Frost Orb

A Frozen Orb that can grant any wish...

Her white, flowy gown with many white butterflies lining the bottom of her dress swayed rhythmically as Loelle walked swiftly towards her destination. And as she did so, she surveyed her surroundings, taking in everything near her. She was not going to take any chances of giving her enemies a chance to kill her now, after having come so far.

The place was plain with every inch of Ayreal covered with snow which was ankle-deep. There was hardly any movement of living creatures about in the open space, apart from the howling sound of a zephyr constantly blowing, making Loelle's brown hair flip about incessantly, though not much. Leaves at both sides of her shook and moved along with the breeze.

Loelle was searching for the legendary Frost Orb which was hidden here, in Ayreal. She had travelled miles non-stop for five days, and though fatigue was threatening to make her mission fail, her determination did not allow it to happen. With the Frost Orb, the people in her home village would be freed from the torment of being slaved by the Royal Guards. These people did nothing wrong, except to steal so that they could survive. It was because of the new King and Queen that caused many to dive into poverty, and Loelle just managed to escape from it, but only barely.

Legend had it that there were few who managed to find the Frost Orb. But though they did, those who went did not have a good enough heart for their wish to come true. Yes, the Frost Orb granted wishes. And because these people who were considered to be bad by the Frost Orb, mostly because of their greed for something, tried to use its magic, they had to die. But Loelle was willing to risk that -- her life, that is. Albeit there was a chance for the Frost Orb to destroy her, she was certain that the wish she wanted to make was not for her advantage only, but for many.

Suddenly, big wolves emerged from the forest and charged towards Loelle, and Loelle only managed to dodge just in time. By instinct, she used her gift -- Ice Magic -- to try to slow their movements, but no matter how much she tried to lessen their numbers, it was no use. There seemed to be a countless number of them.

Loelle panted, her breath coming out in white clouds. "Step away from me, Jeffrey, or I swear I'll kill more of your kind. I'm sure you wouldn't want that, do you? They're your comrades, or are they not?" She kept a straight face, hoping to mask the tiredness from these creatures of the dark which belonged to the Royal King and Queen with hearts as dark as theirs.

With that, all of the wolves grew to become human. Jeffrey, a man with a particular liking of black stepped out of his people, and strided arrogantly towards Loelle, a smirk playing on his lips. "And why should I? You're someone who opposes our King and Queen, and people who rebel should be put to death. Even if we die, we know that we die with honour, Loelle." He spat then lunged at her, his hands becoming paws with sharp claws. Loelle immediately put her magic to use, but she was too slow.

Just as she was about to give up by closing her eyes and waiting for the impact of sharp pain, she heard Jeffrey gave a howl. Loelle opened her eyes, and stared at what was happening to Jeffrey, the leader of the wolves. His body was slowly turning into ice.

Loelle looked up, and so did the rest of the wolves still in human form. Far above, she could see many glowing round lights flying about. Snow fairies. She gave a tired smile, then shouted, "Thank you!" Making use of the diversion, she immediately ran for it, and just as she expected, none of the wolves pursued.

For a time, mist obscured her view, but then it slowly cleared, giving her a full image of a small pond, its water obviously frozen. Other than that, the place was empty. Loelle walked cautiously towards it, a frown etched between her brows. Where is it? She looked around her once again. It was a dead end.

She looked down at the frozen pond. This must be it. She kneeled beside it, then placed her hand on top of the solid ice. It was freezing cold, but many years of training had left her immune to temperatures even way below zero. She closed her eyes, and allowed herself to feel peaceful.

And at last, when she sensed something, she jerked her eyes open, and immediately forced the ice to crack open. Without any effort at all, she lifted the ice up, and dipped her hand in.

Ever so slowly, she continued to pushed her arm down, all the way until the water finally reached her shoulder. Only then did she finally feel something of some sort on the bed. She pulled it out and the water around the object immediately froze. Is this the Frost Orb? Once again, she frowned, looking at the oh-so-ordinary looking ball in front of her, but then there was no mistaking the magic she could feel from its core.

With one deep breath, she said, "Frost Orb, I wish for my home country to be save from those barbarians, so that its people can be saved from the fate that was not meant to be theirs."

There was a blinding light, and a voice in her head asked, "Are you sure?"

Loelle nodded her head without any hesitation. This was what she came here for after all.

Reviews

[Bruce Grimes]

The Frost orb is excellent, it's characters were very intriguing. I loved the butterfly trimmed gown that Loelle was wearing. I like the way you described the using of their spells, as if it was a part of them rather than some external power. I prefer magic users to be described that way. The way you described the Frost Orb as appearing some mundane and yet holding such great power. The way you left the reader at the end was great, not knowing for sure if Loelle got her wish or not. Like I said, excellently done.
Martex