Ultimate Inferno
Author's Note: Ahhh! Everything on my account got deleted! What's WITH that!? Anyway - here it is again!
Rapping at the shuttered windows, whistling in the eaves, a harsh wind attacked the castle as if at war with the old stone and mortar structure, trying with tangible might to shove the place over. Trees bowed to the furious gale, birds seemed to be flying backwards, and no living creature could be seen in the courtyard.
Kate glared out of the window as if angry with the world, her eyes a disturbing silver hue that glinted like polished metal with every bolt of lightning. She was using every bit of self-control that she possessed to keep from screaming with rage at her father, who lectured ignorantly onward, heedless of what Kate thought or felt.
"So help me, Kate, if you don't attend your lessons, I'm going to hang you myself!"
Nevermind that Kate could complete the palace obstacle course with her eyes closed or the fact that she could defeat the weapons master in hand to hand combat with a hand tied behind her back. None of that mattered to Pyrte -- her father -- King of this infernal realm of darkness. Because Kate was under-aged, because she was her father's only surviving child, and because she was Heir to the Throne, she was being forced to complete useless courses that decades of tradition decreed.
"You could," she growled at him, continuing to stare unfalteringly out of the glass-paned window, "but you won't." A crack of thunder and streak of lightning coursed the skies again, and Kate watched with sinister pleasure the perilous fate of a sparrow caught in the gale. It was trying, in vain, to make its way into some form of shelter. "Your stupid Kingdom is too important to kill me."
It was the truth -- they both knew it. Pyrte wouldn't dare kill Kate - he'd have a Kingdom without an Heir, then, and the chances of producing viable offspring before he died were literally impossible. Pyrte, though he wouldn't tell a soul, was completely sterile and had been since the age of 40. Which was why, to Kate's dismay, he'd had no other choice but to force the Crown upon his daughter and only child.
Pyrte bit back the words he'd thought of speaking, knowing that Kate was right, and he hated being proved wrong. Anger burned within him as he glared at her back. How she annoyed him! It seemed to him that she always knew just what to say to set him off. Knew exactly what to do to make him tremble with suppressed rage. There she stood, her back to him, as calm as if she were merely watching a tourney. It was a sign of defiance, that turned back of hers, and a habit he intended to break - quickly. He made a swift decision and grabbed her by the back of the neck with one large hand, and shoved her against the wall with his brute strength.
"Now you listen to me," he snapped, his fingers clenched tightly around her throat, "You and that chip on your shoulder had best learn to behave, and behave properly, or you'll find yourself in a world of trouble." Kate stared into his eyes defiantly, even as her skin paled and her lungs screamed for oxygen. When she didn't reply, Pyrte growled and shoved her to the floor, leaving her hunched over and gasping for breath. "Get out of my sight. Now."
Author's Note: Ahhh! Everything on my account got deleted! What's WITH that!? Anyway - here it is again!
Rapping at the shuttered windows, whistling in the eaves, a harsh wind attacked the castle as if at war with the old stone and mortar structure, trying with tangible might to shove the place over. Trees bowed to the furious gale, birds seemed to be flying backwards, and no living creature could be seen in the courtyard.
Kate glared out of the window as if angry with the world, her eyes a disturbing silver hue that glinted like polished metal with every bolt of lightning. She was using every bit of self-control that she possessed to keep from screaming with rage at her father, who lectured ignorantly onward, heedless of what Kate thought or felt.
"So help me, Kate, if you don't attend your lessons, I'm going to hang you myself!"
Nevermind that Kate could complete the palace obstacle course with her eyes closed or the fact that she could defeat the weapons master in hand to hand combat with a hand tied behind her back. None of that mattered to Pyrte -- her father -- King of this infernal realm of darkness. Because Kate was under-aged, because she was her father's only surviving child, and because she was Heir to the Throne, she was being forced to complete useless courses that decades of tradition decreed.
"You could," she growled at him, continuing to stare unfalteringly out of the glass-paned window, "but you won't." A crack of thunder and streak of lightning coursed the skies again, and Kate watched with sinister pleasure the perilous fate of a sparrow caught in the gale. It was trying, in vain, to make its way into some form of shelter. "Your stupid Kingdom is too important to kill me."
It was the truth -- they both knew it. Pyrte wouldn't dare kill Kate - he'd have a Kingdom without an Heir, then, and the chances of producing viable offspring before he died were literally impossible. Pyrte, though he wouldn't tell a soul, was completely sterile and had been since the age of 40. Which was why, to Kate's dismay, he'd had no other choice but to force the Crown upon his daughter and only child.
Pyrte bit back the words he'd thought of speaking, knowing that Kate was right, and he hated being proved wrong. Anger burned within him as he glared at her back. How she annoyed him! It seemed to him that she always knew just what to say to set him off. Knew exactly what to do to make him tremble with suppressed rage. There she stood, her back to him, as calm as if she were merely watching a tourney. It was a sign of defiance, that turned back of hers, and a habit he intended to break - quickly. He made a swift decision and grabbed her by the back of the neck with one large hand, and shoved her against the wall with his brute strength.
"Now you listen to me," he snapped, his fingers clenched tightly around her throat, "You and that chip on your shoulder had best learn to behave, and behave properly, or you'll find yourself in a world of trouble." Kate stared into his eyes defiantly, even as her skin paled and her lungs screamed for oxygen. When she didn't reply, Pyrte growled and shoved her to the floor, leaving her hunched over and gasping for breath. "Get out of my sight. Now."