Quite suddenly, the very dead princess gasped in a breath, arching her back instinctively and writhing around on her back.

	Elise's heart was throbbing within her chest, and all of her limbs felt like they were on fire, like knives were stabbing into every inch of her skin. Her breath hitched in her throat, and she thought she might be choking, but it was entirely mental, and with a few more seconds, she managed to inhale, exhale, inhale again. The room above her was spinning rapidly. She blinked several times, trying to clear the sudden tears in her eyes, and focus, but it was nearly impossible.

	It took her mind a long moment to get over the intense sensations she was feeling to remember what exactly had happened. She remembered... defeat, lying injured and incapacitated on the ice, her killer over her, trying to ease her into her death. She remembered closing her fingers around the hilt of her sword, and even then trying to stab it into Valence, even as the knife hovered by her head. A moment before it ended, she gave up the struggle, attempted to relax her body, and closed her eyes. And then... nothing, until the shock of awakening again.

	The tingling in her limbs eventually subsided enough for Elise to control her body again, and she pushed herself with great effort onto her side. She felt at the spot where the knife had been driven in, not even finding a scar. Her side felt intact, all her ribs in place, no bone piece broken off and stabbing into her organs. She glanced down at her body, finding what skin she could see to be paler than usual. Not a ghostly white ivory, but certainly devoid of the sort of glow she'd had before. An effect of the cold, perhaps? Her amulet had only recently returned to life around her neck, shielding her from it. She could see the ice around her, knew she was still in the mountains somewhere.

	Her vision started to clear up, focus returning to her, and Elise took in the shape of the cave, the runic carvings around her, and... there, on his back on the ice, was Valence. He looked to be unconscious, and Elise's first thought was a dark one. She reached to her hip, but grasped only air. Her sword was gone. Pushing herself to hands and knees, she reached for her boot, finding that the dagger there was taken as well. Valence had a sword sheathed, she could see.

	She didn't know what he'd done to her, but it changed nothing. Her mother was still dead. Her killer was still within Elise's reach.

	Figuratively. She slipped and fell upon first trying to stand, ending up on her side again with a cry. Ice was hard, and her limbs felt weak, heavy, sluggish, like her body had yet to fully wake up from a long, deep sleep that her mind was already clear of. She crawled to his side, checking to make sure that it was indeed him. He had a new scar across his cheek that hadn't been there before. She wondered how long she'd been out, what had happened in the meantime. Her father... he would think her dead, the entire Vale would think her slain.

	Wrapping both gloves hands around Valence's sword, she tugged it free, the ringing of the steel echoing through the little cave. The effort tipped her over again onto her side, though she tried to right herself as quickly as she could, still remaining on her knees. Just one clean blow could end him, if she could manage it...