The Tale of the Ice Princess

The Halcyon Days - Chapter 15

A/N : Kindly point out any errors that i might have missed , because this is a long chapter , there might be things i have skipped over . 

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The sight that greeted me was absolutely nausea-inducing . Inhumane . Wrong. 

There were metal bars lining the sides of the hallway , with a door at the end . 

Peering inside, i could see a little girl around my age , dressed in what could not be even called rags . She was dressed in scraps of dirty cloth , barely covering her frail and skinny body. I could see her ribs poking out very prominently.

I wanted to vomit . This was wrong , wrong on so many levels . 

No , no . Don't get off track . Remember , i'm here for Callie. Callie . 

I tightly shut my eyes for a moment , giving myself time to process . 

That's it , deep breath . Deep breath . In . Out . In. Out . 

Steeling my mind , i cautiously opened my eyes , taking in the whole room. 

There were multiple cells with about 2 girls in each one, ages ranging from 7 to about 14 if i had to guess . The thought of what happened to those young girls made me flare up in anger . 

They don't deserve this kind of treatment . 

Then , a thought occurred to me . 

What if Callie is here too ? 

No no no . Please please  please make sure she isn't . Please . 

I started praying to the gods -- though i never believed in them, asking them to please ensure Callie was safe.

I'm going to save you all . 

"Sword of ice and frost ." 

 A ice sword appeared in my right hand. 

" P-please , don't kill Lila ." With tears streaming from her eyes , the older girl begged, staring fearfully at the sword   . 

I assume this 'Lila' person is the other person in the cell. 

"Kill me , spare her . " She used her body to shield the younger girl in the cell from my view . 

i admired her courage , she stood up to me , risking her life .

Perhaps we could be friends......in the distant future . 

I started pouring some mana into my sword of ice , strengthening and sharpening it . Wordlessly , i starting to swing my sword . 

"Please . " The older girl said , bracing herself for the inevitable . 

"Thwak" 

The lock on the door dropped onto the ground. 

The older girl dropped to her knees , as if all the air was sucked out of her . She went to hung the younger girl in the cell , a new barrage of tears streaming down her face . 

In a few swift sword stokes , the rest of the locks dropped onto the ground with a metallic clatter. 

I looked around , scanning the faces of the girls as they cried happily . 

She's not here.

The older girl turned to me , asking , "Why did you save us? Aren't you a noble?" 

" Have you seen anyone with pink hair here recently?" I asked , getting straight to the point of my visit , totally not trying to avoid the question .