The Frosted Files:Open Eyes

// Chapter 16 \\

    Scarlett blinked at me, as cats do. "The deal was that, should you live after I help you, you'd come to meet the Queen. That's what you agreed to, at least."
    "That fucking sellout bastard," I muttered. "When is this supposed to happen?"
    "As soon as possible; hence why I'm still following you. I'll be with you until then."
    While she's not half bad, I already have the role of 'sarcastic badass' filled, so I'm not sure I wanted her to stick around much longer.
    "Okay, fine, fine. I'll meet your Queen, but I need to stop by a few places first."
    Scarlett agreed to those terms, so we made our way out of the undercity, and stopped by a few places. It was a lot of boring shopping, standing in lines, et cetera, so I'll spare you those details.
    We stood at the shore of the lake upon which Arbitrium was founded; Lake Wisconsin. Some Mandela effect social media posts circulating a few years ago claimed the lake was actually called 'Lake Michigan', but that's just downright silly. I mean, Michigan borders multiple great lakes, so why would only one get named after it?
    Regardless of the lake name, we stood there, staring out into the waters. Scarlett waves a hand, and previously unseen stone structures appear. They must have been hidden by illusions, or the Fog, or something.
    Upon closer looking, they seem to be the remains of a castle, a single archway still standing.
    Scarlett started towards it, flicking Karma with her tail. I followed the two, as to not be left behind in the magical ruins on the lakeshore.
    The archway flashed briefly with Scarlett's signature burnt orange magic, and when I looked through it, I didn't see the ruins behind. Instead, I was looking into a castle's initial entrance, where one would be checked for weapons and such.
    "Oh, lovely, a Gateway into Faern. Just what I needed today, y'know," Karma said, crossing her arms before hesitatingly stepping through. She shivered as she crossed over, and I was even more hesitant than she had seemed.
    The two looked back at me. "It's not that bad," Scarlett said. "It's just a tad... different."
    I didn't see much of a choice, so I took a deep breath, holding it as I stepped across the Gateway.
    It felt like walking through a doorway wrapped in cellophane, getting caught up in the sudden difference of material. Once on the other side, however, I moved a lot better, and looked around.
    We were inside a castle made of some dark stone, high roofs and tall windows. The floors looked wooden, some darker grain, but none I could identify. The stone looked worn with time, and the windows held no glass, simply letting the cold bit of wind into the room. After I had stepped through, Karma and Scarlett must have magicked themselves some coats, because they wore one each - Karma's was black and white, with a fur hood, stylish but subtle. Scarlett's was a simple brown and black, made for utility and comfort rather than looks. I, however, did not receive a coat, and the wind felt like it was going straight through my skin, right to the bone. I was shivering before I could even ask about the place.
    There were also suits of armour between the windows, standing taller than any of us, holding halberds in one hand, shields in the other. They were roughly ten feet tall, and some had antlers or horns, some had little mail tubes for a tail - these were obviously for Scarlett's people.
    Karma wasn't looking around - instead, she had her eyes down, arms still crossed, her tail nervously flicking around her feet. Scarlett had a hand on her shoulder, talking quietly. Maybe Karma had some history of this place - maybe Scarlett was comforting her. I couldn't tell, exactly, over the chattering of my teeth.
    "So is this the place?" I asked, doing my best to not bite my tongue. Scarlett shook her head, and looked up to me, and seemingly remembered the fact that I can't create my own clothing from thin air.

    Actually, boss, based on what the amulet told us, any matter created by magic is made of ectoplasm drawn from Faern - this realm - making it hard to keep together. However, since we are here, it's relatively easy to make.
    I'll be honest, I forgot Destiny was still active. I nearly jumped out of my skin, and suddenly my coat felt a lot warmer. I looked down, and saw a small sigil, or rune, or something, and a little pen in Scarlett's hand.
    "Thank you." I said, my teeth slowly stopping their dance.