Seventy Seconds To Sunrise

Part 1

The cold one says he remembers. What he remembers though, no-one knows, that or no-one is telling. I have my own theories of course but it's nothing compared to a legend I used to hear when I was younger. The legends says that the cold one was once human, or at least something close to, born with magnificent powers over the living world. He was a prince, a born leader and ruler, a man strong enough to lead the world out of poverty and into prosperity. One of the fist mage born, but he angered the people of magic, and was transformed. He became the cold one, they say he is the one who sees all but is seen by none. That he became snow and hail, rain and mist. He is ice and the snow, one and the same, the one who brings winter then runs once the sun returns. This was his punishment, for what though? He was once the one to lead us away from the cold now we must be led from him. Only able to hold a human form in his former home, the palace. He is cursed to be this for eternity, to be frozen in time. Though, of course there are those who believe he will be freed from the curse by love, those wishing for a happily ever after, he would be freed by the one who dreams of him and he dreams of in return, true love. But I don't believe in love, true or otherwise, not anymore I have no evidence such a thing could exist, but I never forgot the story, especially on days like these.

With my eyes closed I can only listen to the world around me. I drink in the rhythmic drum of rain hitting stone and glass, and take comport from the sound of wind wheezing through my ancient, mist-drenched curtains. With reluctance I remove myself from my safe cocoon of worn blankets and torn pillows, and sit up to clear my eyes, only to once again stare in enthrallment at the beautiful scene outside my window. The snow shines cold and white with not a speckle of grass to be seen, and so beautiful it must be a dream, but I know it's not. Though it is a cruel beauty, I cannot deny this; the ice eating away at the trees and flowers that had not yet died in the harsh cold of this winter, it is still a great beauty. As I rest my palm on the glass and look out my window, ice lilies bloom along my hand sits and I feel my skin start to burn against the ice cold surface.

Families pass below my window, walking slowly along the icy winter trails, bundled up in thick woollen jackets and scarves, covering their faces and shivering from the fierce cold. They are completely oblivious to my silent, brooding presence, to them I may as well be a ghost. Locked away in my tower keep, I could probably even get more attention that way. To them I don't exist. If I went missing no-one would go looking for me, but just maybe that's a good thing because I'm not staying here. I'm going to run away. Go someplace the past will never find me and I can be completely free. My thoughts whirled, getting me caught up in their silent dance, taunting me with possibilities.

That was when the screams started, breaking me away from my moment of peace and tossing away my thoughts of escape. Throwing one last look outside my window, out towards the beautiful ice and snow covered ground, I start running towards the stairs. Down the stairs of my tower, towards the people who call me a servant. If only I had stayed a second longer I might have seen the man come out from the shadows but, as every day before, I was already running for the stairs of my ancient, tower keep. Sprinting down the stairs, down to the people who called me slave, I clutch at the comporting sights of the tower stairs. My eyes focus on the old, well-worn spells I had used to decorate and protect my tower, sunken into the ancient stones and the bright colors of graffiti from the time before magic.

I am grateful for the many steps separating me from the ground, because from this far away my bio-magic, the magic I was born with, can't effect me and can't effect anyone around me, I get just that little more alone time, even if it comes to stab me in the back later.

I am a natural Mind-Reader, with capitals because it's a title and natural because I was born with it not cursed, I'm not a Phycic though. I cannot, and no matter how many times I say this no-one believes me, I cannot send thought to others or influence people through their thoughts. Being a Mind-Reader is pretty rare too, Phycic are much more common but because they're more powerful I really don't understand why, it's almost impossible to find someone with my type of bio-magic outside the royal bloodlines, I mean it's really, really rare. My thoughts scatter because I always end up close enough to hear both the thoughts and the voices of my 'family'. Both assaulted me as soon as I had crossed the threshold from my tower keep to the ruined mansion they called their home.