Chapter Four
~We don't care for romance.~
The boat lurched from side to side as Carmen sat at the bottom in the middle. She knew from her tutor that this part of the boat was the part that moved the least, and she had no wish to be ill at any point on the voyage. They had been travelling for a week, and with only hours to go until landing, she didn't want to ruin her record. She turned the page of her book, trying to ignore the creaking of the beams and movement around her. She focused on the small flame she had created on the tip of one of her fingers, which she kept as far away from the paper as possible. Whilst calm, Carmen's powers were manageable; it was only when hatred filled her heart that they flared up uncontrollably.
"Your majesty?" called a voice down into the hold nervously. Carmen put the book down quickly and extinguished the flame on her hand to minimise any damage. "Princess Carmen, we will be arriving shortly. Your brother wishes you to change into the dress your sister has picked out for the arrival." There was the sound of footsteps retreating hurriedly, and then the silence again.
No, not silence, there was still that infernal creaking. You would have thought, reflected Carmen as she returned to her rooms on the vessel, that with some of the greatest craftsmen of the world living in their kingdom that the boats would be silent.
The dress Yasmin had picked out was simple and yet elegant. She had selected it to make an impression on people once they had seen it, and yet not to look too overstated before the wedding. It was green, and of the current fashion in the Western Isles, cut in an A-Line shape and with a sweetheart neckline. The collar was made up of pearls, a common import, although no one at the event should know that. They were certainly rare enough in Arendelle for her siblings liking.
Carmen didn't care for the dress. She didn't much care for any dresses, preferring instead to wear her riding breeches with some boots. Still, she obediently slipped the dress on over her tight corset, before Rae helped her fasten the bodice. She sat as her hair was done for her and then slipped on a pair of what were, in her opinion, the least practical shoes that her kingdom could have produced. She remained impassive, uncaring of what was happening, until Rae finished and went to leave.
"You are coming too, aren't you?" she asked, grabbing hold of her elbow. Rae looked down before speaking.
"We're following on after all the guests and the Queen have left the welcome platform. We're not allowed to see her." Carmen let go of her silently, and Rae scuttled away quickly, rubbing her arm which stung slightly from heat.
"Dear sister!" Jeri called through the door. "It's time to leave!" Carmen took a last look around the room which had been hers for a week, before sweeping through the door and up the stairs to the deck, being enveloped in warm sunlight - and the beautiful sight of land! Oh, how Carmen had missed the land.
She made her way down the line of the beautiful attendants of the Queen, not knowing who the first two were, but assuming that the auburn haired one must be Princess Anna. And then, she reached the Queen.
"Your majesty," she whispered, as she curtseyed.
It might have been the fact that her first step on the solid surface was wobbly that accounted for the reason why she curtseyed. Or it might have been the sun dazzling her for a minute. Or it may have been the hatred she harboured for the orchestrator of this whole farce, reminding her she desperately did not want to kiss her cheek. Or even, possibly, maybe, the fact that Queen Elsa was just so beautiful...
Carmen's eyes widened as she realised her mistake, before Elsa offered her her cheek and a way out of any kind of embarrassment. She knew Jeri would be disappointed in her when they reached their rooms, and her heart flared with anger once again, as her lips met the soft skin of Elsa's cheek...
A rush of energy, like nothing she had ever felt before, rushed into her lips, leaving them tingling and feeling numb. She drew back from Elsa as fast as she dared, and the Queen smiled at her, giving no hint that she had felt anything. Carmen put it down to tiredness, and perhaps an overactive imagination. She followed on after Jeri and his attendant, Emiel, toward the castle.
It was, if not counting the face of the young Queen herself, the most beautiful thing that Carmen had ever seen. Turrets spiralled up into the sky, and it seemed to shine with some sort of magical light. Areas of it appeared to be made entirely of glass, or mirrors. Next to her, Emiel gave a chuckle.
"Those traders weren't wrong, were they Jeri?" he asked, pulling his cloak tighter. "All ice."
"What's all ice?" asked Carmen, looking at him curiously.
"Nothing, Carmen," stepped in Jeri quickly, sending a look to Emiel which clearly said 'shut up!' "I suggest we all get inside quickly, it's freezing out here."
The two men headed up the staircase quickly, talking together animatedly and yet quietly. Carmen rolled her eyes, and followed them up to her room where Rae had unpacked all of her things and placed out her dress for the dinner that evening. Carmen scowled at it, instead heading out onto a balcony from her room overlooking a courtyard with a small stream. She bolted the door behind her, before stripping down and moving the clothes out of harms way.
Certain no one was looking, she opened her arms wide and opened herself up to the hate she had kept at bay all week.
Carmen lit up in flames.
