Morning light crept weakly through the twisted branches of the Dead Forest 🌲🌫️, thin and pale like it was afraid to stay too long.
Ember blinked awake 😴.
She felt… warm.
Too warm.
Heavy.Soft.Pressed in from all sides like thick blankets 🛌.
For one peaceful, foolish second, a thought drifted through her foggy mind 😌:
Did King… give me a blanket?Did he actually—
She moved her arm.
Something thick shifted around her.
Her eyes snapped open 😳.
Darkness.
Close.Damp.Enclosing her like a living cocoon 🖤.
A smell hit her nose — earthy 🌱, metallic 🩸, animal 🐎.
Not rot.
But not clean either.
Her heart slammed into her ribs 💥.
"…King?" she whispered, her voice shaking 😰.
A muffled voice answered from outside, casual as a man stretching in the morning.
"You awake?" 😐
Her pulse exploded.
"WHERE AM I!?" 😱
"In warmth," King replied calmly.
"WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN!?" 😨
He sighed, tired, almost annoyed.
"You would've frozen to death.""So I used the horse." 🐎❄️
Ember's soul evacuated her body.
"T-THE HORSE!?" she shrieked 🤯"THE HORSE YOU KILLED YESTERDAY!?"
"Yes." 😐
"You PUT ME INSIDE IT!?" 😱💀
"Yes. You stayed warm. Stop complaining."
She lost her mind.
Pure, existential horror burst out of her throat 😵💫.
"GET ME OUT! GET ME OUUUUUT!!!" 😭
King grabbed her and pulled her free, lifting her out of the warm cavity into the icy morning air ❄️🌬️.
There was no gore.No dripping blood.
He'd done it cleanly, like a hunter using an animal's hide for survival.
That did NOT help.
Ember screamed like her soul was on fire 🔥😭.
She stumbled away from the carcass, slipping in snow, shaking violently.
"YOU'RE A MONSTER!""A DEMON!""A—A—A WALKING NIGHTMARE!" 😡👹
King calmly brushed snow out of her hair ❄️✋.
"You're welcome."
"WELCOME!?" 😱"I WAS SLEEPING INSIDE A DEAD HORSE!""A HORSE!""DO YOU KNOW HOW TRAUMATIZING THAT IS!?" 🤬🐎
"You didn't die," King replied."That's what matters."
Her eyes burned with tears and irreversible emotional damage 😢💔.
"That was the most horrifying, disgusting, INSANE thing anyone has ever done to me!"
King shrugged 🤷♂️.
"Better than freezing. Choose gratitude."
"Screw your gratitude!" 😤
King pointed at her nose 👆.
"Next time, you sleep outside.""And freeze.""And die."
Ember snapped her mouth shut instantly 😶.
King nodded, satisfied 😌.
"Good. You're learning."
She wanted to scream.Cry.Punch him.Bite him.Curl up and disappear.
Instead, she whisper-yelled 😠:
"I am going to have NIGHTMARES ABOUT THIS FOREVER."
King stretched lazily 🥱.
"A hero should get used to nightmares."
"I'M NOT A HERO!" 😡
"You're my trophy.""That's close enough."
Ember dropped to her knees ❄️, burying her face in her hands.
"…I hate you so much."
King shouldered his axe 🪓 and started walking.
"Good.""Hate keeps you warm too." ❄️🔥
They hadn't even taken ten steps away from the dead horse when the forest exhaled magic 🌬️✨.
A sharp whistle cut the air.
Five streaks of glowing blue light ripped through the trees 💫🏹.
Magic arrows.
They slammed into King's chest, shoulder, and side.
THUNKTHUNKTHUNKTHUNKTHUNK 💥
His massive body jolted backward.
His eyes widened — just for a heartbeat.
Then—
BOOM 💥
He was hurled across the snow, crashing into a fallen tree so hard bark exploded everywhere 🌲💥.
"KI—KING!?" Ember screamed 😱
He didn't move.
Not even a twitch.
Steam rose from his body as ice magic froze around the wounds ❄️🧊.
Ember spun around in panic.
Tall shapes stepped out from the icy trees 🌲.
Pale figures.Skin shimmering like frost ❄️.Ears sharp as blades.Eyes glowing with ancient winter magic ✨👁️.
Ice Elves.
Their leader lowered her bow calmly 🏹.
"Capture the monster," she ordered ❄️⚔️.
Two elves rushed forward, flipping King onto a reinforced sled 🛷.
Even unconscious, he was enormous.
The elves strained, muscles tight, breath heavy 😤.
Another elf grabbed Ember gently by the arm.
"Come.""You are safe now."
Ember, shaking from horse trauma + kidnapping + arrows + everything 😵💫, whimpered softly.
"Please… no more insane people…" 😭
Hours later…
Warmth surrounded her 💧♨️.
Ember blinked awake.
She sat in a stone bath, steam curling gently around her 🌫️🛁.
Clean elf fabric replaced her clothes.Her hair smelled of mint and frost flowers 🌿❄️.
Elf maidens moved quietly nearby, calm and graceful.
One bowed politely.
"Relax, human girl.""You are safe here."
Ember's voice cracked.
"S-safe?""With him tied up somewhere…?"
The maiden smiled softly 😊.
"He is no longer a threat."
Ember swallowed hard 😰.
"Where… where is he?"
They led her through crystalline tunnels carved from ancient ice ❄️✨.
Runes glowed along the walls.
Her heart tightened with every step 💔.
The tunnel opened into a vast frost chamber.
There—
Hanging from the ceiling—
Was King.
Unconscious 😴.
Arms stretched overhead.Feet barely touching the ground.Thick enchanted chains wrapped around his wrists, shoulders, and chest ⛓️❄️.
Ice magic pulsed with every breath he took 🧊.
Elven guards stood watch with spears of living ice ⚔️❄️.
Ember covered her mouth 😨.
"Y-you actually caught him…"
"He is a brute," an elf said calmly."But even brutes fall when struck by enough magic."
Another added,"He destroyed forests and beasts alike. We could not allow him to rampage further."
Ember whispered, trembling.
"He saved my life…""And ruined it…""And I don't even know what he is anymore…"
A gentle hand rested on her shoulder 🤍.
"Rest now. You have survived much."
But Ember couldn't look away.
King hung there.
Silent.Unmoving.Chained like something the world hadn't decided to kill… or keep.
And deep inside her frozen, shaking chest ❄️🖤—
A terrible thought formed.
What would happen when he woke up?
Because King never stayed unconscious for long.