'I looked at Flash, from his face I could see that his heart was melting. I saw the two paths ahead me as clearly as they saw it. Then let fate pick a path for me.
" thousands huh?" I muttered
" Then one less foe"
I brought down the blade.'

***

The sound of my heart thudding against my chest was all I could hear. I still held the sword, my fingers around the hilt, even as it was halfway dug into the snow. I didn't do it after all, I won against my hatred.
A low horrifying laughter erupted from The Wolf.

"Just this once, You've defeated me, Just this once You have defeated the darkness"

The tension in the air dissipated, all thanks to his cynical remark. Flash let out a small sigh.

I collected the sword and walked past him.

"Please" I rolled my eyes "You don't need to congratulate me for not killing you" I sighed
"You're all creeps in this little world of yours"
I looked down at my pants and noticed that the mist had worn off. They were green again.

Flash laughed, his laughter was charming. His raven black hair was a bit ruffled by the fight but he still looked all together, overly cute, with his green emerald eyes glistening like sugary lollipops.

"Am I included?" he was asking with a playful expectant expression.
I frowned. He was getting too much in my thoughts. In ways I didn't appreciate.
"You Included, Lollipop"
He brows creased in confusion.

My attention returned to the wolf.
"Big wolf" I called, my voice becoming soft with the emotions that were clouding it." You are in pain, aren't you?"
He sneered
"I don't like Pity"
"It's not pity, it's-" I started but lost the words I intended to use.
"Even If you are my enemy, I feel bad about leaving you here in the cold to die slowly and painfully, I feel obliged-"
I couldn't finish my sentence, arrows flew down at us,I noticed how fast my reflex had become. I had already moved to a safe mark. But I had been thinking of just myself.

Some of the arrows impaled the wolf. He let out his last breath, a gleam of a certain understanding in his eyes. His body soon began to fade as of all fae when they died. I hoped he would at least find some quiet, if not peace.

"Some more people who don't like us" Flash whispered, his back to mine, together we had four eyes.

"Don't move" said a very cold distinct voice. The air became tense, like there were little charges of electricity beckering about. It made a chill creep up my spine.
Walking out from behind the trees, was a thin willowy fae arrayed in light blue and grey. He had short curly white hair and blue-gray optimistic eyes. He was generally handsome despite his thin smallish figure and a sword strapped to his leather belt. What drew my attention the most was the perky warm smile on his face.
"The company of the Ice prince" Flash whispered to me. The Ice prince? The cold Winter prince? His heart they said was made of frozen ice and who they said can freeze a man with a single glance? Him? This fun looking guy?
Improbable!

"Hello" he said, his voice wasn't the voice that spoke from behind the trees.
"This guy?" I whispered to my CLOSE SIDE companion
"Nooooo" He interjected "The one behind him, leaning against that tree"
My brows creased in confusion.
"I don't see anyone leanin-" I began but paused because suddenly I could see someone. It was the eyes that caught me, the piercing blue eyes that were set on me. They like the deep blue pools of the ocean, and I was no longer just floating on their surface, I was drowning, sinking deeper into their depths.
"Princess!" Flash called, a snappy rescue!
"Have you been listening to a word I say?" He queried
"Uh..no" I stuttered
"Never mind that, just pay attention" he said.
The curly hair fae was in front of me.
His eyes skimmed over me.
"Hello sweetheart" With a wink and then to Flash
"If it'sn't the flash guy? Do you have any idea how many people want personally the honour of skinning you alive?" A small frown crept on his face, it disappeared with his next words.
"Anyway! Don't mind that, You're a fun guy. I like you" He continued sharply
"Surrender now, you are outnumbered"
Outnumbered? I quickly scanned our surrounding and espied three more winter warriors flanking us from all corners.
"Enough! Wyn" the icy voice called."I'll take it from here"
Wyn did a little bow, swirled and retraced his steps.
My eyes widened as I took in the view of the approaching figure. The one with the icy voice.

***

"We've been expecting you Oberon's grand-daughter"
His fierce gaze had not left me, only at once to glare at Flash. Probably another of his acquaintance, who wasn't fond of him. My anxiety ran wild, I couldn't stop the spurt of questions that came flying from mouth.
"Why? I mean How did you know We were coming? If you were really expecting us, why did you fire at us? Then Why did you kill the wolf?
"
I tried to take my eyes off his face,but I couldn't. He was beautiful. The Cold prince stood, arrayed in dark grey clothes. His fair skin stood out in contrast to us, as white as the winter snow. He was perfect to my eyes. I imagined that if undid his braid, his silver white hair will float about and glimmer like the moonlight, just like the moonlight.

His eyes were frightening and hard, as he looked down upon me. I felt a primeval urge to bow to his feet and kiss it, to submit to all that was his. To never raise my eyes to those frightening eyes, only scrape at his feet. Those weren't my thoughts, he was doing something to me and he was making me weak and venerable, I was susceptible to his disease.
Look away! resist it!, use some intense emotion,your anger,your grief, any hot enough to melt his ice cage. If not rage, if not pain, if not grief if not hate then.....
He suddenly diverted his gaze and turned his back to me. I was released from his hold, relief surging into me. I clutched my right shoulder in a desperate attempt to stop myself from shivering. I was panting lightly, hopefully not loud enough for Flash and anyone else to notice. He knew what he did to me, what he could do to me. He, The Blue-eyed Prince.

"You're the half-breed daughter of Amaryllis, come with us willingly and my father will receive you kindly, resist and we will take you back as a prisoner"
Amaryllis! That was my true mother's name or at least what she was called. As a fae, her true names were only known to just she and her parents. To fae, their true names were something they wouldn't part with, a secret,most times placed above their lives. They said if you knew the true name of a fae, they lose their entire existence to you, that if you command their true names, you enslaved their will.
I didn't know My mother name was Amaryllis, or precisely I did not want to know. I could remember her saying her real name was"Ama-" but I cut her off before she finished and told her I did not care,that Lucinda was a really good made up name and I probably couldn't pronounce her ancient fae name. If I hadn't been so concerned with that, I would have realised sooner that he called 'halfbreed' as if I was some repulsive thing. He was referring to me being part human, he referred to it as if it was a lowly, repulsive thing. My beloved human heritage, of which I was most proud of. My beloved human heritage, rich in pure intellect. We have achieved all we have, through hard work, all of advancement in science and technology through hard work, not someone waving a stupid wand. Yet he turned his back to me and insulted it.
I couldn't lose my head over that and make things extremely hard for flash and I. Besides, I was in the winter court, the more malevolent of the two courts. I was bound to hear more of that nonsense. I would let the prince go, out of respect for his terrifying abilities. He offered some really good options by the way, I weighed them considerably. It was we wanted, to get inside. Leaving things to their kindness, was a risk we could take. They wanted something from me. With Flash by my side, I wouldn't get myself into any unspeakable bargain.

In his reply to what he said, I picked my words carefully.
"What reason do we have to resist?"
I shared a secret smile with Flash.
"We?" questioned the ice prince.
A frown crept on Flash's face,and his eyes darkened.
I was caught in a cloud of confusion.
"Yes!" I went to forward to explain myself hoping to make things clearer.
"It's Flash and I"
The cold prince sighed in exasperation
"You could have chosen anyone,anyone at all,and yet you chose him"

My eyes darted from Flash to him and then back again. I was getting more confused, It wasn't just what he said, it was how he said it. chose him?
"Well"started the Ice prince "There is a kill on sight order for him, if he's seen within our territories"
I am taken back, my grip on the hilt in my hand unconsciously becoming tighter. The cold prince swirled to face me,the wind dancing with his movement. A coy smile played around his eyes, it made them more cold, more deadly, more frightening.
"Well" He muttered "We see him"

***
"N...no...you don't mean that" I started.
"Sure, it is good to see you too Princely" Flash was saying with a grin.
"Call me that again, Flash and I separate your head from your body" said the Prince.
" so unoriginal" answered Flash with a tickle" I can't count the number of times that line has be used"
"Oh! It has been quite overused" replied the prince a bit flushed. I raised a brow, his reaction rising my apprehension.
"Well I am not very creative with this things" he said with a smile that didn't grace his face for long.
"Kill him! Anyway" He called to his men. atleast try anyway, he muttered to himself.
"No!" I cried. He paused to listen to me. His eyes cruel and hard.
"Surely we can reason this" I began with a soft voice. A questioning look crossed his face. I certainly did have a thing for dramatic flare.
"There's a lot going on now, the entire faery is under one threat" I swallowed, inhaling deeply
"Your order now is to retrieve me and it is most important" I bit my lips, the words not coming as I wanted them to.
"I am being hunted by the slaugh, they want me dead and you need me alive,don't you? Your troupe of four men won't be enough to fend off attackers, as I see it now, we need Flash, he is unbelievably strong. My survival may just depend on this one additional variable"
"No" said the Prince "We don't need him"
I heard a soft clink of metal, and knew that his men had drawn their arrows.
"Please stop!" I cried. My heart grew heavy.
"I beg you, don't hurt him"
Flash was staring at me, his mouth hung open
"Do you feel by begging, you can change the fact that we have to kill him, do not beg, Halfbreed, it's weak and pathetic"
He drew his sword from his belt.
"Now step aside"
What was the probability that we would win the fight, that Flash would not be hurt? I did not know, but what I knew was that, I was not going to just stand and watch. I raised the blade to his face. A certain mock expression came into his eyes. It stirred up my rage.
"You're a very annoying Prince" I said. His raised a princely brow
"Is it a law in winter or perhaps in the fae, that there is no mercy, tell me annoying prince, you said it's weak to beg for it, is it also weak to show a little" My voice hardened.
"Will your people think you're weak if you showed mercy?"
"Watch your mouth, girl!" Snarled one of the warriors who flanked my left.
I gave him a liquid glance. He had white straight short hair, and his grey eyes were dark with rage.
"What did I say? Troll face?"
He will not forgive me that insult.
"June" Flash called.
I moved just in time to see an arrow whizzing past my ears. The three winter warriors redrew their aim, this time at Just Flash, who then was separated from me. He easily did an acrobatic dance and dodged all three. I had been so focused on flash, that I did not see the fae prince come for me. Not with a blade in his hand as I had expected. He hit my hand and sent the sword flying out of it. A light tap on my chest, and I was falling in defeat, but he didn't let me, he caught me around my waist. The wind swirling around us.
He jerked me to my feet, then grabbed my both hands. I looked down to see heavy ice ringlets forming and closing up around my wrists. The ice burned against my skin, I let out a small scream. He pushed me over to Wyn who caught me expectantly. The ice burned into my veins, and the pain lashed out at me cruelly. It was blinding and sent me dropping on my knees. Wyn partly caught me and partly fell with me.
"Take it off" I cried "It hurts so much"
He stared at me, sympathy in his big blue eyes.
"I can't, he won't have you resist him, we will get you a healer afterwards"
I looked up to see Flash fighting the cold prince, metal clanging against metal, they both had such remarkable speed and strength. With the pain dulling all of my senses. I could barely comprehend the battle. I let out a loud scream and one last faded look at my beloved friend who was fighting to stay at my side, one last faded look at the silver haired prince who didn't care if he hurt me, just like one last faded look. And a new kind of energy came pouring into me. It boiled from within and in one final wave, It exploded.