A/N: First of all, I'm back! I was a victim of a horrible accident that left me unable to use either one of my hands but through therapy and medication I can type again! Stories will be updated as soon as they can. Thank you for never giving up on me and thank you for criticism, both good and bad.
I do not own Mortal Kombat or any characters included in this fanfic. ~WildSugarPatches
It had been so long since the brown eyed vixen stepped anywhere near Edenia, especially after the incident that had gotten her thrown out of the Royal Courts. She was told to stay away from Edenia at all costs, damned to forever glance at the royalty that was once hers. She was to be nowhere near the utopia, but she couldn't contain herself. She had to see what her lesser equal had done to her homeland.
You will be killed if they find you here, she thought to herself as she stashed her bent tiara into her tattered coat. It was midnight, the air stiff and still. She stared at the towering castle again, the faint glow of the moonlight revealing a small splatter of blood against the castle's walls.
Something's definitely wrong. I must go in. Quickly glancing around her, no one was in sight. No one had seen her, had they? She bit her lip and threw the hood of the shredded coat above her head, hiding her features so if anyone should spot her they would not be able to see her face. They would have her head on a pike if anyone knew she was here, especially her.
Swiftly walking along the familiar gold accented path, the ex-princess helplessly kept her head as low as her pride. Her ruling couldn't have been that bad over Edenia, could it? And who in their right minds would elect Jade, the leader of the Edenian army to rule a harmless society? She was interrupted in her thoughts when a voice told her to look down. Obeying, she glanced down at her legs and immediately wished she hadn't. The blue accent of her uniform was freely dangling from her large brown coat.
Shit.
Surveying her surroundings once again, she quickly buttoned the coat and tightened the hoodie, quickening her gait towards the main doors of the castle walls. She heard the locks on the main doors click and dove into the nearby bushes, her heart thumping in her chest.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Mileena. I don't hear a thing out here."
The newly elected princess garbed in green began to sway down the gold accented path, her emerald eyes watching every movement.
Thump. Th-thump. Thump. Th-thump-thump.
"…and even if the ex-princess were to show her face around here, she would have been spotted by now. Back to your chambers." she ordered, her dazzling green eyes focusing on the newly planted bush.
THUMP. TH-THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.
Jade moved her eyes away from the bush, finally reassuring herself and strutting back into the grandiose castle. The bulky doors embroidered with diamonds slammed shut, and a few seconds later the locks were locked again.
Kitana finally let out a small breath of relief, bringing her knees to her chest. Death had just looked directly at her and spared her. Tears began to brim against her eyelashes, but before she could let them flow she felt a cold blade against her trachea.
"What are you doing out here, alone, at midnight?" he grumbled. Kitana began to relax once she realized who the voice belonged to.
"I… I should have won that election, Sub-Zero." Kitana breathed. Sub-Zero retracted the ice blade and stared at her, his gaze mixed between anger and compassion.
"You know Jade's rule was that if anyone spotted you they were to haul you to her so she can torture you, Kitana. So again, why are you out here? By. Yourself." His voice had switched to an authoritative tone, the one that made her feel like a child.
"That's none of your business, Bi Han." Kitana snapped. "It just so happens that I wanted to check on MY kingdom."
Sub-Zero raised his hand to silence her.
"Do you have any idea what would have happened if I didn't freeze the lock on the door? She would have opened it and killed you Kitana! You need to be wiser with your actions!"
Her brown eyes angrily darted towards him, her calloused and bruised hand reaching for the last item of her past: her trusty steel fans.
"Leave me be Bi-Han. I need to enter in here and take back what was mine. Thank you for saving my ass, now go." she hissed. She rose from the bushes and threw her hood back on, ready to infiltrate the castle. Sub-Zero grabbed her good hand, tossed her over his shoulder, and began to stride away from the castle.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU-"
Her banter was cut short by him freezing her, re-positioning himself to carry the extra weight. A faint thud was heard, but he dismissed it and kept walking, thanking the Gods that his princess was safe.
Kitana sprang up from her slumber because she could not feel her body. She glanced around, horrified that Jade had found her and now it was her time to meet her demise. Instead, she found herself alone in a clean, steel blue room with her hand and submerged in ice. She had to admit, the ice did soothe her nearly mutilated digits.
She took in her surroundings, a slight smile on her face. A smile. She hadn't done that in a while. Brilliant crystals hung from the ceiling, causing the early morning sun to make them sparkle. The walls were coated with a slight ice glaze, producing unique ice patterns and designs along each wall. Thin layers of ice covered each window and brought a perfectly cool temperature into the room. Their portrait hung above a book case, causing her to bite her lip.
They had been deemed a 'power couple' when she was still in Edenian rule. But they broke off their relationship because she couldn't lead a nation and balance a relationship at the same time, could she? In that photo, she was sprawled across his naked chest, his sky-blue blanket covering her own. She was wrapped in his arms, the look of utter satisfaction plastered on her face. But it wasn't just satisfaction. No. It was love, and she knew deep down inside it was love.
Kitana was bundled in his finest silk blankets and softest pillows, her body slowly getting used to sleep again. Had it really been that long? Of course it had! She was run out of her kingdom, beaten, bruised, and barely clinging onto life. Liu Kang had found her and nursed her to some degree of health, but she couldn't stay with him. It would have been too weird, too complicated.
Her muscles ached, her bones felt weak. She was starving and was in desperate need of some sort of drink. To her left, she found a bed table with a plate of eggs and French toast, her favorite. Damn him for knowing me. There was a note attached to the plate, and in scrawled letters it read:
My dearest princess. I decided to let you rest and eat before I came back. Please, eat and clean yourself. I will be back by sunrise. Turn the shower knob right for hot water and look towards the windowsill for your belongings you left over here when you left me. Your servant, Bi-Han.
Kitana wolfed down her breakfast and crumpled his note, tossing it in the trash. I don't need his help. Just shower and leave. She made her way into his bathroom and almost kissed the ground when she saw the shower. She hadn't had one in a couple of months, considering the fact that her uniform was rotting off of her and there was no running water where she hid.
She peeled off the rotting garments and eagerly hopped into his shower, sliding the curtain and glass door behind her. Following Sub-Zero's note, she glanced towards the windowsill and couldn't help but to smile. Her vanilla and honey scented body wash stood proudly next to her shampoo. She had almost forgotten how amazing it felt to wash dirt and caked blood off her body, as well as washing twigs and animal droppings out of her long luxurious locks.
Kitana turned the knob to the right, just as Bi-Han instructed, and screamed in pleasure as the hot water began to pelt against her skin. She began to sob uncontrollably as she scrubbed the debris and dried blood from her body, the soap feeling like angelic kisses against her.
Thud. Plop. Thud. Plop. Thud. Thud.
Broken branches and tangled bits of moss began to slide out of her hair and slip into the drain. How could you do this to me Jade? I trusted you!
After cleansing her body for this first time in months, she turned off the water and walked into Sub-Zero's room, sprawling across his bed. She curled into a ball and examined herself, the ice taking the swelling and color out of her bruises. The scars that blemished her face vanished, and her fingers began to slowly heal.
Sighing, she rummaged through his dresser drawers and found her favorite silk blue kimono that he gave her for their third anniversary together. It smelled and felt so much like him, minty and cold to the touch. That's over now. You need to get your things and get ready to go before he gets back.
Kitana dried her wet, cascading black locks and braided it back into a beautiful fishtail that stopped just below her bottom. Satisfied, she began to search for her steel fans so she could leave. Every light in the house was off, except for a dimly lit room that she had never been in before, even when they were dating.
He's probably hidden them in there.
She slowly made her way across the hall, walking on the balls of her feet so if he was in the house he could not hear her. She sluggishly crept into the dimly lit room and saw her prized fans locked behind a glass case. Not hearing anyone around, she raised her fist and readied herself to smash the glass.
"Have you no manners woman? You don't go around smashing people's items!" Sub-Zero bellowed, stopping Kitana mid-punch. She lowered her fist and put her hands on her hips.
"I ate, I drank, I showered and got dressed. Hand me my fans so I can leave."
He cocked a brow at her. "You're not leaving until your hand heals."
"How dare you tell me when to-"
"End of discussion. I'll check on your progress daily and once you can lift your fan without wincing, you may leave and never speak to me again."
"Good."
He paused, his steel eyes looking her over.
"Why don't you tell me what happened to you?"
She wanted to tell him off, but something made her change her mind. Her face and heart softened and she sat across from him, her arms folded in her lap.
"After Kotal Kahn was slain, we Edenians made a rule that anyone who becomes a ruler must be elected by the people, not royal blood. I stood by my people ever since I was freed from Shao Kahn's grasp. They elected me and everything was running smoothly. Until Jade brought up the fact that I had been under Kahn's control before so I might have picked up his ruling.
"They agreed and we had a re-election. Jade won by a landslide and I was banished from Edenia, never to return until Jade's rule was complete. If I was to show my face again, I was to be dragged to Jade so she could kill me herself."
Kitana chewed on her lip as Sub-Zero's gaze shifted from her to his feet.
"I was a general in Jade's army under your rule, Kitana. Stay here and I will teach you their strategy and combat skills so you may use them against them. Once you get your kingdom back, you may leave me forever."
Sub-Zero stuck out his hand to Kitana, his blue eyes pleading with her.
Shake his hand. Do what he says and then you never have to see him again.
Her good hand extended towards him and they shook, the tension finally dropping in the room.
"She was here! I told you!" Mileena snarled as Jade angrily eyed Kitana's bent crown lying in the grass. She was here. Someone had spared her. Or she was hiding somewhere and was playing Jade like a fiddle, waiting for her to let down her guard so she could reclaim her kingdom. Well it was too late. Edenia belonged to Jade now, and she wasn't ready to give up her new power so easily.
"Lockdown the whole land. No one gets in or out." Jade commanded. Mileena nodded and sprinted towards the guards who began questioning every citizen.
You want your title back, Princess? Come get it. Jade stomped on the diamond in Kitana's misshapen crown, a wave of relief washing over her as she watched the gem collapse into a million specks.