The King and The Crown

"Where am I?"

"Why can't I see anything?"

"Why… am I so cold?"

Simon opened his eyes, expecting to see. However the world around him was covered in black. There was no floor beneath him and yet he was lying on something solid. There was no light but yet he could still see his body, every minute detail still perfectly visible to his weary eyes. Breath escaped his cracked lips, a cool mist formed in front of him, fading away into obscurity, melding with the darkness, blending with the cold.

His muscles felt heavy, his body felt tired, his fingertips felt numb. He twitched the digits pressing them against the solid void beneath him. He groggily raised himself from the ground, staring at the emptiness beneath him. Mist passed his lips, his white hair falling past his eyes.

"What is this place?"

He brought his foot in between his hands to steady himself as he attempted to stand up looking around a he did so. There was no sky, no horizon, no wind. This whole place was so disorienting. The only two consistencies were the cold and the dark.

"…hello Simon…"

The man's eyes shot wide, he looked around left, right, up, down, everywhere, but he could not see the owner of the voice.

"Who's there?! Where are you?!" the man cried worriedly.

"You don't… recognize me…?" the voice asked, almost… sad. "After everything I've done for you, you still don't know who I am?"

"Who's speaking to me?!" Simon shouted, his voice becoming lost in the vast emptiness before him.

There was nothing in front of him. Nothing but black and the mist from his breath. And even though he could not see it, Simon knew that the bearer of the voice… was smiling.

"I'm your friend Simon." The voice spoke. "Your special friend."

Flashes, a sudden wind and a bitter cold overwhelmed Simon. Everything was rushing to one spot in front of him. The cold wind whipped past him, sending his clothes fluttering. The sudden freeze made it as though the cold was physically biting his bare fingers, sinking their numbing teeth like icicles with needle precision.

The flashes were blinding, their effect forcing the white haired man to raise an arm in order to block the abusive light before him. Everything seemed to be moving faster, the wind growing fiercer, the chill becoming colder.

"What's happening-?!"

But before he could ask the question, everything stopped. Ice spread like a sheet in a cool mirror-like fashion across the empty space, making the previously non-existent floor finally visible. It reflected beautifully, like ice on a window, forming intriguing patterns and sporadically creating small spikes that reached out and grew past his feet.

Instinctively, Simon lowered his arm, his eyes growing wider and wider with fear with every inch that the limb sank. A crown floated in front of his eyes, swaying slightly up and down as if it was being held up by an invisible wind. Spectral teeth began to form in the space beneath the crown, jagged in their structure, like sharpened rocks and yet seemingly non-existent and without form, like a fog.

The teeth pulled back with invisible lips, forming a maniacal smile. Simon felt cold. The longer he stood there, the more the temperature seemed to drop. The longer he stared at that grin and that cursed metal which floated above it, the more shivers traveled down his spine.

"S-Stay away from me." The man stuttered, barely able to move his jaw, taking a single step back.

"What's wrong Simon?" the transparent grin asked. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

A crack cut in the ice beneath the floating crown, in the shape of a footstep.

"Why aren't you happy to see me?" it questioned.

Another loud crack echoed in Simon's ears. His eyes glanced down, seeing another footprint in the ice. It was getting closer to him.

"Stay away from me!" he cried. "Stay away!"

He couldn't let it reach him. He had to get away! But his body wasn't responding. His muscles were frozen, his joints felt numb. He couldn't let it touch him. He had to move. Move. Move!

Ice snapped away from his shoes, crumbling away as he turned his feet. He spun around, a little too quickly, almost slipping and falling causing him to scramble up on his feet and took off.

"I have to get away." he thought. "I have to find a way out!"

"Why are you running away Simon?" the voice called. "I only want to talk to you…"

"It's getting closer!"

The white haired man began to panic, forcing his numbing legs to run faster, to ignore the pain, to take him as far away from here as possible! Ice cracked beneath his feet, a sudden wind whipped past his face sending his hair in a flutter. And despite all of the running… he was still so cold.

Structures rose up ahead. Large walls climbed out of the non-existent ground, violently erupting from nothingness. They swallowed him, turning into winding corridors, forcing him to turn on his heel with every dead end. The icy sheet crawled up behind him, stalking throughout this labyrinth he had found himself in.

"Where's the exit? Where's the way out?!"

"I can hear it behind me. Getting closer!"

"Where's the way out?!"

The walls shifted around him, grinding against each other, shuffling to new locations and positions, further disorienting the white haired man. Simon looked frantically left and right, searching for an opening, an area without walls. Where the walls ended. He couldn't stop moving, couldn't stop running, couldn't slow down. And in spite of the ever changing maze Simon couldn't shake the feeling that he was going in circles. Repeating the same thing again and again on loop, like a frozen purgatory.

He came around a corner and stopped. Curled up with her knees to her chest, sat a crying girl with dirty black hair and even filthier clothes, clutching a worn looking red teddy bear.

"Marcy!" Simon cried.

He didn't even question it, he just ran to her, crashing to his knees as he grabbed her shoulders and spun her around only to see the face of some sort of deformed penguin.

"Wenk!"

"AAH!" Simon screeched, letting go of the creature, recoiling as if it was on fire.

He backed away, scrambling to his feet before taking off again. The ice was creeping closer, inching its way around the corner. The cold crackling of ice crystals tormenting him as they slowly crawled their way towards him.

Simon ran, confused, exhausted, distraught. He kept going, charging on until he came around a corner where there was a dead end. He spun around, seeing the ice gradually travelling towards him. Panic began to rise in his stomach, his heart beating at an abnormal rate, he could feel the organ thumping at his ribs like a drum. And as the ice turned the corner and was about to approach him, the walls suddenly shifted again, cutting the ice off, once again changing the shape of the maze.

However his respite was short lived as to his horror the ice began to seep underneath the walls of the maze, continuing in their pursuit. He turned on his heel, taking off into the ever changing corridors of the labyrinth.

"That wasn't Marcy." He thought to himself "How does it know about Marcy? How does it know about her Hambo…? How does it…?"

Simon's mind suddenly fell at a loss. Memories of the little girl he'd cared for, for so long where suddenly being replaced by vivid images in his eyes. The little girl had ice crawling up her legs, her stomach, her arms, her chest, enveloping her body until it was becoming nothing more than a frozen statue.

"Marcy, no!" he shouted, before the image in his mind suddenly shattered into a thousand pieces, melting away as they hit the ground, leaving no trace of… of…

"What was her name again…?"

The sound of heavy cracking distracted him as he ran. The ground behind the ice was breaking apart, crevices in the void seething towards him, growing fatter and fatter. Simon blocked it all out, the breaching ice behind him, the numbing cold slowing him down, the mist pouring out of his mouth, his skin turning a deeper shade of blue with every step, every breath.

He couldn't get distracted like that again, he wouldn't let anything slow him down. Escape was his priority, he couldn't let anything stop him, he wouldn't let – SLAM!

Simon reeled back in shock as a slab of cold ice smashed its way in front of him, a hairs breath from where he'd been standing, cutting him off from his path. He spun around, his breath floating past his eyes, clutching his arm, desperately trying to rub a bit of warmth back into it.

"Simon…" the voice called, sounding upset but failing to mask it's giddy undertone.

It was getting closer.

"I thought we were friends Simon…"

Closer.

"Simon…"

Closer!

"There you are…" the voice chimed, eerie delight singing in its speech.

A ghostly figure stepped from around the corner at the end of Simon's vision. Bare foot, with a transparent torn veil of blue attached to a body that did not exist, falling over arms that were hidden. The crown drifted in the air, its jewels burning red, a disembodied grin floating beneath, teeth sharp jagged and imperfect icicles, invisible lips peeling back to reveal more fangs.

He didn't wait for it to talk, he just ran. Sprinting down the blue corridor on his right, Simon tried his best to not fall, to not let it catch up.

He turned a corner only to see a long straight shot through the labyrinth leading to cold black stairs. With nowhere to go, Simon raced down the hallway of ice and void. He increased his speed with every step that brought him closer to the stairs, desperate to get out, unaware of the world breaking apart behind him.

Finally reaching the stairs, Simon bolted up the steps, seeing light at the top of the long case. Pegging his way up the stairs, Simon could barely make out the silhouette of a figure standing atop the steps. Halting in his tracks out of fear, Simon suddenly felt his heart stopping, the mist of his breath floating past. He should turn around, he should –

"Simon?"

Simon paused, unable to believe his ears almost crying with joy at the familiar sound. The man slowly turned around, his head creaking in the direction of the figure that was now running towards him.

"Betty?!"

He stared on in disbelief. After so long, after so… so much time… she was there, his Betty. Still wearing that green sweater from the last time he saw her, dim light reflecting in her glasses and the warm auburn hair he had so hopelessly missed. She was here. He didn't understand how, he didn't care how, she was here! His Betty, his princess had finally come back to him!

"Simon is that you?!" Betty exclaimed, rushing towards him.

Simon didn't even he think, thoughts could not comprehend his joy, he ran into her arms, embracing the love of his life in a strong grip.

"B-Betty…" he stammered, squeezing her body, burying his head into her shoulder "Where did you go…? Why did you leave…?"

"Shhh…"she hushed, holding him close, running her hand through his hair "None of that matters. I'm here now…"

"But –" he began pulling back, but was cut off by Betty's warm hand against his cheek.

"It's ok Simon… Everything's ok now."

"But we have to get out of here! The Crown! It-!"

"Don't worry Simon… I'll protect you." She promised him quietly, her hand suddenly growing cold, the warmth it previously held evaporating into thin air.

Simon gasped with horror as her skin melted away, the rich green of her eyes fading to a dead blue, her teeth appearing to shatter into a broken grin.

"I'll keep you safe forever." A cold voice told him, a veil of blue enveloping them both.

"No!" Simon cried out, scrambling back. "It's not real, it's not REAL!"

His protests went unanswered until he realized what was happening. More and more pieces of Betty were breaking away from the figure. Gold spikes erupted from her skull, her long auburn hair gradually bleaching to white.

"No! I won't let you take Betty!" Simon panicked "Please don't take her away from me!" he screamed, tears spilling from his sore eyes "Please, at least leave me with her!" he begged falling to his knees grabbing onto Betty's leg. "Please…" he sobbed, clutching the limb as it cracked and splintered, shattering in his shaky grip.

His tears immediately froze upon hitting the ground, the icy cold climbing up his face, every droplet of tragedy solidifying into a burning chill, crawling up his flesh until they burrowed into his moist eyes.

"Please… don't take away my princess…" he choked as the ice violently spread all over his body, seeping into his open mouth, shackling his limbs, sculpting his body into a frozen prison.

Simon's final tear didn't even reach the ground as it froze against his icy flesh, while the crown… sat proudly upon his head.

Story inspired by the song World So Cold – Three Days Grace

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