Icee Writes

Tw// none, maybe exhaustion?

(This is not beta read or proofread. The story is set in a royal AU.)

Icee stumbled across the guard gates, with her trousers and her neutral colored blouse and her grey hood covering her face. She was pretty sure her disguise was sloppy, messier than normal, and her boots were definitely laced wrong with how her eyes seemed to blur while she was tying them. Similarly, she would probably have been caught if most of the guards were at their normal stations, despite normally being a master at escaping, but as it was many of them had been stationed on the outer borders of the region. 

It seemed war was brewing, and despite being only sixteen, Icee had to help wherever they could. There had been multiple sleepless nights in a row where they poured over battle plans with their father, and searched through history books and scrolls to find out if there was some solution, or peace treaty, that could help their nation. And it was all so much. 

They hadn’t been over to visit Clover for weeks, and had only just managed to find a free moment to leave. Surely, surely the kingdom could deal without them for a little bit, right? And it was probably so selfish to leave right now, but Icee needed to see Clover. It didn’t matter that her eyes were drooping, or that her thoughts were incoherent, she needed the warmth and normalcy of the bakery.

Icee tripped across the street, barely managing to catch herself from falling, and thank goodness that the bakery wasn’t that far from the castle, because if it was any further she would have probably just fallen asleep in an alley somewhere. 

As it was, they soon saw the familiar glow of the light within the bakery, and a fresh loaf on the windowsill. Icee snuck in the back door as she had done so many times, sluggishly heading to the kitchen. They saw the familiar sight of Clover standing there kneading some dough, and the sound of light humming filled the air. Icee slowly blinked at the sight before lightly coughing. 

Clover turned around, smiling at the royal. “Oh, Icee, it’s so good to see you! It has been a little bit, hasn’t it?

Icee nodded, trying to keep her exhaustion from showing on her face. “Yeah, it's so nice to see you, Clover! Sorry I haven’t been able to come visit, it has been a bit. Busy.” And well, that was an understatement, but Icee didn’t want to worry Clover. It was fine. 

‘Oh, you never have to be sorry about that! Its always nice when you- Are you okay?” Clover looked at her worriedly, scrutinizing her closely. “You look kind of… tired.”

Icee forced a laugh. “Yeah, of course I am okay Clover, why wouldn’t I be?” The lie crawled up her throat, and while Icee felt guilty about it, she had come here to spend time with Clover, and it was important not to worry her, or, or…

What was she thinking about? Oh right, the bread. “Do you need any help with that?” She asked, pointing to the dough. Clover scrutinized her for a couple more seconds, but with a sigh handed her a rolling pin. 

The two worked in silence for a bit, just kneading the dough, mixing, checking on the one in the oven, and the environment was just what Icee needed. She may have been working slower than normal, and making more mistakes, but that was ok. They ignored the worried glances that Clover would send their way every time they made a mistake, studiously continuing their task.

They kept closing their eyes and falling asleep for half a second, but that was alright, as long as Clover didn’t notice or mention it. It was fine, they thought, and what were they doing? Oh. look at that, the world was dark and it felt like they were falling a bit, that was fun-”Icee!” 

And. Oh there were arms around them. Icee opened their eyes, and a worried Clover looked back at her. “Oh. Hello Clover. Its so nice, seeing you here…” She blinked, and what had she been doing? Oh. Clover wasn’t supposed to find out she was tired, was she. “I’m not tired.”

“Icee, what happened, are you alright? Are you hurt?” Clover put her hand on Icee’s forehead, trying to see what was wrong. “You don’t have a temperature, what happened?”

Icee just blinked. “Um. I am. Fine. I just,” she yawned,”haven’t gotten that much sleep lately.” 

“Haven’t gotten enough sleep? When was the last time you slept? People who haven’t gotten enough sleep don’t normally pass out on bakery floors.”

“Um…” And when did Icee last sleep? There was the uh. Two nights ago where she went to bed after the meeting- except no she didn’t, there had been a scroll waiting on her bedside that could have had valuable information. “I don’t. Remember.” 

“Icee! That’s not good. Icee, you have to sleep. Why did you come visit me when you could have been getting the rest that you obviously needed?”

Icee started sniffling. “I just. I’ve been so stressed, and it’s been hard and I needed to come see you, Clover. This bakery is my safe place, I needed you more.” 

Clover looked at Icee. “I. I get that Icee, I understand, but you have to take care of yourself. Here, we can talk about it in a bit. Let’s get you a nap, first. Come on, you can use my bed.”

The two headed towards Clover’s room, and Icee nearly fell asleep. “Goodnight Clover, love you.” She said. Soft snores filled the room shortly afterwards. 

Tw// gore, wounds, impalement

(Once again, there has been no beta reading or proofreading. This story is set in an alternate timeline on rat server.)

When Present >3 had… passed, it had been slow, Icee assumed. It had happened when Icee was not there to witness, and the powdered snow must have suffocated them as they were unable to move, or escape, the cold hands of death. They could have been there for minutes, hours, and Icee hoped that it was at least a gentle death, comforting and without pain. And while Icee didn’t want Present >3 to have died at all, they hoped that the cold numbed the pain. Maybe it would have been like a deep sleep.

Icee assumed it was nothing like this. 

There Clover was, impaled by an... icicle, or something, that had sprung out of the ground, and Icee knew the curse was getting stronger, but she could have never imagined it would be this violent, sudden, chilling. Only seconds before spears of ice had emerged from the walls, one of which went through Clover’s shoulder, and there was red, so much red, and Clover was there in shock, with pained gasps, and Icee had done this, they should have left, they have to leave-

But they couldn’t. What was worse, to leave out of fear of hurting a friend, or to stay and help with their current wounds? Icee had chosen wrong before, or perhaps it was right considering this situation, but there was no time to focus on the past when Clover was right there, bleeding, and oh, her shirt was getting so red around the hole that was torn through it.

Icee snapped out of her shock, then. There was no time to waste, and they quickly moved towards Clover. 

“Clover, Clover, I am so sorry, can you hear me?” Icee pleaded, gently grabbing the girl’s arms. There was no response. She was likely in shock, it seemed. “Okay, okay that’s fine, its fine, we are all gonna be fine, alright? I’m just gonna. Get you off of this spike, alright? That can’t be too comfortable.” 

Icee tried to gently, oh so gently, lift Clover up, ignoring her pained gurgles. Except for, she wasn’t expecting the weight of another person, and they both collapsed onto the ground, Clover letting out a gut wrenching scream. “I’m sorry, I am so sorry Clover, it’s ok, it’s alright, you are gonna be alright.” Tears ran down Icee’s face, some turning into slush, a reminder of the curse that did this, and it was hard to comfort Clover through the sobs threatening to break out. 

It would be hard to treat Clover here, on the floor of her basement near the pond, but there was no other choice. Icee quickly rummaged through her inventory for something, anything that could stop the blood flow, but there was nothing except for a few pieces of steak. Surely though, surely Clover had some healing potions, or regeneration, or a gapple. Something, anything, to help the injury.

But that would require leaving Clover. And she really, really didn’t want to, but there was no other choice. Clover couldn’t die, Icee wouldn’t let it. “Hey, hey Clover,” they said, looking into eyes that had watched a thousand sunsets with them. “Hey, I’m just going to go get some healing potions, alright?”

At her words, Clover gripped her hand tightly, refusing to let go, and spoke for the first time since the incident happened. “Please, Icee, please don’t leave me again.” And Icee’s heart shattered. 

“I’m sorry, I am so sorry, but I promise, I promise I will be right back. I am just going to go get some healing supplies, and then I will come right back, I promise. I won’t leave you.” She begged Clover.

The grip on her hand loosened. “You,” Clover coughed. “You have to come back. I can’t survive without you, please come back.” 

“I will, I will, I promise.” Icee said, giving one last squeeze before getting up and running to the storage room. 

They skipped the food chest, going past the moss growing on the walls, and thank goodness Clover had everything organized because Icee wasn’t sure she would have managed to remember where it was otherwise. 

And there was the potion chest. Icee sighed in relief when she saw bottles of pink liquid on the top row, and she grabbed as many as she could before rushing back to Clover. 

“I’m here, I am back, you are okay Clover, we are all gonna be ok.” Icee said, muttering reassurances as she carefully opened up the first bottle. She poured it on the wound, ignoring the red. “There, there, it’s fine, see?” And Icee sighed with relief as she saw the faint glow of magic stitching up the wound. She uncorked another bottle, and this one she held up to Clover’s lips. “Here, this one is to make sure everything inside is fine and working well.”

Clover sipped at the liquid, occasionally sputtering at the carbonation, and already her face did not look as pale as it was seconds before. Icee pulled the glass away when the bottle was halfway full. Too much magic could overload the system, and rest would be the best course of action. 

“Come on, Clover, let’s get you up to bed,” Icee said, gently helping her up. “I can get you some soup, that will be nice, huh?” 

Clover let out a weary laugh. “Yeah, soup will fix it all, I’m sure.” The two started walking, slowly, and Icee made sure not to let her stumble. 

“That’s the spirit. Soup fixes everything, obviously.” And up the vines they went, Icee following behind to make sure Clover didn’t fall. And there was their final destination, the bed. Icee helped the farmer up, and made sure she was comfortable, even going as far to bring Gummy Worms over.

“Hey, Icee? Will you still be here when I wake up?” Clover asked, her eyes drooping.

Icee smiled sadly, and turned the light off. “Go to sleep, Clover. It will be ok.”

Clover wanted to argue with that, try and convince Icee to stay, but her head hit the pillow before she could say anything.

Tw// violence, implied gore, main character death

(This is once again not beta read or proofread at all. This oneshot is set in a third life AU.)

“HA. We got them! Clover we got them, we killed everyone else, we did it!” Icee said, turning to Clover with a smile, blood splattered on her face from the trap that had just gone off. “We won, we won the- why are you looking at me like that?”

Clover looked back at the stray hybrid with a frown, blood red eyes meeting each other’s. “Icee. There can only be one winner of this death game. You feel it too, right? The bloodthirst still running through your veins. We always knew that in the end, only one of us could survive. Although, I had hoped that it would be someone else that did the job.”

Icee’s eyes sparked, the crazed smile not dimming in the slightest.“I suppose that’s true, isn’t it Clover? We are deathduo, after all, it makes sense that at least one of us would die. It’s a shame it has to be you, though.” They started nocking an arrow, their voice upbeat and happy, like always. “You may want to run, Clover. Although, you won’t get far.” 

Time seemed to slow down, like it always did before a fight, as Clover analyzed and watched her surroundings. Obviously, Icee would want her to run away, it would make it easier to snipe her, and Icee was better with a bow than with hand to hand. And while it seemed that their hands were shaking more than normal, Clover still didn’t want to take that chance.

They had seemed to have chosen to fight during the hottest part of the day, and the sun was halfway to the west, and Clover knew she would have to pace herself instead of immediately giving the fight her all. The area they were on was flat, good for fighting, although there were a few tnt holes from the traps that had been set off only minutes before, and Clover would have to watch out and avoid falling into those. There was a copse of trees to her right as a last resort, a place to hide and eat the sole grapple she had. Clover’s hand inched toward the axe she had on her belt, trying not to give away her movements. The arrow was still pointed toward her, just waiting for its owner to let go, and Clover knew that she only had a small window of opportunity. 

Quick, like lightning, Clover ducked and swiped out her axe, lunging towards Icee, and with that, the fight begun. Clover swung her axe toward Icee, and the other person only had a split second to whip out her shield, fumbling as she struggled to get out her own weapon at the same time. The action was classic Icee, Clover thought as she ducked under the first swing of the sword Icee threw at her. 

Both knew each other’s weaknesses, having been partners in crime for so long, having known each other before that for even longer, and it caused the fight to drag out. The sun started to move downward as the sound of diamonds clanging against each other rang out over the field, and Clover could feel the sweat rolling down her neck. A constant thought of “blood, blood, blood” rang through her head, a rush of adrenaline going through her brain with every hit, her soul crying out with every drop of blood splattered. She jumped above the next swipe, and moved forwards instead of dodging. Icee was also growing tired, and it showed through the slower movements and the heavy breaths. 

The movement forward had knocked Icee down, and Clover wasted no time in grabbing and throwing out the weapon in their hand and pinning them down. The bloodlust was going crazy now, at the sight of a person weak and injured. Clover raised her axe above her head, preparing for one last strike in this death world.

Icee smiled up at her, teeth red and face battered. “It’s ok, Clover.” She said, voice full of light. “I love you.” And those words echoed across the field, and memories of wheat and traps and fun and memories raced through Clover’s brain as she brought down the axe. 

Tw// mind control (accidental)

Disclaimer: this is not beta read or proofread in the slightest. I wrote it and then never looked at it again.

Humans had rules for the fae. Be polite, maintain distance, don’t trust the fae, don’t eat food from the fae, don’t receive a gift from the fae, don’t even say thank you to the fae. These rules kept them safe, with free will and without a debt to be paid back. 

The most important rule of all, however, was to not give a fae your name. Humans taught this to their young, warning them about the power of true names, and whispered tales of fear, of deception, of monsters who trick those in the forest and take their autonomy, and their souls.

The stories had a bit of truth to them. Fae were powerful, otherworldly, magical, and were able to do more things than humans. 

At the same time, however, many fae thought of it as a game. It was a fun way to pass the time, trying to convince humans to give up their name, knowing that they were all too smart and wary to actually do so. It became a right of passage, a way for Fae to announce that they were able to out on their own and learn about the humans and travel through the forests and keep themselves safe. 

The ritual never went wrong. The Fae asks for the humans name, the human stumbles through the conversation and runs away, and the fae is able to get entertainment.

Except for, well, Clover’s human was different. Clover’s human just straight up gave her their name. Cloover’s human wasn’t scared, didn’t stumble through her sentences. 

Clover’s human was a friend. 

Clover’s human should have heeded the warnings. Clover herself should have heeded the warnings. But she was too caught up in friendship and interacting with the human, and now it all went wrong. It was never supposed to be like this. This was never supposed to happen. 

Because now, Ic- the human was standing there, entranced by Clover’s own words, own slip up, and Clover didn’t know how to fix it. It was an accident, a slip of the tongue, a short,

“Hey, grab me that flower, will you, Icee?”

And Clover’s human had handed them the flower. Except for, she had  been mechanic, stilted, silent. Blank.

No one taught her what to do if she did get a human’s name. No one taught her how to un-entrance a human. No one had needed to deal with it for so long. And now the human was like this, unmoveable, still. 

The worst part was, Clover could feel the soul tied to her own. The unnatural bond that had formed as soon as she said the name. And she wanted to get rid of it, break the invisible string,

And she couldn’t. And now she didn’t know how to help Icee.