Between the empires.

Chapter 1. ❄️

Scott was pouring over a book he was reading, it was a book on the history of The Stag Gods. His wings were resting behind him, shifting every once and awhile as he read.

Katherine made her way up to Scott's huge castle doors, shaking out her wings of the snow before knocking on the doors.

Scott looked up from his book and spotted her outside. He closed up the book and placed it on the table before walking over to the door and opening it.
"Oh, hello Katherine, what a pleasant surprise! I take it you're wanting to discuss our current alliances?" He asked in a snooty tone.

"Hi Scott!" Katherine said politely, curtsying *A snort came from behind her and Gem then said, "Well someone's in a bad mood today."

He looked over her shoulder and saw Gem.
"Yes, yes, the mighty wizard herself." Scott rolled his eyes, his wings shifting. "What is it, are you wanting an alliance with us as well?" He asked. His tone was filled with a sarcastic snicker.

Gem stepped forward and Katherine moved back, shivering violently. "Actually I'm here about the Xornrth issue."

Scott rolled his eyes again. "You'd come to the wrong place then, I am not the one you should be discussing this with. You should be talking to Xornoth, although he won't be as pleasant and kind as I am." He stated in a passive-aggressive tone.

"Don't play games with me Scott, I know he first started plaguing things here." Gem said more harsh as Katherine looked like she was turning purple.

He went silent for a moment, before speaking up again."Fine, what do you want to know?" He asked in a very irritated tone. His wings were slightly twitching, he was clearly angry.

He also looked over to Katherine, noticing she was turning purple.

"Ok first," Gem said grabbing out what seemed to be a list of questions. "C-could we- h-head inside first?" Katherine asked, rubbing her wings together, her wings appeared to be cracking or just maybe freezing.

Scott sighed and stepped aside.
"Fine, come in." He stated, not trying to cover up his irritation and anger.

He stepped aside as he held the door open, his wings shifting again.

Katherine nodded gratefully at Scott before heading inside, sighing of relief when the warmth of the fire inside the castle hit her. Gem came in behind her, looking around,

The inside was very rich, with gold lining the halls and walls of the castle.
There were grand chandeliers with candles, their light flickering in the drafty air.
"What was it you wanted to ask me?" Scott asked, his arms folding behind his back.

"First off Scott, Are you ok? You seem- off today." Gem said, recalling his anger.

He took a deep breath, trying as much as possible to calm himself down.

"It's just, Xornoth has been a very sensitive topic for me, to say the least, especially since his corruption." His tone sounded slightly more level headed than it was a few moments ago.

"Right..." Gem said awkwardly, looking over at Katherine. The flower queen seemed to be massaging her temples and knocking the snow off her head, she clearly wasn't used to this kind of weather.

Scott walked over to the fireplace and stared into the fire. His wings slightly drooped, his expression shifting to a sort of solemn sadness.

"I should've been there for him when he needed me." He spoke softly, as if to himself.

Gem looked down, not knowing how to respond to that, she was about to try before Katherine spoke up, "It's ok Scott, I'm sure you were really stressed at the time and weren't thinking clearly, we've all been there."

He turned his head towards her, his wings shifting around him.
"Thank you, Katherine, it's nice to hear that at least some people understand and forgive me." He replied, his wings slightly raising back up.
"Now then, what questions did you have for me about Xornoth?"

Gem looked up again, nodding and began to ask them. It took a few hours but then finally, finally she had no more to ask. "So, I guess that's all, thank you Scott."

Scott nodded. His wings were slowly shifting, he was calm again for the moment.
"If that is all then I should be taking my leave. As the ruler of Rivendell, I have many obligations and responsibilities, so I must take my leave now." He spoke, sounding formal and serious after the conversation.

"I should get home too, see about my flowers and the corruption, it's mainly held off after I put a water barrier around my kingdom." She smiled nervously, remembering what the book had to say.

"Ah, the corruption, a horrible thing it is. I wish the best of luck to you in dealing with it." He replied, sounding genuinely sympathetic.
"Goodbye, Katherine." He went back to sounding formal and serious as he turned around and walked away.

"Goodbye Scott" , Katherine nodded before heading off, Gem behind her switching directions back to her kingdom.*

Once they had left, Scott took a deep breath.
"Why must being a ruler be so stressful?" He muttered to himself, before going back to his study to work on official documents and paperwork.