Shiver

1

Serena resisted the urge to itch her arms, the lace on her see-through sleeves making her skin tingle uncomfortably. She bit her lip softly once to try and distract herself from it; a princess like her was expected to be silent and still until she was called upon. The hem of her dress was ripped and her silky silver hair was falling out of her braid in several places. The cut above her eye stung horribly, and the bruise on her cheek throbbed. Yet those were minor inconviences. Even the ankle she knew was sprained was supposed to be nothing to her. 

Looking over the other princesses, she secretly envied them. Hazel, the Princess of Fire, was sitting on the largest throne, a bandage over her left eye and tussling her short red hair. Despite her firm words and frustrated tone, her face was marred by pain, and she was allowed to show it. On her right, Princess Yin of the Earth Kingdom was being tended by a few of her servants, an ugly bleeding gash near her right ear. From the cast on her arm, it looked as if she had broken it. The other two Princesses, Arianna of Air and Tanya of Water, seemed otherwise fine, just a few cuts and scratches here and there that they had already cleaned up. 

Serena told herself to keep in mind that a couple of them had been hurt worse than she had, so she should not think badly of them. She moved the tiniest bit to release pressure on her left foot, involuntarily hissing a little in pain. Luckily, no one noticed it, not even the first advisor that stood to her right. 

"We're lucky the battle went as well as it did," Princess Hazel said gruffly, her thick voice carrying across the room. She sighed, rubbing her left temple and smearing some of her traditional warpaint. "There weren't as many lives lost as we initially thought."

Serena's gaze hardened slightly at the larger woman. "If we had taken precautions, like my father suggested, there would not have been this number of lives taken from us to begin with," she said smoothly, folding her hands in front of her. The other princesses, seated around the table, finally turned to look at her, a little surprised she had spoken.

The Earth Princess cleared her throat a little awkwardly. "Ah, yes. We apologize. It would have been wise to listen to King Salazar."

Tanya rolled her eyes a bit, crossing her arms. "Sorry that we had our own things to deal with in our own kingdoms," she muttered, obviously not very happy with Serena's statement.

"I only meant that it would be wise if we kept in contact more," the Ice Princess told them, her heart sinking a little. "The Five Kingdoms should have more interaction than just the Princess Alliance and what happens here."

The other women all exchanged glances. A few of them looked uncertain, but Tanya looked doubtful. Still, she shrugged and said nothing, flipping some of her hair. Hazel sighed, seemingly overwhelmed, and stood up from her seat, wincing slightly. 

"I have to agree with Princess Selena. This Alliance, as of late, has been the only connection between the kingdoms. With the Curse spell taking more and more land and people, we cannot afford to keep this up." She waved away some of her advisors, and some of the others as well. "My decision is final. We will make adjustments from here."

"Thank you," Selena said with a bow of her head. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw First Advisor Uran shift uncomfortably. She couldn't tell if he approved of this turn of events or not.

"Meeting dismissed," Hazel told them, once again waving her hand. She took her battle helmet off the table and held it under her arm. "And good work today, guys. Be sure to rest up and get your strength." She sighed with a strained smile and shrugged. "Ya never know when another attack like this could come."

The others all nodded, slowly getting up and exiting the meeting tent. Serena nodded to her advisor, knowing he would be required to stay here a bit longer, and turned to leave. She was about to make her way out of the tent when Tanya cut off her path. The olive toned princess smirked at her, crossing her arms and giving her a stare icier than Serena's own magical abilities. 

"Where do you think you're going, Serena?" she sneered, her voice silent. 

Though Serena was taller than this young woman, she felt intimidated by her close presence almost immediately. She almost turned to Ulan, but she knew he would not come to help her. As a princess, all matters like this must be handled herself. She swallowed nervously and looked into Tanya's green eyes, forcing a smile on her lips. "I plan on going to the Teleport Camp so I may return home. My father will be happy to know the battle is over."

"He'll have to wait a little bit longer," the other said coldly. "You know it's your duty to take care of the unwanted dead."

Serena shuddered involuntarily, knowing full well the Tanya saw it. She hated to be reminded. "I am well aware, Tanya, thank you," she told her through gritted teeth, a fake smile still plastered to her face. "I will have my subjects take care of the matter." She tried to take a step forward, hoping to leave this conversation as soon as possible. 

Tanya stepped just in front of her again, the two of them now only a few inches apart. "It's your duty as well as theirs." She smiled darkly, patting her shoulder firmly. "Don't let your people down. A good princess should help them." She stepped back then, leaning to the left and gesturing for the other to get going. 

Inside, the Ice Princess was both fuming and crushed, but she forced her smile to widen as she folded her hands in front of her calmly. "Of course," she said, her voice thin. "Thank you for the reminder." She said nothing else as she left, trying her best to hide her limp despite the pain. She knew Tanya was watching her leave, which meant she had no chance of escape. 

The princess forced herself to walk far down the battlefield. She passed several of the dead Cursed, but she wanted to get as far away from that tent as possible. She prayed Tanya wouldn't follow her. Now that Serena was trapped, she wasn't going to leave. She would have to take care of some of the unwanted dead, even if it made her shudder and grow sick.

When she decided she had gone far enough, she looked around for a body to take care of. Her eyes stopped on a man just in front of her feet. Wincing in pain, she got on her knees to examine the body to see what kingdom he had come from, if any. She could tell this man was tall even though he lay slack upon his back. He wore a black jacket with a fur hood and dress pants, several chains hanging from his neck while his ears were pierced with black spikes. His hair was white as ice, though matted with blood and dirt. He was bleeding from the head and from a wound on his side, most likely the cause of his death. 

Something did not sit right with her as she looked him over. She leaned down a little more, taking a closer look at his face. His eyes were shut tight in a grimace, but that wasn't what made her unsettled. She recognized his face.. but from where? She frowned and narrowed her eyes, her heartbeat picking up a bit. Her hand shaking nervously, she slowly reached out and turned his head to get a better look. As soon as she did, she gasped, drawing it back immediately. 

This had been the man leading the attacks, Varian!

Swallowing, she tried to get herself to stop shaking. Snap out of it. He's dead. He can't hurt you or anyone else anymore. Taking a deep breath in hopes of calming her nerves, she reached out again to grab him. She needed to drag him to a cart nearby. The rest of her warriors would be taking care of the dead as well, so there had to be one close. She grunted a bit, realizing his body was rather heavy. Even though the thick leather jacket blocked off most of his skin, she could tell he was a strong man, with finely toned muscles.

He really must have worked out, she thought to herself. 

Just as she had begun to stand back up, his arm in her hands, Varian's eyes snapped open. Serena gasped sharply and dropped his arm, stumbling back on her knees. The man sat up sharply, grunting in pain. His wild eyes locked onto her and she froze in terror, her lip trembling and her breath shaking horribly. Before she could snap herself out of it, he was suddenly in front of her, something cold against her neck.

"Don't move," he hissed through gritted teeth, his voice raspy and heavy. He pressed the knife harder against her neck, just beginning to cut skin. "Or I'll slit your pretty little neck open."