Welcome Frozen Over

The derelict ferry platform arrived just past midday the following afternoon. The passengers were enjoying some grilled fish they caught and cooked along the way with fire magic, seasoned with salt that Ariana extracted from the bay. 

The sight was something to behold for the Indrock guards that stood at the dock. They were dumbstruck. 

They were coming into the harbor of the Indrock capital, Great Hearth. It was the southernmost city, and the only port in the country that wasn’t frozen for eleven months of the year. 

Unfortunately, there was still a great snow field that stood between the capital and the Demon Lord’s Castle, and according to one of the passengers, the only passage had been occupied by Cavistonian forces from the western mountains. 

While it was unfortunate that the destination was a bit further away, they needed more supplies and repairs. 

Ariana lashed the platform to the pier with a tangle of kelp. About a dozen armored guards came upon the driftwood sargasso with hands ablaze. The passengers gasped in shock and fear.

One of the guards shouted. “Nobody move! State your business!”

Ariana was tired. 

Tired and annoyed. 

Her fist clenched, and the pier’s structure creaked and strained as the kelp pulled hard on it. The guards staggered back. 

She gave them a tolerant smile of customer service. “Hello, officers! These lovely people are trying to go home, and I’m hoping to speak to Xander.” 

They looked at each other. 

Another piped up. “H-How dare you speak Lord Xander’s name so casually?!” He tossed a fireball at her. 

It hit her hard, and she stumbled to a knee. 

Why didn’t her danger sense pick that up?

She steadied herself again. 

Hayden stepped up. “Now, hold your horses there, partner, there’s no need to-“

“HUMAN!!” Several guards volleyed fireballs at Hayden. They struck true and knocked him to the ground.

Ariana snapped.

She summoned forth an absurd amount of kelp and pulled down hard. The supports of the pier started cracking and splintering. The guards panicked as the entire structure collapsed beneath them. They fell into the water and were immediately caught in the dense kelp.

Ariana stepped forward across the water, kelp fronds rising to meet her feet. The guards struggled hard against the kelp that threatened to drag them to the bottom. She leered down at them. “No more.” She stated. Kelp wrapped over the screaming mouths of guards. 

“ARIANA, STOP!” Sophie screamed. 

She snapped back to reality and looked back at her friends and the passengers. Hayden had taken a knee to heal himself, and Sophie was helping. Hayden was fine.

Ariana looked back at the guards, tangled in kelp, barely treading freezing water in full plate.

They were afraid. 

What was she doing? 

She pulled her hands up, and the guards were all dumped from the brine onto the stone bricks that the docks were once anchored to. 

She had noticed over the years that she had been quicker to anger, quicker to resort to violence, but this might have been the most drastic outburst she’d ever had. Yes, they attacked her and Hayden, but he was fine, and she was seconds from watching them drown. These weren’t monsters; they were people protecting their home.

Furthermore, all of that casting felt effortless. She sensed no magic exhaustion at all. What was happening to her? Was it the levels? Were the levels making her more aggressive? 

She checked her level; she was at Level 19 now. She had caused enough death to reach a level like that… She remembered Koichi claiming proudly that he was at Level 35 and had only been there a short time. 

How much death had he caused in that little time?

How much more since they parted ways?

She pulled the shattered raft forward towards the brick shore and swelled the water beneath it to bring it level with the ground. Everyone stepped off with their remaining possessions. Ellie, Hayden, and Sophie guided their horse off the platform. 

Ariana approached the guards again. She pulled away the water from their clothes and tossed it back into the bay. They slowly steamed up with fire magic to try to warm themselves.

One of them looked up at her. “Who… what are you??”

A shrill voice she recognized chimed in. “Why, the queen of demonkind, of course!” 

Everyone looked to the voice. It was that emissary! 

Ariana was very confused.

The emissary stepped over to her quickly. He stood with a reverent posture, wringing his hands and smiling nervously. “Welcome to the demon capital, my lady, we’ve been expecting you! A-apologies for this… reception, we thought you’d be arriving… differently.”

Ariana tilted her head. She was beyond bewildered. Yes, she’d told him that she thought Xander was her son, but would that make her queen? She didn’t like this.

One of the fishermen approached. “She’s… the queen?”

The emissary growled and yelled at the man. “How dare you question the authority of the crown!?” He raised a flaming hand. 

Ariana grabbed his wrist and side-eyed him.

The emissary made a shrill sound as he flinched. His flame went out, and she released him. He cleared his throat and got the nervous smile again. “W-what I meant to say was, of course, she is! Surely you’ve heard the tale of the Witch of the Wood, that would be none other than our lady!” He gestured towards Ariana. 

There was some murmuring and confusion.

She questioned the emissary. “Witch… wood?”

The emissary waved his hands in the air. “Of course!” He addressed the crowd. “The Witch of the Woods emerged from the forest ten years ago and laid claim to human territory, and recently she razed one of those blasphemous Third Saint churches to the ground, and single-handedly slaughtered the entire Blackleaf elven clan! She even turned one of the stone trees of Reddenton into a pike upon which their leader was speared! Could such a powerful member of our race be anything other than the mother of our Lord Xander?”

Ariana was horrified by what she heard. Is this what people had been saying about her? 

Is that what she’d been doing?

The emissary continued. “With such a reputation, surely you’ve all heard tales of her! Why, some of you may have even witnessed displays of her might not spoken of by the look of this craft!” 

The crowd murmured about the hydra, some now convincing themselves that Ariana had been the one to slay the beast. 

Ariana shook her head. “Alright, I’ve heard enough! First off, I don’t control Loomholm, they’re my neighbors! Second, I didn’t do anything to that church; the priest blew his own church up! Third… okay, I fought the elves, but they were trying to kill Ellie, and I didn’t impale anyone!”

“And you!” She pointed firmly at the emissary. “You still owe the people of Loomholm an apology for lighting their homes on fire! You’re lucky I’m too busy to drag you back there myself to make you!” 

The wind seemed to be taken out of the emissary’s sails. 

Ariana looked frustrated and disappointed. “I’m not here for any of this Queen nonsense, I’m… I just want to know if my son is here or not… and if I can… take him… home…” She couldn’t help hesitating as she thought about it. 

Home. 

She’d told Mirabelle that she would come back to Loomholm. Could she go back? If rumors like what the Emissary said were spreading, would they even want her to come back?

She’d also said she would bring Alex home. If the demon lord was Alex… would he want to leave with her? Would he want to leave at all? Could he leave? 

And then there were the people of Indrock, who welcomed her so openly. At least, the ones on the ferry did. They shared food, music, and laughter with her. She could embrace them openly from the start, and they did so in return. If their king left, what would become of their country? 

Was she being selfish again? 

Maybe this world wasn’t changing her…

Maybe it was always in her to be like this… like a monster.

Selfish… controlling… quick to anger… violent… Just now, she didn't even hesitate to threaten the emissary. Was that who she really was? Was she just looking for ways to escape the truth? 

She looked at Ellie, at Hayden, at Sophie, at the crowd of people she was so ready to call family hours ago. She thought she had figured everything out, that everything was fine now. Was that just avoiding the truth again?

She was so ready to take away the person they called king, never once considering who it might hurt. And all the while telling herself she was going to do better, be better. 

This wasn’t better at all.

She wasn't better.

Ariana looked to her companions again, full of regret. “I…” She hesitated. “I’m sorry… I need to… to be alone…” 

She turned and ran into the city.