“Lady Amalla?” Ruethwyn asked, her voice trembling as she looked on the elemental Sinera had summoned two years before, and who had given her Zaria’s summoning name. The genie was powerful, Ruethwyn knew, much more powerful than Zaria.
“Ruethwyn. It’s a pleasure to see you again, even if you are in a much worse state than last time.” Amalla’s voice was as smooth as flowing water, and as she spoke, Ruethwyn took a moment to take in the remainder of the room.
The room was adorned in silver, and looked more like a ballroom, complete with instruments resting on a stage in the corner. It was beautiful as anything else in this place, but once again there was a doorway opposite her, one far more impressive than the side doors. This one was silver gilded in gold patterns that were reminiscent of frost on a window, and to either side of it stood two guards, one a man and the other a woman. The woman had the body of a bull and stood nearly ten feet tall, while the man looked much like Zaria, if more powerfully built. Both were wearing armor made of ice, along with deadly-looking mithral spears.
“I… yes, it’s been a hard year,” Ruethwyn replied at last, shrugging helplessly, and a couple more tears escaped her eyes as she looked at the fey. “Sinera is dead.”
“I know. I’ve grieved her, as our contract has come to an end,” Amalla replied gently. “It is not time for that discussion, though. Our contract has yet to come to pass, Ruethwyn, so you have a choice. Do you ask your wish of me? Or do you continue? My Lady awaits on her throne.”
“I don’t know,” Ruethwyn replied softly, swaying on her feet, even though a tiny part of her knew the answer. She’d keep going to the end. “Can you help me?”
“Of course I can. Is my aid enough, though?” Amalla asked, raising an eyebrow. “You’re the only one who can answer that, Ruethwyn.”
“Then I have to continue,” Ruethwyn said simply.
“As you say,” Amalla said, smiling and reaching over to brush a hair out of Ruethwyn’s face.
Staggering forward this time, the pressure making her feel like she was carrying an enormous weight, Ruethwyn walked toward the guards in determination. They watched her come impassively, the only sign they saw her their eyes moving. Still, they didn’t try to stop her as she reached the door and stretched out a hand to touch it. The door swung open, and the power hit her.
Ruethwyn took a step inside before she knew what was happening, then felt her knees give way beneath her. She hit the floor painfully, and about all she could do was let out a soft whimper of pain as she looked up at the woman sitting in the ice throne, and at the galaxy of frozen motes of light shimmering in the center of the otherwise bare chamber.
Any fine furnishings would have paled next to the woman looking at Ruethwyn. Her skin was like snow, while her fingernails were ice, and her lips were the color of the sky just as the night approached its end. Her hair was a multitude of shades of blue, white, and purple, each lock a little different as it reached down to the middle of her back, and her eyes… her eyes were like the stars themselves as they regarded Ruethwyn. She wore a skirt and vest seemingly formed of diamond-like crystals, and the sheer power that the woman exuded hit Ruethwyn like a mallet. It was like a mountain had fallen on her shoulders, and even if she hadn’t been on the verge of falling, that pressure would have forced Ruethwyn to her knees.
“Do you know who I am, Ruethwyn Sylaris?” the woman asked, her voice primal, resonating through Ruethwyn’s body with a strength that made the fire in her veins flicker and almost go out.
“No,” Ruethwyn replied, swallowing hard as she forced the words out through the woman’s suffocating presence. “I originally… well, I thought you might be a fey queen. Now I don’t know.”
The woman gestured, and Ruethwyn suddenly found herself in the middle of the room, while the doors shut quietly. A moment later, she spoke again, her voice slightly less oppressive now, but still powerful. “I am the Queen of the Northern Wind, Ruethwyn Sylaris, known in the mortal world as Imris, Goddess of Ice.”
Ruethwyn’s breath caught in her throat, for that name she knew. A demi-goddess of ice stood before her, and she was practically petrified. That she’d dared walk into the presence of a goddess in her condition… Ruethwyn’s terror grew stronger.
“I chose your test, Ruethwyn. It was intended to push you to your limits, and possibly beyond. You succeeded, despite that. You faltered but did not stop. Thus I am going to grant you a boon,” Imris said, her voice calm. “What is it that you wish for?”
“I… I…” Ruethwyn swallowed, stunned beyond measure. It took her a moment, her original thoughts forgotten. After a moment, she spoke hesitantly. “Could you rescue Anara and the others of my village?”
Imris stared at Ruethwyn for a long moment, then nodded slowly, her voice deliberate. “It is possible. To interfere so directly would be difficult, but it’s possible. The price you would be forced to pay would be immense for this.”
“What price?” Ruethwyn asked simply.
“Your life. Your soul,” Imris said, causing Ruethwyn’s breath to catch in her throat. “I cannot easily enter the mortal world, so you would have to channel me via your atavism. My power is more than you can handle, and while you would last long enough to slay Resvarygrath and save the others of your village, your body and soul would be mortally wounded in the process.”
“Oh,” Ruethwyn replied, looking down at the goddess’s feet. They were beautiful, much like everything else Ruethwyn had seen here, and she hated how she looked. The thought crystallized inside her and Ruethwyn hesitated for a long moment. It was a risk, but… it was one she was willing to take. Looking up slightly, she asked, “Could you fix me? Make my body whole, and allow me to use my magic fully again?”
“Yes,” Imris replied calmly. “Again, there is a matter of the price you’d have to pay. To be healed of what has been done is not easy. Your mana veins are complex, even for the most powerful of beings… and my power is not made to repair such. It is not my domain. Such would take time, more time than I’m certain you wish to take. Months, possibly years. By comparison, your body is easy. Or… there is another option.”
Ruethwyn’s heart sank as the explanation progressed, until the last comment. She swallowed hard, trying to suppress the hope within as she asked, “May I ask what the other option might be?”
“Rebirth, Ruethwyn. Your body is in tatters and even your soul is damaged. Not irreparably, but damaged nonetheless,” Imris replied, standing from her throne and taking a few slow strides down the steps. “I can draw out that which makes you who you are and allow you to be reborn. You would become only partially mortal in the process, but with a new body all damage would be gone.”
Ruethwyn’s eyes went wide and she looked up to meet the eyes of the goddess. The goddess was smiling, she realized. After a moment, she asked softly, “Why?”
“Do you believe your prayers, or those of the villagers of Mellesyn, have gone unheard? Perhaps they are not my faithful, but they’re faithful to Nature’s Court, and ice is a subset of water. The gods are not able to act directly, but only when a mortal chooses to act. You have undergone trials and risks, Ruethwyn, and as such, I can give you aid. Perhaps not as directly as you might wish, but aid nonetheless,” Imris told her, looking up. “I have, perhaps, even more freedom to respond than they do.”
Her words hit Ruethwyn hard, and she almost couldn’t breathe. The gods had heard her? They’d listened, and were willing to help? The thought was… overwhelming was the only way Ruethwyn could think about it. Tears slowly began to trickle down her face, and Ruethwyn looked up at the goddess, her pain almost forgotten.
“Yes, goddess. Please… allow me to be reborn, then,” Ruethwyn said simply, swallowing hard.
“Then sleep, Ruethwyn,” Imris told her, reaching down to touch Ruethwyn’s head. As she did so, an irresistible fog drifted over Ruethwyn’s thoughts. “Sleep and let go of your pain. When you wake again, you will be whole once more. Different, but whole.”
> The fog took Ruethwyn, and she fell into darkness, if only for a short time.
Chapter 44
She was surrounded by a warm, soft pink glow, and soothing liquid pressed gently against her skin. It was incredibly comfortable, and she simply let her mind drift as she slowly breathed in and out, the same sweet liquid flowing into her lungs without pain, then out again easily.
Her body tingled slowly with the touch of the liquid, and she couldn’t be quite certain what was happening. The only thing that felt different was her blood and the heat that smoldered within it. Deeper and stronger than any other sensation, with every heartbeat she felt it surge. Nothing could feel better, for she didn’t feel any pain throughout her body.
At last, the liquid began to recede, though. As it did, something else took form around her, garments that were smooth and softer than feather down. Bit by bit, the liquid lowered more and more, until at last it was gone, both from her lungs and from the safety of her shelter. For what seemed like an eternity, she stayed like that, until at last her shelter shifted.
Her eyes opened, and for a moment, she saw little more than faint light filtered through a pink barrier. Slowly, the barrier was growing thinner, though, and as she stretched, her fingers brushed against the soft surface encompassing her… and the barrier parted at last as the petals around her blossomed.
Looking around herself, Ruethwyn blinked as she found herself inside of a huge lotus floating in the water like a water lily. The lotus’s petals were pink that turned to purple near the throat of the flower where she was kneeling. The flower was in a lake that she only barely recognized in the bright light that illuminated the glittering palace in the distance, and for a long moment, Ruethwyn didn’t remember what had happened. Then she looked down.
“I’m… whole?” Ruethwyn breathed, looking at her hands. They were different than they had been. Her skin was a bit pinker than it had been, smooth and unmarked by calluses or other damage. Her fingernails were perfectly formed, and Ruethwyn took a deep, deep breath, reaching for her mana.
Mana flowed smoothly and effortlessly from the shining core of mana at her heart, singing to her in a way she’d never quite felt it respond before. All the world seemed crystal clear to Ruethwyn in that moment, and she laughed, a smile crossing her face as she sensed that, at last, she’d been healed.
Beyond that, her hair was a deep, bright red like that of a flower, and it shone brilliantly in the sunlight, matching the dress she wore, one crafted of hundreds or thousands of perfect flower petals, and cinched close around her waist by a belt formed of silver vines that held flower petals that matched the dress. The clothing wrapped around her comfortably, and Ruethwyn laughed again, standing up… and her sudden shift caused the flower to rock and bob beneath her, nearly sending her sprawling into the lake.
“Careful, Ruethwyn! It’d be a shame if you were healed only to drown minutes after you woke up!” Zaria’s voice echoed cheerfully across the lake, and Ruethwyn looked up to smile at the elemental.
“Um, right, I just… how am I supposed to get to land?” Ruethwyn asked, slowly crouching down again, which helped stabilize the flower. “In fact, why am I in a flower?”
“You were reborn with fey blood. While uncommon, some of us are born from flowers like that one,” Zaria replied with a smile. “Consider it a type of reincarnation, hmm? As for getting you out, let me draw it over to the shore and I’ll help you get back to the portal.”
Ruethwyn waited as Zaria murmured a spell, her fingers dancing through the air and drawing the sigils necessary in moments. As she completed the spell, the flower Ruethwyn was in began floating toward the shore, and Ruethwyn glanced to the side to see that there were dozens of other blossoms like her own, each lotus open to the sky and adding color to the dreary landscape.
“Why are there so many blossoms, if I’m the only one coming out of one?” Ruethwyn asked as the flower drifted closer to the shore.
“Oh, that’s simple. They’re beautiful and bloom every day. Even if they’re not necessary for rebirths all the time, the flowers are always here,” Zaria explained, waiting patiently on the shore. “How’re you feeling?”
“Wonderful! A little strange, but I imagine that’s normal,” Ruethwyn replied, and as she looked at the snow, she realized that while she could feel how cold the air around her was, it didn’t seem to have an effect on her at all. It was odd, to say the least.
“I can imagine. There we are… now, give me your hand and stand carefully,” Zaria directed, extending a hand as the flower bumped into the shore.
Ruethwyn reached up to clasp Zaria’s hand and rose slowly, the flower rocking beneath her, and a moment later, she stepped into the snow. When it didn’t really hurt or chill her foot, she decided she needed to ask about it, looking at Zaria as she stepped fully onto the shore. “Thank you. Um, why don’t I feel the cold? No, that’s not right… I feel it. I just don’t seem to really be affected by it.”
“Of course you aren’t,” Zaria said, flicking her finger, and Ruethwyn glanced behind her to see the lotus slowly drift back out into the lake. “You’re part fey now. Ice fey, in particular, I should add, and if an ice fey was affected by the cold… wouldn’t that just be embarrassing? Certainly not something which most fey would be happy to admit was the case.”
Zaria’s explanation prompted the mental image of an ice elemental shivering, and Ruethwyn giggled, then quickly clasped her hand over her mouth in chagrin, saying. “Sorry, the thought was… well, you’re right. It would be rather embarrassing, wouldn’t it?”
“It would. Which is why you don’t care about the cold here. You’re not going to be invulnerable to ice magic, but most mundane cold won’t do much to you,” Zaria explained. “Now, let’s get back to the portal. It’s been about a day and a half, and I imagine your friends are worried.”
The fey started down the path easily, and Ruethwyn quickly followed her, looking down at her dress curiously. It moved easily, but she couldn’t see how the petals had been woven together. She’d have to check that later, since she instead focused on how much time had passed, an amount which surprised her.
“It’s been that little time? I would’ve thought that the transformation would’ve taken longer,” Ruethwyn said, both happy about how little time had passed, as well as dismayed that she’d been gone for so long without telling the others.
“It should’ve taken a little less, but your situation was a bit more complex, from what Amalla said,” Zaria replied, shrugging dismissively. “Rebirth usually is more a matter of transferring the soul into a newly grown body, Ruethwyn. I’m told that a bit more was transferred this time, but I don’t know much more that was.”
“Oh,” Ruethwyn said, walking along and looking around curiously. As she looked at the mostly-barren landscape, her hand reached up and unconsciously ran down along her right cheek, feeling the smooth skin rather than the bubbled ruin that had been there for so long. She couldn’t quite believe that she wasn’t injured anymore.
“So, how did you guess that I knew the Frostglades well, Rue?” Zaria asked suddenly, breaking the companionable silence.
“Well… it’s just that I was thinking about Valisair. Sinera told me about it, and it was a fey and fair folk city that she said was between worlds, or something along those lines. Since she had the contract with Amalla, I realized that she must have made her first contact with Amalla in Valisair, or at least that was the most likely explanation,” Ruethwyn explained, and blushed as she added, “As for you being in the area, I didn’t know, but with how much you seemed to know about the region, it seemed likely that you were.”
“Ahh, well at least I wasn’t being too obvious. I didn’t want to give it away, but I also wasn’t trying to hide too deeply,” Zaria murmured, nodding slightly.
There was little more than silence for several long minutes as Ruethwyn thought. Finally, she spoke softly. “I nearly failed, Zaria. I thought I would fail.”
“Of course
you did,” Zaria’s voice was calm as the pristine-looking nymph looked back at her.
“But… I thought I’d do better. You seemed confident in me, and then I barely managed to reach the gates. I almost lost myself in the snow,” Ruethwyn protested, shame rising inside her.
“As I said, of course you did,” Zaria replied, looking almost amused. “Ruethwyn… Our Lady changes the test for every person she allows to come through the gateway. It’s intended to push the supplicant to their limits, and possibly just beyond them. If you didn’t have enough determination, it’s intended to end your journey short of the palace. I thought your will was enough, but there’s no way of knowing beforehand. Despite the Tower Lord’s opinions, most of us think highly of Sinera and other mortals, in part because you can do so much, despite how fragile most of you are.”
“Ah, that… that does explain some of it,” Ruethwyn admitted, taking a deep breath, tears welling up in her eyes. It took a few moments to decide to explain further, and at last, she told the fey softly. “I… I saw my parents at one point. Near the lake, there was the illusion of an inn, and my parents and many of the other villagers were inside.”
Zaria actually stopped at that, looking at Ruethwyn for a long moment. Laying a gentle hand on Ruethwyn’s shoulder, she spoke softly. “I’m sorry, Ruethwyn. Sometimes the trials hurt, but they’re tests. Remember, your parents have passed on, and I imagine they’re content in their afterlife. You’ll see them again, Rue. So, I expect you to have an amazing story to share with them when you do.”
Queen of Ice (Through the Fire Book 2) Page 37