A/N: Chapter 2 is sort of based on Lirael. Not much, but a bit. And I know there aren't many people reading, but for MY sake I post this up.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Seventh Tower or Lirael. Both belong to Garth Nix.

Conditions of the Battle-Ice

The Ice shattered. She plunged into an icy death. She knew it, but she could not do anything about it. Her arms were bound to her. But she was strangely calm. She knew something would happen. She was familiar with the routine. True enough, she did not touch the cold water. A blurry face floated into view. In vain, she tried to see her face more clearly. If she could just concentrate… But as she tried, everything dissolved. Dark power rushed at her. She cried out and tried to run, but she could not move.

The young Icecarl shot up, and looked around the room before she could stop herself. She knew she had a nightmare. Thing was, she didn't know what. The first thing she knew was waking up and sitting in reflex. She couldn't remember what she had been dreaming. She didn't know why she had not called the Crones.

Miria gave up on trying to remember. A dream was just a dream, and there was no point in trying to get what was lost to her. It was almost time for her to wake up anyway. But she just sat there, staring at her reflection on the wall.

Reflected in the golden wall of the Ruin Ship, an ordinary reflection could be seen. Pale face, white-blond hair, green eyes, soft features. She looked much like the other Icecarls. Ordinary. The only physical difference anyone could see was her hair. Unlike the other Icecarls, it was long. She had decided to keep it that way two circlings ago, but when she was finally assigned to a Hand, she would cut it. She was a quarter circling short of eighteen, and still hadn't been assigned to a Hand. Her personality was very different from other Icecarls. The Crones had described her spirited for want of a better word, but she knew that they just meant defiant.

Sighing, Miria got up. Perhaps this circling she would be assigned to a Hand. She picked up her weapons. Time to grab something to eat. She was going to be late, everyone else would have been in the Cadets' Feasting Hall by now. They'd all get a wonderful opportunity to stare at her, the Shield Maiden who had not been assigned to a Hand for two circlings in a row.

Her mood did not improve when she walked into the Cadets' Feasting Hall and got stared at by almost all the Shield Maiden cadets there. She tried to ignore them, which was no easy feat. Miria let her hair cover her blush and made her way to an empty seat, beside Elza. Elza was two circlings younger than her, and she was the one Miria could get along best with. She grabbed a bowl of Selski meat and sat down beside Elza.

Elza looked at her with an odd expression. "Miria Light-Arrow, what has gotten into you today?"

Miria stared at Elza, puzzled. "What did I do?"

"Well, normally you'd be much more cheerful than this. Whatever happened to the 'Light' in your name?" teased Elza.

Miria flushed. Four circlings ago, she had shown her skill by fighting the Chosen in the second Shadow War. She had shot so swiftly and accurately that nobody would be aware they'd been shot till they were fairly feathered. Hence the "Light", for the speed and accuracy. But here, Elza meant "light-hearted". Just another difference from the other Icecarls. They were all better at sword fighting than archery.

She snapped, "It's not the same." Both of them ate their food silently. Miria felt immensely guilty for taking her mood out on Elza. After all, she hadn't done anything to her.

After a while, Miria became aware of whispering. That was odd. Normally she'd be the only one talking. She asked, "Why is everyone talking today?"

Elza looked up at her. "Don't you know? The War-Chief is returning today!"

Miria perked up. "You mean the one who ended the Shadow Wars? She had been exploring for the past four circlings!"

"How many War-Chiefs do you know?" said Elza sarcastically. "Yes, it's War-Chief Milla Talon-Hand. She's coming back to the Ruin Ship today."

"Hey, do you want to come with me to take a look at her?"

Elza looked at her in the face. "I can't. I have training later. I'm sorry."

Miria's bad mood came back in full force. Unlike the other cadets, she didn't have any more training to undergo. It had passed a long time ago. Elza could see the pain in her face and said once more, "I'm really sorry." The pity in her face was so apparent that Miria felt unhappier.

Miria went skating to calm down. She had discovered that the mindless pushing and balancing had a soothing effect. She wandered about mindlessly for who knew how long, before stopping at the foot of the Mountain of Light. She peered up at the Castle, where she had fought four circlings ago. Then, she had only been a mere cadet, still training as hard as ever. The lights shining in the windows seemed to mock her, like a dream she would never reach.

Well, at least one of my dreams is coming closer, she thought mundanely, watching a small bobble of light make its way down the path. Oh, wait a minute, that wasn't a figment of my imagination, someone is really coming to the Ruin Ship!

Miria readied an arrow, just in case, and prepared to dash back to the Ruin Ship to inform the Crones. But before she had gone two steps she saw another two bobbles of light coming from the Ruin Ship. Obviously they had already been informed.

Miria nearly panicked, her head jerking back and forth. What should she do? She can't go back, not now. Her eyes fixed on the snow banks. There! She could hide there for now. She skated over at top speed and leapt over the closest bank. Cautiously, she peered over. They hadn't seen her.

Her footprints! She had to hide her footprints! Once again, she nearly panicked. But she kept calm. Calculating their distance, she shoved the snow bank over, creating a snow tide that covered her footprints. Then she scampered to the next snow bank and waited.

She didn't have to wait very long. The two groups of people met up. Miria strained to catch what they were saying.

"I greet you, Emperor Tal of the Castle," said one of the Icecarls formally. Miria frowned. That voice sounded awfully familiar.

"Same to you, War-Chief," replied the Emperor. "Milla," he added. Miria had to stifle a gasp. Two of the most powerful Dark-Worlders were right here. Close enough to talk to. If she had the courage to, that is.

She recognized the next voice instantly. "What is your reason for visiting, Your Highness?" It was the Mother Crone.

The Emperor's voice became more serious. "I came here to warn you about the danger the Castle is in. And it may possibly affect the Ice." Miria was curious. Surely there could be nothing worse than what had happened in the Shadow Wars?

The Emperor continued. "My hands are tied at this moment. A member of the Assembly has managed to win over enough votes for now. His name is Kazhua. He has suggested that I'm too young to rule, and the worst thing is, he's got enough support to put himself in power. He may try to take over the Ice next."

The War-Chief and Mother Crone clapped their fists and said, "We thank you for your warning. We will try everything possible to help you."

There was silence for a while. "You will be careful, won't you?" asked the Emperor in a voice so filled with concern that Miria felt worried herself.

The silence dragged on, until the Mother Crone cleared her throat and said reprovingly, "Milla, where have your manners gone to?"

The War-Chief jerked abruptly and said, "I apologise. Please, would you like to come in?"

"I'm sorry. I have to go back soon. I wasn't supposed to be out here to begin with."

Miria was surprised, all right. She didn't expect the Emperor to sneak out for the sake of the warning the Icecarls.

They left, but Miria stayed, pondering what she had just heard. She lay on the ice until the cold got to her. Sighing, she stood up, brushed ice crystals off her and pushed her hair out of her face before heading back to the Ruin Ship.

Later, when Miria should be resting, she lay awake thinking again. Was Kazhua an idiot? After all, the War-Chief was the same age as the Emperor. The assembly might not have noticed it yet, but it couldn't be hidden forever. And then… Kazhua would go down. The fool had not thought of this complication.

Unless… Miria was struck by a sudden thought. If he had proven Emperor Tal too young to rule, he could just as easily do the same to the War-Chief. Then…

Miria was worried. Would they be able to stand up to a sudden attack by the Castle? After all, the people in the Castle outnumbered the Icecarls in the Ruin Ship.

All these thoughts made it impossible for Miria to sleep. She decided to go to the Hall of the Reckoner, to see if reinforcements were close enough to the Ruin Ship. If they were, her fears could be put to rest. If they were not… Miria refused to take that thought any further.

However, when she reached the Hall of the Reckoner, she could hear the Mother Crone talking to the War-Chief. Something about the War-Chief's voice still unnerved her. It seemed so familiar. Where had she heard it before?

Not wanting to be rude and butting in, she turned away and wandered through the Ruin Ship. She would go back later, when they were done, she decided.

Perhaps they were already making preparations against the threat, she thought. The knot in her stomach eased a little, but did not go away completely. She wouldn't rest till she had comforted herself sufficiently. It was too easy to underestimate the enemy.

After wandering through half the Ruin Ship, she figured that they would be just about done. She made her way back to the Hall of the Reckoner. Some instinct in her told her to walk faster, or perhaps it was the fear in her. Either way, she increased her pace till she was almost running.

At a fur-curtained doorway, she ran headfirst into someone else. Her speed knocked her and the person she slammed into down. She got up, rubbing her head and flicking her hair out of her face, ready to apologise.

But when Miria looked up, she saw an impossibility. Her breath caught in her throat. She could only stare and whisper, "No, no. It can't be. That's not possible. How can it be?"

A/N: So there you go. As you know, I'm a stubborn person and I don't update unless I get reviews. So… (hint, hint) please review!