen called out and through a misty haze, a man donned in bone-like armor appeared and knelt at the feet of her throne.

“Yes, your Majesty?”

“Prepare the warriors, rally all our troops. And Spric here – “ She looked at the one who spoke up a moment prior. “— has volunteered to be on the front lines.”

The Fae with the wing’s had his eyes widened as he realized he misspoke and basically volunteered to be cannon fodder.

“We must know our new enemy that dares invade the Winter Domain!” She declared, leaving no room for retort, snapping her fingers and many images – in real time, of the red-headed creature and his fellows appeared around the room.

“How uncouth. I heard they speak such blatant falsehoods without recompose.” One member of the court muttered.

“Did you know that humans can make promises and not keep them?” Another sounded aghast. “One of my pets promised me that they would stop defecating on the floor. Yet, they continued to do so! I was so aghast that I had to unchain them from the wall and feed them to my hounds.”

“How unfortunate, I remember how well that human brought the whole room together.”

The Winter Queen looked around and there were no whispered words against her decree. They also knew what transpired not but hours ago, and even if they would not admit it, it stirred something inside of them.

The Winter Queen cast her gaze towards the Dragon.

The beast dared to ignore her summons time and time again, yet she didn’t get angry.

He was a Dragon, so such behavior was expected.

It was like telling her, Winter itself, to stop being cold and harsh.

But the Dragon noticed her gaze, seemingly uncaring as he watched over the human with the interesting thing inside of him.

If it weren’t for the Dragon protecting the human, she would have taken him for herself.

The human fainted, but she didn’t pay attention to that. What she focused on was the things that he spawned out of nothingness.

A cruel smile crept up on her lips.

She had lost a great many of her hunters and warriors from the arrival of the thing before, but that was far from enough to neuter the Winter Court’s strength.

Her gaze returned back to her court.

“We must understand how these things think, how they act, and know best to hunt them.” Her trusted General Wilan was speaking to the court, rallying their enthusiasm.

It was a novel thought, since when did they have to understand their lessers?

But his words had merit.

Yes, she looked at the picture of her most hated foe.

The Red hair of his was too eye catching to ever miss.

Even now, he did something she didn’t understand, and it only served to annoy her due to feeling ignorant.

Why was it that every time she looked his way, he would raise his middle finger towards her gaze?

Clearly, it must hold some significant since he continues to do it.

She would discover its secrets and there was nowhere he could hide to escape her wrath.

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A/N

Chapter took me longer than anticipated because I was having trouble at first, a couple rewrites led me here. I wanted to do something with the Winter Queen, but as I said above, writing her in first person proved too difficult. And I wanted her ‘pov’ on what was happening so far. Tell me if the perspective change for this chapter to third person was too jarring or didn’t feel right, it was a test if nothing else.