East Kingdom, Present Day
A Few Minutes Earlier, Royal Hall
The soldiers of the East army were mostly all gathered in the royal hall at Queen Ravenna's command, many of them wondering why they were there and especially why Ravenna was sitting on the royal throne instead of Freya, standing in the front row of soldiers were Madson and Sam, both nervous and confused, this was definitely strange, they couldn't even begin to imagine what the woman seated on the throne was planning to do and that scared them.
– I don't have a good feeling about this. – Madson whispered to the blond boy beside her, glancing at him discreetly.
– Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you, I promise. – Sam replied encouragingly, smiling slightly at his girlfriend.
– I don't know Samy, I'm scared, this day feels like it's never going to end, and there was already that whole incident with Camilly, I'm worried about her. – Madson murmured unhappily and full of concern, she quickly looked away toward Ravenna who seemed entertained while being served by soldiers – I'm certain that woman has something to do with what happened. – the blonde said, her fists clenched with anger.
– Hey... – the boy gently touched one of Madson's hands, making her automatically relax – I'm worried about Camilly too, but we know she's strong and she'll be okay, and besides, she'll always have both of us with her... – he smiled confidently – Don't worry darling, we'll all still get our happy endings, at least you will, I promise you will. – Sam said, stroking the back of Madson's hand with his thumb in a discreet gesture, but one that meant so much to them both.
Madson smiled in a restrained way, after all she couldn't draw too much attention, she stared at the blond boy in front of her and wondered what she had done so right to deserve having him in her life, little did she know that at that very moment, Samuel was wondering the same thing about her.
– Finally everyone's here. – said the Queen still seated on the royal throne, she let her eyes wander across the hall and soon smiled, noticing that neither Camilly nor Freya were there – Well then, no reason for me not to start the meeting. – the woman smiled maliciously, seeing the fear in the eyes of all the soldiers present, including Sam and Madson – I have a mission for you hunters, in one week we're going to invade one of the villages in Snow White's Kingdom, I don't care if you loot or do anything else there, all that matters to me is that when you leave that place, you've left nothing but ashes behind. – Ravenna said in a serious tone, even though the malicious smile still lingered on her face.
– W-What... – Sam stammered, stunned by what he'd just heard, the boy barely had time to digest the information when Madson stepped forward and separated herself from the rest of the soldiers.
– You can't do this! – the blonde shouted angrily – There are people in that village, children, we might be soldiers but we're not monsters! – Madson exclaimed, staring at the older woman with pure fury.
Ravenna smiled from the corner of her mouth before resting her arm on the throne's armrest and leaning her face on her hand, she looked at Madson with nothing but disdain.
– What are you trying to do now you little brat? Decided to grow some courage for something? Oh well let me tell you something... – the sorceress stared at her full of arrogance and irony – Worms will always just be worms. – Ravenna said with a mocking smile – Now stop trying to play the heroine and get back in your place. – she spoke this time with a serious expression and an irritated tone of voice.
Madson clenched her hands into fists and felt her irritation grow even stronger, the blonde didn't quite understand why her mood was so explosive, but she figured it was because of her body's messed up hormones, Sam when he noticed the state his girlfriend was in, approached her and touched her shoulder, he looked at her seriously.
– Madson stop this, you can't risk yourself like that. – the boy said in a worried tone, noticing how red Madson's face had become.
– Did you hear what she said? What does she want us to do? – the blonde asked indignantly, soon she turned her gaze to the other soldiers – She wants us to do exactly what they did to our village! What they did to our families! We're not like that, we're not like the soldiers who brought us here, we've never done anything like that, never! – Madson shouted angrily, hoping some other soldier would speak up like she did, but that didn't happen, everyone remained silent.
– Enough! – Ravenna shouted, getting up from the throne, she rolled her eyes when she saw Sam position himself in front of Madson as she walked toward her, soon the sorceress used her powers to throw Sam far away from the young blonde – Stay in your place little tin soldier. – Ravenna mocked, seeing him fallen on the ground a few meters away from them – How dare you challenge me you stupid little brat... – the Queen murmured irritably as she got closer to Madson – I'll... – Ravenna stopped speaking as she stared intently at Madson, she frowned and tilted her head to one side while observing the blonde from head to toe, soon her gaze was fixed on the girl's face, looking at her with surprise – So you're.... – the Queen's speech was interrupted by the shrill sound of the hall doors being roughly thrown open.
– What the hell is going on here? – Camilly asked angrily, staring at Ravenna and then at Madson.
– Well, how rude. – the older one muttered sarcastically – You look perfectly fine for someone who almost got killed today. – Ravenna said as she turned toward Camilly.
Not missing the opportunity, Madson took advantage of Ravenna's distraction to go to Sam who was starting to get up from the floor, the girl helped him up and murmured an apology, feeling guilty for everything that was happening.
Camilly clenched her fists when she heard Ravenna's words, soon the memories of her near-death experience came flooding back into her mind, she saw the older woman standing in front of the mirror room door, saw her smile while Megan was about to kill her, that's when everything made sense to her, Ravenna had planned it all, she was the one who wanted her dead and just used Megan as a puppet.
– It was you, wasn't it? – Camilly asked, walking toward the woman – You planned everything, distracting me with the mirror images, letting Megan kill me and then making her the only one guilty in all of this, it was you... – the girl spoke as she stopped right in front of Ravenna.
– Oh but of course not. – she smiled maliciously while turning her back on Camilly and walking toward the throne – How could I possibly kill Freya's favorite little pet? – Ravenna asked sarcastically, turning back to face the girl.
– Don't you dare sit on that throne, it doesn't belong to you. – the younger one threatened with a serious expression, seeing the sorceress preparing to sit on the royal throne – How did you have the courage to do what you did to your own sister? You're a monster! – Camilly exclaimed with pure rage.
Ravenna took two steps forward, getting close to the two steps that separated where the throne was from the rest of the hall, she smiled sarcastically at Camilly.
– Monster? Freya is what she is today because of me, without my help she would have been a weak failure forever, I built her, I made her, everything she has today, she owes to me. – Ravenna said arrogantly.
– Shut up! – the girl shouted angrily – Don't you dare say things like that! All you ever did was hurt her and make her become something she never wanted to be! Freya conquered everything she has today by her own merit! She became strong and independent, learned to protect herself, all of that after you caused all that evil to happen to her! So don't come talking with that arrogant tone saying she owes everything to you, being responsible for the pain that made a person change and evolve doesn't make you good, it makes you a villain. – Camilly said seriously, she felt the anger burning deep inside her, Ravenna was a monster and needed to be stopped.
– So who's the heroine then? You? – the sorceress laughed sarcastically – Did you forget how many men and women you've killed? How many fathers and mothers you took from their families? Sorry to inform you girl... – she smiled ironically – But you're just as bad as me. – Ravenna said.
– Don't compare me to you! I would never be capable of making a father kill his own daughter like you did! All the people I killed were because I had no choice, it was always either them or us, and everyone I could leave alive I did, don't compare us to you Ravenna... – the girl clenched her jaw trying to control her own rising rage – We all have or have had someone we cared about, someone we loved, you're just a selfish bitch who never loved anyone but herself. – Camilly said without being able to measure her words, she wasn't afraid of Ravenna and that was something very dangerous.
Ravenna's expression hardened at the girl's words, that had irritated her deeply, how dare that child challenge her like that? How dare she look her in the eye with her head held high? How dare she say she was better than her? The sorceress asked herself angrily, she wouldn't let that slide, no she certainly would not.
_
While Camilly stormed into the royal hall and interrupted Ravenna and Madson's argument, Freya was sitting on the bed in her room, the Queen felt confused by everything that was happening, her head was a complete mess and painful memories from her past had resurfaced, memories she had worked so hard to bury deep, the Ice Lady rested her elbows on her legs and hid her face in her hands, she breathed deeply trying to find some sense amid all that chaos.
– What's happening to you, Freya? – she asked herself, lifting her head and sighing tiredly.
As she moved, the Queen felt the small object around her neck slip out from inside her dress, Freya held the moon pendant in her hand and looked at it for a long time, Camilly's words came back to her mind at that moment, she remembered how Camilly's voice sounded when she said she loved her, the way the girl's lips moved to utter those words and how her eyes sparkled when saying them, what scared Freya the most about all of that wasn't the fact that Camilly had said she loved her, but the fact that she had actually liked hearing it.
– Camilly... – Freya whispered, feeling her heart beat faster, the Queen smiled slightly as she again remembered the girl saying she loved her.
That's when Freya got up from the bed, she had to go after Camilly, she couldn't leave things the way they were, she didn't like being on bad terms with her little Lioness, she had grown accustomed to her presence, her voice, her warmth and her smile, and when she wasn't around, everything became empty and colorless for Freya.
The Queen was about to open the bedroom door when she remembered other words that had come out of Camilly's mouth, these made her stop immediately and swallow the lump that had formed in her throat, Freya felt her stomach churn as she recalled the accusation Camilly had made against her sister.
– No, no... – she laughed nervously – This isn't possible, my sister would never do that to me, would she? – Freya asked herself, completely confused.
She didn't want to believe it, didn't want to believe that Ravenna had bewitched her former love, forcing him to kill her own daughter, didn't want to believe she had killed the man she loved for something he hadn't even done, that was too much for Freya, that would be too much for anyone.
The Queen sighed as she closed her eyes, all that went through her head was, What should I do now?
_
Ravenna and Camilly were staring at each other with pure fury at that moment, the royal hall was completely silent, no one dared to say a single word, the seconds the Sorceress stayed silent digesting the words spoken by the younger one felt like hours, everyone present was afraid of what the Queen would do next, everyone except Camilly.
– You really believe what you say, don't you? – Ravenna finally spoke, she laughed sarcastically – You run around from one side to the other trying to do everything at once, save Freya from the darkness, save the soldiers, save your friends, save the people in Snow White's Kingdom... – she smiled wickedly – The only person you don't try to save is yourself, because you know, you know it's not worth it, because you're simply already completely lost. – Ravenna spoke venomously, each word dripping with poison.
Camilly swallowed hard as she felt those words hit her right in the chest, Ravenna had managed to poke at her deepest wound, but she wouldn't let it show, at least not there in front of everyone.
– I'm done arguing with you. – the girl raised her head, staring directly into Ravenna's eyes – You are not the Queen of this Kingdom, and we are not monsters, so give it up, no soldier from this Kingdom will cause destruction to any village whatsoever. – she turned her back on Ravenna – Subject closed. – Camilly said seriously before starting to walk toward the exit of the hall.
Ravenna felt her blood boil hearing the girl giving her orders like that, that was the absolute last straw for her, the Sorceress let out a loud laugh, so disturbing and terrifying it would make anyone shudder.
– Still think you can save everyone you foolish little brat? – she asked in a sick, twisted tone, seeing Camilly continue walking and completely ignoring her presence – Well then let me tell you something... – she smiled sadistically – You can't save everyone! – Ravenna shouted, summoning one of her black claws.
The black claw was launched forward at an unbelievable speed, Camilly stopped dead in her place feeling her heart beat uncontrollably, before the girl could do anything a scream was heard.
– No! – Sam shouted before positioning himself in front of Madson just seconds before the claw reached them.
Camilly turned her head just in time to see the black claw completely pierce through Sam's body and then penetrate Madson right after, at that moment everything seemed to move in slow motion to the brunette's eyes, both the boy and Madson had blood streaming from the corners of their mouths, Camilly's eyes welled up as she saw Madson's gaze turn to her for just a few seconds before the claw was pulled back and ripped out of both their bodies, that's when the girl saw her best friend's eyes close forever and her body fall along with her boyfriend's onto the cold floor.
– a-ah... – Camilly panted, feeling as if a knife were being driven straight through her heart, the girl felt for a few seconds a searing, unbearable pain seeing the bodies of her friends lying lifeless on the floor, soon after the hatred became just as strong as the pain, if not stronger.
Camilly's gaze slowly turned toward Ravenna, her irises taking on a deep reddish tone that reflected very well the murderous hatred taking over every part of the girl's being.
– Ravenna!! – Camilly shouted with pure rage as she drew her sword and started running toward the woman with everything she had.
Ravenna smiled maliciously and summoned more black claws, soon throwing them at Camilly, the girl didn't even slow down seeing the claws coming straight at her, she used her sword to cut them in half before they could even touch her, seeing how fast and furiously the girl moved, Ravenna's smile completely disappeared, none of her claws could even get close to Camilly.
– What?! – Ravenna exclaimed with wide eyes as she saw the girl in a matter of seconds, standing right in front of her.
For a few seconds Ravenna managed to dodge Camilly's attack, but not enough to prevent the sword blade from opening a small cut on her cheek, the Sorceress managed to have one of her claws push the girl away from her, she brought her hand to her own face and parted her lips slightly as she felt the blood from the cut wet her fingers, Ravenna stared at Camilly again, this time with genuine fear in her eyes.
The girl didn't wait another second and advanced toward her once more, Ravenna started summoning more claws desperately, frantically, trying to stop the younger one, but nothing worked, Camilly kept advancing tirelessly and cutting every single claw to pieces, before Ravenna could even realize what was happening, the girl was face to face with her again.
Ravenna's eyes widened in terror as she saw Camilly preparing her final blow, the girl spun the sword and thrust it with all her force into the Sorceress's torso, the sword completely pierced through the woman's body, the girl breathed heavily, still feeling her heart racing uncontrollably, when her gaze shifted to Ravenna's face, her eyebrows furrowed and her blood ran ice cold as she found the woman staring back at her, completely and utterly alive.
Camilly was about to react when the hall doors burst open with a loud, deafening crash.
– Camilly! – Freya shouted in shock, unable to believe what she was seeing, both because of Madson and Sam's bodies lying lifeless on the floor and because of the image of Camilly thrusting her sword straight through her sister's body.
– Freya? – Camilly asked, confused, distracted by the Queen's sudden appearance.
Her distraction lasted only seconds, but before Camilly could turn her attention back to the fight, Ravenna used one of her claws to throw her far away, the girl was thrown with tremendous force against one of the walls, which cracked with the impact, soon her body slumped to the floor, now completely unconscious.
– No! – Freya screamed, running to the girl's body and kneeling on the floor beside her, the Queen touched the girl's face while feeling her heart squeeze painfully inside her chest – No, no... Wake up please... – the Queen whispered desperately, her voice breaking.
Freya could see Camilly's chest rise and fall weakly, indicating the girl was still alive, she breathed a little more relieved, soon she turned her gaze to her sister, Ravenna was unconcernedly pulling the sword out of herself and throwing it on the floor like it was nothing, she didn't even seem like she'd just been pierced by a blade, Freya felt her darkness awaken fully, completely, the Queen got up from the floor and walked toward Ravenna, she stretched out her arm and launched ice spikes at her, the Sorceress didn't even look at her as a kind of black shield was summoned and prevented the spikes from hitting her.
– Do you really want to fight me, Little Sister? – Ravenna asked in a sarcastic tone, finally looking at her sister.
Freya stared at her with a murderous look and advanced toward her while making a throwing motion with her arm and summoning more ice spikes on the floor, Ravenna destroyed the spikes again and summoned more black claws, throwing them at Freya, one of them managed to hit the Queen, making her fall to the floor, before the youngest could get up from the ground, Ravenna appeared right in front of her and kicked her stomach, making her fall again, one of the Sorceress's black claws wrapped tightly around Freya's body and lifted her off the floor, she came face to face with her sister.
– Your darkness is strong my dear sister... – she smiled while holding Freya's face with her hand – But mine is so much stronger. – Ravenna whispered in an intimidating tone before hitting her sister's face hard, making her lose consciousness.
Ravenna dropped Freya's body on the floor and looked around, all the soldiers stared at her with pure fear in their eyes, she smiled victoriously, noticing that she was completely in control now, her plan had worked even better than she had imagined, the Sorceress cleared her throat before starting to speak.
– Now dear soldiers, I am the one in charge here, bow before me or die just like those two. – she spoke with an evil smile while pointing at Sam and Madson, soon all the soldiers began to bow before her one by one – Excellent decision. – Ravenna laughed maliciously – Now I want you to throw those two's bodies into the river, take Camilly to the dungeon and chain her up with the thickest chains you can find. – the Sorceress looked down at Freya's unconscious body – You can leave me to take care of my dear sister all by myself. – she said, smiling wickedly.
It didn't take long for the soldiers to obey her commands, Ravenna walked to the throne and sat elegantly upon it, she smiled widely as she watched the soldiers drag Camilly's unconscious body out of the hall.
– Everyone hail the new Queen. – Ravenna said sarcastically to herself while smiling victoriously.
_
A few hours later, down in the Castle dungeon, Camilly began to wake up slowly, the girl blinked a few times still a bit dazed and disoriented, soon she looked around not immediately recognizing where she was.
– But what... – she whispered, confused, as she finally recognized where she was, Camilly tried to move but soon realized she was chained to the dungeon ceiling, her arms stretched painfully above her head and her body standing upright with her feet tied tightly to the floor.
Camilly squirmed and struggled, trying desperately to free herself from the chains but everything seemed completely in vain, the girl screamed with all the strength left in her lungs before letting her body lose all its strength and stay upright only because of the chains holding her, she stared at the dirty, filthy dungeon floor and let the tears start streaming endlessly down her face.
– I'm so sorry Sam, Mads... – a sob escaped through the girl's trembling lips, she felt her body and her soul aching unbearably, the tears seemed infinite, they were thick and heavy and carried so much pain, so much unbearable pain.
– I couldn't save them this time.