//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: All hail the king, er...well, prince // Story: The Legacy of IceHeart // by MineLittleDashie //------------------------------// "Your majesty?" I snap out of my thoughts and turn to see a transparent, light blue pony standing in my room. "Yes?" I ask. "The queen wishes to see you." I nod in an appreciative way. "Thank you, I will see her momentarily." The pony nods, then turns and begins heading to the door. "Oh, Blizzard." I say. Blizzard does an abrupt 180 and watches me. "Yes, sire?" "Riddle me this, why does her majesty find you important enough to give you a name?" Blizzard frowns. "I'm not quite sure what you mean." I gesture towards him. "It's simple. You're not a general, nor a member of royalty, nor are you an advisor. So why do you have a name? I have been pondering it for a while now." "Blizzard taps his chin and adopts a look of concentration. "I... I'm not quite sure." I nod. "Think about it. I'm sure it's something we would both like to know." "I will, my lord." Blizzard turns around again and walks out the door, shutting it behind him. I watch the door for a few more moments, then turn back around towards the balcony. ------------------------------------- POV; Past Three months had passed since our escape. My parents and I had made our new home in an abandoned log cabin in a forest outside of the baron's jurisdiction, and had learned to adapt to the new environment. In case I hadn't mentioned it before, or if you haven't figured it out, my parents were innocent of any crime the baron had charged them with. The true story is that my father was the only heir to a successful goldmine in the north, and the baron realized that if my parents were labeled as traitors, then the goldmine would become his. So really, it was all in the name of greed. At first, my parents were afraid of me, as I still had my powers, so they were always scared that I might turn on them. But before long, they accepted me again and life began to return to normal. Until I recieved an unexpected visit. I had been outside, chopping wood for the fireplace, when I heard something that petrified me to the core. "You didn't forget about our little agreement did you?" In all honesty, I had. I made a quick recovery and continued to chop logs. "No, I didn't forget. Are you here for your payment?" "Why, yes," the voice purred. There was something about her answer that gave me the chills. (figuratively speaking) I stopped chopping and laid down the axe. "What is it that you want exactly? Worship? Gold? I apologize that I can't offer you much, but we have had to recreate a living." The voice merely laughed. "Worship? I am no goddess, and gold I have no need of, as well as most things you could offer." I became puzzled. "Then what could you possibly want from me?" The voice snickered and seemed to sidle up to me. "Why, that's just it! I.....want.....you." All the color drained from my face. "M-me?!" "You." "But why?" "That's for me to know, and you to find out." I'll admit, I wasn't too happy with the idea of giving myself to something I wasn't'the familiar with, but then again, she did give me the means to save my family... 'Besides,' my inner voice said. 'It's one thing to threaten and get away from a mortal, visible man. It's another thing completely to try and escape from this thing.' And although every fabric of my being screamed at me not to go, I have always been a man of my word, and I had made a promise. I let out a heavy breath. "May I go explain and say good-bye to my parents?" "I will allow it." I turned and jogged quickly back over to the cabin, where my parents had been preparing dinner. Needless to say, neither mom nor dad took the news very well, but while mom had demanded that they tie me up to keep me from going, dad had grudgingly accepted the situation and declared that if I truly had given my word, it was only right. However, he did still smack me upside the head for my stupidity. We had one last meal together, then said our goodbyes and I went back outside. "Have you finished?" the voice sounded slightly impatient. "Yeah, sorry for keeping you waiting." I said. "Very well. Hold on tight." I was about to comment on how there was nothing for me to hold on to, when my vision blurred and everything went dark. ----------------------------------- My vision soon returned, and I was surprised to find myself in a large throne room! I did a slow 360 and examined the room. Everything, from the columns to the tiles on the floor, were a mixture of white and a wintery light blue. At one end of the room was a pair of large doors that must've led to other parts of the castle, while a raised dais and a throne made of light blue crystals dominated the other end. "It's beautiful, is it not?" I turned in surprise to see what appeared to be a winged unicorn standing next to me! It stood about even with me, about a foot taller if you included her horn, and it had the same voice as the mysterious woman, but it couldn't be! Could it? The unicorn giggled at the face I was making. "You look surprised, but I'm safe in assuming that you expected something else?" I nodded dumbly, not quite sure what to say in this situation. The unicorn's playful smile disappeared. "Very well then, I'll start. Perhaps you would like an explanation?" "Yes please," I said, having finally found my voice. "Very well. I am Ice Crystal; Queen of Winter and Ruler of the Windigoes." I gulped nervously. Everyone knew about the windigoes. Cold hearted winter beasts that fed off of disharmony. But this one seemed different, or maybe that was a ruse to seem nice. http://th08.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/f/2012/118/7/f/mlp_fim__queen_frost_by_sillycookie-d4xwn9a.png "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you," I said. "But why did you want me? A slave perhaps? Or a pet?" Queen Crystal shook her head. "Neither of those reasons..... Follow me and I'll explain." she turned and walked towards the exit of the throne room. Nervously, I followed. Queen Crystal didn't say a word until we had traveled a fair way into the depths of the castle. "Huh, funny thing, but I don't believe I got your name." she looked back at me expectantly. "Oh, uh... Jonathan Farmer, your majesty." I said. "Well Mr. Farmer, would you like to know why I chose you, and what for?" "Very much, your majesty." The queen let out a breath. "Every ruler must have an heir, correct?" I nodded. "Well, the windigo queen can only have one offspring, because of magical reasons. This child will go on to become the next ruler. However, if something happens to that heir, there is a high chance of all Windigoes disappearing, as they need a leader to guide them." "And you lost your heir, didn't you?" I knew my question was out of place, but it was obvious what she was telling me. She nodded, her head lowered in mourning. "Dead. And only a creature with certain qualities can fill the place. Most of the time it's another windigo, but this time..." "What makes me so special?" I asked the question as calmly as I could, but was shaking inside. 'Is she heading where I think she's heading?" Queen Crystal turned to face me. "To be honest, it was luck that I found you. You have determination, intelligence, honor and good judgement; but by the same token, you can be ruthless and cunning towards your enemies. Are these not the qualities that make a good leader?" "How do you know that?" I frowned slightly. "I looked into your mind and heart. You will make a good leader." I became confused. "But aren't windigoes evil?" "Quite a few of them act that way, but most only spread winter like they should. Ah, here we are!" We had just entered a room filled with what I assumed to be other windigoes, some taking a physical appearance of a pony, while the majority looked like the classic, wild example. Upon the entrance of Queen Crystal and myself, they all fell silent and watched as the two of us moved to a large snowflake pattern on the floor in the middle of the room. Queen Crystal then addressed the occupants of the room. "My loyal subjects, we all remember the late Princess Frost." Every windigo present seemed to bow their head in respect. "And though she will never be forgotten, I am happy to announce, that I have found a new prince!" At this, several windigoes looked around in confusion, while others just stared at me. One of them made a whinnying sound that some others seemed to agree with. Queen Crystal faced that windigoes in question and narrowed her eyes. "Are you questioning my judgement?" Her words were cold. (No pun intended) The windigoes shook their heads and started to neigh in what must've been an excuse. All the other stayed silent. Queen Crystal scanned the room with her glare, then turned back to me. "I know that it may be a lot for you to handle right now, but do you accept your position as the Prince of the Windigoes?" I may have looked calm and collected, but I was soiling myself from the extreme pressure I was feeling. I was sure that the room was going to brake out into chaos when Queen Crystal declared me a replacement for the Princess. I stared at her for a moment, then scanned the other occupants of the room. A few seemed angry; others hopeful. Several seemed concerned, glancing between me and their ruler. Hell, I wasn't so sure myself. I mean, keeping a promise was one thing, but taking on a role I had never even dreamed of? Her majesty was asking a lot from me, but I wasn't sure I could live up to the task. But then I looked back at the queen. In her eyes, I could see pain. Hope. A chance to save her race. Almost the same things I felt when I realiz d that I could save my parents from the execution. I realized then that the death of her daughter must've pained her more than she let on. And even though we hadn't even known each other for that long, and maybe she was using some kind of magic on me to influence my decision, but I still felt that I should do something to ease her pain. "I..." Every entity in the room leaned forward, awaiting my answer. "I accept the role of prince." I said, hoping my voice wouldn't crack. Queen Crystal smiled, and I couldve sworn I saw a tear roll down her cheek. The queen's horn began to glow a light blue and a silver crown floated from behind the crowd and onto my head. "Then I pronounce you Prince..... What did you say your name was again?" "Jonathan Farmer, your majesty." Queen Crystal made a face. "Yes. Perhaps we should change it, to suit the setting. Why not...IceHeart?" I thought about it. "Sounds uncaring." The queen shrugged. "Best thing I could come up with on the fly. You can keep your first name if you like." I still wasn't sure though. My parents told me that a name defines a person, and that changing a name can change the owner. That is why us humans choose names after careful consideration. But really, I was still really nervous, and I didn't want to spend any more time in front of everyone than I had to. "Alright," I said. "IceHeart it is." Queen Crystal smiled. "Now then, I name thee Jonathan IceHeart, Prince of the Windigoes!" Whatever I was expecting didn't happen. No party, no cheering, no real celebration. The windigoes that had witnessed my coronation merely left, but not out of disdain. After all the others had filed out, I looked at Queen Crystal. As if reading my thoughts, she met my gaze. "Don't worry, I will teach you everything you will need to know." I nodded in appreciation as she moved towards the door. "Thank you, your majes-" "Oh no, no more 'your majestys'. You are a prince now, so you're basically family! You can call me Crystal or," she gave me a look. "Mother." I could only stare at her as she left, before hearing a "Follow me!"