Frozen Vampire Queen

Chapter 1: Frozen

The cold mountain air choked Emma violently. It was a frozen burn that ate at her lungs. The sensation grew colder than any mint and made breathing like trying to heave against the world’s weight.

That summit painted her hands purple, and her body grew number with each passing moment. It had reached a point where she began to feel warm inside. The aches in her body slowly faded along with her sense of reason.

Dizziness. Confusion. Why had she started climbing that mountain in the first place?

Attempting to summon the answer in her mind was the straw that finally broke the camel’s back. She tripped over a root she hadn’t seen.

Emma became a snow angel. The warm and fluffy substance coated her face down to her toes. It kissed her little pink nose, and it invited her to rest.

You’ve done enough. You can sleep now. Rest in this endless white abyss.

Rest?

Had Emma ever known that word? If she had, would she have begun the climb in the first place? The answers all eluded her. The mind couldn’t conjure up those sensations anymore. Her passion began fading with her flickering essence.

The entirety of her being was screaming at her. The danger of it was plain to any logician. The divine pillow was sucking away at her life. Slower and slower.

Her heart had become a smooth metronome, playing Winter’s tragic song. And a new song was growing in her head, even louder.

Sleep…Sleep…Sleep.

Emma’s shallow breath was a small whistle, but the crescendo of death had become even louder. The wind’s dangerous howling was like an army of wolves. The freeze bit into her neck like a vicious animal. How, then, did the rest of her body feel so warm?

Was this mountain her mother giving her a warm hug?

It was only fitting that the mother’s embrace brought about tears. They dripped from her cheeks and melted speckles of snow.

She had never known a mother’s love, but she was assured this would be the feeling. It was an endless tender warmth, and she was tucked into a blanket. Her final blanket.

Sleep.

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When Emma opened her eyes, she felt warm. A well-lit cave had become her surroundings. Her gears began to turn as she blinked her eyes several times.

The cave around her was slick and frozen over. The walls were a crystal blue, and her face reflected back to her. Emma’s hands traveled around the unfamiliar image.

Her face had become noticeably thinner, and her pupils had become smaller. Moreover, her irises had become a creepy creamy color. She gasped, and the mirrored image repeated the gesture.

Two pearly fangs were reflected. The shock of the canines almost made her forget her nudity. Perhaps her sunken stomach and skin clinging to her ribs should have been more terrifying. It was like looking over a corpse, and her white hair and pale skin reinforced this image.

However, the most terrifying was her lack of aversion to this form. The small woman stood up on the icy floor, yet her feet didn’t slip. She clenched and opened her fists a few times.

The pale woman covered her throat with her thin hand before trying to speak.

“Ahh…Ahhh…”

Emma realized the vocal cords had become different from how she remembered. This time she went through the motions.

“Ahhh…Dooo…Reee…Miiii…Faaa…”

The woman found her range, noticing that her voice had become noticeably scratchier. It was as if she went dehydrated for hours on end before attempting to speak.

More thoughts started flooding her brain as if triggered by her speech.

First of which, Emma realized she didn’t remember much. She had no idea how she arrived here. When she awoke, she had vague sensations of her name and words, but the knowledge of who she was became absent.

All she knew was that she was Emma, and she felt surprisingly full of life. Despite looking like a corpse, she smiled with a well of energy.

Now that she had grown more awareness, she began to notice something strange. The cave was lit, but there were no lights. There wasn’t a flashlight or even a torch, yet the cave shone brightly around her.

The frozen place didn’t cool her body. If anything, she felt right at home. Emma squinted and thought of reasons, but the only thing she could glean was the world around her. The pale woman concluded that it must be something with her constitution.

There had to be no lights. Rather, her vision had become better suited to night. She wasn’t sure why she felt that such a thing was different than before, but Emma knew that she didn’t have night vision.

A new sensation permeated over her body as well. It was like a rippling sea that brought her a faint sense of joy.

What is this? She tried to grasp it, but it wasn’t something tangible. It was something that existed to her like a limb, but she couldn’t grab it nor bite it.

One more time she tried to grab it with her hand, but this time a smooth icicle appeared in her palm. She flinched from the suddenness of it, dropping the piece of ice.

It fell onto the ice-covered floor, shattering into dozens of pieces. However, a new determination seeped into her mind. She was willing to latch onto it.

Once again, she channeled that imagination into this strange limb or organ. The thing that brought her joy responded with a small flash of white, producing a clear snowflake.

Emma’s eyes widened before she began jumping with joy. The pale woman threw it at the wall, but the expectation was vastly different from reality.

She expected it to shatter as the previous implement did, but this one sunk several feet into the wall and embedded itself.

Emma made a mental note of her newfound strength before experimenting with other things.

She found that the organ was like a spring, and she could easily conjure up snow or ice with it. The ultimate limiter was her imagination, but since her memory was shocked, she mostly conjured small knives of ice or walls of snow.

Eventually, she found a way to cover herself. A snowy and fluffy dress materialized around her, and she twirled in the mirror, smiling with her lifeless pale lips.

Emma was not content with just this. No, she had a strong will to display her new power to the world. That desire manifested as she began walking to the cave’s maw.

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Chapter 2: Karlack

Emma crossed the frozen cave lattice, entering the grander world outside. The cool wind whistled against the sparse trees in the tundra. Snow formed a thin barrier in the air, covering most of the night sky. Emma could only see the occasionally flickering star overhead.

Though it was cold outside, the woman could not see her breath, nor could she feel it. She took a forced deep inhalation through her nose and felt tranquil. Moreover, a sweet scent greeted her.

She walked down the hillside, her feet crunching in the snow. The dark trees were covered in a thick layer of white.

All of this would have been concerning before, especially given her lack of shoes. However, the pale woman was immune to these feelings. Instead, she chose to follow the tantalizing scent, like that of the sweetest peonies.

As she walked, the smell grew thicker, and she eventually reached the source. However, the sight contrasted heavily against the smell.

If her vision could be described as a tragedy, then the scent could be described as heavenly.

This world of opposition was produced by a soldier lying on the ground. He wore leather armor, and a steel sword shone in the snow beside him, reflecting the red insignia on his shoulder. It was an orange brazier emblem.

The man bled from a wound in his ribs, and on his other side the arm was missing. Fresh crimson dripped into the snow, and the man’s chest rose and fell slowly.

Despite missing many of her memories, Emma knew what this was. She was observing someone’s final moments. Their death.

Whether it was her ruminations or the crunching of snow, the man grew aware. His eyes flicked open and stared at the intruder to his grave.

He looked at her with a sense of resignation. The man coughed before speaking.

“Are you to be my reaper?”

However, Emma could only tilt her head as she neared closer to him. She began to feel her stomach grumbling from that sweet scent. Her eyes narrowed towards his missing limb, watching the blood drip like a faucet.

“Did you forget how to speak? If I’m to be eaten, at least give me your name.”

Emma’s eyes widened in realization as she pointed at herself in confusion. Why would she want to eat a human? Her faint memories allowed her to recognize it as something profoundly disturbing. Cannibalism.

The man chuckled. “I’m Karlack. It looks like you still have some reason about you. You’re a vampire, right?”

Emma shook her head. She had no recollection of ever being bitten by a vampire. Once more, she was certain that vampires were something that couldn’t exist. However, magic was also something that was surely fiction, yet she had produced icicles with ease.

Karlack frowned and looked down at his missing limb, wrinkling his face in disgust. “You’re nothing like those others. The ones the church told us about…”

Seeing that Emma provided no answer, the man shook his head before continuing. “I can see you’re a creature of reason. Can you listen to a dying man? I don’t need an answer. Just listen.”

As Emma nodded, Karlack smiled. “Good. Heh, nobody wants to die alone, do they?”

With his remaining arm, he pointed off into the distance. “I have two final requests. I believe the gods have already forsaken a reject like me. However, you…you might be my saving grace.”

“Out west—down this abominable hill—there exists a small village. I want you to protect those people. Otherwise, can you please inform the kingdom? They aren’t safe. That’s why…”

Emma jumped as the man coughed again. He used his arm to grab onto her shoulder, looking deep into her cloudy eyes.

“There is a monster in these woods…Frost troll…It feeds on humans…”

Frost troll. Vampires. Kingdoms. Emma’s mind began to conjure up imagery from an unfamiliar world. She realized that the man’s life was fleeting even quicker now. As his eyes began to shut, she shook him. She didn’t feel anything about his potential death, but the thought of not learning the second request was grating on her.

“I’m sorry, lass. I don’t think the gods will accept me like this…When I die, you may use my body as sustenance.”

Emma shook her head, realizing that death was the finality of existence. This man was really going to die, and she hadn’t said anything. Nor did she provide a single word of comfort. As his breathing became more and more shallow, she finally found her voice.

“Emma,” she said, pointing at herself.

Yet that small gesture was enough to make the man’s eyes light up. He grinned as the blood kept pouring out of his body.

“That’s…A nice…name…”

Karlack drew his final breath, his good arm falling limply into the snow.

Emma watched in confusion. Even more confusing than the suddenness of his consciousness fleeing the world was the fact that her mind started seriously considering his second proposal. Each second spent looking at him was a second spent in hunger.

Her rational brain said that such an act was profoundly incorrect. That by partaking in what her salivating mouth wanted, she’d become an enemy of the world, and it would be a step down into a broken path littered with corpses. Yet, the man had earnestly asked for it. He had given her his seal of approval. Was it so wrong then?

Either way, she found herself lowering her head to the man’s neck on impulse. She could have easily sucked away at the pouring blood from his missing arm. However, the revulsion from that act was somehow even greater.

Her pearly fangs eventually sunk in, and the taste that greeted her was sweet like honey. Emma’s reason was forgotten in an instant as she began chugging.

The vampire’s first feast in this world was savage like that of a wild animal. Blood poured out of the corners of her mouth as she sucked the life essence. In her gluttony for the substance, she found herself sucking harder until there was nothing left.

Karlack’s corpse leaning against a tree had shriveled completely. And the sight triggered a sense of disgust in Emma. She was attacked by post-drink clarity. However, the feeling of control was even greater than that.

The magic limb pulsated, and her body felt warm beyond belief. It filled her with a sense of ecstasy. In that high, she thanked the man that allowed such a feeling, vowing to never forget Karlack.

She picked his sword up out of the snow and held it up to her face. Reflected on the blade was her face covered in blood, but her cheeks were noticeably fuller now. Her eyes had changed in color slightly, becoming a little bluer than before. And her hair had taken on streaks of light blue.

Emma smiled at the sword in her hands. “I will name you Karlack.”

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Chapter 3: Frost Troll

Emma traipsed through the unfamiliar snowy world with Karlack in hand. She regarded her new sharp friend with awe. The woman was fairly certain she’d never held a sword before, and the first time she did, it was now hers to do with as she pleased.

She didn’t know anything about swords, but she imagined the maker of this one was fantastic. It glistened with a sharpness that easily cut through the skin on Emma’s finger with a little prick. Though, those pricks healed rapidly, and the wounds sealed themselves. The black hilt bore that same brazier insignia as the sword’s namesake.

Emma realized that the forest around her was more quiet than it ought to be. With her hearing focused, she could pick up the distant sounds of humans sleeping the night away.

With her free hand she continued to practice spells, summoning ice blocks with ease. She tried to imagine fire radiating from her palm like she did with ice, but Emma found the summoning of flames an impossibility for now.

The howling winds of the snowstorm became her friend, but Emma decided it was finally time to summon herself snowy, fluffy boots. If there was one thing she knew, it was that normal people didn’t walk through the snow barefoot.

“Normal people also don’t have skin this pale,” Emma mused. Another realization dawned on her. Communication with humans would bring about its own problems.

She could already imagine the horrified faces of villagers upon seeing her visage. She imagined their shouts of “vampire!”

Her steps faltered at the realization. Emma had the inkling that her visit into the village would not be so welcome. Most likely, the people inside would shun her and try to stab a stake through her chest. She had no idea if that was truly a weakness, but she didn’t want to test it.

She frowned, finally understanding the first barrier to her new unlife. Interacting with normal people would prove a challenge. People like Karlack are probably a rarity.

However, she promised him she’d protect the village from another monster. Her steps resumed as she remembered the final promise. The promise to rid the village of the troll.

At that moment, a foul stench caught on the wind. It was the unmistakable smell of a wild animal. Like the smell of a petting zoo from a past life. The smell coated the air in the direction of the village.

Emma wrinkled her nose, choosing to follow it nonetheless. Her pace quickened, and as it did, she could faintly hear the heavy steps of the beast ahead of her.

As soon as she topped a hill, the village finally came into view. In a small valley, dim torchlight lit people’s homes. The dark wooden structures were covered in permafrost. The wooden shutters were closed tight, and there was not a single person outside.

There were no guards, and Emma estimated there to be less than 20 houses with a quick scan. Yet, the scan returned something far worse.

The visage of a white furred beast ran down the hill, sprinting towards the first house it could find. All of Emma’s previous thoughts and worries seemed to vanish. The world didn’t stop for Emma to think.

And that cruelty presented itself plainly. The monster didn’t charge into the door of the house. It’s entire body slammed against the first wooden wall it found, sending shards of wood and splinters flying everywhere. The frost troll’s body won easily against the wall.

Emma was momentarily stunned. She expected that the beast would try to sneak around first. Wasn’t it wiser if it wanted to eat humans? Or did it assume that it would win anyway?

Either way, the screams ahead forced her to move. She gripped the sword in both hands with no form.

The novice swords woman broke into a full sprint. Her takeoff was much faster than she expected, but it still wasn’t enough.

By the time she reached the new house entrance, blood sprayed the walls. The dying wails of a middle aged woman echoed before the claws ripped out the source of those cries.

The scene was mortifying. The woman was spread lifelessly against the wall, and her throat was being feasted on by the intruder.

White fur coated its 10 feet tall and wide frame. Huge clawed hands clung to sinews and flesh. Its sharp teeth crunched easily through spinal cord. The small pointed ears twitched, and it turned its devilish smile to another denizen of the cabin.

It was then that Emma noticed the little girl, cowering in the corner with horrified eyes.

Emma finally snapped out of her own stupor. She shredded all of her hesitation and charged at the troll.

A guttural growl followed suit, and the troll whipped around to the fool who dared to stop its meal.

As it did, Emma felt the muscular forearm of the beast firsthand. It smacked hard against her jaw, sending her crashing into a wall nearby. She landed on her rear and dropped her sword with wide eyes, but she didn’t have time to worry about herself.

“Run!” Emma yelled. Her eyes met the little girl’s, pleading to run away. To Emma’s surprise, the girl stood up on shaky legs and nodded.

Before the beast could stop the little girl, Emma charged again, grabbing its massive biceps. “Run!”

A massive fist found Emma’s nose, and she heard the loud crunching of bone in that cabin. This time, it was her own bone. Blood red coated her vision, but through that small film, she was happy to see that the girl had fled.

Her happiness was short lived. A painful elbow struck her rib cage, and more bone snapped, splintering directly into her heart. The pain was enough to bring about madness. Her eyes became clouded with red, and the teeth clenched tight. The fangs in her mouth quivered with pain.

In that instant, she felt the skin on her face repairing. The bones fixed themselves, and the cartilage of her nose reset. The smell of blood in the air became thicker than before. And as her internal organs repaired themselves, the scent became more potent still.

A bell tolled loudly outside, yet louder was the ringing in Emma’s ears as she was struck by another blow. Her grip on the troll was relinquished. Her body was flung violently against the wall.

The towering beast growled, and its six piercing eyes stared into Emma’s. She never expected that a monster—a frost troll—could be so strong. Now, she half expected that she’d become this monster’s meal, eventually ending up as troll excrement. But the troll didn’t try to eat her. Through its open mouth, a cold frosty breath was building.

Emma put her hands up to defend against the frosty breath, but it was too late. The frozen magic had already been cast, and the frozen, misty breath traveled all over Emma’s body. She clenched her eyes and mouth in expectation of pain.

Yet the pain never came. Instead, it was a feeling of vibrant warmth. The feeling of ice helped Emma’s head become clearer. The worry. The fear of death. All of it seemed to vanquish into a calm tranquility.

Her hand reached for the sword on the ground next to her. Before the troll’s breath could even complete, Emma jumped and stabbed Karlack into his open mouth with all of her strength.

It passed through the beast’s large tongue, entered its throat, and exited through its spine.

The beast didn’t release so much as a growl. It was dead the moment Emma stabbed through the spinal column. Even if it wasn’t dead right away, she severed the troll brain’s connection to the rest of its body.

To make matters worse, the frost troll fell forward, impaling itself further with the assistance of the wooden floor.

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