The Ice Queen - "Faith & Trust" Ch. 5 (Patreon)

Can time truly change someone like Cassian? As I look around, I can see that time truly does change things. It changed the world as I knew it to something completely different. Cassian no longer has a castle. He lives on an estate that looks drastically different from the ones that I saw over the span of my life. It’s foreign like everything else around here. Although the architecture is foreign to me, in some ways, it’s beautiful; clean. It is much less ominous and than the dark castles I once resided in with the blood king.

I look back to where Cassian’s desk is, and the lights that surround it. That’s what he called them. Lights. There are no torches, no horses, and no guards at every door.  But there are glass containers that hold something called electricity in them. It’s overwhelming and strange all of the new words associated with objects. I don’t understand any of it.

Time has changed the world around me drastically, but has it changed Cassian in the same way? I turn away from his desk taking in the view beyond the large windows. The sun has set, allowing me a beautiful view of the buildings in the village. The lights are beginning to come on in each home, proof of what Cassian has done. And with Cassian finally leaving me alone to look, I finally feel comfort for the first time since I awoke.

A light knock sounds on Cassian’s door before it opens and Caius steps into the room. His expression is cautious as he takes me in. I saw him only hours ago and attacked him calling him a traitor. I still feel slight animosity toward him as he approaches and he notices, his footsteps faltering.

“Cassian asked that I take you to-”

“So you serve Cassian now?” I snap. Hurt flashes across his features as he watches me.

“You know what he did to me. You know what he did to my people, why would you allow him to take them and put them under his thumb like this?” I ask looking back to the window. Caius releases a breath, his footsteps coming near me. He walks past me looking at the village as well before answering.

“My loyalty will always lie with you. But you and Cassian are married; bound by a blood oath. I serve both of you. I only began to work by his side when he approached me with the idea for this place and you. I only serve him as a connection to your people. That is all.”

Cassian seems to have changed drastically. I have to constantly remind myself that it has been centuries since our battle. But it’s taking a while for my head to completely trust him. I trusted him more than once long ago and he betrayed me without batting a lash. I can’t make that mistake again. But looking at the village in the distance and listening to Caius now, Cassian is the one I need to thank for my people’s survival.

“You trust him? You don’t think this is some elaborate trick to harm us again?” I ask.

Caius betrayed Cassian for me once. He fought by my side against Cassian to preserve my people and save me. Not only that, but Caius was the one that let me escape all those years ago when they came to slaughter my people. He never does anything unless he truly supports it.

“In some ways, he’s truly changed. All he wants is what’s best for us. And he works day in and day out to protect what’s left of us. I’ve seen it. He’s finally become the leader we all knew he would be… you know, before…”

I don’t have to say it aloud. We both know why Cassian became the being he was. It makes me sad to think of what could have been. How all the war and bloodshed could have been avoided. Two tribes could have been united and the world would have never fallen into the hands of humans. Now that all of my memories have returned, I understand things I never would have known.

Cassian and I were betrothed. That was the reason my brothers began this war and attacked the Dragonborn when they weren’t expecting it. The Dragonborn were showing the Ikniri the consequences of violating the treaty; that they were in charge and not even the Chief could avoid their rule. My father’s punishment was having his daughter taken and raised in the lands of the Dragonborn. While it would have united our kingdoms, it was still a public way of humiliating my father for his insolence.

My brothers fought and died for no reason. In the end, I still married Cassian. Even if I didn’t know my past at the time, I still walked right into the fate that had been dealt. But I’m not that naïve girl any longer. I refuse to be. Even if Caius trusts him, I won’t let my guard down so easily. I won’t let Cassian manipulate me as he did so easily in the past.

“You don’t have to trust him now. But trust me. I am your subordinate, I would never do anything to harm you. Cassian isn't what he once was.”

I keep my eyes trained on the village feeling resentment bubble to the top.

“I want to see them. I want to be with them. He won’t let me.”

I look at Caius with tears burning in my eyes.

“I’m supposed to trust that he won’t let me see my own people?”

Caius’s expression shifts as he studies me.

“I know I am the last person you want to hear this from, but it is for their safety… Do you remember waking up, Neytiri?” My gaze shifts to Caius and he’s watching me with that Cautious expression again.

“Of course. You were next to me in that room before Cassian came in.”

He doesn’t react immediately to my response but plasters on a smile.

“Can I show you something?” he asks holding his hand out to me. I hesitantly place my hand in his and he pulls me up from my seat toward the door of Cassian’s office. We silently walk through the warmly lit halls of Cassian’s home. Caius knows this place perfectly as he maneuvers through the halls. I try not to get distracted as we pass by paintings that are more vivid than any I’ve ever seen, or sculptures that are exotic.

“Where are we going?” I ask.

“Cassian asked me to take you to the kitchen for something to eat. I’m sure you’re starving. I just thought we’d make a little pit stop on the way there.”

“Where is Cassian?”

He left abruptly when Ulric entered, telling him something urgent. I haven’t seen him since.

“I haven’t been authorized to tell you-”

I grab Caius’s shoulder, forcing him to face me.

“You said you were loyal to me.”

“I am-”

“Then why does Cassian’s word go over mine?” I snap.

Caius’s eyes widen and for an instant, I see fear in them as he studies me.

“Cassian isn’t going to harm you any longer Neytiri. He isn’t our enemy-”

I let out a growl of irritation whipping away from him.

“How do I know Cassian won’t lie to me, Caius?”

“He has no reason to lie anymore.”

His eyes are shining bright blue, a sign of who he swore his oath to yet he seems dedicated to proving Cassian is no longer who he was.

“If he wanted to, he could control you. All the way down to the words that could leave your lips as he did in the past. But he hasn’t. I swear to you, he isn’t our enemy, if you would just let me show you…”

He watches me cautiously, his hand lingering over the door handle.

“Please.”

Caius watches me for a moment, finally pushing open the door to the room. The lights turn on casting a warm glow over the objects and my eyes widen as I take it all in. It’s all things from our past. My wedding dress, Cassian’s weapons, and banners, even respective paintings of the both of us at one point in our lives. My gaze shifts until it falls on the large maps on the wall. There are two of them.

The map on the left highlights our lands. The Ikniri, the Terrans, the Mirena, and the Dragonborn. I look at the map on the right, my heart sinking as I read new words over each domain.

Europe. Asia. Russia. The United States. And others that seem impossible to pronounce.

“What is this?” I ask looking at Caius. He has a grim expression on his face.

“This is the new world. The one we don’t belong in.” He walks past me placing his hand on the map, running his fingers over the dried ink. He moves his finger over to a small splotch on the new world map in the middle of the ocean. The ocean I once dreamed of crossing.

“This is us. This is all we have left,” he says bitterly. My eyes widen at the sight, my legs unable to hold the weight of my body as I sink to the floor. I feel sick.

“I wanted you to hear this from me. Because I know you won’t believe it if Cassian tells you. Humanity is a disease. A horrid, sickening disease on the Earth, her elements, and her creatures. They have multiplied and taken over and they are slowly killing her. This is why we were put in charge, but it is no longer that way. As descendants of the Ancients, we do not blend in with them. We look too different. All of us. I know you may not trust him or think he’s changed, and I don’t blame you, Neytiri. The last thing you remember is him ending your life with his own sword. But I’ve been by his side for the past six hundred years. I’ve seen him change. And, if it weren’t for him I don’t know if we would be here. We would be hiding instead of thriving within the safety of our own island.

Caius is watching me with such an intense expression, the weight of his words dig at me. Even if I do not trust Cassian, he has protected us from what has become of the world.

“Please be patient. I promise you are safe here.”