Cage couldn't say that he was too sad to see Donnie of Royce turned into an ice sculpture, not after he almost killed Kat and made him turn half the townsfolk to stone, but his personal feelings didn't make it right.

Then there was the matter of Kat and her cruelty. During the past weeks, even if he knew of the horrors perpetrated by Endir's soldiers, he always thought -- hoped that Kat didn't endorse this, much like he was against the cruelty of his own army. He was wrong. She was not above doing damage herself.

Her eyes widened as she took him in. The people took advantage of the showdown to pull further away from the two armies and towards the docks. Cage knew they were in grave danger and he had no intention of letting his subjects die.

He looked from Kat to Jinx who was still next to Kat's horse, then to Keleigh who was the only one still brave enough to face her former friend.

Jazz hopped off his horse, the ice crunching under his boots as he landed. The look on his face was frightening as he took in Kat and then Jinx.

"All for this?" he asked.

Jinx didn't answer, but had the decency to look away. Keleigh still hovered in the no-man's land between armies as if still not convinced whether she should come to him. Cage couldn't really blame her, even if he'd never thought that her resent towards him could run so deep.

Kat kept staring at his horse instead of him and he wondered if she recognize Stormblack, his favorite stallion. It would be the height of irony for Kat to recognize a horse over him. She suddenly winced and looked away. Her hand raised to her temple in a subtle movement, as though she hoped no one would notice.

Something was happening, and Cage hoped she was fighting the spell Lucille had placed over her. As much as he wanted her to come to her senses, that didn't mean he would waste this opportunity to press his advantage.

"So you've been scurrying through forests, hurting civilians instead of facing the army of the kingdom you invaded." He leaned forward in the saddle, resting his forearms on the pommel. "Interesting strategy."

She winced, but when she raised her too-pale eyes to look at him, the fire in them had a shiver running down his spine. He'd always loved her passion. He'd thought her shine would change the world. It appeared it was, but not in the way he had imagined.

"You're one to speak, king of brutes and monsters."

Her words struck a chord and he gritted his teeth not to outright agree with her. "At least I tried to prevent it." His gaze drifted towards the ice statue of Donnie. "At least I didn't do it myself."

"At least I don't cut people open and hang them from their own innards."

"Yes, freezing them from the inside out is much better. Less painful."

He shouldn't be snarking with her. He should be driving her out of Darkwood. She winced again and shut her eyes for a moment.

"You have no right to judge me, you traitorous..." Her voice cracked and she seemed to be struggling for words. "Asshole," she finally spat out.

The word was so shocking in that context that he couldn't keep in a huff of laughter. "So we're done with courtly pleasantries?"

"There's no need to be pleasant with the likes of you."

Fair point, and it was mutual. He narrowed his eyes at her, forcing the tendrils of lightning to subside. "You are outnumbered."

"Then maybe we should set this town on fire," Kat retorted.

"If you do that, I'll slaughter your entire army."

"At what cost?"

He narrowed his eyes further at her. "Whatever it takes."

Like a given, Trix and Jazz both stepped forward, arms raised, as if ready to throw magic at Kat. This gave her pause as she seemed to realize she was outnumbered as far as magic went.

Cage wasn't sure how much magic would matter when there were only five people who wielded it on a battlefield of thousands, but the tiny upper hand he had was satisfying.

"You..."

Kat sounded angry. Furious actually, and he was aware it wasn't just him and his threats doing it. Something was happening inside her mind that was affecting her judgment. As much as he tried to ignore what this might mean, he couldn't smother the hope rising inside him. Would she eventually remember him? And what would happen if she did?

"Here's what I say we do," he said before she could identify the perfect injective to throw at him. "There's an open field two and a half miles from here. We both lead our armies from this town and meet there in three days time for a fair battle. No magic, no tricks. Unless, of course, you decide to go back over the mountain, in which case I won't stop you."

She huffed. "You think I will retreat that easily?"

"This is your only chance to retreat without me giving chase. Think of all the lives you would be saving."

She obviously did not want to think about that, but whatever was bothering her wouldn't allow her to verbally fight him.

"This is my only offer. I suggest you take it."

Jinx rode closer to Kat and whispered something to her. Kat startled and glared at her, obviously not liking what she heard. In the meantime, Jazz got back on his horse, his face still set in a frown.

"No magic?" he mumbled.

"I'd rather she doesn't freeze over half of my army," Cage whispered back, his eyes fixed on Kat. "Let's just hope Jinx will make her see sense."

Jazz just huffed and it broke Cage's heart to see how much this affected his friend. Maybe he was a fool, but he believed that one of Jinx's reasons to stay behind was to help them in moments like this.

"Very well," Kat finally said, raising her chin defiantly. "I shall meet you on the battlefield in three days and I shall prove the superiority of the Endirian army."

He nodded in acceptance. "You are, of course, free to try."

"But in the meantime..." Kat glared at him, the chill in her eyes almost making him shiver. "Call your dogs off and order them to stop butchering innocent people."

"You act as if you don't know it's already been done."

She didn't answer, just huffed and turned her horse away. Her army immediately started retreating back where they came from. Jinx lingered, her desperate eyes on them.

"Jinx, come on," Trix said, waving her over.

She didn't answer, her chin trembling. After a few more moments, she turned her horse as well and hurried to catch up to Kat. Trix cursed under his breath.

The moment Kat was gone, the townspeople started moving again, whispering and murmuring, a few of them even crying. Cage knew he should draw back, too. Leaving Darkwood was part of the deal. But he climbed down from Stormblack instead and headed for the fallen baron and his son.

It was obvious that the baron was dead. Kat had frozen his throat and suffocated him where he stood. But Donnie on the other hand... He appeared trapped in an icy prison.

"He's probably dead as well." Keleigh approached and halted next to him, not glancing his way.

"I don't think you can do anything for him." Trix joined them. "If he could be thawed, Jinx most likely tried it already, and we wouldn't have found frozen people in the woods." Now he sounded bitter.

Cage considered his statement and agreed to some extent. Except he didn't consider what he was doing as outright thawing.

"You should all go to your houses and prepare for evacuation," he said, his eyes still on Donnie.

He still hated the man. A pain in the ass with a big mouth and only half a brain who'd done nothing but cause trouble. And yet, he couldn't help but try.

"Why should we evacuate?" someone asked from the crowd. "The battle is miles away."

Cage's gaze drifted to the speaker and he cowered back. Apparently Donnie wasn't the only one with half a brain.

"Not that I intend to, but what do you think will happen if we lose? Or if the enemy army decides to use some less than fair tactics and... I don't know, really set fire to your town?"

"Just listen to your king and start packing your shit," Jazz said.

The crowd grumbled some more, but fortunately started moving away. Cage raised his eyebrows at his friend.

"Something bothering you?"

"Oh, fuck off, Cage," Jazz growled.

"I like this one," Keleigh said.

"If you want, you can go after Jinx."

"I don't want to go after Jinx. I don't want to linger here either. We should go." But Jazz hopped off his horse nonetheless and joined them next to Donnie's ice sculpture. He glanced at Keleigh for a moment. "You're Joey's girl."

Keleigh winced. "Ah, the fortune teller."

"Yes, yes, but now that we're all so nice and cozy, what are we still doing here?" Trix asked.

Cage placed his palm on Donnie's frozen chest and focused his magic. "I just want to try something."

Heat built up under his skin, but he didn't let it out in the form of fire. He already knew that wasn't the answer.

"Even if it works, are you sure you want that idiot running around?" Keleigh asked.

Cage didn't answer. It was more a test of what he could do than about Donnie in particular. It could've been anyone.

It could be anyone. It could be Jazz or Trix next. Harkiss or Edmund or Madeline.

The thought hurt because it made Kat a monster and the void inside his soul couldn't have that. With inhuman effort, he pushed Kat out of his mind and focused on the simpleton before him. Warmth radiated out of his hand, onto Donnie's chest as he tried to remove Kat's magic rather than melt the ice.

Tiny pin pricks seemed to puncture his skin. The more he focused, the more intense the pain became until the pin pricks felt like knives. He winced, but kept his focus. The ice was withdrawing. Not melting, but shimmering away into tiny crystals which disintegrated in the sky.

The pain became so potent that his hands shook, but he could see it working. He couldn't give up now. Then, Donnie took in a desperate breath and his barrel chest inflated, chipping away at more of the ice.

Cage lowered his hands, clenching his palms so that the tremor in them wouldn't be obvious. Sweat covered his back sending a shiver down his spine as it chilled his body.

"That bitch!" Donnie roared. "That monstrous, traitorous--"

"I'd watch my mouth if I were you," Cage said, keeping his voice low.

The man stopped, glancing at him like a bovine, as if he couldn't recognize him. Then, a tiny light turned on behind his eyes.

"Ah, it's you, Beast."

"Watch how you speak to your king," Rip snarled from behind.

This seemed to stump Donnie who had apparently not made the obvious connection. His large eyes moved from Cage's face to the crown on his head. He tried to stumble back, but the magical ice still held his lower body.

Cage shook his head and turned away. He had other matters to take care of at the moment, so he headed for his horse. His knees trembled, but he did his best to keep his step steady. Whispers followed him from the townspeople as well as his soldiers. Donnie yelled for help to come out of the icicle. People cursed and revered magic at the same time.

All he had was the desire to leave, so he somehow managed to climb on Stormblack again and lead him in the opposite direction without throwing up.

"A very dramatic exit," Trix said, riding up next to him. "I approve."

"You shouldn't have done that," Jazz said from his other side.

"Why not?" Trix demanded. "Let the people see that magic can be used for good. They shouldn't fear it."

"Can't you see he's exhausted?"

"Stop treating me like a child," Cage said, his voice slurred.

Jazz and Trix both fell silent for a few moments. "Can you ride?" Trix then whispered.

He just nodded, because he no longer had the energy to talk. So the three of them rode on in silence, the rest of the army trotting in their wake.

Cage was glad that he'd done it, that he'd proved to himself that Kat's magic could be defeated. That didn't mean that he could do it on a large scale. He hoped that she would listen to him and not use it during their upcoming battle.

Trying to melt her ice might take all the fire out of him.

⚜

The sight of the black stallion had triggered something inside Kat. Memories of a chocolate brown mare with a white star between her eyes. Her gentle nature, the warmth of her body, how she had seemed to take a liking to Kat.

Lilygreen.

A stable. A rich stable, so unlike her own. So unlike the place in which another brown mare with a yellow mane used to reside.

Sophie.

Her trusty horse, Sophie. She was so close. If she was still alive.

Kat's house was there, on the outskirts of that wretched town, next to the woods. Her father could be there. In the house in which she'd lived for most of her life until she'd wandered off into the woods and stumbled into the Beast's castle.

It was in the grounds of that castle that she'd found Lilygreen, and for a few shining moments, she had been Kat's.

I have a feeling that Stormblack and Lilygreen are having an affair.

A joke. Cage's voice, light and amused.

The pain inside Kat was so strong, it threatened to tear her to pieces. It was so hard to focus on his voice from the present when the face of his past haunted her. Why did seeing a simple horse made her almost incapable to function?

He'd suggested something and she'd agreed without analyzing if it was the best solution. Without showing him the disdain that he deserved. The strategy had eluded her, and no one was by her side to help.

Finally, she'd turned and rode away, back into the woods and in a direction she was sure would lead to defeat. And yet, Keith rode by her side together with Jinx, both of them calm as if abandoning that town was the best decision.

She wanted to ask what had happened, how it had come to this, but she knew better than to admit weakness to either of them. She had no one she could be completely open with and it was agonizing.

That blonde woman in the square. Keleigh. They had been friends before all the madness, but she stayed behind. She wasn't Endirian. She sided with Iride.

Another image flashed through her mind, one of Keleigh leaning next to the portrait of a handsome man. A man who moved. She was crying and he was trying to comfort her because he was dead and there was no going forward for them.

Poison. Cage slumping in a chair.

I think we made Keleigh sad.

Her chest heaved and she couldn't keep in a gasp.

"Is everything alright?" Keith asked immediately.

"We need to make camp as soon as possible and discuss our strategy," she said. Her voice came out certain and cool, even if her insides still felt like a whirlwind.

"True, your Majesty, but..." He hesitated as though afraid to point out that she hadn't answered his question.

"Let's hurry. We don't have all the time in the world. Make sure the others are aware of it."

He nodded and stayed his horse so that he could speak with the rest of the commanding officers. Kat allowed herself a shuddering breath.

"You can fool him because he worships the ground you walk on," Jinx said. "You can't fool me. I've seen this before. It's your curse acting up."

Kat blinked and glared at her. "What are you talking about?"

Jinx didn't even look at her, but kept her gaze trained forward. "Your chest. It hurts, doesn't it?"

Hurt didn't even begin to cover the feeling of emptiness she now felt. It was strange how the lack of something could be so heavy. She refused to answer, but she couldn't help rubbing her palm in a circular motion over her sternum. This wasn't right. This interference was breaking her concentration, making it hard for her to lead her army to war.

"Where have you seen it before?" she asked, even if she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

This time, Jinx gave her a sideways glance. "Do you think you're the only one the fairies messed with?"

"I don't understand." Even if, deep down, she thought she did.

"Your memory issues. Jazz mentioned that Lucille was manipulating you. I mentioned it, too. It's definitely happening. Do you think Cecille would let Cage suffer over you?"

Cage.

The mere mention of his name stirred the magic inside her and clouded her thoughts. He was the enemy, the king of Iride. Lucille was right to cut any existing ties between them.

A beach came to the forefront of her mind. Alone, in the dark, on the sand, abandoned and ridiculed with no one but Leila by her side.

"You don't care, do you?" Jinx stopped her horse and turned to face Kat. "She made you not care that she's taken who you are away."

The words sent a pang through her chest even worse than the dull ache there. "It doesn't matter who I am. I have to do what's best for my kingdom."

"It does matter who you are, Kat. Figuring yourself out is the only way you can save Endir."

"Is this why you stayed? To toy with me?"

The look of Jinx's face gave away as much. She pursed her lips and shook her head, though it was obviously in thought rather than denial.

"You and Cage have an opportunity none of the previous rulers of these kingdoms ever had. To end the conflict once and for all and change the world for the better."

"What are you talking about? You heard me when I said that we will be gone and any agreement we reach upon can be undone."

"Anything can be undone." There was pain in her voice now and Kat could tell she was thinking about her link with Jazz. "But that doesn't mean it isn't worth trying. And this is different."

"How is it different?"

Jinx squinted at her. "We're not talking trade treaties, Kat. We're talking a union between the kingdoms. We're talking peace, love and understanding."

Kat flinched. The words stirred something inside her that the magic was trying hard to smother.

"You and Cage were in love before the fairies intervened."

"Don't say that!" Her voice came out as a frightening hiss.

Jinx's horse reared and she had to hold on tightly not to topple over. Her gaze, however, was not filled with fear, but suspicion. Fortunately, she didn't press the issue, but spurred her mount forward.

Kat stayed still for another few moments, trying to catch her breath. What was going on? She knew that Lucille was trying to help her, but she thought that the chill inside her, the lack of memories and feelings were all meant to keep her level headed.

You and Cage were in love.

Lies!

He was the enemy. He had abandoned her on the beach, thrown her away because of her power and her destiny.

And yet, there was nothing but pain inside her chest. The people she once knew were afraid of her. She didn't feel as if she belonged in the town where she'd lived for most of her life. She hadn't even asked about her father, gone to see him. And the magic only squeezed her insides, forbidding her from accessing her memories.

What it didn't count on was her knowing that this was wrong. Could Jinx be right? Was there more to her and Cage than she remembered? It didn't seem impossible. After all, he was so handsome and charming. So powerful.

Yellow eyes, sharp fangs and claws. The agony of being split open. Blood falling on polished marble like rose petals. A trail of it on lavish steps. Dust dancing in the sun like sparkling diamonds.

Look at us. Just look at what we've done. What we've become.

Insane laughter.

She shook her head, trying to push back the memories. They seemed to be pulling the air out of her lungs.

There was something there, a hidden danger she couldn't remember. And this place, this town, it was making it harder to ignore her past. Jinx must have sensed that. It was why she'd decided that now was the perfect time to push, to mention a supposed love.

What if he did love me? What if he still does?

It doesn't matter! Duty above all else.

She shuddered and glanced over her shoulder at the approaching army of Endir. Keith was leading it, his mouth set in a confident line. These people -- her people -- depended on her. They looked to her for leadership and guidance. They expected her to lead them in this war and win it for them.

What would they say if they knew her heart was aching and that it might be due to the king of Iride?

⚜⚜⚜

Look at our lovely people actually organizing for proper war! And awww, Donnie survived. Aren't you all just so happy about that?

I hope you're enjoying the longer chapters. We're nearing the end of part II which means that we're about to have a sort of mini climax soon! Onward!