White Force

Amicus

CORA

Hours crept on like a bad dream jumping from one horror to the next without ceasing. The only sign the of the passing day was the lazy sun, making its routine trek across the ever-changing blue. Something was eerie in the air, something that left the hair on my arms standing high on alert, as if at any moment, my peaceful day would take a turn for the worse.

I clenched the thin duvet laying across my hard bed, the nerves crawling through my body was currently taking a toll on my mental state. I was fully of worries and wonder, such as my curiostiy with what King Toro had done to Esmeralda. Had he taken care of her as he had promised? And what had he done to ensure she would never speak an ill word of me? Could I really trust King Toro to keep his word?

Surely if he had turned Esmeralda in, Titus would have had me locked away in a prison cell quicker than he had attacked the late Ice King. I certainly would not have had the luxury of watching the bright sun as it journied west in a lazy pursuit.

An unsatiable urge began to taunt me, and I found myself wanting to leave my room to do something, anything other than setting in a room all day. I was going crazy with nothing to do. But I knew that nothing good awaited me outside of this room.

Instead, I found myself practing the art of summoning fire, a newly acquired gift that took both me and King Toro by surprise. Neither of us understood why I could conjure an element that was contrary to my nature. It was as if the impossible was made possible, as if summer and winter could share the same season. It made absolutely no sense, and yet it was.

After a few minutes, I was able to ignite a red, sparkling flame in one hand, and a wintery white flame in the other. Ivory and vermilion, an anomoly and a blessing.

As I studied both flames, I concluded that the only difference between the two were simply the temperatures and colors. They both danced the same: silent shivers in the calm air. They both flickered as if to an unknown rhymth, moving in syncronized waves to a secret beat. They were sisters, it seemed, and far from enemies. The only thought that remained was this:

If fire and ice could coexist, why couldn't our nations? Why had the late Ice King created the war to begin with? Why had his greed turned everything so cold and desolate? And could such a gelid hate be reversed?

If King Toro and Prince Sebastian came to an agreement, could peace be achieved, or was the damage irreversible?

I refused to believe in the latter, as both of my flaming hands begged to differ. My newfound gift was a sign that harmony could be achieved for the greater good. I would make sure of it.

With a sigh, I clasped my hands together, both fire and ice colliding, which created a fog that rose in the air like a haze of untold secrets.

A new idea sprung to life, a birthed rose during the onset of spring. I jumped out of bed and went to the door, leaving behind my thoughts of harmony. I would save that for another day. Right now, I needed to see Mandy and find the queen.

I crept along the dark passageways where the light of day barely touched the iced flagstone walls. The once busy passageways were now haunted with the recent death toll. I could almost hear the whispered promises of venagance echoing off the walls, as if yesterday's ghosts still haunted these eeries halls. When Titus took the throne, he also took all peace and comfort that came with it. I was sure even the maids were afraid to walk the corridors in fear of running into a firelander or worse.

I, on the other hand, was done being afraid. Now that I have healed from my injuries, I would no longer be kept like a prisoner.

I headed straight for the maiden's quarters and was thankful that the double doors remained ungaurded. I quickly stepped inside, taking in the surprised feminine faces of women my age and younger.