Playing with Fire

"I'm sure I'll find myself with an abundance of odd cravings sooner or later. I just hope they aren't too odd... but then again, I don't think I'll be too fussy if I find myself able to keep those cravings down." She chuckled, some of the tension in her shoulders fading as the other planned what to do with her hair. Carina would never admit it, because why would anyone ever do it, but she enjoyed her hair being played with. It relaxed her, so long as no knots were formed. It often brought back fond memories of her mother, who she had lost at the age of 11.

Whenever Carina complained of a nightmare, she would always be welcomed into the space between her mother and father. Even if the latter often grunted and rolled over to show his back. Her mother would stay up with her, whispering stories to her while stroking fingers through Carina's hair until she fell back to sleep again, comforted by the smell of rosewater and lavender.

Clearing her throat, the young queen pushed back the bittersweet memories to smile at Lauren's next words. "You're a cheeky arse sometimes, you know that?" She teased back, wanting so much for this to have just been how it was. With Lauren as her friend and she not having to worry about some ogre of a husband waiting for her downstairs at the breakfast table.

She did wonder what it would be like, should their plan work and the two of them accomplish what they currently only dreamed of.

They wouldn't have to do anything they didn't want to, their friendship wouldn't need to remain a secret. Lauren could be bumped up in station and Carina knew she would have her friend as her adviser in a flash. There would be no hesitation about that whatsoever. No one would be able to argue against that, no one even could. Who would, once they had achieved what they sought to? Carina's people had been massacred, the Ignisi people would be forced to obey through Carina's powers.

Her nose wrinkled at the idea of the pretentious necklace hanging around her throat, but she knew Lauren was right. Besides, it would sit well with the neckline of the dress she had on. She could envision the end jewel nestled between the top of her bosom. And the colours would match perfect with her outfit. Carina would never admit it, but she did secretly like the necklace's design, she only wished it were in Eirian colours... and that it didn't hold the meaning it did. Given to her by the former queen of Ignis as a statement of whom Carina now belonged to.

"You're right," she murmured finally in agreement, "Not to mention, the more Ignisian I look while expelling Eirian ice will be equally as amusing as reminding the crowd just who I am to them." Her back straightened and her shoulders pushed back, the grin once more appearing, "I hope this day truly is as fun as I'm envisioning it to be."
 
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At the agreement -however reluctant it might have been- Lauren reached for the necklace to carefully fasten into place around the Queen's neck. As ridiculously and unnecessarily opulent as she found the piece of jewellery to be, the maid still found a smile appearing in place on her face at the sight of the jewels Carina now adorned. She deserved to wear that sort of luxury, after all; she was a Queen and earned the right to dress herself in all the jewels she could get her hands on if she so desired - and the necklace, with the dress she had opted to wear, would at least consolidate that fact to the people.

She was their Queen and there was little they could do about it. Today was the perfect opportunity to make them realise not just that, but the fact she wasn't some timid thing in her husband's shadow. While the plan would benefit Sven, make him appear as though he had control over his wife, there was no denying that the display of her powers would benefit her greatly too, if only by emphasising the force she was - and the threat she could quite easily be to them all.

"Today's going to be wonderful, I know it already. The executions aren't... I'm not overly fond of them. Everyone here seems to adore a public execution and it's often horrific, but I can't deny that I'm not looking forward to today; to see those bastards get what they deserve. So that alone will make today a good day."

With a final nod, Lauren stepped back from the mirror to analyse her work on the other's hair with an approving smile. Of course, the playful energy would come to an end the moment they left the room, Lauren reluctantly falling back into her professional facade and sporting a look of subtle contempt at having to be at Carina's side - like anyone would expect from her. It was an expression she had worked hard to perfect, and from Sven's remarks to her about how good a job she was doing at coping with Carina's company, it had worked wonders for the lie she was presenting to the world.

Lauren didn't know what to expect from Sven at the breakfast table, his mood for the day often being something nobody could predict. She eventually settled in betting that he would be in some gloomy mood after Thorin was released from the dungeon and he had to recognise the fact a relationship lay in tatters... so seeing him laughing and smirking with Natalia came as a surprise. She quickly curtsied in respect to the King before dashing off to resume the breakfast duties, leaving the Queen solely in the company of her husband and his lover.

Natalia had never been the most subtle when it came to her love for Sven but the morning was worse than usual, her arms looped around his shoulders as she practically sat in his lap, planting kisses eagerly along his neck and peppering more to his lips, her giggles matching his deep laughter. She only pulled away when noticing his eyes drift to Carina, an unsubtle groan escaping her in annoyance at the interruption as she reluctantly peeled herself from the man and smoothed out the creases from her dress with a forced smile to her Queen.

"I heard the news, Carina; congratulations. I know Sven wasn't supposed to tell anybody but he couldn't help himself; he was ever so excited and I'm his closest friend so-- well, you can't be too mad at him for letting me in on the secret," she hummed as she tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, her eyes sizing Carina up with a smile that indicated she thought the other woman wasn't competition to her - not that Carina was currently vying for Sven's attention. "I'll leave you to enjoy breakfast. Hopefully you can keep some of it down. It'd be a shame to throw up over that nice dress of yours, wouldn't it?"
 
It was equally surprising to Carina as it was to Lauren to see her husband laughing away with Natalia, although the lack of decorum and class had her nose wrinkling at the sight of the adviser on his lap. She didn't care for what the two did, nor would she ever be jealous. But she was already feeling nauseous. She didn't need Natalia's sickening behaviour putting her breakfast anymore than she already was. The groan that sounded from the other woman only served to grate against Carina's nerves further, the young queen already agitated by the actions displayed.

However, instead of allowing her discomfort to show, she simply raised an eyebrow and continued to walk until she reached her usual seat. Again, still with a chair between her and Sven. Both because she knew it irritated him, but also because she didn't need him heaping more food onto her plate. She could only imagine how much more insufferable he was going to become now.

Will it was... somewhat commendable, his attentiveness to the unborn child, Carina knew better than to confuse it with a sudden care for her own well-being. She was merely the carrier, a brood mare finally holding the prize he so desperately sought after.

Carina poured herself an orange juice while Natalia spoke, eyes finally lifting to the other woman with a laziness that suggested that she didn't really care for the adviser's words. The necklace at her throat, the statement she was going to make today, filled her with an odd degree of confidence.

She was the Queen. And all of Ignis was going to realise that today. Including Natalia.

"I'd appreciate it if you kept to telling Sven what he can and cannot do or feel," she drawled eventually, forcing herself to take a casual bite of toast to spite the other woman's mention of sickness. Although the mere thought of her nausea did send it turning in her stomach.

Observing the look on Natalia's face, the one that clearly believed she was of no concern, only made Carina long for the executions. She may have been against them at first, but that was more for the way that the men were originally be killed. Now she would have her hands on them herself, and prove to everyone just how dangerous she could be.

"Will you be changing into something more suitable for the executions?" Carina then asked, eyes running over Natalia's body to survey the adviser's outfit, "I'm sure Lauren could find you something before we leave - I'm just assuming you put something comfortable on to work in before we leave." She leaned back in her seat, toast on plate and fingers softly rubbing against each other on the one hand to remove crumbs. "Unless you wore that specifically for me, in case the sickness can't be contained. I'd hate to think I ruined any of your... nicer clothes because I couldn't keep my breakfast down. Perhaps you should wear that, it wouldn't matter then if something unfortunate were to happen..." She added innocently, although the look in her eyes was hardly anything but.
 
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"Oh no, this is just something I threw on this morning; as nice as it would have been to stroll about the castle in my nightgown, I'm aware that I need to look the part of an adviser. I do have a wonderful dress waiting for me upstairs; it belonged to the former Queen, in fact. Sven said I could borrow it for the occasion, we're both in rather a celebratory mood today," hummed the adviser as she reached across the table to pluck a blueberry from the vast bowl of fruit. It was a casual act of informality that no member of staff beneath the King would have dared to embark upon, but her move was met with a smile from Sven, the man apparently allowing such casual disregard of the other's actual status to occur without concern.

With a dismissive smile to Carina at the thinly veiled insults, Natalia chose to focus her attention back onto Sven before she left, departing from the dining room with a final kiss to his forehead. The King tilted his head to the side slightly to watch the woman leave, only returning to stirring sugar into his coffee when he couldn't strain his head to watch Natalia head out any further.

"...That was really rather rude of you. There's no need to be a bitch to her, she's a lovely woman," he hummed as he took a sip from his coffee, the untamed smile growing freely on his lips. He knew Natalia wasn't an angel and, in reality, she did his head in most of the time. They had a close friendship, had known one another years, but he could admit that she was annoying and whiny and got under everyone's skin, purposely or not. But he wasn't going to admit as such to Carina - he was more than happy to sing Natalia's praises if it meant annoying Carina.

He might not want to insult and belittle Carina, not feeling quite as comfortable with that strategy now she was pregnant, but he didn't think it was too bad to wind her up a little like this. He was in a good mood already and this just put the cherry on top of the cake; even the scent of the musky perfume didn't do much to irk him, even if he knew its usage was a deliberate choice to remind him of that fateful first night they had shared together.

"You can spit the toast out if you'd like, you look like you're going to throw up and, as Natalia said, it would be a shame for you to throw up over that dress. It's a deliberate choice, isn't it? A statement? What a pity it would be if your little statement to the Ignisian crowd was undermined by a vomit stain on the fabric. So don't force food down if it isn't going to stay down. Just a little advice, love."

With that, he calmly took another sip from his usual morning coffee, knowing that he needed the caffeine after all of the two hours sleep he had managed to get. If he wasn't celebrating privately with Natalia, he was laying in bed, focusing on his wrecked friendship and where that left Thorin. The guard wasn't someone he wanted to focus too much on when all it brought him was pain and hurt, so he quickly reached for a croissant to take his mind off the man when realising his thoughts had drifted to his former friend once more.

"How are you this morning? I'm asking nicely, out of genuine concern - if only for my baby, obviously. Clearly the nausea is still plaguing you which is... unfortunate. Amusing, but unfortunate."
 
Both took a different approach to watching Natalia leave, with Sven clearly unable to get enough of his mistress exiting the dining room and Carina disinterested in looking at the adviser anymore. However on the inside she was seething. The blatant disregard, the disrespect of allowing an adviser - no matter what extra positions she performed for the King - to wear a gown fit for royalty, and then the simple casualness of eating from the table of the king and queen. Carina briefly thought of what it would be like to simply take advantage of her moment of freedom, once the bracelet was off her wrist, to inflict some sort of misery on Natalia. Clearly the woman needed reminding of just whole Carina was.

Choosing to ignore Sven's words regarding the other woman, she sipped at her orange juice. She knew she would need something in her stomach for the day, but the sickness was truly rampant. She was starting to wonder if the entire pregnancy would be like this, or if it was just for the first few weeks or so.

Her eyes finally travelled up to him, watching him carefully over the glass. He seemed awfully jubilant for someone who had just seen his friendship burn in flames; Natalia said they were in a celebratory mood. Clearly it wasn't over Carina and her pregnancy, she couldn't imagine the adviser would be keen to party over that. Something else was going on, and Carina would have to be blind to see it. Her husband often defended Natalia, but he didn't typically watch her out the door. And his happiness, his exuberant expression... the whispering last night, silent and secretive between the two of them that Lauren witnessed.

Carina swallowed down another bite of toast, having exchanged it for her orange juice and ignoring his warning.

"She's pregnant, isn't she?" She asked bluntly, uncaring to his questions and whatever 'advice' he sought to give her. She then laughed softly, leaning back in her seat before taking in a deep breath, "By the gods... I thought you had at least a shred of common sense in that small brain of yours, Sven, but clearly you Ignisian royals lack even that." She stood, only to have to hold the table for a moment due to a dizziness falling over her. Gritting her teeth, she shook it off and raised her chin so she looked down at him.

"She is your adviser and your mistress, Sven. I don't believe for a second that you love her, but I do know you will love that child because the excitement is clear in your eyes, as it was yesterday when you found out about ours. But I swear, if you neglect our child simply because you prefer the other mother, powers or not I will make you suffer. I will not have my child motherless and overlooked and alone simply because you got one of your whores pregnant."
 
While he was obviously aware that his attention towards Natalia was vastly increased, refusing to make it subtle when he was in far too good a mood to do so, he hadn't actually expected Carina to hit the nail on the head so quickly. He was unaware that word had reached her regarding his and Natalia's whispered, hushed conversation during the intimate celebrations the previous night; oblivious to how the cogs were already whirring in her head and her suspicion over the secret already raised, hence how he glanced across to her with genuine surprise.

Inevitably, a slow smirk grew on his face to all but confirm her suspicions as true. He had a reason to try and hide the news because he was well aware it might not go down too well amongst his closest allies and former friends of his father but to him, it was nothing to be mortified or embarrassed about, and it certainly wouldn't be the news that impacted his popularity. Not when he knew he had a spin to put on it to ensure that his reputation remained completely intact.

How could his people show him anything less than support when he was married to an Eirian; the person partly responsible for his parents' deaths? He was doing his kingdom a service by creating a child with a woman like that; sacrificing his personal happiness and his life by even engaging with her on a daily basis. He ought to be celebrated for the sacrifice - so who could begrudge him the chance of happiness with one of his members of staff? And if that resulted in a baby, then that too should be celebrated. Illegitimate or not, a child of the King was a cause for celebration. He fully intended on spinning the narrative to suit him and earn him more plaudits than critics, even if he had unfaithfully produced a child with his adviser.

It would ordinarily be enough to stir up unneeded critical gossip among the kingdom... but Sven was a master manipulator. There was little possibility of the news impacting him that negatively whatsoever.

"I prefer Natalia, of course I do; the kingdom would freeze over and snow would fall from the skies before I ever preferred you to another woman, Carina. But that won't impact the love for my children - I don't play favourites. My child with you could have the ice powers of Eira running through their veins, they could look the spit of their mother, and I will love them with my entire fucking heart. Don't stand there and case doubt on me because I will not allow those words to pass through your lips a second time, do you understand? I-- I will love both of my children the exact same, regardless of who their mother is and how much I may like one but despise the other."

With a stern frown, he pushed back against the chair in mild annoyance, the jubilant mood he had woken up with starting to dim at the doubt cast upon him. It was a reasonable remark to make, borne out an understandable fear that her child might be ignored by its father and left alone in the world despite being the kingdom's only legitimate heir, but Sven refused to acknowledge it as justified. All he heard was Carina doubting his capacity to love the children the same - and that, clearly, infuriated him.

"Just sit down and finish your goddamn orange juice. You need the nutrients - and don't sit there glaring at me either. It may not have been planned but Natalia's pregnancy is good news; wonderful news, in fact. Don't fucking ruin my day before it's started with all this negativity, Carina."
 
"I stand here and cast doubt on you all fucking day, Sven. Don't test me. You've given me no reason to not doubt you. You've been cruel and manipulative to me from the start simply because of where I came from and the power that lies currently dormant within my veins. I wouldn't put it past you to be equally as abusive to our child simply because they will be ours, and you will never be able to over look that fact." Carina sneered back, reaching forward so her palms rested flat on the table.

It was fair to say that the former Eirian princess was furious. But also scared, very fearful for the future that her child could have. Before this news, she could actually convince herself that Sven would love the child because it would be his, any siblings it had would be in equal standing and therefore all would be safe and loved equally. But now this other pregnancy, with Natalia, whom he much obviously preferred. It left Carina fearing that, if she wasn't around, the child would never experience any form of love or attention.

"I understand that I don't believe a single thing that comes out of your mouth, Sven. Why should I, you've been a manipulative bastard from the start."

Picking up her orange juice, she forced herself to drink the remaining liquid before the glass came slamming down onto the surface of the table. Despite his demands, she continued to glare at him, slowly peeling her fingers from around the glass, "I'm full." She muttered, stepping around from between the chair and the table.

The liquid already began to bubble up in her throat, the threat of it resurfacing imminent but Carina swallowed it back. She didn't need to prove him nor Natalia right in that moment. Her emotions were beginning to get the better of her - not because she hated Natalia and the news of the woman's pregnancy, in fact, that little bit didn't even bother her. It was the concern she had for the child inside herself. If things didn't work out and her and Lauren's plan didn't pan out, she could end up dead by the time this child was - what, maybe three? Sven could remarry, maybe even to Natalia. And her child, despite being the true heir to the throne... it sent tears to her eyes at the prospect of it watching from the outside, witnessing the love being showered on Natalia's child while her own remained in the cold.

It only made her long for the executions even more, the chance to release some of her anger and fear and frustration on the five men, who had nothing to do with this outcome but everything to do with potentially harming her child. Her ice could numb her for a moment, to everything she was feeling. The intensity of the sensitivity of her emotions was already outstanding and Carina couldn't believe she hadn't noticed them before.

She halted at the other end of the table, having put it between them. "She has already done a good job of keeping out of my way for the past few months. I want it to stay like that. I don't want any conversations with her about fucking baby names. If you want to keep me relaxed for the sake of your child, you want your baby comfortable? Keep her the fuck away from me. Understood?"
 
He knew that none of this anger would have been as intense as it was if Carina wasn't pregnant, nor had any plans on having a child with him. If their marriage was to remain childless, news of Natalia's apparent pregnancy probably wouldn't have stirred up so much outrage. Sven knew that the anger wasn't out of jealousy (the idea that it could be made him smirk to himself in ridicule) but rather a fear that their child together would be overlooked; ignored and dismissed in favour of its half-sibling; the child whose mother Sven could actually stand to be around.

He might understand that to be the reason but he didn't understand its presence when he thought it was obvious that he would love their child with his entire being. His excitement when the news sunk in had been unsubtle and the idea that he might feel more excited about, and would love, his and Natalia's child more was absurd to him. But apparently, nothing he said could convince Carina; again, it was understandable given his penchant for manipulation.

All he could really do was prove her wrong with his actions in the coming months; show her that he cared as much about their child as he did about his and Natalia's. Though making those promises felt like a desperation to win her approval and belief in him, and such a thought sickened him so much that he preferred to remain silent and accept all her outrage and disgust without retort. He had learnt that keeping quiet when it came to Carina was beneficial at the best of times, and there was no better time to practise it than now, when she didn't need the stress of an argument. It would inevitably become one, of course - nothing he could say would convince her and she would just refute his promises, so why bother trying to engage in a discussion when convincing her of his dedication to both children was useless to say and only meaningful in action?

"...I understand perfectly well, I'm not an idiot," the young King responded as calmly as he could, though the fact he spat the words out through gritted teeth didn't help the impression he was eager to give off. He wanted to appear unbothered but the fact she could assume he would be so cruel as to play favourites with his children disgusted him. He didn't want to understand her reasoning behind it because he found her remarks inexcusable - despite his past manipulation and obvious cruelty, he had never once altered his position on parenting; had always been passionate in his claims to want to be a father and do the best he could for the children he would have. To have that belittled so easy with doubts and (in his eyes) baseless claims enraged him, though he refilled his coffee and rested his head on his hand in an effort to return to the normalcy of his breakfast.

"Sit down, Carina. You have no need to leave the table; you and I are both dressed and ready to leave, so you'll sit with me until I've finished breakfast and we'll head to the carriage together. I want you comfortable, yes, but you also have an obligation as my wife, as the Queen, to dine with me. So shut up and sit down-- please."
 
Carina nodded, satisfied that she had driven her message home about him ensuring that Natalia stayed away from her. Not only did she want to avoid sharing this experience with the woman (it wasn't fucking sister wives), but she also didn't trust the adviser. In Carina's eyes, the woman was a threat to her baby.

Her suspicions of Natalia didn't arrive at the start of this pregnancy, but long before it on the night that Sven murdered Emmett and she taunted the woman. Carina still stood by what she said - Natalia truly couldn't give Sven what he wanted, which was a rightful heir. While they could be happy in having a child together, the best title that child would get was a Dukedom perhaps. But Carina's child would be a prince or a princess with a large allotment of kingdoms to one day oversee and control.

So no, Carina didn't trust the woman and she never would.

That didn't mean she wouldn't go out of her way to piss Natalia off where she could. Carina would never do anything that would cause stress or strain on the woman now she knew of her condition, she was no monster and hoped that the same would be applied to her. However, she could still toy with the adviser, evoke feelings of jealousy just for her own amusement and to anger the other woman. With that in mind, she knew she had to add a little flourish to her act that day. To the people of Ignis, it would still look as though Sven truly did have her well under control but the three of them, it would each mean something different. Perhaps infuriate Sven as she had done on their first night together in his room; cause envy and rage within Natalia and for Carina... she would just have something to laugh over when she was alone in her room with Lauren again.

At the 'please' on the end of his sentence, the cogs working in her mind halted and she glanced up to him. Drawn from her thoughts, her stomach rumbled lightly but she paid no heed to it, knowing there was not much point in filling it if the severe sickness she was experiencing would bring it back up.

For once, she did as he asked but kept her chin raised pointedly and eyes averted from him but not lowered. He was right, in that respect, they were both ready to go and they would leave once he was done. She hadn't anywhere else to go for the time being, but she would be damned if she let him believe she was following his words just because she agreed it was her duty.

"The only duty I'm allowing myself to be bound to with you is providing you an heir. I will act otherwise in public, but never expect that behaviour to extend to our public lives. It's clear you do not take your duty to me as my husband seriously, so don't dare be a hypocrite and expect me to act as I should as your wife." She then paused, before smirking, "I will stay, though, as on this occasion, you said please. See what manners can get you, darling?"
 
The 'please' was uncharacteristic coming from Sven, given his penchant for bluntness regardless of how rude it came across, yet it had clearly done the trick as Carina remained at the dining table without no fuss or bickering that had become commonplace between the two. Yet, perhaps unsurprisingly, the politeness of the request hadn't been intentional; far from it. In fact, Sven slumped in his chair a little as he was forced to reflect on his choice of words and the subsequent taunting remark it earned him because it had been far from a purposeful choice.

Perhaps he was offering a little politeness in her direction subconscious; some inner part of him recognising that it was the easiest way to get her to sit down without the unneeded stress of another bickering war.

But that didn't mean he liked what had been said. He wasn't going to engage in throwing insults at her, and certainly wasn't going to start threatening her life like he had done before they started trying for a child, but that didn't mean he had to start being uncharacteristically polite with her. Manners cost nothing and, though atypical for him, being a little nicer towards the mother of his unborn child was possibly something that would be appreciated, even if only mildly. Obviously, Sven being the way he was, he wasn't prepared to be a civil human being towards someone he despised, even if that meant depriving her of the basic manners a person should show another; especially a husband to their wife.

"It was a slip of the tongue; totally unnecessary and I won't be uttering such a word towards you again, rest assured. You don't respect me so I won't respect you; I think we're settled in agreement on that," he muttered petulantly beneath his breath as he reached for a bowl to prepare a quick fruit salad for himself, mildly irritated that no maid had arrived to do so for him but it was a minor complaint that didn't necessarily require him yelling out angrily for attention. He might have done if Carina wasn't present, knowing that she would just have something to say about how spoilt it would have come across.

"It is hypocritical that you speak of manners so highly yet allude that the mother of my child is a whore; that's not very polite, my love. I don't wish to cause an argument. It's just a simple observation. I happen to think Natalia's glowing; she's so beautiful, isn't she? She'll be a wonderful mother," he hummed with a smile, one that appeared generally casual but was anything but. "...No matter, I don't want to bicker with you on what should be an enjoyable day. The men are already tied to the masts on the platform in the town square, awaiting whatever it is you end up doing to them. I don't suppose there's a lot you can do with ice, is there? Once you send a shard into someone's neck, that's sort of as creative as it gets."
 
Once settled into the seat, she poured herself a glass of water and sat it in front of her, although she made no move to drink it. Her head tipped back against the high back of the chair, eyes closing while her hands moved to sit over her lower stomach. Her fingers were entwined, but her thumbs gently stroked against the light bloated area as she concentrated on her breathing. The nausea truly was incorrigible and Carina wondered if it would have been better to have gone to the executions on an empty stomach. She could have come back to eat afterwards.

If her eyes had been opened, Carina would have rolled them at his words regarding Natalia. At this point, she knew he wasn't even saying these things to wind her up but because he probably believed them. She found herself wondering what it would have been like to have been pregnant with the child of someone who would have said the same about her. That she was glowing; that she was beautiful and simply radiate with the pregnancy despite her sickness. Perhaps it would never come from Sven, but at least she had Lauren to help with her self-esteem.

At his next comments, regarding the ways in which one could kill with ice, a smile slowly formed on her lips. One of dark amusement accompanied with a look in her eye that promised pain. Vindictive, malicious... perhaps even sadistic.

"So long as I can reach them to touch two or three of them, I promise to provide a show, my darling king. I know how much you enjoy a show. Now-- are you done? I'd quite like to get going, it might help me narrow down the ways in which these men will die if we're in the carriage."



The centre of the town, Carina could tell, would usually be busy and bustling with life. Despite the destructive volcanoes that spluttered and growled in the background, constantly reminding the people that they could explode at any point and remove all trace of them, it was easy to see the amusements that could be had in this square. The platform which held the five, captured men, stood proudly at one end and she wondered if any shows or musical performances took precedence there. A second, smaller area was set up just to the side, baring the royal Ignisian banner. There, Sven and Carina would sit with whoever else - perhaps Lauren and Natalia. Carina would have once said that Thorin would also be up there but after the events of yesterday... she wasn't too sure.

A deathly silence greeted them as those from the palace took their places in the royal stands; not a single hiss or boo in Carina's direction this time. The only hisses came from the sizzle of the volcanoes, the occasional cough or whisper breaking the otherwise tense silence.

Carina held herself firm and tall, chin tilted up and jewels from the necklace glittering in the hot Ignis sun. She knew the proceedings, and knew how to behave, so remained standing until Sven joined them in the stand and only sat once allowed.

Her body was buzzing, humming with the excitement and anticipation of what was to come. She had to keep her knee from bouncing with impatience, hands resting her her lap and fingers twisting in her lap. Otherwise, her body language belonged exactly to a woman of her station - cool, calm and collected. Her eyes, despite her longing to, never strayed to the bracelet at her wrist which was soon to be removed; inwardly urging Sven to hurry up, so the events of the day could begin.

And she could prove just how creative one could get when killing with ice.
 
Stepping out of the royal carriage to observe the large crowd gathered to watch the execution naturally appealed to Sven's ago because he knew for a fact that not all of them had attended for that reason. Many didn't want to see the executions of men that had, just yesterday, been interacting with them in the village, buying vegetables from the stall or downing a beer or two in the pub, but they had gathered nonetheless for a glance at their King.

The smirk remained in place on his quintessentially smug expression as he took his seat on the raised platform; the front row seat to the executions. The quietness of the crowd, their refusal to even dare utter a word about Carina in his presence, was all the confirmation Sven needed to know that he was respected and feared as King in equal measure. If they didn't respect him and his judgements, there would have been a riot against his harsh ruling; an outbreak of violence against him in refusal to accept his word. Instead, the silence was deafening as he settled in his seat, setting his hands out on his knees with his gaze set on the stage in preparation for the show Carina had promised to put on.

Natalia came to stand behind his chair once he sat down, remaining professional despite the urge she had to rest a hand on her lover's shoulder in a show of pride - this was all down to him, after all. Never would she have been invited onto the platform behind the King himself if it wasn't for the fact Thorin was no longer permitted that opportunity; his demotion cut that privilege, leaving space for Natalia to fill the role as Sven's closest friend.

Unaware that she was only there because of the love Sven had for the supposed child she was carrying; that was where his love was directed, rather than to her.

"...If you dare direct this power of yours at me, just know I'm prepared to retaliate, Carina," he warned beneath his breath as he turned to face his wife, his eyes silently drifting over her determined expression. He could turn his back on the promise he made her and simply set the men on fire, earn himself more plaudits commending his power without allowing Carina a slice of that... but he couldn't, not now he was genuinely interested in what she had planned. Besides, showing the crowd the control he had over her was an opportunity he couldn't miss out on.

Quietly, he reached to undo the bracelet, removing it from her wrist for the first time since it had been placed there months ago. With a nod towards the stage, he eased back into the seat to await the show, ignoring the faint huff in disgust from Natalia behind him - she was aware of the plan but from the disgusted frown on her face, she wasn't entirely a fan of it.

"Go ahead, Carina," he hummed casually. "Impress me."
 
The moment the bracelet was removed from her wrist, Carina sucked in a soft breath. Her eyes flickered closed as if a form of pleasure had just overcame her; it did, in a way. A coolness swept through her body, a coldness that was keenly sought out after a long day in the sun. Like that refreshing first sip of ice-cold lemonade, how the chills reached every inch of body and sunk down to one's core.

Her fingers flexed and she opened her eyes again, turning them onto him. While it was tempting to see if he truly would retaliate, Carina knew her plan and would stick with it. Including the little extra she had decided to add at the last second, simply to infuriate Sven and Natalia in their own way.

Standing, she moved to stand before Sven's seat and curtsied low only to rise again. She barely gave Natalia a glance as she then leaned in toward her husband, hand raising to cup his cheek, thumb brushing against skin. Each brush leaving a cooling sensation, perhaps even numbing, like when an ice cube was rubbed in one place for too long. She then gripped his chin and grazed her thumb along his lower lip, halting the sensation as she leaned in to press a long, yet soft and seemingly tender kiss to his lips.

Pulling back, she smiled with an ease not felt for months. Her confidence was high with the ice now flowing freely through her. After a final brush of her thumb across his lower lip, this time adding that cold, numbing sensation to the gesture, Carina whispered: "Thank you, my darling king." The smile ever present but the look in her eye satisfied with her work as she walked away, knowing it would be better to continue ignoring Natalia.

Once out from behind the stands, Carina walked slowly but with a purpose. She was aware of a small murmur and she could only imagine what the Ignisian people were wondering. So, both to regulate the pent up power and give them a hint, she rolled her right wrist, the one closest to the audience that had gathered, as if limbering it up. Then, allowing it to hang by her side with fingers stretched out behind her, ice began to appear along the edge of the platform. It crystalised immediately, gleaming and glimmering and glinting in the sun like jewels. Like the diamonds around her throat. She didn't bother to look back and admire her work there either, everything went dark around the first face that she saw.

It was if a curtain had been dropped and it was simply her and the five men on the stage. Each of them seeming to have come to the realisation, on their own time, of what was about to happen. What further humiliation would it bring to be executed by the same person they wanted to kill? To die by ice rather than fire?

Carina smirked, taking her time as she looked to each of them in turn. Eyes roamed up and down bodies as if inspecting and planning what she was going to do to each of them individually.

Tutting softly, the queen finally approached the first man. Attached to the mast on the end, Carina stepped forward and lifted his chin with her finger before stepping back, tapping her own chin afterwards, "Stand tall, are you not proud of what you started yesterday?" She cooed but didn't give him a chance to respond, with a stake of ice soon puncturing his throat. Carina knew where she could have aimed, to make the kill quicker, but why do that? She promised Sven a show.

The man gurgled and gulped on his blood, coughing and spluttering as he sagged against his bindings, legs giving out beneath him.

Carina moved on.

The second man she approached was on the far side, as she chose to work from the outside in to draw out the spectacle. Her lips pursed as she observed him, clearly unbothered to the sound of dying at the other side of the platform. Her finger gently tapped against her lips as if in thought, humming softly to herself. Finally she stepped backward and to the side for all to see as a lift of her hand and a flick of her fingers sent shards of ice splintering into the man's eyes. He cried out, legs collapsing but unable to go anywhere as he leaned forward against his binds. The yelling and sobbing continued and Carina let it. Until she grew bored and sent a number of thin icicles piercing through his stomach. Symbolic, she thought, considering what could have happened.

The third man Carina reached up to grip his head, eyes narrowing as she held her victim's gaze. At first nothing seemed like it was happening, but soon he began to scream. Not a yell, or a cry or a shout. But a true, blood-curdling scream. Moments later, Carina released him and moved on. The man's hair had turned a pure white, ice shone along his face, hollowing his cheeks in a way that made him look ghoulish. But his eyes, his eyes remained open and staring without seeing as he hung forward, clearly dead. His eyes, no longer the deep brown they once were, were now a milky white.

On the fourth man, Carina reached down to graze her fingertips against his. It only needed that faintest of touches for his blood to begin to freeze within his veins. Since she knew that wasn't much of a show for Sven, and people wouldn't realise what she had done, a blade of ice formed in her hand, allowing her to slit the man's throat and both wrists. His eyes widened, but he could barely cough like the first man. The blood barely escaped, too thick to spurt out like her first casualty of the event. It was slushy and, when eventually a few drops did land with a splat, if stepped in, it would crunch under foot like melted snow. The slit throat and wrists would take a while, and Carina wasn't entirely sure if those wound would kill him, or if his heart would give out first - too exhausted from trying to pump the thick contents through the body.

The last man, the one she had left in the middle, Carina slowly circled. She would never admit to having one, but the sadistic side to her took pleasure in watching him tremble. Perhaps not visible to the crowd, but Carina knew. Getting close to him, she leaned forward so her lips fell beside his ear. "You want to know why you've been punished this way?" She taunted, whispering as if it were a secret, "Because your queen, the one you all hate so... is finally pregnant." She laughed softly, pulling back and laughing again at the sight of wide eyes.

"Please-- please, I'm sorry. We-- we didn't know. We didn't--!"

Carina gripped the man's chin to keep him from talking further, eyes now ablaze, "If we wanted your apologies, we would have had you kneeling and grovelling on the throne room floors. But you're not there. You're here." She murmured, studying him for a moment longer.

Before her final kill, she turned her head to look at Sven. To anyone else, it may have looked like she was waiting to be given some sort of sign to commence the final kill. Instead she wanted him to realise that what she did earlier, kissing him, could have lead to a fate like the one she was about to provide the villager.

Looking back to the man, Carina pressed her lips to his but didn't move them. She breathed ice into his lungs; into his body.

The man struggled but there was no use, between the binds and the grip Carina had on his chin, he wasn't going anywhere. Cold would bite down deep into his lungs, making it hard to breathe through his nose. Every bit of water, every drop of liquid in his body would start to freeze, causing his muscles, tendons, ligaments, skin... everything, simply everything to stiffen. A crackling could be heard faintly, and the man's movements began to slow. His legs, which had been scrambling against the platform surface, began to freeze in place, halting where they were. His skin would have turned a white, pale-blue and, if looked at close enough, seemed to have crystal, snowflake-like marks dotted along his skin, like silver freckles.

Stepping back and keeping her stoic expression directed at the man's face, Carina stepped back and motioned for the man to be untied. He fell onto the platform with a resounding thud, like a large and unmovable chunk of ice. Lazily, Carina raised her foot to place it on the man's frozen body and pushed him off the platform where he landed again with a hard 'ca-thunk'. He didn't shatter, however, but pieces of him did chip away.

Staring down at the final body, Carina simply pulled a handkerchief out from her dress sleeve and wiped at her mouth, dabbing at her forehead afterwards but seeming as if the whole thing had barely exerted her.

It was the truth, the young queen had expected the use of her powers on such a large capacity would truly exhaust her. However she felt revitalised, re-energised and invigorated. Carina never wanted the moment to end; her standing on that stage after displaying her powers in ways she felt that Ignis people didn't even realise were possible... she felt invincible. She hated the prospect of having to return to her seat and have that bracelet clamped back down on her wrist. But it had to be done.

In one final movement, Carina curtsied to the audience before her. Her head bowed low but as she came back up she stood straight and tall, her shoulders back and chin raised. Proud of herself and proud of her heritage. Without a single word, she left the platform to return to her seat.

She expected no praises, no impressed expressions; there would be no doubt in her mind that Sven would hide whatever he was feeling and simply provide her with a sarcastic, biting comment. Perhaps something about how flames would have been better. But Carina would ignore it, and continue to revel in the display she had just put on.

So she approached, sat and placed her elbow on the armrest to raise her wrist up to him. Her eyes were forward, lingering on the damage she had just caused, enjoying how the ice she had first released on to the platform as she walked continued to shine in the sun.
 
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The young King knew to expect the unexpected when it came to Carina. She had already proved herself a difficult person for him to read at some times, never failing to be surprised by her in their first early months of knowing one another. In this instance, witnessing the cold smile that had spread on her face when he confirmed she could use her powers, he knew that she would make the most of the moment. She had clearly worn the most symbolically-Ignisian dress she could find within her wardrobe for the occasion, living up to the drama and using it to make a statement, so he knew already that not a second would be wasted; every moment she had up on that stage would be used to execute whatever plan she had concocted together overnight.

He settled back to enjoy whatever spectacle she created, hoping at the very least that she provided some entertainment. Just killing the men would be fine, he would manage to enjoy that, but she had raised his expectations spectacularly. This was the first time in months she was going to use her powers, after all; the first time in months she would feel the ice running through her veins, aching to be released. The least she could do was make up for lost time and execute the men in ways that couldn't be forgotten in a hurry. Even though he would be mildly jealous if that turned out to be the case, not liking having the limelight stolen from him, it would at least be entertainment - and that was what he wanted right now because he couldn't help but doubt Carina would meet the expectations that had been risen highly against her.

He examined his nails with genuine curiosity, frowning to himself and mentally noting that he needed a massage to ache the light tension present there, though those thoughts cut short at the kiss placed upon his lips. The coldness of it, the perfectly controlled injection of her power leaving little else other than a light numbness, made his brow furrow as he tried to come to terms with the affection. It was all for show, he knew that, but there was also the threat that lingered from the numbness. She had to have a great degree of control on her powers to only let it slightly skim Sven's lips or cheeks, especially when he knew he was the person she might want to drive a steak of ice through the most. He didn't want to feel vulnerable or threatened by the kiss and the coldness left stinging his cheeks but he did shuffle uncomfortable in his chair as he attempted to regain his composure from the abrupt and unexpected kiss; one that made Natalia freeze as though she was a victim of Carina's powers. She wasn't, of course; she was simply frozen from the shock at seeing Carina so confidently kiss the King, whispering in his ear and knowingly smirking at him.

Sven had to quickly find his composure when noticing the Queen make her way to the perpetrators of the violence, sitting up straight again with genuine interest, though this, he expected would start to dim as the minutes went by. The first victim's demise didn't necessarily impress him. It was brutal and caused a sharp intake of breath from the observing crowd who had never witnessed the powers the Eirian royals possessed before, so cold and clinical in comparison to the wild and uncontrollable flames produced by Sven's family throughout the centuries. They weren't expecting Carina to be so hands-forward in the punishments of the men that had taken part in the attack and so the first man's death stunned them to their cores - if only because they knew that was the first of five. There were four more chances for Carina's methods to become more brutal; to display the depth of her powers even more.

But Sven lacked the surprise his people showed. In contrast to the shock and glimmers of horror amongst the Ignisian people, Sven had slumped in his chair in mild disappointment. He had said himself that the methodology would be a shard of ice through the neck, incapable of understanding what else there could be done with the ice she conjured from within her. The first death barely caught his attention, the young King focused instead on how much of a spectacle he could have created if he set the man alight and let him stumble about in agony.

All changed by the second victim's death. The sight of the shards splintering the man's eyes appalled the crowd, some shivering in recognition of the Queen's power, but it caused a flicker of a smile on Sven's face. He wasn't overly impressed but it had caught his attention. The third cemented that interest, the King sitting up at this point with eyes wide in a childlike fascination - even the ghoulish sight of the victim's sunken features made his excitement grow, in much contrast to Natalia behind him who had turned away and did her best not to vomit.

By the fourth, Sven was leaning forward in his chair, eyes wider in realisation that that poor soul had his blood frozen from within him - though he held no sympathy for him, eager to watch him die an agonising death like he had been with the others. The fifth, however, caused him to sit back against the chair with a faint gulp; not visible or audible but it had existed nonetheless, the creeping realisation that the fifth victim's demise could have been his own had Carina chosen it to be making the shiver down his spine intensify. He wasn't fearful of her, knowing he held the possibility to do something similar in setting her on fire from within if he so chose - but her display, the confidence in which she moved, was something he had failed to recognise.

And that confidence was something to be unnerved by, the man only really allowing himself to relax once the bracelet was clipped back into place around her wrist. He wasn't sure what to say to the wife at his side, whether to feign being dismissive of the display when they knew that wouldn't be the truth or whether to admit that she had done a good job; that she had not just entertained him but also impressed him, but that was a compliment he wasn't eager to give her when it would boost the confidence in her he now knew he had to be wary of.

"...That was interesting," he eventually remarked as he absently glanced over at Natalia who had stumbled from the platform to create some distance for herself from the massacre. He felt no such queasiness, instead examining each of the bodies before his executioner had a chance to cart them off to be discarded of, shaking his head to himself at the state some of the men now were.

"The choice of death for the last victim was uncomfortable to witness but you knew that, didn't you? Well played, Carina. This was impressive," he finally relented, knowing that her confidence would be at an all-time high regardless of what he said to her, so a little bit of honesty wouldn't harm; not when he knew his intrigue and fascination during the executions had been too clear to lie about. "I think I could have done a better job, really. The first kill was a bit of a bore fest; I'd have personally done a little more than shoving a shard of ice into a man's throat. But you live and you learn, hm?"
 
As the bracelet locked back around her wrist, Carina felt that heaviness fall back on her shoulders. Just as it did the first time it was placed on her, the sensation caused her knees to go weak and face to pale momentarily. However she was quick to shake it off, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing how badly the simple piece of apparatus affected her. She took a deep breath and leaned back in her seat, arm slowly lowering to lay out on the armrest. Her eyes remained on the bodies that were now being collected, the Ignis people still lingering and she wondered if they would stay until the bodies had been carted off.

Her hand finally came to rest over her stomach, thumb gently stroking over it as she became lost in her thoughts. It had been a satisfying feeling, bringing some sort of pain to those men. While only she, Sven, Natalia and Lauren knew about the baby, Carina felt like not only had she made a statement regarding her strength in power (not to mention the possible cruelty she could inflict), but also stamped a claim on what she would do if anyone were to ever mess with her baby. That warning went out to Natalia and Sven too.

Sven did surprise her as he confessed his thoughts regarding the event, however Carina didn't bother looking in his direction. Her expression remained stoic, unrelenting, as her eyes wandered over the faces of the Ignis crowd. She wasn't sure what they may be talking or whispering about now, but she hoped they had received the message she was sending loud and clear.

At that point she didn't even care if they thought Sven controlled her; if they believed she had become the obedient wife of a King who was benevolent and forgiving considering she had murdered his family.

Let them believe that, so long as they knew never to fuck with her again.

"If you think that first kill was because I couldn't think of another way to do it, Sven, then your sorely mistaken." Carina finally murmured, standing and brushing off her skirts. She took some form of pleasure in seeing Natalia missing from behind the seat, a small and amused smirk appearing as she caught a glance of the adviser below the stands, turned away from the massacre with one hand over stomach and the other over mouth.

Now who was in fear of ruining their pretty dress?

Carina had been too occupied with the men in front of her to notice any movement in the royal stand, however she expected Lauren would give her a full update on what the reactions were like. Yet she expected nothing less from Sven, to actually (if not begrudgingly) compliment her work only to add a slight insult on the end.

Turning to him, she fixed the same smile onto her lips as she did before she started. Seemingly sweet and fond, but underlying with a coldness. She reached out to brush her thumb across the same area as before in order to remind him of the sensation, humming softly for a moment, "Just know, darling, you were the inspiration behind the first and last death." She cooed, thumb stilling against his cheek before she allowed her hand to drop back to her side, purposefully allowing it to graze against his skin on the way down. "You truly are my muse for when it comes to thinking up slow and painful deaths."
 
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The brush against his cheek once more might not have held any threat to it now her powers were capped and she was, effectively, left incapacitated without their use - but the gesture of it, evoking back the realisation that he could have so easily followed the same fate as the fifth and final man to die at her hand, was more than enough to cause his eyes to narrow and jaw clenched once more. He knew that she was deliberately taunting him and while he found that commendable of her, to display that amount of confidence even when her powers were incapable of coming to the surface to strike him, he despised it far more.

He didn't enjoy the confidence she was now apparently full of, and intent on displaying to him. He was always aware of how capable she was but the event had forced him to recognise it, and he hated that she knew she had shocked him; hated the smugness it brought to her. He displayed much of the same characteristics on a regular basis, a smug smile never far away from his lips, but it was a different thing entirely for Carina to wear it - and, though hypocritical of him when he wore one most days, he wanted nothing more than to wipe it from her lips.

"Maybe learn to be a tad more modest and less of a show-off. Nobody likes arrogance in a person, Carina. People accept it from me but from you? You're already unlikable; the arrogance you're displaying is only going to exacerbate that," he muttered as he rose to hie feet, swiping a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it with a simple tap of his finger. Despite his thinly veiled insults and unsubtle scowls towards the woman, he moved away from her in order to smoke, to avoid her breathing it in.

The entire kingdom raged with fire, the clouds that billowed above them in the amber skies being of ash and smoke, so smoke from a little cigarette was hardly going to compete against it - but he could at least make the effort to move away from her. He could physically do that, whereas changing the entire landscape of his kingdom was a clearly impossible task. The latter she would have to deal with, whereas the former was unavoidable - and so he moved away without needing to be told to do so.

"...Thorin didn't come to the execution, then?" He murmured across to her as he breathed the smoke out calmly, waiting for the crowd to dissipate a little before heading back towards the royal carriage. "I suppose you're enjoying the fact my closest friendship is now all but over, hm? But that's alright, Thorin wasn't all he seemed; he was annoying and self-righteous. I'm better off without him, actually; I can focus on my work and not procrastinating with him. It's... worked out for the best."
 
Carina merely laughed at his words, taking a step back as he stood, "Clearly living with you has rubbed off on me, but how could it not? You simply drip with arrogance, Sven. Though I suppose you now understand just how annoying it really is." She mused, taking another step to the railings of the royal stands. She leaned her side against them, facing him as he lit the cigarette.

Her nose immediately wrinkled at the sight of it, finger twitching with the desire to rip it from his lips. The smoke of Ignis was one matter, it was inescapable. But for one to choose to willingly fill up their lungs with a different kind, it disgusted her.

"I do hope you don't pass that filthy habit onto our child," she finally murmured, eyeing the cigarette with a furrowed brow, "I thought you said you would truly love and care for them? With a habit like that I'll be surprised if you can do any form of activity to show them how much you love them by the time they're five." Carina had seen what smoking could do to someone. As the war between their two kingdoms raged on and the loss of battles grew, Carina witnessed her father turning to his cigarettes and cigars more and more. She had watched him deteriorate in physical health to a point where he was unable to go out riding, go into battle, and even walking up stairs left him struggling for breath.

Scoffing softly, she turned her head away with a shake of it, "No point in me lecturing you though, is there? You'd never listen to me as your queen or your wife anyway." She muttered under her breath, but still audible enough to cover the small distance between them.

Carina then blinked at his next question regarding Thorin, leaving her to look at him with confusion clear in her gaze. Why ask her such a question?

"I don't care what happens between you and your lackeys, Sven. Unless you hadn't noticed, I was preoccupied with other things. I didn't give it a single thought." She answered indifferently, tucking a loose curl behind her ear, "But what did you expect? You did demote him yourself, and sentenced him to a night in the dungeons. Did you really think he would be by your side today straight after you cruelly ripped your friendship apart?"

Her attention was caught by movements on the stairs that led up to the royal standings and Carina had to swallow back the laughter that threatened to spill out, masking the gleeful expression that wanted to break free.

Thorin stood at the top of the stairs, having caught the last part of Sven's tirade to Carina. His expression hardened and his jaw clenched, teeth gritting together as the words continued to ring loudly in his head. "Your Majesties." He called out, voice tight and strained with the clear effort of keeping his cool, "We've brought the carriage closer to the stands and guards are keeping a path clear for you to reach it, should you be ready to leave."
 
Carina's ramblings in regards to his cigarette addiction didn't provoke in him some sudden realisation that he had to stop; that it wasn't good for him and continuing to fill his lungs with its toxins would inevitably have some detrimental effect on his health in the future. Rather than admit that she had a point, his eyes rolled in annoyance and if it wasn't for the cigarette resting in between his lips, he would have snapped at her sharply to mind her own business.

His own father smoked like a chimney so Sven was well aware of the effects his habit would probably have on him - never had he seen his father without a cigar in his hand, often in conjunction with a hefty jug of beer. The debauchery disgusted him, finding the behaviour his father had taken part in embarrassing for someone who was supposed to be King, yet he continued to smoke despite associating the action with that debauched lifestyle he had always looked down upon.

It was the only thing that got him through a day without exploding sometimes. He had developed the habit during his early teenage years, opting to relieve his stress with a cigarette rather than risk alerting anyone to the facade he had then presented to the world. It was easier to relieve his stress and the pressure through smoking than it was by losing his temper and burning down a wing of the castle.

The remark about not being able to interact efficiently with his future child did irk him, his jaw clenching tight as he fought back a bitter response. He didn't want to start flinging insults at her when he knew he could get intense and particularly cruel with them - so rather than snap to her the fact she wouldn't be alive when their child was five years of age, that he planned on publicly burning her before she had a chance to watch their child grow beyond a toddler, he kept silent and continued to smoke, the tense exhales the only real indication of that anger being somewhat contained.

He only ventured to speak again as the topic of Thorin seemed to progress, eager to remind the woman of just why he had chosen to take such severe actions against his former friend - it had been his series of stupid decisions that had resulted in the carriage incident, after all. The least he expected from her was a little -just a little- commendation for his decision to punish Thorin, rather than her appearing to be so dismissive of the conversation entirely.

No words would come out, however. Instead, his eyes met Thorin at the top of the steps, his mouth opening and shutting again when he realised no words would be able to make up for the bitter tirade he had embarked on; that Thorin had obviously heard. He hadn't meant the words, but had blurted them out in an effort to feel better; in an effort to convince himself that he could cope without his best friend at his side.

But he knew he probably couldn't, and any hope he held for mending the bridges between them now came crashing down after he had, once again, fucked things up.

"Why don't you wipe that fucking smirk of your face? You're detestable," he grunted to his wife as he made his way up the steps, his awkwardness growing the closer he got to Thorin until he was stood just beside the demoted guard. He hesitated, unable to walk past him and ignore the simmering tension - he was far too stubborn to apologise for anything he had done, but never before had he messed up this badly so it took some extreme measures to rectify it.

"I... hope the night in the dungeon wasn't too difficult for you, Thorin," the King began as he set the cigarette on the ground to crush it out beneath the sole of his shoe, using the action to distract him from having to look his friend in the eye. "I appreciate the... compliance. I had to punish you but that's over now, isn't it? We can... get back to normal? I can't return you to your post, but that shouldn't ruin years of friendship, should it?"
 
"I don't know what kept me up more, the damp straw... or the partying I could hear above me." Thorin drawled in response, keeping his hands clasped behind his back. His own eyes didn't even settle on Sven, instead looking straight ahead. They were no longer friends, they were now King and servant. Thorin supposed that was all it must have been; he had been fooled just like everyone else. Fooled into believing whatever show Sven had put on for him.

Meanwhile Carina lowered her head to hide her smirk, turning away from them both for a moment. Things couldn't be working more perfectly for her, in this twisted dealing from fate. Sven may have been building up his support on the outside, but his inner circle was collapsing around him. His actions had cost him Thorin and Lauren had secretly been detesting him for years. All that needed to be done now was for Lauren to continue working her magic with Thorin. If they had Thorin on side... the possibilities were endless and Carina would feel undoubtedly more confident with the success rate of overthrowing Sven once and for all.

To rub salt in the wound, Carina approached the two men and smiled up at the demoted guard with a faint warmth. "I never got to thank you, yesterday, Thorin." She started, hands folding in front of her, "If it weren't for your quick thinking and reactions to get Sven and send guards on halt the crowds... I would hate to think what would have happened. So thank you."

Thorin had frowned at the beginning of Carina's spiel, eyes finally moving onto the queen in mild curiosity only to blink in surprise after. He didn't have time to respond, as Carina had moved on to begin walking for the carriage, leaving the two men alone once again.

Clearing his throat, the guard raised his gaze onto the distance again. The anger and injustice he felt burning too hotly for him to give a damn about any awkwardness that may have been felt.

"I complied because I had no choice. I can't refuse a direct order from the King, can I?" He muttered finally, hands tightening behind his back until they formed fists. "No need to worry about that now, Your Majesty. Perhaps things are better off this way, I wouldn't wish to be a distraction that lead you to any further procrastination. Although it seems like Natalia was a bigger culprit of that than me..."

Pausing, he finally turned his gaze onto Sven, a multitude of emotions flashing within them to be able to pinpoint just one. However, betrayal was a bit one, it got stuck in his throat each time he thought about it.

"You didn't-- you didn't even wait to hear what I had to say, did you? Didn't stop and think, that after all these years, all the loyalty I've shown you and the amount of times I've spoken up for you... that maybe, just for once, you could have reciprocated it. No one would have given a shit, Sven. Do you think anyone would have questioned it? Because I don't. But I suppose I should have know, I was just another fucking pawn to you, wasn't I? Just another person to have in your pocket to pull out and use whenever you needed them to. Well consider me used, I'm done being a little puppet not knowing what the fuck is going on."
 
Carina's deliberate effort to perpetuate the bitterness between the two men obviously would work; of course it would. She had every reason to despise Thorin yet was praising him openly for his efforts the previous day, while his best friend, the man he had been loyal to for almost their entire lives, had demoted him and refused to show the same loyalty in return. It was a particularly cruel -but smart- tactic that Sven would had admired if he wasn't personally involved in it, his grimace only growing when he realised how her words reflected on him.

Poorly would be a grave understatement.

He awkwardly shoved his hands into his pockets as he let Thorin speak without interruption. He wanted to make a point whenever he heard something he knew could do with clarification, such as the remark about the party. He wanted to tell the other that he hadn't been joyously celebrating, that he had instead been in the corner of the room holding a conversation with Natalia for hours, but what difference would that make? He had still thrown a private party and been present at it, having every intent on grabbing a beer and unwinding with close allies if Natalia hadn't wanted to talk to him that night. He had been there while Thorin was stuck in a damp, unsettling dungeon so there was little to no point in trying to clarify anything when that fact would remain true despite it.

"Is that what you think? That I've somehow manipulated you into doing my bidding all of these years? That I-- somehow feigned my friendship with you for my own benefit, that's-- that's absurd, Thorin," he blurted, all his attempts at maintaining a calm composure failing as the other's words, and apparent refusal to believe their friendship had ever been genuine, sunk in. He knew he had punished the other severely for a genuine error and perhaps shouldn't have been so quick to do so without hearing him out, but to overlook an entire friendship and dispose of it just as quickly was hurtful too.

Thorin had been the only person he had ever been completely genuine around. Natalia was a close friend but he held her at an arms length nonetheless, not allowing her to really get too close to him - though Thorin had had that privilege before they hit their teens. He had always respected and admired him but more than that, he had always felt like he could be himself around him, and that wasn't something he felt he could do with anyone else. Losing that person from his life hurt the young King more than he wanted to admit, swallowing the lump in his throat with a faint smile.

"Fine. If that's the way you want to be then I suppose this is it then there's nothing I can say or do to alter your opinion. The fact you can dismissively throw away a friendship and doubt its genuineness is-- that is ridiculous. And it's fucking hurtful but I can get over it. You're just some lowly fucking guard who nobody will ever remember, whereas I'm the King. I think I know who's winning between us," he remarked sharply, not able to walk away from the situation without making some sharp, cruel remark first, just to make himself feel better. If this was the end of a friendship, he felt inclined to at least walk away from it feeling as good as he could... though the entertainment his insults to people would usually bring failed to sink in. Instead, the man was left feeling rotten and saddened by the events, his silence deafening as he climbed into the carriage opposite his wife.

He said nothing, not wanting to hear Carina's satisfied and smug words right now, though he imagined his saddened state would give her enough material to use against him. He turned his head to glance out the window to avoid looking at her, one hand resting on his knee and the other used to rest his chin on; a deliberate move to shield the redness of his cheeks and the slight wateriness to his eyes.
 
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