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Okies, here is an exerpt from a story that I probably have no intention to finish ever, due to working so hard on getting my first novel done. sweatdrop It's called "Snow Queen" and is about the fairy tale of the same name. Kaliah is sick (has tuberculosis) and is traveling through the world, trying to find Lucien, whom the Snow Queen stole away. This is the climax scene. I wrote it first, which I shouldn't have done, because I lost all inspiration for the story. sweatdrop Well here goes, prepare ye selves for a wall-o-text!!

Kaliah stared at the castle that she’d finally reached. It loomed ahead of her, the gray sky behind it almost mimicking the swirls of the marble. The towers stood tall and many stained glass windows decorated the walls high up and out of reach. The young woman took a deep breath in the cold air, and began to cough. She coughed and coughed until she lay huddled in a ball at the foot of the wall, blood drenching her mouth and spattering the pristine snow beneath her. Why did her sickness have to plague her at moments like this? She huddled in her fur jacket, willing her lungs to stop aching with the frigid air. I have to go on for Lucien, she thought, willing herself to stand. The howling wind pushed her back a bit, but she simply scraped the slush off of her face and stood before the gate, her hair whipping behind her.

Before she could think of what to do next, the portcullis slowly creaked open, and out galloped six white horses the exact color of snow. She could only see them for a fraction of an instant before they disappeared, gone into the wind. Not waiting for the chance to pass her by, she dashed across the bridge as quickly as her feet could carry her, and heard the metal bars grinding closed behind her. She made her way through the main chamber, too scared to admire its pillars of ice and sculptures of snow. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she felt sure that the ceiling would collapse if it beat any louder. Her soft boots crunched over the snow floor, which seemed as though it had just fallen. She knew what lay ahead. The ultimate test. What she saw would chill her to the bone more than any windstorm. Bracing herself, she grabbed ahold of the doors made of frost and pulled them open.

Seated on the throne before her was the most beautiful woman she’d ever seen in her entire life. Long silvery white hair cascaded down her back like the rapids of a chilly river. Her eyes were dark pits of blackness colder than death, and her skin shone the exact color of snow. The only bright color in the room were her dark blue lips, which looked unnatural yet perfectly in place on that full-lipped mouth. A shiny white wispy garment enshrouded the woman, tapering from a full bosom to a tiny waist and then to voluptuous hips. Kaliah breathed in wonder at the Winter Queen and hardly dared to look at her face.

Kaliah’s lower lip trembled as she recognized Lucien seated by the throne, his normally kind brown eyes turned hard and pale blue. He was still dressed in his travelling clothes, and his curly hair hung tousled to the nape of his neck. Oh, how she longed to run over and kiss him! But she stayed where she was, not speaking until spoken to, as the travelers she’d met on her way had instructed her. The woman stood, her dress falling about her, looking ethereal in her beautiful gown, her face framed with a tiara of sparkling diamonds and a necklace of the same fashion.

“So,” the woman’s voice was loud and clear, but icily hard and cold. “You are the young lady that I have heard about,” a smile full of malice twisted her lips. “I am the Queen Arahz, of Winter and Cold.”

“And I am Kaliah, the love of this man’s life.” Even to her own ears her voice sounded rough and forced, and she tried to clear her throat of it. “I have traversed half the world for the love of this man, that I might be able to kiss him once more.”

“Bah,” said the beautiful woman on the dais. “What use have you for the kiss of a man? Would money not be better? You may have all the wealth of the world if you leave now.”

Kaliah reeled with the thought. Enough money to live like an empress for the rest of her days? To never have to wonder when the next meal was coming, or to fret over buying clothes for next winter? Take it. There are plenty other men in the world, the voice in her head tried to coerce, hissing at her. But Kaliah shook her head, her dark red hair falling about her shoulders.

“No. I am wealthy beyond belief when I hold Lucien in my arms. I love him, and you cannot keep me from him.”

“Then what of beauty? Surely if you were the most beautiful woman in the world you would have no need for this one man. Thousands more would flock to you and fawn over you from dusk till dawn. What is one compared to thousands?” The Snow Queen’s voice hung dark and persuasive in that huge, hollow chamber, and Kaliah hugged her coat about herself to keep from shivering. She could feel her lungs practically cracking with the cold, and her breaths came in ragged gasps.

“When I’m with Lucien I don’t need to be beautiful. I always am and I always will be to him. I love him, and you cannot keep me from him.” Kaliah fell to the ground, the strain of speaking almost too much for her. She gasped and coughed, and once she started, she couldn’t stop coughing. She felt the frost under her hands become warm and sticky from blood, and she forced herself to breathe shallowly. The Snow Queen stepped down from her dais and came right up next to Kaliah, avoiding the bright red blood spots that littered the ground.

“Health, then? You do seem to need health. And what if you get him back and then you die? Why, it will all have been in vain.” The Snow Queen’s dress hung in front of Kaliah like a curtain, and Kaliah, on her hands and knees, felt tears come to her eyes. Queen Arahz was right. What was the use? If she died now, even if Lucien got to hold her once more, it would only be an empty shell, and he’d never be able to carry on without her. She sobbed, her hot tears splashing on the snow and mingling with her blood on the floor. Forcing herself to speak over the coughing and crying felt almost as painful as the biting wind outside.

“I’d rather die . . . knowing he loves me . . . than live for eternity . . . without him. I—“ here, her voice broke and she almost lost control through the coughing— “love . . . him . . . and you cannot keep me from him!” she shouted the last bit, and it was almost her undoing; she collapsed into her puddle of blood, snow, and tears, and wheezed, her bone-thin hands grasping the freezing ground. She could feel the end practically upon her—mere minutes away, but somehow, she managed to take small breaths and regain her composure.

The Snow Queen had backed away from her, and stood, staring, as Kaliah pushed herself up to her knees and slowly rose. The Snow Queen tossed her mane of fair hair, and pointed one long, graceful finger at Lucien. “All right. Kiss him. See if you have enough warmth left in you to rouse him.” Queen Arahz’s voice echoed off the vaulted ceiling, and contained a bit of malice. Kaliah swayed on the spot, her head spinning, and took a few paces forward before crashing once more to her hands and knees. She staggered for a moment, nearly falling flat on the floor, but regained herself and pulled her poor body over to where Lucien sat, watching the both of them. His unnatural pale blue eyes shone out of his face as he looked at her, without the slightest hint that he even recognized her. Mustering up some of her last strength, she pulled herself to sit in his lap and laid her head against his shoulder.

His arms didn’t raise to encircle her, nor did his body conform to make her comfortable. All he did was sit stiffly, like a fireplace poker, and stare down at her, his lips slightly parted and very blue. Kaliah raised a hand to her mouth and wiped away the blood and tears, which left an angry red mark on her hand. Slowly, using her last amounts of strength, she cupped his face in her hands, and drew him closer for one final kiss.

As she began, he remained unresponsive, but soon she felt his hands twitch and he kissed her back, his lips becoming soft and warm, and his body hot beneath her frigid one. His arms encircled her waist and he held her close, even though her grip was slipping. She felt something cold and wet plop onto her shoulder, and she broke away from the kiss to see that the wall next to her was melting. Her eyes met Lucien’s gaze, beautiful brown once more, and she smiled weakly at him, feeling the world black out in front of her.

“Quickly, there isn’t much time left,” she heard the Snow Queen say, but had no power to fight anymore. She gave herself to the cold hands that lay upon her face, and almost immediately felt someone very cold kissing her. She could feel cold sinking all the way from her mouth down into her lungs, and she knew that Queen Arahz intended on killing her. The sharp pain was even worse than a biting wind, and Kaliah cried out in pain.

Another pair of lips were on hers, but they were hot, almost scalding, and this kiss’ heat spread fast, all the way down through her lungs, melting the ice and bringing with it a scalding inner pain unlike anything that she’d ever felt before. From somewhere in the blackness she heard Lucien’s laughter as a child, and she smelled the roses that sat on the common roof in June.

And then Lucien was kissing her again, and she felt cooler warmth spread from the corners of her mouth to the tips of her fingers and toes. There was passion behind it, and she knew that she was being kissed by pure love. It swelled within her and made her heart want to explode with joy. She pulled away quickly and opened her eyes.

What she saw wasn’t the encroaching blackness of death, but merely the ice walls about her, and the ceiling and dias and pillars, all melting as though spring could come to this frigid place. She took a deep, shuddery breath, and realized that she could breathe again, without pain, without coughing. Lucien was smiling down at her, a few curls hanging in his deep brown eyes. Kaliah held up her hands, and saw the color returning to her skin. Incredulous, she gazed up at the Snow Queen who was hovering near.

Standing next to her was the man that she’d met while roaming through the Summer Country. He had his arm about Queen Arahz, and both were smiling down at the couple. Kaliah stared at them in wonder.

“Because of your faith in your true love, you have been restored to full health,” the man’s great booming voice said, and a warm breeze trickled by, tickling Kaliah on the cheeks.

“May you have a wondrous and happy life together.” The Snow Queen turned to give the man a small kiss on the cheek, and he left; the ice about them stopped its melting, and once again it was freezing cold. Lucien wrapped his arms around Kaliah and held her close. Queen Arahz knelt down beside them and touched Kaliah’s face with her chilled fingers.

“Not only am I the Queen of Snow and Winter,” she said, “But I am the one who tests out true love. I haven’t seen anyone this devoted to her mate in many centuries, and believe me, it’s quite refreshing to know that true love does indeed exist.” The Snow Queen kissed Kaliah on the forehead and touched Lucien’s dark curls. “I shall send you back now, and in the morning, you shall remember none of this; only that you love one another.”