I do own this, so poo on you…

Yes, I am the writer of the currently unpublished Iceworld and the developing sequel. The former hopefully will be published later this year… If you have any questions concerning anything, go ahead and ask, I can't expect you to follow the 'past' crap.

Angela sat on her window seat, she was the Ice Princess of the snowy land of Iceworld sighed as she looked out the window at the dragons swooping and soaring around… Nomis, who'd been the first Frost Dragon in who knows how many years, had found a mate during the Great Battle of Theros and Iceworld and now the offspring of the unexpected union were living in the 'stables' if that's what you wanted to call them.

Angela sighed and got up, her distinctly unfeminine clothing of breeches and a loose shirt creasing as she did so. She brushed her long, brown hair out of her crystal blue eyes as she started toward the servant entrance in the hall.

King Benjamin, called Ben by his wife and a dragon tamer by many others, had restricted the Princess to her room for gallivanting off to the mountains on one of the dragons and fighting off the creatures that had succumbed to living there after the battle was over. He claimed she was putting herself in needless danger, but Angela didn't care. Her father had always been stuffy and too closed minded. He rarely set foot outside without Queen Mia, Angela's mother, and soaring off on Nomis.

Careful to avoid getting spotted by anyone that could turn her in to her parents; she dashed outside and ran promptly into one of the guards. "Rollan! I was just…."

Rollan looked down at her and raised his eyebrows. Leaning on his weapon, an advanced spear like device, he grinned as she spluttered for a good excuse. "Sneaking out again, Princess? Where to this time?"

Angela smiled tentatively. "Well, I was hoping to keep that a secret, that way you really won't know if they ask… Which they will, they're so nosy…" she scowled suddenly, thinking of her parents. "I'll be back before sun down though, I swear on my power I will." Angela felt the swelling of power as it was offered. She shoved the cursed magic back down to the bottom of her worries. Continuing to plead, she watched as Rollan's amusement turned to credulity.

"All right, all right, just go then. But remember, before sundown you'd better be back or there's going to be problems…" He said, no longer grinning. He too had felt the power swell within the Princess, he knew better than to tamper with such stuff. "Just go on, I'll have to tell them, though, you know."

Smiling wider, Angela nodded. "Of course, just give me a head start and I'll be gone…" She waved and was off before anyone else could see her. Going straight to the stables, she quickly found the one stall that wasn't built for a dragon. It held instead a different kind of magical beast. An enormous wolf, with gleaming, intelligent yellow eyes, stared at her as she grabbed the harness for its neck.



Knowing what was next, the wolf stood, ready for the Princess to enter and clip the harness around the great, shaggy neck, hoping that the armor wouldn't be involved this time. The wolf stood docilely until Angela had mounted and given the silent and power signal to run.

Carefully the wolf darted out of the stable, a gray streak for anybody not looking. Angela smiled and buried her face in the wolf's thick fur to protect her face. Nothing was more fun or exhilarating than this ride, expect maybe the dragon's fastest dive. The wolf's instincts kicked in around the gates and it snapped playfully at the guards, who nonetheless got out of the way of the large, razor-sharp teeth.

So Angela was on her way out of Snowsdale once again. She looked back at the Palace and saw in one of the upper widows, a sorrowful face framed by long black hair and the same crystalline blue eyes as Angela had. Turning away, the young princess bit down her anger and guilt for looking back and seeing her mother at the window. Mia was nothing but kind to her daughter if she could help it and Angela regretted what she did after every expedition because of her mother's tears.

Angela urged the wolf on faster than she'd ever asked of it before. She wanted to know how far she could get before she had to go back. In response, the wolf's pace picked up and seemed that they barely touched the ground. Soon, the mountains had gone by and they were farther south than Angela had ever been unsupervised before. They passed a small hut that stood on the far side of the mountains and kept going. Never wanting to stop, she secured herself more firmly to the back of the wolf and laid against it, sinking into the sleep that had escaped her the night before.

When Angela opened her eyes once again, she noticed three things right away, one that the wolf was walking slowly enough to stop at any moment, two that a town was nearby and coming closer with every footfall, and finally that she was nowhere near anywhere she recognized.

Panicking slightly, she sat straight up in time to see that she and her mount had now entered the unknown town and that only two or three of the buildings were made of the enchanted ice that so many were. That must be why I don't know where we are. They don't have the necessities to meet royalty. The wolf slowed to a stop and panted, obviously exhausted. Knowing that with a few hours rest, he'd be fine, Angela got off and walked into the closest building, which didn't seem to friendly…

Trying to ignore the filthy vagabond looking patrons, she walked to the bartender, unsuccessfully attempting to avoid the curious glances. "Excuse me, sir?" she asked quietly, but still strongly. She had some authority as Princess after all. "What city is this? And where might I find the stables for my…mount?"

The man behind the bar turned and stared at her. "Sir?" he repeated, obviously amused by the reference. "You just call me 'sir', Girlie?" he asked, a menacing tone tinting his voice. He leaned on the bar toward her, his breath alone making Angela want to take a step back.



"Yes, sir, could you tell me where I am and where I could find stables?" she asked, more than just a little annoyed, having gotten her mother's short temper for idiots. "Or should I ask someone who understands speech?" she added cuttingly.

The bartender laughed. "Hey boys, looky here. There's a high and mighty girl here who wants to know where she is?" he called tauntingly over Angela's head. A few of the men sitting there laughed and sneered at her and stood. They'd only taken a few steps toward her when a hand caught her wrist. Turning back around to the bartender, she saw the untempered rage built there by Angela's insults.

"Why don't we get one thing straight, Girlie," he began, his voice was soft now but the menace wasn't just tinting as much as coating it anymore. "You never, walk in here and insult me. It might just be the biggest, and probably last, mistake of your life…" He threw a triumphant look over his captive's head at the men, only to be struck in the jaw by an unseen assailant.

The assailant grabbed Angela's hand just as the bartender let go. He dragged her, in shock, away from the bar and toward the oncoming threat of half a dozen angry men. With a shake of his head, Angela's savior dropped her wrist and disappeared into the throng for a moment. After several minutes, the men started dropping and Angela's savior grabbed her again, and pulling her out the door, grabbed the harness of the wolf too. He swung up agilely and pulled her up after him. A few of the men left standing in the bar tumbled out the door after them, but by that time, the two were gone.

Angela clung to the waist of her savoir, not being able to reach the harness, until they stopped, just outside what appeared to be the stables. Swinging off the back of her mount, she turned to watch him dismount as well.

She was surprised to find that he looked barely a few years older than her and definitely weathered by fighting experience. His whole body seemed muscled but not to the point where they looked over done. His face consisted of a wide forehead, a distinct and strong jaw line and a slightly off centered nose, as if it had been broken once or twice. The most startling thing about him was his eyes. They looked almost orange, but browner than anything orange she'd ever seen. Angela realized that the best description of them would be like a fire that had reduced to embers.

He was a nearly a head taller than her and smiled at her openly, though she was sure he was sizing her up, much the same way she was him. Chastising herself, she smiled and nodded in return. "Thank you, I owe you my life," she said quietly, trying to sidestep him to get a grip on the harness to lead the wolf to the stables.

But he blocked her by shifting his weight ever so slightly. "Wait," he responded, an accent touching his deep voice lightly, "Tell me your name and agree to let me buy you something to eat and I'll call it even." He grinned confidently, little did he know what was coming his way.

"Again I thank you for saving my life, but I can afford my own meals and don't need some tavern brawler to buy them for me. Now, if you would please move aside, I can let my poor animal rest. I can't even tell 

you how long he's been running," she snapped, trying and failing beautifully to remain civil. She went to step around him again.

Shock, but undeterred, he grinned and blocked her once more. "Well just cuz you can afford it doesn't mean I won't pay. And I'll even give you my name as a trade for yours. Sound fair? Besides, who knows who I'm going to have to save you from when you tongue is as bad as a sword." He laughed. "My name is Keiyo Amora. Now, are you going to tell me yours?" he asked, still grinning as he stood in her way.

Angela glared at him and weighed her chances of winning a fight or being able to dodge around him quickly enough. Neither seemed t have a good enough shot to try. "Pr- Angela… Snow," she told him, using the untraceable maiden name her mother had owned when she'd grown up in a different world. The Queen had dropped her last name when she was crowned and then married.

Keiyo smiled. "That wasn't so hard, now for your beast and lunch. This way please," he said, triumphant and gloating, he lead the way to the empty stalls and a friendly inn not far away.