Scribbles and Drabbles

#1 Snowflake

So a challenge(ish) appeared on my tumblr dashboard so I'm going to try to do as many as possible. Its a list of 24 prompts to do in Advent (though admittedly it says to take as long as you want). Either way, here's my first one and obviously this is crossposted on my Tumblr.

1. Snowflake

Warning: Preslash, MxM, Character Death

"Watch out for the lady with eyes as white as snow and the ice that she brings. If she touches you, you will steal all the warmth from your soul."

His Baba had warned him and his sister so many times about the Ice Queen. It had been her favourite tale to tell them growing up, usually with the fire burning brightly next to them and the smell of chestnuts roasting surrounding them. There were many stories about the Snow or Ice Queen, but the way his Baba spoke about the spirit made her sound very real. She hunted in snowstorms for pure-hearted souls to steal away, hoping to thaw her icy heart.

Zach wished someone would thaw his Baba's heart. His sister, Esmeralda was fair and beautiful with long black locks and enjoyed wearing beautiful things. Her personality was pleasant and cordial, and never dared to anything that could be seen as uncouth around company. She was everything their Baba wanted her to be.

Honestly, despite having grown up together in the same house, Esmeralda felt hollow to Zack. She aimed to be too perfect and while people often got enamoured with the image and eventually it faded away when nothing failed to happen, leaving her lonely and confused as her suitors fell in love with other people. Baba would comfort her and promise her Prince Charming would come as long as she stayed pure-hearted and clean. Zack personally thought getting a personality would help.

As for Zack, he was everything his Baba disliked. He wasn't interested in the old ways. He wore comfortable clothes as supposed to well-fitted and expensive ones. He was quiet and small, not big and loud like a boy should be. He detested sports and refused to touch the weighs his uncles had gotten him to toughen him up.

He was supposed to a valiant prince who could save damsels. His sister was meant to be a damsel and only one of them appeared to be what they were supposed to be.

There was a special kind of joy to discovering little miss perfect wasn't as perfect as she seemed; even with the danger that they were in. The woman in front of them could be no one but the Ice Queen. She stood tall wearing old fashioned robes that made her look elegant and almost untouchable. There was almost a fragileness to how she looked, like touching her would shatter her like an illusion. She was gorgeous, far more beautiful than any mortal woman could hope to be.

Ice grew from her feet, spreading with every step she took. She walked closer to them, a look of judging in her white eyes. She did not like what she saw in Esmeralda, that was for sure.

"You are useless to me," a melodic voice stated, her hand reaching out to gesture at Esmeralda in dismissal. Esmeralda went to speak but she turned to ice almost immediately. A look of indignation on her flawless her face. "Pretty though. Pretty enough to decorate some part of the castle I'm sure," she breathed.

Zach gulped. This was the moment he was supposed to do something brave and valiant. Only he was a little confused as to how this had happened.

Winter had rolled in harshly like every year. Baba had asked them to go fetch something from the next town other. A storm had rolled in and they had gotten lost on the path. The snow had come down thick making it hard to move or see. Esmeralda had insisted they continued forward and looked for shelter. Staying still would be the death of them. It seemed they had stumbled on the path of something far more ancient and dangerous. The storm was still howling but around them was a bubble of calm. The Ice Queen's magic, most likely.

"As for you," the Ice Queen murmured, turning to look at Zach again. "You may be useful to me."

"I doubt that, Ma'am," Zach breathed, not sure what to refer to the lady as. She might not actually be the Ice Queen and something else. It didn't seem like a good idea to risk it. Best just to speak politely and hope his end would be fast.

She smiled softly and touched his chin. Surprisingly her touch was actually warm. He blinked surprised. "You aren't quite pure-hearted, its been tainted by something but not your soul. Unlike your sister," she hummed sounding unimpressed. "I have a bit of a quandary, one which hopefully you can fix. I look for mistresses. Mortal maidens who are virgins to give to either my husband or my children as gifts. The people of this area have long given me sacrifices for this purpose."

"Different to the tales but I'll accept the premise. As you have already noted, I'm not a girl," Zach said slowly, not sure whether he should be participating in this conversation or simply listening.

"Tales get a bit distorted. I'm sure they are still determined my heart is broken into a million pieces and frozen in ice to protect it," the Ice Queen scoffed. "No. My husband enjoys his pets and my children are not always able to sleep with their partners so easily. Mortals, provided they were pure the first time they sleep with a Maighdeann-deighe, are able to do so. You're pure. And I have a son who prefers men," she explained calmly. "You don't have to come but know, your soul has already passed through the veil. It's either this or whatever lies next for you."

"We died," Zach noted, looking back at the storm raging beyond the bubble. The skies were black and his eyes darted to two dark figures on the ground. That's sad, he thought numbly. I was only 20.

The hand touched his shoulder, pulling his attention back to the woman in front of him. "I wouldn't try to remember it," She smiled sadly at him. "Tends to cause people pain."

"What exactly do you mean by mistresses?" Zach asked trying to keep his voice polite and not panicky. He was under no illusions. He liked men. The Ice Queen had likely been able to tell by how he hadn't swooned under her looks. Liking men was a one-way ticket to hell if his uncles were right, but then again, the stories had been wrong too and his uncles weren't the brightest of men. It was still a risk, one that given the Ice Queen had turned out to real, he was reluctant to take.

"Pretty things normally. They have sex with their partner and look nice until their souls fade back into the ether to be reborn. Some have jobs. One of my husband's longest mistresses is a weaver. She creates wonderful gowns for me. It is what they make it," the Ice Queen said with a pleasant smile on her face.

"That doesn't sound too bad," Zach murmured, part of him confused as to why he was even considering this offer. He didn't know what the Ice Queen was. Se could be fae, or demon or something else. This could be a trap.

"It's not," the Ice Queen promised. "Will you come to meet my son?"

Zack really hoped she was fae because the wording in that sentence was important. It wasn't, will you be my son's mistress. It was, will you meet my son. She wasn't expecting him to agree to sleep with a man he'd never meet. Zach looked at his sister's icy statue. A sense of guilt in his chest at the idea of going with the Ice Queen. On the other hand, they were dead now. "What will happen to my sister?" he asked softly, almost scared to ask.

"Are you close to her?" The Ice Queen asked nonchalantly.

"No, not at all," Zach admitted truthfully. He had no desire to really see her again at that moment. It was probably a bad thing and he should be ashamed of and yet, not. "Doesn't mean I want her to suffer."

"She isn't suffering like this. Her soul will move on eventually as most mortal souls do. She isn't even aware this has happened," the Ice Queen reassured. "I'll have her statue moved to the palace grounds with many others. When her soul moves on it will melt."

"She's not suffering," Zach repeated.

"No, my dear boy."

Zach nodded slowly. "Then. I guess I will go with you to meet your son," he said hesitantly. He was not the hero, but maybe he could have a fairy tale of his own spun.

"Excellent. I was worried my son would have to pick someone ugly in order to fulfil that annoying condition of being a virgin. You are handsome for a mortal," the Ice Queen sniffed. Somehow it did not surprise Zach that the Queen demanded beautiful mortals be chosen for this role. "Come. Take my hand."