Sunset Legend

• 26 •

"Disappointed? No. Surprised? Yes. I didn't think you had the power in you to do that," Frost said, closing the door behind him. I watched as he walked over to the lifeless body, kicking her arm once.
"She deserved it," I huffed. My hands finally stopped shaking at my sides.
"I agree, for different reasons, but I agree." He examined the blood spilling over the side of her face. "This is new. Legend only says you possessed bodies." Frosts said, thoroughly intrigued.
"I learned a few things," I said, cautiously. His blue eyes met mine, a wicked look in them.
"Have you tried to kill me since you got here?" He was crouched over her shoulder, looking up at me from the floor.
"No," I answered honestly. He watched my face for a second, surprised to find me telling the truth.
"Go ahead and try," he said. The cheshire cat grin was on his face as I reached out carefully. When I expected to find a heart beat, I heard nothing. All I felt was a void. "I don't have a heart, snowflake. How do you think I can do what I do? I don't feel anything."
He rose, suddenly more frightening than I have ever seen him. His eyes flashed to a night black before blue. "Try and take me," he challenged. I didn't even try to make my way into his body, knowing I would hit a wall. He knew what I was. He was prepared. "I take a magic drink every morning so you can't take me."
"Smart." My mouth became dry under his stare.
"Now." His eyes flashed back to the dead queen beneath him. "Where to dispose her. Any ideas my dear?" He looked proud, like this was something he taught me to do.
"Take care of her. I need to freshen up for lunch where I assume some news will be shared." I didn't wait for a response as I went into the bathroom. I felt his stare in my back until I shut the door behind me.
Now what?

"She what?" Hue asked, his eyebrows pulling together confused. Frosts stood above my father, his plate untouched in front of him.
"I know. She insisted she had a better place to be and she just left. Not a letter or a goodbye for anyone," Frosts said, fake disappointment in his voice. Jaxon was in the room unseen, listening.
"You okay dad?" I asked, the word just slipping out of my mouth out of habit.
"She's actually gone?" He asked, looking between Frosts and I. I nodded. He let out a long breath of air. "Good." Frosts turned to me an eyebrow raised and I could only shrug.
"Good?" He repeated, sitting down at the spot where his food was prepared.
"Yes. There was something about her that was just, evil. I'm glad she's gone." My heart ached for Hue, for the life he deserved to have.
"She was truly evil," Frosts whispered, winking at me over his salad. "Onto more pressing matters. Solstice, when shall our wedding finally happen?" Hue's fork rattled against the plate as it fell from his hands.
"Never," I said, sharply.
"Tomorrow? I agree. I saw what would of been the wedding dress and was it not gorgeous?" I never wanted to wear white again. I tried for his body, only to be blocked by a shield. His tongue clicked in his mouth as his foot stomped mine under the table. I yelped, glaring across the table. "Don't be silly." His tone was dark, commanding.
A vase exploded into a thousand shattering pieces on the table behind Frosts. One had come as close as to striking his back. He spun, eyes narrowed as he stared at the empty air.
"That was an old vase," Hue said as if it was that simple. I wanted Jaxon to appear and bash Frosts head so hard against the table that it shattered next. Instead, I ignored the glare from Frosts as I turned to the king.
"It was rather old, wasn't it?"

I was alone with Hue in his study. He was bent over a pile of papers from the people, concerned with who might be sitting on the throne next.
"What happened to the old castle?" I asked, glancing at the door to make sure I locked it. Hue looked up, a pair of glasses sitting on his nose. The sun was setting now at its early hour, casting a dull glow into the room. How boring it was here.
"A storm ruined it honey, didn't she tell you that?"
I licked my lips. "She destroyed it. Her and Frosts murdered everyone in there when they could not find me." His brows pulled in so tight together, many years of wrinkles deep in his forehead.
"I surely would of remembered that," he said, removing the glasses from his nose.
"She controlled your mind. She did the same to me," I said as calmly as I could. The pen in his hand fell.
"What?"
"She was not my mother." Hue looked sick as he stared at me. I bent my head, taking off the fake contacts and flicking them into the air. "She kidnapped me many years ago to help her take over the lands." His eyebrows twitched in disbelief as he stared into my gold eyes, looking back and forth between them.
"The Sunsets? I thought they were destroyed," he whispered, standing up from his chair and pacing the room. "It's coming back to me now. How happy she returned from that war. That's when she told me she was pregnant. There are so many disconnected memories that before I thought I was crazy. Mixing a past life with this one. You," he stopped, sitting on the end of the desk as he looked over me. "You aren't my child?"
"No." My voice broke for the first time in a long time as I stared up at the man who had done nothing but love me uncontrollably. "But I want to thank you for all that you have done for me. Father or not, I still love you." His lips trembled as he mouthed it back, unable to talk. I rose from my seat, pulling him in for a hug. He held me tightly as he remembered everything she took away from him.
"Now what?" He asked over my head. I broke away the hug.
"You leave the castle tonight. By the next day these lands will be nothing but yours and never anyone else's. That is what you deserve." He didn't say anything, which as I took my invite to leave.
As I unlocked the door he said, "good luck." I only nodded to the door before leaving.

Later that night Lila was humming to herself as she brushed my hair before bed. I watched her in the mirror, the way her lip would curl up before it quickly became a flat line again. She set the brush down, adjusting the strap to my cream colored night gown.
"Good night, Solstice." I watched her basically skip out of the room. With heavy feet and a cluttered mind, I trudged over to the bed. I took a long sip of the hot chocolate, letting it warm my body in this freezing room.
The door swung open so Frosts could entire. I took a look at his coat and knew exactly where he'd been.
"How many did you kill today?" I asked, bringing the blanket up high to my shoulders as I leaned against the backboard. His coat hung over the back of the vanity chair now.
"I'm sure one too many for you," he mumbled. Confused at this sudden humanly side of Frosts, I raised an eyebrow in question.
"Is something wrong?" The question had us both frozen. He was stuck in mid stride, a blue shirt in his hand to change in to. His eyes met mine.
"Do you care?"
"No," I answered in a heartbeat. He nodded before heading into the bathroom. It was a while before he came out, dressed in the shirt and black pajama pants. He slithered into bed, laying on his side so he faced away from me.
"No jokes?" I asked. His shoulder was a limp shrug. So I poked it.
He took my wrist, pulling me to the middle of the bed. His body hovered over mine, his arms bent next to my head. His face just inches away. His blue eyes danced.
"Do you care about me, Solstice?" Hearing my real name roll off his tongue was foreign. His grin kept me grounded as I stared at this dammed pointed teeth.
"Don't flatter yourself," I said through clenched teeth.
"That's a fine line to be walking, but I like you." I stared at him, my lips in a flat line as his eyes flashed to them.
"The void in your chest would prevent that," I stated.
"Oh no, that's love. You're a pretty thing I could get used to fussing over me. I like it." I groaned as his body fell to mine, crushing my back far into the bed. How was he so heavy? "And cuddles. Lots of cuddles since you like them so much." My shoulder twitched as his cold breath hit my ear as he spoke. I shoved at his chest, my new strength useless against him. His forehead rested against mine.
"Get. Off. Of. Me," I hissed, pounding at his chest repeatedly. He only laughed, like this was a game to him.
"Where's your bodyguard now, snowflake?" His lifeless lips brushed mine as he talked. I almost threw up my lunch on his face. Frosts leaned back, his eyes the deadly black he showed me earlier.
Breathing became easier as his weight was lifted off my body. Not lifted, but thrown. I looked over at the shattered vanity on the floor, the dent in the wall above where Frosts sat.
"Right here," Jaxon said, crouching in a fighting stance in front of me.