Apprentice of Ice
Prologue: The Ice Dragon
Hey guys! This is my first Fairy Tail fic on this site, and I know how popular the FT scene is here. And I've kind of had the premise of this story mulling around my head a while.
Oh, and fair warning, some of this might seem a little similar to the film Frozen. Weeell I've seen a lot of it recently and I couldn't help myself. XD
Fairy Tail doesn't belong to me, it belongs to Hiro Mashima.
-X776-
Two children, around the age of 4, run through a forest that's full of snow. The boy is pulling the girl along. The boy has short brown hair which is spiked up, and the girl has long silver hair which straight and flowing.
"I swear it's this way, Setsuko!" The boy states to the girl, who's presumably named Setsuko.
"What? What are you even trying to show me, Ruisu?" She asks the boy.
"I think it's meant to be a dragon!" Ruisu claims, making the girl's eyes widen.
"A dragon?! But they're scary! And besides, they're just rumours! What if it turns out to be wrong? Stuff like that usually is, y'know!"
"Your magic is real, isn't it?"
This does it. Setsuko wriggles her arm free of Ruisu's grip, and she stops, making what looks like a hurt face. Ruisu stops soon after and looks back, knowing he might have hit a sore spot.
"Set, I never meant to-"
"No...I know. My magic is a curse to me. My magic is a curse to our family. Mother knows it. Father knows it. They just won't tell me they do. They keep on lying to me with a straight face."
"Set…." He walks over to his twin sister and wraps her in a hug. "If they want to think that, then let 'em!"
"Ruisu…?"
"Whatever you think about yourself is all that matters. Besides, even if you are the only one with magic, think about this. It makes you -you-, right?" He says with a smile. "Stop with the frown, please..? I love your magic. I'd love to perform magic like you do!"
"...You're right, Ruisu." She says with a smile and a few tears. "But I'm thinking of when I lost control of it last month….."
"Oh, that….?"
"Yes. I almost gave you pneumonia, Ruisu! had they not thawed you out sooner-"
"I know, I know….but come on, I did get over it pretty quickly, didn't I?"
"Okay, Ruisu….thank you." She says, wiping tears off of her face, smiling at her brother.
"Of course I do! Now let's go find us a-"
RROOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAARRR!
"...dragon?!"
At that point, above the trees flies a huge light blue dragon that stuns the two children in their tracks, Setsuko with a look of shock and slight horror on her face and Ruisu with a look of excitement and glee on his face.
"...So….the stories about the dragons...they were true?!" Setsuko asks in pure shock, her light blue eyes the size of pinpricks. "We need to get back to the castle, Ruisu-"
She looks to her brother, only to realise that he isn't next to her any longer.
"Ruisu….?"
She looks at the ground to see his footprints. It's then that she realises that those footprints show that like an idiot, he's ran right after the dragon!
"Ruisu!"
She instantly runs in the same direction of Ruisu, wanting to get her younger-by-5-minutes brother back.
"Ruisu, don't! It's too dangerous! You don't know what the dragon could do to you! It could end up eating you!"
She continues her pursuit, following his footprints closely.
"Ruisu!"
Tears well up in her eyes, fearing the worst has come to her brother.
"Oh please no…..don't let him be…."
15 seconds later, her fears are instantly washed away, as he is revealed to be stood at the edge of a cliff, looking out to where the dragon has flown off.
"...There you are!"
Ruisu turns to face his sister, who is looking at him with a very angry face, gritting her teeth.
"Oh, Set! You just missed the dragon! It flew off that wa-"
"WHO CARES ABOUT THE DRAGON?!"
Her outburst takes him aback, making him shake. his sister can be scary when she wants to be.
"S-set…..what're you.."
"WHEN THE DRAGON FLEW OFF, AND I LOOKED YOUR DIRECTION, YOU WEREN'T THERE! I THOUGHT SOMETHING OR SOMEONE HAD GOT YOU, TAKEN YOU AWAY AND KILLED YOU!"
"B-but, Set.."
That's when she starts to hit him for scaring her.
"IDIOT, IDIOT, IDIOT, IDIOT, IDIOT-"
"O-ow…! Set….that hurts….!"
"GOOD! BECAUSE THIS ISN'T EVEN CLOSE TO WHAT I WOULD HAVE FELT IF YOU'D HAVE DIED, YOU ABSOLUTE IDIOT!"
At that last shout of "idiot", the hand that's about to strike him accidentally shoots out some of her ice magic, which scares Ruisu out of his mind. Unfortunately, both of them forget exactly where they're standing.
And Ruisu's foot slips over the snowy cliff edge.
It all goes slow motion for them both. Ruisu's eyes widen as he starts to fall back, and Setsuko reaches out to grab his hand, which Ruisu gladly tries to return…...but it's too late, as their hands miss each other by a centimeter.
"No…..!"
"Setsuko…..!"
"Ruisu, please no…!"
As a last resort, she reaches out to grab one of his legs, misses as well.
And at that point, Setsuko's heart stops.
"RUISUUUUU!" She shouts down at her brother, as he falls down the snowy mountain, screaming his sister's name. As mist covers the bottom of that cliff face said mist swallows her brother up before she can see if he's managed to latch onto something.
A few minutes later, she does it. She's finished. She's given up hope.
As far as Setsuko Isanne is concerned, her brother, Ruisu is dead now.
And she is the one that delivered the blow.
All that's left now is to tell her parents the news.
For Steve the Mountain Vulcan, today has not been a good day so far. His brother, Mike, has just found a dead wolf, and the selfish bastard wants to keep it for himself!
Just what the hell's his problem, huh?! They've always been about sharing and now, Mike's being a jerk! Safe to say, Steve is a little bit pissed.
He'll show him. He'll come across something. He'll find something delicious. And when he goes back with it, Mike will be so jealous. Maybe he'll share half of what he has! Then Steve would happily share half of what he catches. Yes. That sounds like a genius plan!
Setting his plan into motion, Steve bounds to the cliff and hops onto it, climbing up it with the eagerness of a hungry ape. Because, let's be fair. He IS hungry. And he IS an ape. Sort of.
"Me hungry. Need food. Brother, giant jerk. Me gonna find food. Make brother jealous."
There's that little voice niggling at the back of Steve's head. "Food doesn't just rain down from the sky magically. Not if you're not experienced enough to pull that off."
But Steve doesn't care. He will find .
"Me patient! Me will keeping looking until I've found what I-"
At that moment, something catches his eye. Something falling. Something small. Smaller than him anyway.
What was that about food not magically raining from the sky?
Thumping his chest wildly, he takes off up the mountain again, hooting and whooping all the way, and then takes a massive leap of faith.
Almost there…..almost there…..got it!
It's a good thing Steve is one of the more athletic of the bunch. Unlike his greedy brother, Mike. His athleticism enables him to make a perfect 10 landing. And that's with the was-falling object in his arms!
After that great landing, Steve looks down to see what he least expected to come falling down into this area. Ever.
A human child.
This little one has brown hair, which is looking a little roughed up. The same could be said for the rest of him, in fact. He's got quite a few cuts and bruises covering his visible body. The bottom of his lip is swollen. His clothes are torn like he'd been pulled through a through a thorn bush.
Steve knows one thing for sure.
The boy is still alive.
He's still breathing.
Steve ponders something for a moment.
This boy looks so innocent. He's only young. His life could still be saved, and Steve could be the one to do it.
However…..
The boy wouldn't know a thing. He's out like a light. Steve could do this boy a favour and put him out of his misery. And he wouldn't even be aware of it.
To save time, Steve hoots and whoops his way back to his den, carrying the KO'd child with him.
Aside from his catch, today is not Steve's day. At all. As soon as he gets on the home stretch on his way back to his den, the blizzard picks up like nobody's business.
It's pretty clear that he should have stayed indoors. The kid would have landed on some soft snow to cushion the blow anyway.
His legs, the boy, his hair, and other unmentionable parts of his body are beginning to freeze. Him and his brethren can predict any snowy weather close by, and he didn't predict this! So what gives?!
These thoughts and more are wiped in an instant when a huge bang resounds behind him, accompanied by a looming shadow. Then. A voice. Calm. Yet firm.
"Just what do you think you are doing with that human child, weak minded Vulcan?"
Steve is scared out of his wits. So slowly and surely, he turns around to check if his small mind isn't playing tricks on him. And when he comes face to face with the owner of the voice, he's pretty sure that he's gonna die.
A light blue dragon with dark blue eyes. Sleek, with what looks like an aerodynamic body. Nevertheless. Steve is bricking it in the presence of a supposedly mythical being.
"I am the Ice Dragon. Winterlynn. And you shall hand that child over to me."
Steve, ever the hugely defiant one, shakes his head rapidly. But the fear is still there. He holds the human child close, not knowing what to do.
"Let me ask you something, Vulcan. Do you value your life? At all?" Seeing the Vulcan shake even more makes her wonder if she's making him shake from fear, or she's going overboard with the blizzard effect. She merely chuckles.
"On the count of three, I want you to give the child over to me peacefully. If you continue to refuse, I will first take the child from you. Then I'll dispose of you myself. Your call, Vulcan."
She doesn't even need to start counting, as Steve rushes over, gently places the child snugly between her claws and not missing a beat, races off, hooting in pure horror.
"...Well….that happened."
She looks down at the unconscious and in bad shape child. "I wonder…...since some of the others have…...would it be wise of me as well? I mean he is awfully young…." She shakes her head and chuckles to herself. "Then again, Weisslogia, Skiadrum and Grandine have taken in young ones. This mischievous dragoness would like in on the action as well."
Picking up the child in her claws, she flaps her wings mightily and takes off for home.
That home being her huge cave not too far from here.
Pain.
That's all Ruisu can feel right about now.
His whole body is bursting with pain. And he swears the one of his legs is gone.
He wakes up, and the first thing he sees, is that he's in a cave of sorts. This one is huge. He doesn't know how he got there, or who saved him, but one thing's for sure.
He's really, really cold.
He notices a glow coming from the right of him. Looking over, it's a small fire. And it's about to go out.
No wonder it's cold. Then again, he is in an icy cave.
"Need more wood for the fire, young one?"
Not wanting to argue with the owner of the voice for now, he nods shakingly and on cue, two logs of wood roll onto the fire, setting alight and warming the place up considerably. Ruisu relaxes and smiles.
"You were in a bad shape when I found you. Do you remember your name, little one?"
"R-ruisu…...Yeah….Ruisu."
"Any second names….?"
"Ummm…..not that I can remember...No...I can't remember a second name…..at all…."
"The poor child…..whatever happened to him, must have caused to him to get amnesia. Tread carefully, Winterlynn."
"What do you even look like anywa-" His voice falls back into his throat as his eyes widen upon seeing…..a dragon. A real life dragon.
"Surprised?"
He nods rapidly.
"...Scared?"
Now this takes Ruisu a few moments before he shakes his head. "J-just….."
"Excited?" She asks with a grin. She knows how much young boys talk about dragons and how excited they can get at the prospect of meeting an actual one. Further proof of that is provided when Ruisu nods, a smile on his face. "I knew you would be. I am the Ice Dragon, and my name is Winterlynn."
"W-Winterlynn?" He repeats, to which the dragon nods. "That's a nice name…."
"It means 'pretty winter' child. Now I need to ask you something. Are you able to walk?"
"I….I think so." Ruisu answers, slowly staggering to his feet, giving out pained yelps. But he grins and bears it. "Y-yep…...all fine…."
She chuckles at his determination, and shakes her head. "You should get some rest. You'll be fine tomorrow. Trust me."
Ruisu, in the end, gives in, and he lies down on the blanket he woke up on, sighing.
"So what happened?" Winterlynn asks him, relaxing in a comfortable position. "Or do you not remember that as well?"
"Ummmm…..I don't remember much….I only remember how I fell."
"Anything before that? Something that may have led up to it?"
There's a pregnant pause between the two before Ruisu answers in defeat. "...No."
"Nothing?"
"Not a thing before…..all I remember….is this hand about to hit me….then this ice magic shot out at me. I fell back...and off a cliff. It scared me."
"Ice magic…?"
"I don't know much stuff from before... I don't even know who my parents are….where my home is...I don't even know exactly who it was that cast that ice spell…"
"Hmmmmm…."
"I just don't know what to do anymore….I don't know where to go….or anything like that. I'm lost!"
"No, you aren't." Winterlynn corrects him, raising a claw to get his attention.
"Huh?"
"From the sounds of it, you've liked the prospect of meeting a dragon in the flesh, correct?" She asks, raising an eyebrow, making Ruisu nod quickly. "And with nowhere to go, you'd be happy to take anything, right?" This makes Ruisu nod again, which in turn makes Winterlynn smirk.. "Well then….how would you like me to take care of you for a while?"
The look on Ruisu's face after this question is priceless.
"R-really?! Y-you a dragon….taking care...of me?!"
"Of course!" She confirms. "I take care of you, give you food, water, and a place to sleep and watch over you to keep you safe for a while. In return, you let me teach you about language and other thing's you need to learn about. Also, while I look after you, I will be teaching you….magic."
His eyes widen. "Magic…..?"
The dragoness nods.
"What kind of magic….?"
"Magic that gives your body the same properties of that of a dragon to utilize it .A form of lost magic. Very powerful as well. It is a form known as…..Dragon Slayer Magic."
"...D-dragon Slayer Magic?!" He asks, with eyes like pinpricks. "But I don't wanna kill you! You've already been so kind to me-" She cuts him off with another rise of her claw.
"Relax, Ruisu, you don't have to kill me. And I won't make you kill me. Honestly, only Weisslogia would run on that logic…" She adds with a chuckle.
"Who's Weisslogia?" Ruisu asks, tilting his head.
"Just a friend of mine. Me and him get into a lot of arguments."
"Oh...okay!"
"So, do you want me to teach you this magic?" Winterlynn asks him.
" Ummm….Winterlynn?" Ruisu starts.
"Yes, young one?"
"What will this magic look like?"
"Well that is a good question...and I'm glad you asked. Dragon Slayer magic can be taught in many forms. It can be used in the form of burning hard fire magic, tough as rock iron magic, the windy and graceful sky magic, light magic, shadow magic, lightning magic and even poison magic! The form I am going to teach you, is the cool, yet dangerous Ice Dragon Slayer magic."
This makes Ruisu freeze for a moment, considering it, and also, he thinks back to what made him fall.
"Ice…...that was ice magic. If she teaches me, I could….."
"You won't feel the cold any more, and you'll even be able to eat any ice magic thrown your way."
"Okay, I'm gonna do it."
"I'll do it!" He shouts with a grin, clutching a fist.
"Excellent." She says. "Now here. Try and eat this."
She then takes a little breath in, then exhales a light icy wind his way, putting out the fire, and enveloping him. He instantly starts shivering, his teeth chattering.
"W-w-w-w-whoa! S-so c-cold…."
"Easy, child! Relax!"
"I-I can't!"
"You can! And you will! Close your eyes and relax your muscles….."
Ruisu hesitates for a moment and closes his eyes. He gets as still as he can, his shaking come down to a minimum.
"Now….breath in."
He nods and does what she says, breathing in, letting the icy wind flow into his mouth. After getting a mouth full of the icy wind, he swallows it…..only to get brain freeze 5 seconds later. He clutches his head and hops about frantically.
"AAAAAHHHHHH! IT'S COLD BUT IT'S HOT AT THE SAME TIME! HOW IS THIS EVEN-"
"Calm down! You'll only make it worse! Concentrate like you did earlier!"
Reluctantly, the young boy agrees and stands firmly again.
"Now, I'm sending another wave your way. I want you to do the same thing as last time."
"WHAT?!"
"No bellyaching! This is to get your body adjusted to the heat, inside and outside. Then there will be no problems letting you handle the magic."
He lets out a small grunt and stands there as she lets out another icy wind, this one more intense than the last. This catches Ruisu off guard, but he just takes it, gritting his teeth. He then clenches his fist and breathes in some more, letting it go into its mouth.
"The more intense the winds get, the more your body will adjust. When the brain freeze comes, endure it."
He nods and swallows, and feels an intense brain freeze a few seconds later. He again grits his teeth, and clenches his fists.
"Someone to teach my magic to….and a year to do it in."
It has been a few weeks since Winterlynn took Ruisu in and his body has gotten used to the intense freezing temperatures. Now the dragoness is onto the next part. Teaching him the actual spells. Ruisu's arms are showing signs of muscles developing. But Ruisu is having trouble casting Ice Dragon's Freezing Fist, one of the standard Ice Dragon Slayer magic spells.
"Come on…...come on…"
His task is to smash a rock while Winterlynn is away, getting tonight's dinner, and getting other spells right, like the standard roar attack, was fairly easy for the developing slayer. And luckily for the slayer, ice is now starting to expel from his fist.
"Aha! Now if I can just do this right…."
He runs towards the rock, letting out a battle cry, and, pulling back his fist, he shouts his desired spell.
"ICE DRAGON'S FREEZING FIST!"
He delivers the punch to the rock…...only for pain to shoot through his arm, making his clutch it.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! HOT, HOT, HOT, HOT HOOOOOOTT!"
After five minutes of letting his arm recover, he remembers something Winterlynn told him. When he failed at using Ice Dragon's Roar the first time.
"You hesitated, Ruisu. You need to believe you can do the spell. You need to go in full force. Don't hesitate. Don't give in to pressure. And don't get overwhelmed. Just think about only the spell….and go for it."
Picking up a mound of snow, Ruisu brings it to his mouth and slurps it all up, gulping it down with ease. After a few more times of this, he feels himself surging with strength.
"Thank you, Winterlynn. See you at dinner."
He grins and clenches his fist, concentrating his magic into it again, and this time, ice is expelled more fluently, and a magic circle bursts forth from it.
Confident, he runs at the rock, his battle cry echoing throughout the blizzard that's starting to rage throughout the area. And that battle cry is followed by the shattering of solid rock.
Pretty soon, Winterlynn returns to find her adoptive son sat where a shattered rock used to be, grinning while nursing a red raw hand.
"I trust you pulled it off handily, Ruisu?" She asks, a knowing grin on her face.
"Oh yeah!"
"Is your hand hurting now?" She asks with a chuckle.
"No…." He lies.
"Ruisu…"
"I swear, my hand is totally fine!" He claims defensively, an obvious pained look on his face and a red hand
"Ruisu, tell the truth or no dinner tonight."
This makes Ruisu recoil, and straight away, he's on his knees.
"Okay, okay! It hurt! It hurt a lot! Now what's for dinner?" He asks, changing the subject quickly.
"I got your favouriiiite~! Beef!"
Ruisu's mouth instantly waters, but the saliva quickly turns to ice, making Winterlynn chuckle at the sight. "So adorable…."
"Race ya inside!" Ruisu shouts, running for the cave quite quickly.
"What? You're not gonna win this time!" Winterlynn shouts, going after the boy. "Wow….some of his mannerisms have rubbed off on me already."
-X777-
July 6th, X777.
Tomorrow, Winterlynn has to make the hardest move of her entire life so far.
Ruisu is still sleeping and Winterlynn has just gotten back from a quick stop, a mournful look on her face. The boy has a tinge of silver in his brown hair now.
"Poor Astra. I really wish I knew who did it to her. I wish I could find whoever it was that put her down, so I could crush them underneath my claws. The sick bastard who did it will one day get what's coming to him. That poor girl she was raising….she must feel so alone now…" She looks at the boy. "Maybe…..maybe you'll find whoever killed Astra. Maybe karma will find him or her and take them down. When that happens, I'll know." With a gentleness you wouldn't normally associate with a dragon, she runs a claw through the sleeping boy's hair. "Dear Ruisu….it's been a year and you've already grown so much. You've become stronger as well. Maybe one day we'll reunite."
At that point, the sleeping boy awakens.
And for probably the last time in a while, she'll see just how strong Ruisu is.
"Ice Dragon's Roar!"
Ruisu takes a deep breath and casts the spell, letting out a really cold tornado filled with sharp shards of ice, at a really big rock. Said rock shatters, echoing throughout the area.
"Very well done, Ruisu! You've gotten strong throughout this past year!" She compliments, a proud smile on her face.
"Yeah, I know right?" He agrees, a grin on his face, and little fangs showing. A sign of a dragon slayer.
"Now….see that rock over there?" She points to a rock just as tall that's fairly thin, to which Ruisu nods. "Well here's a suggestion. Remember that spell we've been practising?" He nods again, now knowing where she's going with it. "Use it at full force. And then I have something to give you."
His face lights up, and facing the rock, his arms start shimmering in ice. He then charges towards the rock, claws of solid ice forming on his knuckles.
"He's going for it…"
"Ice Dragon's…..Frostbite Claws!" He swipes his arms at the rock, leaping over it, and landing the other side. The result is the thin rock breaking in half, a clean cut through it, and the top half sliding off and thudding on the floor. Ruisu's dragon claws dispel and he turns around to face his foster mother.
"That was outstanding….I'm so proud of you, Ruisu."
"Thanks, Winterlynn." He says back in gratitude, bowing to her.
"Now come. Time for dinner. And your present."
At the mention of a present, his face lights up, following Winterlynn into the cave.
A little later, after Ruisu's eaten, they both sit close to each other.
"Now Ruisu...I have a present." She tells him, reaching into her scales.
"Oh yeah! A present! Wonder what it'll be?" Ruisu wonders out loud.
It's then she presents him with what looks like a royal blue neck bandana.
"Huh? What is it?"
She places it on his hand. "It's a bandana. A lot of famous past warriors and vigilantes wore them. And I know how much you like acting like one while I'm not here."
"H-how did you know that?!" He asks, blushing from embarrassment.
"I like to keep quiet from time to time." She says, giggling at his reaction, which makes him pout. "Wear that, Ruisu, and in case something happens to me, and we're separated…..know that I'll be there with you...in here." She places a claw on his chest where his heart would be.
He smiles, nodding at her words, and brings it over his head and lets it rest snugly around his neck.
"Looking more like a warrior already." Winterlynn quips. It's then that Ruisu lets out a yawn, signifying he's tired and wants to go to sleep. "Get some rest, Ice Dragon Warrior…." He nods and slowly drifts off to sleep, his chest rising and falling gently.
"And good luck….Ruisu Isanne…"
She's gone.
"WINTERLYNN!"
His mother is gone.
"WINTERLYNN! WHERE ARE YOU?!"
And the only thing he's left with now is a small bag of spare clothes, and…..
….the bandana.
That's why she was going sentimental last night. She was leaving him.
"Winterlynn…."
He's now a few miles away from his cave, and right now, he doesn't think he's going to go back there.
He's on his own now.
And right now, Ruisu doesn't know how to feel about that. But one thing's for sure.
There's a whole lot of somethings out there waiting for him.
Okay, this is my first legit try at writing a Fairy Tail fanfic. And I know the Ice Dragon Slayer's probably been done to death, but this is my take on it.
Plus the chapters after this are gonna most likely be shorter than the prologue.
But I am determined to work my best on this.
So review and tell me what you thought!
Bye! - Lewis