The Frost Kingdom

by C S Patra

  “You can’t expect it to get inside like that, Miss Alice. You have to coax it,” Kian sighed, moving to the front and holding out his hand. It was better for him to do it as his touch was the only one that couldn’t kill it. “Come here. I won’t hurt you. No one will.”

  The dragon let out a tiny roar but slowly started to make its way forward. Somehow, it seemed to realize that these were friends. Lavinia clasped her hands as she watched it moving. “It’s working! Keep talking to it!”

  “That’s it. I want to help you,” Kian whispered. “I know you’re hurt but I can fix that wing for you.”

  Over the in the corner of her eye, Alice could see Light and Dark trying to coax the dragon over. She didn’t know when they came in but they were certainly helping as the dragon moved faster. She nodded at them to approve of their ways because the dragon seemed to understand them better. Inch by inch, it came closer and brought in some of the snow and cold air.

  “Please hurry!” She whispered, wrapping the scarf around her neck. “It’s getting very cold in here!”

  “Come on, little dragon. You’re almost here! My hand is right here,” Kian whispered. “I will not hurt you and neither will they. My name is Kian and this is Miss Alice and Princess Lavinia. We call her Vinnie cause she likes it.”

  Alice was floored by the way he had coaxed the little creature to come inside. Once the dragon was in his hand, they were able to close the train window and look at it. The biggest concern had been that maybe the lights would be too much for it but it stayed fine. The dragon looked over at Alice as if it wanted to get on her shoulders. It let out a tiny roar and a little breath of cold air came out. The sight was enough to make them laugh.

  “I think he likes us,” Lavinia said as the dragon made its way down Kian’s hand and looked over at Alice. “He wants you to hold him. He’s waiting for you to hold your hand out.”

  “Are you sure?” Alice asked, looking at her bare hands. “What if he melts? What if I can’t hold him and he gets scared? I never handled a dragon before.”

  “None of us have. Just be gentle with him.” Kian suggested as the dragon slowly moved off his hand and went to his knee. “The poor thing has a slightly broken wing but I think he can make it to your hand. Just coax him. Show him that you aren’t afraid and you aren’t a threat. Forget about your touch can do and let him come to you.”

  “Okay then.” Alice took a deep breath and held out her hand. “Come here, little one. I…I won’t hurt you. I swear I mean you no harm. All we want is to fix your broken wing. We want you to fly again and you will. Just trust me.”

  The dragon seemed to understand and it could see Light and Dark motioning it to move in. Whatever they were saying worked because the dragon took its small steps and landed on Alice’s palm. She gasped because she feared the worst but everything was fine. The dragon did not melt or sprout leaves from it. Instead, it let out a tiny roar with its frosty breath. It made her laugh with delight to see that he wasn’t scared of her. Behind her, Light and Dark moved like they were laughing too.

  “It worked! He’s in my hands!” She exclaimed. Then a thought occurred to her. “Oh, but what do we call him? Are we sure it’s a boy?”

  Kian looked down at the cold spot on his knee and knew what had happened. He had seen more than they had. “Oh, I can assure you that this is a boy. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to change my trousers.”

  Lavinia laughed when she realized what happened. “Well, we can’t keep calling him ‘the dragon’ all the time. He needs a name. Unfortunately, I’m stuck on one.”

  Alice wanted to take time with that as well but only one name seemed to pop up for her. “Elias.”

  “Elias?”

  “He looks an Elias to me.” She didn’t want to reveal that Elias had been the name of her father. For years, she had wanted a pet with that name and she had one. She always figured that this pet would lead her to find out more about her past. “Do you have a better name?”

  “I don’t! Elias sounds like a beautiful name,” Lavinia said, kneeling down to face the little dragon. “Hello, Elias. My name is Lavinia but everyone calls me Vinnie. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

  “I think he understands.” Alice watched as Elias climbed up her shoulder and rested there. “I don’t think he wants to leave any time soon.”

  “I wouldn’t blame the poor thing.” Lavinia chuckled. “It’s so cold out there.”

  “Would it really matter? He’s made of ice.”

  Lavinia laughed again and stared out the window as she saw some of the snow turning into flowers. Then she could see the ice serpents flying along with them and her eye caught one of them. It seemed to stare at her like it wanted her to let it in. They already had one new pet but another one wouldn’t hurt. After all, if Alice could touch this ice dragon with her bare touch, maybe she could do the same. Ice couldn’t turn to ash. Ice was just solid water.

  Carefully, she opened the train window to let this serpent in. If Kian could coax a dragon inside, so could she. Alice saw this and was curious as to what she was doing. “Vinnie, is everything okay?”

  “I need to let this one in too. She keeps looking at me.” Lavinia’s eyes locked with that ice serpent, which was no bigger than her hand. “I know she wants me to let her inside. She wants to get away from the snow.”

  “How? These ice serpents belong in the cold. We brought Elias inside because he has a broken wing and he needs to heal.”

  “Well, maybe she needs healing as well. Not the physical kind of healing but she seems lonely. None of the other serpents seemed to care that she’s around.” Lavinia opened the window a little more and held out her hand. “Come here! I won’t hurt you! I know you’re scared but it will be okay!”

  “Vinnie, I don’t think…” Alice began but there was no way to convince Lavinia to stop. The serpent did have its eyes locked on her and slowly made its way to her. “Be careful, Vinnie! It’s a serpent, after all! It could bite you!”

  The serpent circled around Lavinia’s arm and she was amazed that it didn’t attack. This was exactly what she had been hoping for her. Closing the window behind her, she held up the tiny ice serpent who looked any ordinary snake but it was solid white and cold like the snow. “Now we both have a pet.”

  “A pet? I thought you wanted to release it once you healed it.”

  “I don’t know. I think Elias is fond of you and she is…” She looked closely at the ice serpent’s eyes to know that it was a female. The female’s had a triangular shaped face to tell them apart from the males. “Yes, she wants to be here. She wouldn’t look at me that way if she didn’t want to be here.”

  “Are you sure she won’t bite you or attempt to choke you like some of those giant serpents out there?” Alice wanted to know.

  “Look at how small she is, Alice. Can she choke anything? As for bites, it will probably feel like a nibble. These ice serpents carry no poison in them whatsoever. We would have to worry if they were larger but not her. Even if she bit me, it would do nothing. It would feel like a prick and nothing more.”

  “Well, I still want you to keep an eye on her,” Alice sighed. “Kian’s not going to be happy to see that we have two pets here. I’ve got Elias to take care of and you have… do you even have a name for her?”

  “I don’t,” Lavinia murmured. “I keep thinking of many names but nothing seems to stick. What does she look like to you? What kind of name stands out?”

  “Um…” Alice had a little harder time thinking of this one’s name. Unlike Elias, she didn’t know what her real mother’s name was. She didn’t know what kind of name could suit an ice serpent this easily. She racked her brain for names of former friends and people that she knew in the past. Then she thought about something Kian had said about when he was younger. It was one the rare times he had talked about his past when they were working in the bakery. “This might be a strange name for her but how about Madelyn?”r />
  “Madelyn?”

  “I know. It’s an awkward name for this serpent but I think it will work. Kian told me about a friend he had named Madelyn so maybe this can be the one for her.”

  “Well, I think it’s a fine name. She seems friendly enough for a serpent.” Lavinia watched as Madelyn circled around her arm. “It’s strange. This is the first time I’m holding a living creature that isn’t turning into ashes. She’s still very much alive.”

  “It’s incredible,” Alice murmured. “I never thought I could touch anything but Elias is still breathing. He’s still moving. He isn’t sprouting leaves or flowers and he’s not scared of me.”

  “That’s nice, isn’t it? They may be cold and made of ice but they’re alive. They’re alive when they are touched by me,” Lavinia murmured. “Alice, how long do you think it will take? How much longer will we both have to live with our curses?”

  “I don’t know. I hope it ends soon,” Alice said wistfully. “I can’t help but wonder if something is going to happen though. I’m not sure if we’re well prepared for anything in the Frost Kingdom.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Alice swallowed. “Oh, I just heard some rumors that things aren’t as good over there. There have been fights breaking out. Nothing big has happened yet but people over there are on edge.”

  Lavinia blinked. “Why didn’t you tell me this?”

  “To be honest, it was Kian who told me. He doesn’t think it’s anything that we need to get involved in but he wants us to stay alert. He doesn’t want us to mingle with too many people. Keep all our communication to a minimum.”

  “I suppose I understand that but I hate that we can’t spend too much time. I want learn more about the people here,” Lavinia said. “You can’t stop me for getting the outfits and masks though. I want you both to look amazing in that ball. Tonight is a night that I want you to feel like royalty.”

  Kian returned and was not at all surprised to see Madelyn had joined their group. It turned out that she wasn’t the only ice serpent out there. Many of them were flying around in the snow because they were trying to find a safer place. The Frost Kingdom wasn’t good for them anymore because people were starting fights and many of the animals were affected as were their homes.

  “I think these two will be fine with you. So many ice dragons and serpents were shattered because they got caught in some petty argument between people,” he explained.

  “That’s dreadful!” Lavinia gasped. “Who could hurt such poor creatures?”

  “People and witches that want to start a war,” he murmured.

  “Pardon?”

  “I passed by a few cars and I’m hearing other passengers talking about how the Frost Kingdom wants to go into a war of magic with the other two. I’m beginning to think theirs is far more going on there than we realized.”

  “So what do you think we should do? Do you want us to turn back?” Alice asked.

  “It’s impossible to turn back now, Miss Alice. We’ll be there soon so I think we should try to find someone who can help you with your curses. As for the ball, you should go to it and do what Vinnie says. Let her buy you a nice dress and whatever she wants. If she wants you to look like royalty, you should. It’s quite obvious that she wants to do this for one good reason.”

  “One good reason?” Alice was curious. “And what would that reason be?”

  “Can’t you see it, Miss Alice? Vinnie is quite fond of you. She likes you very much.”

  “I like her in return. I’m not sure what you’re trying to say.”

  “I’m saying that she likes you a lot. She clearly thinks highly of you. I’m sure you’ll see it more at the ball. Don’t be surprised if she does something that seems out of the ordinary.”

  Alice was still confused by what he meant but she knew that he wasn’t saying it to spite Lavinia. He liked her very much and he seemed happy by this thought. She could see what he was seeing but it had to be something good. If it would be revealed at the ball, she was looking forward to it. She wanted to see what this thing was and how this was going to affect them. It had to be a good thing.

  After all, she and Lavinia were just good friends.

  Chapter 18

  Alice had never felt so out of place as she did inside of this castle. Not even the castle or the wealthiest houses could measure up to the beauty of the Frost Kingdom. The snow wasn’t just flakes falling but tiny dragonflies and petals falling around them. She stood outside in the cold weather and just let the petals fall on her bare shoulders and hair. There was Elias right there with her, curious about what he was seeing. She no longer felt like Alice the baker from Themasa. Instead of being sixteen, she felt ten years older and she belonged with all these people.

  Lavinia had wasted no time in getting a brand new ball gown for her as well as a wig and mask to match. She had also found the nice outfit for Kian though couldn’t find anything for Light and Dark. Not that it seemed to matter as those two were still moving around wherever they wanted. They changed in the backroom of an inn and were now waiting to get into the castle with all the other guests.

  “Please don’t forget your gloves, Miss Alice.” Kian handed them over to her and she gingerly put them on. The last thing she needed was to touch someone with these hands. She was already very nervous about walking around in a gown with no shoulders. It was Lavinia who convinced her to put a cape over them if she was that scared. “I have to admit you look like someone new.”

  “New in a good way or bad way?”

  “An elegant way.” He explained. “You look incredible. If I didn’t see Vinnie picking all this stuff for you, I would never have guessed it was you.”

  “You look fine as well.” Alice nodded at the simple suit that he had on. It was light blue and it did make him look more than a simple baker boy. He had brushed back his hair and his face was glowing from the low lights of the castle. She could see bits of snowflakes stuck on his eyelashes. “I’m sure you will fit in.”

  “Maybe I look fine but I know I won’t fit in.” He shook his head. “Anyway, I need to search around the area. Light and Dark already went inside and I have to make sure those two don’t cause any trouble. It seems like we’re the only ones who can see them so that’s good.”

  “I still don’t understand what they are here for. They come and go as they please. However, if they can help you find a witch or sorcerer who can remove this curse, I will give them anything they want.” Alice promised, feeling Elias getting a little anxious on her shoulder. Gently, she touched her pet dragon to calm him down. “It feels strange. I can touch this creature and he’s not sprouting leaves. He’s fine.”

  “Elias must be very special and I think he feels safe around you.” Kian nodded. “The same thing can be said about Madelyn. They must have sensed something you and Vinnie. Dragons and serpents shouldn’t be that close to people.”

  “It could be that they’re just made of ice. Nothing would bother them.” Alice realized. “I just feel nice that I can touch something with my bare hand and it won’t die.”

  The snow was starting to fall harder but their attention had pulled toward Lavinia as she came in wearing her lilac colored gown and the silver flower clips in her dark, curly hair. Her lips were painted with a dark brown color and her eyes had a tiny touch of sable in them. Around her neck, Madelyn seemed to rest with ease. Like Alice, her dress had a small cape to go over her shoulders and gloves that went all the way up to her elbows. Even though she was trying her hardest not to look like royalty, she was doing a poor job of it. She certainly looked like she belonged in the Frost Kingdom more than they did.

  “Purple suits you,” Alice whispered as Lavinia came closer. “You stand out in the middle of all these beautiful ice creatures and snow.”

  “I think you look better in it. Your hair is stunning,” Lavinia said. “I was so surprised to see the change. Deep down though, I know it’s you. You’re as elegant a
s any lady in here.”

  “I won’t feel that way when I get inside. Watch as I trip over my dress or accidentally spill something.” Alice joked, watching as the ice petals swirled around them. “Despite how cold it is, I don’t know if I want to leave. I’ve never seen anything like it. Themasa might have snow but it doesn’t have anything that is so beautiful. It’s always just so cold and dull.”

  “Really? I always thought the snow in Themasa was beautiful. I guess it’s different from seeing it through your window than being out there.” Lavinia realized, feeling the snowflakes in her hair. They looked like another crown forming on her head. “What do you think you want to do first when we get inside? Shall we drink something? Talk to someone? Dance?”

  “Would it be okay to dance?” Alice asked, looking at her gloves. “We’d have to keep our distance from others. Maybe we’ll have to dance in a dark corner.”