End

Ragnar's small, sunken eyes gazed upwards. His thin mouth was pressed tightly. A grave and solemn frown took his frail features.

His voice was cracked: weak as he. "You've come for me,"

The pristine beauty of snow skin and ice hair shifted in her silks. The cold dared not touch her. She was its mistress, its commander, and it was loyal to her to its very last.

However, through the haze of hate and power, Ragnar glimpsed a sight so rare he had thought it extinct. It settled him, stealing away his tautness. A river of calmness swept through his soul. He watched her, distant and cautious.

There was no smile spared for him. There was no softness to her gaze. She was one who had lost all possession of kindness.

He grew strikingly still. A question pierced the veil of his blind acceptance. What kindness had I thought of?

Her voice was without emotion and unbreakable as winter. "You have served your purpose,"

He nodded slightly. He knew what she wanted. It was carved deep within him and it held fast to his corpse.

She strode towards him. The simple grace of her every step mesmerized. She was lethal in her unmarred beauty of heartless ice.

The callous coldness of her gaze impaled Ragnar. He slumped against the wall and into the sheets of his bed. The whisper of dark delight took to her features with haste. It was beauty, the beauty that she most suited, and the beauty that clung to his defences at their lowest.

She smiled, then.

It was not for him, not for the memories, not for the child, not for the conquest or spreading of power, not for the delight, but for the sheer beauty of her new gift. It is fitting, for one so heartless, for one who steals loyalties; steals fear; steals hearts, to steal that which cannot be stolen.

Author's Note: I have enjoyed this. It's a badly kept secret of mine that I have my own darkness. It has been conquered, mostly, but I do delight in feeding what remains of it from time to time. What harm can it do? Oh, but I digress. I'm rambling again! Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear…. I do have a new story coming. It is Snow Walker. It is something that I'm very pleased about. I love the notion that something might be amiss. Though, this has sparked another idea in my head… A one shot… For Snow Walker, again… What will I do with you, imagination?

Thank you for reading my work. I do hope that you have enjoyed reading this piece. I apologise if I have disappointed you.