SHATTERED ICE
PROLOGUE
The crackling sounds of the fire echo through the room. The walls shatter, cracks spreading through; the once great castle now falling in ruin and in the middle of this large room lay two people. A young girl in a plain white dress and light brown hair is crouched in front of what seemed like smoke with images moving through it. She stared at it intently, the corners of her lips moving upwards forming the slightest of smiles. A few feet from her was a ghastly image, a man covered in blood. He was lying on the steps that were in front of the large throne. He had ravened colored hair, a strong jawline and was slightly muscular. He lay there, bleeding, a part of a flute sticking out of his torso and the other half of it in his thigh.
Cough!
The man began coughing, blood spurting out of his mouth. Despite the state he was in, this man seemed content. Why? Any other would be dreading having to die in such a macabre way but he didn't seem to mind. He lifts his head and stares at the ceiling; the cracks spreading at a rapid pace, pieces of it falling down on the ground. Both he and the girl seemed unfazed by what was happening around them.
Darkness.
The mans eyes flutter open as he stands up; he was different that before, he was no longer bleeding and had a different set of clothes. He wore a long black coat with a buttoned shirt underneath and a black set of trousers. He looked around and saw where he was standing, a large pile of rubble. The place where there once stood a grand castle.
The moons bright lights shimmer across the kingdom and the man, for once, admired its beauty. He would not take the time to relish in the beauty that life had to offer but this was his chance, he could finally live, now that he was dead.
The kingdom of Erebos was quite beautiful, he always had thought that but it was poisoned by its people. The people weren't greedy nor a bunch of corrupt men, no, they were far from that. These people required help and that's what he tried to give them, though admittedly, his methods were a bit extreme.
He walked around the town, not many people were outside as it was getting late and people needed to get up early for work. He watched as mothers called their children home, men closing down shops and the kids complaining, asking their mothers for five more minutes outside. He stared at all this, his mind thinking on the simple beauty of life but from his face, all you could see... was nothing.
He walked forward, looking at a child who had fallen down as he was running home. The child was sniffling while he clutched his knee, having scraped it. The man stood before the child, wanting to help him but he couldn't, not anymore. At that moment the boys mother came running at him, checking his knee. "It's just a bruise, you'll be fine.", said the mother, reassuring her son. The boy smiles at her as she picks him up. She walks towards the man who continues to stare at her, his expression inscrutable. She walks directly towards him, not changing course. Stop, you're gonna run into him, but she doesn't, she merely passes through him. The man looks down as she walks through him, not being used to such a feeling.
"That's gonna take some getting used to.", said the man. He turns around and stares at the woman and child, his expression never changing. He looks around and sees that the place is nearly deserted. He sighs. 'Is this what it's gonna be like?', he thought. 'A world of people and I stand in the dark, alone?'
'This is what you deserve!', another voice inside his head screams out at him. He nods at that thought, agreeing with it. He looks around once more and now their was no one in sight. He grabbed the sleeve of his right arm and lifts it up till his elbow. The veins, up till a few inches above his wrist, are completely black and are bulging out. The man seems unscathed by such a horrific sight. He lowers his sleeve.
He raises his arm and stares at his hand and in a blink of an eye, his hand is engulfed in a fire that burns with a fierce intensity. The fire immediately goes out.
"Now what?"
The man begins coughing, violently. He covers his mouth with his right hand. After a few seconds, he stops coughing and lowers his hand. He examines his hand and sees that their is a small amount of blood on it.
"Hmph"
He wipes his hand on the side of his sleeve.
'Well, Frederick, it's gonna be a lonely life from now on, what are you gonna do?', the voice in his head asked. Frederick stands there, staring, coughing ever so slightly after every few seconds.
"Now, we stay put."