3 - Ice Princess

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The ice kingdom was on fire.

It raced across the kingdom, burning everything in its path. It had started from the outskirts of the kingdom and was slowly eating its way to the center, where the castle resided.

The royal guard were trying their best to keep the kingdom under control. The king and queen themselves were helping, too. Some escorted citizens out of the danger zone. The queen used her ice powers to battle the fire, but it kept on melting. Soon, it would overpower the kingdom's forces and destroy it.

From afar, the heir to the throne watched in horror. Stress was only a teenager, but very powerful. She had inherited her mother's powers of controlling the ice. She was just as strong and brave as her mother, if not more. The princess knew she could do something to help the kingdom, but her parents would never allow it.

There was only one way to escape, and all the citizens were rushing towards it. It was in the castle. A portal. It was only supposed to be used in dire situations because it was never really understood. But since the entrance of the kingdom had been swallowed by fire, this was the kingdom's best hope.

Stress was in the castle. She had a perfect view of the battle, and it infuriated her. Her parents were overprotective. She was more than capable of fighting that fire, right next to them. Her fingertips itched to release the magic that was in them.

"Please," she begged the guard next to her. "I want to go down there! They don't stand a chance against the fire!"

The guard shook his head. "Stress, I have strict orders to bring you to the portal downstairs."

"What about my parents? Am I supposed to just leave them here?"

The guard bit his lip. That was enough for Stress.

She pushed past the guard before he could protest and ran down the crystal stairs. She passed the room that the portal was in. People were swarming towards it.

She ran past them and put the door, to where the fire had almost reached the castle. Her parents were standing there, doing their best to hold it back.

"Mom! Dad! I can help! Please."

Her eyes told the story. The king and queen exchanged a look, then nodded. "We could use the extra help."

Despite the situation, Stress felt a surge of joy. Is she was to die today, she would die defending her kingdom, along with her parents.

The fire was getting closer.

Stress bent all her will and concentration into forming a wall of ice that would buy them time. The ice shot out of her hands and built up, forming the barricade. But it wasn't enough—cracks started forming immediately.

Stress grunted with the effort. She hadn't tried to summon something this big. She was almost blasted back from the force of her powers, but she held her ground and kept the fire at bay.

Not all the citizens were inside the castle and through the portal yet. Stress's mother helped build up the wall, and her father ran off to save the people.

Just a few more minutes. Please, that's all we need.

Stress sent a second wave of ice up. The energy it took to make it flew out of her. With every blast of ice, Stress grew more tired. But she had to keep going—for the sake of her people, and her kingdom.

Finally, the wall of flames was too much to handle. Stress collapsed from the effort, and her mother helped her up. They ran towards the castle, leaving all their belongings behind. Even from a safe distance, Stress could hear the crackling of flames draw near.

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