[center][h3][i]The Pale Princess[/i][/h3][hr][img]http://i1289.photobucket.com/albums/b501/Luminosity4/PaleCave_zpsi2vydyif.png[/img][/center][hr]
	Elise set one foot in front of the other, making her way slowly into the icy cave. Every time fear or uncertainty crept up within her, she reminded herself what her target had done, and her resolve was strengthened. She would not turn back now.

	She was thankful her amulet even warded against the cold, for she wasn't wearing enough layers for this far into the mountains. The fragment of the teleportation rune in her leather-gloved hand hummed softly now, a sure sign she was getting close. This had to be it. Her heartbeat quickened at the thought of what lay ahead for her, but she reminded herself again. This wicked man, Valence, had murdered her mother, the Queen of the Vale, after her father refused to go to war. After he showed up in person, after slitting the Queen's throat in her bed, and demanded they throw themselves in a war they had no part in. He was a vile, despicable man, and Elise was determined to force him into conflict, a fight he couldn't flee from. She told herself he would not be so sure of himself, fighting an opponent who had her eyes open.

	Repeatedly she'd been warned. Her father's advisors cautioned her against reckless action, but she would not sit idly by while the King was wracked with grief. The wizard she took the rune fragment to knew what she planned, and warned not to risk herself. But how could she not? After what he'd done? She was skilled. She had to try. The wizard gave her the key, the knowledge that these such runes could be magically charged even after their use and destruction, and that the fragment would seek out the whole that it came from. With luck, it would lead her right to him.

	He had hidden himself away in the mountains, where barbarian clans roamed, beyond the safe territory controlled by Vale's armies. Elise had enlisted twenty of the Vale's best knights, to hunt and kill the murderer of their Queen, but by some accident, a narrow ravine pass had been subjected to a collapse of ice and rock, separating Elise from her allies. With no way back, her only option was forward, and she would not give up this chance. When she didn't so much as come across a single clansman of the mountains, she began to suspected that Valence had intended this. That he'd killed her mother to draw her into action, so he might find an easier time of dispatching her next. The way was too clear, too easy. She felt eyes upon her for much of the journey, which began at dawn but ended near dusk. Her legs were weary from travel and climbing, but she refused to turn back. She would have justice.

	And finally, the rune fragment led her into the cave, and she cast it aside, wanting her hand free for combat on a moment's notice. He would be here somewhere. He'd intended to meet in this place. The footing was slick in places under her boots; Elise tried to stick to the snow, where she sank in better, had less chance of slipping. Light filtered down through holes in the ceiling, reflecting off icy formations, giving the entire cave a crystalline appearance in places. Elise might've remarked on its beauty, were she in a state of mind to care for such things.

	Around the next corner, below a bridge of ice that had to have been formed with magic at some point, knelt the man she sought, his back turned to her. His armor, his hair, they were unmistakable to her, as she had remembered each and every detail of the man when he'd appeared in their great hall, and demanded their support after murdering her mother. She could not forget if she wanted, the moments when he'd locked eyes with her. She did not know she was capable of the hatred she'd felt, and some part of it frightened her. But if she could harness it to bring him to justice, it would be worth it.

	She knew this for a trick, as she had recognized the other steps along the way. Elise would strike down at the illusion, recognize it as such, but not soon enough to avoid the blow that came from elsewhere. She was only willing to play his game to a certain point, and this was the end of it. He would face her, here and now, and she would kill him if she could. Her sword gleamed in the reflected light of the cave.

	"I've come to face you, murderer!" she called, her voice echoing off the walls, as she looked around for where Valence might be hiding. "You wanted me alone, here I am. You may find I am more challenging to defeat than a sleeping woman, defenseless in her own bed!" Elise huffed a steadying breath. She could almost hear her sword instructor, reminding her to keep her composure, keep a level head. It was nearly impossible in this moment.

	Elise had never killed anyone before. But if she could defeat her mother's murderer, she would not think twice about it.