Neiva nodded when he spoke, "Of course. She will not fail. When the time comes, she will be ready." The snow queen replied to the man as she stood across from him. She could see the toll that the darkness was taking on him. She mustn't remain here any longer, lest her presence provoke the darkness and call it forth. Little did she know that she was not the only presence here that provoked it, but also the young princess who threatened the very existence of the darkness. "I should be going. There are many preparations to see to, and I fear that if I remain any longer, it will be too late." But it was already too late.<br/><br/>--<br/><br/>Eira looked towards the shell of a man and then around through the hallways as the voice spoke to her. "Is there no way to save him?" The young princess asked softly as she stared through the darkness at the man as the voice once again warned her to leave. She hesitated but a moment, not wishing to leave her mother, but knowing that if her presence served to provoke the darkness further, then she must leave, it was the safest thing for everyone. She stood and turned to leave but the cries of pain caused her to stop dead in her tracks. She spun around and watched in horror as the events unfolded before her eyes.<br/><br/>--<br/><br/>Queen Neiva frowned gravely when he cried out and his words warned her to leave. It was too late. She had lingered too long. His body fell broken and seemingly lifeless on the floor, yet the darkness returned to it and it began to stand once more as it spoke to him before addressing her. Eira was here? Her eyes darted about until the fell on the girl and she felt a brief moment of fear followed by an overwhelming desire to protect her daughter. "Eira, you must go! Leave this place now! You are the only hope this world has, you must survive!" she called to the girl, who hesitated, as though she knew her mother would not survive this. "Go!" the voice of the queen commanded her daughter and the girl spun on her heels and took off down the hallway, a cold flame forming before her, lighting the way and guiding her.<br/><br/>The queen then turned back to man before her, her eyes glowing with power. "I will not let you harm her." she spoke with a stubborn determination and, with a wave of her hand, the large doors to the room slammed shut and a wall of ice formed over them, sealing them shut. "If my part ends here, so be it, but she will live on, and one day she will see you defeated." she narrowed her blue eyes, ice climbed every wall in the room and the temperature in the room dropping by a chilling degree as she prepared to do whatever she must to protect Eira.<br/><br/>--<br/><br/>Eira took off in a full run when her mother commanded her to go. She called forth a cold blue flame to guide her, to light her way, and to chase off any dark creatures that might be lurking around her. She dashed through the halls until she came to the portal that they had entered through and she jumped through it, running straight for her horse. She mounted the horse with relative ease, grabbing the reigns and turning the horse in the direction of home. "Go, Eirlys!" She commanded the horse, leaning in and whispered something in an ancient language lost to most of those living, save those that lived before the great war, or those who were taught such things. The words were laced with magic and the horse took off in a run, an attempt to carry her master to safety, to escape the land of darkness before the dark master could escape from the prison the queen had constructed around him. She was powerful, one of the most powerful beings in the world, but defeating him was not her destiny, it was Eira's, so her fate was all but sealed, no matter how much the young princess wished to believe otherwise.