Heart of Ice

Broken Mountain

Anna did not know what to do. She had been staring at the river for hours now. After losing Drago she had found a cave where she had dried and warmed herself.

The next morning, Anna had woken up and immediately went down to the frozen river. Except it was not frozen anymore. The water was running at its own current and it had taken away Anna's only friend.

Now, Anna was staring at her own reflection. Her black hair had grown since she had left home. Her honey brown eyes had since lost its shine. The darkness under her eyes reminded her of the many sleepless night she had spent worrying about not only her brother and family back home but also Drago and her now runaway uncle Harlow.

The orcs having seen Drago go down had not cared much about Anna. They knew she would mostly likely die by the hands of the Ice Witch. They had seen how cruel she was to everyone around her. After having seen the Ice Witch behead many of the orcs herself and bathe in their blood, the orcs had vowed to never set foot on Frost Will.

Anna was relieved that at least the orcs had left and she could look for Drago without worrying of being killed by a rock. Though Anna had not known Drago for long, she had the feeling of companionship when it came to him. They had been through so much since he had joined her on this journey and he had saved her many times too. Anna could not just leave him here, alone.

Though Anna spent day and night looking for him, she did not see him once — or his body. Anna was hoping he would appear out of nowhere and make a joke about her worrying about him. But he did not. Anna looked, looked, and looked. She hoped and prayed that she'd find him. But she didn't.

Anna spent that time being angry at her uncle Harlow too. She could not believe he left when she needed him the most, after he reassured her he'd help her. He ran at the first sign of trouble. Anna knew she should have never expected much from him. He had left her before.

Her roaring stomach reminded Anna of the fact that she had not had any food in days. They had lost most of the food when they had been captured by the orcs. Anna had only had time to grab her weapons and run after Drago. She had completely forgotten about their other supplies, not that she saw any sitting with their weapons.

Anna looked at Drago's sword again and her fingers over the dragon head. For Anna, carrying Drago's sword was like carrying a huge bucket filled with guilt instead of water. The sword reminded her of Drago and that she had not been able to save him. Anna had to remind herself that he was not dead again and again.

After having stayed near Frost Will for days, Anna decided to move along. She thought of going to the Ice Witch's Fortress, saving her brother, and then looking for Drago with her brother. Anna knew she'd not be able to stay still without knowing if Drago was alive or not. So, she left Frost Will and began her journey through the Broken Mountain.

~~~

A graying old man sat in front of the fire, roasting a squirrel he had found. His eyes found moved away from the fire and looked around him before they went back to the fire. The cold weather making the mans bones stiff, found the fire rather warming and comforting. This time of the year was always harder for him.

The old mans eyes found the young man laying down opposite the fire. He had made sure the boy was not too close to the fire but not too far either.

The boy was cold to the touch and will need days of fire before he was able to even develop his color back, or even wake up. The old man had done everything he could within his powers and had left the rest to the boy.

The boy had shown signs of improvement over the few days the old man has had him but had no signs of waking up. A twitch of a finger here and there and a fluttering of eyes.

The young man had also whispered a name countless times in his sleep but the graying man had not understood him. To the old man, it seemed as though the boy was on an important journey and had been ripped away from his companions.

It had taken the boy days before his eyes had opened. His eyes took some time to focus in on his surroundings as he tried to move his stiff limbs. The first things his eyes had found were that of an old man. Though his brain had not yet processed what was going on around him, there was only one things roaming around his head. And the first word that left his mouth was a name.

A name he had grown quite familiar with over the short amount of time they had known each other but had gone through so much. The name left his lips and worry grew inside of him, for she was not with him.

"Anna."

~~~

An cold breeze blew through the castle as the white haired woman sat on her throne, looking over her subjects. Her subjects had grown used to the freezing temperature of the castle and did not complain anymore, not like they used to. Instead they stood still, not once looking into her eyes that reminded them of Frost Will.

The white-haired beauty ran her fingers over the ice covered thrones. There was once a time when she used to sit on a wooden chair but now, now she sat on a throne made for a queen. That was what she was, a queen. Not the Ice Witch many had called her.

Her eyes found brown eyes that were once bright and shining but now held nothing but sorrow and regret. The eyes the Ice Witch had grown quite fond of. But she knew someone was coming to take them away. Someone had been traveling long distances to take away the Ice Witch's toy and she was not happy. Not one bit. And whoever was planning on crossing the Ice Witch will surely regret it.