<span style="color: #008080">"She is determined to find a way to stop you and given the resources these other kingdom's are giving in the effort, it will not be long before she finds what she is looking for,"</span>the voice continued to speak, which began to irritate the dark lord, mostly because he knew this to be true already.<br/><br/>He stood still for a few minutes, contemplating the options available to him to deal with this matter before leaving his throne room. He walked through the halls of his tower, descended a dozen or more stairwells, and made his way to a large metallic door that was much different in design from the rest of his kingdom, hidden many stories underground. Pushing open the door revealed a somewhat small room that had its walls covered in special markings, runes that were meant for reducing the ability to use powers.<br/><br/>He lit two torches that were placed a few feet in front of the door, which lit up the room rather brightly to show a transparent dome of dark energy encasing the figure that was the original snow queen, who was not bound by any chains or ropes but isolated in the dome that was just large enough to allow her little room to pace and a bed for her to sleep.<br/><br/><span style="color: #808000">"This child is proving to be more difficult than I had hoped she would be,"</span>he spoke to the captive immortal.<br/><br/><br/>Isolde stood within her dark prison, awaiting the return of her captor, knowing he would soon come. Her magical sight was decreased because of the runes that covered the wall to negate some of her power, as well as the loss of her mirror, but she still saw much that others did not. She knew he had gone to see Eira, and that the meeting had not gone quite like he had expected, but the details she did not know.<br/><br/>As she had anticipated, she heard the approach of the dark master and knew why he had come. The torches lit up the room, much to her pleasure, and the woman, still appearing to be in her twenties, smiled an almost wry smile as her captor approached and spoke of the young snow queen, Eira.<br/><br/><span style="color: #40FFFF">"That is a lesson that perhaps you should have learned many years ago when you took her mother from her."</span>Isolde answered with a calm and level voice.<span style="color: #40FFFF">"After all, she is a snow queen, and perhaps the most powerful and clever of us all." </span>Another smile graced her fair lips, but this time it held almost a look of pride.<span style="color: #40FFFF">"Did you expect it to be easy to defeat the one destined to rival you  in every way? All magic has its price, and nature will not allow any power to go unchecked. For every great being born or created there will always be another to stand against them. You are no exception. If you underestimate her, it will be your undoing."</span>Her eyes, so pale that they were almost grey, pierced into the dark and hollow eyes of her captor.<br/><br/><span style="color: #40FFFF">"Tell me, why is it that you've come to me. What is it that you wish to gain by your visit here?"</span>The woman asked the man, the embodiment of darkness that stood before her.<br/><br/><br/><span style="color: #808000">"Aye, Queen Isolde," </span>he nodded almost defiantly at the memory of his interaction with the young Eira many years earlier,<span style="color: #808000">"to underestimate your kind is proven to be a foolish endevour that I do not plan to revisit but know that as she seeks a way to kill me, so do I seek the same against her...and you." </span>He smiled fiendishly and placed a hand upon the dome of dark energy that encased the former ice queen.<br/><br/><span style="color: #808000">"It will not be long before my power fully returns and I am able to once again lead my armies into war. Much blood will be shed and many lives lost in my conquering of this world, meanwhile my army will continue to grow as your descendent is calling together all of the 'great' kingdoms to stand agaisnt me. All her planning will offer is more souls for me to devour." </span>He places his hands behind his back as he paces in front of the prison,<span style="color: #808000">"You can prevent the loss of countless lives if you would just be willing to tell me the location of this weapon that Eira and I seek. I am willing to allow her and the rest of the kindgoms' leaders to live under my rule and they will not face harm as long as they submit themselves to me. If they decide to meet me in battle, I will not afford them this offer and I am certain that, without that weapon to cement my power, battle is inevitable." </span>He looks upon Isolde, knowing full well that this attempt to gain the knowledge of the weapon is futile.<br/><br/><br/>Isolde nodded to the former portion of his statement but to the latter she didn't give him the pleasure of a heated reaction. Instead she shrugged calmly, a cool air of nonchalance hanging around her.<span style="color: #40FFFF">"As it was meant to be. Each power seeking the other's destruction, one for power and the other for protection."</span>she spoke in a calm and wise voice, all too used to not allowing emotions to control her.<br/><br/>She knew that the young queen didn't necessarily desire to kill him, only to rid the world of darkness, but this fact was meaningless, especially considering that it was the darkness that now controlled him rather than the man that had once had darkness thrust upon him by her, and the darkness did not wish for the man to be saved any more than it wished to be destroyed. Besides that, such a feat seemed improbable, but of course, nothing was ever truly impossible, especially where magic was concerned, and she was certain that if it was possible the girl would find a way. This was, of course, assuming that Eira even remembered the desire she had once held as a young girl, when all other memories of that night had been wiped from her memory. She was very different now than she had once been, but beneath the cold, stoic exterior, her heart remained true and pure, even if it was covered in ice, even if she had forgotten, it remained, and she would remember before the end. Regardless, Eira would take his life without hesitation if need be, of this she was certain.<br/><br/>Isolde could have laughed when he attempted to gain information about the weapon, but instead she remained calm and kept her carefully constructed exterior intact.<span style="color: #40FFFF">"You know that you will get no such information from me, Dardanos. Nor will the kingdoms ever bow to your rule, regardless of whether or not you hold such a weapon. Eira will never give up, even if the odds are against her, she will fight until the time comes when one of you is defeated." </span>she replied simply.<span style="color: #40FFFF">"War is inevitable so long as you desire to take this world. You would be a fool to believe otherwise. But you know this, don't you? Just as you knew you would get no information from me regarding the weapon or its whereabouts."</span>The queen spoke the latter thoughtfully.<span style="color: #40FFFF">"This, of course, begs the question, then, why is it that you have really come to speak to me. Surely it isn't for my wonderful company and my riveting speeches." </span>A smile tugged at the queen's lips, but it was a cold smile that did nothing to warm her features.<br/><br/><br/>A small grin played upon the face of Dardanos as he chuckled slightly,<span style="color: #808000">“As king of Ciarduh it is my duty to check on my prisoners to ensure they are taken care of,” </span>he spoke with almost a mocking tone as he turned his back to the former ice queen.<span style="color: #808000">“No, your highness, I did not expect to gain any information from you but I was hoping you would come to your senses and make things easier for everyone.” </span>His demeanor switched from somewhat playful to very serious and cynical, shaking his head while walking over to the torches that had been lighting the room.<span style="color: #808000">“This world will once again see darkness take over and this time there will be no stopping it. The darkness will devour everything you and your kind hold dear.” </span>He looks back at the captive Isolde,<span style="color: #808000">“But before that happens, it will seek to return to the lineage that created it, for it yearns to be with a snow queen once again and young Eira is unknowingly making herself an easy target for it. And with her by my side, under the influence of your expelled darkness, there is nothing that will be able to stand in our way. Enjoy your stay, Queen.”</span><br/><br/>With that Dardanos extinguishes the fires that had been burning on the torches, allowing the room to once again be shrouded in the thick darkness that covered his entire kingdom. He leaves the room and shuts the door behind him, before making his way back up through the tower and into his throne room once more. He stands before the throne, taking the mirror around his neck and placing it on the table that sat next to the seat,<span style="color: #808000">“Eira, my young queen, who is sought by the darkness, come to me and let us rule this world together,” </span>he spoke eerily quiet as he looked upon the mirror.<br/><br/><br/>Isolde fought the urge to laugh at such a ridiculous notion, instead ignoring the comment altogether. It was the latter that was concerning. It wasn't unexpected that the darkness would desire to once again be with a snow queen, as they were capable of containing that darkness without being consumed. Even when the darkness had been part of her, it had not eaten away at her as it had Dardanos. She had become cold and indifferent, cynical and untrusting, for it was a great burden to bear, and nearly a thousand years of harboring such darkness would take a toll on anyone. Her physical state, however, had been uneffected, not torn apart or rotted at the man in front of her, and her mind and psyche had suffered minimal side effects outside of the aforementioned changes.<br/><br/>She didn't doubt that Eira would succeed and rid the world of this darkness, but even if the darkness did attempt to take over the young queen, she doubted that the results would be quite what it expected. If she could control it for so long, it was highly unlikely that Eira would fall to its influence, and certainly not within this lifetime. The girl already sought a way to capture and contain the darkness rather than simply killing its host. If the darkness were to invade her, it would only be making her task easier, as it would be much easier to hold the darkness at bay within herself than it would be without. Isolde, however, kept her thoughts to herself as the dark master extinguished the flames and the room once again fell to darkness.<span style="color: #40FFFF">"We shall see in the end who will control whom."</span>The cold and eery voice echoed in the darkness before the thick silence once again took its place.