The Unloved Queen (ChocolateStrawberry x Russian Vodka)

The land of Ice lived up to its name. A barren wasteland of frozen snow as far as the eye could see. Nestled in the valley of the mountains, it was rumored that Ice was once a lush and green place until the Goddess of Snow, Isola, caught sight of it and claimed it as her own. Nothing grew here and the people made their living mining the precious metals out of the surrounding mountains. On all sides down the mountains were green and prosperous kingdoms.

Amna loved her home. As the daughter of a lesser lord, she never had many hopes for her life. She assumed she'd marry and live her days with another lesser lord, pining away for the glory of the palace. Through manipulation, her mother had managed to succure for her a special betrothal with the youngest prince. The condition was, should he ever be made king, Amna would be his bride. Against what everyone would have assumed, a plague hit Ice and robbed them of their king and his two elder sons. The crown fell to Yorik, and Amna became queen.

Yorik was not what she would have wanted in a husband. Too busy trying to pretend he was still the care-free prince, he left his duties unfinished. The only thing he liked about being king was the seemingly unlimited funds he could play with. Amna was well aware of her husband's expensive tastes for she was the one who had to make sure teh bills were paid on time.

As the true power behind the throne, Amna found being queen a thankless job. She found her joyless days filled with petitions from the towns, visiting nobels who looked down on her icy realm, and the overlooming threat of war with the surrounding kingdoms. It was always something to worry her, and she felt very alone in her palace.

It had been years since Yorik even paid attention to her. Amna was not an ugly girl; she had long white hair and pale skin that was common among the people of Ice. Her eyes were an unusual shade of green, a throwback to her foreign grandmother. She was of medium height and curvy, a beauty for the people of Ice. Yet, when she craved the attention of her husband, she was always turned away and felt like there must be something wrong with her.

Pulling her wrap around herself more, she motioned for her servant to put another log on the fire. Today, she would tackle the reports of an army emassing in the south. She knew why many of the surrounding kingdoms feared Ice. At a high advantage, they could attack easily. Amna had no desire for war, wishing peace. However, she feared that someone might get antsy and decide to take the advantage for themselves.

Some people loved going to war, other people loved trying to secure peace. The kingdom of Zion secured their foreign affairs either peacefully or with the assasination of the higher nobility. It was no secret to the surrounding kingdoms that this one was strong enough to train highly specialized troups in underground or hidden combat. The only secret was, the best assassin was the youngest prince. He was feared amongst the others and even his brothers' attempts to remove him from the power he could potentially gain.

But one day, he had found a note by his bedroom door. It wasn't a threat to his life again and it caused Sarin to smirk. It was signed by his mother and it explained to him that he was to pack his weapons and some peasant disguise clothes right away. He went to work immediately, the tall young man also slipped out of his morning clothes and into some dirty, ragged pants with a cloth belt and a dirty white shirt that was beginning to rip up his side. He packed a small bag, getting a stick for it before wrapping the bag around it.

His daggers were hidden in the back of his belt as he left the room, carrying the note with him that explained he was to kill Queen Amna of the Kingdom of Ice to secure the rage of the king so he would plunge into war and the mineral rich kingdom would come under new management. It was reckless to attack Zion unless one knew how to protect the higher nobility AND wage a frontal war at the same time. His mind went quickly around the ways he would work as he passed one of his brothers in the corridor, receiving a new note that stated the wagon was ready.

And a moment later he was off, sitting next to the driver on the cart that would take the weekly flour shipment to the border and he was going to be passing with a few papers already made for this. He had a smile on his face as he prepared himself mentally for his work, it would be a new experience to kill someone this high but he also knew that he was the only one who could be trusted with this kind of work.


Appearing at the border by midday, he passed the guards with a nod, slipping them the paperwork as he was allowed entry to the kingdom. He worked his butt off when the cart came to take the flour to the castel bakeries as he then sattled up next to the driver, engaging in some friendly chat about a made-up aunt of his who was supposedly the personal maid of some lower nobility woman in the kingdom.

((Sorry I took so long, haven't had internet all day for some weird reason))

Amna took a quick break from the reports. If she had to read one more parchment about how this kingdom or that kingdom was preparing to crush Ice, she was going to go crazy. She knew she had to talk to her husband, but she wasn't even sure where he was. Rubbing her eyes, she made her way down to the kitchens for a snack. She would get lectured by her husband's advisors for venturing into servants' territory, but she didn't care.

"Master Orf, how are you this day," she said, walking into the kitchens. The staff was busy unloading the latest flour shipment and a few fruits sent through Zion. At the moment, she saw a small horde of poison testers taking little tastes of the flour to check for arsenic.

"Busy, Majesty. What can I do for you?"

"I just came down for a small snack. Anything you have at the ready will do," Amna said. She sighed, moving out of the way of a dirty peasant with a flour barrel. "And if you have anything for a headache l can use, that would be wonderful." She rubbed her temples while she waited for one of the kitchen staff to make a small plate.

"Majesty, you can just send a request down," Master Orf said. "There is no need to come down by yourself."

"I need the exercise," Amna said. She took her plate and turned to leave. "Oh, one of my personal servants left to care for her mother. If you can spare anyone, I could use the extra help." She left the kitchens and walked back to her study.

Arriving at the castle bakeries, he jumped off the cart as it stopped. He waited for the Master to come out and arrange the orders to unloading the goods as he nodded and grabbed the first bag of flour. He moved in a gentle pace, making sure not to go too fast or too slow so his back could follow along as he begun transferring the bags of flour and eventually the extra fruit that was accompanying the flour as a gift.

It was then suddenly that Sarin noticed the Queen out of the corner of his eye. She was older than him by a couple of years but she was still as beautiful as a girl his own age. Feeling one of the apprentices tap him on the shoulder, he unloaded the bag before returning to the cart to get the last bag of flour. He tried to get in as close to the queen as possible when she managed to avoid him. He had overheard most of their conversation but figured this was where he would make his grand entrance.

When he was done unloading and having counted out his pay, he approached Master Orf. "Excuse me Sir, I can fill in the spot needed for our Queen if it is needed. I am not scheduled for more work today so I have the time." He explained, hoping to get the post as the shape of his body would show that he could make a fine servant if given the chance. "I will only ask for a uniform and some clean water then I will be ready." He said, trying to hide his accent as much as possible as he was praying for the job.

Almost an hour later, when Amna was ready to throw up her hands in dispair over the documents in front of her, there was a knock on her study door. Master Orf entered with a young man dressed in the livery of the palace servants.

"I found a volunteer, Majesty," Master Orf said. "He's new."

Amna smiled. "Well, that's all right." She walked over to the young man. He was handsome, she had to grant that. She just hoped he wasn't the kind to sneak off to 'dally' with the maids.

"Thank you for volunteering," Amna said. "I've been so busy lately and could use the extra help. I don't suppose you have any skills with hair or handwritting, do you?"

Following Master Orf, Sarin was taken to a room where the servant livery was kept and one fitting his size was picked out as he was quickly working his way into it. Next came the task of having to listen to instructions on how he was to speak to the queen, behave around her and what he should do in case the king arrived. He listened patiently, hiding the anger in his body by quietly smiling and nodding at the orders.

Following the Master to the room where the Queen was, he walked in last as he managed to get a glimpse of the queen. However he didn't look at her for long as he saw her approaching him, he stood taller than her in the room, though it was common for the men to be that way as he waited for her to finish taking. "I can write, your Majesty." He spoke calmly as he bowed lightly.

He didn't dare look too long at the queen. He only stole glaces here and there so he would seem interested in her. His mission was after all explained to full detail that he was to kill her when they were alone and it seemed like this would be one of the ways to stay out of the eyes of other servants when he was to complete his task.

Amna smiled. "Good. I can use some help with letter writing. If I did it all myself, I'd be here all night." She motioned for him to follow her back to her desk. She handed him a small stack of papers, an inkwell and a pen. "All you have to do is copy this letter," she handed him a parchment of paper, "but fill in the appropriate items." The papers were to okay various mining operations, with an added note about being careful and what shares should be sent for inspection to the palace.

She got him settled in on a corner of her desk while she worked. As she got to the middle of her own stack, she started to get aggitated. Amna frowned, coming across a few papers slipped in the stack. Bills, sent by her husband. She was getting a good idea where he was hiding this time.

"Stay here," she said, picking up the papers. "I won't be long." She'd have to deal with this in person. Paying what her husband owed would be tricky. He was creating a mess with his frivolity. At the door,she turned for a moment. "Oh, what's your name?"

"Yes, M'lady." He replied, having followed her to the table he would be using. He sat down, putting the stack of papers in front of him, the letter to his left, the inkwell just above the papers, the corrections to his right and then he sat down. He knew the letters were none of his business so he didn't bother reading it as he begun copying. He worked quickly, the ink scribbling over the page as he managed to stay at somewhat perfect invisble lines. He couldn't risk his mission by making mistakes.

He didn't seem to react until her expression changed, causing him to look up in curiousity as he saw her reaction. He figured something that didn't please her had come up as he soon returned to the letters. He was only done with the first three letters but his pace was keeping up with being gentle, making it seem like he needed to work harder than he was actually working.

He didn't react to her telling him to stay, he found it obvious as he saw her move out of the corner of his eye. By then she was already at the door. "I'm Sarin, your Majesty." He said, putting on a gentle smile before he returned to the letters to keep on writing.

Amna nodded and left the room. She knew her husband spent his time with many of the other nobels, trying to relive the carefree lifestyle he had before he became king. What he didn't seem to realize was that it had to be paid for. She did not appreciate getting a bill from a whorehouse because he wanted to be generous. Or from a dressmaker concerning a dress she knew was never delivered to her.

Entering her husband's chambers, she ignored the nobels surrounding him. "Yorik, we need to talk," she said. "Now."

"I'm kinda in the middle of something," he said. Amna grabbed the pretty young thing (for she was uncertain if that was a boy or a girl under all that makeup) and pulled it from her husband's lap.

"Now, Yorik." She left him no room to argue. Pulling him to a quiet corner she handed him the bills. "We can't keep paying these. The treasurey is getting low, our mining is starting to yield less, and I'm trying to keep invading kingdoms from walking over us. You have to stop this, Yorik."

"I'm king, Amna," Yorik said. "It will all work out. Just raise the taxes on the peasants or haggle a better deal with the traders. You are good at taht."

She pushed the bills in his hands. "Just end it, yorik. I have enough on my plate."

Yorik looked amused. "Let me guess, another assassination plot? Oh, those are fun. I heard a rumor that Zion...or was it Malbin?...was plotting a royal death."

Amna rolled her eyes. "Those rumors are old," she said. "I've been hearing them since we married. Now, stop paying for your friends all the time. Let them treat you or just stay home."

With that, she left and returned to her study. No longer wishing to work, she said, "Sarin, right? How well do you handle the cold?"

Sarin was completely unaware of what was happening as he kept working. He was only interupted by Master Orf who came to check up on him, knowing the queen had left. He had excused himself with being okay though he wouldn't mind a glass of water. He had found it by his side a moment later as he took a sip once in a while during his work. It was quite eventful, his wrist beginning to ache a few minutes before she returned as he looked up, pleased to see her back.

Her question came new to him. He hadn't expected her to mention the cold but he knew he could block it out. "Fairly well, my Queen." He said, lowering his gaze so he wouldn't accidentally look into her eyes. He was beginning to realise that maybe he should've focused more during his preparations last time he was going to the kingdom of Ice. But this was okay with him, he was already enjoying his assignment as he seemed to have found a perfect spot where he would be able to get in close to the queen.

Amna motioned for him to follow her. "I feel the need for a walk, and I loathe to walk alone." The truth was, she knew she should have a bodyguard where ever she went. But, with most of the knights placed incase of an invasion, that left her with servants to accompany her. Yorik never seemed to mind since he always traveled with his friends.

She took him to the gardens. It was rather pathetic in her mind. A garden should be green and fragrant. Hers did grow flowers, but they were small buds, a rare plant that could stand the cold. Other then that, she had ice sculptures.

"You know what I would love," she muttered more to herself then to Sarin. "I would love to see a real garden. I want to walk outside without having to bundle up, just once. I've never even been outside of Ice." She looked down at herself, at her pale skin and white hair. "I'd also like to not blend in with my surroundings," she mused.

Sarin followed her, not saying a word as he didn't feel there was a need for it. He knew that she wouldn't be going with a bodyguard as they simply didn't have the manpower to secure her and the borders fully. Using servants was a smart move as they could easily be soldiers in civil clothes and it made him smile lightly as he went into the gardens with her.

The place seemed cold, abandoned and made him shiver lightly as he looked at the buds, listening to her at the same time as he looked around. It was a strange garden, ice sculptures and flower buds seemed to be the only decoration. It was then that he noticed something out of color, at first he thought it was an assassin, but there was no movement, not even breathing and he realised that it was in fact one of the most rare flowers in the world.

"Please wait here, Milady." He told her softly, skipping over to the bed of buds, moving them around a bit before he found the flower. His face lit up at the sight of it, he gently plucked it, holding it carefully in his hand as he stood back up, keeping it behind his back while he went back towards her. "Your garden isn't without flowers, your Majesty." He said, kneeling in front of her before he removed his hand from his back, extending the flower towards her, the black lotus shining lightly in the late afternoon sun. "Milady, by no means do you blend in. Like this beautiful flower, you appear rarely but your beauty shadows everything else." He said, hoping his little play of words would help soften her heart.

Amna blushed, her cheeks tinted to a soft pink. She took the flower and held it up to her nose. "Thank you Sarin," she said softly. "No one has ever picked a flower for me before." She wasn't sure what to say about his kind words. She was used to people just answering with yes or no, or in the case of Yorik, ignoring her. She tucked the flower behind her ear and smiled.

"You are very sweet," she said. "You're definetly more well-manned then the last person Master Orf sent to me." His words sounded well-bred and he had way of moving, almost courtly. His features could be from Ice, but there was something slightly exotic about it. Amna had a small hunch he was more then he appeared. She knew she should be worried, but it wasn't unheard of for the children of nobels to "pretend" to be servants. After all, her husband had done it on occasion before being made king.

She shrugged her suspicions off. It wasn't any of her concern if the youngest son of some noble family wanted to pretend to be the lower class. She thought it was a silly tradition for the boys, but harmless. Though, two could play that game.

"Do you know how to dance," she asked. "My husband is planning a big party for his birthday. I will need someone there to make sure my dress doesn't rip and such."

Sarin stood up after she had accepted the flower, seeing her blush as he smiled. He was careful not to show his teeth to her as they would clearly have showed her that he was the son of a nobleman. He saw her tuck the flower in behind her ear as he proceeded to lead the walk through the gardens while listening to her. His pace was slow but gentle, making sure she would have breath for both walking and talking as he had always been a great listener.

"I'm sure Master Orf has always meant the best for our Queen." He said, not minding the praise he was giving out as long as he was allowed closer to her and when he got close enough, he would secure his strike. He heard her question about him dancing, making him grin, his teeth flashing for a very short moment. "I'm afraid not, but I would be greatly honored to be taught how to dance." He said, his hands finding their place on his back as the walk continued around in the garden, her sadness seeming to have disappeared by his act with the flower.

"Well, then, I suppose I will have to teach you how to dance," she said. She hadn't ever tried to teach anyone, but she was certain it wouldn't be that hard. "You'll be sleeping in the servant's chamber near my rooms. That'll make it easier to give you lessons. My only real free time is after dinner."

Looking up at the gray sky, she realized they should start heading back. She still had things to do, household concerns that needed her attention. Not to mention trying to mend one of her own dresses to make it appear different before the party. She really didn't want to spend what little reserve they had on a new dress.

She started back in. One of the reasons why she wanted to make sure he could dance was so she'd be able to join in just once. No one ever seemed to dare ask the queen to dance, and Yorik was always leaving her alone. This time, she'd dance.

"I'm very honored that you would take time for that Milady." Now it was Sarin's turn to blush, he hadn't expected her to say that she would be teaching him. Hearing the next part about being quartered near her rooms he had to force down a gasp. "If it please you, my Queen." He said, smiling as he followed her back towards the main building of the castle. He was pleased to know that she was letting him in so close to her already, now there was only one thing he needed to do before he would be close enough to take her out. He had read the letter over and over earlier that day and it had after all stated that he was to get in as close to her as lovers in bed were.

Hoping his mother had been joking, he had asked her just before he had left. She turned out to have been very serious about it. It had to look like it was a rebellous servant that did it. He had sighed over it but now he was getting closer. Her birthday would probably be cancelled if things went smoothly enough, but as it was he would have to wait and bide his time, hoping the work he did would put him up in the line towards the throne.

Amna allowed Sarin to follow her as she made her rounds of the palace. Master Orf wanted to discuss the upcoming menus, House Mistress Mir was upset that some of her girls had left, someone told her a few linens were missing from the west wing. She handled each task the best she could. By the time she was done, she was exhausted from running all over the palace.

"You can have your meal in the kitchens," she told Sarin, heading to her rooms. "Let him know I'll be dining in my room tonight. Check with me later to start your dance lessons."

In her rooms, she sat in her most comfortable chair and closed her eyes. She was doing the work of the king, the queen, and a small army of servants. She was nearly positive that some of her subjects were sneaking out to live in the lusher lands around them. She didn't blame them, but she would keep Ice alive. Even if it killed her.

Sarin followed her around, patiently staying a bit behind her and listening to what she discussed, letting her lead the word as he only replied when he was spoken to, considering his words with a bit of care when there were higher servants around. He stopped with her when she was done, listening to her. "Yes, Milady. I'll find you later." He said, bowing for her before turning around and leaving, heading down into the kitchen where he met Master Orf instantly. "The queen wishes to dine in her room." He said, bowing for the Master before heading to the servants' long table. He sat by himself, the bowl with bread, potatoes and some meat placed in front of him by one of the chef's assistants as he begun eating.

Once done, he asked for his room, being given the directions as he smiled as much as possible. He went there, finding the small room to be furnitured with a small chest by the foot of the bed, a table and a chair. Finally there was the bed, it was large enough for him and a child unless he lined himself up against the wall as he smiled. The room was perfectly spartanic for him as he removed a single book from his possessions, putting it on the table before sitting down on the bed, taking a look at his clothes. They were stained but not too much and he figured they would do as he left his room, heading for her rooms, knowing she had dinner there as he softly knocked on the main door once he was there.

Amna had just finished her meal. By now the cooks knew to just put a meager ration on her plate. She was never really hungry at night. Hearing the knock, she opened her door to find Sarin.

"Come on in," she said, stepping back. "We'll begin the lessons now, if you want." She hooked her skirts up to her waist so it would be easier to show him the steps. "I'm not used to leading, so this will be a bit of a challenge."

Standing in the middle of the floor, she motioned for him to stand next to her. "I'll show you some steps first and we'll go from there."

Sarin bowed as she told him to enter, then he stepped into the room. "I am ready." He said calmly, figuring that since this was different from other situations, they probably wouldn't be interupted and he could relax a little on the titles as he moved over next to her on the middle of the floor. On the way he noticed her hooking up her skirt, her long, smooth legs showing as he did feel a bit of a response even after commanding his body to relax. He was more than just beautiful, she was indeed as rare as the lotus he had found and apparently he was the only one who seemed to know that as he stood next to her, watching her carefully after nodding that he was ready.

He would go along with her steps, seeming to misstep occassionally in his act to look as much like a servant as possible, though he appeared to be a quick learner. He was soon moving gently and smoothly along with her showing the way, though not dancing with each other, he was pleased to at least get to know that she was a decent teacher when she had to.

After a while, Amna called for a stop. "You're catching on much faster then I had thought," she said proudly. "Very good." She unhooked her skirts and walked over to a cabnit. "Are you thirsty?" She took out two glasses and some imported spirits. Pouring a glass for herself,she poured one for him.

"Next, we'll put what you've learned into an actual dance. Steps are one thing, a partner is something else." She wasn't worried about him stepping on her feet or anything. She could handle it.

Sarin stopped with her, his breathing slightly heavier as he listened to her. "Thank you, Milady. I would appreciate a glass." He replied, accepting one glass as he took a sip. He was used to drinking, though this tasted differently from him. It was probably from the other side of Ice than Zion was. But he liked the taste as he watched her, seeing the skirts being back in place while she spoke. "Of course, your Majesty." He replied.

He wasn't worried about stepping over her feet as he was prepared to let his full skill show, preparing the dance in his own head as he begun leading once she had taken her position, their left hands in each other and his right hand just above her hip as he danced around in her room with her. It wasn't too fast paced, maybe a little bit slower than the original dance but still fast enough to keep her from ending up bored.

As they moved about the room, Amna marveled at how well he was doing. She hadn't danced since her wedding, back when Yorik still paid attention to her. She liked the attention she was getting, even if it meant nothing.

"You are doing wonderfully," she said. Unconciously, she moved an inch closer to him, her approval beaming through. "I don't think there is much I have to teach you. You picked this up so easily." She was slightly disappointed in that. If he picked up dancing so fast, she would not have to teach him as much. What little company she got from him today was more fulfilling then any she had in the past.

"Thank you, Milady." Sarin replied, smiling softly to her as he continued the dance, noticing her move in closer to him as he helped her, gently pulling her in a few inches closer to him as he put the speed down a bit on the dance. "I might seem like a natural, but I would like to practice more." He told her, having noticed the disappointment as he wanted to change that. He knew about the very tense situation between her and her husband, knowing she would have been missing the comfort of another person, another male even at times. And now it was his task to show her that he could be the man she had never had in the king.

Amna nodded, not noticing that they were closer together, or that the dance was slowing down. She was used to following a man's lead when dancing, she never really thought when she did it. "Well, practice does make perfect," she agreed. "We can continue nightly until the ball." For a few moments, her troubles seemed to vanish. She didn't have to worry about the kingdom, or invaders, or money problems. She didn't have to keep anyone happy but herself. Sarin didn't ask anything of her, and she liked that.

"Have you ever traveled out of Ice," she asked. "Being part of the flour delivery, I wondered if you came all the way from the mills." She was eager for conversation, to hear of what was going on outside of Ice. She got reports, but they were often created by her own people and she wanted to know what another's perspective was.