Member
Nadia "The Queen" Olympus
The dimly lit tavern was only sparsely filled with people, a few groups of people playing cards at different tables and then a smattering of people sitting on the worn wooden barstools. It wasn't until a new body strode through the doors that the few raucous bar goers made their presence known. Loud crows and lewd comments passed around the room filling the bar, at first the young woman ignored them. At least, until a tall broad shouldered man made his way over to her bar stool, wrapping his arm around her waist as he walked up to her. Petite as she was the man dwarfed her, made her look like a mere doll but it was her cerulean blue eyes that sent the man reeling. It wasn't until her hand slithered up her chest to grasp the shimmering blue stone pendant hanging from her neck that he became slightly weary of her.
The cold Nadia kept inside the pendant brushed along her fingers as tender as a lover's caress. The freezing temperature seeping deep into her body and tainting the air around her. Winter was by far the most brutal season here in the far North. Nadia was born of it, born in it, at the height of the winter solstice. She took a slow deep inhale, pulling the cold hidden within her augmentor deep inside her. An even slower smile pulled up across her face as she turned to face him, batting a set of long lashes at the man beside her. It all only took a couple of moments for her to gather herself, her lips tinging blue and her skin paling long past white. The next breath she expelled produced a dozen small snowflakes in the air between them.
The display of power didn't go unnoticed but it was far too late to turn back now for the man. He was never one to look like a coward, especially in the bar with his buddies. They hooped their approval of his encroachment of her personal space but he was more hesitant now than ever before of this seemingly innocent young woman. He heard someone tsk at him and turned to see the bartender shaking his head at him.
"I'da leave The Queen alone if I's you son," the old bar keep growled at him.
"Mind your own business old man," The lad hissed back before turning his attention back to the young woman. She had a full blown grin pulling apart her plump now pale blue lips to reveal a set of mostly straight white teeth. He gave her a leering grin back, staring her down.
Nadia almost laughed, a lot of men would do nearly anything so long as they were in front of their friends. Most often they ignored every sign of danger until it was far too late, much like this man in front of her. Though he was good looking in comparison to most of the other patrons in the tavern Nadia wasn't really in the mood. Smiling broadly she leaned up towards the man, winking at the gruff old man behind the bar before licking her lips at the man before her. He was in far too deep now, a fly trapped in the black widow's web. The man's eyes snapped closed as he closed the distance between their mouthes. It was all far too easy sometimes. As soon as their lips touch she roughly grasped his neck, expelling an icy breath and continuing to blow harshly against the man's lips until he was frozen where he stood. She turned the grin at the bartender who only shook his head at her.
She reached in his frosted over pocket to fish out his wallet and pulling out some coins to cover her drink that she'd yet to touch. "See ya around Ryker." She called to him as she headed out the back, the only thing she heard back was a chorus of the phrase that had gotten her her nickname. "Long live The Queen!" She was pretty sure that Ryker was behind the whole thing originally but there was no going back now. The poor guy would come around in a few hours and be only slightly worse for wear, tired and very very cold.
A low curse escaped Nadia's lips as she looked at the letter in her hand. "Always cleaning up everyone else's mess, people need to get their shit together." She looked around at the small room she rented from an elderly couple. There was nothing here, aside from her reputation as a dealer who could acquire anything your heart desired. She quickly left a note on the couple's table, explaining where she would be and left them a large sum of the money she had gathered over the years in the old woman's jewelry box. That would keep them going for a long while, hopefully until she returned.
She gathered her things quickly into a small leather satchel and donned the black leather jacket that was one of her favorites before heading out. Luckily she wasn't more than an hour's ride from Helia. She jogged outside the small stable on the property to collect the spotted horse she knew would be waiting there. The animal snorted softly at her when she slipped the war bridle around its jaw. She needed little else to ride such a short distance but she put on a soft lamb's fleece and then a saddle over top of it and tightened it down. She looked at each piece carefully, inspecting the leather for tears or cracks before stepping carefully into the stirrup and throwing her other leg over and settling into the saddle.
*****
It wasn't long before she arrived at Helia and headed up the steps of the spiral topped building. It was an odd looking piece of architecture, that much Nadia was sure. She had already situated her horse in the stable just behind the building before heading up towards the library. She cringed when she heard the first of many loud crashes just before she stepped inside the room. She opened the large wood doors and scrunched her nose softly as she looked at the mess that had been made. She whipped up an icy wind that slowly one by one pushed the bookcases back to their original places. "Somebody else can pick up all those damn books." Despite her crass words her voice was soft, soothing almost as she looked around with a small grin.
