𝙱𝚎𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚍

His bottom lip wobbled dramatically and he continued to stare FAR away from the girl and the needle in his arm. Trying to ignore the dizzy feeling that enveloped him.

As soon as it was over, she took the needle out, carefully, and applied a clean rag to the puncture zone, keeping the pressure there to avoid bleeding.

"Hannah, Daddy and Papa are dealing with the meanie." Hannah said, helping to roll up some of the snow for the other members of the snow family, "the guards watch me, or Cromwell."

' Or Cromwell. ' That last bit echoed in her brain for a second, and as brief as that second was, Maxime froze in place, hands still on the snowman. Cromwell ... Alexander's advisor ? So this girl was important enough for Cromwell to look after ... and her name was Hannah ? Oh. Her smile came back even brighter, reaching her eyes as she giggled at herself for being caught off-guard. She gestured for Hannah to come closer, noticing her little paws covered in snow.

" Come here dear, I'll warm your hands. This is very curious - I didn't expect to meet you like this, little Hannah. I am Alexander's cousin, by marriage. Barbor's husband, Sterling, is my brother-in-law. "

THIS. THIS was the power he had been taught and told to fear and kill and eradicate from the earth... His feeble attempt of an 'apology' did nothing for his situation.

He didn't even have a sword to defend himself from her power anger, from the ground as it dried and cracked beneath him, the suffocating feeling in his lungs as it felt like the air itself was poison. The disgraced knight yelled as she grasped him by the front of his collar, wincing as he was forced to stare her in face, to swallowed her despair.

His... intention was not to kill infants, in fact, he hadn't known there were even children on her land... He... Hadn't even stopped to THINK of that.... Would he have still killed the infants afterwards? Would he have heard their cries after he had killed their mother? Or would he have left them to rot without even knowing of their existence?

He winced as the grasp tightened.

Divine wrath, is what this was. Perhaps Galleth's God was real, but even if so, this goddess before him was true - but a pupae still, unchrysalized, not ready to form. But trashing in her coccoon to lash out at him. To hurt him. To make him bleed.

A dangerous, beautiful thing.

Still holding onto his collar, the fabric of his shirt slowly decaying away in-between her fingers, she inhaled abruptly, anger seeped between her teeth.

" I wish to oh so much, to rend your flesh apart with my teeth, to rip it off of your bone. But I cannot. You are claimed, Galleth, by another - one I do not wish conflict with. And yet, I will not let you go on easy. "

Raising a hand above her head, the insects crawling over her legs and robe, gathering her powers in her fingers, she proclaims, her voice loud and clear:

" Ser Galleth ! You have taken away from me and my kin the ability to feel safe in the lands confered to me by my ancestors, within the walls of my own home, in my hometown. In turn, I will take away from you that very same feeling - that of safety whenever you are, safety from me. I will haunt you wherever you go. "

" From this day on, you may never harm a child again. If the thought ever crosses your wretched mind, it will sear your flesh with pain akin to it rotting off of your very bones, a reminder never to intent to harm a child again. "

Then, she lets go of him, tossing him to the ground, as the vermin and insects scatter away. The heaviness in the air relents, and dissipates, as her hair falls down on her shoulders, a bit longer than before.

Galleth's face scrunched up as the very scent and pressure in the air changed, staring up to the rumbling clouds appearing above them and then back down to the enraged elf standing before him.

For a moment, he did not reply, remaining on the boundary of her land, examining her face, her rage. He leaned his head to the side for a moment, observing the farmland around her, the small house, the cattle, the fields.

He was still distrustful, he was still URGING to reach for a sword that was not there. Years of teaching and instinct unable to remove itself from his brain... And yet he came here for a reason, as much as it ached him and hurt his pride to do.

Swallowing, he went down on one knee, bowing his head in apology.

As soon as the distance was closed between them, the earth itself bent to her will - thousands upon thousands of vermin, small roaches and bugs, gathered at her feet, raising her up to loom down at Galleth, her blue eyes still piercing through him like she wanted to burn a hole through his skull.

" NOT BE AMISS ? NOT BE AMISS ? "

The ground beneath them began to turn dry and crackled, the very life of it sapping away beneath the witch's anger, rage bubbling at her surface. A flock of crows, in the distance, flew away, alerted by the sudden danger approaching quickly.

" YOU TRIED TO KILL ME. YOU WERE GOING TO HURT MY CHILDREN - MY SON, MY INFANTS. YOU WOULD'VE KILLED US ALL, SIMPLY FOR THE CRIME OF EXISTING. "

With rage, she snatched down at him, grabbing the front of his collar, barring too-human teeth at him.