I've never known what true fear felt like until this very moment. Because the voice I've been hearing whisper in my head for so long is now whispering right next to me. It's not just in my head but it's all around me, sending shivers down my spine.

My goosebumps now have nothing to do with the cold. In fact, the anger rising in me warms my body to an almost burning feeling that the cold feels refreshing. My back sears with pain and heat just feeling the presence of Eden, like it's called to her and it won't let go.

And as I turn around, I see her. At first, it's the subtle outline of her black and red gown and then the tips of her wispy hair. Her skin looks paler than I once remembered, her fingers looking too skinny to be healthy.

I furrow my brow and swallow before looking her in the eye. Her black eyes pierce into mine and there is no distinction between her iris and pupil. The darkness of her eyes looks too large to be human. She's not human, I remind myself. More like a demon with a pretty smile.

Her eyes glint with a suspenseful satisfaction and her lips turn upwards. And there is her smile that once made me feel so confused, but the beauty of it now just makes me want to throw up because I've seen that same smile time and time again on John's face.

I clear my throat and it echoes throughout the cave. I plant my eyes on her and refuse to break eye contact. "I'm flattered," I say in response and cock my head, winking.

She laughs and I can feel the vibrations under my feet. "Confident, are we?"

I shrug. "I seem to have something you want. You need me alive," I say.

She frowns and makes puppy eyes towards me. Softening her voice, she speaks three octaves higher. "That's funny because I seem to recall it being you just a few moments ago bawling our eyes out in the sparring room."

My heart drops but I keep the mask on my face unbreakable. But I guess it doesn't matter. She smirks and giggles to herself. "Yes, Zaria. I've seen it all. Every single moment you've lived since that mark was put on you," she says pointing to the shoulder that carries the brunt of the tattoo. "I must say, you are very small. It was interesting to see the world so close to the ground."

I roll my eyes and she takes a step closer. I can now smell her perfume. It's sickly sweet and makes me cough as she gets closer. "You know you're going to die. Just accept it."

"I have," I say through coughs. "But you haven't."

"And what's the supposed to mean?"

It burns me to have to explain myself to her when I know just how deep she's in my head. "The mark is a slave mark. I'm not stupid. I have something you want and you will do anything you can to get it from me."

She tisks. "See, you are smart. But intelligence, hmfp, seems to be lacking. You have something I need, yes, but," she throws her hands up like a toddler does when they make a mistake. "I'm afraid I can't get it with you alive."

I can feel it. For a split second, I let the mask fall from my face and her smirk becomes wider.

"Yes, yes. Very sorry. I wish there could be some other way to make this bargain work, but I'm afraid not."

"You want my power," I tell her, getting more agitated by the second. "That's all you want. My power because you don't have yours anymore."

"Where did you ever get that idea from?" she asks, circling me.

I keep her in front of me and spin with her. "The wall. You possessed John and when he was locked in that cell with the barrier, your power died within those walls. From the looks of things, it seems as though you used a lot of power on him."

"Oh yes, that hopeless sack of bones I must call my kin. While you did lock away my power that night, not all of it died." Her smile becomes wider. "There will always be a piece of me John carries around and it frightens you. But not for long."

My hands curl into fists. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"The intelligence, Zaria. This is what I mean. You think it's all about you. It's not. You're only the start." She raises her hand and flicks her finger. "The brave little pawn that makes the first move. You have my congratulations."

"And what are you?" I ask her. "The king that waits until the end to put any effort in?"

"Quite the contrary," she says between her teeth. "I'm the queen that moves freely wherever she wants."

"Over here," she says and she disappears and creeps up behind my shoulder gripping her spindly fingers over my shoulder, gliding her fingers over the slave mark. Spinning around I see a mere whisp of her before she disappears again and is standing on top of an ice platform. "And now, I'm over here."

I plant my feet as firmly into the snow as I can and brace myself. I see the air in front of me blur before she appears, her black eyes inches from mine. "And I will take them out. One by one."

"So that's what this is? A chess game?" Now it's my turn to laugh. "I've played many games with a cocky queen. She's usually the one to fall first."

She takes a step back and puts her weight on one side of her body. "You are spicy," she says as though she were proud. "We're so similar."

I spit on her. "I'm nothing like you."

"Sit down," she says and waving her hand she makes two thrones made of ice. They glimmer like diamonds and reflect the white snow underneath them.

"I'd rather stand."

"I didn't ask," she says before I feel myself being thrown into the ice. The second I hit it there is a little steam that hisses as I touch her creation.

She calmly sits across from me and crosses her legs, adjusting her skirt. Her gaze lazily follows the wisps of steam that come from the chair.

"You're burning up," she coos. "Let me speak before you don't even have a throne to sit on."

"Why?" I fight. "Just so you can kill me in the end?"

My vision blurs for just a moment and I shake myself awake. No, I have to hang on for the right moment.

She chuckles. "The right moment," she repeats after my thoughts. "If you really think you can win against me, you have another thing coming."

"I've done it once," I say and I can feel the seat underneath me start to drip water.

"I'm sure you're no stranger to the dislike I have towards my son. I applaud you for defeating him, but let's be honest," she says leaning closer and putting her elbows on her knees. "He was no true match for you. Now we," she says pointing back and forth between us, "are equally matched."

She sits back now. Looking up, she sighs. "I remember when I first heard about you from my son. He was a little... how should I put it... infatuated with the idea of you two one day being something together. You were impressive." She looks back at me and taps her finger to her chin. "I couldn't understand how some girl could be so magnificent, be worth so much. That's when I started to keep an eye on you."

She shakes her head. "Here you were. A weak girl radiating with power and yet you had not a fraction of a clue as to who you really were. Obviously, I needed to know just who I was dealing with. If I were going to help a girl escape, might as well get to know her, right?"

"So, you could see what you could gain?" I bite at her.

"Precisely," she says unbothered and her tone makes my stomach twist.

"I watched you through John and you were so peculiar. Constantly fighting who you were and who you wanted to be. There was never a good middle. And how excited I was to catch wind you were coming to visit me. You should have seen the look on your face as your little friend begged for the lives of your mothers. It was bold. But no matter how impressive you were, you lacked one thing. Loyalty. And that is where we're different."

"You had a job to complete. For family, for John, for power, and you gave it all up for a kingdom that put you in a fancy gown. Why don't you tell me what changed your mind? I want to hear it. Was it jewels and riches or the feeling of fake love that made you break?"

I go to pounce on her, whether I survive or be damned.

She flicks her finger and I fly back hitting my head on the ice. I bite my tongue to keep from crying out in pain. She opens her mouth and the smoothness of her voice as she talks makes me want to rip my own flesh.

"I sympathize with you, Zaria. I too know what it feels like to be blinded by what you thought was love. When you never experience affection, you will fall for whoever gives it to you first."

"You're wrong," I say wincing with pain. The aches in my chest feel tighter and tighter. My breath is too shallow to make it much longer.

"Quit struggling, Zaria." She taps her fingers rhythmically against the arm of the chair. "I can help you."

"Just kill me now," I grit through my teeth. "I'm not interested in your help. You said it yourself." I grunt, readjusting so I can breathe better. "I die either way."

"What if I told you we could make a different agreement?"

"I'm not interested."

She chuckles, and there is nothing humorous in her laugh. She points to the chair I sit on that looks more like an icy tree stump now from it melting. "Don't accept my help and you'll burn yourself alive." She pauses. "Allow me to help you and I can take it all away."

"And if I refuse?"

"Well," she smiles. "Then you'd have to be dealt with."

"Just deal with me," I say. "It seems to be a running theme, right? No one understands you. Everyone just deals with you."

"There's your intelligence," she says leaning forward and tapping my nose.

Smacking her hand away I curl into myself trying to find relief from any angle. I can't see anymore. The whines of the snow and ice blind me with radiant beams. Even if you try to fight, you won't be able to see. You'll still get eaten alive.

"So, you're just going to give up?" she asks. "If there was ever one thing I agreed with my son about, it was that you are extraordinary. Together, we could start a revolution. You remember the traumas of Flesherg. I've seen them. Imagine ruling over the Human Realm. Imagine if you did have the key to Flesherg just like you were always meant to have."

"What about loyalty?" I ask her. "You don't seem to care about my loyalty to Lumbridge."

"Lumbridge stole my very existence. I had to build my way from nothing."

"And now you think you're something?" I laugh and it feels as though my ribs will explode.

Her face contorts and her smile vanishes. "You stubborn girl," she bites. "You don't want my help? Would you rather die? If you pledge your allegiance to me, we can rule together, side by side. If you defy me, you die. I take your power and destroy Lumbridge, everything you care about. Is that what you want?"

"It's either we both destroy Lumbridge, or you destroy it," I tell her and it's the truth. "I'm not destroying anything else."

"A shame," she says. "Wasted potential."

"What did you do to this place?" I ask, trying to distract her. I now lay in the snow; the whole chair melted in a puddle underneath me. She says I'll burn up but I feel cozier than ever, like I could just fall asleep.

"You said this is a game and chess," she says rising from her throne. "And you're right. This," she opens her arms taking in the frozen Crystal Cave, "is just switching sides. I've played white. It's time to play black."

"You took all the magic," I grit through my teeth.

"What can I say, darling? Like calls to like. Stand up."

I listen to her, more because I don't like the idea of not being on my feet. I gasp as I twist to stand and she smiles all the while I struggle to even stay upright.

"The cave needs a new master, and this time it will be me." She shrugs her shoulders. "I was inviting you to rule it with me, but you're too arrogant."

Arrogant, I think to myself, snorting at the irony. "You killed the Crystal Cave. You killed my mother twice. You almost killed the royal family, and now you're going to kill me."

She purses her lips. "It's nothing personal. You've lived the life, once. Kill or be killed. I was under the impression you'd be more understanding."

"And what will killing me do? How much power will you really get? I'm just another piece you move off the board?"

"The thing that's so nobleabout a pawn is its sacrifice," she says circling me and her serpentinemovements make it even harder for me to focus on her blurry figure. "That's allI need. A sacrifice. But you won't give it willingly, so now I'll have to dowhat a queen does best and sweep the board."