SpeechBubbleMe: Thanks.
Deep within the forest, a father and his young son were out fishing in one of the few lakes that hadn't been frozen over.
"Father, I think I've caught something!" The boy called out with glee as his fishing hook snagged something in the lake. He attempted to reel in his catch, but whatever the fishing hook had caught was struggling hard against the hook's grip.
Seeing his son struggling, the man gripped the boy by the wrist. "Let me help," He said, and the two began to pull together to draw in the hook's catch.
Even with their combined strength, however, whatever was attached to the hook was too strong for both of them. Before either could comprehend what was happening, the fish hook was abruptly yanked from the boy's fingers and sucked into the lake.
"What the-" The father said in shock. He was interrupted when a large figure burst out from the lake's surface with such force that the canoe they were sitting in was nearly capsized.
Filled with sudden terror, the father and son dropped down onto the canoe, peeking out from above it to observe the strange creature as it surfaced above the lake.
The creature looked human in appearance, but at the same time, not quite. He had pale, icy skin, and frozen hair clinging to his skin. At the end of his hands were large claws shaped like ice spikes, sharp and deadly. But the most striking characteristic was his eyes.
They were the eyes of the Snow Queen.
The canoe's residents froze in shock as the ice creature slowly emerged from the lake. As it did, the two could see the end of the boy's fishing hook, lodged deep in the creature's neck. Shockingly, the creature didn't even seem to acknowledge the hook as it crawled out of the lake and onto land.
Then, as the father and son watched on in horror, more ice creatures began to emerge from the lake and ground. They dug out of the ground or swam to the shore. There were men, women, even children, but all of them had the same icy skin and cold eyes.
As the father and son watched, an icy hand shot out from the water and grabbed the boy by the collar, roughly dragging him out of the canoe and into the lake. A tall ice creature emerged from the lake soon afterwards, holding the struggling boy in his icy grip.
"Ellis!" The father shouted out in horror. Quickly, he grabbed his paddle and began striking the ice creature in a desperate attempt to force it to release his son. However, the ice creature merely flicked his arm and snapped the paddle in two.
The ice creature spun the boy around to stare him straight in the eyes. Young, fearful green eyes were met with icy, soulless ones.
For a few, tense seconds, the ice creature locked eyes with the terrified boy, not moving. Then, the ice creature tossed the boy to the side in disinterest. The child landed head-first into the lake while the ice creature slowly headed for land.
"Ellis!" The father shouted. He dove into the water and swam towards his son as the unconscious boy began to sink. Grabbing onto him, the father swam him back to the canoe and lifted him into the boat before crawling in himself.
As the father held onto his son closely, he looked to the shore. The ice creatures were walking into the forest, as if with one mind.
Then, they vanished into the darkness.
The woman Kai had temporarily moved in with had proven surprisingly hospitable during his stay. She had fixed him up dinner, given him a cup of hot tea, and even given him a room to stay at for the time being. He'd have still preferred home, but it was still better than being a prisoner in the Snow Queen's castle.
"So Kai," The Finnish woman said after a period of time. "How did you find yourself in the Snow Queen's domain?"
Kai felt that he had nothing to lose by simply telling the woman the truth. After all, she'd earned it by this point.
"I was taken by the Snow Queen," He confessed, rubbing the back of his head. "I had one of the missing pieces to her magic mirror. She needs all the pieces to find her lost child, except the other piece belongs to a close friend of mine. I didn't want to put her in danger, and I ran away. Now the Snow Queen is looking for me."
The Finnish woman nodded understandingly. "The Queen is a poor soul indeed," She said, shaking her head.
Kai's head snapped up. "Poor soul?!" He spat out in shock. "Do you have any idea what she's done?! The people she's hurt?!"
"Yes, I know," The Finnish woman said, walking slowly to a chair in the living room to take a seat. "There's no excusing what she's done. But the Snow Queen is a very miserable thing. She's seen a lot of misfortune in her life."
It was then that Kai remembered the story his Grandmother had told him and the other children, about the young woman who would become the Snow Queen. His eyes flickered for a moment as he recalled her harsh treatment from the prince.
"Ma'am?" Kai whispered. "Who was the Snow Queen before she became the Snow Queen?"
The old woman turned to stare at Kai for a moment. She looked like she was about to give an answer, when suddenly, the two heard cries of terror erupt from outside the house.
"What the-" Kai said, standing up from his chair and rushing towards the window, wondering what was happening to cause the townspeople outside to fly into a panic.
The moment he reached the window and peered through it, he felt his heart skip a beat.
There, on the streets, he could see dozens of walking, frozen corpses, lumbering through the town. The townsfolk fled in terror as the ice creatures trudged down the street, knocking over carriages as they walked.
"What. . . what are those?" Kai whispered breathlessly.
"Get away from the window!" The old woman ordered him. Immediately, Kai obeyed and ducked out of view from the window before any of the ice creatures saw him.
As Kai hid below the window, he heard the creatures all speak, as if with one voice.
"Where. Is. Kai?"
Kai froze. He recognized that voice as the Snow Queen's. But she couldn't be here, could she? It took him only a few moments to realize that whatever these creatures were, they were being controlled by the Snow Queen herself.
And they were looking for him.
Belle's eyes snapped open when she heard a wolf's howling in the distance. Pushing herself off the ground, Belle looked to the cave's exit. Even in the darkness, she could recognize the silhouette of the wolves in a distance.
A horrified gasp escaped Belle's lips, and she nudged the Beast to awaken him. "Beast!" She half-whispered, half-shouted.
The Beast snorted as he stirred awake. "Belle?" He groaned, his eyes groggy and unfocused. Slowly, he turned to the cave's entrance, and he noticed the wolves in the distance, wandering through the woods.
At this, the Beast snapped awake fully. He sprang to his feet, his claws extended and his teeth bared as he readied himself for a fight. In the distance, the wolves were slowly getting closer to the cave.
Then, for whatever reason, the wolves seemed to stop. Their ears pointed upwards and the wolves let out small whimpers, their heads whipping to their sides. Then, as Belle and the Beast watched on, the wolves turned and ran off in fear.
". . . What just happened?" Belle asked in confusion. Getting to her feet, she walked towards the cave's entrance, squinting her eyes.
"Belle, get back here," The Beast said, following close behind. "Those wolves could still be out there." However, Belle ignored him.
As Belle neared the cave's exit, a dark figure suddenly passed by the cave, startling her. She stumbled backwards into the Beast's arms, her eyes widened in shock.
As the two watched, several figures lumbered past the cave, seemingly giving no notice to the two within the cave. Confused, Belle and the Beast slowly stepped towards the cave's exit, where they could get a better look at the figures.
They had icy skin, pale blue eyes, and clawed fingers. It was also apparent that the creatures weren't truly living, but being controlled by some other force. They paid Belle and the Beast no heed and simply continued heading off deeper into the woods.
"What are they?" Belle asked, clutching the Beast's arm.
"I don't know, but I sense it isn't good news," The Beast whispered. "Get Wynter; we have to get out of here."
Quietly, Belle crept back into the cave and awoke Wynter. Then, she, the Beast, and Wynter slipped out of the cave and into the woods, careful not to be seen by the ice creatures.
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