Earlier that afternoon, Queenie had met with Alice in secret behind Alice’s study. There was a small hole in the wall nearby that was obscured by the various hedges seen around the city. Queenie had bored the hole further over time and crawled under it to meet with Alice. It was a great place for them to meet privately as the alleyway was rarely used by anyone since it was so close to the inner wall of the castle. Also, the two could easily escape back to their quarters if they saw someone approaching. It wasn’t ideal, nor the most comforting place to be in, but it was one of the few safe places where the two could meet.

“Queenie, this is insane. You can’t be serious!”

“Why not? Think about it! No one knows about it yet but us and that kid, and I paid them my whole week’s salary to keep their mouth shut about it to anybody else… plus, they seemed good on their word” Queenie said with an air of arrogant triumph, slightly turning her head upward when finishing her closing statement.

“Queenie, your whole weeks salary!” Alice’s eyes widened, she could see the desperation in her partner growing but, with laws preventing scholars like her from intermingling with laborers like Queenie, they hadn’t been able to support each other the way they needed except during their covert meetings.

Alice slowly stepped forward a few paces towards Queenie “You’re really serious, aren’t you?”

Queenie straightened out her posture, noticing the shift in Alice’s tone “Alice, if it really is The Cold Halo, we could become powerful enough to finally change this world and make it a better place” Alice glanced around uncomfortably, Queenie continued, “Of all the enchanted artifacts in the book, there were no downsides to this one. I have to check. I have to look!”

“Queenie, the book said there’s no known curses! That doesn’t mean there aren’t any. The Cold Halo hasn’t been seen in millennia so, who knows what it’s capable of?”, Alice asked rhetorically, her frown deepening further, causing her glasses to slightly slide down her muzzle. “Furthermore” She pushed her glasses back up while wrinkling her nose “we don’t even know for a fact that it’s in that mountain cave, or if that kid was even telling you the truth”

Queenie leered slightly at Alice, not ready to dismiss her partner’s concern outright, she calmed herself before speaking “I trust the kid’s story, okay? Something about the fear in their face when they ran up to me. I dunno Alice, call it a warrior’s Blood Sense or intuition or something…” Queenie walked up to meet Alice and held her hands in her own. “But I have to find out for myself”

Queenie’s brown eyes gazed into Alice’s emerald eyes staring back into hers, as if looking to see if Alice had any more doubts. Their eyes locked for a moment in time where only their breath could be heard. Alice’s stare growing only slightly more intense before letting out a small laugh, breaking Queenie’s serious demeanor, as well.

“Okay. Okay. I believe you” she said before growing serious again

“But on one condition” she continued while holding up her index finger

“I’m coming with you, it’s too dangerous for anyone to be going into the mountains, nevermind a warrior by herself” she places the same finger on Queenie’s chest pointedly “This is non-negotiable”

Queenie grinned widely and cheered in excitement “Oh, this is great! With your magic, we won’t even need me!” she pridefully placed her hands on her hips and laughed boisterously, her sudden, high-pitched cadence sounding more similar to a rooster’s crowing than the booming bellow one would normally expect from a warrior.

Alice playfully frowned at her partner’s antics before poking her in the ribs, eliciting a meager, tickled yelp from the warrior. The two

laughed in a hushed glee before following through with the motions of their embrace, whispering soft confessions of love and missed time into each other’s lips. An affirming kiss between the two signaled the end of their difficult compromise, and a renewed sense of hope radiated from the lovers; the corners of their mouths crooked into a blissful joy in their short pocket of time together.

In a grassy meadow beyond the stables, Queenie had set up an area to groom the horses. She convinced the local stable lord that grooming the horses away from the stables would keep the horses at ease and would make the process more effective. Really, she did it because she would often take naps under the large oak tree where she would care for the horses. Her work as a laborer was already demanding enough as it was, and any respite she could meager, she took advantage of; and she savored her peace when she could so she could reserve her energy for moonlighting as a mercenary. Queenie was already well into her task and let out a contented sigh but was jolted alert when she heard a shouting coming from over the hill towards the mountains.

“There’s a m-m-monster!!” Huron screamed

“A monster?” Queenie looked away from brushing Daffodil’s tail towards the commotion. Daffodil, the black mare, spooked slightly, knocking Queenie off balance. When she fell backwards, her warrior’s combative instinct kicked in, but, since she was caught off guard, Queenie fell to her rear and then rolled backwards into a battle stance, her mace impressively at the ready- if she weren’t still facing Daffodil.

“Where’s the- “

She steadied her focus to see Daffodil was giving her a glazed look, visibly annoyed by Queenie’s shenanigans and bothered more by her interrupted grooming session. Daffodil snorted in a way that made Queenie feel like she disappointed a horse goddess somewhere.

She turned around quickly, “Where’s the monster-“

She is interrupted again, only this time by the surprise of not seeing anyone when turning around and hearing a small voice come from below her waistline

“Down here!” The voice cried out.

Queenie looked down to see a small possum child looking back up at her, tearful eyes full of pleading terror. Queenie, not expecting to see anything is startled by the mere presence of the child getting that close to her without her realizing. “Oh stars, it’s a child!” The normally keen warrior is rarely taken off guard in combat scenarios, but this was not one of those times: Queenie’s eyes widened as she jumped back two paces in fright onto the tips of her hooves.

Huron laughed; their fear was disarmed by this adult’s ridiculous dramatics. “You’re funny lady… but you gotta believe me! There was this monster chasing me and my dog Speckles!”

Queenie looked slightly to the left of Huron. There was a small brown dog accompanying them, sitting obediently by their owner’s side. It was definitely an adult dog, but it still had lanky paws and oversized ears like an overgrown puppy. It must be a young dog, Queenie silently mused in her own thoughts.

“What kind of monster?” Queenie grew stern, a litany of battles as a sellsword started to flood her thoughts. Her expertise with most of the known monsters in the region was formidable, relatively speaking, and at least well enough for her to lend a hand or the occasional wise word for survival.

The child’s eyes began to welt with tears again. This time Queenie knelt to meet them and placed a firm hand on their shoulder before scanning the meadow behind Huron’s head.

“It’s ok, hon. You’re safe now. There’s no one here but you, me, Daffodil here, and...” Queenie looked around more intentionally this time “… I guess these dragonflies and butterflies” she gestured at the buzzing insects in the meadow and smiled at Huron

“Plus, if things got really bad” she continued, “We’re not far from town at all, we could run to the guard station at the gates”

Huron sniffled in relief, “Y-y-yeah, that’s true. The r-r-royal guard would help us!” they cheered through gentle sobs.

“That’s right!” Queenie grinned confidently and let out a sigh too. “Now, if you tell me what you saw, your new friend Queenie will go and take care of that monster for you. Sound good?”

Huron whimpered through their newly invigorated bravado “O-o-ok”

Queenie was excited as she knew that any large beast of the mountains could bring in a healthy bounty. She gently led Daffodil by the reins and sat down next to Huron and Speckles as Huron recounted the events from that morning: Huron had lost Speckles after the young hound got distracted and ran into a cave chasing after a red fox. Huron finally found Speckles encountering the biggest bear they had ever seen. Before narrowly escaping the cave with their lives, Huron mentioned to Queenie that they noticed the bear was wearing a crown made of ice, it was too beautiful to look like it was done on accident.

Hearing about the crown reminded Queenie of a conversation she had with Alice about one of the books she was thumbing through in Alice’s study:

“You know, Aly, this lame book on boring enchanting stuff is actually pretty cool. It’s a list of all the best weapons and armor you can find!”

Alice briefly looked up from her studies to roll her eyes, crack a cheeky grin, and shake her head at Queenie. “I told you, you would” Alice motioned to look back at her book but quickly snapped her head back up to glare angrily at Queenie, prompting Queenie to lose her balance on the chair she was already wobbling on two legs “and it’s not lame!” She scolded.

Queenie laughed and steadied her chair back on all four legs, “I know. I know. I’m sorry, you’re right. It’s not lame. It’s actually really cool. Here, take a look at this one”

Alice walked over to sit next to Queenie and they held the book open together. “The Cold Halo” they recited in unison, the parallel in their speech caused them to briefly stop and flash a surprised at look at one another before Alice continued reading.

“The wearer of this crest grants the wielder great power beyond belief, the possession and manifestation of all ice magicks, and rule of a domain greater than all-“

Queenie goes to reach for the book “So, check this out…” she starts flipping through pages of the burgundy leatherbound tome while keeping one finger on “the cold halo”. She opens to random pages, pointing to a specific section on each page describing the known curses an artifact may be magically enchanted with.

“Notice how on every one of these artifacts, there’s something talking about what curses they have, but…” Queenie continues flipping through the book until she gets back to “the cold halo” page “…not this one” Alice takes the book from Queenie and intently scans the page, she briefly furrows her brow before a look of bemusement overtakes her. “Huh… how about that?” She nodded a few times before standing up and placing an admiring hand on her partner’s shoulders. “I’m sorry hon, I’d like to talk to you a little more about this, but I really do need to get back to my studies for now” Queenie looked up at Alice, smiling sweetly and gently leaning her head into the arm Alice had placed on her shoulder “Yeah, I know. It’s ok.” Alice met Queenie’s lean into a partial hug and quietly dismissed herself back to her desk. Queenie sang cheerfully after placing the book down, satisfied from her skim read. “The stuff you scholars get to learn is so cool!”

Queenie looked up from her daydream. It was already sundown. Daffodil had fallen asleep from Queenie’s soothing brushing motions for what must have been a few hours. Queenie looked around and realized the kid had already gone. They must have adjourned while Queenie was thinking about what she and Alice had talked about that day. Queenie suddenly felt a sinking feeling, her heart jumped and she looked out towards the town, sun still barely visible above the mountains.

The morning after speaking with Brent, Queenie woke before the dawn to secretly rendezvous with Alice in the meadow outside of the city. They chose a day of religious celebration, a day when most of the town did not work and where neither of their attendances would be so strictly monitored on their way out of town, making it easier for Brent to set aside his personal convictions to lie and obscure his sister’s treasonous culpability were it to come into question  from the stable lord. Queenie makes it out of the town using her usual “horse care” excuse and was well on her way to the meeting point.

As the rider and her companion tread beyond the visible limits of the city and its guard towers, Queenie caught sight of a cloaked figure with a familiar set of tall, sand-colored floppy ears. She slowed Daffodil with a gentle “whoa” and they came to a halt right in front of the hooded figure. “Morning ma’m. Lovely morning for a treasure hunt?” Queenie asked the figure casually.

Alice pulled the hood down from her cloak, her orange hair and emerald eyes revealed by shafts of light from the early dawn. A fine mist and the morning sky were peering in through small gaps in the pine tree branches above, and the sun had started to cast warmer hues over the fading coolness of the night prior. Alice had worn her hair in a ponytail, a stark contrast from her usual studious look where a royal stylist often braided and adorned her hair with jewels and gold; she had also forgone her glasses in lieu of potential danger. The simplicity of how she appeared in the warm colors of the sun made Alice sparkle to Queenie that morning more than ever. “I do believe so, yes” Alice said through a loving gaze, a wave of excitement of the adventure to come radiating from the moment shared between the two. Queenie extended her arm to help Alice climb onto Daffodil and they rode off.

*********

“Ugh, it’s so dark in here. I’m really glad you came along Alice.”

Alice was holding a small magic flame above her palm, creating a yellow glow and illuminating most of the immediate surroundings as if they were walking in broad daylight. The cave was a sprawling but open network of hanging ice and years of permafrost build up. It wasn’t the largest cave in the mountains, but some of the smallest cave networks are still large enough to hold multiple cities.

The two were maintaining a steady march forward, and despite the casual nature of their conversation, were speaking lowly, and were looking around frequently. There was a good chance that cave bears and ice thralls were residing nearby, it was best to stay alert.

“I am too. I would have been worried sick if I knew you’d have been in a place like this all by yourself”

“I’m not helpless, you know! I’m still a warrior!” Queenie scoffed defiantly.

Alice giggled “I know, just getting you back for teasing me about my studies, but I still would have worried”

“I know. I’m sorry, it’s just if there was a chance I-“

Queenie’s last word was cut off by a rumble in the cave, followed by an even greater rumble. The earth began to shake as a large hulking silhouette reared up on its hind legs.

“It’s the bear!” They both shouted, as Queenie rolled to the left to avoid the crashing mass barreling towards her. In a single agile leap backwards, Alice the Quick diffracted her flame into smaller blue flames, creating a dimmer but more illuminating light over the battlefield, and from another small light formed in her other hand, she sent three hurtling rock formations at a high velocity into the fallen heap. The creature roaring angrily with each passing strike, the huge stones crumbling upon impact. Alice’s eyes widened in horror upon the realization.

Alice shouts to Queenie “This creature is undead!”

Entry wounds from Alice’s magic Stone should have been bleeding or left the creature unconscious were it still alive. No. Alice deduced. This reeks of the tamperings of necromancy. Alice began to conjure another round of stones. “Dont let it scratch you!”

Queenie steps back from the writhing mass of fur as it attempts to stand upright again. The lumbering form wavering, as if unable to balance under its own weight. Its twitching and erratic movements appearing both living and uncanny.

The cave bear’s fur and flesh had turned a cold bluish-green, the same color of the cold algaes that formed on the inner cave walls. A large layer of cave moss blanketed the bear’s back, completely covering the creatures mottled flesh like a grey, rotting coat of dying vegetation. There were entire areas of skin, muscle, and fur missing in a decaying patchwork, with massive bones and their ligaments jutting forth from each rotted recess. This was most noticeable near its snout and front paws, where it looks like the flesh was eventually shredded completely down to the bone.  This would indicate this creature has been undead for sometime, as well.

When the creature rose, both women could smell the putrid remains of the living dead. Despite being preserved relatively well by the conditions of the cold, it was not enough to prevent total rot from gradually overtaking the animated corpse. With each time it came crashing down into the floor, a blast of cold, foul air burned the nostrils of the two adventurers, forcing a defensive wince and tearing of the eyes.

Queenie shot a look of confirmation back before rolling away from the collapsing mass once again. Clearly, the creature was attempting to attack the two adventurers, but the deteriorated nature of the husk and the sheer size of the creature when it was still alive were heavily impeding its movements to the relief of the two.

“Give me a boost!” Queenie yelled back to Alice while running forward towards the monstrous bear. Alice began scrying with the hand she was using to materialize her magic Stones with, and in a split second, the earth in front of her began raising in a trail, ever hastening towards Queenie’s charging hooves. As Queenie goes to lunge into her jump with her magic mace, the Earthshaker, Alice’s magic Earth Platform spell lobs the Goat warrior into the sky. As Queenie is launched to the ceiling of the cave, she effortlessly rolls into a double front flip midair before she reaches the apex of her ascent. Holding Earthshaker above her head and at the peak of her spinning momentum, the head of her mallet magically grows almost 30 times its original size, causing her weight to completely shift into the, now massive, mace in a crushing descent. She lands her overhead strike on the neck of the undead creature still trying to stand after its last collapse.

Once the snow and ice, disturbed from the fierce impact of Queenie’s Earthshaker began to settle on the cave floor, a still silence overtook the echoes of the final rumble. Queenie jumped down from the broken flesh heap to embrace Alice for a victory laugh and kiss. They both turned to the, now, deceased cave bear whose entire spinal column and skull had been shattered by the women’s combined power. Even if it wanted to get up, there wasn’t anything left to hold it together, a good rule for the handling the undead.

“Strange, huh?” Queenie mulled over inquisitively while walking around the massive beast’s head. Even on the ground and partially crushed inward, it still was nearly as big as Queenie was tall. The corpse continued to reek too, but not as much as it did when it was moving around. Queenie grimaced at the wafting smell of the carcass and let out a disgusted grunt as she walked back over to Alice.

“Yeah, it is” Alice sighed “the book of artifacts didn’t mention anything about necromantic magicks, but that’s gotta be a sign that we’re in the right spot”

“It’s weird too, this cave is so close to the city. How has no one run into this… this mega zombie bear before?” A puzzled Queenie glanced over at the Magician Hare, who was deep in thought. Queenie always thought the way Alice furrowed her brow was cute when she was focusing on her magic studies. She was truly grateful Alice showed up. If it weren’t for her studies, Queenie probably would have ended up a missing worker poster back at the city

“I don’t know” Alice pondered intently “but, I don’t like this. I really think we should turn around and go back. We really don’t know enough-“

“Alice!” Queenie shouted in a whisper as to not cause a stirring echo “Look, we just killed… whatever this thing was. No one has heard about this til now” She pleaded to Alice “Alice, I really think we’re getting closer to finding our way out of this mess!”

Alice looked away from Queenie, feeling uncertain about the creeping anxieties growing in her chest, yet something unusually comforting was assuring her that they were safe. In the silence of her pause, Alice blinked a few times and shook her head.

Queenie moved in closer to embrace her “Whoa, hey- Alice, are you okay?” Alice gently moved away after embracing Queenie. “It’s fine, Queenie” she said rubbing her hand on her forehead “I’m ok, really. Let’s keep-“

As Alice was going to suggest they continued searching, she noticed a small symbol marked in the creature’s fur near its shoulder. Alice conjures another flame in her hand, this one yellow, and its light was more focused directly on the mark to illuminate its features.

“It’s a magic brand, a necromantic one” Alice reported grimly.

“Necromancy? Yuck. I’ve never seen it like this before” Queenie said looking over at the rest of the bear corpse and idly pushing against it with her hoof, but there was no give, the creature was dead but still too large to budge so casually.

The brand left a permanent charring where the skin and fur once was. It looks like it even persisted through the creature’s undeath. The mark was a symbol of furious scratches and angled cuts. On first glance, it looked like a chaotic mess of self inflicted injuries, but the marks are intentional, as all necromantic conjurings feature these same distinctive markings.

Alice stood up and turned to Queenie “Didn’t you tell me the child you spoke with saw the crown on the bear’s head?”

Queenie furrowed her brow inquisitively “Yeah, they had. I almost forgot!”

The two turned to the head of their fallen adversary and assessed what remained. The fierce creature now appeared like it was resting, as if to signal a final gesture of gratitude for being released from its prison of undeath. Despite the crushing blow to the back of its head and neck, the bear’s rotted face and features were preserved well-enough from the fight, but resting upon its head was no crown to be observed.

The two had been walking further into the cave’s recesses for a few hours and had grown quiet after some idle conversations. Queenie was in tow of Alice the Quick, leading their intimate expedition with her magic lights and ability to detect further necromantic magicks, so as not to be surprised a second time.

Queenie became lost in thought as she was following the bob of Alice’s ponytail. It reminded her of the times when they first met. Queenie was finally old enough to start working and was tasked with caring for the family’s prized mare, Daffodil, a gift horse for the studious Alice.

Alice was never the frilly, fancy type and was forced into her life of magic studies and luxurious dinner parties once she showed her early gift and prowess for earth magicks. In this realm, it is standard practice that a magic wielder be recognized for his or her talents with the art when they exemplify their abilities through a grand demonstration or feat of strength. This isn’t normally achieved by most magic wielders until their elderly years, when their knowledge and wisdom of the working world allows them to further synergize their magicks into higher schools of magical practice. Alice became Alice the Quick as a child when she was routinely unchallenged by the coursework provided by her mentors. She was often found outwitting the professors and assigned consorts to track her attendance and progress. Her behavior had become so erratic and problematic  for her school administrators and financiers, that the royal guard was eventually called on her as a domestic threat.

There is rumor surrounding what follows, because Alice said she blacked out after being cornered by the guards, but some people said they overheard the sounds of the guards fighting, followed by a loud booming earthquake, and the immediate silencing of the guards combative screams.

Alice says when she finally came to, she was in royal hospital surrounded by the best and brightest professors and physicians of magic, as well as a few members of the royal family and their inner circle. They all kept telling her how incredible she was, while whispering among themselves. She kept hearing how impossible it was to conjure so many earth spells and at such a high velocity. They kept calling her a magic anomaly, and in the following year, began training her for a demonstration of her synergies. It would become apparent on the first trial that Alice’s abilities were beyond most and she had become known as Alice the Quick at the mere age of 10. The child prodigy of earth and hastening magicks. The Hare Magician.

To this day, no one knows the identities of the guards, or their next of kin. It seems anything surrounding the discovery of Alice’s talents remains intentionally shrouded in mystery and rumor.

The royal family had then tasked the royal guard to fund and hone Alice’s combat experience to eventually weaponize her talents in the theater of war. Alice resented this and tried to escape many times to her own chagrin, as she was so highly monitored she felt she could never escape. She was allowed to have anything she wanted, so long as her instrumentality and agency belonged to the directive of the royal guard.

Alice was an orphan, and after her claim to Quickness, became under the direct state care of the royal guard, as a nanny buffer. Alice had access to all of the royal libraries, arboretums, medical observatories, and magic colleges nearly at her entire disposal. Her meals had become prepared by the most highly trained magical chefs, was being personally trained in magic combat by the commander mage of the guard, and was given magical lecture by the royal family’s own vizier and oracle.

She hated this life. All Alice ever wanted to do was run free on the earth. Alice moved quick, she was rebellious, and she was a wild spirit. She wanted to experience that feeling in full without all the guards, lecturers, and royals watching her, suffocating her each and every day. She eventually requested a horse, and was given Daffodil. Finally ,one day a week, she could go riding around the royal horse track and field. It wasn’t complete freedom, but it gave her a taste of what it could feel like.

Queenie was still mesmerized by the gentle bobbing of Alice’s ponytail, it took her back to when she helped Alice mount Daffodil for the first time and sent her riding off. Of course, Alice the Quick would be a skilled horse rider on her first gallop from the stables, but there was something in the way she looked so free on Daffodil as she rode off that the young Queenie had always found a curious admiration about Alice.

Queenie sighed deeply, she was madly in love with Alice.

While this was one of the smaller cave systems, it still is a large contained area within the mountain range. Having insufficient lighting and facing biting temperatures, the adventurers had to pace their journey slowly and cautiously, so as not to further debilitate themselves.

After a few more hours of travel inward, they found the ceiling of the cave growing taller. Beyond Alice’s revealing visibility spell, there were glowing fungae and lichens creeping up monumental pillars of permafrost, only gently dotting the black landscape with their soft blue and orange glows. The flora would oscillate and dim in their glowing, creating a peaceful light show against the cold void, and highlighting the grandeur of the megalithic pillars they proliferated upon. The juxtaposition of this serene view from their previous dance with violence was not lost on the two, as they had quietly started walking in step and began holding hands, ice quietly crunching beneath their feet with each pace. This was the first time they had been completely alone, together, and for such an extended period of time. Among the dampened sounds of their footsteps, was a quiet stillness that was occasionally interrupted by a sudden downdraft of mountain wind into the cave, creating a dulled, but cacophonous harmony of chilling howls that echoed through the grand labyrinth of stone and ice. Snow carried by the drafts blanketed pockets of the cave floor, and in some areas, ice and snow formed around the various rock formations that created a calliope of icy canopies and frozen shelters, almost like a small city of ice was built here. It even appeared some of these structures had become makeshift dens used by cave bears over the centuries. Queenie and Alice browsed one of the nearby nooks until they found an ideal shelter to rest for a few hours.

Queenie had prepared a small fire in one of the well vented ice hovels where the ceiling was so high, Alice’s visibility spell couldn’t radiate far enough to illuminate it. This seemed an ideal place to have a quick meal without smoke concerns. The two huddled up in a small blanket next to the fire and prepared their traveling rations.

After a small meal of spiced fish, sliced, dried tuber with manaberry preserves, and warm mugs of weedleaf tea, a glaze-eyed Queenie turns to a grinning and satisfied Alice, who is using a magically conjured tooth pick on her front teeth “Hey, I’m pretty bushed after all that walking, and I never fully recovered from the fight with the zombie cave bear, and now that we’ve eaten I’m feeling pretty-“

Alice had just finished removing that pesky piece of tuber stuck in her teeth and was listening to Queenie’s wind up when she let out an amused, but loving chuckle. “Queenie” she was giggling more joyfully and was covering her mouth now “If you want to take a nap, I don’t mind!” She assured Queenie while reaching in her magic pouch to retrieve a large green tome entitled Necromagicks, the Finest Line Vol. I, an Introduction

“While you rest, I can do some review on my intro to necromancy coursework. It’s been a few years, and it was only an elective, but maybe there’s something in here that can give us more information about the Cold Halo”

Queenie paused for a moment, appreciating Alice’s resourcefulness before she frowned in confusion

“How did you know to bring that with you, Alice?” She asked, pointing to the large tome in her hands. Queenie then shot a second quick glance at the book, now realizing it was significantly larger than the bag she had pulled it from.

Alice looked shocked before covering her mouth to giggle again. She slightly shifted her weight to bump into Queenie, who was still visibly confused but playfully bumped back anyway.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Queenie” her laugh lightened in tone lowering Queenie’s guard to relax into an annoyed grin “this bag isn’t just a magical liminal space, it also acts as a tunnel to various resources from the royal college, like the school library.”

Queenie’s eyes widened in amazement, a small “wow” breathily escaping her lips

“This counts as a checked out book!” She promoted gleefully.

Queenie looked thoughtfully for a moment, and again after a slight pause furrowed her brow and looked back up to Alice

“What’s a liminal space?”

*********

After a short mentoring and crash course on Pocket Dimensions and Magical Bags, Queenie looked sheepishly at Alice. “I’m going to go take that nap, but I feel bad for resting when you’re the one casting those incredible magicks!” Queenie protested “what about your rest and magic stores? Aren’t you tired too?”

Alice gave Queenie a cheeky grin and winked her eyes proudly “I snuck a draught of Major Resting from the college alchemy labs the night before. I shouldn’t need to rest to sleep or to restore my mana for…” Alice glances down at her wrist where arcane symbols made of a cool yellow light instantly formed into a clock face before unraveling into a fine sand made entirely of light“…at least another five days!” She says grinning while looking up, the shining particles from her deconstructed watch still dissipating in the air. A small draft was entering the hovel, carrying the motes of light and Alice’s loose bangs in a slow swirling dance, the deep emerald of her eyes illuminated by the comforting glow of the flame. They were sparkling in a way Queenie hadn’t seen in Alice before, or anyone for that matter.

Queenie beheld Alice in this moment with a deep consideration, she couldn’t believe how prepared she was for this adventure. Seeing Alice so proud and free was something new to Queenie. It was like seeing her as an even better person than before, because she really was.

“Alice” Queenie started to say, a slight quavering in her tone “I am so grateful for you. Your intelligence is absolutely astounding. I don’t know what I would be doing without you”

In an instant, Alice’s face flushed with embarrassment and joy. She was used to those kinds of compliments coming from the mouths of her mentors and royal constituents, but something felt different when she heard it come from Queenie’s lips. It felt different when she said it, because it was different when Queenie said it. Alice actually believed and felt these words of appreciation for the first time, and she couldn’t help but freeze for a moment and blush from the feeling of shock.

“I... Queenie- wow. I don’t know what to say. I uh- I...” Alice was genuinely trying to express her gratitude but found herself freezing. She was experiencing a lot of different feelings; she thought she was just supposed to let those words roll over like she always does, but now suddenly she felt a wave of mixing emotions: Resentment for the royal family and their careless use of loving language to manipulate her, but also a newfound sense of feeling appreciated not only in genuine spirit, but from someone they care deeply about.

“Alice, it’s ok.” Queenie said patiently with an adoring smile “You don’t have to say anything. I’m just really glad you’re here”

Alice was starting to calm herself, and echoed Queenie’s appreciation “I’m really glad you’re here, too, Queenie.”

“Here- may I?” holding Alice’s hand, Queenie looked to Alice with loving eyes. Alice, letting the pain from her resentments go, let a dimple form in her left cheek as she bashfully nodded to Queenie.

Queenie gently leaned in to place a kiss on Alice’s cheek before resigning herself to her bedroll on the other side of the fire, but Alice had turned to meet Queenie’s  lips with her own. They interlocked their breaths and fingers together for a moment in time in which the warmth of their embrace outrivaled the hearth of the campfire; the gentle crackling of the flame providing a calming backdrop over the harrowing echoes of the cavewinds just beyond the comforts of their love.

Alice closed her eyes as she hinged the tome closed, causing a subtle thumping sound from the sheer weight of her book. With one last pensive wrinkle in her brow, she exhaled lightly into a sigh, distancing herself from the arduous cognition demanded by her laborious text.

She had moved from her spot by the campfire to lean against Queenie once she had fallen asleep so she could quietly study next to her. She turned to see her partner resting on her side, facing away from the campfire. Queenie’s soft breaths were creating a gentle rhythmic pulsing that Alice found comforting. Alice is fiercely independent, and being one of, if not, the most powerful wielder of magic she knows, even proving her worth against all of her professors. Although, she would have no issue fending for herself in nearly every situation, it would undoubtedly not be enough power to subvert a royal military by herself. Something about Queenie’s presence, however, made her feel paradoxically safe. Even the studious Alice the Quick couldn’t explain it, but she stopped caring after Queenie told her how she really felt.

The fire was gradually shrinking, but Alice wasn’t concerned since a few hours had already passed, and she would wake Queenie soon enough. She was still admiring Queenie in her slumber, gently laughing to herself about the sweet, clumsy, goofball who adorably mixes up her words. Her braids had partially come undone from the combat and her bedroll, and a few of her bangs were covering her face. With sweet eyes, Alice silently whispered an incantation and a steady Mage Hand moved Queenie’s bangs from her eyes without disturbing her. Still, Queenie let out a deepening breath, almost as if her Blood Sense recognized Alice’s intent to comfort.

Queenie is amazing, Alice thought to herself as she gently shook her head and smiled in disbelief at her partner. Since she and Queenie met, she sometimes believed that there was a hidden magic even greater than what she possessed or learned about in her studies. She often humored the idea that this magic was divinated by the arcane itself, the font of energy which guides the stars.

Alice saw Queenie as the warrior she was, and knew it was because of her strength they made her a laborer. Alice resented her lavish lifestyle with only the stresses of academics. She saw Queenie’s own calculated mind and curious approach as someone who would have performed better in Alice’s position as a scholar. Sometimes, Alice even envied Queenie, because she knew how often Queenie would leave the city limits. She had yearned for that freedom, but wanted to find her own way to it. Queenie on the other hand, was always free in her mind but could not explore any deeper than the world would allow her. That was until she met Alice.

Queenie and her brother Brent were raised by their mom and dad until they were separated by the royal’s laborer decree, putting each of their children into essentially what was indentured servitude once they reached the age of 11. The goat family was loving and kind, but their duties specializing prevented them from living in the same quarters from that point on. Close enough to know, but too far because of the imposing rule, the family carried a fostering love for knowledge, despite being deprived of an education, and a fervent hatred for the royal families that have used families like Queenie’s to die working for centuries.

Through the horrors and pains of these genocidal separations, Queenie was fortunate enough to be in the employ of the outer stables, where she would reunite with her brother after his labor assignment only 3 years prior.

Brent would act as Queenie’s parental arbiter in the years following, guiding her and teaching her ways to escape the endless toiling. He was a kind and loving brother, who wasn’t afraid to express his concern for his little sister, sometimes even enduring punishment on her behalf. He held a silent vow, too, to protect her for another reason: the family heirloom she wielded: the Earthshaker.

Before the goat family was separated, Queenie’s father determined which of his children would carry the magic weapon, an item crafted by their ancestors from the blessed organ of a fallen deity. It was never recorded to exist by the royal college, because the history of the empire that had vanquished these gods of old were brutally erased from the record by the ancestors of the royal families. The weapon was the last one forged by the old empire, in a final attempt to preserve the fragmented remains of its legacy. It was kept in secret by many lineages being passed from parent to child in hopes the wielder would someday enact the reclamation of the land for their people.

It would have seemed Brent had been the better choice since he was older, taller, and physically stronger than Queenie, but as he and Queenie learned in lessons with the relic, Queenie moved effortlessly with the mallet. As she twirled and guided the momentum of the weapon, sharp cold gusts of wind would blast from the arc of her swing alone. Her family would recognize these harsh winds as the heralding of the weapon’s choice.

However, the true legendary force that was condemned to secrecy is in the namesake of the Earthshaker. The Earthshaker is less of a weapon as it is a magical conduit. To only be used in the most dire of situations, the wielder can tap into their own personal reserves of might and, using the momentum of their swing and the truth in their hearts, can enlarge the weapon to unknowable sizes. Unfortunately, this channeling of physical might into pure magical energy atrophies the users body, aging them rapidly as they utilize the conduit. Such is the cost of a mortal wielding merely a fleck of godly magicks.

There was concern that Queenie’s family had made the wrong choice, after Queenie had to utilize the conduit several times in her childhood to save her own life, including one time when it was almost discovered what she had possessed. This appeared in the blueish-grey tones of her hair that slowly overtook her originally dark brown color. They worried her sometimes carefree nature would comprise the legacy and another powerful relic would end up in the hands of the royal family, but no one could deny how she moved with the mace when they challenged her. After Brent’s labor assignment, they stopped questioning the weapon’s choice as they would be given no time to deliberate upon it further.

Queenie would try to escape her servitude by accepting and finding bounties in her rare time off, being given only the most dangerous and low-paying bounties by the constabulary who deemed these jobs only for low skilled workers. It wasn’t much, but she and her brother were able to eat a bit better than most who weren’t as fortunate to have the combative and survival skills.

Worse yet, she could never show her true might and ability with the Earthshaker. So as not to expose herself to the scrutiny of the royalty, and to the detriment of her own merit, she often feigned incompetence in some of the mercenary bands she traveled with, allowing her to move quietly and inconspicuously among the others without drawing unnecessary attention to herself.

It was a challenging and difficult life, but Queenie would maintain her cheerful demeanor because she would look forward to the evenings when she and Brent would break bread and talk about everything before rest. She loved her family and missed them dearly.

Alice hated her studies but found a new love for it in teaching Queenie what she’s learned. Queenie’s contagious eagerness helped Alice rediscover a more meaningful application of her studies beyond her gilded prison, and Alice helped Queenie find a different kind of love that came from within herself that did not entirely rely on the presence of others.

Alice and Queenie had continued their venture further into the chasm, the walls and ceiling of the cave expanding as they explored deeper.

Queenie was humming a jolly tune to keep herself distracted from how cold she was, though she was still visibly and audibly shivering which was also adding a gyrating rhythm to her humming.

Alice was in front of her, continuing to lead with her magic flame, but she had grown silent. She saw a strange vision where a flash of craving eyes, ravenous grins, and grasping hands brought the anxiety back in her chest. Normally she has no difficulty in perishing disturbing thoughts, but something felt like the visions she witnessed were coming from without. She slowed down to reach for her chest, her heart was beating rapidly and she felt out of breath.

Queenie couldn’t see Alice’s distress, walking behind her, and being too distracted with her own musings, had bumped into Alice. The small collision between the two surprised them both, startling Alice especially. Alice, her thought interrupted, was trying to remember what she had just seen. She didn’t understand, it was so horrible. How could she have forgotten? Then she couldn’t remember what she was questioning. Once again, she felt strangely calm. That’s when she heard Queenie and realized she wasn’t standing anymore. Queenie was holding her and was shouting something, but it sounded so far away and muffled, she didn’t understand. Then it felt as if everything came into clarity. She could hear Queenie perfectly now and she was shouting urgently “Hey, are you with me? Alice, talk to me!”

Alice smiled warmly, “I’m fine, Queenie. What’s going on?” Alice felt a deep comforting warmth buzzing from within herself. Queenie looked at her in horror and confusion “Alice, you were screaming like someone was hurting you. Do you not remember?”

“No. No. I feel fine, I feel- better than fine” she looked intoxicated and her face was flushed “I feel really good Queenie” her pupils dilated “Really good.” Alice closed her eyes and swallowed deeply. She felt a strange disassociation overcome her. She did feel good, but something was wrong. Why did she feel so good? Why did Queenie look so… alluring in this light? Why did she not feel in control-

Alice felt a surging coolness rush over her face and a sudden wave of nausea caused her eyes to reel upwards. She jolted forward in Queenie’s arms and started to retch. Fortunately, they had been walking for a few hours since their meal and she lost no little more than some bile, but it helped clear her head. She felt sober again as Queenie went to help her up.

Before Queenie could ask if she was alright, Alice turned to Queenie and said, “there’s some kind of charm magic here, but it’s not like any magicks I’ve ever felt. This is different, Queenie. Steel yourself- now!”

Queenie felt it too.

Something was coming- no, it was already here. How long has it been here? Wait, there’s so many of them. This is just the scouting party.

The hair raised on the back of her neck and she grabbed the Earthshaker in its covert form. She didn’t know what they were up against, but it felt like an army was coming.

The two stood back-to-back as Alice began channeling her magic stores into the flame. This was at the cost of her own stamina, but she felt the visibility would be a worthy cost for the additional mana. It possessed the same sunlight glow of the smaller flame, but with the added reach of her empowered light.

“Sun beacon” she whispered.

The flame rose into the air, and it began to sparkle brightly. So bright that it no longer appeared as a flame but instead as shafts of light that were peering in from a thin aperture made of fabric. As the encroaching presence drew closer, it began to take form as waist-high silhouettes that surrounded the two adventurers.

It was a discomforting sight, as all along the boundaries of the light, humanoid creatures clamored at them viciously. Sometimes the monsters would move into the light from their jerky and hasty movements and would squeal in pain from the light. There were a few others that did not completely step into the light but could be seen waving staves around, muttering buzzing, gargling incantations. The ones that were unfortunate enough to be blinded by Alice’s beacon could be distinguished from one another. They appeared as grotesque caricatures carved upon strange, fleshy faces. They were all maned creatures without a torso; instead, they appeared as a large head with arms and legs-- their mouths disproportionately larger to the rest of their features. Their skin was grayish-blue, and appeared translucent and sickly in the light. They lacked clothing, but some were covered with scraps of rotted flesh and fur from cave bears.

The horrible creatures carelessly moved among themselves like a writhing mass of indulgent rats, their almost child-like movements and gestures further creating an unsettling juxtaposition to their appearance and demeanor. Their eyes had no pupils, and their flesh was pocked and scarred from the constant scratching of their own reckless movements. They were growling and creating guttural vocalizations that sounded like strange gibberish, their vocal inflections appearing strained, pitched, and congested.

Queenie’s Blood Sense produced a sharp drop in her stomach, and a jolt of energy rushed down her spine. She felt her eyes water and began to feel a deep fury growing inside her, her heartbeat rising, and her pupils shrinking. She felt the fury flow into her hands and the Earthshaker grew to the size of a large shovel. She didn’t know what these creatures were, but she felt something extremely dangerous in the air.

“Queenie, I cast a resolve spell on myself. I only have a limited amount of time- we have to stop those magi. They’re doing something to me!”

Queenie looked again at the swirling shadows around them. There were so many among the frenzy that carried staves, but Queenie couldn’t keep count.  After seeing the overwhelming force, her Blood Sense pulsed again, only this time she opted not to channel this into the weapon. She felt a small panic overcome her, but then felt it flatten into a controlled rage that seared from her gut. Her eyes relaxed, as the rage boiled into her neck and face, immediately flushing her. Her body temperature rising so much that a fine steam began to form from her neck and face. She took a deep breath, and the red began to fade from her features. She felt the rage bloom from her body and course into her hands as she gripped the Earthshaker, the steam now coming from her hands. She leapt into the closest magi beyond the light barrier.

The impact of Queenie’s leap crushed the magus into the ice as the Earthshaker had blunted two others, and she bellowed deeply, the burst of her rage producing a sharp, molten wind that burned the surrounding creatures’ flesh and sent them colliding into the mass, creating havoc among the rank and file. Queenie had already committed to charging after the next mage, when she realized none of them had turned to face Queenie. They were all aiming their magic foci on Alice, who was already firing stones of precision into the magi among the crowd. The smaller ones around them, however, were descending upon Queenie in droves.

Queenie dashed in a lunging dive directly to the next mage, who was entirely focused in Alice’s direction, tearing through the other creatures that stood in her way with ease. In a wide, arcing, swing, she lobbed all of the creatures unfortunate enough to be in its path, stopping the weight of the force directly into the magus. It howled in pain only for a moment before being interrupted from the shock of the impact pulverizing the bone in its face into dust, its lifeless corpse helplessly careening into the encroaching shadows. A small wave of force from the impact sent more of the cretinous visages soaring in different directions, some falling into the radius of Alice’s beacon, their unblinking eyes burning from the unseen light; the monsters were screaming a blood curdling wail as they attempted to scamper back into the mass.

Meanwhile, Alice was continuing her relentless volleying. She knew she needed both hands for this job and was methodically and expeditiously launching enchanted stones from the light beaming from her palms. The stones were stacked structures of rock, with the longest part at the front, a thicker, shorter middle piece in the center, and a larger, flatter stone at the rear- an earthen missile designed entirely to shatter the bones of its target; and it was effective. Alice was neutralizing all the appearing magi on her side of the beacon’s radius and, in a moment, had shifted her footing; the stone bolts coming from her hands now began splintering and spraying into the crowd. The fragments had taken on a dark, glossy, appearance, as if the rocky structure had morphed into a sharp, glass-like geode like obsidian.

“Earthen Needles”, she whispered.

The shimmering fragments poured into the crowd beyond the light as Alice’s arc widened, the black and purple glass was now flecking the creatures’ eyes and faces, the hellish series of small cuts and lacerations caused many to bleed profusely. Most of the creatures in front of the arc dropped to the floor immediately, suffocating from the glass dust and blood filling in their lungs. Many others would make attempts to flee, but would not make it far before completely bleeding out from their wounds. Alice didn’t like this senseless bloodshed, but she knew something was wrong.

On the opposite side of the radius, loud booming and creatures screaming in confusion and pain rang out. Many were grounded, or toppled over one another, as Queenie carved divots into the crowd made from their bodies. She was impossible for them to keep up with, her specialization in mobile combat allowing her to use the momentum of her force as a means to travel efficiently. She was dashing, leaping, and charging after unexpected targets to the oncoming forces; the already self-destructive creatures injuring one another in their fruitless scrambling to escape Queenie’s wide berth. Each time Queenie would relocate, a small booming force would follow behind her, shattering the ear drums of the creatures nearest to the boom. Many would try to leap onto her, but the sheer velocity and force of her movements would send the assailants upwards and against the cave walls. The raw heat generated from her movements’ friction against the air burned the flesh of the many creatures that approached her; some catching ablaze and spreading it onto others.

Despite the overwhelming destruction and chaos dealt to the unknown threat, their numbers didn’t seem to be dwindling. In fact, it had seemed like there was more now.

Stars, that was the scouting party! Queenie thought to herself.

She went to call to Alice for a gradual retreat, but in her thoughts, had delayed her actions, allowing her to be swarmed by some of the creatures nearby. Her skin was still burning hot, so many of the creatures were hesitant to approach, but new waves were arriving that didn’t know or care what threat was in front of them. Queenie struggled to move and successfully shouldered a few off but felt more climbing on her back and her legs. Lacking any weapons of their own, they attempted to pull and scratch at Queenie, which was largely ineffective due to the thick mustard yellow laborers coat she wore over her mercenary’s cuirass. Despite the creatures still burning, Queenie was alerted as she attempted to shake them off- the ones on her back and legs were moving to unfasten her armor. She looked down and saw the creature deliberately pulling at the strap of her belt with a crazed and depraved expression on its face; there was a foul saliva pooling from its dry cracked lips as the pale skin on its face and hand was slowly charring from Queenie’s burning fury. The one at her back was tugging on the knot she tied for her cuirass while another at her feet was trying to grip onto her pant leg. They were all grunting and laughing manically.

These creatures were trying to undress her. 

A disgusted panic overcame Queenie, and she spun quickly to whip the creatures from her. Another gust of hot air formed from her whirlwind that cleared a pathway through the craven mob. She dashed to retreat into Alice’s light.

What in the hells are these things?

She had just returned to Alice’s back, who had unrelented in her magic assault, the constant spraying of the devastating shards pooled from her hand like rushing water forced through the hole of a needle. The dust and fractured crystals peppered into the crowd, and their fallen comrades had become an obstacle to be climbed. The macabre sight of the corpse wall in front of her constantly toppling backwards from the sheer force of her spell, never allowing the wall to become more than one corpse high, was unsettling. This was one of her most powerful spells and during these few minutes of combat had almost entirely drained her mana stores- the light beacon had started to dim.

“Queenie, there’s too many of them and my resolve spell is fading. It’s too powerful of a spell, I can’t cast it again for another hour. They’re doing something to my body, I don’t like this. We need to act now”

“Ok, I’ll carry you, Alice can you-“but before Queenie could finish, Alice was already drinking a dark swirling turquoise liquid with a viscosity like oil from a glass tincture. She grimaced and blinked quickly as she turned to Queenie and, with a forced grin, she said through her teeth, “making it taste like strawberries really doesn’t help” Queenie already knew what was happening and had turned completely around and held out her hands as if to catch something, because Alice had just downed a lesser vial of mice growth.

The now, mouse-mage, her robes magically shrinking ,too, popped into the air, gently landing on Queenie’s gloved hand; she was now no larger than the tuber they shared earlier. Queenie placed Alice near her left shoulder and dug her hooves into the ice, a squeaking crunch signaling her preparations. She was improvising, but knew they had no time to waste, Alice’s shrinking interrupted her channeled energy into the beacon, which had now completely vanished. There was no turning back, Queenie could only see the way forward.

Queenie felt her rage simmer as the encroaching shadow closed in around them, Earthshaker held calmly at her front. As her rage had dissipated, the head of the Earthshaker had begun to glow a soft red, in the way steel does when it’s heated by extreme temperatures.

“Queenie” Alice pleaded “Please don’t use Earthshaker any more than you have to!” alluding to the harsh consequences of utilizing the conduit’s potential for unlimited growth.

Queenie turned to her partner for a smile as she squatted further into her lunge, the ice beneath her feet melting, revealing the permafrost and stone below. Queenie’s eyes were now glowing as well, matching the burning fury of her mallet, a bright hot red with a molten yellow core. The mallet hadn’t changed size, but glowed brightly, illuminating the area around it, the grasping hands and sneering faces grotesquely clarified by the light, once again. The horrible monsters were now only a few paces from the two adventurers.

“Don’t worry, I’m not” she turned forward and called to her goddess to bless her own strength, asking for the gifts which course from the earth below, “Pyroclastic Flow” she muttered from the side of her mouth and leapt forward into the approaching army.

The creatures in the path of Queenie’s first swing were met with a swift death, as the speeding mallet caught the front line and dissolved their flesh and bone in a matter of seconds. The orb of molten metal, now moving impossibly as a liquid anomaly, slowly caught up to the heave from Queenie’s powerful cleaving. The creatures, as they were caught in the force of lava, left a brief charring impression of their death mask upon the sphere before becoming enveloped by the absolute temperatures of the enhancement. Some creatures were left without arms and legs, being spared the instant death, but not from the horror of their suddenly cauterized amputations, many immediately fainting from the shock alone.

Queenie had already leapt forward a second time, another arcing swing effortlessly clearing the way for her to leap again. She didn’t know how many times she would have to leap and couldn’t rely on Alice since she was unable to cast incantations while under the effects of mouse transformation; but Queenie pressed forward regardless.

Leaping again after another wide swing, Stars! There’s still so many of them. 

She leapt again, crashing into another mob, the many armed with staves still ominously waving them. Queenie leapt again, and then again. The screams and the howls of the creatures and the impacts of her attacks were being drowned out by her panic. She jumped again, still feeling Alice tugging on her.

Damn, it. There’s still more! 

She leapt an additional time, and again- and again. Queenie could no longer tell where she was going anymore and she felt her eyes water as her panic began to take hold.

Alice, being stabilized by a makeshift rip in Queenie’s coat from her earlier scuffling with the creatures, had called out to Queenie with a shaky tone of desperation in her voice “Queenie! The mice’ growth is wearing off!”

Stars! I know we’re heading further into this, but is my mind playing tricks on me? Were there still this many of them? 

Queenie couldn’t think any longer and had landed after one last final leap. She quickly knealt to help Alice down and instantly turned to clear the mob surrounding them. Alice had popped back into her humanoid form and had fallen to one knee, trying to steady herself. Despite Queenie’s effort, there were still new waves of magi showing up, impeding Alice’s ability to support Queenie.

The two had cleared an area near the walls of the cave where Alice had crawled to and placed her back against it. She blinked heavily.

What was this magic? What was happening to me- to my body?

Queenie was jumping from mage to mage, trying to stop as many as she could, but neither the adventurers nor the impeding horde were making forward progress. They were all at a stalemate, howling screams from the creatures, loud crashing and rumbling echoes, and Queenie’s bellowing roars filled the battlefield. Queenie dashed back to Alice, the charged glow of her blessing had faded. Queenie, visibly out of breath, looked at Alice: Alice had managed to summon a lesser flame near her, but she was looked ill. Alice’s face was flushed and her eyes were dilating again. She was breathing heavily and was grabbing at her head and her chest, tears were streaming down her face as she grunted and struggled.

Alice was panicking, but didn’t understand.

This isn’t charm magic. 

It kept soothing her every time she felt a jolt of panic, and felt her thoughts dulling as the warm soothing feeling overtook her body. A pulsing rhythm caused her skin to rise in chills, hair standing on end. She gasped sharply as the rhythm pulsed a wave of ecstasy into her body. She felt sick, the dissonance she felt from the pleasure she was experiencing was both uncanny and foul. She could only see blurry afterimages of her concerned partner looking at her, calling to her. She tried to fight and resist whatever it was, but she couldn’t. She watched helplessly from within as she felt a creeping numbness overtake her dulling senses, and her face, feet, and, hands began to feel prickly and itchy. She could feel the painful, biting cold from the cave’s winds, but it was like she just didn’t care anymore; she felt too good to move or to do anything at all. Alice was writhing on the ground, creating haunting vocalizations that sounded like strained cries of confusion, ecstasy, and horror. She was moaning but had restricted her own voice in trying to resist the horrible magicks, a guttural, wet, choking sound was tapering her tortured sobs.

Queenie was turning back and forth between the slowly impeding crowd, trying to create gaps in time to tend to Alice, but could not split her efforts effectively enough and was exhausting quickly. The two lovers witnessing helplessly as the other struggled in the fight for their lives.

The creatures were closing in and were approaching the border of light from Alice’s flame when they had stopped their advance only a few paces away; the mass had gone still and entirely quiet. Alice felt herself jolt awake as she sat up, no longer influenced by the creatures’ heinous spells.

“Queenie! Are you alright?” She stood up to support Queenie who had buckled down to one knee, panting heavily. Queenie looked up, shocked to see the creatures had simply stopped where they were. There was one only a few feet from where she was kneeling. She looked up to see Alice “I’m fine Alice, are you-?”

“I’m ok, Queenie” she smiled while huddled over Queenie, motioning to help her up. Alice reached into her bag and handed Queenie a concoction of rainbow liquids in a large beaker. Queenie flashed a quick grimace at it as her face twisted into frowning disgust when she tilted the liquid into her mouth. In three large gulps, Queenie shivered and mimed a gagging expression to show her displeasure. Alice smiled and took Queenie’s standard unseriousness as a sign that the Restoration Elixir had worked immediately.  They both turned to the silent crowd in front of them.

Somehow, it was more unsettling than before, the monstrous visages were no longer gnawing and gnashing at the small war party. Their unblinking eyes, their now unnervingly relaxed features, and a chorus of small breaths from this seemingly infinite crowd was all they could see and hear around them. They both cautiously approached the one standing nearest to them.

“What do you think happened?” Queenie said, a childlike curiosity in her tone.

“I’m not sure” Alice mulled pensively, taking stock of their surroundings.

Queenie had taken the hilt end of her mace, which had returned to its covert form, and was slowly inching it towards the face of one of the creatures to tap it lightly.

Alice started again “It doesn’t look like there’s any necromancy- “

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you” a strange voice rang out suddenly.

A chilling presence was felt directly behind them near the wall, but the voice felt like it came from within.

The two turned around quickly, both taking combative stances.

"Your eyes and ears do not deceive you. Hail to you... mortals" the uncanny voice spoke again. Its voice sounded strangely like their own, the tail end of its last words lingered seductively. They could feel the voice pulling their attention towards the skull.

"I will express this as plainly as I can", it spoke again.

"What's going on, what is all this?" Alice barked.

"You'd be wise to speak to me with a little more respect, catalyst. After all, it's the Cold Halo you're here for, isn't it?" Alice and Queenie both glared angrily and growled at the skull. "My distant kinfolk and I are demons. I cannot say from whence they came as their arrival predates my own. However, the fiends are stupid, simple creatures who horde in endless numbers and whose wills are easily dominated by my influence."

The still horde of fiends around them had begun moving again, not advancing but thrashing like they were before, as if they had been issued a releasing command from their previously tranquil state. The clamoring noise of the horde put Queenie and Alice on edge, and the two moved closer together, preparing once again for combat.

The horde of shadows had fallen silent and the fiends closest to the light had all stepped forward in unison like soldiers. They started to crouch slightly before jumping a single time, a soft pat of the creatures’ feet echoed through the cave. Visibly struggling expressions marred their faces as their delicate eyes were exposed to the yellow tones of Alice's light. It was apparent, now, that these creatures had little control over their own agency. Queenie and Alice maintained their combative stances.

Two magi stepped forward from the crowd into the light past the arc of pained faces. Their own visages twitched in pain as their mental faculties were being hijacked by the demonic voice. Both magi, holding their staves of frost at their side, in a strange display turned to face one another. The creature closest to Queenie raised its staff above its head and began to strike the other senselessly, sometimes jamming the sharp end of the base into the other's features, the defenseless demon howling in pain, but not attempting to react to the senseless brutality. A grim and cruel sight as the creature had finally collapsed, its last pathetic squeals were drowned out by its own silvery blood. Queenie and Alice tried to look away many times, but ice around their legs had coalesced and turned their bodies, forcing them to behold the ghastly performance. They had begun holding hands, squeezing each other tightly for comfort and grounding themselves while forcing their eyes shut. The remaining creature, covered in the foul gore of its fallen comrade, turned to face forward again, expression bare, but wincing painfully again from the light.

"A demonstration."

The two felt the ice melt away from their feet as they turned to face the skull, despite the twisted sensation it brought to their gut, they felt wave of almost child-like glee radiate from it.

"How humorous. The foolish, ugly, grin of these disgusting whelps howling in agonizing pain for me. It's an absolute delight for me to bear witness to, do you not see it?"

Queenie and Alice hadn't shifted, they were still prepared for combat. Their breathing had become heavier and there was a broad tension in the couple's silence.

"Not amused? I suppose that's just something I revel in- it matters not."

"Foolish lovers, hear me well. You've found yourself in a position of fortune on this day. I'm feeling particularly generous, something I almost forgot I was capable of feeling. I am both impressed and infuriated by your whimsy."

Queenie furrowed her brow into a look of concern and confusion "Who are you? What do you want with us?"

"Quiet, goat. What mortals consider my "name" to be is none of your concern, as my kind does not have names, but abstractions instead. Mortals are unable to complete the utterance of any demon's abstraction without bursting into flames from within. The abstraction is an invocation of the Lowest magicks, sourced from the depths of all hells. For the sake of brevity, you can call me the Heiress, since that is my birthright to claim as a child of the Demon Low; it would seem a most appropriate moniker."

The Heiress paused for a moment.

"You see, beside my obedient pets and the power of the halo, I also have magicks from my birthright as a demonic heiress. Possessive magicks over minds, hearts, and souls that your petty books could never attempt to replicate the ancient mechanisms of. Such is my gift and fortune. A gift I've been using to bring the two of you to me as I have- Mortals: behold."

Alice and Queenie felt a presence lure their attention to the right side of the crowd. One of the smaller demons had stepped forward into the light and its face began contorting and twisting as if its flesh had become malleable like mud or clay. Queenie's heart dropped in her chest as she recognized the creatures form take shape, it had started to point directly at Queenie.

"It's a m-m-m-m-monster! Haha you're funny lady!" The possum child's face began to twist and move chaotically as the creature began laughing through Huron's voice. A shrill barking rang out from behind and startled the tormented adventurers. One of the creatures had also transformed into Huron’s pup companion, Speckles and was barking aggressively at them. The other creatures, prompted by their comrades taunting, were clamoring again and had now started laughing as well; their raspy chortling was eliciting a skin-crawling cringe from the two adventures, invoking the horrors of the peril they had only just faced moments ago.

After a few seconds, the laughter had died down and the creatures silence took hold again, this time, as if expectantly waiting for Queenie and Alice's reaction. Queenie looked back at the skull and hissed, eyes welting in the betrayal of her kindness "the kid, and the halo- you tricked us, damn you!"

"The story of the bear... and the entry in the book of artifacts..." Alice growled under her heavy breath.

As if almost disregarding their pleas to humanity entirely, the heiress continued "My fiends can't travel great distances, but they can go far enough. Furthermore, some of those corrupt royals you've grown familiar with are family members of mine. You can't treat an entire kingdom as a proxy to personal power without the help of allies in both high and low places. I have favors, hands, and eyes at my disposal, executing my strategies as I see fit... one of which was to have the two of you meet and come find me. A glorious exemplification of my influence, do you not think?"

Alice and Queenie had turned their expressions to disgust as they realized what the heiress had revealed to them. It was a sickening thought. A demon had been slowly toying with them their entire lives, even acting as a matchmaker to influence the depth of their bonded traumas. It filled Alice's and Queenie's hearts with fear and doubt, and they joined hands together again - an unspoken parallel of moments, denying the demoness the satisfaction peeling at their insecurities. They were both leering as they continued to hold each other's hands in front of the skull, defiant in their determination to survive.

"You come into my domain to criticize me? Spare me the theatrics, you insolent children. You are both wholly ignorant of the circumstances that have brought us all together. My imprisonment by this damn halo spans a countless plethora of ages I've since lost to time- and am incapable of escaping this curse without an appropriate vessel. The halo banished my mortal coil and my current form deteriorated before I could manage to find a suitable replacement. Instead of dealing with another useless beast that will rot in a century or so, I decided to make better use of my confinement and chose to bide my time with subtle influence, instead"

The two were silent, but intently listening, their breaths shallowing and synchronized. They felt a wave of irritated admiration flow from the skull, a stark contrast to the treacherous ire lingering from the Heiress's previous words.

"The two of you were the key to my salvation. You, rabbit, were the catalyst; and you, goat, were supposed to be my new vessel."

Alice hearing herself be called ‘catalyst’ a second time, was recalling some of her studies on soul instrumentation. It was mostly a disregarded study, like treating ancient mythological tales as truth, but it is speculated that the soul itself can be used as a channeling energy which was rumored to be more powerful than mana itself. If possible, there could be a way to enhance spells which could alter the movement of the heavens and the very flow of time.

"A catalyst" the words escaped her lips as she looked on pensively, savoring and balancing the concept on her tongue reflectively.

Queenie had looked at Alice when she spoke, then turned back to face the skull "You keep saying 'were' like something is different, now" Queenie inquired the voice, her eyes squinting pointedly.

"Yes." The voice clarified intently "You were."

"Consider my omnipresence as the possession of another gift of my birthright."

She continued, "Because I possess control over many minds, I possess the control over many thoughts; and I can use my many thoughts to project my will into the stories of what can and would be. I can drink from the river of a million dreaming minds all manifesting at once, to scry from these dreams, and find stories which tell me where and when to place my influence. With this power, I put my plans of deliberation into motion whose innerworkings slowly reveal themselves in the fabric of what you consider normalcy. Over the course of decades, I am able to exert my will, make a few allies, and obtain more pawns. You could consider this a kind of psychic foresight, but I prefer to just say that I have a proclivity for dreaming. Regardless, your entire lives were tailored to do my bidding: your teachers, bullies, parents; they were all doing favors for me to make sure you were positioned right where I needed you to be, when I needed you to be."

The demoness paused again, this time there was a sense of thoughtfulness emanating from the skull, forgoing the seemingly flamboyant and performative demeanor of her tone to a darker, raspier resonance; still manipulating the sounds of their own voices, she now spoke with a spiteful venom that rumbled beneath the illusion of their own vocal timbre. It was strangely familiar, yet unsettling and aloof- a sensation of a cold, distant, intimacy began to rise from their chests and throats, an endless, chilling yearning that peeled and grasped at their teeth, ribs, and organs with the reckless forces of wild apes.

"To don the Cold Halo, one requires a transference of souls- two of them, in fact: one to act as a vessel, and the other as a catalyst to power the soul engine of the halo"

"You goat, a capable, young warrior were an ideal candidate to be my new vessel. Your unclaimed successes as a mercenary never went unnoticed by my many eyes"

Queenie shouldered back in horror, grimacing in rage at the demon's sheer disregard for her life.

"And you, Hare Magician. The catalyst."

Alice's eyes widened in horror, the cognizance of her instrumentality synthesizing with her own magical knowledge, her face twisted furiously at the skull "I would never be your catalyst!"

The two felt a brief silence be overtaken by what felt like an annoyed dismissal radiate from the yeti's skull. The Heiress's voice had relaxed some into a calmer, lecturing tone. She almost sounded exasperated, as if she were explaining something to children.

"Yes. The catalyst." She mulled “and the Arch Mage prodigy herself would have made a most powerful catalyst, indeed!" Her voice pitched higher "As you are already aware, the transference of energy needed to harness the cold halo requires the sacrifice of two souls. Specifically, however, it requires the magic bond between the two souls of those whose lives are intertwined through their bonds of love and safety. This bond releases a massive amount of latent magical energy when the souls are subjected to relentless torture prior to its facilitation. It is evident that the crafters of this cursed trap discovered and celebrated the enormous power in harvesting the souls of the damned. The halo itself being a twisted homage to the bond's death, the sacrificing of one's soul in exchange for the promise of power overwhelming. It represents the tragic end of two souls, a foolish gamble risked trying to protect and hold dear the very thing they love- a desperate mother and child escaping a hard life, two siblings seeking solutions to their impoverished suffering, two starstruck lovers trying to find a safe place to call home..." Her voice trailed on the last statement as if to invoke the series of events which led to their current predicament.

"The more desperate they are to escape, the more it hurts when they find that the cost of that power was in the binding magicks of their own entanglement"

Alice drew in a sharp breath, finally confirming her own hypothesis of higher magicks.

"When the suffering a soul endures outweighs the consequences of their life's actions, it can discharge greater differentials of power than a soul unburdened by doubt. The disproportionate nature of this torment assigned to the being's life is integral in harnessing magical forces- that which rivals the of powers of the old gods themselves!"

"It made sense to me that the two of you would be an ideal choice for me to lure, given Alice's exceptional power, Queenie's incredible athleticism, and the precious bond of your love" the venom had returned in her voice, now sharper than before, "As it is, I carry a deep contempt for the romantics and the manufactured joy that follows ignorant children like you; like flies to rotted flesh. I think the feelings you mortals express lack depth and are insignificant. The feeling is real, yes, but the bond is a farce as you mortals can establish and create this bond with anyone you choose, but neglect to tap into the raw power the bond creates. It is a sinful waste to watch mortals forsake your most powerful latent energies, and I despise your kind for it. Especially those that build life-long bonds, only to squander the energy and release it when they die. It fills me with a special hatred for all mortals and their offspring; the two of you, especially."
"However, I digress. I was originally looking forward to my fiends here rending and violating your bodies for days into sobbing, bruised heaps before finally usurping your useless corpses. The ecstasy I would have experienced in the completion of my strategy would have been both extremely palpable and delectably arousing. The years of monitoring your insignificant, petulant, and foolish confessions of love and promise, finally receiving judgment for the farce it is, would have reckoned in a glorious new age of my rule."

She paused again, considering her next thoughts.

"Pure mortal hubris." She hissed in disbelief, "Alice would have been the luckier of the two, as your soul would have been sacrificed after your suffering. Queenie, however, would not have been so lucky, as I would have absorbed her into my demonic core- but do not fret, mighty warrior! With all the other souls chained to my core, you would have the best view of my conquests as I steered this vessel into immortality"

Queenie glared at the skull again "'would have'" her voice deepened.

"Astute observation, once again, warrior. Yes that is correct, this 'would have' happened, because even that is what my dreams foretold."

"With all my attempts to scry the future to this very moment, there was something in my dreams which had eluded me all these years. I always expected you, goat; I saw everything you were capable of and I had come to anticipate great resistance from you, but I never realized it was only because of what you carried at your waist that this would be the case. In retrospect, I suppose I had erred in my reconnaissance efforts. I knew you would fight valiantly against my fiends, but like any mortal warrior, you would eventually exhaust yourself. It should have been a simple measure to disarm you with my army were it for the simple fact that you were carrying an ordinary mallet."

A regretful reluctance seemed to form in her words "But I see it now. I see why I couldn't have predicted it, despite all my careful planning. You, little goat, are wielding something even more threatening to the kingdom than I am, a dying message from the empire that slayed gods... But you already knew that, didn't you?"

Queenie turned her head slightly to deflect the accusatory tone of the Heiress, still glaring intensely into the red flames of its eyes.

"Pathetic, burdening mortals. My plan was to utterly dominate your will and have you begging for death within the first few moments of being in my clutches. I was looking forward to your cries for each other’s mercy as I let my fiends do with you as they pleased. Their sole prerogative only being to keep you alive as long as they could. In many ways, I can still make that happen, but instead, I'll share with you what my visions revealed to me."

The reluctance had returned to her voice.

"The goat learns she can stop my fiends by crushing this vessel and comes to destroy me. In all of my visions, I easily shackle her in ice, but what didn't make sense until now was how she continued breaking free, which should have been impossible; but I can see with my own eyes why now. It's that damn divine artifact, you kept fueling your anger into it and melted away my magic ice. Even when I have my way with Alice in those visions, Queenie still reaches my vessel with the mallet. Through the multitudes of visions I've scryed since your births, there were always slight variations to the end of my story. I saw Queenie at different ages, with different expressions of rage, and experiencing differing levels of ease and struggle in reaching me; but, in each and every one of the dreaming minds, you still reach me and I am unable to stop you from ending my existence.”

“It is unusual to experience the feeling of panic when in the company of any other being than the Demon Low. I reflect on the days when I had a mortal shell, and to my own chagrin, I cannot recall this feeling from the days of my own youth. Another particularly infuriating component of your sustained presence here."

The creatures had begun clamoring again, Queenie and Alice turned and saw the creatures that were stepped forward had already recessed back into the crowd. Some of the creatures had pulled the remains of their fallen comrade from the light and were cannibalizing it, the ravenous creatures already fighting over mere scraps and sinews.

"I find it incredible that this has taken place, and it's to my own bewilderment that I would have stumbled upon such a peculiar series of events, given the circumstances surrounding my banishment" her voice sounding distracted, "Truly bewildered. The chaos of the divine confounding me at such a fated time; I can only laugh at the irony"

"Which brings me to another series of visions I've had: in many of the futures I've seen, killing me still consumes Alice as the conditions for the conversion of her soul were already prepared for in advance. It wouldn't be as powerful of a transference as my fiends had readied this sacrificial platform for, but in some of the scenarios, the goat takes her time in getting to me- what else can be said to this?"

"While you can get away with stopping me, you will now be trapped here in my place, cursed to a prison of your own corpse, and given the same task of locating two souls as I have. I may cease to live, but I would have been freed from this infernal prison; and I've come to embrace this outcome, as well. However, I have a suspicion that that outcome isn't what either of the two of you wanted, and my recent knowledge of your dirty little secret, while enraging, has amused and intrigued me... If only marginally"

"I will propose, onto you, a mutual bargain.  You intrepid scags and your little god relic unraveled decades of my hard work and planning, but not completely to my detriment. In fact, it revealed enormous potential for scandal and drama that I wish to take part in seeing unfold, personally."

"You see, there are many of those besides the royal family who would leverage their entire military and empty their war treasuries just to obtain control of that filthy conduit you carry. The chaos that would ensue from a couple of orderly and dutiful adult children, meandering about with a divine relic, could destabilize the shaky power imbalances of the entire kingdom; this would bring me glee for a millennia, as most of the larger political operations in this world are controlled by my backstabbing brethren. It would also present me with new opportunities to locate and lure new souls into my domain, as well as enact my vengeance against my traitorous ilk"

"My newest... compatriots, I would like to offer you an extension of my grace and grant you temporary clemency. My army of fiends will allow you safe passage out of this mountain. You will have one sundown after today to collect your belongings, leave this domain for me to reap, and to never return to this city again"

"So, you're willing to just let us leave?" Queenie asked.

"Oh, yes. Remember your place goat. I may not be able to kill the both of you before you stop me, but in every scenario otherwise, we get Alice."

The creatures started their disgusting show of grandeur again, laughing and grasping just beyond the light.

Alice peered doubtfully at the skull "You said this was a deal, what do you want from us?"
A chilling wave of amusement washed over the two adventurers, "I always admired watching your cunning over the years, young rabbit. Oh, the enjoyment I would have had from your screams, heralding my freedom at long last... I suppose it can’t be helped. You heard me correctly, Hare Magician. Someday, I will find a vessel and recover my power, and when that day comes, I will send for the two of you to complete a favor for me. Only then will I consider our little trespasses, here, forgiven. What say the two of you?"

Alice and Queenie turned to each other and nodded, a mutual agreement that there was nothing left to be gained from their quest, but to accept the echoing stalemate in their hearts.

"Let's get the hells out of here?" Alice asked rhetorically, casually pointing towards the miles-long tunnel leading to their exit, a grin of relief pocking the corners of her mouth and eyes.
"Yeah, good idea" Queenie smiled back.

"I made it too easy on you, didn't I?” an entertained elation radiated from the skull, as if it were laughing in the joy of its twisted benevolence “In the spirit of my generosity, I would be willing to answer one inquiry about our fated encounter. After all, it is very rare for any mortal to survive the company of such a powerful entity such as myself. You should consider yourselves lucky!"

"Answer me this!" Alice, not missing a beat, turned quickly to the Heiress "If the cost of the using the halo is the loving bond between two souls, then it goes to reason that you and another-"

The creatures began shouting and jeering ferociously at the adventurers, interrupting Alice.
"Your time is up mortals, but here's something you can bring into your timely considerations: leave my domain at once before I reverse my decision to spare you"

All the creatures dashed forward, causing Queenie and Alice to jump back in fear, their guards at the ready, but the creatures had stopped short again.

The elation radiated from the skull behind them once again.

"I merely jest, fools. You thought I was going to go back on my demon's agreement that simply? What kind of honorless creature do you take me for? Mortals like you? Pathetic weaklings. Behold your impotence in my glorious wake, you incompetent worms. Farewell, coward-mortals!"

As the two women had begun walking towards the crowd, Alice's empowered light had parted the mob of manic jeering and snarling faces like a slow-moving drop of oil through a still riverbed. The incessant monstrous roaring echoed loudly through the chamber.

Queenie, still exhausted from her use of the Earthshaker had become overstimulated and was covering her ears in pain. Alice, seeing Queenie’s distress began gesturing with her hand unoccupied by the magic flame. A small force bloomed from her open palm facing upward and distorted and warped the light and air around them. “Encrypted Obfuscation”, she spoke. The horrible sounds of the creatures began to dim and fade, as if the orb made of translucent bending whorls was absorbing their sounds and diffracting them into inaudibly quieter frequencies. Then the outside of the bubble began to shift, and the seemingly endless line of cruel faces and cold cave walls began to blur, the merging colors shifting and morphing into a completely different landscape.

Queenie felt the painful grating against her ears soften. She was looking down at their feet when she noticed the icy floor had begun to shift into a blueish green color, and appeared to take on a soft, bladed appearance.

Is that grass?  She looked up, noticing the creatures could no longer be heard.

Alice was looking over at Queenie, a warm comfort shining from her smile. Her obfuscation spell had not only distorted the noise into silence but had also bent and warped the light around them to appear as if they were on an open grassy plain in a mountain valley during twilight. It appeared that this was a different realm, as the trees, grass, and earth of the mountains were all dark, and purple. There was no moon in the sky, but the twilight of this realm appeared much brighter than their own. A pink and green gradience of the twin sunsets of this world dragged across the sky, fading to a deep purplish red like the skin of a plum. The sky was gently dotted with twinkling stars, the brightest of which showed visible lines of connection, revealing the outlines of their constellations. The celestial animals were living, roaming beings that danced about the sky in a display that the two could only take in as serene.

“Alice” Queenie gasped “What is this place?” She asked in amazement.

Alice hummed a gentle chuckle, “I’m not entirely sure. My encrypted obfuscation spell takes us wherever the soul wants us to be. Wherever this is, we’re right where we need to be.”

Queenie smiled back at Alice and faced forward, feeling her sense of safety slowly returning. For beyond the bubble, the creatures could not see the effects of the bubble but were continuing to part and close around the light of Alice’s flame, furiously wailing and screaming at them. It would appear the Heiress was maintaining the good faith of their agreement, after all.

Queenie and Alice would still have a several-hour walk before the last fiend would witness sight of them, but finally they could rest before continuing at a more comfortable pace.

After a few hours of travel beyond the Heiress’s domain, they had set up a campfire in a small nook and napped before completing the last leg of their evacuation. The shortening heights of the cave walls signaled they were nearing the mouth of the cave.

They had been walking for a few minutes since their short rest, when Alice turned to Queenie,” So, the Heiress said we’d have to leave the city. You know what that means for us right?”

Queenie turned forward, a stern line forming in her brow. She relaxed her features as she nodded and looked back towards Alice before replying “Yeah, ‘fraid so. We’re outlaws now.”

“Worse” Alice corrected “We’ll be exiles!” She said with an air of feigned fright and wiggled her fingers sardonically, a reinvigorated brightness belying the harsh sentencing of her words. The two of them giggled at the playful sarcasm and pulled the other closer in a walking embrace, casually and gently bumping into the other in a display of their affection.

The two lovers were rounding a bend, and three kisses drowned out the sounds of their footsteps in the snow, their gentle pecking reverberating the celebration of their joy against the icy cave walls. They halted their laughing when they witnessed their first glance of natural light. At long last, a sight of relief: the mouth of the cave and the end of their long journey.

They could see the early morning sun peering in, casting a welcoming sight and painting the cave floor with glistening sunshafts across the icicles. It looked like it was only a handful of meters away from where they were.

“Race you to the exit!” Alice turned to Queenie and began to pull her by the hand.

Queenie was excited, too, but knowing she couldn’t keep up with Alice the Quick, she protested as she started to run with Alice “No fair! I could never beat you!” but Alice had already begun sprinting- she had abandoned the simple hooded robe she used to sneak out of the city and was now running in her royal garments, a beautiful velvety green dress made from a soft fine thread. The couple’s fingers had unlatched as Alice began sprinting freely, her gait increased in stride with each bound, outpacing Queenie within the first step. Her movements effortlessly glode through the air and Queenie, not wanting to tap into her warrior powers anymore for a time, had attempted to sprint in her concealed armor. She was fast, but had no hope of catching up to Alice, who had stopped right before the light at the mouth of the cave.

“Alice!” Queenie cried out “Wait for me!”

Alice was smiling but could hear a growing desperation in Queenie’s voice.

They had been through a lot.

She jumped down to meet Queenie who had stopped in front of her and now, this time, was holding Queenie’s hands in her own.

“Queenie, what’s wrong?” she said calmly and patiently, a look of concern marked her features.

Queenie stuttered, “I’m sorry Alice, I wanted to keep up with you. I just really wanted to hold your hand, but I saw how free you looked and I didn’t want to-“

“Queenie!” Alice’s soft tone interrupted her before she would let Queenie spiral further “It’s okay! I’m sorry, too. I can see how important this moment was for you as well”

They both held each other in silence, they could see how their short time together made their bond grow stronger and they could also see the challenges and compromises that would come from their love; but it was exciting. It filled their hearts with joy and they had joined hands and started running together towards the cave. They were laughing gleefully and cheering on the final steps of their horrible encounters by singing a popular tavern tune of victory.

They made their first steps into the sun’s healing radiance when something halted the two aching souls in their tracks, they felt a horrible presence screeching from inside the cave behind them. A single, harsh, gust of foul air blew forth. It was a strange and uncharacteristically warm, humid wind from within the cave’s depths and the force of wind was followed by a scent of lingering rot. The two had turned their attention to face the source of the screech but saw nothing but the darkness behind them.

A creeping panic began to lurch from inside of their chests as they heard that voice again rumble from within their own minds.

Remember mortals. I will come for your services when the time is right.

The Heiress’ had finished her ominous assertion, but the panic they felt persisted- something wasn’t right.

The screeching had started again, only this time, it felt like an even greater force was coming from in from the depths. The shrieking howls were growing louder as the shadows of the cave seemed to shift and grow darker, impossibly encroaching the light coming in from the sun.

Alice and Queenie, wasting no further time, were already sprinting in fear beyond the mouth of the cave into the valley awash by the morning sun, hand in hand. They could hear the Heiress’s mocking laughter echoing in their heads, only finally dissipating from their minds’ ear after feeling the healing warmth of the dawn’s glow settling on their skin.

They were both free, for now.