SM Monthly Fanfic Challenge Theme #84 (25MAR06)
Let's see if I can not only recreate, but finish this time... *sigh*
Title: Ice Dancing
Author: Raya
Theme: Villains (Optional: Thin Ice)
Genre: Drama
Version: Anime (Silver Millennium)
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1932 (edited)
Disclaimer: All of the characters used below were created by Takeuchi Naoko. I have merely converted them into paper dolls to play with for a little while.
Canon, spelling, grammar, and punctuation corrections are appreciated. So is constructive criticism. Please let me know if you see something that should be corrected. Thanks! - Raya
Ice Dancing
Beryl hid in the dark shadows under a thick evergreen and waited by the edge of the frozen lake. With the cloaking spell she had cast, she really didn't need to hide in the shadows, but it felt more natural and protected. Soon, if her information was right, her love and his latest paramour would be stopping by.
Sure enough, she heard the snow crunch. She frowned as she listened to it. It sounded like only one person, not two. Perhaps he had changed his mind? But when her prince came in sight around the trees, she saw that he had not.
She hissed angrily and clenched her hands into fists. The reason she had heard only one set of footsteps was because he was carrying the petite blonde who had caught his eye. 'The audacity! Shameless hussy,' she thought to herself jealously.
"Oh!" the object of her fury gasped in delight. "It is so beautiful!" Her wide, shining eyes took in the frozen landscape. They seemed to linger on the snow covered trees and the whiteness of the frozen lake.
"Do you not have snow in your kingdom, Princess?" Prince Endymion asked with an amused smile as he looked down at her.
"Snow? No. What is that?" she asked curiously.
"It is frozen water," he replied helpfully as Beryl snorted softly in disgust at the inane conversation. If she were talking to him, they would not be discussing the landscape.
The blonde woman frowned and looked at the frozen lake. "I thought that was ice?"
Prince Endymion chuckled. "It is. Frozen water has two forms, did you not know? Ice and snow. Snow is the white powder that is on the ground and in the trees."
"Oh," the princess replied. She looked at it for a moment, and then turned her gaze up to the prince's face once more. "It is nice," she said politely, "but I like the trees better. How do they stay so green in the chill?"
Both Beryl and Prince Endymion stared at her in surprise. It was frigid outside, but she thought it was just chilly? Prince Endymion decided to ignore her words for the moment as he turned around to pluck a tiny branch off of a nearby evergreen. Beryl's anger flared and her eyes narrowed as she realized that he didn't ask first or thank the tree for its gift. Slowly, the prince lowered the princess to a patch of ground that was free of snow, and then traced the needles down her cheek and under her nose.
She looked at him curiously, then sniffed. "Ah!" Her eyes widened, and she sniffed again.
"They stay so green because they are used to it," he replied in answer to her question. "This is their ideal weather."
'How thoughtless,' the voice whispered in Beryl's mind. She had been hearing it for some time now. She had thought she was going crazy the first few weeks. It had scared her. But now, she no longer cared. The voice agreed with her on the important things. It was almost like having a friend on the inside. 'You should get rid of them now. No one is around. You would never get caught.'
"No," she whispered as she shook her head. "Not yet. I can still make him mine. I just need to get rid of her." The voice did not reply, but Beryl could sense that it disagreed with her.
The sound of the foreign princess' silvery laughter distracted her. "Ice skating? Oh yes, we have ice skating. It is something of a national pass time." She smiled up at the prince.
"Then shall we?" he asked. She and Beryl watched him with puzzled expressions as he began to dig around behind a tree. It only took him a few seconds to unearth two boxes. With a smile, he swept the snow off of a nearby rock and then lifted the princess up to sit on it. Still watching him uncertainly, she let him lift up her right foot and slip off one of her delicate shoes. "Such flimsy footwear, Princess. Don't your feet get cold?" he asked as he set it gently to one side.
"Oh, it is warm enough for these," she replied absently as she watched him unfold a pair of socks. Her eyes widened and her foot jerked as he began to slide one on. He just gave her a reassuring look and continued his task.
Beryl felt the pain and rage flare once more at the intimate sight. When he lifted a white ice skate out of the top box, however, her cinnamon brown eyes narrowed in sudden comprehension. An evil smile began to play around her lips as she crouched down in the snow and crept up to the edge of the lake closest to her.
'Yes,' the voice hissed triumphantly when it sensed her intent. 'If you rescue him, but let her drown, he will soon turn to you. You will get his recognition and friendship. It won't take long for you to make him yours entirely after that.'
Beryl nodded, but made no other response as she leaned out over the lake. Softly, she began to chant a spell. The vapor that her breath created seemed to curl and twist as it fell slowly to the frozen lake surface. Under her hands and knees, the snow began to quickly melt.
Several minutes later, the prince and princess glided out onto the ice. Beryl watched as they laughed and played. Each innocent touch broke another piece of her heart. Each lingering glance fueled her jealous rage. Finally, impatient with the slowness of the spell, she leaned forward and chanted it again.
On the lake, Princess Serenity came to a sudden stop and looked around uncertainly. Something felt wrong, but she could not put her finger on what. "Princess?" she heard Prince Endymion call as he came to a stop beside her. She quickly pasted a smile back on her face and shook her head dismissively. "It is nothing," she replied. "I thought I felt something. It must have been the wind."
Prince Endymion gave her a disbelieving look. The day was perfectly calm. Otherwise, he would never have brought her here no matter how much she claimed that the cold did not bother her. He decided to ignore the odd statement, however, and reached for her hands. He began to skate backwards, drawing her along. His eyes shone when he won a rare grin rather than a polite smile.
They skated that way for a minute, her long hair dancing on the breeze that they created. Then, suddenly, Princess Serenity jerked to a stop and tugged the prince back towards her. He stumbled for a minute, turning so that he would not crash into her, but managed to stay up on his skates. When he gave her a shocked, puzzled look, he saw that her attention was on the ice a short distance away. Her expression was very serious.
"We should get off the ice now," she said abruptly as he turned to see what had distracted her.
"What?" he asked in surprise. "Oh, are you tired? You have only to say so, Princess," he chided gently.
She shook her head, grabbed his hand, and began to skate cautiously towards shore. "No, I am not tired. The ice is no longer safe."
He looked at her uncertainly, and then down at the ice. "I assure you, it is quite safe. It has been below freezing for almost a month now. The lake is quite solid." He did not resist her pull, however.
"No it is not," she said stubbornly as she tugged him along.
On the shore a short distance away, Beryl watched with a frown as her nemesis began to trace the only safe path back to land. It was almost as if she knew something had happened, but that was impossible. Beryl was confident that her spells were much too subtle for such a ditz to sense.
Prince Endymion decided not to argue with his date, but he still gave her an exasperated look when she suddenly changed directions to go around a large patch of ice. "The quickest way to shore is in a straight line," he said as he turned to head directly to shore and pulled her along.
"No! Wait!" she exclaimed. She tried to pull him back, but he was too heavy and too strong. And then, it was too late. The ice began to crack under his skates. Prince Endymion looked down in shock, and then back at the princess. Fear and worry filled her face as she lifted her long skirts with her free hand. "Go!" she cried.
He nodded, and sped up. Amazingly, she kept up with him. He responded instantly to the small tugs and pushes on his hand, dodging slightly right and left as she directed him. Soon, however, the ice began to crack so badly that they were forced to stop. They were fairly close to the shore now, but they could no longer approach it in a straight line.
Prince Endymion scanned up and down the ice, and then nodded to himself. He drew Princess Serenity in close and looked down into her blue eyes. Unseen on shore, Beryl bit her lip and growled lowly as her eyes flared once again. All of the snow around her melted as her anger gave even more power to her spell.
"Do you trust me?" the prince asked. Instantly, Princess Serenity nodded. "When I say jump, go as high as you can," he ordered as he began to skate, gently pushing her backwards. His eyes left hers and began to scan the ice looking for danger. He adjusted his hold on her, and she gasped in sudden understanding. "Ready... Jump!"
It was as if they had practiced the move for years. She flowed smoothly out of his arms, spinning a little in the air, and then landed on the other side of the worst section of ice. She glided smoothly for a moment, and then stumbled as the now wet ice bound up her blade. She caught her balance, and then looked back for her escort heedless of her own danger.
He had skated out a little further, and then come back as fast as he could. Springing high, he leapt over the ridge himself, and then caught her hand to repeat the process.
Beryl watched as they danced their way across the treacherous ice, dodging cracks, hopping off of broken bits, and leaping whole sections of open water. By the time they reached the shore, the ice was bobbing up and down in the lake as if it were spring thaw. She frowned in disappointment, and then quickly retreated, certain that the prince would investigate immediately.
It did not take him long to exchange his skates for boots and start his search. Princess Serenity sat on the rock he had cleaned off for her almost an hour before, and panted breathlessly. She had to get back. Her guardians would be looking for her, particularly after that scare. She looked longingly after the prince, but there was no time to tell him good bye.
Just as he turned around to search in the other direction, he saw a bright flash of light. When it faded, the Princess had disappeared. Frantic, he raced back to the rock. The only thing he found, however, were her delicate, impractical shoes.
Title: Ice Dancing
Author: Raya
Theme: Villains (Optional: Thin Ice)
Genre: Drama
Version: Anime (Silver Millennium)
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1932 (edited)
Disclaimer: All of the characters used below were created by Takeuchi Naoko. I have merely converted them into paper dolls to play with for a little while.
Canon, spelling, grammar, and punctuation corrections are appreciated. So is constructive criticism. Please let me know if you see something that should be corrected. Thanks! - Raya
Ice Dancing
Beryl hid in the dark shadows under a thick evergreen and waited by the edge of the frozen lake. With the cloaking spell she had cast, she really didn't need to hide in the shadows, but it felt more natural and protected. Soon, if her information was right, her love and his latest paramour would be stopping by.
Sure enough, she heard the snow crunch. She frowned as she listened to it. It sounded like only one person, not two. Perhaps he had changed his mind? But when her prince came in sight around the trees, she saw that he had not.
She hissed angrily and clenched her hands into fists. The reason she had heard only one set of footsteps was because he was carrying the petite blonde who had caught his eye. 'The audacity! Shameless hussy,' she thought to herself jealously.
"Oh!" the object of her fury gasped in delight. "It is so beautiful!" Her wide, shining eyes took in the frozen landscape. They seemed to linger on the snow covered trees and the whiteness of the frozen lake.
"Do you not have snow in your kingdom, Princess?" Prince Endymion asked with an amused smile as he looked down at her.
"Snow? No. What is that?" she asked curiously.
"It is frozen water," he replied helpfully as Beryl snorted softly in disgust at the inane conversation. If she were talking to him, they would not be discussing the landscape.
The blonde woman frowned and looked at the frozen lake. "I thought that was ice?"
Prince Endymion chuckled. "It is. Frozen water has two forms, did you not know? Ice and snow. Snow is the white powder that is on the ground and in the trees."
"Oh," the princess replied. She looked at it for a moment, and then turned her gaze up to the prince's face once more. "It is nice," she said politely, "but I like the trees better. How do they stay so green in the chill?"
Both Beryl and Prince Endymion stared at her in surprise. It was frigid outside, but she thought it was just chilly? Prince Endymion decided to ignore her words for the moment as he turned around to pluck a tiny branch off of a nearby evergreen. Beryl's anger flared and her eyes narrowed as she realized that he didn't ask first or thank the tree for its gift. Slowly, the prince lowered the princess to a patch of ground that was free of snow, and then traced the needles down her cheek and under her nose.
She looked at him curiously, then sniffed. "Ah!" Her eyes widened, and she sniffed again.
"They stay so green because they are used to it," he replied in answer to her question. "This is their ideal weather."
'How thoughtless,' the voice whispered in Beryl's mind. She had been hearing it for some time now. She had thought she was going crazy the first few weeks. It had scared her. But now, she no longer cared. The voice agreed with her on the important things. It was almost like having a friend on the inside. 'You should get rid of them now. No one is around. You would never get caught.'
"No," she whispered as she shook her head. "Not yet. I can still make him mine. I just need to get rid of her." The voice did not reply, but Beryl could sense that it disagreed with her.
The sound of the foreign princess' silvery laughter distracted her. "Ice skating? Oh yes, we have ice skating. It is something of a national pass time." She smiled up at the prince.
"Then shall we?" he asked. She and Beryl watched him with puzzled expressions as he began to dig around behind a tree. It only took him a few seconds to unearth two boxes. With a smile, he swept the snow off of a nearby rock and then lifted the princess up to sit on it. Still watching him uncertainly, she let him lift up her right foot and slip off one of her delicate shoes. "Such flimsy footwear, Princess. Don't your feet get cold?" he asked as he set it gently to one side.
"Oh, it is warm enough for these," she replied absently as she watched him unfold a pair of socks. Her eyes widened and her foot jerked as he began to slide one on. He just gave her a reassuring look and continued his task.
Beryl felt the pain and rage flare once more at the intimate sight. When he lifted a white ice skate out of the top box, however, her cinnamon brown eyes narrowed in sudden comprehension. An evil smile began to play around her lips as she crouched down in the snow and crept up to the edge of the lake closest to her.
'Yes,' the voice hissed triumphantly when it sensed her intent. 'If you rescue him, but let her drown, he will soon turn to you. You will get his recognition and friendship. It won't take long for you to make him yours entirely after that.'
Beryl nodded, but made no other response as she leaned out over the lake. Softly, she began to chant a spell. The vapor that her breath created seemed to curl and twist as it fell slowly to the frozen lake surface. Under her hands and knees, the snow began to quickly melt.
Several minutes later, the prince and princess glided out onto the ice. Beryl watched as they laughed and played. Each innocent touch broke another piece of her heart. Each lingering glance fueled her jealous rage. Finally, impatient with the slowness of the spell, she leaned forward and chanted it again.
On the lake, Princess Serenity came to a sudden stop and looked around uncertainly. Something felt wrong, but she could not put her finger on what. "Princess?" she heard Prince Endymion call as he came to a stop beside her. She quickly pasted a smile back on her face and shook her head dismissively. "It is nothing," she replied. "I thought I felt something. It must have been the wind."
Prince Endymion gave her a disbelieving look. The day was perfectly calm. Otherwise, he would never have brought her here no matter how much she claimed that the cold did not bother her. He decided to ignore the odd statement, however, and reached for her hands. He began to skate backwards, drawing her along. His eyes shone when he won a rare grin rather than a polite smile.
They skated that way for a minute, her long hair dancing on the breeze that they created. Then, suddenly, Princess Serenity jerked to a stop and tugged the prince back towards her. He stumbled for a minute, turning so that he would not crash into her, but managed to stay up on his skates. When he gave her a shocked, puzzled look, he saw that her attention was on the ice a short distance away. Her expression was very serious.
"We should get off the ice now," she said abruptly as he turned to see what had distracted her.
"What?" he asked in surprise. "Oh, are you tired? You have only to say so, Princess," he chided gently.
She shook her head, grabbed his hand, and began to skate cautiously towards shore. "No, I am not tired. The ice is no longer safe."
He looked at her uncertainly, and then down at the ice. "I assure you, it is quite safe. It has been below freezing for almost a month now. The lake is quite solid." He did not resist her pull, however.
"No it is not," she said stubbornly as she tugged him along.
On the shore a short distance away, Beryl watched with a frown as her nemesis began to trace the only safe path back to land. It was almost as if she knew something had happened, but that was impossible. Beryl was confident that her spells were much too subtle for such a ditz to sense.
Prince Endymion decided not to argue with his date, but he still gave her an exasperated look when she suddenly changed directions to go around a large patch of ice. "The quickest way to shore is in a straight line," he said as he turned to head directly to shore and pulled her along.
"No! Wait!" she exclaimed. She tried to pull him back, but he was too heavy and too strong. And then, it was too late. The ice began to crack under his skates. Prince Endymion looked down in shock, and then back at the princess. Fear and worry filled her face as she lifted her long skirts with her free hand. "Go!" she cried.
He nodded, and sped up. Amazingly, she kept up with him. He responded instantly to the small tugs and pushes on his hand, dodging slightly right and left as she directed him. Soon, however, the ice began to crack so badly that they were forced to stop. They were fairly close to the shore now, but they could no longer approach it in a straight line.
Prince Endymion scanned up and down the ice, and then nodded to himself. He drew Princess Serenity in close and looked down into her blue eyes. Unseen on shore, Beryl bit her lip and growled lowly as her eyes flared once again. All of the snow around her melted as her anger gave even more power to her spell.
"Do you trust me?" the prince asked. Instantly, Princess Serenity nodded. "When I say jump, go as high as you can," he ordered as he began to skate, gently pushing her backwards. His eyes left hers and began to scan the ice looking for danger. He adjusted his hold on her, and she gasped in sudden understanding. "Ready... Jump!"
It was as if they had practiced the move for years. She flowed smoothly out of his arms, spinning a little in the air, and then landed on the other side of the worst section of ice. She glided smoothly for a moment, and then stumbled as the now wet ice bound up her blade. She caught her balance, and then looked back for her escort heedless of her own danger.
He had skated out a little further, and then come back as fast as he could. Springing high, he leapt over the ridge himself, and then caught her hand to repeat the process.
Beryl watched as they danced their way across the treacherous ice, dodging cracks, hopping off of broken bits, and leaping whole sections of open water. By the time they reached the shore, the ice was bobbing up and down in the lake as if it were spring thaw. She frowned in disappointment, and then quickly retreated, certain that the prince would investigate immediately.
It did not take him long to exchange his skates for boots and start his search. Princess Serenity sat on the rock he had cleaned off for her almost an hour before, and panted breathlessly. She had to get back. Her guardians would be looking for her, particularly after that scare. She looked longingly after the prince, but there was no time to tell him good bye.
Just as he turned around to search in the other direction, he saw a bright flash of light. When it faded, the Princess had disappeared. Frantic, he raced back to the rock. The only thing he found, however, were her delicate, impractical shoes.