"Do I regret using the bomb? No. We had the means to end the war and bring our men home. It was selfish to do otherwise. The south was defeated, but it had not surrendered. And until that happened, it would always be a threat. If I can't sleep at night, but our citizens get to beside their loved ones in a country at peace. Then I consider it a cost worth paying I would do again without hesitation a thousand times over." -King Argos three days before his assassination.
Another blizzard raged across the ruins of the Artic empire. It was the same old story. Casting upon the devastated wasteland of million-year-old permafrost another fresh coat of snowfall to veil its surface as it had since the dawn of time. Just another page of pure white parchment added to a thick tome. The war had ended but life moved on and added the next chapter. This frozen desert was a story just brimming with possibility if one knew where to look beneath its unappealing surface of what came before. It was desolate. It was empty. It was deathly quiet. And to Aravos, warden of the citadel fortress miles beneath the ice.
It was his home. As far as the rest of the world was concerned. He didn't exist anymore.
The albatross lord continued to stand tall and strong regardless in the familiar darkened seclusion of the citadel's master control chamber. Attentive and on high alert as usual again in his duties. He tried to be useful however he could, where nothing ever noteworthy happened. He spent so much time here he could tell the layout of the facility just by monitor angle alone. A small barely lit chamber with hundreds of identical rectangular hard light screens hovering in the air above the console casting him in their blue transparent light. His sunken blue eyes had grown used to their intense glow as he surveyed the layout of the base. Each a glimpse into another's inhabitant of this fortress, a mirror at their day to day life. A guard making his rounds there through the same hallway as he had a thousand times. A servant girl making the table for tonight's feast there. It wasn't really spying. Not really.
As warden assigned, it was his duty to monitor the in and out of the citadel every hour of every day and ensure his niece's safety. A task he found some level of pride in, given that he had grown rather fond of her naivety and kindness admittedly. So he swallowed his pride and kept busy for her sake. He must always keep busy. Otherwise, he goes mad in a place like this. What else was there to do besides this? Practically nothing of any real value. A monotonous yet necessary use of his time. He hated feeling useless and idle. Any other would have fumed and raged at their lot in life they had been dealt. Yet despite the tedious nature of any mundane assigned to him. He always gave it his all. What was meant to be exile he would treat the same as any other task given to him.
"Report." Said, Aravos after pressing the commands on the packed console beneath him. The main screen flickered and switched to a frost coated view of a surface camera. A small protruding periscope emerged and punctured through the snow coating miles above him. A pair of taloned feet came into view of the camera and an armored sentry knelt down to face the camera, knocking on it with his knuckles, with the faceplate of his beaked and winged helmet's blue visor coming into view.
All good here sir. The soldier said loudly against the roaring backdrop of the blizzard before tapping a talon against the camera. No signs of tampering with the beacons. No signs of perimeter breach. Same as always. Over and out. Now can I come in now? He chuckled with a shiver. A storms coming in.
Very well, come inside then. Aravos replied. You've done enough suffering out there for today."
The soldier stood and spread his wings eagerly. With pleasure sir. And here I was thinking I'd be spending all night up here by my lonesome.
Complain any further and you very well may yet get the chance.
Noted sir. Was his reply. He said before taking off with a heavy flap of his wings.
After ten minutes of waiting, The door opened behind Aravos with a sudden loud hiss and puff of cold air to reveal the lone armored snow trooper returning from the elevator shaft. Davanas removed his helmet and shook off a layer of fresh powder before running his hand through his dark gray and white feathered hide, revealing a frightening looking giant petrel in his late 40s. His face was streaked with menacing red tattoos adorning his narrow eyes and a spear like hooked beak, angled in a deadly point at the end for piercing the toughest of bones. An evolutionary relic from his unevolved seabird ancestors who soared across the endless southern waves in restless depraved flocks, scavenging and fighting each other for the last scrap of bloated rotting carrion, floating against the freezing waves. Or more commonly, picking apart their favorite game, lost baby penguins. Simpler times. When Albatross and Petrel fought each other as rival species. How times had changed indeed. Where once they had warred against each other, now they collaberated on monitor duty. Wonderful improvement.
"Need anything else sir?" Davanas asked, shaking snow out of his boots, before standing at attention. His ragged gray wings folding inward to form a cloak round him to shroud himself in their warmth and in the southern manner of respect. Aravos shook his head quietly and gestured the soldier away with a slight of his gray taloned hand, giving him his much deserved leave of absence. He liked Danavas, he was a good soldier. And he could rely upon him. That was what mattered most in his eyes.
That will be all for now. Aravos said with an almost lazy wave of his hand, not taking his eyes away from the monitors for even a moment. You're dismissed captain.
Danavas saluted and quickly departed the room whistling a tune happily. At least someone was in good spirits and optimistic in such an isolated place. Everything was nearly in order to prepare for the empress' highly anticipated arrival. But so much still needed to be done. Such a visit was a rare occurrence in these chaotic time's given her very busy schedule running and rebuilding a nation defeated. He knew the feeling of all too well. As if everything could come crashing down at any moment despite all your preparation and promises. Because for him it had. That was why he was here in the first place.
He hoped the new empress would not make the same mistakes and join him in exile. It seemed unlikely. His weight upon his shoulders had been passed to her. And the cracks were beginning to show. But she bore them well.
"Very well." Aravos sighed to himself. Adjusting and shifting his weary shoulders and picking up his winged helmet and double bladed sword staff he had set aside by the mantle of his monitor. The tall imposing warden then powered down the screens one at a time, stood up straight, and folded in his carefully groomed wings across his broad shoulders to look as presentable as possible for the in-law's.
"Mustn't be late."
The winged warden exited the chamber with the sound of doors hissing and closing behind him and dozens of pathways opening before him of his choosing. Any stranger would surely get lost here and perhaps vanish forever in what felt like a maze. He never did, he knew where to go without even thinking he had been stuck here so long. Whether that was a good sign of his intelligence or that his sanity was no longer intact he couldn't yet tell.
Hidden away from the dangers and knowledge of the outside world lay an underground fortress that by all accounts didn't exist. One that its inhabitants had come to refer to simply as the citadel. An impenetrable bunker miles below the ice which could withstand any tidal bombings from the surface and with its own internal power core, and crops, could sustain itself in any event of ever being under siege or cut off from the new fledgling makeshift capital's power stations thousands of miles away. But this facility was not built just with the intent of offering cold hard protection, but every comfort and luxury befitting a lady of noble birth.
It was built for a princess after all.
The snowflake shaped layout of the fortress had every form or leisure of keeping oneself entertained imaginable with no expense spared by the empress in keeping her daughter happy, content, and isolated in her new artificial home with hundreds of servants, engineers and guards to care for her and the facilities' every need. A master library, grand dining hall, fully stocked kitchen, and most amazing of all, an artificial biome at the center of the comlex which could imitate any habitat or climate imaginable while also providing the citadel with its crops and exotic gardens for the princess to enjoy and reside in. It was the most visited and largest room of them all. Not to mention her favorite. With the core reactor still humming running beneath all their feet to heat the crops and provide them all in its warmth and safely as it had for fifteen years without trouble. This complex could almost be mistaken for an underground palace it was so pristine and state of the art.
But behind what was a comforting sterile decor that could pass for a getaway resort was a place with deadly intent. This place was not built with comfort and relaxation alone. It was a fortress built to withstand another bombing. An ancient castle reborn as the strongest, most impregnable bunker ever constructed by mankind for the modern era. And there were signs of its true function everywhere. All one had to do was look to feel unnerved and uninvited.
Auto turrets stood around every corner as Aravos walked by, turning their eye to follow him. There were no secrets here. Cameras saw to that at every door entrance making sure no one entered without someone knowing. Armored winged knights and automaton mechanical guards made their rounds on patrol routes with energy lances in hand. They had not seen a fight or fought a foe in years yet were always on guard, even if they had probably learned by now that there would likely never be a conflict in such a remote and hidden place. A hangar above housed more than a dozen Valkyrie fighter craft they weren't supposed to have, armed to the teeth and still maintained every day in top shape to be ready to take to the sky at any moment of alarm. An armory with every manner of weapon sat across from a med-bay with a surgeon on call to care for any injured. More often than not however, it was just the princess as his sole patient. She was always getting herself in some sort of troubling antic in what was supposed to be the safest place in the world despite her mothers wishes to stay still and not do anything brash or stupid; with Aravos admittedly taking the princess' side more often than not in these heated arguments. Saying she needs more than a safe place to live, she needs a life outside these walls. In truth however he probably was talking more about himself. He understood the crushing boredom and isolation of him and his nieces shared position all too well. It made them alike in at least one regard. Both wanted freedom. And neither would have it without the empress saying so. To any normal parent, all of this would seem very much overkill in terms of protection for their child. But given what the princess had already suffered through…..
The empress never took any chances when it came to her daughter's survival. And never would. If anything it seemed the only logical option given what had already occurred.
Aravos would never forget the day he heard the news of the bomb while he and his men were besieged. A single tidal bomb falling from the sky to the horror and cries of his soldiers' families while he and the remaining soldiers were down to eating unevolved rats on the last island holdout they refused to give up. They had endured so much, but the news that the capital itself was just gone shattered their resolve, and that everyone and everything they were fighting for was just swept away broke the minds of so many of his men. The instrument of their final surrender had worked effortlessly and they surrendered in mass, him first among them in order to bargain for their lives. How could they keep fighting upon hearing that their enemy had suddenly conjured a a force of nature just off shore that touched the sky and reached the very clouds like it was an afterthought? Casting them all in its shadow just before it came crashing down with the death blow. The ocean monarchy had sent a tsunami of victory with just the intent to destroy the capital but even they had underestimated its destructive power which stunned them. It had done more that shattered a continent in half and scattered its pieces to melt into the sea. It had broken them as a people. Even years later many justified the devastation. Saying it was the only option to force their immediate and total surrender and to save lives. Really they had just been jealous and fearful of their growing naval might and this was meant to be a lesson that put them back in their place. They preferred their enemies weak and dependent upon them. And nothing would change the carefully cultivated balance, control, and sole dominion of the seas they had controlled for centuries. There would be only one who ruled the waves. Not two.
The lesson worked. In the war between the two superpowers, everyone suffered, the bomb Killing thousands and injuring tens of thousands in the process. Among those wounded, the princess, who barely survived the ordeal by a blessed miracle thanks to Garotan holding up a pillar for days to keep her from being crushed beneath. Many believed her to be dead from the grave state she had been found in among the rubble of what once was her family's ancestral capital and that she nor her home could ever recover. The once great Artic empire surrendered without a further fight and her mother was left in charge to pick up the pieces of their once ambition and mighty nation alone as the ocean monarch's chosen puppet. The terms were harsh. They lost 90 percent of their overseas territory, watching helpless as it was dismantled and carved up and given to their allies. Couldn't have an army or airforce or take to the skies as they once hand, and had to pay a crippling war debt that made famine inevitable.. They could never come back from this. The monarchy likely thought as their troops left their shores after years of brutal occupation. No nation could possibly recover from such an ordeal as we have inflicted upon them. They will stay where they belong for they are defeated and shall never challenge us again or cause trouble as it should be.
They were a nation of hostages.
Just as her daughter was hidden away, her being alive kept a secret for her own safety .The empress abided by the agreement and appeared the weakened fool in the eyes of the ocean monarchy, laying in wait arrogantly across the sea while she herself was left alone with the difficult task of slowly rebuild her nation piece by piece. IIt was a crushing burden but she knew it was hers to bear. They would have their justice, she had once declared to all her subjects over the ruins of their city. In this life. Or the next. They had no quarrel with the ocean monarchy before the bombing. And one day they would be free.
Aravos knew the empress harbored so much anger and resentment over the injustice. Although she focused on keeping everyone alive, the rebuilding of the capital especially, was slow going. It would never be as grand or majestic as it was before but it would suffice. She was using what they had sparingly and wisely. And he knew she would not rest until she saw her enemies answer for all the destruction they had caused. He feared for the future and safety of what was left of their homeland as she continued with her petitions and calls for justice in vain. To demand some type of accountability. They had been allowed to live by the ocean monarchy's good graces once. If the empress antagonized the victors while they themselves were still recovering, they would lose. And there would be no mercy a second time. He hoped she knew what she was doing. But it's not as if he had any say in the matter. The time when he had any political power or input in decisions of the empire had long passed. Now he was just a warden. And he would stay put until his empress called upon him.. A glorified sentry serving another. Still. He would see his responsibilities through. It's not as if he had any choice anyhow. He probably deserved his fate. But he would trust her.
He entered the large empty dining hall and saw that the guard's and servants were already standing in rows, awaiting his instruction as expected. These soldiers and civilians had respected and admired him for years. And despite his past failings, most still held him in high esteem regardless of all his reputable status among the common masses. All were still heavily committed to serving their nation in their own particular way however they could. Him most of all.
"At ease everyone." Lord Aravos spoke calmly,looking each of them in the eye one by one as he walked past them. "Her majesty will be arriving soon. I want everything prepared and in order for today. It is our responsibility to uphold the sanctity of this facility as well as its purity of visible excellence to the royal family. Be swift in your assigned tasks and all will be well as it should be. Disperse!" He clapped his long fingered hands together. Creating a single echo to reverberate throughout the mostly empty room.
The servants and soldiers quickly scattered to fulfill their duties. All but one. Aravos stopped one small servant girl with a slight wave of his hand before she could leave the room like the others who did not wish to bother the warden any longer.
"You there. Come Here." He gestured for her to approach closer.
The young seal handmaiden in a simple blue servant's dress and apron cautiously approached the warden who towered above her like an unmoving monument carved from cold unfeeling marble.
"Yes my lord? What is it you require?" Nea asked cautiously. Lowering her fluffy white head and small black nose submissively out of respect in bow.
"Where is my niece?" he inquired her calmly. "Has she awakened yet?"
"The princess?" Nea smiled softly. "No, I believe she awoke early to practice her song. She is in the pavilion right now I believe sir. Preparing to perform for the Empress tonight when she arrives. She's improved quite a bit, sir if I must say sir." She said cheerily. Rubbing her arm against her shoulder awkwardly if a bit shyly.
"Fetch her for me. Will you be kind? I believe she will want to see her mother first before the rest of us do."
"Yes my lord. At once" Nea nodded and kindly curtsied her dress apart before swiftly leaving to fulfill his instruction. Now the old warden sat all alone in the vast empty room whose halls echoed with the footsteps of numerous servants roaming across the opposite end's of the secluded fortress.
If things went accordingly today, he might finally leave here and assist his country elsewhere. But only if everything went according to plan.
Everything must be in order today of all days.
Nea calmly walked through the empty cold hallways of the fortress until coming to a halt at the large door leading to the pavilion at the center of the complex. She suddenly stopped in place as she gripped the handles. Hearing a melodious tune build in power and elegance on the other side of the room right through the thin walls. She was almost tempted to just stand there and listen to the soothing music for as long as it lasted but she had to inform her highness despite how much she loved to hear her play. She breathed a heavy breath and opened the door being engulfed with the familiar comforting cold mist from inside. She couldn't help but smile as the bright light and sudden moist humidity hit her. No matter how many times she entered the Pavillion, it always felt like a dream of how obvious the contrast was. A place this green didn't belong in the south, it could not exist period. Despite what should be, here it was and here it would remain and for that she was glad. No wonder it was the princess's favorite place in the entirety of the citadel. It was her's as well. It allowed her to have some semblance of escape in the outside world she had never known. But she was glad the princess enjoyed it more. She deserved some semblance of happiness and finding comfort whereever she could.
The green roaring fields of the artificial garden swayed in the imitated breeze all around her, with unevolved butterflies passing by to land on a vast array of flowers imported from throughout the world into a single combined biome of unnatural biodiversity. A serene perfectly moderate biome for any species to inhabit. Not too warm. Just cold enough so that everything was coated in a gentle but not damaging layer of frost. Perfect. Just as the empress intended. There was nowhere else in the world quite like it. Even the domed roof and walls were coated with millions of screens. Today it provided the backdrop of cold stone mountains and vast swaths of forest to simulate the north pole. A land they had lost in the war. Nea had never left the south herself, so she could only imagine if the outside world was this beautiful. It probably wasn't.
Nea walked down the stone pathway through the fake forest into the main plaza surrounded by the actual only living trees with freezing mist and water spraying down upon both their own and her shoulders. She gazed up at the roof of the dome as it displayed another false sky, stars, and a moon, almost like the real thing. The biggest sadness was the princess was the only one in the citadel who couldn't enjoy it. But she didn't let it bother her. She simply carried on and asked Nea to describe it to her on occasion.
High above on the platform in the center of the garden, silhouetted by the light with the aurora of the northern lights at her back that had given her her middle name, and playing the beautiful melody that echoed throughout the entire room...
Was the princess.
"Winds of winter. Come and go.
Fields of ice of unchanging snow.
Cast your heart in eternal ice.
Never let it show, never let it shine.
Nea, held her breath nervously and expected the beautiful music to cease from her sudden intrusion. It didn't. The princess played on. Nea quietly approached in silence toward her highness, watching and listening to her from far below. She would wait patiently for her to be done.
I wander lost in the storm of darkness.
Afraid, Aloft. Not knowing where I shall roam.
The storm may pass.
Yet still I roam lost.
The princess continued playing the song high above at the grand piano frantically, her wings folded like a cloak. Not turning her gaze and keeping her concentration on finishing the song. Her small delicate hands moved quickly and effortlessly as they glided across from each of the dozens of keys in search for that next perfect tone in the sequence. All the while Nea couldn't help but enjoy her playing. She had come so far.
Nea gave her a neat little clap of her hands in applause when she finished the first piece to encourage her.
"I felt you come in." The princess said calmly to take a moment to breathe, stopping her singing yet continuing to rehearse her hands across the piano astoundingly fast as she prepared to start a new song, wanting to outdo the first.
Nea smiled briefly for a moment before clearing her throat to speak.
"Apologies for the intrusion my lady. She said with a well managed curtsy before glancing up at her. But....your uncle has requested to see you."
She stopped playing after the first note. The entire galley room fell silent.
"Is she here yet?" The princess asked hopefully, not turning back to face her, and with a bit of worry in her soft moderate voice. Fiddling with her pearl ring on her finger anxiously during the brief but agonizingly long silence between them.
Nea hesitated a bit before replying. "I'm afraid not yet my lady. But she is on her way here as we speak." And I'm sure she is utterly ecstatic to see you if you don't mind me saying." Nea tried to reply somewhat cheerily.
The princess released a faint nervous chuckle and even more nervous smile.
"Yes she always is." Said the princess amused and saddened.
"Do... you think...Do you think she'll listen this time?"
A brief look of awkwardness filled across Nea's face. Not knowing how to answer but trying to keep the princess spirit's high, not wanting to bring her any sorrow.
I...Believe she is happy to see you? And Who knows, It might be today. I have a good feeling about this year my lady. But no matter what happens. I'll do whatever is required to make your stay here more pleasant. I promise."
The princess then let out a heavy anxious sigh of reluctant acceptance and gently pushed her seat back to stand and turn away from her piano she had sat at all morning in order to prepare for tonight's performance.
The princess waited just a brief moment without looking down before then letting out one last heavy anxious sigh. She then smiled excitedly as she spread her wings slowly to creep far apart until they reached the length of the podium she was standing on itself. Suddenly and without warning. The princess jumped and glided down in a circular clumsy pattern, leaping from perch to perch all the way to the floor, with nowhere as much grace and finesse as her piano skills. Landing clumsily but barely managing to stay upright in front of her trusted servant sent to escort her. Nea was not the least bit surprised by her boldness but was more concerned her risky endeavors would one day come back to bite her painfully despite her apparent imposing stature saying otherwise.
The young albatross towered over the young seal handmaiden, just like her imposing uncle even if she was only seventeen years of age. Her long nimble legs gently walked across the cold reflective steps, brushing aside her flowing light blue gown which parted forward with each graceful step, hardly making a sound. The princess stopped at the bottom of the steps of the platform in front of Nea, ready to follow her lady in waiting to the portal room once again. Nea smiled patiently as her highness approached and stood towering above her very quiet as usual this time of year.
"You know you're mother doesn't want you flying." Nea said with an amused yet concerned mannerism. "That was quite an unnecessary risk. You could have just taken the stairs and used the handrails instead of being so....extravagant again. "You might hurt yourself."
I trust you won't tell? The princess said brushing herself off and folding in her wings to cover her shoulders with a slight overconfident smirk. Knowing she would never tell on her.
Nea smiled and nodded right on que. "Not this time." And she never would. She knew her majesty was more capable than most gave her credit for. She was not a much the helpless little princess in her eyes. She was so much more than that to her. As was nea to the princess in her eyes as well. Ryanna spent more time with nea than her own mother after all these days but it couldn't be helped.
".....Thank you Nea." The princess said sincerely before leaning down and hugging gently around the young handmaiden's back who had been the closest thing to a friend she had ever had during her long stay here, hidden from the world within these icy walls. And although she knew Nea's job was to just to serve and care for her needs and nothing more ever since her old nursemaid had died. Overtime the two had grown especially close from their pleasant walks throughout the fortress together. Or at least she hoped they had. She so longed for any a friend. Even the illusion of a paid one was real enough to her.
"Are you ready my lady?" Nea smiled as she gently grabbed her hand to lead the blind princess through the endless maze of hallways.
"Yes Nea." Princess Ryana sighed heavily aloud before raising her head up high in a desperate show of pride and strength.
"It's time."