Snowcon Forest

Kidnapped

Snatcher floated through the blizzard wasteland, every surface covered in a thick layer of snow that made his surroundings blur together, but he did not need his eyes.

No, he was looking for a certain icy aura that did not belong in his forest.

He should have known the moment the snow started falling in such a heavy manner that the spell he had used to seal the snowball in place had failed, allowing her to escape his watch and create havoc wherever she went.

Granted she had not done anything yet, but that did not mean her intentions were pure.

Suddenly the howling wind carried a voice to his ears, giving him a message that made his dead heart pound in fear.

"My Prince..."

Snatcher whirled around, his hair standing on end, but saw nothing.

The blizzard was getting heavier.

"Where are you?" He snarled, flinging his magic around him in a slightly desperate attempt to hit his target, figure out where she was hiding, but found nothing.

He did this several more times, ignoring the trembling that had begun to take over his body and the way that his hands shook as he sent out each wave of magic.

He was not scared, he was not scared!

He was terrified.

His abuser, his tormentor, his murderer was hunting him in her element. There was nowhere for him to hide, no shadows to manipulate, and he did not dare try to get back to Subcon Village with her on his tail.

He would sooner die again than allow his subjects to suffer, allow his family to suffer.

Snatcher had no choice but to face her, and he was not ready. For all that he had grown and developed over the past month, realizing he no longer loved the woman who had killed him, he had never once thought about confronting her. Even with Moonjumper backing him up, that had never been an option in his mind.

The snow crunched behind him and he lashed out with his magic once again, slicing a tree in half.

She was taunting him.

"Stop hiding like a coward and come out and fight me!" He howled over the roaring winds, hoping his challenge would goad her out from wherever she was hiding.

Nothing moved and the blizzard continued to grow stronger, completely isolating him from the rest of the forest.

And then she arrived.

He could feel Vanessa standing behind him, the sheer terror her presence brought wracking his body. Before he could even move or try to flee he found himself falling to the ground, icy magic searing into his soul and leaving him immobile.

Just before he passed out he caught sight of her shadowy silhouette, and that hushed whisper repeated once again.

"My Prince..."

And then everything went dark.

xxxxxxxxxx

Moonjumper floated in the center of Subcon Village, arms folded across his chest as he stared out towards the path Snatcher had taken when he left.

It had been more than an hour since the shadow had disappeared on his mission and while Moonjumper could still sense his, oddly weak, aura, he was still absent. Needless to say the corpse was more than a little worried for his close friend.