Blossom wasn't accustomed to how warm it was in her room. She was used to the cold climates, the usual snow storms, but she wasn't and probably wouldn't ever be used to the heat. It didn't matter whether she would get used to it or not. She won't stay long enough for her to be accustomed to it anyway.
She could feel sweat trickling down her face, and she could feel her room getting warmer. The windows were already opened as she attempted to cool herself down, but there wasn't a gust of wind to do so. At this point, she's beginning to think of how much colder it could be if she would just remove a few pieces of her clothing. She immediately erased that thought as she pictured herself naked in an unknown room, with a certain spy from the Emperor watching her every move. The idea itself was mortifying.
"My Lady, would you like another bath?" Bubbles asked her worriedly as she watched another drop of sweat fall from her face.
"A cold one, preferably," came the reply.
As she watched Bubbles scurry out of her room to fill her bath with cold water, Blossom wiped the sweat off her forehead. She could feel the cold leave her, as the warmth around her began heating her up, leaving her uncomfortable and taking away her ability to think of nothing else but the heat.
Wait a minute...She wanted to slap herself silly. Of course, there was something wrong with the heat! While both her and Bubbles were unaccustomed to it, the heat only seemed to affect her more. Bubbles on the other hand didn't even sweat. She may look uncomfortable, but she was able to handle it, which didn't seem possible if she felt the same heat she feels. They were both used to the blizzards, but the heat...
As soon as Bubbles entered the room, she quickly told her to help her undress in the room for bathing. As Bubbles helped her take the final pieces of her clothing off, she felt the skin of her servant, and she already knew she was right.
She quickly stepped into the tub full of cold water, and she immediately felt at piece. The sizzling heat she felt slowly disappeared, leaving her cooled and satisfied. She then turned to Bubbles.
"Bubbles, listen carefully. I want you to be my eyes and ears inside this place. Someone has placed an advanced heating charm on me, and I want you to find out who."
Bubbles' eyes widened when she heard the words "advanced heating charm". If it were a normal heating charm, it would only feel like a warm blanket was wrapped around your body. This was the charm used in every room in the Ice Palace once the *Storms of the North started. An advanced heating charm, on the other hand, is a method of torture made specifically for the people of the Ice Kingdom, created by one of the Emperors of the Fire Kingdom. The only people who had ever been able to cast this were people from the inner circle of the *Council of Flame.
"Bubbles, I know it might be a bit hard, but I also want you to find any information about what the general wants to do to Buttercup. She is a strong woman, and these people know it. I'm afraid they might try heavy tactics to force her into submission."
"Of course, My Lady."
"And Bubbles, be careful. You are the only servant girl here that has been taken from the Ice Kingsom, and although you are just a female servant, you are beautiful, and some of the men here will try to force themselves upon you. I give you permission to defend yourself by any means necessary."
"Thank you, My Lady." Bubbles then bowed, before leaving Blossom to enjoy her cold bath.
o O o
Buttercup wanted to slice the general's throat the moment she saw what she was supposed to wear for dinner. The thing was beautiful, she'll allow that comment. It was woven from silk, and it was comfortable enough for her to ignore the hot weather while wearing it. The problem with it was the design woven into it.
The insignia was of the Fire Kingdom's, and it occupied most of the clothing, making it seem like she was a supporter of the Fire Kingdom. What she hated about it the most, however, was that in the small upper back portion of the clothing was character that says "Demon", which pertains to the name of the general given by the public. Her wearing that clothing would mean that she is owned by the general, something that disgusts her even more than the thought of what that vile Dragon Emperor was plotting when he announced that the snow fox was to marry him.
The servant Buttercup was given looked docile, extremely submissive. She wasn't surprised when the servant girl visibly flinched as she tore the clothing apart.
"Tell your damn master that I won't be joining him tonight. In fact, tell him that I won't be accepting anything given by a devil like him." She snarled, effectively scaring the poor servant. The girl left, almost stumbling out, leaving Buttercup inside the room she was given.
As soon as the meeting was over, she was dragged by that damn man, forced into a carriage, endured the feel of her wounded pride, got dragged out of the carriage and into the general's home, and was finally forced into a room that was said to be hers. Since then, she had terrorized seven of the maid servants, three of the male servants, nearly choked one of the guards outside her room, scratched the face of one of the general's spies, destroyed every decoration that had something to do with either the general or the Fire Kingdom, and tried to escape three times, each of those times were foiled by none other than the demon general himself.
The annoyance in her chest started to grow when a different servant entered, trembling as he tried to gently place down the tray of foos he had been carrying. Buttercup ordered him to leave, which he followed. As soon as he was gone, she took the soup from the tray, and took a little sniff. She immediately recoiled, and threw it out the window.
"Did he really think I wouldn't recognize the smell of *Willow's tears?" She mumbled angrily to herself, as she took a piece of bread and ripped it apart, sniffing both pieces.
"*Nightspell and *Dreamweaver. The general really wants to force me to sleep, eh?"
She then took the jug of water, and took a whiff. It didn't smell like anything suspiscious. Maybe he thought she would have drank the soup or eaten the bread before going to sleep. Still, she didn't want to take any chances, especially after she underestimated him the last time. She threw the water out of the window, hoping one of the guards outside would fall asleep due to whatever was placed in the water.
If that person thinks he could actually force me to sleep, then maybe he would come or send someone to check on me.
She took the empty bowl and broke it in the correct position for it to look like she dropped it after drinking the soup. The plate still had three pieces of bread, so it could look like she ate a piece of bread before drinking the soup. The water would be a bit of a problem, but she adjusted the empty cup for it to look like she was about to drink the water before falling asleep. She then laid herself in the right spot, feigning sleep.
A couple of minutes later, she heard a couple of soft footsteps entering her room, coming closer to her. Through her eyelids, she could see that it was actually the general, inspecting her. She saw him smirk, before lifting her up, and placing her on the bed.
She felt her bed sink down a bit, and she could practically feel the presence of the general right next to her, making her want to push him away and slap him.
He wanted to force me to sleep, and for what? To take advantage of me?!
She felt him lean closer, making her want to slap him a thousand times. She could feel him lean until he was right next to her ear, and he whispered something that surprised her.
"I know you're awake, so don't even try to fool me."
She opened her eyes and tried to scratch his eyes out, planning to make a quick escape, but he quickly forced her hands down, making her curse her smaller figure.
"You know, you almost had me fooled, the objects were accurate in their positions, but you were so focused on the drugged food, you didn't even think about the water."
She growled and tried to kick him out, but he managed to trap her legs using his own.
"You thought it was harmless, that there wasn't anything mixed in it. The thing is, the water was actually mixed with *Sundrop."
Buttercup cursed, annoyed that she only focused on the scent, she forgot to focus on how it would look like once it was shaken.
"I had to admit, though. If it weren't for the water, you would have had me fooled." He held her hands down with one hand, using the other to take something from his pockets. He took out a chain. He then proceeded to tie her onto the bed post.
She trashed, not liking the idea of her being tied onto anything. Unfortunately, he was stronger, something she hated from the bottom of her heart. He managed to tie her up, making sure it was secured, before getting off of her.
"As punishment, you'll be tied onto this post, until further notice."
She let out a a dozen of curses as he left her there, stuck as she tried, adn failed, to get herself out of the chains.
His death would be ever-so-sweet in her hands.
o O o
"General Butch really did that?!"
"Yes, and one of General Butch's servants almost died earlier because of that Ice Soldier."
"I still can't believe she's still alive."
"I know. Women like her sre a disgrace to society."
Bubbles wanted so badly to slap the servant that had said that, but that would only make her be seen. She needed to be invisible. Her Lady needed her to be her eyes and ears, and that she will be. Besides, other than the fact that Buttercup, poor dear, had been tied to the bed post, there hadn't been any news about her being tortured or beaten, except for her pride, which means she would still be safe.
She didn't like the fact that the servants had been talking about her in such a rude manner. It didn't set well for her to let it continue, but she had to be invisible.
She bowed her head one more time when a group of guards had passed by, and she was just about to leave when she felt rough hands pulling her back.
"Hey, ishn't she one of thosh preeshonersh from the Ize Kingdom?"
Bubbles paled. These guards were drunk. The guards from the Ice Palace almost never got drunk on the job, but whenever they do, they tend to be a bit more bold and brash, and those guards only drank a few glasses to reach that stage. These guards looked like lower ranked soldiers, and they looked like they drank more than a couple of glasses. She was in trouble.
"Yeah...Why don't we have shome fun while she's still heeerre. No one would care anywaysh."
Thinking fast, she quickly took the first thing she could reach, a vase, before smashing it on the guard's head. The guard cursed, letting her go and allowing her to run. The guards quickly shook off the pain and pursued her, and she knew she wasn't fast enough to outrun them. As soon as she was close to a curve, she opened one of the doors and closed it, hoping the guards were drunk enough not to notice the sound the door made.
"Where'sh she go?"
"Nndon't shee her."
"Forget it. Let'sh go home. She'sh not worth it."
She breathed a sigh of relief when she heard their footsteps grow fainter, their grumblings non-existent.
"Who are you?"
She wanted to slap herself for not checking to see if the room was empty. She turned around to apologize, but before the ords could leave her mouth, the air in her lungs decided to go first.
She wanted to run out of the room, but her feet seemed stuck. She finally remembered which room she was in. The Male Bathing Room. And it was occupied by a man that looked like a god.
His blond hair was wet, making it stick on his forehead, his eyes were so blue, it reminded her of the cold oceans near the Ice Kingdom. His upper body looked like it was made by *Vera and *Hexias, and-
Stop! Don't look any lower!
She soon remembered her place as a servant, one who shouldn't be ogling a nake man in the Bathing Room. Her faced turned red when she saw the amused smirk on his face.
"I-I'm sorry. I-I thought, I, um, I will leave now."
She quickly turned, opened the door, and left, running back to Her Lady's chamber, trying to forget the initial embarassment of what she had just seen and done.
She even almost forgot to report what she found out about Buttercup to Her Lady because of what happened.
o O o
Third Prince Boomer watched, amused, as the little servant left the Bathing Room. He had never in his life seen a girl turn as red as she did the moment she found out he caught her ogling.
She left in such a hurry, he didn't have enough time to ask who she was, but looking back, it seemed as though he didn't need to ask who she was.
He remembered her as one of the women who were dragged into the throne room, the one that was sentenced to serve the Empress-to-be.
He also didn't miss the flush cheeks she had when she first entered the Bathing Room, indicating that she was running from someone, nor did
he miss the people's voices, drunk soldiers no doubt, who sounded like they were searching for someone. It wasn't hard to put two and two together, and it made him want to strangle the guards for getting drunk and harrasing the female servants.
He knew, however, that it was their time to celebrate for their momentary victory over the Ice Kingdom, so he can't do anything until tomorrow, when they would be sober enough to take their punishment.
"Mike, find out which of the guards chased that girl here, and tomorrow, we shall go to Eldest Brother to ask for their punishment."
Mike, his personal servant, bowed, before exiting the Bathing Room to investigate. Third Prince Boomer stepped out of the tub, and two more male servants appeared to dry and dress him.
As they did so, his mind began to wonder back to the silly little servant, and to say he was interested in her was a bit of an understatement.
oooo
*Storms of the North-The worst cold storm that could happen in the Ice Kingdom. It lasts ten days, each day getting colder, even the citizens of the Ice Kingdom can't stand the cold, making some of them freeze to death if they didn't add any heating charms in their room.
*Council of Flame-Council of the Fire Kingdom.
*Willow's Tears-A moderate acting liquid drug which forces the drinker to fall into deep sleep after a few minutes. It smells bitter, and the smell only lessens once it is mixed with liquid.
*Nightspell-A fast acting powder drug that forces people to fall asleep. The people would be aware of there surroundings, but would be powerless to move. Its scent alone can give you a bit of a headache to make you want to sleep.
*Dreamweaver-A fast acting powder
drug that makes people see things only seen in a dream. It makes people unable to decipher which part of what they see is real and which part is the dream. Its scent alone can make you dizzy.
*Sundrop-A liquid cure for all sleep inducing drugs, usually takes a couple of minutes to an hour or so depening on the drug and the dosage taken. When it is mixed with water, all a person needed to do is shake it, making it glow with a gold color.
*Vera-Godess of Temptation, Beauty and Procreation. She is known to create beautiful creatures and make them tempt those around them.
*Hexias-God of Physical Male Blessings. Known to bless men with good looks, physical talents, etc.