Hey there readers and YES, I AM BACK.

I'm proud to say my exams went beautifully and I'll be getting my results back in August. If they're good, I'm going to go abroad and study at a university!
Anyway, thats a few months far ahead. For now, I'm back to writing for all of you!

This chapter is very short, but I'm pretty lost on how to continue this since I've been on hiatus from writing for some time and I've gotten a bit rusty. I could've made this longer, but I thought I shouldn't keep you guys waiting any longer. A small update is better than no update, right?

Without further ado.

Enjoy!

~ Wings-senpai

In her Icy Embrace

Chapter 5: The lies she speaks

Even though a storm was blowing through, the man ran like his life depended on it, shoving through falling snow and ice like it was a living, moving wall all around him. Finally, he reached the largest tent in the encampment and pushed the flap aside, entering it in a hurry. At once, all noise of the wind and storm faded to a dull roar as he took a few moments to compose himself. Raising his eyes, his eyes met with the sapphire gaze of Sejuani, who was standing over a small table covered by parchment detailing plans and tactics. She might lead a group of barbarians, but that did not mean they would play at war like savages. Even the mightiest of warriors needed the guile to play the strategy needed for war and although Sejuani was never as smart as Ashe or Lissandra when it came to this, she could do enough.

"What is it?" She asked.

"War-chief, the squad of our men you had posted in front of the Avarosan city has fallen, along with the Avarosan's primary guard." The man said as Sejuani frowned.
"Has Lissandra made her move?" Sejuani muttered to herself, eyes narrowing as she stared down at the table, focusing on nothing in particular.
"She boasts a new champion. One wielding the fabled blade Frig Ascutis." The man said as surprise flickered across Sejuani's eyes. "How does he fight?"

"Our scouts say he fights like a man possessed, with mastery over both swordsmanship and cryomancy. He defeated the barbarian king Tryndamere in single combat."

"Impossible." Sejuani said at once. Though the description of this champion was giving her something to be wary of, she found it hard to believe that Tryndamere did indeed lose in a duel.

"He was caught offguard by the warrior's cryomancy." The man muttered in a somber tone as Sejuani stayed silent, deep in thought.

"Have our troops pull out." She finally said.

"But war-chief, we made a pact with the Avarosans to help them fight a common, stronger enemy!"

"Fuck that, either we cut our losses and get out of the crossfire now or we fall with Ashe and her pride. Avarosa's city is already doomed and I will not see my people fall with it…" Sejuani said, looking up at the man. "Once the Avarosans and the Iceborn have battled each other into pieces, that is when we shall strike." She said as the man bowed to her. "As you wish."

…

"My Queen, we've established the last of the camps. Our injured are being tended to and I've posted the Elite on watch." Reinhart said, standing at the entrance of a large tent which had been set up for Lissandra's use. No other tent had been set up yet, aside from a large tarp strung over an area meant for the injured, to provide some shelter. It was an hour after the battle.

"What of Alan?" Lissandra asked, facing away from Reinhart, although her head was turned to the right so her face could be seen by him in profile.

"He's still unconscious and resting." Reinhart said.

"When he wakes up, tend to his small, immediate needs such as water and then send him to me." Lissandra said and Reinhart, giving a small bow, left the tent.

Lissandra stayed still for a few moments. And then, a small smile came onto her lips. It wasn't a smile that she usually displayed… This was more… Malicious.

Everything is going just as planned. The iceborn are still oblivious and Alan is still of use to me. And thanks to this human actually believing everything I say, the Avarosan's are falling. Lissandra chuckled to herself at this point. It was so easy to simply put on a mask and lie about everything, to pretend to be a completely different person. To actually act like she cared about her people. But her people weren't people anymore. Sure, they talked like normal, alive people, but in the end, they weren't. They had been corrupted long ago without them even noticing and now, their minds belonged to the Watchers. What they think they are thinking are actually subtle thoughts planted in them through the Watchers. It was all so simple and brilliant and now, everyone sees her as some rightful heir usurped from her throne, fighting for her people to reclaim what was rightfully hers.

But it is rightfully mine, is it not? I deserved the throne, I was the one to be crowned, not Avarosa. I was to be Queen of Freljord, not that pretentious bitch or her upstart descendant. I shall have what is rightfully mine and I shall do what must be done to have it. Lissandra's grin, at this point, was outright creepy as her lust for power flooded her senses.

Oh Alan, if only you were as smart with people as you are skilled at combat. Sure, you've surprised me by showing such potential and by drawing Frig Ascutis, but there's more to the story than you know. Lissandra chuckled lowly to herself again, shaking her head at how gullible the boy was. Everyone who wielded Frig Ascutis died because of it.

…

"ICE MONKEYS." Alan shouted, shooting upright into a sitting position, eyes wide in alarm. He took a few heaving breaths, calming himself from whatever dream he was having.
"Uh…"
Alan jumped at the small noise, looking beside him to see an unknown face. She was a young looking girl, with pale skin and platinum blonde hair, a bit more golden than white. Her eyes were large and blue and looking at Alan in shock, her hands poised over his formerly prone body.
"Easy there." Another voice, coming from the doorway, stated. It was Reinhart, entering with a small glance at the girl. "She's Lydia, one of the nurses tending to your wounds."
"Oh… Uh…" Alan fumbled over his words, looking at the scared girl. "Nice to meet you?" He said in a testing-the-waters type of voice.
Reinhart rolled his eyes, then looked to Lydia. "Is his injuries healed?"
Lydia stood up, standing no taller than 5 feet 3 inches, which made her tiny compared to Reinhart and smaller than Alan by 9 inches. "Y-yes sir. Although, his hand needs more time to heal. It was cut bad." She said, as Alan looked down at his left hand. It was bandaged up, 3 layers at the least, and he wasn't able to move his fingers as freely as he could before. He knew it was bad.

"Damn." He muttered, narrowing his eyes as he tried to close his left hand into a fist, failing the attempt.
"That'll be all then, Lydia." Reinhart said as Lydia nodded, hurrying out of the room with one last backward glance at Alan. Reinhart then turned his head to look at Alan again. "So… Ice monkeys?" He asked, an amused expression on his face as Alan sighed.
"Don't ask. Must be the heat of the past battle messing up my mind." Alan muttered, massaging his temples with select fingers on his right hand.

"Anyway, Queen Lissandra is expecting you in her tent." Reinhart said, turning around and walking out, his cape swishing out behind him.
Alan got off the bed, stretching his sore muscles and back with a groan. A throb in the back of his mind made Alan glance down to see Frig Ascutis lying on the floor, right next to where Alan had been lying. He picked it up, placing it in its customary location at his side. He walked out of the covered area which had been set up for the wounded, walking over to the lone tent on the very highest point of the hill they were on, overlooking the Avarosan city and the battlegrounds they had fought on. Even from this distance, Alan could see dark splotches of blood dying the sand and remnants of his burst of cryomancy. A shudder going down his spine, Alan entered the tent.

Lissandra was peering over a map of the Avarosan city and its surroundings, the same map they had used to plan their assault on the outer guard. Now she was probably planning on how to breach the walls.

The capital city of Freljord and the home of the Avarosans, Rakelstake, was a heavily, naturally fortified city. There was a wide expanse of snowy ground infront of it, which was their previous battlefield. That was the only point of entry into the glacial copse that Rakelstake resided in. Rakelstake castle was like an island in the middle of a huge lake, a crystalline bridge connecting it to the land. The bridge was thin, about 5-person-wide, and offered little to no cover, which allowed the archers on the various vantage points to easily take out invaders. The vantage points were also strewn all about, most of them in the various cliff-faces surrounding the castle and the many icy protrusions reaching into the air like sky scrapers. The city itself was built on the shoreline of the lake, on the only side that wasn't blocked by the huge glaciers. Large, strong walls guarded the city, connecting from one side of the glacier to the other, forming a very large C- shape around the city, while the glacier cliffs formed a U shape around everything the city, lake and castle.

"Ah, Alan, come in." Lissandra said, staring down at the map for a few more moments before turning her masked face upwards towards him. "How's your arm doing?" She asked.
"It's okay. It won't be much of an issue." Alan responded, flexing the fingers of his left hand as much as he could, which wasn't a lot.

"Good, because I need you to infiltrate the castle of Rakelstake and open the gates from within." Lissandra said. Alan stared at her for a few moments. "You're kidding, right?"

"Do I look like I could be joking right now?" Lissandra said in an agitated town, her frown evident even though half of her face was hidden.

"I know how to fight, Liss. Not how to infiltrate and sneak around." Alan said measuredly.
"Best way to learn is to actually do it. Glass will be accompanying you." Lissandra stated in an end-of-discussion manner.

"Ugh… I don't like that guy." Alan said as Lissandra stared at him, probably with a raised eyebrow. "I don't know, he just creeps me out." He added as Lissandra's lips thinned disapprovingly as she shook her head, exasperated.

"Too bad. Get ready, you'll leave at nightfall." She said, turning away from him, dismissing him. Alan sighed in defeat and walked out. This was what he signed up for.

…

It was already 2 hours after sundown, and they were set to leave 3 hours later, when most of the guards in the Avarosan city would be asleep. Alan was sitting inside a small tent that had been set up for him in the last hour. Now that some time had passed, their war-camp had been setup and Alan had one all to himself.

He was sitting at the end of the meager bed he was provided with, cleaning the black blade of Frig Ascutis (even though it didn't need polishing), when the wind inside the room suddenly picked up and then dropped again. Alan frowned, looking towards the entrance of his tent to see a hooded figure standing there, having just entered. Alan instantly stood up, taking a defensive stance and about to summon the powers of Frig Ascutis and shout at the same time when the figure suddenly raised both hands in front in a gesture of peace. Alan paused, hesitating as the hooded person spoke with a feminine voice, "I come in peace."

Alan raised an eyebrow as he lowered his sword, but not completely, still keeping his guard up. The figure reached up and lowered her hood. Long white hair fell out as the hood was pulled down, piercing blue eyes locking onto him like the gaze of a hawk.
It was Ashe.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now." Alan said, mentally shuddering as he realized he didn't really want to kill her. As far as he had heard about her, Ashe was a very good person and a great leader who kept her people happy. Even if she wasn't the rightful heir to the throne, she still sat on it well.

"I come here with information that might prove vital for you, Alan Frost." Ashe said.
"And I'm supposed to believe you?" Alan asked.
"You have no reason not to."
"Aside from the fact that you're my enemy."
"You killed my husband and yet I stand here in front of you, unarmed." Ashe said as Alan hesitated, looking at her more closely to notice she didn't have her bow or quiver.

"Fine… What do you want to say?" He asked.
"Lissandra is lying to you." Ashe said simply.

Alan stared flatly at Ashe for a few moments before saying, "Well, thanks for that glorious piece of info, Ashe. "

"She's not the rightful heir, she's one of the original three sisters! She betrayed Ava-"
"Look, if you've only come here to waste my time with lies, it'd be best for you to just leave." Alan said flatly, placing Frig Ascutis onto the bed next to him before crossing his arms, adamant.

"Fine… Its obvious Lissandra has you deep in her web of deceit. " Ashe said, pulling her hood back up and turning around. As she pushed the flaps aside, she turned her head to take one last look at him. "But before you condemn me as a liar, you should take a good look at your hands." She said, walking out right after she said that.

Alan frowned, looking down at his hands. They were still covered by his long sleeve and the gloves he was wearing [his left hand was covered by bandages]. Glancing up at the door again to see if she was coming back, which she wasn't, he gingerly grasped the glove on his right hand and pulled it off.

His stomach seemed to fall through the floor as he paled, staring down at his hands. The veins on his hand, near his knuckles, had turned dark blue, fading to a normal color as they reached his wrist. He pulled the sleeve back, but the rest of his arm was fine. His fingertips, however, was ice cold, as the tips of his left hand, uncovered by bandages, touched the skin of his right forearm. He knew he would find the same state on the back of his left hand as well. It seemed like his blood was freezing right under his skin, even though he was fine. Like… He was being poisoned.

He felt an ominous throb from Frig Ascutis, looking up from his hand to the sword lying on his bed in shock. He narrowed his eyes, not knowing what it was, but he knew it wasn't good. He would confront Lissandra about it later.

He pulled his gloves back on and decided to get ready for the infiltration. But he wondered, if Ashe was right about something being wrong with his hands…

…What else was she right about?

Also, Pretty soon, the total number of views on all of my stories combined will be crossing ONE MILLION.
You guys heard that right. I'm pretty psyched. This story stands as my 3rd most viewed story at 8,037 views.
Anyway, hopefully the next chapter is gonna be alot longer! Until then, Wings, out.