chatelaine of cair paravel

[charning]

In the wood, near but not too near the Lantern, drives a sledge, drawn by a reindeer under the whip of a Dwarf, and carrying a woman, of sorts. She is taller, and paler, and somehow - grander, more terrible, colder even than the deep winter through which she rides. The furs are decorative; she wears nothing over her ears, which, were she human, would spell frostbite given how long she has been on this ride.

The harness-bells jingle tinnily.

Comments

[jackfrostbite]

Winter is, on the whole, happy with this arrangement. He could do with more jellybeans, if more were available, but they aren't and what he gets in their place is... fun.

Mostly.

Not completely.

He doesn't complain. That might get some of them to stop, but not the ones who are the problem.

[charning]

Eventually Jadis returns, with the treasure she sought, minus a few of her companions but ungrieving.

Some of her minions ask her for a resupply.

She wants to know if they've been eating them, and they tell her they have not, they only feed them to Winter.

And she laughs and makes a new jar and distributes them to everyone who wants a few, and she calls Winter over to hand-feed him just one; it is the first jellybean he hasn't had to do anything for in nearly a year.

[jackfrostbite]

Winter beams at her.

[charning]

"My Eternal Winter," she says, but then she's off to play with her new artifacts in her arcane workrooms.

[alicornucopia]

One of the dwarves holds up a yellow jelly bean, smirking.

[jackfrostbite]

His eyes track the bean without conscious intervention.

He licks his lips.

[charning]

A good time is had by - all.

When Jadis finds out what her minions have been doing with the provided jellybeans, she laughs and laughs.

[jackfrostbite]

Winter is amused by her amusement.

[charning]

That is the correct reaction to Jadis's amusement. So he gets a jellybean. And then she sends him away to kill someone the secret police have informed on.

[jackfrostbite]

It's so nice when he has things to do.