Vianne

The Winter Queen

Queen Vianne trudged through the snow, clutching her pet, Sneaky, close to her body.

Sneaky couldn't have looked crankier about the morning adventure. And Vianne could not blame her; the white stuff was coming down fast and steady. In fact, it looked like it could be the worst storm of the year. But Vianne wasn't about to let it deter her little expedition. She had to find the throne of her grandmothers. That was where she would meet the chieftain of the Ghost clan.

Alone.

Of course her advisors didn't know about this. If they had, they would have tied her to the great tree growing inside the common area of her palace. After all, she was a winter queen, not a summer king. Winter was a time of peace, not wars and strained politics among her people. Winter queens like herself rarely dealt with this kind of danger. Her advisors would have certainly insisted this issue was better suited for her cousin, the summer king, to solve in the spring.

Spring could be too late for someone, Vianne reminded herself, and my cousin is a long journey away, in the Imperial capital. All someone could have is me. She picked up her pace.

The forest seemed so still. It also seemed a little confusing to navigate through; land marks she knew were hidden under an extra layer of fresh loose powder.

Eventually she caught sight of a jagged rock poking out of the snow and exhaled. Before continuing onward, she paused. Her destination was very close, just through this cluster of trees, and - there!

The old throne stood on a small, perfect little hill. At one time, there probably were no trees on that hill, but now shrubs grew wild on it in such a way that a person had to have keen eyes to not mistake it for part of the mountainside. Surprisingly, the throne itself was nearly clear of snow. No doubt, it was drafty up there.

Sneaky growled when Vianne slipped and fell on her way up to the top. Vianne quickly scrambled back to her feet, almost sliding right back down the bank. She latched onto a tree, and pulled herself upward, finally reaching the top. The throne was constructed from pinkish grout or cement, and had beautiful glass tiles and baubles set into it.

Gently, she set Sneaky down and scanned her surroundings. The prospect of an ambush was certainly on her mind; it had been on her mind since the other evening, when she found a response to her secret letter, near the big frozen waterfall outside the palace. The response had been a simple language character burned onto a piece of wood. The character was in one of the old mountain dialects, which translated into "yes".

There was no sign of anyone anywhere.

She picked Sneaky up, dusted off the throne, and sat down into it. Sacred bovines! What were her grandmothers thinking, used this freezing throne out in the middle of a vacant forest? Her reaction to the chill disgruntled Sneaky, inducing the critter to slither off her lap onto the ground.

Vianne pulled her pet back onto her lap. "Silly little neeb," she said, "you'll become petrified from the cold down there. Anyway, I require your moral support up here, lest anything go wrong. Understood?"

She pulled off her crown, and then dug her fingers into Sneaky's warm soft fur. Most royals had nervous beads to soothe their tensions. She preferred stroking a living, breathing animal.

What if he doesn't come? she wondered, And I'm just sitting out here for ages? Not that I would, but still ...

"Impressive," someone said softly in front of her.

Sinking deeper into the throne, Vianne looked up.

A handsome man with snow-white hair and skin towered over her, resembling a living, breathing, marble statue. Like a wild animal about to bolt or attack, he did not move a muscle. One of his feet was not fully planted onto the ground, and his head was lowered as he looked into her eyes. Something about his stance, his narrow face, and his slightly pulled back gray eyes reminded her of a wolf.

He glanced into the forest, and then took a step closer, making no noise in the snow. "You have come alone, to this place, queen of many tribes ... as did your ancestors to converse with mine."

Instead of greeting him, she said, "You are upset with me because I do not spend enough quality time with you? I am sorry."

The chief snorted and shook snow out of his short curly hair. "I am angry because your people press into us."

"Land then?"

"Yes."

"Why so? Our people have shared the same forests for hundreds of years."

"You people have changed, Winter Queen. You have grown arrogant. And cold. You do not share."

Vianne rotated her jaw, steadily stroking Sneaky's fur. The white chief's wild gaze lowered to her hand. She quickly tucked Sneaky beneath a corner of her coat, and said, "Do not judge all my people, Ghost Chief. Go ahead. Make generalizations; that's fair. But don't judge everybody. I am not here because my people insist. I have come against their will."

"To silence me?"

"Yes." A cool smile crept on Vianne's face. "I am not the only one here whose people have changed. Your people are distant. And unpredictable. If I didn't know any better, I should think you care nothing for us."

The chief lowered his gaze. "Fair enough. We care nothing for you, and you care nothing for us. This talk is getting nowhere, Winter Queen."

"Agreed."

Without warning, the Ghost chief whipped around and strode off.

Vianne stood abruptly from her throne, making Sneaky hiss. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Chief."

"WHAT?"

"Come here again. In the middle of the day, when the sky is blue again."

The Ghost chief circled back around, and stopped inches from her face. "Will we have anything useful to say to each other then?"

No."

"I will come here," he whispered in her ear, "But the storm must come first. It is cold here."

~*~*~

The Doll

Queen Vianne was made using a Princess of Greece Barbie doll head (by Mattel) placed on a "belly button" body with articulated legs (also by Mattel). She stood approximately 11 1/2 inches tall.

She was given a full reroot with long shiny platinum hair, using a secure reroot method (as demonstrated in the tutorial section of my website). Her reroot was just as "play worthy" as any factory doll's.

All of her original factory paint was removed before she was repainted using suitable acrylics, and then finished up using appropriate varnishes. The paint was applied in very transparent washes, and as you can see, it appeared natural and even. Because of the quality and detail level of her repaint, she was fun to take pictures of, and looked spectacular up close. The amount of detail on such a small canvas was amazing!

Her icy-blue irises had no shine marks painted onto them. They were capped with gloss to create a life-like lens; all the reflection marks on her "eyeballs" came from the gloss. Her eyes could have just about be mistaken for being itty-bitty glass eyes. Fine streaks of color were layered on top of each other to give the irises a degree of realism; it took several "barely breathing hours" to complete them. Transparent holographic glitter gave them that surreal extra sparkle.

Highlights and shadows were used to used to "sculpt" and bring life or warmth to Vianne's face, including around her lovely eyes and on her pale rosy lips. To finish off her repaint, her face was framed with wispy little "hairs", enhancing her hair line. Also, she was given some soft silvery face paint (a common practice among the leaders of her people). The face paint was deliberately made to be a little sloppier than the rest of the repaint, to make it look as though it was quickly put on by her servant early in the day, not a professional artist.

Overall, her facial color palette reflected winter, but not without a little warmth.

The Costume

Viannes's costume emulated the beauty of a frosty morning. It was very well tailored, and was completely lined.

To stay warm, she wore an embroidered, beaded, French-navy-style coat over her ensemble.

Just look at the incredible amount of work put into this!

What do you bet this will end up getting hogged by a greedy Silkstone or Fashion Royalty doll?

Beneath the coat, she wore a dazzling iridescent corset, and embroidered pants.

They both closed via lacing, using all hand sewn eyelets (known for being much sturdier than metal ones).

Her crown has been embellished with pale pink Delica beads, to give it an extra sparkle. With it, she wears a pair of earrings, and a "moonstone" necklace. The necklace unfastens in the back.

Meticulous attention was paid to the detail and sturdiness of this costume. To keep it strong, all beadwork and stress points were done using multiple threads. Every piece of the costume was removable from the doll, made withstand some "collector's play". All in all, it was a nice little collectible in its own right, apart from the doll.

Sneaky

Sneaky was tenderly sculpted from Super Sculpey, and then baked according to the manufacturer's instructions.

She was then painted to life with acrylics, starting with a deep, dark blue gray primer, and ending with silver tips. This really brought out the fur textures sculpted onto her. After that, she was given a faint wash of tabby strips. Sealing her paint job was a coat of matte sealer, as well as gloss for her pink eyes.

In case you were wondering, Sneaky was a silver northern neeb. Despite her reptilian appearance, she was a mammal, closely related to the cat family. Neebs make clean, lazy pets, and eat very little. You can find out more about them at your local library. Just look for the neeb section (wink).

As a final touch, Sneaky was given a little braided collar with a silver bell; in fact, she was sculpted to have an indented "collar mark", like what pets get from wearing them.

Throne

Vianne's throne was built off of a strong wooden base secured together with screws, which was then bolted to the bottom platform, before being coated with Sculpey and mosaic tiles (yep, got into Dad's power tools again for this; ironically it was snowing when I cut the wood - luckily no fingers were lost from frostbite, or the saws).

There were shrubs beneath the throne, and an old stone walkway peaks through the snow.

Glittery white plants were strongly secured to the back of the throne.

Transparent acrylic crystals and shimmering holographic glitter were glued to the white ground, creating the appearance of dazzling fantasy snow.

Here is a close up of the mosaic tiles. The "grout" looks a little old, and is cracking in places.

Pretty, huh? (And have you noticed how much Sneaky likes it?)

In closing, I might mention that I attached felt pads to the bottom of the base, to protect any furniture it would ever rest on.

Click HERE for a free Vianne and Sneaky desktop wallpaper!
(Simply right-click the image and select "Set as background" to install it.)

~*~*~ FOR SALE! ~*~*~

Asking $500. Shipping is $15 using USPS Priority both domestic and worldwide. Shipping includes delivery confirmation and insurance. Please contact me if you are interested or have any questions. I take PayPal, credit through PayPal, checks, and money orders.