Previously...
Cora and the Ice King are on bad terms.
Cora makes a deal with the Fire King to earn his trust...he can not tell King Titus about her escape stunt, and in time, she will tell him where Prince Sebastian 'is'.
Esmeralda asks Cora to help her attract King Titus...
CORA
The smoldering heat from the Fire King's room still lingered behind me as I approached Esmeralda, standing near my bed. I hoped she could feel its fiery presence rolling off of me like fog on a mountain as I burned holes into her eyes.
"Tell me how to make King Titus desire me," she demanded for the second time. Her eyes returned a look just as vicious as my own, instead; hers were filled with a chilling and swift wind that cut through a forest.
"Make Titus desire you?" I scoffed. "One could only image what would happen if I didn't."
"I would tell the King that I caught you sneaking out," she gracefully stated while flipping a perfectly curled white strand of hair out of her face. Esmeralda was beautiful and could have any man she wanted, yet she chose to be conniving and evil, plotting for a man whose heart was taken. Maybe her and Titus were truly perfect for each other.
The idea of them together was still off putting, making me shiver as if standing on the top of a lonely ice glacier. My heart still hurt from his beyrayal. My heart still wanted to love him; it was my mind that chose to hate him instead.
I wouldn't show Esmeralda how hurt I actually was, though. Instead, I smirked and took another step in her direction, swiftly closing the distance between us.
"Titus would screw you and toss you aside as if you never existed. But if that's what you want...if that is what will keep you from telling him about me..." I gave her my signature, sarcastic grin. "I'll do it."
Esmeralda returned a winded laugh. "What you don't understand is this. Once I have a man within my grip, they won't want to leave."
"Then why did the prince leave you?" I smirked, folding my arms in a defensive stance. I wouldn't allow her the satisfaction of seeing me waver, even though deep down I felt as if I was breaking even more. Titus was the man that I loved not even days ago...
"I think you are simply jealous. Weren't you and King Titus dating before he took power? If that's the case, you are the one he screwed and tossed to the side like you never existed," Esmeralda stated. "I'm not the one in chains, tucked away in a room no one knows about. You are. Oh, but don't look so disheartened, Cora. It isn't very becoming of you."
"I should slap the ice out of you."
"But you wont, because I have the advantage," she laughed and I wanted so badly to crush her smile. "And I also have something else. The truth."
"What do you mean?"
Esmeralda sighed dramatically and walked along the side of where I stood until she stopped directly behind me. I felt her lips, close to my ear, taunting me with whatever 'truth' she had.
"I know where they are," she whispered. "They went North...to the mountains. I also know why."
"How?" I turned toward her, a victim to her schemes. She had me right where she wanted me, her smile revealed that much.
"People have always underestimated me," she began. "I was always just a pretty face and nothing more. As long as I kept my manners, no one cared. Don't you get it? No one ever cared! So," she began to walk around the room, entranced by her own story like a small child listening to a book. She was poised and delicate, an elegance unmatched, but her eyes revealed the darkness inside of her. "Naturally, I stopped caring as well. The only thing I desire to have is my heart's desire." She turned to me, sharp and unapologetic. "I desire power. I desire a crown. I desire glory. It's quite simple, actually. And since, Titus is King, I want to be his Queen. And since I have a few truths that you'd like me to keep hidden from him, you'd be smart to help me."
I contemplated her words, daring not to agree to her condition too quickly, although I knew I had to. I would never let Esmeralda reveal where Anya and the prince were. I would kill her before I allowed that to happen. For now, I would agree, but once I gained my own advantages, I would surely take her out.
And by gaining advantages, I needed to keep my biggest enemy as close as possible: Titus.
Esmeralda would be allowed close enough to touch him, but never to affect him. And so I nodded to her, agreeing to her little scheme, while creating my own. She had no idea who she was messing with.
"I'll help you, but please tell me where exactly they are."
"Perhaps in the future," she replied, nonchalantly. "If you're good to me, I'll tell you everything."
With a sigh, Esmeralda turned toward my door. "I'll take my leave. Just remember your promise."
The door swung opened and slammed shut with her disgraceful departure-the only time I ever saw her looking less than poise. She was trying to intimidate me, and I would've laughed had the situation been less serious.
With great frustration, I climbed into my bed and began adjusting the straps around my arm. It was time to be a prisoner again, to a cold and hard bed, fit for the dying.
I'd much rather spend time sweating away in the chambers that housed the Fire King. His warmth almost welcomed me, as if the sun itself took pleasure in my existence. But I was a prisoner, with a fate that was unknown. If I didn't move wisely, I could end up seriously hurt. Deep down I knew that even though Titus claimed to love me, he would kill me in a heartbeat if I ever crossed him again. One thing I knew was that the prince needed to return, and quickly.
I couldn't be alone in a castle full of enemies. I couldn't be the only good person that existed in these ice walls. I needed to find an ally, someone to help me stay afloat as I found a way to help the Prince reclaim his throne.
Just then, my door opened, and a familiar, rounded face came into view. My heart smiled at the remembrance of one friend. One ally. The one person who loved Anya even more than I did.
"Mandy!" I exclaimed.
She took one look at me and frowned. "Here, let me help with that."
Quickly moving to my bedside, Mandy began putting one of the restraints back in place so that it appeared as if I'd never removed it. She left one hand free for a reason I was soon to find out. She then smiled sadly, and handed me a letter.
"You should read this in private. I'll stay in the passageway while you do, but I have instructions to burn it immediately upon reading it. Please be quick." With that, she turned and left.
I was once again alone, but with a note. A note I could only glance at for what felt like an eternity.
My heart raced at the thought of Anya reaching out to me to let me know she was okay. I needed desperately to know that everything was going smoothly on their end, so that I'd have their strength with me as I fought for them inside of the castle. I needed them to be safe.
With shaking hands, I opened the letter:
Dearest Cora,
I know we haven't had the best relationship since training together, but I consider you a true friend...a true ally at the castle. I can image that you are locked away in a room and no one knows where you are. It seems like a 'Titus' thing to do. The good thing is, he won't kill you, which means you are far better off than I am at the moment.
I am somewhere North, near Mount Ire, held captive at a base ruled by Queen Ika of the Wildlands. These men here are cannibals, and they watch me, greedily, waiting to be able to cook me alive. And they will if the Prince and Anya can't bring back pounds of winter stone.
Don't worry about me. I've learned ways to get around these hunters. They aren't very smart, and they don't pay attention to their carrier bird. I was able to sneak a letter to you and will hopefully be able to do so in the near future.
Cora, I know you are tough and smart. Always figure out a way to stay a step ahead of Titus. Keep yourself alive, but keep yourself on top.
We will return as soon as the Winter stone is retrieved. Hopefully before the next moon.
Please, make sure this letter is destroyed. He can't know anything.
Sir Luca
I immediately crumbled the letter, holding back an uproar of tears. I didn't know how to take in everything I'd just read. Should I have cried out in happiness that they were alive? Should I have been saddened to learn of their current state? Regardless of how I should have felt, I didn't have time to. My door was opening again.
"You can take the letter now," I said with my head turned away. I didn't want her seeing my pain.
"What letter?" a male voice purred, and my body instantly warmed from his inticing heat.
The Fire King.
I quickly tucked the letter underneath me as I met his eyes.
"What are you doing here?" I asked. "We'd just met."
He seemed to quickly forget the letter hidden beneath me as he crossed the room. "I was leaving my chambers when I ran into your friend, Esmeralda. What did you say to her?"
The room was growing hotter by the second, causing the hair in my skin began to stand.
"I said nothing." I tried for angry, looking at him as if he was crazy to barge into my room. He didn't buy it.
"You're lying, and what are you hiding? Let me see it."
"Mandy!" I screamed, hoping she'd hear me and help, although I had no idea what she could do.
"I sent her off," King Toro informed as he approached with a chest poking out with superiority. He looked expectantly down at my hand that pushed at letter further underneath my leg. I couldn't have him find it. I had to make up a lie. I had to put out his fire, the fire burning so passionately in his eyes. A fire that wanted to eat me up, if he had lost control.
"It is a letter my mother wrote me as a child, you can't read it. As far as Esmeralda, don't trust anything she says. She lies to get ahead and will use you in her many games."
I waited with urgency for his response. The Fire King simply stared with lowered, calculating eyes as if he was looking inside of me and learning everything he needed to know. Could he tell if I was lying? Could he tell I hid something underneath me? With anxiousness, I continued, pushing my anxiouness to the back of my mind.
"I had my maid fetch my letter. I was feeling lonely and I needed it. It's the only thing I have of her. Isn't there something of your fathers that you keep?"
My last words seemed to do something to him, as his face visually softened. He sighed and looked back at the door as if deciding whether or not to leave.
"Very well. I will not intrude." His eyes returned to my face and then traveled down to my restraint. Toro smirked. "Allow me to help with that, Lady Cora." His dark eyes lifted, and held mine with such intensity. "Don't worry, ill keep it loose enough for you to come to me, tomorrow. I'll be looking forward to it."
My bod felt as if I was burning from the inside out, but it was a pure pleasure. What did he mean when he said he'd be looking forward to it? Surely, it had nothing to do with me and more to do with his agenda. An agenda that went against everything I believed in.
"Thank you," was all I could say. I watched him leave and groaned at the feeling of his warmth leaving me. Somehow, even though I knew I despised him, my body said otherwise. My body enjoyed the unique feeling of his presence. My body somehow wanted more.
But one thing I knew was certain. The prince was safe another night. There was only one person who knew where he was, and soon, she'll be dead.
Discussion
If you were Cora, how would you eliminate Lady Esmeralda?
How do you think Lady Esmeralda found out about the Prince's whereabouts?