"Fire in her eyes and ice in her words; She chooses what you get." - Matt Baker
-x-
Jaxon looked back at Nora as she sat on her horse, the gates hadn't yet fully opened but he knew that they had seen him instantly. The crown of ice on his head and the horse that no longer held a lively blonde but a silent brunette. The frame that had once been upright with determination and aggression was lilting to the side and falling. Jerking her horse's reins he just hissed at her taking her through the square. Not filled with much chatter on a good day it was so silent that he could hear the beating hearts within the steeds. Grotesque and abysmal as it was, the representation of his home apparent even in that beginning moment.
With a tilt of his head he watched the gates close behind them, the guards moving in a formation that wasn't what he would have approved normally. Inquisitive and downright vulgar in their attraction to her. Because she was exotic in her looks it meant that she was erotic for them. His tongue slid over his lips and he stopped her so that she was right beside him, with a quick movement he put her on his horse, hand banding over her stomach and thigh as they continued towards the stables.
From there they would take the long walk to the actual castle; less intimidating as it had been in his childhood memories he knew they would either have to repair or move soon. Everything in their world seemed to be crumbling into dust.
To say that death had blessed the lands was an understatement. Nora had heard all of the stories of their kind. The plain grey and white. She had heard of the barbaric ways their lands stood still amidst the snow like it was frozen in time for their people - but sitting outside of those gates she felt like she was in a nightmare. As a Dŭrvos she didn't have anything but dreams or visions but in that moment she felt like she was walking into a pit of Hell. Demons waiting on every side of her with clicking and hungry jaws.
Feeling her face drain of color she simply closed her eyes and swallowed back a hard ball of fear in her throat before her horse was jerked forwards and they were moving past the wrought iron and into the place Jaxon called home. The place he ruled over as King. She didn't understand what was left to rule, the people looked like walking skeletons, they were pale and seemed to fade into the crystal on the ground. Their hair streaked with age. Their beauty was undeniable but to Nora it was so foreign. Nothing like Jaxon and Calla had been, these people looked starved.
Turning her head to the sound of a man panting she suddenly felt her body being moved from her own horse, her heart catching in her throat before she realized it was Jax putting her in the protection of his hold. No doubt that part of it was ownership but in that moment she had no will to fight that standpoint. She wanted to be near him with all of the foreign eyes scanning her body. She wasn't even in her favored attire but she felt exposed. The leather on her skin felt more comfortable than it had since the first night she had squeezed it over her curves.
As they took a turn towards what appeared to be housing for the horses she just leaned forward and touched the sinking skin of the steed, their malformed sight no longer as appalling to her as it had been that first day of riding upon them. She was beginning to see their unique characteristics she favored and she wondered if she could form one from her rib, tucking the idea away for later. Remaining silent as they reached the shelter she awaited Jaxon's next movements.
She was too far from home to feel any sense of confidence.
Jax felt her movements in front of him, her body thundering to life under his cold frame. She was life itself and while he knew he should have tossed her aside he didn't. He held her closer, lifting her up on his thigh and tucking her head under his chin. The crazed expectancy that people thought belonged to him wouldn't allow this, they all thought he was something wrong. He had come back wrong. So he just leaned down to her ear and smirked. That smell that was pure her wafted up to his nose. No stench.
"Are you afraid little fox? Or should I say little lion which are you at this moment because you are about to walk into a den of Tasmanian devils who would like nothing more to feast on your bones. On your heart while they descended on your body in carnal ways. If you think I am...listen. What you are about to do is meet my council of assholes who think they can tell me what to do. Remember how I talked about them?"
Tilting her head up he just ran his fingers over her lip, sending the damp path from her lip to her throat and rose a brow.
"Are you ready Nora? Because there is only so much I can do, that show I told you to put on? Play it well." With that he just dropped her down to the ground with him and carried her for a dozen steps before setting her down and tucking her into the curve of his hip. Hand on her lower back.
The King taking the Queen.
As they entered the stables being blocked from the wind Nora found herself thankful, but the chills didn't disappear long when the King's breath was sending chills down her spine. Telling her with more analogy than anything else that she was about to enter a whole new world of hatred and hunger. Running her tongue over her teeth she took a second to remind herself who she was. If she so wished she could stretch as high as the trees and touch the stars with her antlers. She could become as small as the pebbles on the cobblestone pathway to his broken down kingdom.
Stretching out her fingers in a notion to relax her body she just turned to give him a silent look of readiness. There was nothing she could do to prepare herself for the savage and brutal ways of her people - but she could do what she did best. What her kind proved they could do best.
Survive.
As he slid off the horse and onto the ground with her in his arms she kept her arms locked around his neck. No desire to be less than a finger's brush away from his side of chest. A small sound of protest began to leave her lips as he set her down but when his arm caged into her ribs she paused.
Slowly that hand moved to her lower back and she tilted her chin upwards so that she could show her own pride. The Dŭrvos were humble creatures, her brother one of the most. Though Nora had always been of a different breed. More outspoken, more apt to act out of emotion than logic. She was fire inside where there was usually dormant nature and in that moment she was thankful for it.
As the castle came into view past the misting sleet she could only stare in wonder. It was broken down and unappealing but it was what made it so fascinating. The cobblestone was crumbling like paper, though where each piece fell ice encumbered it and replaced the foundation. Ice crawled between the decaying cracks and she wondered if her Earth could do anything more for them. To cover the imperfections with roses and thorns.
Turning her gaze to Jaxon she could still feel the eyes of thousands of others on her, like they were waiting for his hands to move an inch before they attempted to rip her jugular from her body and leave her gasping for air in his honor.
Dropping those same eyes to the ground she swore she could see bits of gore in the rocky path, her bile in her throat rising as she attempted to fight it down.
Savages.
Jax watched Nora more in that instant than any other instant before; she would notice everything about his home that Prims bragged about, the decay of more than just a castle. Stained by so much blood that one could ever get their hands clean. He would take her to the castle's inner dwellings to the gaunt faces of the men who had further turned his father's mind to utter trash. Utter decay. His body burned with the feeling of her eyes on him and his hand covered in frost and glittering powder reached up to skirt over her cheek, down towards her jaw and then to her neck.
A glyph of a tiny fox had wound its way over her skin and his lips lifted up into a smirk that was cruel in origin. His mask for all to see, until the council 'approved' he had to act like he hated her beyond all words. That she was a gift to use in bed, in other places that he'd stain more than his bed with her innocence. A smirk left his lips when he entered the castle with her. Things were falling apart more, with a flick of his hand ice shot up to brace the falling objects, replacing spots in the floor so that she wouldn't fall through to the pits below. One hand locking on her wrist he just dragged her straight into the depths of the castle.
Past the kitchens and the throne rooms, past the servants quarters and the royal rooms where his people belonged. The council was the only thing separating his side of the enclosure from everything else. A circular room with a skylight to show how many had died there. The six large steps led to a block where the accused would kneel and be chained on either side.
The throne was lifted even above that and the council would flank around him like the lesser beings that they were. This is where Nora would go, he had gotten visible confirmation that they were waiting for him when he had gotten into the castle gates.
The hissing vipers closed behind him as they waited for a body to feast on. Not once looking at Nora Jax took her into the council room. Black leathers were changed with royal markings up his body and into the darkened tresses that were askew. The only sounds were the clumsy movements of her booted feet. Banging the doors to the council he gestured for Nora to go up to the stone block and winked at her. No guards were to chain her and as he made his cocky walk up to his throne the devils dropped on him.
"Who is she?"
"Where is Calla?"
"Have you gone utterly mad?"
His hand went up and he silenced them all, legs crossing together and his body showing nothing but ease as he glanced around the council.
"This is Nora...well I know you know who she is because who wouldn't, right? Though she crossed the boundary line as an emissary she is now my pet. Hear that mine, none of you are interrupting me until I am done. Nora's brother took Calla as a token of peace...a treaty that I made while you sat here using my air. Precious air at that lamenting about how wrong my ways are to save our people. No sorry again mine, now I know you assholes have questions and she will answer them but any of you step out of line thinking you run the show?"
His fingers made a lazy motion but it sent a javelin of ice into one of the stone wall cracks and broke some of the supporting wall down. Mortar came down around them, with his other hand he used ice shards to protect Nora's head.
It was only then that he looked at her.
That moment made one of the older beings speak, he no longer was worthy of having a name remembered and Jaxon usually called him Stick.
"And you...young lady what is your mission here? To slaughter us in our sleep like your kind is known to do. Acting as innocent as the lambs you raise...What need do we have for a woman of no power? Unless you are not only your brother's lacky and token of failure but a product of...disgusting origins. Do your kind really rut in the mud like animals with each other no matter the relation?"
The instant change in Jax and his mannerisms told her that who he had been with her had been a side he didn't show often. She visibly shivered though her core still produced the warmth of the sun. She could hear the pieces falling around her, not daring to look up as far to see his powers catching and keeping them away. Nora wore no crown of royalty, she held no supreme title over anyone else in her Elder Council but she was raised with poise and direction. If she were to wear a crown, breaking her neck to see what was above her would send the royal jewels rolling onto the ground.
An unforgivable act.
As they passed through each room she could see the walls covered in handprints of life, people trying to escape death while gore splattered over the walls from internal war. She had heard the legends of them drinking the blood of others for initiation but up until this point she found it hard to picture. His kingdom was making it less so.
As they wove in and out of rooms and corridors she wondered if she was going to be slaughtered the same as her deer had. That same hide back on the horse in the stables. Was everything in the frozen waste land abused and taken for nought? Upon entering the vast room of prosecution the first thing her eyes fell upon was the large stone slab that was dead center.
Their world was always grey and dreary but with the sky above pitch black with nothing more than the moon as a peering light it was even darker. Her eyes adjusted as she was led up the thick stairs and came to a halt at the apex to see a large stone table that settled wrong in her chest. She felt like there was a poison sitting on the tip of her tongue, feeling like frostbite was pricking at her extremities as the king left her side.
Seeing him ascend the large block of throne she cast her gaze over the old men of the council that looked like skeletal beings. Walking men of death and deterioration. Putting her gaze back to Jaxon as his voice boomed the room she couldn't say she wasn't appalled by his words. The men around him were meant to be advisors but he spoke to them like they were roaches encroaching on his personal space. Running her tongue over her teeth gently in idle anticipation she just flickered her honey hues over each of the men independently waiting for them to speak.
Claimed as a pet by the king. She struggled not to let her features show the distaste, allowing his words to be true that she was an offering of her people - so when one of the councilmen finally spoke she turned her attention to him aghast at his bold accusations. Staring at him with a warmth that she swore would turn him to a puddle on the spot.
"My name is Nora Brŭshlya. I am an Elder of my people. I stand at six hundred and thirty five rings. That is age in your peoples terms. My brother Derek is the only one older than myself and rather than send a male to abuse and gain no use from in a cell I've come forth on my own accord to bring pleasure and needs to Jaxon and whatever he deem fit in his kingdom. Our people burrow in the dirt but we do not lay with those of blood. We marry for souls where I come from. We marry for ideals not prize, though if we were I am the largest head to put the price upon."
Stepping away from the stone slab she began to slip out of her clothing so it didn't tear and she wouldn't be lacking it when Jaxon would need to escort her elsewhere. Unlike in the cabin they had stayed in however, each bare part of her that became exposed shifted to a deep oak bark, winding divots between her skin to settle like the trees she had been born to. As the last bit of her clothing hit the ground she began to stretch to full height, the hooves on her feet growing to stand nearly off the sides of the raised platform as she reached the size of the tallest tree just outside of the castle.
Up past the skylight arena, her snout elongated as her eyes turned animalistic and her antlers grew from her head. Moss began to cover her from head to toe in sporadic spots, her hair turning into vines of green and her crowned horns extending out with hanging greenery. As she came to her true form she let out a huff at the harsh air in her rising atmospheric change, the freezing cold making it hard to breathe as she peered down at the king and the councilmen.
Feeling ice begin to creak across her outer shell of her wooden body and her antlers she began to drop from her full height once they got the idea, slowly turning back to the pink and olive toned tan skin of her mortal, dropping to her knees and gripping the block as she gasped harshly for breath in the icicle daggers she swore were in her lungs.
Proving all she was at the risk of harm.
Jaxon had been examining his nails barely looking up at Nora as she responded in a manner that was much like his own reactions, disdain and outright attitude. He smirked as he looked up at her when she finally showed what she was to a point that was astounding to everyone. But him. As he looked over at the council with his gleaming smile he stood up and slid his hands into his coat pockets. Brow raised in defiance, dark contours of his face matching hers. As he stood and walked towards Nora he wasn't surprised. She was beyond anything of expectation.
Once challenged she bucked up just as hard if not harder. Tall as a tree with just as much pride when it came to herself and her brother. As he came to her he took off his coat and draped it over her frame, slipping arms into it and buttoning it. When done he pressed a kiss to her forehead and then swept her up into his arms.
"I told you that my pet behaved well. You got your show, you heard my words get the fuck out and crawl back to your corners. Like the deflated vermin that you are...Now." He waited for them to move before he made another step. Only then did he let Nora go back to her feet, gathering her clothes up for her; he just handed them to her and made his head move so that she would follow him. They were heading behind the throne where a one way corridor led them to his whole side of the castle. Unlike everything else it stood tall and proud. Gleaming in gold and red.
"To your West is the eating area, East will be where you are living...do not venture anywhere else besides where I tell you." He gave her a glance of warning. The mild look of annoyance on his face would be echoed on her own. They pushed and pulled perfectly.
"Up North and yes I rule all...is my area, you can sleep with me if you want to have company again Nora. I don't control you but remember every lesson I told you. Without me leading that leash? You run the risk of losing your head, we are putting on a show soon with more than those assholes and by now you aren't going to be unheard of, you are-you will be tested and made fun of. There is nothing in this castle that will protect you, the lowest dregs will kill you just to earn a scrap of food."
Heading into the area for her he came back moments later with a dress of pure ice, it was sheer except for parts that wouldn't be shown to anyone but him. It had a sweeping train that swished as he carried it. Handing it to her he put his hand behind her head and pulled her in. Licking her lips slowly he chuckled.
"Why don't you get changed...it's one of Calla's least favorite so you wouldn't be wearing something used. The color would look good with me on your arm." He taunted.
Jaxon was always the one testing boundaries of what was safe and what wasn't.
Testing her boundaries.
As it all came to end she couldn't get herself off of the ground or thaw the flakes in her lungs. She felt Jax come to her and wrap his shirt around her with ease, she didn't hear much of what was said but she knew she had done enough. Something inside of her settled and she knew something was wrong. In the hopes of trying to prove herself she had maimed her ability to shift to her true form.
Attempting to ease the unsettling flutters in her stomach she followed Jax and held her clothes tight to her bodice, eyes moving over the suddenly luxurious royal quarters. It was so different than the pit of bleak everything else in his kingdom resembled and she couldn't help but let her jaw drop slightly as she took in the intricate laces of gold and scarlet.
Turning her head left and right as she was directed it was when he said North that she glanced towards what she presumed as his own common rooms with mild interest. She was unsure of the right thing to say in such a situation but she was afraid. She was not cowering, she wasn't hiding - she was just simply stricken with a fear of the unknown and she had a sudden worry of her survival. She could fight like Hell, but she wasn't sure how long one could hold a broadsword before their arm gave way.
Seeing him disappear she saw him return with a dress that looked like it was made of glass, her eyes turning towards him in interest just before he placed his hand on the back of her head. Without much of a breath in surprise, his tongue was moving from her plump and smooth lower lip's curve, catching just slightly as she parted them in a gasp and it finished its trail at the twin peaks of her top one. Boring wide eyes into his she felt her heart thud against her rib cage and pound into her eardrums.
Eating her words at first she only regained them at the mention of it being Calla's gown, her eyes carrying over the pure beauty of it before she reached forward with a growing warmth in her fingertips. Watching as the gown of ice turned to pure water in his grasp she could feel her own Earth beginning to wind around her chest and back, leaving the skin to show in a 'V'' shape down to the very top of her ass and sweeping down in the front to show her tanned and glistening stomach just before her belly button, the perfect round of her breasts settling on the second skin of moss and greenery.
A crown of roses and thorns rounded her temples and pricked at her skin with slight sharp ends to show she was the ultimate sacrifice in his hands, those same thorns winding down and through her wrists and fingers to form the sleeves of her royal appearance, the bare of her feet covered even in a thick bark that wound to imitate what his people would call a heeled shoe, rising her a handful of inches in height and then twining up her calf with ivy vines of perfection before she was turning her head up to look at him.
"If the wolves descend on me, then they will descend on Nora Brŭshlya. Not a pale imitation of an abused Queen. Calla is at peace with my brother. I leave her there and create my legacy. My own story amongst your people - as nothing less than me."
With a strong tilt of her chin to hold her head high, she took his arm to show she was prepared to go to the den of murderers and bloodthirsty beasts. She was prepared to protect her throat and his. To take her place as his.