GAIZ GAIZ, HOLY CRAP I FINISHED IT. YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW SATISFIED I AM WITH MYSELF THAT I ACTUALLY FINISHED IT!
And you guys actually put up with me, too, which is just as much, if not more, of an accomplishment!
Onto you lovely people!
Fluffythorne- My god, you have no clue how much I miss you. Please move out here, I would pay you. Thank you, for both reading, and enduring my crap. The only reason I kept going, is because you pushed me to update, which, I think, ultimately made me a better author.
KikaKatTIOI- Yes, I'm alive, and I've gotten really behind with reading yours, and everyone else's, to be honest, stories. I plan to rectify this as soon as I update, because I'm gong to sit and read the, oh, six chapters per story I have missed. Oops.
Alysiana- No problem, I knew who you were before I saw your name at the bottom:) And that's fine, it's going to be a little while before I write the sequel because I have a feeling I'm going to be getting rants about updating a certain Green Lantern story from a certain Fluffythorne. Either that, or I CAN start the sequel, but updates might be once a month. Or I might do that anyways, because I have an insane amount of stuff that's going to be going on, and almost more characters that I can keep up with, had I not started a composition book to keep up with everything.
Okay guys, enjoy!
Hysterium watched from the depths of the deep shadows inked over the trees at the scene before her, trying very hard not to retch.
"Look who got her little Happily Ever After." she hissed.
Her nails bit the bark of the tree beside her as she glared at the girl and the Guardian, almost envying their happiness. Almost.
She was also angry at herself, because she knew it was because of her that the girl was a Creature. By interfering so directly in her life, her influence had changed the girl to the very core, and when she attempted to take her life, it was her own power that saved the little wretch.
"At the risk of sounding cliché, I told you this would happen." a smooth, deep voice echoed, and the winter paradise around her seemed to dissolve, leaving behind walls of smooth onyx, shadows clinging to the glassy surface. The marble floor gleamed in an almost painfully sharp contract, and she could see her own hauntingly beautiful reflection in the pearly white stone.
"Yet, you still didn't listen." The voice purred again, this time coming from behind her. She turned, to face a deceivingly unimposing man. The strange coloration of his eyes always unsettled her.
"I didn't anticipate the Guardian interfering. Had he left her be, I would not have failed." she countered.
"Ah yes, the Guardian. Now, you have meddled in their affairs as well, by attacking two of their own, as well as turning the human girl you wished to exploit. Need I bring up the young one?"
"Two? I attacked the Frost boy, yes, but I merely held my defense against the Sandman! The girl's mind is my property, and I have the right to defend it."
"Had. The girl no longer belongs to you, as she is now one of us." His eyes narrowed. "I expect there to be no further harassment of her, you know the rules. We don't need a repeat of the Asphodel Affair, especially with you on the Guardian's radar now."
"We both know that rule only applies here, but if she leaves, she's mine for the taking." Hysterium reminded him firmly, eyeing him as he began to circle her with a critical gaze.
"She is not 'yours for the taking". You can challenge her, but anything else will result in your immediate banishment." His hand reached out to brush her right shoulder blade, and a sharp tingle laced her slight body. "You'd lose your home and pride to boot. If you are wise, you would leave her be."
Hysterium gave one of her trademark hysteric cackles. "Leave her be? You want me to leave her be. That little tramp could have killed me, and you want me to 'leave her be'. I don't think so. I am going to settle this once and for all." she said through clenched teeth.
"You take even one step out of line, and you'll end up just like Pitchner. I suggest you refrain from making idle threats." he said, voice pushing a warning edge.
"It isn't a threat, it's a promise. I'm going to duel her, and I will annihilate her."
"Not anytime soon, you aren't." he commanded. "You may have your little vendettas, but our anonymity is invaluable, and I will not stand for having it taken over something this petty. You will wait until the Guardians are no longer searching for you, then, challenge her as you like. Until then, you stay out of their way. They do not need to know there are more of us."
With that, the onyx grandeur of the hall melted away, leaving her in an isolated grove of trees, the girl and her pet Guardian nowhere to be seen.
A shrill scream ripped past Hysterium lips, and she slammed her fist into a tree, knocking a furrow several inches deep in the firm bark.
"Petty? He called this petty?!" she mumbled to herself, knives flying from her fingers in her tantrum. "She just destroyed almost a decade of work and preparation. Had that little Snow Spirit just minded his own matters, that girl would be mine."
Her body seemed to move of it's own accord, struggling to expel her frustration faster that it built. Her leg swung in a high arc, a perfect crescent kick. The trailing wisps of her sleeves and hem followed her motions, making her actions of violence look like a flawlessly choreographed sinister dance, her motions smooth and fluid.
Her hair flared in a half circle as she spun and struck the ground with a single cry, the harsh bite of the iced rocks sending a flashing arc of pain through the side of her palm.
Her chest heaved, and the dull glint of metal shone on the snow. She stood slowly, holding her hand in front of her face, blood dripping from the rough shape cut into her hand.
She reached into the snow and picked up her medallion, wiping the blood from its iron luster. She ran her thumb over the smooth circle, a jagged line running through it vertically and two curls of metal spiraling away from the line at the top and bottom. A match to the pale blue tattoo on her shoulder blade. She knotted the leather cord where it had snapped.
Surely her superior would not stand for the girl's relations with the Guardians to jeopardize their secrecy, which is exactly what allowing her into their domain would do. Could she really be trusted?
Could this be exactly the reason Hysterium needed to get rid of that pesky thorn in her side?
It was also the perfect cover for her own mistake, a slip of the tongue to distract the boy. After all, it would be such a shame to have another war on her account.
Her lips curled into a slow grin, placing her medallion around her neck instead of her wrist, the metal pendant hanging just below her deeply plunging neckline.
They do not need to know there are more of us.
Oops.
That's it guys, I can't believe it's over, but Cold Insanity has breathed its last breath.
However, Breaching Asphodel, has yet to take its first. *evil grin*
Once I post the next chapter, I'll put a notice in this story, as well as answering reviews(when I actually post it), though I might PM answers if I see fit.
Well, thanks a ton to all my awesome followers, favers and reviewers! If you guys ever need help with a story, or want me to loo over it or something, just drop a PM or email me(silvergoddess666 ), and I'll respond as soon as I can.
See you guys in the sequel!