The Ice Queen - "A New Reality" Ch. 4 (Patreon)

Neytiri

A barrage of emotions batter me all at once as I look upon the man that put me in this state in the first place. Cassian’s gaze remains trained on mine as we both take in one another. His gaze is filled with calm adoration, but I cannot mirror it as I look upon his features in complete and utter horror.

There’s something about him that is much different than who he was in the past. If not for the same features, I would think him someone else the way he looks at me. I clench the sheets in fear unsure of what to do as he looks upon me not seeming interested in finishing what he started, according to Caius, six hundred years ago. I also realize that Caius has not moved next to me. In fact, he’s silent as Cassian slowly rises over me.

Cassian holds his hand out to me, a smile on his lips as he takes me in. I try and reason with my logic brain. If Caius isn’t threatened then I shouldn’t be. Especially since Cassian seems to have sustained injuries of his own. I’ve never seen these kind of injuries on him. I narrow my gaze, ignoring Cassian’s outstretched hand.

“What is this?” I ask looking at Caius. Caius is looking at Cassian before shifting his gaze to mine just as Cassian speaks something to him in a language I do not understand nor have ever heard before. I’m immediately on high alert, coating my arm in a thick layer of ice to form a blade that I hold to Cassian’s throat.

“Do not speak to him,” I hiss. Cassian’s expression is eerily calm as he watches me, his expression shifting from calm to the calculating warrior that I am used to.

“Neytiri.” Caius slowly stands with his hands out, eyeing me.

“He isn’t our enemy-”

I tune his words out. I don’t need to hear anything else from him at this point. Caius knows what Cassian did to me better than anyone. And I thought he was on my side no matter what. Caius notices the moment I make my decision.

“Neytiri, wait!”

I whip away from him, using my blade to swipe at Cassian’s throat. To my dismay, his reflexes are lightning fast as he dodges, snatching my wrist in his. He uses my momentum to pull me in close, his face inches from mine until I feel him in my head, using our blood oath no doubt. And the power I could once summon so easily dies down to a trickle.

I cry out in frustration, using my free hand to grasp his tightly, using him as an anchor as I use all of my body weight to land a kick to his chest sending him flying inches back. I jump from the bed heading in the direction of the door when I feel a hand around my arm. Caius is watching me with a desperate look in his gaze.

“Traitor!” I hiss swinging at him, but he dodges. Unfortunately, he is able to distract me long enough for Cassian to recover because he roughly grabs me around the waist, hoisting me over his shoulder.

“Let go of me!”

I continue to scream and beat against his back as he carries me with ease from the room.

* * * * *

It’s frustrating both not knowing and finding out who you are in the same instant. I immediately recognize the sturdy material that’s been locked around my hands. And as I pull against it, my desperation climbing, my memories assault me.

Rodrog Steel.

The tough alloy played a key role in my past. It was used on me for the first time when I was accused of almost killing Caius. It remained on me until I willingly gave myself to Cassian, not knowing what repercussions I would suffer in doing so. It’s powerful enough to hold my inhuman strength, but Cassian seems almost on edge as he watches me struggle. As if he knows something about me that I don’t… as if I could break these chains.

A knock sounds on the door pulling our attention and to my shock, Cassian allows them to enter. A woman enters with her head down as she carries a tray and material that looks to be a shirt, not making eye contact with me as she sets the contents of the tray on the strange table between Cassian and me, bowing as she leaves. Her actions pull me out of my panic and for a moment, I take in my surroundings. The room is as strange as the one I awoke in.

It’s very large, the ceiling just as tall as the ballrooms in the castle Cassian occupied. But instead of stone and brick, the walls are smooth and painted gray. And the entire wall to my left is a window with the curtains drawn back, revealing to me the snow beyond as well as the foreign mountainside. We must be in the dead of winter, which is when my power usually feels at its strongest. But since Cassian’s mental block, I cannot feel it.

“Have you tired yourself out?”

My gaze whips away from the window to Cassian who stands behind a large desk that holds objects I’ve never seen before. He’s now wearing the shirt the woman brought in, his bruising no longer visible to my eyes. I narrow my gaze wanting to continue to fight, but he is right. I have tired myself out. Cassian smiles, taking my silence as my answer as he makes his way around the desk to sit in the cushions across from me.

I watch him carefully as he reaches for the teakettle the woman brought in, his gaze remaining focused on his task as he speaks to me.

“Please, sit,” he says motioning to the empty cushion next to him. I glare at him unable to find the peace that he wants from me. He senses my rage, releasing an irritated sigh, his eyes glowing as he himself fights for control. He may be wiser, but he is still the same king with the expectation that those he commands listen without question.

“I don’t expect you to trust me. I only ask that you listen. And it would be easier for both of us if you would just… sit down.”

I take a small step, my eyes remaining trained on his as I slide into the cushions, the jangle of the chains filling the room. I expect him to speak, but he doesn’t. He only studies me intensely, his eye roaming over each of my features in desperation.

“What is this place?” I ask looking around the room. My eyes linger on the desk with foreign objects and I can’t help but wonder if he brought me here to torture me.

“This is my office.”

The word ‘office’ hits my ear wrong and I stare at him in confusion. It’s a foreign word like this room, and I don’t know what it means. Cassian smiles softly before elaborating.

“It’s a place where I conduct important business-”

“Are you going to torture me?” I snap, standing immediately. Cassian frowns at my reaction but holds his hand out.

“Of course not.”

“Then why the chains? Why bring me to this strange room if you’re-”

“Calm down, Neytiri. I’m not going to torture you. An office is similar to a study. It has nothing to do with torture. And as for the chains, we tried to do this without them and you attacked both Caius and me.”

I’m silent as I try and take in what he’s saying to me. Cassian gestures to the cushion once again and I slowly sink into it. He eyes the chains before looking back at me.

“I know this is all confusing and strange. To us, it’s been centuries. But for you, it’s been a swift sleep with me as your last memory. But I’m not going to harm you, I swear. You can trust me.”

He sounds so damn sincere. If I were still that young and naive girl I would believe him. But I’m not.

“Why would I ever trust you again? You’ve told me this before.”

Cassian keeps a level gaze as if expecting my response.

“It’s your decision if you want to trust me. I won’t force it on you. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time or luxury to earn it from you and until I know for sure you are no longer a threat to the lives of others that live here, I won’t be letting you out of my sight. Or giving you your power back.”

My brain immediately picks up what he said.

“Others?”

A faint smile plays on his lips but he only nods.

“Yes. Others. But I am getting ahead of myself. For now, understand that I will not harm you.”

He inches toward my chains keeping his eyes lined to mine.

“Can I trust you not to do anything rash if I unlock these?”

I study him as he studies me and I am at a complete loss for what to make of him at this point. He is so different but I do not know whether to trust him or not, even if he has proven that he has no plans to attack me. In my mind, he was so hellbent on getting revenge and destroying the world because of what happened to his family, and now revenge seems to be the furthest thing from his mind. But it is as he said, it’s been centuries for him.

I silently hold the chains up lowering my eyes.

“Ok.”

After a moment, Cassian finally moves to unlock my chains. They drop to the floor with a heavy rattle and I immediately begin rubbing my hands absentmindedly as I take in the room; a room apparently that wasn’t meant for my torture.

Cassian reaches for the contents of the tray handing me a small cup with steaming liquid in it.

“It’s tea. To help calm your nerves.”

I take it from him, smelling it first to see if there is any poison in it. But I only get the bitter scent of roots. I take a small sip, relieved when it somehow calms my senses. When I look up Cassian is watching me with a soft smile that lets his dimple shine through. I look back into the cup unable to hold his gaze.

“Caius said it's been six hundred years,” I say softly. Just hearing the words spoken aloud causes my stomach to knot uncomfortably.

“He said “we” did everything to bring me back,” I look up meeting his dark gaze, “I assume we means you?”

Cassian nods and I release a shaky breath. My head is pounding as an invisible force threatens to come to the surface.

“After our battle, I accomplished what I set out to do. I conquered. I had never been in such a dark place as I was after our battle. And I grew exhausted. I came to see you one last time before I was going to hide away from the world, but when I showed up, somehow, you were alive… as if your body had formed its own impenetrable ice to protect you.”

My hands move to my stomach as memories of our battle play out in my mind. I shake my head in disbelief at his words. I remember the world darkening and the pain. And for once, I felt cold. My gaze shifts back to Cassian who is watching me intensely.

“So I failed. I wasn’t able to do what I was created for.”

“You did not fail. It may have taken a while, but the impression you left on me saved the world from my wrath.”

I take another sip of the tea hoping to calm my nerves, but find that it does little for me.

“People still suffered. It was your decision to stop. I failed in preventing the suffering that happened before that.”

Cassian releases a soft breath standing. The sudden movement startles me and I shift, standing ready to defend myself. But when I look up, he has his hands up.

“I only want to show you something.”

I eye him mistrustingly but he doesn’t seem to mind as he slowly begins to step away from me.

“Come,” he says as he makes his way to the large window that overlooks the mountains. I force myself to remain calm and follow him.

“Upon my absence, the world changed drastically. Especially in the time that you have been asleep. The world no longer belongs to the Ancients. Humans overpopulated and took over, their greed ruining what was once our homes and legacies. They have wiped our culture from the Earth, the only remnants of our existence lie in the legends of their lives.”

Cassian’s words once again crumble the fragile foundation that I have built from the time of waking. Humans have always been beings that needed guidance and rule. They needed Ancients to teach them how to care for the Earth and one another and make overall decisions that pertained to a better future. But Cassian speaks of them with disdain.

“What about my people?” I whisper.

“I enlisted the help of others to create this place. It’s respectively the size of a small country. I’ve provided everything your people and mine need to survive here,”

He gestures to the village in the distance.

“That is where they live.”

I take note the closer I get to the window, the more I can see buildings in the distance. My brow furrows as I try and make it out, and I notice that there are more buildings not only in the distance but some in the crevices of the mountain surrounding it. It’s a good distance away, but I know immediately that it is a village. It is larger than any village I’ve seen and it seems to stretch for miles.

“This is a safe place for us, Neytiri. For your people. Away from the destruction of the world.”

“Why would you do this?”

Cassian hated us. We stood for everything he despised. Because of us, his family is gone. My people struck first in the war between us and because of that, Cassian made it his mission to wipe us out. But now, he has provided my people with a safe haven? Cassian doesn’t answer me immediately. He steps away from the window allowing me to look down at my people from distance but I hear him call to me as he makes his way back to his desk.

“You’ll find that time can really change you.”