The girl slammed the door on her way out, scowling. Those children were downright awful, even though their father was such a nice man. Ever since she had been adopted by the mayor of this small town, she had been an outcast; even in her own house, they didn't really welcome her. The mayor had been so kind to her after she had arrived here, but the rest of the town were cruel to the outsider amongst them. Even the mayor's own children ostracized her for everything she did: for looking different (her silver hair was strange and uncommon), for talking different, for having powers.
'They just resent that I, an orphan from the mountains, have something that the mayor's children, of a privileged upbringing, don't.' She comforted herself with this, though it wasn't much. Letting her angrily crossed arms fall to her sides, she stopped and took a deep breath, letting the cold air fill her lungs. She loved the cold, always had, and probably always will. It reminded her of the time she spent in the mountains, with her mother, Frostecia, the arctic dragon. Those eight years had been happy ones, but had ended far too soon, and she was spending her ninth year of life in this depressingly undiverse town. Walking down the main boulevard, she watched as the townspeople scurried by, each on their own errands that made the little town functional. She had almost made it to the town square when she heard the sound of yelling children, one of which that sounded ominously like her horrid adopted siblings.
She began walking at a faster pace now until she was full out sprinting towards the crowd of children that had gathered by the central fountain. Through the taunting jeers of the town's peoples annoying offspring, she heard the quiet sobbing of a source she had yet to hear. Was there someone that, even in a town this small, she hadn't met yet? No, there was a greater possibility that it was the niece or nephew of one of the village folk, come to visit for a while, being "initiated", as the children called it. They had tried it on her too, but she had beaten the living snot out of the butcher's son, who was five years her senior. No one had tried anything on her again.
The sobbing continued, louder now, but the children weren't ceasing their taunting. This had to stop, and she would be the one to put a stop to it. Easily pushing through the crowd of smaller children (she was a very tall child, long and muscular), she made her way to the center of the crowd. There, trembling on the ground, was a dark haired girl who appeared to be no more than five or six (she was tiny), clutching a small bag to her chest as though her life depended upon the security of the contents. Being careful not to hurt her, she pulled the girl to her feet, and pushing through the crowd, took off towards the woods. The girl continued to sob, and it was really starting to piss her off. What did she have to be crying about? She had just saved her for heaven's sake. She continued to run, until she realized she was practically dragging the girl, who was wheezing. She had forgotten most people didn't have as much stamina as she did.
"U-u-um…" The small girl said. She looked at her with slight annoyance, but decided to at least attempt civility.
"What?" She snapped. The girl flinched and cowered. She kind of felt bad, but the townspeople have never been kind to her. Why should she?
"T-thank y-yo-u," she stuttered. The tears had slowed and it was not her sobbing that made her stutter.
"So? Whose niece are you?" She asked, preparing to walk the girl back to the village, and out of her woods. The woods were her place, not for those townsfolk, and the girl needed to go back to where she belonged.
"I-I-.. S-sorry, I d-d-don't kno-w wh-what you m-" She was interrupted.
"Your stuttering is annoying and incomprehensible. Can't you talk normally?" The girl asked.
"I-I'm s-sorry," was the response. The little girl cowered more. She sighed, and repeated her question. "I-I'm j-just p-assing through.. I-I'm n-not f-fro-from he-here" she sniffed.
"Obviously, so why are you in this village?"
"I J-JUST TOLD YO-YOU WHY I-I'M H-HERE YOU - YOU- MEAT-FOR-BRAINS!" The girl yelled.
The taller girl laughed, and promptly slammed the girl into a tree, holding her there by her throat. "You really piss me off, you know. I didn't ask how long you were going to be here, I asked why you were here in the first place, and with no one else to travel with. I mean, how old are you, five? Six? Why are you traveling by yourself in the middle of winter?"
Loosening her grip on the girls neck, she fell to the ground with a soft thud. "M-my b-business i-is m-my o-own. I-I-I'm p-pa-ssing th-through. I p-planned to b-buy some f-f-food b-before leaving."
"You're traveling by yourself? In winter? What could be so important that you couldn't wait until spring to do?"
"L-l-like I-I s-said, m-my busin-ess i-is my o-own," she said adamantly, holding her bag closer to her chest.
"Listen kid, I just saved your ass from a mob of spoiled brats. I think I deserve an explanation."
"Y-you d-deserve n-nothing. I a-m g-gratef-ful, b-but I-I'm n-not te-lling y-you any-th-ing."
"How do you suppose you're going to protect yourself on your travels if you can't even fight off a couple of eight year olds? Huh? Tell me that, miss my-business-is-my-own."
"I-I'll manage s-so-someh-how. I-I h-have f-for a y-y-year any-" She stopped and looked at the ground, eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"A year already! You're like, five! How have you been protecting yourself?!"
"A-actually, f-five and a half, g-get it r-right," she said snarkily.
"Seriously?"
"N-no. I'm e-eight. I c-couldn't s-survive at f-four. A-are you s-stupid?" The girl frowned.
"Only a little," she confessed. The small girl rolled her eyes, but didn't make eye contact with her.
"So tell me, how did the world's smallest eight year old survive an entire year alone on the road?"
"I-I'm n-not s-small! Y-you're j-just h-huge! A-and I h-have-" she stopped, as if unwilling to continue.
Suddenly, there was a howl, and both girls froze. 'Wolves?' Thought the taller girl? 'This close to a town?'
"Not again," the tall girl groaned. "They just keep coming."
The smaller girl shivered. "W-w-wolves?! W-wha-what are w-we going to d-d-do?!"
The taller of the two chuckled, and cracked her knuckles menacingly, grinning like a wild woman. "I'm gonna kick their ass," she said lowly.
"I-is th-that y-your s-solu-tion to e-everyth-thing?" She asked, realizing the question was useless. Of course it was. This chick was absolutely nuts.
The howling was getting closer, surrounding the two of them. The taller girl pushed the small one behind her, backing her up onto the rocks at the base of the mountain. "I hear about, twelve, thirteen, what do you think?"
"W-w-we're g-g-going to d-die, th-that's w-what I-I th-thin-k," she whispered. "A-after a-all th-this t-time, a-and my m-miss-sion is a f-f-fail-ure."
"Mission? What the hell? We're not going to die you depressing brat. I don't know what you're doing, or what you think you have to do, but you've come too far to die here before you've even accomplished your goal. So I'll have to protect you!" The taller girl said, grinning.
"O-okay, miss inspiring speeches. H-how do y-you i-intend to d-defeat th-these w-wolves?" She asked, already thinking of how she could defeat the wolves. Actually, more like run very fast away, but hey, whatever works.
"Don't worry, I'll give them their own personal winter wonderland." The small girl rolled her eyes.
Suddenly, they heard a growl, and out of the frozen bushes came not twelve, not thirteen, but fifteen large timber wolves, lips pulled back, teeth bared.
The smaller girl backed up against the rock, realizing that she was surrounded and trapped, and there was nowhere for her to run. The taller girl, however, just smiled.
"This'll be fun," she said happily, her face a scary grin.
The wolves closed in, and she stepped forward, closing her eyes as if in concentration. The little girl's hands tightened on the bag, wondering if she should open it.
The temperature began lowering dramatically, and the small girl shivered, never been one to handle cold temperatures. She could sense it. There was magic at work.
The wolves crouched down lower, and two of them leaped towards the girls. Suddenly the taller girls eyes snapped open, and the wolves flew back into the woods, yelping as they hit the ground, hard.
Three more of the wolves jumped forward, two flew back into the woods like the first batch, and the third was slammed onto the ground by the surprisingly strong arm of the taller girl. Unexpectedly, his paw flew up, and gashed the girl across her arm, leaving a deep, stinging gash. She hissed in pain, but stood her ground. The smaller girl squeaked and tore open her bag. She wasn't sure if this would work, but she knew she had to help. After all, she was being protected, the least she could do was help in the way she could. After all, this girl was a mage just like her.
Out of her bag she had pulled a large chalice, which she cradled gently in her didn't know its name, or where it came from, but she knew of its power, or at least some of it. She whispered quietly: "Oh magical chalice, grant me the power of red, the color of blood, the color of life. Allow me to use its power to heal my allies." A scarlet magic circle graced her feet, and liquid spilled out of the chalice, enveloping the taller girls arm in a liquid the same color as the magic circle.
"What are you doing? What's happening!?" The taller girl yelled.
"B-be quiet. I-I'm healing y-you. B-be gr-grateful, meat-for-brains," the little girl said angrily.
"My name is Alice, Alice Nomex, not meat for brains." She said as she throttled another attacking wolf. If the other girl hadn't felt so threatened, perhaps she would have found the scene comedic. By now , the wolves had acknowledged them as worthy adversaries, and had backed up towards their alpha.
"Time to end this," said Alice.
The little girl frowned. "I-it w-would f-feel r-rude if I d-didn't t-tell y-you m-my na-me bef-before we d-di-die," she mused. She smiled slightly. "S-so I won't."
"Well thanks a lot, but we're not dying anytime soon. When we end this, you're going to tell me your name." The little girl laughed a little.
"W-well then, l-let m-me help. I-I can b-boost your m-magic." she said. She gripped the chalice before taking a deep breath and whispering: "Oh magical chalice, grant me the power of orange, the color of magic, of power. Allow me to use its power to empower my allies."
Once again, a magic circle appeared under her feet, this time a vibrant orange, the color of sunset. Another strange liquid, the same color as the circle again, shot out from the chalice and doused Alice. She momentarily expressed her distaste at being soaked by the mysterious liquid, but forgot it as the wolves moved even closer. For a moment, she felt stronger. It must have been the strange orange liquid. Stepping forward, she once again closed her eyes, raised her arms into the air. "Secret Dragon Slayer art: Glacier core!"
A blinding light blue light exploded from her fingertips, enveloping the wolves in a strange type of frost. Suddenly, they all began coughing up blood, and eventually keeled over, one by one.
"W-what j-just hap-ppened?" The girl asked. "Y-you.. Th-there's no m-marks on th-their f-fur.. Th-they're j-just… D-dead."
"Told you we wouldn't die. So tell me your name, and I'll tell you what I did to those wolves," said Alice, grinning from ear to ear.
"M-my n-name is Sara," she said reluctantly. "Th-thank y-you f-for, u-um n-not dy-ing." Alice rolled her eyes.
"I don't die. Anyway, Glacier Core is one of my more powerful spells, used for multiple opponents. I freeze their hearts, and the expansion of the stuff makes the heart like, not be there anymore. I don't really know. I haven't exactly watched a heart shatter," she said. "All I really care about is that it can kill a lot of things real quick."
"D-delightful."
"So you're a mage, huh? What exactly does that magic juice glass of yours do? I saw it heal, and I saw it boost my magic. Can it do anything else?" Alice asked.
Sara shrugged. "I-I d-don't kn-ow ev-ery-thi-ng it d-does, b-but I-I c-can h-have di-fferent co-lors that d-do diff-erent th-thin-things."
"Cool. Well, I guess you're not quite as helpless as I thought, but you should really find someone to travel with."
"W-well, y-you c-could co-me w-with m-me," Sara suggested.
"Sure," Alice said just as Sara said "Just kidding." They stared at each other.
"What?" They said simultaneously. Sara blinked.
"B-but m-my mi-ssion w-will take m-me far a-awa-away from t-the v-village. W-won't your f-family m-m-miss y-you?" Sara asked.
"I haven't got any family, so we're all good! When do we leave!?" She asked happily. Sara blinked. They were more alike than she initially thought.
"Y-you r-really m-mean it? Y-you'll c-come with m-me?"
"Sure!" said Alice. "It's not like I have anything better to do. A little adventure is good for you. It could be fun! I'm going to the place I'm staying to grab a few things, you go grab your food, and I'll meet you at the town square at midnight sharp. Later partner!"
Sara watched Alice walk away, and quickly walked after her. She didn't want to risk being left behind. After all, there might be more wolves, and she didn't know the way back.
Well, this was certainly going to be interesting.
Alice walked quickly through the woods, and stopped at the entrance to the village to make sure her soon to be travel partner had made it out. After making sure she had followed, she ran full speed to the mayor's house, on the other side of town. Quietly entering through the back door, she crept up towards the guest bedroom where she had spent the last year of her life.
"Look who's back, the big ugly frost giant. I bet you took that girl out into the woods and ate her, you silver haired freak."
Alice turned around slowly, resisting the urge to beat the living snot out of her adopted brother. At eleven, Rorian Michaelis was loud, rude, egotistical, and absolutely hated everything about Alice. Well, at least she wouldn't be seeing any more of him anytime soon. She would be gone by midnight, and would never hear another childish insult about her 'old lady' hair again. "Come on freak show, aren't you going to go ballistic and eat me too? I heard from mother that you were raised by monsters! That explains why you're so weird."
What the hell, she wasn't going to see him again anyways, so she decided to have a little fun. "Well maybe I will, then." She said grinning."I think I'll start with the hands, its not as if you can throw a proper punch anyways."
She took a menacing step forward, as he backed away in confusion. Though he was four years her senior, she was taller than him, and twice as muscular as his scrawny form. Leaning over him, she licked her lips and flashed her sharp teeth. "Or maybe I should start with the eyes, they look absolutely delectable." She said with a sickening grin.
"J-just, just go die you freak!" he said as he ran off, most likely to tell his witch of a mother what 'that horrible girl' had done to him this time.
She giggled quietly as she walked to her room. She packed a few essentials, some money, and grabbed her wrap from her headboard. The light blue silk flowed beneath her fingers, and she got a pang of longing for her life with Frostecia. But that was over now. Midnight starts a new adventure, she told herself. She had a while until midnight, so she cleared up the room a bit, erasing her presence from the stuffy, overly posh room. As it drew closer to midnight, she tiptoed down the stairs, and out the door. As soon as she was down the driveway, she heard the distinct sound of someone slamming the backdoor. She wondered if they had noticed she was missing, but at this point she didn't care. She walked down center street quietly, slipping in and out of the shadows. Every once in a while she stopped, and could hear the distinct sound of footsteps. She was being followed, and by a child, from the sound of it. As she turned a corner heading towards the town square, she caught a glimpse of her stalker in a shop window. Rorian? What the hell did he want?
She continued on to the town square at a faster pace now, speeding up until she was running as fast as she could. By the time she reached the town square, she was panting, and Rorian was no where to be seen.
"W-why did you ch-choose mi-midnight?" Sara asked when Alice came into view. Alice shrugged. Sara resisted a yawn as she continued to sit on the edge of the fountain.
"Why not? It's as good a time as any to start an adventure, and besides, midnight is a magical time, so it will give us good luck on our journey!"
"You're leaving!?"
Darn it, she thought she had gotten rid of him.
"What does it matter to you, Rorian? You don't even like me."
"Y-you'll die out there!"
"Maybe I will, but it's better than living here with you and the rest of your rotten family."
Sara's eyes widened as she pressed her hands to her cheeks. "OTP," she whispered.
"WHAT" was the in sync response from both Alice and Rorian. Sara giggled and shook her head.
"I don't even want to know," said Alice, suddenly feeling tired. "Let's just get out of here before this loser wakes up the entire town." Sara nodded and stood up.
"Hey! You can't leave!" Insisted Rorian.
Fed up, Alice slammed the smaller boy up against the brick wall as she had done to Sara earlier today, her hands in a firm grip around his throat.
Sara made a small sound and whispered again, "OTP."
"And why is that?" she snarled. "Unless you have the secret to eternal life here, there's absolutely no reason why I shouldn't walk out right now. And so I will." Dropping a gasping Rorian to the ground, she grabbed Sara's hand and walked off towards the edge of town.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed the back of her jacket.
"Don't you dare just lea-"
There was an audible crack as Alice's fist connected with his jaw and he went flying back into a pile of barrels, which shattered underneath him. Sara winced.
"Well, he's not getting up for a while, so let's get out while we can," Alice said, continuing to drag Sara along through the streets.
Sara smiled. Alice would be a strong ally. Maybe she was one step closer to achieving her mission. But did she really have to? She liked being helpful, and without her chalice, she was useless. Maybe she wouldn't have to do it right away. Maybe she should put it of for a while. She needed her strength, she told herself, in order to keep her newfound ally by her side. As rude as Alice was, she was strong, and would be a powerful friend in the future.
This perchance meeting between two outcasts was one neither expected could be so influential in both of their futures.