Th13rteen

Chapter 55

Th13rteen

Chapter 55

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Aurelia...

"If you want to win a war, take out the stem."

Before I could blink, she plunged her hand into the water, straight through the ice. She cackled as the rest of the water froze, leaving me motionless in a giant, tub sized ice cube.

I yelped in pain as the ice expanded slightly, sharply piercing certain parts of my body. My mind started to blur, too overcome with pain, leaving me speechless.

"Like I said, such a disappointment you are." She easily yanked her hand out of the ice, standing over me with a menacing grin.

She tilted her head at me in amusement, watching as I struggled. "How ironic. You will die at the hand of your lovers brand of magic." She mocked. Her shrieking laughter echoed in my brain.

*

I shot up with a jolt, gasping for breath. I blinked away the terrifying nightmare, not wanting to relive it again, and adjusted my eyes to the darkness of the cave. I was relieved to feel the enchanted ice still intact, keeping the warmth close to me.

I was not happy to feel the burn of hunger even stronger than before.

I stood up with a sigh, still feeling groggy from my dream, but knew I was too hungry to fall back asleep. I made my way out of the cave to see it was still pitch black, but if I squinted enough, I could see the tiniest hint of the sunrise peaking through.

In our lessons, Harry had taught me how to tell time using the sun and moons placement in the sky. I was grateful for that lesson, since it helped me determine that it was currently nearing five in the morning.

I did a quick scan of the surrounding forest, hopeful that I would see something that could help me. I was disappointed, but not the least bit surprised, to see nothing but snow and trees.

I headed back into the cave, plopping down on the hard rock ground.

"If only I could just make a small fruit or something." I huffed in frustration, desperately trying to get some magic to spark on my fingers.

After ten minutes of failed attempts, I gave up. "What good is enchanted ice if it limits your powers?" I grumbled to no one.

The only answer I could come up with was that this enchantment was intended for ice users. What is the point of using cold magic when you're trying to be warm? It was the most logical thing I could think of, and sadly not useful for me.

That also leads to the question of how long will this last? How long do I have before it melts and I freeze to death?

With that chilling thought in mind, I weighed my options. I could either hide out in the safety of this cave, and wait for someone to find me, or I can continue walking to find some sort of civilization. Whichever I chose, I had to be ready to use my magic as soon as this ice wore off, while I was still warm enough to use it. So, I made a quick list of things to be ready for.

Number one being, make whatever food I can. The second would be to make a thicker vine blanket, and the third would be to make a ball of light for when it gets dark again.

So now I just have to decide if I stay, or do I go?

If I stay, I'm guaranteed a safe shelter, but what if no one can find me here? If I go, someone might see me walking around, or at the very least, my snowy footprints.