I opened my eyes to find Flash hovering above me.
"What happened?" I asked, my head hazy "Did we win the fight?"
"Not in the least" he answered
"But you did blow everyone halfway across the forest"
He clutched his left shoulder and winced.
I blinked in surprise.
"I'm fine" He said, presuming that I had been concerned with health.
"No, not that! not you!" I said.
"Really caring, Princess, reeeally caring"
He helped me sit against a tree. I pulled up the hands of my coat, one after another, to observe my wrists. They weren't injured, only a bit pink. I found that bewildering.
"It must be Aringar's abilities" I said "I can't even believe I have them! I really do have them!"
"Hush! you're giving away our location" Flash interjected in a scolding manner.
I kept silent and scanned the open space, very little trees were giving us cover and this trees were of the thin coniferous kind, of which I was leaning against one.
" Is this what they call, hiding in plain sight? It's very innovative" I muttered sarcastically.
"Hey! No reason for you to be so biting"
Seeing again, the sparkle in emerald eyes, I frowned. A moment ago, there was a real threat on his life, and that sparkle didn't leave his eyes.
"You could have died, Flash"
"Improbable"
"Gotten injured?"
"Not happening"
"Because of me"
"Not quite"
I sighed.
"Where is the Winter prince?"
" Somewhere around, gathering his men, sending them off to a healer, he may not look it, but he does care about men"
He really did not look it.
"All this fighting has drained me of all my energy Flash, there wasn't any point in it, It seems you won't be able to come with me, I think I can manage stealing the sword but I will need your help getting away, where will you meet me?"
"GlassLake"
"Where is that?
"Somewhere in winter, you will find it,  give me a date"
"Date....hopefully, tomorrow night" I answered.
I saw that both of his swords were now in his scabbard. I was without a weapon and was going to be alone in hostile territories.
He took off the bag and kept it beside me.
"You will need supplies, most of the things in here are yours anyway"
"Flash, I don't have a weapon" came my child-like whining.
"There's a knife in the bag"
"Flash? That's a table knife"
"You'll be fine" he reassured.
"Here let me have another look at it" I said and began digging around the bag for the small knife. Flash was gone by the time I looked up. Now that was rude, leaving like that.
I heard footsteps of someone approaching and not before long, felt the air chill immensely. The Ice prince!
He scanned the perimeter then eyed me suspiciously.
"There's no here" I babbled guiltily
My heart began to beat faster as he walked towards me. I forced myself to rise, swinging the bag on my shoulders.
I hurriedly avoided his piercing gaze by staring down at my feet. He produced a shiny silver bracelet, gripped my left hand and slid it down my wrist. He did so fast that I couldn't object, only complain.
"Such fine manners, you have Prince, you could have at least asked" I said while struggling to take off the bracelet.
"I have a name, halfbreed" he retorted.
"So do I, prince" I snapped, frustrated that the bracelet wouldn't come off. And irritated that he thought he ought to be properly addressed by his name, and yet he went about calling people names. I still remembered telling him My name was June.
"What is this for?"
" For keeping you safe, stray too far away from me and that bracelet will begin to burn your skin or should I say freeze" He answered and was already walking ahead me. What!
I hurried after him.
"Why this? With Flash gone, I thought we were finally on the same page"
He kept walking and didn't give me an answer, I kept on with my complaints, I couldn't see in any possible way how that could be fair. Then abruptly he swirled to face like me, it was obvious that he had enough of my chattering. I broke my self-made rule and stared him in the eyes. They weren't having the usual effect on me. So I see, it did have something to do with his magic and he didn't just use it all the time.
His eyes were cold and his face expressionless.
"That's was my mother's bracelet" he told me. When he spoke, it calmed me, made me still. I knew that he terrified me but unlike most things I was scared of, I didn't want to pull away or run. Instead I wanted to reached in closer and prod him. I wanted to see the person beneath the ice, if there was. My curiosity and desire was so blended together that I couldn't differentiate which was which
"And?" I asked sarcastically.
"You know what they say about giving a girl a gift that belonged to your mother"
I narrowed my gaze, my lips paused open as I regarded him suspiciously.
" It means I like you" he said, a trifling smile playing around his lips.
Did he think that I was some sort of dummy or child.
I remembered that he had hurt me. Forming those ice ringlets around my wrists was a very cruel thing to do anybody. I couldn't imagine going through that pain for a second time and yet he had forced on me a similar bracelet. He felt no remorse or whatsoever and now he was trifling with me.
"Your mother's bracelet huh?" I asked, lowering my gaze.
"Which makes me wonder what sort of woman was your mother?" I muttered and was barely audible.
"Did not try to change the topic, It's cruel to be so flimsy with someone's feelings. I just told you how I felt, so then how do you regard my feelings?"
I raised my eyes sharply to look at him, transfixed, dumfounded, speechless. He was startling, infuriating and sooooo ugh....
"Well?" He raised a brow.
My face turned red and I fumbled for an answer.
"It seems it's difficult for you to give me an answer now" He gestured toward towards a white steed, I had only then noticed then that there was.
"I shall ask another time for your answer. For now, come"

***
We rode in silence for hours, farther into primitive civilizations and then into faery towns. I suddenly realised how hungry I was. I didn't eat breakfast because Flash and I were too busy chasing snowflakes. Oh Flash!
Elven bread, raisins and dried meat weren't your typical breakfast food, but they worked out perfectly for a wild trip. I ate while standing and three steps away from the faery prince who would only allow that much. When I was done, I tried for a drink from my flask but the water in it was frozen.
With a retired sigh, I signalled that we continued our journey. At a point, he slowed the pace of our horse. I inferred it was both because we were close to our destination and that the steed was tired. And that was God's blessings for me, because I could finally unwrap my hands from around him and keep my chest to myself.
I worried about the people. If the slaugh were following our trails, then the people here at winter would not be safe,  the slaugh would invade. But there must be guards at the border and hunters in the woods, just like The prince and his men. But what if they were attacked and over-ran? They would die because of me. A lot of people would die because of me. ( Unconsciously my right hand rose and clutched at my chest). And yet it was inevitable. I couldn't waste anymore time, I needed to retrieve the sword and stop the dark Queen from destroying this world.
"Do not reveal your identity to anyone, except I tell you to" The cold prince said, pulling me away from my thoughts.
"Why? Didn't you all already know I was coming?"
"No, they don't all know" he responded,  a lot more friendlier than I expected.
"The message came from the oracle last two nights, to the king, and from the king, an order assigned to me. It is best, it is kept a secret, for your sake, for all our sakes"
last two nights? But I only left the dream dimension-the dream room last night. As for it being a secret, there were not alone in doing that. In summer, only two people knew that who I really was, or who I was supposed to be. That was Flash,  who Lucinda-Amaryllis had left the key with and Queen Titania.
Oracles, their ability to see the future came in handy, but sometimes the future they saw was misleading.

"Why don't the Summer court have their own seer?" I wondered aloud.
"They had...She went missing ages ago. Before that she was on really bad terms with the summer queen. No one knows what happened to her" He answered.
A cold feeling spread through my insides. Something wasn't right. Something was horribly wrong.
He considered my silence with a notable pause. Then continued.
"Some years after you disappeared, Oberon went missing.
Seeing the threat the dark queen posed to our world and our people, we casted aside our pride and all prejudices and sought an alliance with your people" He paused, and lowered his voice
" But our offer was thrown to our face "
"Queen Titania" I muttered under my breath. I had no knowledge of that. Could it be that the prince was lying to me? But fae couldn't lie only twist the truth and he had been so direct with his words. No! I didn't doubt his words, they were true, as much I hated to admit. And even if I did believe him, why was he telling me this? And Flash did not mention anything of that kind to me. Why had I been kept in dark?

"You're wondering why I am telling this? Could it be that I believe in the prophecy, that you're the savior of our world? Could it be that I am trying to earn your trust, only so we can use you to our advantage? Could be these many things or?"
I inhaled deeply, his words were heavier than he would think. They clunked down my mind and heightened my fear and expectancy.
He continued, not by completing his previous sentences but by alighting the sparks he had already started in my mind.
"Alone, the winter court still strive to act. We sent our elite taskforce, a team of our twenty best warriors but none of them ever returned, just like the many spies that was sent before them. My younger brother Gilliam was among this men and my father blames the summer court for his death."
"I'm so sorry, I did not know"
I felt guilty for thinking that he was cold and emotionless. While he had lost someone dear to him, just as I had.
"Why are you sorry? You didn't have anything to do with it"
He voice became distant, listless.
" For so long now, I couldn't remember his face, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't just remember. But until today." He paused.
"When I saw you, I remembered,  against my will. It was your eyes, it was just like his. Bright, ignorant, hopeful. And yet gleaming in those eyes were unwavering strength. He believed he could heal our world, be a bridge between the two courts and heal the drift between them. He could rid this world of it's hate and malice. Just like how you believe you can save this world from the dark queen"
His voice betrayed a tint of sadness. I saw it then. He locked up his emotions, his grief and refused to come to terms with his loss. Instead he let the cold fill in the void. Was that what I was doing to myself? would I, like him come to forget my father's face? Will his memories flit away from my mind?, far away from my grasp?
A lone tear rolled down my face and was caught by the breeze.
"You seek the sword Fragarach, what did they tell you of it?" He questioned wryly and laughed.
"That it can destroy the dark queen and save everybody?"
I did not answer, I knew at once that he intended to mock me, but why? When I thought we were beginning to get along.
"Do you really believe that you can wield the answerer?"
"What do you mean?" I retorted confused.
"The sword Fragarach can not be touched by any ordinary faery or human, if the sword rejects you, it will turn your bones to ash"
A small gasp escaped my lips.
"And they are ready to bet your life on that small unknown chance that it will not reject you"
I felt a pang of betrayal at Flash and then Amaryllis. Why did they keep that away from me? Through and through I was being used, deceived, manipulated
and lied to. Damn anyone who said fae couldn't lie.
Knowing that, I still could not turn my back on my mission. I had lost everything I ever had. My life as it was,  had no value to me, and if it was to be a sacrifice for all this people to live, then it has found a meaning.
"What if I the sword doesn't kill me?" I asked, still holding on tightly to my last speck of hope.
"The sword drives it's wielder mad eventually and consumes their souls"

I realised that we stopped and were at a very large black gate. Looming above us were great thick walls. I couldn't tell tell where they began or where they ended. They stretched on like forever. With a wall of that mass hovering above me, I was suddenly feeling the size of an ant, a very depressed ant.

Author's note: I am so sorry this chapter came a little late. I have been really busy. I will try to update sooner. Please vote, comment and leave me constructive feedbacks.
It will be greatly appreciated ❤❤❤