Frozen Imbalance

Chapter 1

It was a typical day for Lilly.

She woke up and stretched, looking around her room and smiling as the daylight trinkled in. She yawned away her sleepiness and got out of her bed, her wings dragging behind her.

Opening her closet, she picked out her usual, green jeans, embedded with embroidered ivy, and a loose, soft shirt. She walked to the little armor stand in the corner of her room and carefully picked up the silver shoulder plate and clasped it on one of her shoulders. It was thin, the tips stained green, and weighed nearly nothing, it was mostly ceremonial, there to be threatening.

She picked up a comb and brushed out her blond hair, letting it fall naturally.

She then picked up her more wide brush and began to comb out the feathers in her wings. Only a few feathers fluttered down to the ground, she picked them up and set them in a small pile in the corner of her room, making a mental note to dispose of them later.

She slid on her brown boots, and yawned once again. She held herself still and did her makeup in her little mirror, as little as possible though. She wasn't a fan of anything unnatural.

"Your majesty," a voice said, Lilly turned around and saw one of her soldiers waiting at her door, his sword sheathed, and the tips of his wings fluttering lightly in the wind.
"Ah Gerald, good to see you." she greeted, opening her doors and smiling at him. She saw him trying to remain serious before cracking and smiling back.
"I came to wake you," he said. Lilly laughed and shut her doors, walking with him.
"I assure you, I've been queen for nearly seven years, I know how to wake myself up." she teased. He smiled lightly again, looking around the skies for threats as they walked.

The balcony they walked on was long and thin, made of deep red wood and supported by posts that stretched down to the ground. Vines and ivy laced around the rails, Lilly couldn't help but touch them lightly as she walked to the larger platform at the end of the balcony.

It too, was made of the same wood, the rails covered in a thick layer of vines, and a massive tree trunk stood right beside it, helping to support the platform.

On the side of the platform there was a small house shaped structure, open on all sides, there were no walls, just columns, a roof and a floor. Yet the entire thing was lined with books, and in the center there was the sacred book, an enchanting, magical book, yet it was never used. On the opposite side of the little library were long stairs that lead down to a small balcony, which was completely open to the sky, with a view of the tops of the trees far down below.

She walked by the library, though she mentally noted that she wanted to study the magic book more. Later of course.

She stepped to the little ladder on the side of it, and climbed up, opening the trapdoor above her and into open space. Then patiently waited for Gerald to follow.

When he arrived, he immediately walked to the side of the room, stood up straight, and his face went blank. A soldiers pose.

She took a moment to admire the small castle. It wasn't really a castle, it was just a large room with wooden walls, but through years of age, there were cracks all along the walls, like veins. That had been grown into by leaves of the trees and vines, the roof had the same effect, it was all leaves, protecting the people inside from the rain because of the massive tree just outside that supported it. It gave the entire room a greenish glow.

There wasn't any love for anything gaudish in the Kingdom, so the throne was a soft, dark wood chair. A smaller tree growing behind it and hardened into a back. At the foot of it, there were potted plants, and a red parrot sat at the armrest, chirruping happily when he saw Lilly. She nodded respectfully to the two guards at her throne and sat down on it, making sure that her shoulders were just at the right position to be formal.