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Being in a new place was something that Captain Ice was not a fan of, especially if it was on land. She was a sea lover all the way, ever since she was a little girl. When she had heard about this new kingdom, however, her interest was piqued as it's not every day that new kingdoms pop up. It wasn't like she had anything else to do, shipments were stopped and Pirate was nowhere to be found, so there was no motivating factor. A visit wouldn't hurt anyone.
When she got there, she was met by a girl in a fluffy jacket with sheep trailing behind her, who seemed almost scared of her. She had to explain that the normal 'tour guides' were busy with a balloon exploration (whatever that was), and that she would be the guide. The way she talked to her seemed like the other was paranoid that whatever she would say would set Captain off, the words coming out slightly tentative. The blue-haired adult ignored it, even as Anchor hovered beside her with little quips and observations. The little ghost was annoying at times, but she would be lost without them.
"Here is where almost everyone comes and eats! The Diner has such a large variety of meals that there is something for everyone!" Captain was pulled out of her thoughts when the shepherd, who she now knew was named Cotton, explained what life was like around the Kingdom. The former listened carefully, even if she had no intent on staying. Everyone deserves to be listened to.
Captain hummed, thinking before speaking, "please excuse me for being so blunt, young Cotton," she started off, looking down at the girl who had to at least be a foot shorter than her, "however I sense that you are deceiving me and hiding something. While I understand we just met, you very obviously are apprehensive." The words were cold and to the point, not even allowing Cotton enough time to reel herself back in and think of a comeback. The two walked in silence for a moment, as Cotton tried to figure out how she was going to respond to the other.
"You remind me of someone I know, and someone I once knew all at the same time," Cotton finally spoke, as they crossed the bridge over a stream into the snowy quarters of the Kingdom. In the middle of the place stood a giant snow globe, but instead of snowmen, inside were snow replicas of many of the cookies that Captain and Cotton had encountered on the tour. The crunching of the snow came to a haul as the two stopped at the landmark, the silence building up again. Captain wasn't sure what to say, for once she was speechless. It only lasted a moment though, before she chuckled.
"And this renders you speechless because?" The words cut through like a knife, and Captain could have sworn she saw a small flinch come from the girl. Maybe she was hallucinating, that had to be it. Cotton took a deep breath before speaking a response, although it was hard to hear.
"Because the one I lost was my best friend. And the one I know is the Frost W- Queen." Cotton had to stop herself from calling her a witch, like she was taught while growing up. It was hard, but she was getting better about it. Cotton had been looking down, which was good for that moment because Captain's expression was one of both anger and sadness, her hands curled up at her sides. That was a name she had avoided since she was a young girl, not wanting to go through what she had all over again. This visit got a lot more difficult all of a sudden.
"How did you lose them?" Captain asked, which made Cotton jump up and look at her. When the two locked eyes, there was a mutual understanding that this was hard for the shepherd. Her mouth would open then shut again, as if she couldn't find the words to explain her pain. Captain stood there, waiting for an answer. She was patient, at least with anyone who wasn't Pirate. Cotton turned her head back to the snow globe, working her way through her words.
"He became a Child of Snow. It, it was his time, I suppose. I don't know how to explain it. Even after being told how it worked, I still can't fully grasp my head around it. He's safe though, Sherbert that is. I keep lanterns around-" Cotton was cut off by the sound of nails dragging across leather. When she looked back over at Captain, the sheath that held a dagger now had white and blue scratch marks in the side, and as she looked up, there was a a trickle of blood coming out the side of Captain's mouth.
"Where is the Frost Queen?"
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Frost Queen hated two things in this world. Number one was summer, for obvious reasons. Number two was unexplained and unannounced visitors who decided that they were gonna barge in like it was nothing. The day had started out normal, so the Queen indulged in the fact that perhaps neither one of those things was gonna happen today. Snow Sugar was still asleep in their room and this allowed the Queen to sit and relax for a mere moment. This was, much to her dismay, quickly ruined.
Shattered ice has a very distinctive sound, so Frost Queen was over to the entrance of her small place in mere seconds, ready to respond to the culprit. She wouldn't have put it past that Yam to be breaking in for a fight, or the quiet Dark Choco whom she swore was gonna betray them all. However, neither of these people were who filled her vision when she arrived in the main room.
No, she was met with the lanky figure of Captain Ice, who's hair was now slick down her face from falling in the snow and who's scars were much more prominent now that her skin was slightly red from falling into the snow. The furrow of her eyebrows was very prominent and Frost Queen was not ready for the words that she was about to be met with.
"Sister, before you say anything-" Frost Queen started, and was met with a very, very angry Captain stomping towards her, finger pointed at her. Normal people would have never even thought about doing this, but with siblings, it was different.
"HE WAS MY SON! HE WAS YOUR NEPHEW!" The words echoed off of the walls of the ice house, making them sound even more full of venom and anger than they actually were. A gloved hand carefully grabbed the trembling hand of her sister, offering a sad smile.
"Icing, I know. I would have saved him if I could. You know that. I didn't wanna lose him either. That's why I went and personally gathered him. He meant a lot to me." Despite the Queen’s frozen heart, her words were soft and full of love. Captain felt tears well in her eyes, and she leaned in to seemingly fight with her sister, however it was an exhausted sigh and falling into her sister's arms, the older of the two wrapping her arms around the sobbing woman. The two sisters knew firsthand what the sickness was like, and how it took control of you.
"I thought I'd be lucky, and get to see him again. I didn't think he was gonna get it so young. If only I had saved the research closer to me. If I hadn't gotten sick-" Captain started in to some of her doubts, and Frost Queen shook her head. A soft hand rubbed her sister's back, shushing her.
"Icing, you can't blame yourself. Your sickness wasn't your fault, and you're the only one ever who's recovered from it. It's okay. Please, relax. He is a Child of Snow now, free and adventuring, just like his mother," the words were whispered, and let her sister sit there and come down from her overload. No one had told her, apparently. She must have found out from Cotton, which makes it almost worse.
The two stood like that for a matter of minutes, Captain Ice standing against her older, and theoretically immortal, sister while Frost Queen kept her mouth shut on the matter, just holding the pirate. Small steps were heard after a moment, which made both adults turn and look at it. In the snow stood Snow Sugar, who was awoken by the yelling. They stood with their magic wand close to them, their hair out of their normal two side buns. Frost Queen smiled, pulling away from her sister for the moment to go and pick up the small child. Snow Sugar was one of the children in the Kingdom, however was also one of the strongest warriors. Captain was impressed with how her sister acted with the child, letting them tell her about their dreams and such. Captain knew her sister cared, and not only did she care for this small child, but her Children of Snow. It wasn't Queen’s fault that Sherbert got sick, and it wasn't her own either. It'd be hard getting through it though.
"You are going to stay for a while, yes?" The words caught Captain by surprise, however she nodded. The thoughts she had about leaving before were smaller now. The small child was now chasing Anchor around the place, leaving the two sisters to stand next to each other once more.
"Come, I have friends I would like you to meet," came from Queen, who looked at her sister. Captain nodded, plastering on her own victorious smile. Kingdoms maybe weren't so bad after all.