A Vow of Frost & Alchemy

A romance laced with rebellion—because love doesn’t always look like the stories we grew up hearing. Conjured in one week with a 2,000-word maximum for a romantasy writing contest. Enjoy!

The wind howled through the iron bars of the carriage, cutting through Lady Calida’s cloak. She shivered, and her breath formed small clouds.

This was not part of her escape plan.

She’d barely crossed the mountainous Northern border when guards surrounded her. She was so close to claiming a new life… but one of her traveling companions betrayed her. 

Now, she was a prisoner of a different kind, shackled and bound for an audience with the infamous Ice Queen. Legends claimed she was winter incarnate—cold, unfeeling, and merciless. 

The palace gates groaned open, revealing towering spires of stone, glittering with fresh snowfall. Snow crunched beneath the guards’ boots as they dragged Calida past statues of the Queen’s predecessors.

In the grand hall, Queen Ameira sat unmoving upon her throne of ice. Jet-black hair spilled over snow-white skin, and her lips were the color of crushed rubies, but it was her blue eyes—piercing and glacial—that held Calida’s attention.

A white wolf lay at the Queen’s feet, lifting its head dutifully as Calida stumbled forward.

"So," the Queen said smoothly. "If my Whispers are to be believed, you’re a noblewoman, fleeing the South?"

"It’s true." Calida straightened. "I’m Lady Calida of House Valen."

"You were," the Queen corrected. "Now, you’re just a fugitive and traitor to your kingdom. Tell me, why shouldn’t I let you freeze in my dungeons?"

Calida reached for her neck out of habit. The truth burned like hot coals in her throat. The bruises may have faded, but the memory still lingered beneath her skin… She silently lifted her chin, pride laced with defiance.

"Have it your way." The Queen’s voice cut like glass. "Guards! Take her away!"

Panic jolted through Calida as the guards moved toward her. She couldn’t tell Queen Ameira about Casimir… there had to be another way.

"Wait!" she blurted. "I’m an alchemist!"

Ameira’s attention snapped back, and she raised a hand, halting the guards. Calida could have sworn she saw a shimmering wave of frost in the wake of the Queen’s gesture. 

Calida forced herself to stand taller despite the weight of her chains. "I trained in alchemy and healing arts before I was married off. Lord Casimir… he never knew."

"Very well," The Queen spoke at last, descending the steps with predatory grace. "Here is my offer: Use your talents for my kingdom for the rest of your days. Or, I can return you to the South and let your husband decide what to do with you."

Calida felt the blood drain from her face.

"You have until dawn to decide," Ameira said. "Guards, take her to the tower."

***

Calida woke to the soft brush of fur against her fingers.

Blinking, she found the Queen's wolf curled beside her. The beast exuded silent power, even in sleep.

"The wolf likes you," Ameira’s voice echoed through the chamber. "Tarak is particular about who he trusts." A pause. "As am I."

Calida sat up, finding the Queen near the frost-rimmed window, her silhouette framed by pale morning light.

"And do you? Trust me?" Calida’s voice was quiet, cautious.

Ameira’s full lips curved into a ghost of a smile. "That is yet to be determined."

"The accommodations are surprisingly… warm for the ‘Ice Queen,’” Calida remarked. “One might expect a ruler with such a fearsome reputation to keep her captives freezing in a dungeon rather than tucked into fine silk and furs."

Ameira’s expression hardened. "You may be surprised to hear it, but my 'fearsome reputation' actually serves me. When you’re the last of your line with no heir, and your kingdom hangs in the balance, you learn quickly that emotion equates to weakness… particularly for a woman."

Calida noticed the frost along the windowsill spreading, as if the cold itself echoed Ameira’s resolve. "What is your decision? Shall I arrange for your transport back to your husband?" The last word was uttered with particular distaste.

Calida flinched, recalling the Lord’s calloused hands around her neck. A glint of something unreadable passed through Ameira’s gaze, but it was gone in an instant.

Calida swallowed, then spoke, "I accept your deal."

With a nod, Ameira said, "Good."

***

The weeks passed in a haze of vials and potions. Calida hadn’t practiced her craft in years, yet it returned to her like an old friend. 

To Calida’s surprise, the Queen knew her way around the castle’s greenhouse, showing her where she could find herbs and flowers for her tinctures. She even knew each plant by name and property. 

The Queen kept a close watch on her, but there were no chains, no threats. Calida began to wonder if she was a prisoner at all.

The pair spent long days together, and over time, their conversations deepened. One day, Ameira shared with a heavy heart that some of her only memories with her mother were days spent in the garden together—before the Great Freeze overtook the Northern Kingdom. 

In her mother’s honor, she cultivated something warm and beautiful in a climate where nothing should grow. Tending to the delicate greenery seemed an unusual pastime for the Ice Queen, yet the more Calida got to know her, the more she realized that it suited her. 

The Queen’s strength was undeniable, her resilience admirable… and yet, it was her beauty that caught Calida off guard. Casimir’s presence had always suffocated Calida and put her on edge, but Ameira’s set her pulse racing in an entirely different way. 

There was an unspoken energy that crackled between them like embers, waiting for a spark. The Queen was harder to read, but Calida knew she wasn’t imagining it.

***

Then, the sickness started.

At first, Calida ignored it—dizziness, nausea, exhaustion. But when the realization struck, it was like ice plunging through her veins.

She was pregnant. An absconder carrying a Southern Lord’s child.

Calida gripped the edge of her worktable, bile rising in her throat. A cool shift in the air made her look up. Ameira entered, her gaze sweeping over Calida with quiet assessment.

"You’re pale," she observed, gently moving a rogue strand of hair behind Calida’s ear. The touch was fleeting, but warmth curled in Calida’s chest like a flame fighting against the wind.

Calida’s amber eyes met the Queen’s and she opened her mouth… but Ameira stiffened, abruptly pulling back her hand.

A messenger stood in the doorway, panting. "Your Majesty, the Southern Kingdom has declared war. Lord Casimir leads the offensive—he plans to save Lady Calida, but also to claim the Northern Kingdom as his own.”

Calida’s stomach dropped, and she found herself subconsciously rubbing her neck. Casimir was cruel, but he was also smart. He knew the Northern Kingdom was weak without a named successor to Ameira’s throne.

“The Whispers…” the messenger proceeded through pained breaths, “they say the King of the Southern Kingdom will recognize Casimir’s reign, should he succeed in his conquest."

"Let him come," Ameira said, her voice laced with ice. "He will regret it."

***

Once they were alone again, Calida’s heart pounded hard in her chest. Now or never. “My Queen, there’s something you should know."

Ameira tensed. "What is it?"

Between the hormones and the impending threat, Calida couldn’t contain the emotions bubbling up any longer. A single tear fell down her cheek, and she trembled as she met the Queen’s icy stare. 

“I am carrying his child.” It was the first time she had said the words aloud. 

For once, Ameira looked truly stunned.

"We must defeat him. He can never know…" Calida retreated inward, braced for rejection, but the Queen moved closer. 

“May I?” she asked.

Calida nodded, and Ameira reached down to caress the slight curve of her belly, her touch featherlight, uncertain. "A miracle…"

She took Calida’s face in her other hand, her thumb gently brushing Calida’s lower lip. Without another word, she closed the final inch between them.

The kiss was tentative at first, the barest press of lips, testing something unsaid between them. But Calida didn’t pull away—she melted into Ameira’s touch. The Queen anchored them both, threading her fingers into Calida’s soft chestnut hair.

When they parted, Ameira rested her forehead against Calida’s, her breath steady despite the danger looming.

"We will fight," she declared, her voice a vow. "For this child. For the future of this kingdom."

Calida interlaced her fingers with Ameira’s. "Together."

***

The battle horns blew at dawn. 

Calida anxiously cradled her swollen belly as she made her way to the grand hall, a temporary safe haven for the wounded. 

She and her assistants had worked tirelessly into the night, crafting medicinal draughts and salves, as well as an arsenal of volatile concoctions for their troops to use in battle. 

Southern forces crashed against the palace walls like waves, but the North was holding strong. Explosions of alchemical fire lit the battlefield in an eerie glow as the battle raged, screams erupting with the flames. 

The South had them beat in numbers, but the North had a clear advantage: the Southerners were unprepared for the harsh winter elements. The North was right at home.

***

The flow of injured had begun to ease.

It seemed the tide was turning.

A nauseatingly familiar scent suddenly filled Calida's nostrils as a lone figure emerged from the shadows.

Casimir’s face twisted with rage when he saw her attending the Northern wounded.

"You… traitorous… bitch!" He bellowed maliciously, drawing his sword.

Calida’s breath hitched, her body frozen in place. In that moment, one thing was certain: he had no interest in ‘saving her.’ His thirst for power eclipsed all else… her life was nothing more than collateral, a pawn in his political chess match. But then— 

Ameira burst through the doors, a shimmering frost circling her as if she were carved from winter itself. "Take one more step, and it will be your last!"

"I’m here to claim my throne, Ice Queen." Casimir sneered. "And my little runaway. She seems to have forgotten who she belongs to."

Casimir raised his sword, and the air shifted. The cold that surrounded Ameira pulsed outward, forming a crystalline barrier between her and Casimir. He slashed at it, but the ice was unyielding.

His focus returned to Calida, charging toward her with a furious roar.

Something in Ameira’s magic snapped, like a frozen lake fracturing beneath too much weight. She screamed, and a violent, frigid gale swirled through the throne room. Ice surged from her palms, an unstoppable force of winter’s wrath.

The glacial gust consumed Casimir mid-charge. His shout was cut short as ice crawled over and through him, locking his body in place as the frost completely overtook him.

When the wind finally stilled, Casimir stood, a statue of solid ice. Ameira unleashed a final sharp breath at his frozen form, shattering it into oblivion.

With the last of her strength, the Queen hurried to Calida’s side. "Are you hurt? The baby—"

Calida stared at her, speechless.

Ameira’s voice was barely a whisper. "I didn't even know I could do that… He was going to hurt you. Calida… what he did to you…” Something fragile and fierce flickered within her icy blue eyes. “I had to make sure he could never hurt you again."

Calida realized that the phantom hands that were always around her neck were… gone. Warmth bloomed beneath her ribs, spreading like the first promise of spring. She was free.

"You…” Calida inched closer, taking Ameira’s hand and pressing it to her stomach, the steady rhythm of life beating beneath her palm, “saved us."

As the snow settled over the battlefield, Ameira brushed a gentle hand along her jaw and leaned in close. Calida’s eyes darted around the room, suddenly acutely aware of how many pairs of eyes were on the two of them.

“Let them see,” Ameira declared. “You have nothing left to fear, and I have nothing left to hide.” Their lips met in a kiss that was slow and deliberate—a vow of love, hope, and a future they would never stop fighting for. 

Together.