Frozen Hazard
Monsters

by EnnyMay

I dreamt of monsters that night. Even now I remember the horror and while I could never recollect the dream in detail, I believe… one of the monsters was me. I woke up with a start and blinked into the soft glow of morning. The girls were nowhere to be seen, probably out somewhere to take a stroll or get breakfast. I got up and stretched myself. I felt a hundred years old! Not to mention the everlasting presence of darkness within me. But for some reason I accepted it that morning. If it was a part of me, I might as well start living with it. Back then it felt like a good thing, like I was making progress, but looking back… but let's get on with the story. Not that I'm in any hurry…

Wandering through the palace, my thoughts as idle as my step, I passed the first hour of the day. The helpers from Tarzea had been in a meeting with the king and queen, as well as the Aressians we were to escort back to Tarzea. Apparently they had been at it since day break. I just hoped it wouldn't take much longer. The sooner we finished this mission the better. Everything would go back to normal afterwards. I wanted, or maybe… needed to believe that.

Somewhere I got something to eat though I cannot remember where or what it was. I know I spotted a guard that looked cute to my young eyes. Not that it matters… but maybe it does. It's proof that I was just a girl too. At least… back then. At some point Kadma joined me. She looked even more thoughtful than usual but wasn't ready to share with me. Sometime around noon, when the suns burned high in the sky, the helpers were ready, wearing the thick robes they had from when their planet had been cold and snowy. Wait! ... There was something else... Ah! Right! It took us a while to get Cassidy, if I remember correctly. Sadly I cannot remember any details of her disappearance... Oh, well. We had to search for her for a time but then Yan Lin came back with her in toe and we set off to Tarzea.

As always, the world welcomed us with a newly formed landscape and icy winds that stung my cheeks. The Aressians cursed under their breath. Apparently the cold weather hadn't been as merciless back on their planet. We slowly made our way – guided by the heart – to Cérat. My step was light. Accepting the darkness within me or… the change I felt, had made me confident again and the cold helped to keep my head clear and focused. We passed giant drifts and ruins of houses, crushed by the weight of the snow. Suddenly Kadma stopped in her tracks. She stared off into the distance, closely scrutinizing something. "What is it?" I asked but she was already walking away, off towards that undefined point. We called after her but her step was decisive and strong. We had no choice but to follow her. It didn't take long to reach the point of interest: A high standing rock with strange markings on it. She pointed up to them. "That. I've seen that in Aressy. On a stone." Yan Lin flew up to get a closer look. She touched the stone gently, then she frowned. Floating back down to us she shouted over the wind: "Magic! It has to be!" Kadma nodded. "It's the very same visual. This can't be a coincidence." Halinor stared at her bewildered: "So what? You're saying magic did this? Someone did this? All of this?" Her arms swung to both sides indicating the masses of snow. "There's no other explanation. Think about it. A spell is the only thing that makes sense. The weather of these planets has been switched out. I talked to the locals on Aressy and they didn't notice any other anomalies. The moons are in their usual place, as are the suns. Plus, the change occurred suddenly, from one day to another, not over the course of months. No natural phenomenon could cause this." A spell. The one the children cast… The book! I had completely forgotten about it! Shame and panic rose within me and I turned away from the others to gather my wits. What to do? I could hardly hand it over now, it would look as if I had been hiding it! They would never believe me. Even worse, I was sure Cass and Hali would accuse me, turn against me. No I had to find another way. An idea developed in my head.

"If it is a spell," I began "we should be able to learn something about it in Kandrakar. Surely the Oracle knows what to do or we could take a look at the fortress' library." I couldn't help a slight smile. It was a good plan. Yes, I was beginning to like the new me. After such a long time of worrying, being burdened by everything and everyone, anxiety and depression… this new confident, easy and strong me was a bliss! Kadma looked at me for a moment with those calculating eyes. Hesitating, she agreed and then pushed the others to go along with my idea. We hurried to the Collective, dropped the helpers unceremoniously into the hands of Mara and left for Kandrakar. Mara… I still don't like that woman. I wonder what became of her…

The Oracle, being his ever-annoying self, played one of his cryptic question-answer games that I'm going to spare you the details of. Important is that we ended up in the library as planned and I could manage to get the book out of the Heart. It didn't take much to convince the girls I had just found it in the shelves. To make it seem less suspicious, I had waited almost half an hour until I started the pretense so it was more likely that I was telling the truth. I really thought myself to be clever.
Leaving the discovery of the spell to Yan Lin, we started working on a counter spell. Cassidy seemed uninterested. She had been acting strange again since we returned and kept taking out books from the shelves as if in search of something. It was a complex spell and dangerous. We had to get it right the first time but how was that possible if the ingredients from the book weren't the ones the children used? Would it even work? I started doubting again, and I hated it. Right in that moment Cassidy became frantic, dropping books from the shelves, grunting and mumbling to herself. "Cassidy? Cass! Stop!" I ran to her side asking what was going on but she just slammed me away and kept searching through the books. "There has to be something!" She kept saying to herself. We tried to calm her, pull her away from the books when she started crying and falling to her knees. "I can't do it! There has to be something… something I can do! I just want it to stop!" We had no idea what she meant back then of cause. Today I can only guess. But if I had to, I would say she was talking about that thing that stalked her, the Eyelurker. Poor Cass. If it wasn't for that... that monster! Maybe she would still be... sorry... I feel a bit... sentimental today.

We agreed on Yan Lin taking Cassidy out for a while. She was the best at calming people, giving advice, or… making them talk. If anybody could find out what was bothering Cassidy, it was her. The two left and I took the chance to speak with the remaining two. Funny, how this moment burned itself into my memory. I can see it clearly before me. The bright, high reaching walls, the flying books and Hali and Kadma hunched over the book, taking notes, talking through theories and ideas. If this went wrong it would be my fault. Many would pay the price. So I told them everything. About the children, the spell, what they had used instead of the ingredients in the book, why I hadn't shown it to them before. Halinor was furious. We bickered while Kadma just stood there watching, thinking, until… "ENOUGH! This discussion doesn't help. We're all worn out by this mission and…" She looked at me "I understand why you wanted to protect the children." I looked at the floor. Her words comforted me but I still felt like a betrayer. What would happen to those children if anybody found out they were involved? "I'm sorry I didn't think of it earlier. And I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the children. I just… you saw how desperate the people in Aressy are. I couldn't risk them getting hurt." Halinor exhaled noisily. "Fine. What do we do now?" She looked at Kadma, who looked pointedly at me. "Well, Nerissa? Madame keeper? Your call." She wanted to leave me my role. I'm certain of that. But in that moment I felt pressured. Sweat ran down my neck. I swallowed and said: "I still think we should leave the children out of this if possible. We have the description of what they used for the spell and should be able to make a counter spell based on that." Halinor drew lines through her curly locks. "Pffft… this is a mess. What if someone asks us how we came up with the counter?" "We'll tell them about the book." "And if the Oracle starts asking questions? I will not lie to him, Nerissa. He'll know anyway." I sighed but nodded. I couldn't ask for more, it seemed. "Alright. Agreed."

We got to work right after. Yan Lin and Cassidy stayed absent but none of us had the time to think much of it. Once the counter was set and we had run through it in theory multiple times, we decided to give it a go. Kandrakar is a place of many resources and so it was no problem to get the right ingredients. Yan Lin joined us, her face dark. We looked up from our work and Kadma asked about Cassidy. "She's… not well. Honestly I don't know what's going on with her. She wouldn't tell me anything and then she just disappeared. I looked everywhere and found her in some hall way crying her eyes out, lashing out with her magic at anyone coming near." Kadma's eyes grew in worry. "Where is she now?" Yan Lin sat down on the ground. "I asked the Oracle to send her home. I... doubt that will solve her problem though." We looked at one another. What was there to do? We didn't know what it was that troubled her, nor did she talk to us. The Oracle didn't have an answer either and that was rare. So we decided to do the one good that we were capable of: reverse the spell.

It may sound spectacular but in reality, we just stood there reciting a few words, and waited. The tension was palpable until a man came into the library announcing the Oracle wished to see us.

"Your efforts have taken fruit. Look." With a move of his hand, tiny particles appeared, building swirls, then shapes of a world. Tarzea. The snow began to melt, the sun was shining and the people were outside, laughing. The image changed, flowing into another. Aressy. Rain clouded the landscape and its inhabitants were dancing, holding up anything they could get to gather the water. A drop fell to my hand. I was crying. The tears streamed down my face freely while my eyes longed for more. More happy faces, more of this victory and the end of this cursed mission. The moment had arrived! The Oracle released us and we left for home. I was in such a good mood I took out the flute to play a few tunes. It relaxed me and a melody was created that I found rather catching. I would play it for the others at a proper time. I think I fell asleep after. I probably ate with my parents… I can hardly remember their faces now. But the peace we had all been longing for didn't last. The next day we were called back to Kandrakar.

Somehow, word had spread that the royal children had been responsible for the chaos. I shot a glance at Hali and Kadma but both looked just as shocked as myself. The Oracle stepped down from his pedestal. I remember how threatening it appeared to me. The threat of another order. The last one I would ever execute for him.

"Tarzea rages with anger. They have declared war, if the children are not handed over to them. In Aressy the people demand the very same of the king and queen. As the guardians, it is your duty to protect the balance." His words echoed through the grand hall of the brotherhood with a hundred eyes on us. The mighty Oracle had come down just to stand in front of me and look. I don't know what he saw that day but for the first time, I saw a hint of emotion crossing his face.

We were to set out as soon as possible to fight the people we were meant to protect.

To be continued...