The Icy Eyes

Prologue

The witch was unlike those of bed time stories, unlike the stereotypical witches with matted hair and warts. The witch's features were harsh, yet beautiful- like a sculpture carved from ice. Her skin was pale, as though the blood within her had frozen. She was dressed in a white robe, with a light blue sash tied around her waste.
But that is not what most people notice about the Ice Queen. No, the thing that most people notice about her is her eyes. Her eyes are made of ice, two spheres of gleaming coldness. A small indentation represented her pupils. In her hand she held a cane. This too, was made of ice. She observed herself in a mirror, an enormous thing with an obsidian frame. In the mirror, her reflection was wildly distorted- her beautiful features sharp and wicked, jagged fangs jutting from her mouth. But the Ice Queen merely smiled at her horrific reflection. She stepped into the mirror, and emerged into a room. Ten people, five men and five women, were seated around the room. The room was cold, for it was made of stone, but it became colder still when the Ice Queen stepped inside.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Went her cane on the cold stone floor.
"My friends..." called the Ice Queen, her voice like a gust of cold wind exhaled from a tomb, "No doubt you came, expecting. Expecting a masterful speech, of great influence, that would sway you to join my cause. No. I come, not to proclaim great things. I come to test your allegiance. To ask you... will you side yourselves with the Ogre?"
Mutters broke out amongst the witches and wizards assembled.
"The age of humankind is finished. Ended! They will be completely exterminated, of this much I am certain. The Ogre is coming. We must align ourselves with him, or perish. Tell me, fellow witches and wizards... what say you?"
The wizards and witches glanced at each other, looking amused that the Ice Queen had even thought that they would be swayed by her words.
"You have been blinded by the Ogre's false promises. We have not. We shall not stand with you. We shall defeat the Ogre, prepare our defenses! You shall fall, and your master with you," called one of them. The others nodded.
"Arrest her," called a wizard. Several of them got up and hurried towards the Ice Queen. She narrowed her eyes. Behind her icy eyes, the shadow of something seemed to shift, as though there was something living in her head, and it was shifting around.
"You have made your choice. I, for one, will not mourn for any of you when you die," said the Ice Queen. The guards were closing in on her. She tapped her cane on the ground. Tap. And then, she vanished.