11.8.0

As time passed, Dirk found it much easier to summon an image of Zyrdicia in the monocle. With her help, his skill with the monocle was getting better all the time. Beyond soothing his anxiety about demonic abduction, watching served to verify that she was always where she said she would be. He was pleased that she never tried to deceive him now.

Autumn deepened, its shorter days extending Zyrdicia's waking hours. Dirk watched her in the magical device as she walked through the castle just after dusk. She had not been awake long. She yawned as she walked. Her destination was a hidden courtyard few in the castle knew existed. Vector used it to grow poisonous herbs and spell components. The prince was surprised just how well acquainted she had become with even the most hidden corners of the castle in a relatively short time. Hardly a secret door anywhere escaped her notice.

The courtyard was overgrown with old rosebushes, now dormant as winter approached. The garden seemed spectral and forsaken on this night. She wandered aimlessly through the maze of dead-looking plantings and stopped at a stone bench hidden deep within. She sat and shivered in the bitter October wind, while she stared at the golden Harvest Moon, lost in thought and enjoying the fresh air.

Zyrdicia did not seem startled when Dirk stepped out of the shadows in the courtyard garden. He had moved silently enough in entering the courtyard, but the wind had undoubtedly carried his scent to her sensitive nose.

"Hi." He glanced at her and sat down. "You aren't dressed for such weather."

She did not look at him. She was far too preoccupied with the world all around her. "It's as though this realm is dying, day by day. Decay permeates nature," she whispered, amazed. To Zyrdicia, it was as though the season sensed an impending Twilight apocalypse and made ready for the world's demise.

"Your astounding powers of observation have detected the advent of autumn," he mocked.

"It doesn't exist it Lyr. The trees keep their leaves, flowers still bloom. The sea blows in rain, but the world does not die. Your world is perishing."

"In all your travels, you must have spent time in cold climates before."

"No. I avoid them. I hate cold." Cold reminded her of Azriok.

"Wait a month. This garden will be covered in a few feet of snow, and ice will blanket the Plains of Death. This will seem warm then."

Her eyes widened in surprise, as she asked, "How do you stand it?"

"Cold is good for the soul. It is invigorating. Warm weather makes populations weak and complacent," he answered. "Snow has already fallen in the mountains."

"I want to see the snow," she said thoughtfully.

"You cannot tell me that you have never seen snow!"

She shook her head. She had seen thousands of other planes of existence. Snow in this world had never interested her, until now.

"My dear, you will soon see more of it than you will probably care for. Dagonia will be buried in it shortly," he commented, bemused. Even the southernmost part of Camarand received ample snowfall. It was almost inconceivable to him that anyone, anywhere could have never seen it.

"I want to see it now. Let's ride out to the mountains tonight!"

"No, it is already dark. The roads will be treacherous. If you can awaken before sunset, maybe tomorrow."

"I could call the dragon. Road conditions won't matter."

"No."

She rested her head on his shoulder and looked at him, her eyes widening sweetly. "Please?"

"Coming from you, such a look is as untrustworthy as it is annoying," he smirked. "No. It's out of the question. Tomorrow."

Her eyes filled with the surreal innocence that was her trademark. "But you know that if you won't go with me, I'll insist on going by myself. I could be on my way in an instant..."

"I forbid you to leave the castle tonight," he interrupted sternly, as though such a command would have any effect.

"And since I don't know where I'm going, I'll probably get lost and be gone a while. You'll worry about whether I've fallen asleep in an ice cave..."

"You would deserve whatever befell you," he cut in.

"And while I'm out, I'll probably 'accidentally' kill your subjects. Lots of them, in fact. Then I'll come back and you'll be angry and we'll have another argument in which you have no choice but to be amused by whatever calamity I've caused and to forgive me." She smiled slyly, "At least if you go with me, you can pretend to have some control over where I go and can keep me out of trouble. It's better for you that way."

He glared at her, quite certain she intended to disobey him and go on her own if he did not give in to her preposterous demand. He regretted mentioning it now. If she went by herself, she would undoubtedly cause some sort of irritating mischief purely out of spite. The fact of the matter was that the roads would not be particularly dangerous yet. In the lower elevations, they were completely clear. Higher up, they would be covered in snow, not ice. The full moon would provide excellent visibility. The royal family kept a hunting lodge in those nearby mountains. They would not even have to ride back until tomorrow. "If you dare complain even once about the cold, I will tie you to a tree and leave you out there."

11.8.1

Dirk and Zyrdicia left with an escort of soldiers an hour later. A messenger had already been dispatched to notify the servants at the hunting lodge to prepare for the prince's arrival.

The ride was pleasant, despite the blustery weather. Leaves swirled in the wind's gusts in the moonlight. The song of wolves hunting somewhere in the distance broke the silence. Snow appeared in thin patches as they reached the foothills and quickly increased in volume as they ascended.

By the time the prince called a halt a short distance from the hunting lodge, the trees and ground exhibited a thick blanket of sticky, early snow. Zyrdicia was off her horse almost immediately, eager to investigate the cold substance she knew only from books and pictures. "It looks almost like the cloud material," she noted softly, oblivious to the many eyes watching her strange behavior. Dirk silently gestured for the soldiers to proceed ahead to the lodge.

She wandered about in the white stuff a few minutes before returning to where he stood with his horse, watching her curiously.

"Are you quite satisfied?" he asked impatiently.

"Not quite," she smiled. She produced a large snowball from behind her back and flung it at him, laughing impishly.

When the snow struck him in the face, his first reaction was dismay. No one had dared do such a thing since he was a child. Geoffrey had been the last. Dirk had responded then by filling snowballs with ice and rocks and pummeling his little brother with them viciously. Geoff had been covered in bruises for days. Even from her, such an attack could not go unanswered.

"That was very foolish," he said sternly. He grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her over his shoulder as easily as he might a rag doll. She giggled, thinking this was an entertaining game. Had she chosen to resist, her magical strength would have easily prevented his action. She was curious as to what he planned to do with her. She learned his intention quickly enough. He carried her to a deep snow drift and tossed her into it unceremoniously. He warned, "You should be careful about waking sleeping giants!"

She extricated herself from the pile of snow and bounded agilely a short distance away. She pointed to the tree branch directly above his head, heavily laden with snow. "And you should be careful of waking sleeping squirrels!" she giggled as she shook the branch magically, dumping a massive quantity of snow upon him.

She was doubled over in laughter when the enormous snowball he flung at her hit, nearly knocking her off her feet.

"More squirrels!" she warned, pointing at another branch of the tree above him. This time Dirk jumped out of the way before the load of snow fell upon him.

"Enough!" he said, flashing a charming smile. "I offer you a truce. Let's go inside."

"I accept." She took the hand he offered, only to find herself again hoisted in the air and dumped in an even deeper drift. "You cheated," she complained.

He looked down at her triumphantly, "I also won."

"Did you?" A sudden, invisible force pushed him unexpectedly from behind, shoving him forward into the drift with her. "I didn't notice."

"That was uncalled for," he muttered as he tried to extract himself from the deep snow, a job made more difficult when Zyrdicia, still laughing, wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into it with her. The more he struggled to get out of the drift, the more snow tumbled from the sides upon both of them. He finally gave up, sighing in annoyance. He pulled her body beneath him, so that he was more on her than on the cold snow.

"You will be pleased to know it has gotten underneath the leather, and now I'm freezing," she announced, on the verge of another fit of laughter.

"Have you had enough of it yet?" he asked hopefully.

"Though I refuse to concede defeat, I think so!" she giggled.

Her laughter finally stopped when their eyes locked for a long moment. Despite the growing cold, the familiar, irresistible chemistry reignited, drawing them into an unhurried kiss. While she was distracted with the warmth of his tongue in her mouth, he reached below him to remove the enchanted belt at her waist, pretending to caress her as he opened the clasp. You are about to discover how unwise it is to provoke me, he thought

"I will remember your assault when the snow comes to Castle Blackpool," he breathed softly in her ear.

Zyrdicia smiled, "Should I surrender now?"

Dirk shook his head stubbornly, "And deny me the pleasure of vengeance? I think not." He took hold of her chin and turned it to the side. Instead of kissing her throat, as she clearly expected him to do, he pushed the side of her face firmly into the soft snow surrounding them. The move elicited a shocked gasp from her. She placed both hands against his chest to shove him away and discovered that she was unable to. That discovery shocked her far more than the snow in her face.

"Cold?" he asked with a smile much chillier than the snow.

"Of course you are," she sneered, before bursting out laughing again. She was not angry. She thought it was clever and quite amusing.

"Ah, but that wasn't the right answer," he said, turning her head to regard her for a moment. He moved to kiss her. Just as her lips parted expecting to receive his own, he pushed her chin to the opposite side and quickly pressed the other side of her face into the snow. Below him, she giggled again.

"Why are you being so mean?" she asked trying to catch her breath.

"Mean? Mean would be an unprovoked assault against a gallant prince who rode through a blustery night to fulfil one of your ridiculous whims. You did say you wanted to see snow. I'm merely providing you with a closer view." He reached up to the wall of snow to his left and scooped up a large glove-full of it with his free hand. Since his other hand still covered half her face while holding the other half firmly in the snow, he was certain she would not see it coming. It was better that way.

He looked down at her smiled to himself. He leaned down and pulled the cloak away from her neckline with his teeth. She shrieked and writhed beneath him as he pressed the great handful of snow against the exposed flesh above her breasts. Her thrashing about only served to work the snow well under the leather. It finally put an end to her giggling. In fact, she looked quite miserable when he turned her face up to regard her. A creature who thought winter meant she had to wear long sleeves, she really was not at all accustomed to cold like this. He was, though. He reached down and brushed off her cheek, quite pleased with himself. "Tell me, have you still failed to notice that I won?"

"I'm about a minute away from teleporting us both to the Plane of Fire. I have never been as fucking cold in my life," she pouted.

"If you had only admitted defeat in the first place, you wouldn't have forced my hand," he said in a charming tone, ignoring the inappropriate language he knew was only calculated to annoy. He stood up then, pulling her up into his arms. She shivered. "Now that it's settled, my vanquished one, we can go inside and discuss war reparations while you thaw out."

As they turned to walk back to the horses, he stopped and bent down to pick up the magical chain that was still on the ground in the snow. He winked as he handed it to her, remarking, "This must have slipped off during your unprovoked assault."

She took it and glared at him, muttering, "Telling you that secret probably ranks among the stupidest things I've ever done."

"Oh, come now," he reassured, draping an arm around her shoulders possessively as they walked. "It's not as though I wouldn't have discovered it myself few hours after you told me."

"Like you would have noticed it then! You were pretty damned distracted that night."

"Nonsense. I'm very observant. For example, I observed tonight that you are at your most beautiful when you are defeated and under my control," he remarked smugly.

She saw the sidelong glance he cast her as he spoke and knew that it was somehow supposed to be a compliment. They romped in a distorted world in which pleasure-pain power exchanges defined passion and manipulative games were a surrogate for emotional attachment. In such a world, his remark was more honest than most words that passed between them. She understood. Nothing more needed to be said. The snow crunched loudly beneath their boots in the silence that ensued.

From the eyes of an owl, Bethel had watched the snow play silently . She had known for some time that the demonic intruder was becoming intolerably close to the prince. The Witch had hoped to rid Castle Blackpool of Zyrdicia by now. Bethel had already attempted it twice. She had carefully crafted a sleep spell to snare her rival in the library. The Witch had even gone so far as to summon the Howler demon to return the sleeping interloper to its master in Hell. She had later arranged another sleep spell near the volcano, and had guided Greystone's men directly to the intended target. Bethel realized now that far more drastic measures were required.

This was the first time the Witch had observed them alone together. It was much worse than she suspected. She had never known Dirk to act like this. That this creature was also systematically revealing the monocle's secrets to him only made matters worse. The Witch was furious.