A/N: This is written for the Winter Edition of the Seasonal Competition on WCFC. Hope you guys like it!
All she can remember is parts of it.
She was so close. So very close to ruling the Magic Dimension. And then that stupid, ugly Dragon Fire fairy ruined it. The girl had to interfere, didn't she? It's what she does.
Icy sits up in the hospital bed. Propping herself up on her three pillows, she reaches for her glass of water. She is, unnaturally, freezing. The water glass tinkles against her teeth and as she takes a sip, she shivers wildly at the temperature of the water. Why is it suddenly so cold? She wonders.
Icy's hands shake as she puts the glass back on the bedside table. The gale force wind thrusts open the window, making the curtains blow wildly. Hurriedly, Icy grabs her duvet and wraps herself up in it, breathing out as she is finally filled with a bit of warmth.
She wants the window shut but if she reaches out to press the button to call her nurses, then it will get cold again. So she shouts instead.
"Nurse Peters!" she calls at the top of her voice.
The nurse comes running, the hem of her white apron flapping against her knees. "What is it, Icy?" she asks hurriedly.
Icy gestures with her head towards the window. "You want the window shut?" Nurse Peters asks her, slowly walking to the window.
"Yes," Icy whispers hoarsely.
Nurse Peters smiles. "Your name is Icy, right?" she asks as she pulls the window shut and locks it with the key from her pocket.
"Right…" Icy answers. She lifts her knees up from the bed and hugs her chest to them.
"So, why are you so cold all the time?" the nurse asks her, walking back around and picking up the half full glass.
"I never used to be," Icy says pointedly. She picks idly at her nails. "Before the events of… the other day… I used to be the Witch of Ice. I used to lower the temperature of everything. I froze everything – and everyone. Even the Fairy of the Dragon Fire." Icy says Bloom's name with disgust but a sense of pride at having beaten the fairy once in her lifetime. "But then she came out as superior. She beat me. And now I'm some pathetic little injured thing that shivers when the wind blows."
Nurse Peters is quiet for a long time after Icy's explanation. Icy stares at her, trying to figure out what is going on the nurse's head.
"What?" Peters asks, shaking herself out of whatever she was thinking about.
"What are you thinking?" Icy asks her, irritated. She frowns and her teeth chatter.
"Icy…" Nurse Peters says. Another pause follows.
"Yes? Just spit it out already!" Icy nearly yells at her. She wants to reach out and shake the nurse to her senses but that is just entirely inappropriate. She makes do with cocking an eyebrow at the woman standing before her in the apron.
"Can you… tell me what happened? With you and that other fairy?" Nurse Peters sits on the bed and faces Icy. The glass is returned to the table.
"With Bloom?" Icy asks. Peters nods. "Well… I… can't remember it all. Just snippets here and there. Will that do?"
"Give me as much as you can remember, Icy." Nurse Peters smiles.
Icy racks her brains, searching for information; anything that can help the nurse. She remembers fire. Burning fire. And then it all comes back to her. Before she can stop herself, everything is pouring out of her mouth.
I was nearly the queen. The queen of Magix. I could just see myself and my comrades (Darcy and Stormy – they were somewhere else in the Magic Dimension wreaking havoc before I made my ultimate breakthrough). I would, of course, be in charge at all times but I'd let them have their shot at ruling. For a bit, anyway.
I started to focus on my would-be kingdom. Everything was in ruins. I could see it all from my floating position just above the mall. Broken building laid scattered. Smashed cars were turned every which way in each nook and cranny. Everywhere my head turned, I could see the debris of walls, houses and offices.
It was marvellous.
I was ready to turn it all into ice. Power surged through my veins and crackled at my fingertips, just waiting to get out into the air and cause further destruction. I smirked. The time had come to begin my reign. I let out a cackle as I threw my head back.
My hands started to glow white as I concentrated on letting all my power out.
Once it had been released, I would loosen my grip on it and give it its own mind. Everything would be turned to ice; glistening, pearl white layers of it. The frozen debris would vanish. Or rather, it would turn into a beautiful, gleaming palace for me and my sisters. I would give myself a massive throne, upon which I would sit and command my people. It was a perfect plan.
I lifted my hands from beside me and brought them in front of me. All my icy goodness had been gathered in one place. On the mental count of three I would let rip.
Suddenly, I was burning. Not burning would rage – really burning. My back was aflame, I saw, when I turned round curiously. And standing, a few feet away from me was none other than the smirking redhead. And what was more, she was in another outfit that I didn't recognize. Great. New powers not to be underestimated. I knew that for a fact. I didn't know just then how accurate that statement was.
Now I was fuming. She was ruining my perfect plan. She was delaying me! I growled at her, and she just laughed. That didn't do me justice. So I fired. She countered my attack with a spell of her own.
Back and forth we went in the same manner, just shielding ourselves and throwing attacks at each other. I was extra snarky at her though. I had to be – I had to wait longer to become the ruler! She started flying away, so I chased her, all the while firing in the hope of slowing her down. No avail.
But then I had an idea. Freeze the vexatious prat's heart. That was now part of my plan. I flew in front of her and held my hands up in front of me.
"Get ready to meet your end, fairy!" I warned her with a smirk.
She looked surprised (as usual) but there was something off about her, like she was faking her astonishment. I didn't take any notice (a mistake) and took my shot. My icy crystalized trail left my fingertips and encased the fairy in a pyramid of ice. I turned my back on her and threw my fist in the air with a silent 'yes!'.
When I turned back around, she had melted herself out of the ice and now was smirking at me with her hands on her hips.
"Other way round, witch!" she frowned.
I glowered. I didn't know what this new power of hers was capable of. I guess I found out too late. A flame rushed towards me and hit me unexpectedly in the chest.
With my arms and legs flailing, I was thrown backwards. I struggled to get a grip back on my flying abilities. When I did, I felt a sharp throbbing where my heart should be beating. All thoughts of keeping myself afloat had vanished. I started plummeting to the ground, my eyelids drooping shut.
When I opened them again, I found myself in this – uncomfortably unfamiliar – hospital bed.
"So yeah," Icy rounds off by saying. "That just about sums it all up." She shrugs.
The nurse chuckles. "A bit detailed for 'I can't remember much of it'," she declares. "Don't you think?" Icy shrugs again.
"So? What have you figured?" She asks, remembering the original reason she went off into a synopsis of her battle.
"Just as I thought. Dual Element Syndrome," Nurse Peters declares flatly. She continues when Icy looks on, clearly confused. "When you have two different elements in your body or heart, as in, say, Earth and Wind, or in your case, Ice and Fire, the original element will always be weaker."
"Why?" Icy interrupts.
"Because you've been using it so often. Anyway, the element that has been inserted will overpower the original. And because your body is so used to the first, the new element won't be 'welcomed', if you like."
"Can it… be cured?" Icy whispers nervously. She has gone very pale – which is not so surprising for an ice-bearer – but for the wrong reason – fear, which is very surprising for Icy.
This time Nurse Peters shrugs. "Depends on how much the first element has been overpowered."
"What if… what if it's too much?" She is wondering about her goal. She might not be able to fulfil it.
"Then you either can't cope with the new element or live without powers if you get it removed after your original element has been totally taken over."
Icy starts shaking. She closes her eyes and falls back on the bed as she thinks. She will either have her precious life ripped away from her or have to live the rest of it as a normal human: without magic powers. Which is worse? Keeping an unfamiliar element in her body and losing her life? Or getting rid of it and living a horrible life?
Losing her life, definitely. Without powers she will be useless. But if she is cured, then she will be amazing. However, fire is not something she wants to be a part of.
"So find out how much fire I have. Find out and do whatever it takes to get rid of it. Even if it means killing me," she says without opening her eyes. Peters raises an eyebrow.
"Sure?" She asks.
Icy kicks off the duvet and starts shivering violently. "Yes, Nurse Peters. Just do it."
"Very well." Nurse Peters readies herself. She places her hands on Icy's chest. They glow a faint purple and she closes her eyes. A while later, she opens them again and breaks the contact between them.
"Icy," she says forlornly. "You have too much fire in you. Your ice has melted. You cannot be cured."
Icy's next expression will always be etched in Peters' mind. She looks so stricken that the nurse feels like crying. Icy starts shaking again.
"Then let me die," she whispers hoarsely. This time, a tear escapes the eye of the nurse.
"You could live without powers, sweetie."
"No. I'm useless then," is the reply. "And don't ever call me 'sweetie'. Just let me die now."
"But Icy…" Nurse Peters' voice cracks.
"No. Kill me. Now. I want to die." It seems like Icy is facing the facts. Whatever happens, she will leave the world without accomplishing her life-goal. Without powers or with fire, neither of which accompany her plan seamlessly.
"F-fine. Stop asking me to." Peters stands up. "I'm going to add more fire, which will burn you."
Peters' actions count as murder. She knows she will lose her job. But Icy is so commanding that she feels the need to oblige. It's wrong to do what a patient says. Don't, her mind says. But she wants her favourite patient to be happy, for (almost) her every desire to be fulfilled. So she does what she is asked.
Her palm glows red and she lowers to Icy's chest. When the flame enters, Icy screams. The patient's body glows red and, with one last plunge of the hand, Icy has been killed.
Peters' immediately falls to her knees, holding Icy's lifeless hand in hers. She sobs uncontrollably, asking for forgiveness in between.
Darcy and Stormy enter the room. Darcy stops at the doorway, looking emotionless at the corpse of her sister.
Stormy's anger kicks in and she starts a cyclone in the room which scoops up the nurse and takes her out of the window.
Both of them run up to the older sibling and take each of her hands. They tell her how stupid she was because of her desire to die. Eventually they break down into tears (even witches cry sometimes) and realize that they are on their own. For everything that is headed their way.