Nicaea Valdis.
She smiled, flashing a bit of her teeth. This woman was beautiful, divinely elegant and yet so cruel. She chuckled softly as she stepped closer towards the two.
'I have finally met you, darling,' she whispered, her cruel eyes fixed on Wren's uneven ones. Wren's eyes glowed bright - a sign she was mad, frightened - a change in her emotions. The Dark Witch laughed cruelly.
'Darling, you don't need to be afraid.'
'And what gives you the idea I am?'
Wren had not intended to say those words; they came right out of her mouth without meaning to and she did not regret them. Heated anger was slowly building up inside of her, like fiery flames of rage. This was the woman who claimed Argonian was the reason for her own kingdom's downfall. This was the woman who desired Wren's heirarchy and her position. This was the woman who wanted her dead.
As good as dead.
The Dark Witch lifted her eyebrows in mock surprise. 'Oh, Wren,' she said in a horribly honeyed voice. There was a way she carried herself that had glamour, that could almost make Wren not want to hate her. 'We're off to a bad start. No need to be so harsh.'
'Oh yeah?' Wren's eyes flicked towards hers; Jake looked scared. Wren knew she was playing with fire, but she didn't care. 'Bad start, eh? Tell you what's a bad start. You, me. Never was.'
The woman was about in her mid-twenties. A bright spark burned in her icy blue eyes, piercing Wren.
'I have spent my whole life searching for you,' she whispered, eyes raking Wren's face. 'Oh yes, and the challenges I had to face to get to you. I could name thousands.'
'Challenges you could name?' Wren didn't notice or know why, but she was shouting now. 'Or challenges you created yourself? You made them up just so you could have fun, just so you could get your way, didn't you? Didn't you?'
An angry flash of light bedazzled Nicaea Valdis's eyes and a blade of ice shot through the room, almost hitting Wren. So ice manipulation was her ability. Ice and water. Water and ice. What was the difference?
There was no difference.
Because she and Nicaea were equals.
Ever since the day Wren was born.
'Look at me,' Nicaea snarled. 'Look at me when you defy me, Princess!' she spat out the word like it was filthy.
Wren glared at her.
'What do you want from me?' she said, her voice shaking with rage or fear she didn't know. 'Money? I can give you money. Gold, even. Just leave me alone. Leave me and sister and Argonian at peace.'
The witch cackled and it gave Wren a strong desire to kick her. 'That's the thing, Princess!' cried the witch jovially. 'I don't just leave people in peace! That's one thing you should take a note of.'
'What do you want from me?' yelled Wren again. 'I have thousands of gold -'
'I don't want your gold!' screamed Nicaea. Both rivals were revolving around each other, predator to predator. 'You know that, Wren,' she breathed. 'You know what I want. I want your throne, your power, and most of all -'
She angled her face so she could stare at Wren directly in the eyes.
'You.'
She laughed cruelly, a high, cold laugh, one which had no warmth in it. 'You know, Wren,' she said, circling her. 'This is exactly how I thought I'd have you. Cornered. Defenesless. Weaponless.'
'It was you who sent the Shadow Angels to me, wasn't it?' Wren said angrily, feeling a pulse throbbing in her neck.
'Who else would it be?' Nicaea drawled.
'So they work for you?' Wren said, careful not to break eye contact. 'You own them?'
Nicaea's eyes glinted with a malevolent spark that haunted Wren. 'Darling, you're catching on. Now you see, I don't just own them. They dance to my tune, to my delicious power. Now you see, circumstances don't define us, Wren. Our choices do.'
She lifted the Soulstone chin-length. 'Now, I believe Wren, you were looking for this?'
Anger burned through Wren like a deep course of flame. She looked so mutinous that she couldn't speak, she stood rooted to the ground, not being able to move.
'Hand it over,' she said through clenched teeth.
An eyebrow went up. 'Princess, it's not as easy as you think it is.'
She raised her left arm, high in the air and Wren could see ice crackle from her arm to her forearm to her palm; before she knew it, blades of ice blasted around the room, almost sharpening Wren's leg if she hadn't ducked. The witch's dozen energy raced across the floor. The dirty, dull ground crackled and frosted over, transforming into a treacherous sheet of ice.
Wren slid away from the ice, summoning a surge of water to curse at Nicaea, but Nicaea frosted it into ice with an effortless flick of her wrist, leaving it hanging in the air. Wren swallowed, breathing hard.
'You are way too predictable,' the Dark Witch said, a malevolent grin spreading on her face. 'One more blade wouldn't hurt, would it, Wren?'
She retaliated with a fierce burst of ice just as Wren conjured a swirling vortex of water. The two forces collided in a spectacular clash - the room echoed, a chaotic dance of water and ice that left the air charged with tension.
'Wren, watch out!' screamed Jake from the corner.
The Ice Queen had sent another powerful blaze of ice blades, hurling them towards Wren - Wren flicked her hand, sending a wave of water bringing the blade of ice upward, hitting the ceiling
Icicles hung like deadly stalactites from the ceiling, glistening with an eerie beauty. As Nicaea continued to weave her wintry magic, the room transformed into a glittering, frozen labyrinth, a testament to the chilling might she wielded.
'You can't escape your destiny, Wren,' she hissed.
'Who said it was mine?' shouted Wren, sending another surge of water towards Nicaea. Swiftly, Nicaea sent it hurling back to her and Wren made it evaporate into thin air.
Nicaea's eyes flashed with something other than just rage. She brought one hand up, and as she did so, a giant serpent cracked from the icy sheet of the floor, hissing and sputtering, covered in ice, with a life of its own. Nicaea flicked her hand down, and on command, the sinuous, icy serpent slithered towards Wren, its crystalline scales shimmering in the light.
Slightly deterred but refusing to back down, Wren summoned the essence of water to her mind - a majestic dragon formed out of nowhere, its form fluid and powerful. With a roar made of cascading power, it soared towards the serpent, fangs baring.
As the clash between Wren's dragon and ice serpent reached its crescendo, Wren could feel her dragon slipping away, hardly any more force nor power. Nicaea was cackling manically; she sent another blade of ice with a force so potent it slipped right through Wren's leg.
Wren felt a jolt of pain like she had been stabbed through the palm with the knife back in the High Court. Blood was starting to spill onto the slippery ice ground.
'Wren - TIME BACK, TIME BACK!' yelled Jake.
'Next time it happens, grab the Soulstone!' yelled Wren, sitting down on the ground.
'What do you fools mean, next time it happens?' shrieked the Dark Witch. 'There is not next time, Wren Carezb -'
Time turned back; the surroundings spun around her; the nauseous feeling erupting in Wren's stomach once more ...
She remembered the same thing happening -
The clash between Wren's dragon and ice serpent resumed. Wren felt her dragon slipping away, hardly any more force nor power. Nicaea was cackling maniacally - before she sent another blade of ice toward Wren, Wren dodged and flicked her wrist, directing her dragon to Nicaea.
Nicaea did not give an expected scream - Wren flicked her wrist and her dragon came above the Ice Queen slightly, giving just enough space for Jake to get the Soulstone. Jake made a dive but Nicaea's serpent was quicker - it slithered to Jake and pulled him to the ground.
'TIME BACK!' yelled Wren desperately. 'JAKE, TIME BACK, TIME BACK!'
'I'm trying!'
Wren's dragon had knocked Nicaea off temporarily - Nicaea got back on her feet in no time.
'Give up, Wren,' she said, eyes malovent and dangerous. 'You aren't getting this Soulstone. No one but me has her hands on it.'
'I can replace it!' shouted Wren, desperate now, her eyes glowing a dangerous, saturated colour. The portal would be closing soon, they only had an hour ... time was running out ...
'Mm, I don't think so. You see Wren, there are just some people who already have, but can't wait to have some more.' The Faerie Queen's eyes lingered on the Soulstone. 'And so they crave. Greedy for it.'
Wren stood still, breathing heavily. She'd heard those words before.
The wise words of Syrax, the dragon, who'd said that not long ago.
Then a tiny voice crept into the back of Wren's mind. Say something that makes her weak, it whispered, urging her on. Say something that makes her vulnerable.
'You want this to erase your memory, don't you?' Wren shouted, blocking a blade of ice with a surge of water from her palm. 'You want the Soulstone to erase your memory. Because this memory, whatever it is - it makes you weak!'
Wren could see Nicaea was overwhelmed and taken by shock - she growled and hurled another blade of ice at Wren which she easily dodged.
'It makes you weak,' Wren shouted. 'Your memory makes you weak, just like you! You're a coward and a weakling and you know it.'
The Faerie Queen's eyes were blazed with something bigger than fury. She glared down at Wren, advancing towards her like a predator to a prey.
'You know nothing,' she said, her voice filled with anger, 'nothing at all about anything.'
'Don't I?' Wren challenged, walking away and in a circle around Nicaea. 'I know you want to erase this specific memory of yours. I know you want to split your soul into two. And most importantly, I know you need the Soulstone in order to accomplish both.'
'You know, you're a lot smarter than I thought,' Nicaea said, tilting her head.
'Yeah, keep thinking then.'
'But do you know why I want to do any of those things?' Nicaea said, ignoring Wren. 'Do you know why I desire to erase -'
'Because it makes you weak,' spat Wren. 'Whatever this memory is, it makes you weak.'
She thought Nicaea would throttle her on the spot by looking at the anger burning across her face. But she didn't. She stood still as if containing herself and Wren heard a hiss escape from the corner of her mouth, 'Seize them.'
Immediately, Wren understood what was going on - two wolves leapt from nowhere, barking, growling and snapping at both Wren and Jake. They pushed Jake to Wren so the both of them were together now, back to back, Nicaea eyeing them from the corner.
'Wren, Wren, do something!' yelled Jake.
'Next time this happens, don't let the wolves out!' Wren bellowed.
'Clamp my hand over the crazy witch's mouth?' Jake shouted back.
'YES -!'
'Oh, no you won't,' Nicaea said, cutting through the chaos. Bringing down her right hand like a sword, she brought Jake to his knees and there was an empty clatter echoing the hall.
'What've you done to him?' Wren yelled. 'You mother-'
'Don't worry about it, just froze his powers, that's all,' Nicaea said in a tone that indicated they were sitting down in a coffee shop having a casual chat. 'Apparently, that's taken a toll on him. Don't make me do it to you, Wren.'
'Oh, I'll make you alright,' Wren said furiously as a wolf snapped the hem of her jeans. She sent a surge of water hurling towards the wolf, confusing it as a piece of ham and it ran away, chasing after it.
Somehow, her anger made the Faerie Queen more divinely beautiful than ever Wren wanted to back away. A rope made out of ice soared across the room from Nicaea's will, tying up both Wren and Jake. Jake whimpered; Wren easily melted the rope into water and she couldn't help smirking when she saw the agony on Nicaea's face.
'There's really no difference between water and ice, is there?' Wren said swiftly, shaping a shield out of water with a flick of her wrist to defend herself from being run over by the wolf.
'Darling, you don't know what differences mean,' scoffed the Faerie Queen. 'Never really did, not with that narrow mind of yours.'
'Not narrower than yours if you have to work with the Perilous!' yelled Wren all of a sudden.
'Wren, you don't want to jump into conclusions, do you?' laughed the Faerie Queen, a high, cold laugh. 'They really never get you anywhere. But it's all thanks to dear Aurora here that I know every little thing about you.'
Wren froze, her heart stopping.
'What?' she said, barely audible and hearing herself.
'Yes,' said Nicaea, a slow, menacing smile spreading across her face, one that Wren hated so much. 'You heard me right. Aurora Nightshade.'
Jake was shaking his head as if he could deny and reverse the fact that Aurora Nightshade was working for Nicaea.
'No,' Wren said, 'no, no, no.'
The sound of footsteps approached and Wren caught sight of the familiar honey-coloured hair.
Someone no other than Aurora Nightshade.
Writer's note: Someone's gonna kick ass soon