Chapter 8: Refuge at the Gingerbread Kingdom

Grace could now feel her floppy ears turning numb from the coldness of the ice spell still casting over her. With the Ice Empress now losing her patience with her, Grace had a feeling in her heart that she could not refuse Crystal's offer in this state. Gazing back at Crystal with sadness in her eyes, she was about to answer.

"Alright I'll…," Grace was cut off when she saw Crystal squeal and threw her arms over her face after releasing her shoulder blades. Grace fell back on the ice like a hard object without breaking. It was Rudolph flying by. Somehow or other, he had managed to make it in the nick of time through the terrible windstorm to save her life.

"Leave her alone and go back to where you belong!" she heard the reindeer cry out to Crystal who was now cowering from his glow. The Ice Empress had failed once again, but she was still determined to capture Grace at all costs for her plan to work. But for now, she transformed into a snowy whirlwind and took off into the distance. In truth, Crystal wanted the red-nosed reindeer to think that she had given up quickly since he was still unaware of her plot to steal the Christmas Star.

Once he was sure she was now out of sight, Rudolph went to check on Grace who was lying on her side, shivering beneath the frosty ice covering most of her body. Though she was lucky to not have her head frozen, the feeling of numbness had overcome her.

"Are you alright there?" he asked in a worried tone. Grace looked up at him shivering violently and nodded weakly, even though she knew that wasn't true at all. The ice woman's powers were nearly too intense for her to resist. Rudolph himself couldn't believe how much damage Crystal had done to the poor heifer. "Oh no, uh…hold still now," he stammered whilst lighting up his red nose. The glow illuminated her frozen body melting the ice like a sun shining on a frosted tree. That did the trick alright, but Grace was still shivering like crazy since part of her body was still looking blue.

Soon Maggie and Mrs. Calloway came sliding across the frozen Cherry Sea to check and see if everything was alright. They too had been shocked to see the terrible condition Grace was in. She had only been able to sit up halfway up with her front legs shaking, coughing hastily.

"Wait, it was her again wasn't it?" Mrs. Calloway asked in a tone mixed with anger and sadness at the thought of losing Grace to Crystal. "The ice woman?"

"We have to get her out of here somehow," Maggie replied, gazing at her surroundings. "But we can't walk through this ice without slipping over and over." She tapped her foot repeatedly on the ice until the bottom began to form a crack growing all over the Cherry Sea. The ice was breaking off! "Oops!"

"Quick, help me get her back to the boat!" Rudolph cried out, gently trying to help a shivering Grace off her feet. Knowing that this was not the time to blame somebody, the other two rushed over quickly. Soon Grace was leaning against Mrs. Calloway limping along as they struggled to trudge back to the boat on the slippery sea. Although the cracking of the ice was not nearly as quick as the adventurers thought it would be, they still needed to hurry to the Gingerbread Kingdom as fast as possible to warn Princess Maple that Crystal may still be lurking somewhere within Candy Land.

CCRRAAACCKKK!!! The ice began to break louder than before with the four now a few feet away from the boat still frozen halfway.

"There's the boat, let's move quickly!" cried Rudolph seeing that the boat was starting to toss from side to side, due to the ice becoming slushy.

There was no point in turning back or choosing to take a suicidal ride on an ice block once the sea becomes defrosted. By luck, they had made it back inside the boat as soon as the ice cracked into a million pieces. The few remaining fragments had floated in different directions across the restored Cherry Sea.

Entrance of the Gingerbread Kingdom

The group finally reached the entrance of the Gingerbread Kingdom where it was made out of many layers of frosting, gumdrops, licorice, lollipops, and chocolate bars. It was the size of an enormous medieval castle seen in picture books. Neither Maggie nor Grace showed any interest in taking a bite out of anything sweet. They both felt that a stomachache was bad enough. Even Maggie did not want to risk getting drunk off a few fanciful lemonade fountains they had passed by. And Grace who was still limping against Mrs. Calloway was in no particular state to get carried away with overeating on the sweets.

"Rudolph, what in the blazes has happened here?" a gingerbread soldier standing before the gates of the kingdom blurted in shock. For the civilians that have often heard about Crystal and her ice powers certainly did not want to mention her name in front of anybody. She had once done worst things to a few innocent civilians that were never seen again. And even though the soldier already had a feeling it was her that did this to the poor heifer, he did not want to think about what would happen if Crystal brought these cows to her home.

"Help us carry her inside and I'll tell you everything," begged Rudolph anxiously. The soldier was kind enough to do as he requested.

Inside the guest room

"So it was Crystal behind the freezing of the Cherry Sea is that true?" asked Princess Maple in a small sweet voice. Sitting atop a warm comfortable armchair, the kind ruler's appearance was similar to a china dolls with wavy curly brunette hair, pink dimples on her cheeks, shiny blue eyes, and red lips. Her blue Victorian-style dress seemed more like an upside down cupcake holder, decorated in the finest fanciful jewelry and silk. She had been sipping a cup of hot cocoa whilst listening to Rudolph explain how he had been helping the cows through Candy Land after they were brought into this realm by Ester riding Santa's sleigh. "I'll have to put the kingdom on high alert for tonight." Then she turned to the cows sitting on separate cushions. She had taken pity on Grace who was wrapped in a pink blanket close to the fireplace. "I'll even arrange a room for each of you while you're staying here."

"But your highness…" Mrs. Calloway protested feeling worried with thoughts of Pearl and the farm animals already wondering where they might be. "…we've been here wandering through the forest, touring the Land of Sweets, and facing a rather dangerous peril from the Ice Empress long enough. Our family back at home may think that we stumbled upon an even greater danger than anything we've faced out west."

"I'm sorry ma'am," replied Maple softly. "But right now, it may be too dangerous to continue your journey to the North Pole with the Ice Empress at large." She took a slight sip of her cocoa and continued. "Besides with your friend almost being captured by Crystal, I doubt she'll have any strength to make it all the way there."

Both cows turned to glare at Grace shivering, but not as violently as before. Every time she moved, her body would shiver more and her teeth chattered. Worse yet, she hadn't spoken a word since she had been struggling to make it from the frozen Cherry Sea to the Gingerbread Kingdom. Perhaps Princess Maple was right; they certainly didn't want to take another risk of putting Grace in danger of freezing to death or getting captured when they least expect it. Maggie turned back to Maple with a dismal look.

"Will she be alright?" she asked weakly.

"With a nice bedroom by a small fireplace and some rest, I believe she'll recover by morning," answered Maple with a small convincing smile, resting her cup of cocoa on a small table. "You three don't have to worry about anything else for now. A little rest is what you need." The princess clapped her hands and three gingerbread soldiers appeared before her.

"Yes, your highness?" one of the soldiers asked.

"Please show these wonderful guests to their bedrooms. They've had a long and tiring day throughout their journey."

"Yes, your highness," two of them helped a shivering Grace to her feet (with the blanket still covering her) while they followed the first soldier to a candy-free hallway of many wooden doors. They walked in silence until the soldier paused before a row of three separate rooms.

"Each of you ladies will sleep in your own room since they all only have one bed," he informed them.

"A bedroom?" Mrs. Calloway was confused. "But a cow sleeps in the stables."

"It is only for one night ma'am," the soldier promised. "I think you'll find it more comfortable than a simple stable; rest well now."

Grace did not have anymore trouble stepping into one of the rooms as she did with the traveling and finally handed the blanket to one of the soldiers that helped her. After walking in cautiously, the grand room had a cushy medium sized bed, a bathroom like nothing they've ever seen before, a glassed window to view the land from above, and a small fireplace giving off a warm, amber glow. Nothing in here was made out of candy; just an average bedroom. Surely, Grace would have no trouble sleeping tonight.

Later that night

Although it seemed rather strange to sleep in a place intended for people, the cows had no trouble falling asleep for the rest of the night. In one room, Maggie slept on the right side of the bed dreaming about floating above the Cherry Punch Lagoon on a raft. In this dream, she could drink and swim dreamily in the substance all she wanted with no one to put a stop to it. A smile crossed her face as she dreamt on.

In the other room, Mrs. Calloway had placed her purple bonnet and winter garments on a cushioned chair near the fireplace to dry as she slept. In her dream, she and the other two were back safe on the Patch of Heaven farm dancing along happily with the family. But in a moment, she had awakened and rose up halfway to find herself back in one of the rooms of the Gingerbread Kingdom. With a worried look, she rested her head back on the cushy pillow with a tired sigh and wondered if the family back on the farm had already learned about their disappearance. But with all the adventures she and her companions had faced in capturing Alameda Slim and rescuing Grace from the Texas bandit queen beauty, she had to believe that they would pull through this adventure in another realm.

In the next room, Grace had no trouble sleeping whatsoever with the soft blankets covering her body and the fire still glowing. The numbness in her body had decreased in a matter of minutes after going straight to sleep. She had been dreaming about walking amongst the candy fields in Candy Cane Alley eating most of the sweet cupcakes without getting a stomachache. And this time there was no moose named Chuck to go stampeding after her. The taste of toffee filled her mind with a desire for more delicious treats in the garden. Each piece of bonbon was sweet and light to the center and Grace had never tasted anything so delicious. When she finally stopped eating, she had traveled over to the Cherry Sea riding on the same boat with the windy air blowing across her face setting sail for the North Pole to see Santa Clause. Nothing would end this beautiful dream of hers.

But even while Grace slept peacefully, she never noticed Crystal peer through the window and watch the heifer breathing softly beneath the warm blankets. Her blue fingers curved madly in fury from having her plan to capture the heifer fail, no thanks to that pesky red nosed reindeer always getting in the way.

"Humph, there she is having sweet dreams of good for nothing holiday cheer," she whispered furiously. "Well she won't have them for long once I have her in my grasp at home."

She wanted to freeze open these windows and whisk Grace away to Stone Cold Mountain, but with the fire still burning in the bedroom and the kingdom being on guard, Crystal did not want anyone else to know of her devious plot to take the Christmas star for her own evil purposes and would prefer to do them in secret. Then a smirk crossed her face when she just remembered that she had also possessed the power of telekinesis besides freezing her victims.

"Now why didn't I think of that?" Crystal eyed the lock on the window and made a turn-around motion with her finger. Instantly the lock followed her motion and became unlocked. The windows creaked softly when opened and Crystal moved further from the fireplace burning about. Stalking over to Grace quietly, she took a step back in fear when Grace made a small movement with her head. Crystal chuckled softly with delight and continued to stalk toward the sleeping Grace.

"Pleasant dreams my pet," Crystal whispered as she was now over Grace. With a puff of her icy breath, she attempted to blow a snowy cloud over her body to trap her in ice while she still slept. Hopefully she could whisk her away and see her awaken in a cold cell once she removed the ice spell. As she blew over her head, the hairs off her hide rose up slightly. Crystal watched Grace shiver a bit and chatter her teeth.

"Burr…it sure is cold out here," Grace mumbled with a shiver. Crystal was a little relieved to see that her victim was still lost in her dreams to notice somebody lurking in her bedroom.

"That's it, keep dreaming," she whispered menacingly, preparing to continue with her icy breath spell until the turning of the doorknob entrance caught her attention.