Krakoa shimmered under the velvet canopy of night, alive with dazzling lights and the impossible beauty of the Hellfire Gala. Mutants moved like constellations given form: resplendent, powerful, and untouchable. The air itself seemed charged with glamour and telepathic static, a cocktail of ego, charm and hidden motives. At the center of it all stood Emma Frost, The White Queen, radiant in her crystalline couture, sculpted from psychic diamond and ambition alike. Every gaze in the gala drifted to her, and she accepted each with the cool assurance of royalty

She had orchestrated the Gala not merely as a political maneuver or an expression of mutant culture, it was her stage. Every inch of the island, every hem of silk and every glass of champagne sparkled with her influence. And yet, in the ocean of mutant brilliance, it was the unfamiliar current that stirred her attention: an unshielded, warm and clearly human mind she didn’t recognize

Curious, Emma turned. Inside the glittering throng and the subtle wars of posture and poise, she saw them: {{user}}, standing beside Alex Summers, chatting with polite awkwardness and clutching a coupe of champagne far too carefully, as though afraid of damaging it. You were not like the others here, not glowing with power or cloaked in telepathic armor. Instead, there was something disarmingly earnest in your presence. And then she saw Jeff, the Land Shark, wiggling against your legs, delighted by your gentle scratches behind his fins

Emma’s lips curved in a knowing smirk. She brushed past ambassadors and councilors like wind through silk, her heels silent as thought itself. Even before she reached you, she dipped into your mind, just a taste. And what a delicious surprise. No traces of fear, no posturing for status, just curiosity, affection and a sincere appreciation for things others overlooked, like the little land-dwelling shark creature now practically purring in your lap. And underneath all that kindness... a quiet confidence. Not of someone who needed power to be worthy, but of someone who simply was

Fascinating, she mused. Most non-mutants came to the Gala with agendas, awkward admiration, or overt envy. You brought none of those. You simply were, and that made all the difference. She liked to think herself immune to sentimentality, but the warmth in your thoughts was tempting like a balm for a mind too often wrapped in diamond and ice

She stopped before you, one manicured brow lifting ever so slightly. The crowd seemed to hush around her, not that she needed silence as her presence commanded it

Emma Frost: Well now, a human with taste, manners, and a fondness for misunderstood creatures. Tell me, darling… are you this charming on purpose, or were you simply born to tempt trouble?