LilactheDryad: Yeah, I know it sounded kind of unfit. I just couldn't find any other quotes.
Well, this chapter was rather short on reviews. Hope that changes soon.
Shortly after the newly formed group's departure into the forest, the snowstorm had thankfully ceased in ferocity, allowing for a safer passage. Currently, in place of harsh winter winds, the air was still and cool, with gentle snowflakes floating to the soft ground.
Gerda and Belle sighed in relief, thankful that the storm had passed. Gerda, who had been holding the gem in her hands since they had left, put it back into her pocket, feeling that they could continue the journey at the moment without it. She had gotten a good fix on Kai's direction thus far.
As they trekked through the forest, Gerda slowly turned to stare at the Beast. The prince had said nothing since they had left. He stayed a good distance behind the girls as they walked, his head lowered, as if he didn't want to be seen.
Eventually, Gerda asked, "Do you have any idea what awaits us on our quest?"
The Beast looked around the forest. "My father and I used to hunt in these woods," He explained to the girls. "I know many of these areas well. However, much of this forest changed once the Snow Queen came into being."
A chill ran up Gerda's spine. "Such as?" She inquired, her hands tightening around Wynter.
"The snowstorms rage harsher than they ever have previously," The Beast spoke, staring up into the moonlit sky. "And there are less animals to be seen. You won't find many people in these woods, either, except for the Queen's ruffians."
Gerda turned away from the Beast to face forward, letting the prince's words sink in. If he was speaking the truth, then she knew they would not receive much assistance in their quest. As far as she was concerned, they were on their own.
"How far is the walk to the Snow Queen's castle?" Belle suddenly asked.
"I'm not sure," The Beast admitted. "But it will definitely take more than a couple days. The Snow Queen lives outside of Grimm, in a frozen tundra of her own design. Reaching it will not be an easy task, and that's not even taking into account the measures the Snow Queen will go to stop us once she finds that we are coming for her."
"How do you know she will try to stop us?" Belle asked.
The Beast stared at her as if Belle had asked the dumbest question possible. "Because the Snow Queen will not allow anything to stop her from achieving her goals," He said to her. "She has spent years trying to recreate her mirror. Now that she is so close to accomplishing this, her tolerance for failure will begin to wear thin."
Gerda shuddered, feeling a twinge of fear welling up in her chest. Belle, seeing, this, turned to the Beast, a cross look on her face.
"Stop scaring my sister!" She demanded, narrowing her eyes at the prince.
"You asked," The Beast replied nonchalantly, before continuing to walk silently behind the group.
As she rode Wynter, Gerda struggled to shove the feeling of doubt out of her head. But it seemed like the more she tried, the stronger the feeling became. Voices whispered in her mind, telling her that she would not succeed. That she would die unless she turned back now.
Gerda shook her head, desperate to rid herself of these thoughts. She knew she had to go on this quest for Kai, for his family, and for herself. She knew that none of them would ever be able to truly recover if Kai was not returned safely to Grimm.
As they continued forward, Gerda found comfort in the fact that, at the very least, the Snow Queen did not know they were coming to her castle.
At least, not yet.
The Snow Queen sat in her throne in the middle of her castle, her face stony and cold. After Kai had refused to give her the location of the other half of the gem, she had ordered him imprisoned once more. Afterwards, she had remained in her throne in a bitter mood.
The Snow Queen's fingers bit into the arms of her throne, leaving scratch marks in the shining ice. Her eyes stared down at her own reflection in the floor. It was during times like these that the Snow Queen was confronted with her cursed appearance.
During the years that had passed since her transformation, the Snow Queen had almost completely forgotten her past self. Her memories of her parents, her village, even that of her child, had been frozen cold by the sands of time, and her own obsession over recollecting the pieces of her mirror. She had only the vaguest memories of her past, and even then, she knew even those tiny fragments of her memory were slipping from her mind.
A small part of her wished that, once she had completed her mirror, her memories would be fully restored. But that begged the question: what would she do once she had those memories back?
Before she could ponder the question further, a glow caught her eyes. Looking up, she saw the mirror glowing brightly.
The Snow Queen's eyes widened. Whenever the mirror glowed, that meant it was going to show her something important. As it was not fully complete yet, the Snow Queen could not command the mirror show her whatever she desired; if she could, she would have commanded it show her her lost child years ago. Regardless, every time the mirror showed her something, it had always been important.
Stepping out of her throne, the Snow Queen approached the mirror urgently, waiting in anticipation for whatever image it planned to show her to visualize.
After a few moments, the mirror revealed the winter forest outside of Grimm. The Snow Queen noticed several figures wandering through the forest. Two of them were riding a reindeer, while the other figure, who was much larger than the previous two, walked behind them.
It took the Snow Queen only a few moments to recognize the larger figure. "The prince!" She growled, shock and anger rising up in her chest. "What is he doing outside of the castle?"
Staring closer at the image, the Snow Queen's eyes widened as she realized that the figures were going in the direction of her castle.
"That prince and those peasant girls are headed to my castle," The Snow Queen said to herself. Staring at the smaller figure on the reindeer, she recognized her, as well.
It was the girl she had met in the forest, just before she had taken Kai with her to her ice castle. The girl with red hair and blue eyes.
It took the Snow Queen only a few moments to deduce why they were going to her castle. "So, the little girl wants to save her friend?" She sneered, narrowing her eyes. "And she's brought the prince with her, it appears. Well, she'll soon find that she should've stayed home."
Turning away from the mirror, the Snow Queen stormed through the dark corridors of her castle. Eventually, she met one of her guards in the hallway. Upon seeing his queen approach, the guard stood to attention. "My queen," He greeted.
"Frederick," The Snow Queen said, pointing a rigid finger at the man. "Tell the guards to release the wolves. I'll take care of the rest."
"Um, why?" Frederick asked, confused.
The Snow Queen turned to stare at the figures in the mirror. Specifically, the Beast.
"Someone wants to interfere with my plans," She whispered. "And I'm going to make sure they don't succeed."
Yeah, no quotes for this one. I know it was a pretty short chapter, but I'm just out from a minor Writer's Block. I hope to update faster soon.