..- Quest Entry -..
"Frozen Temptation."
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Like most little girls, Shayla too had dreams. There in her dream was a palace, made of ice and snow of course. It was absolutely beautiful and breath taking in the moon light. Most important, it belonged to no one but herself. Many times she had visited this place once she was asleep. Her castle of dreams.
Elegantly she made her way down the carpet of snow, strolling right up to the front gates. There she was greeted by a funny looking man. He was blue from head to toe and covered in snow. Jack, that was the name she called him every time the two met. He in turn, would smile and bow, "Welcome home my Queen." He greeted, taking her hand so he could lead.
Once at the massive ball room, piano notes could be heard filling the hall with their invisible notes. She wasted no time in entering, wanting this to be the perfect evening. It was a party for herself after all, she better be there and resplendent.
Everyone in the room was dressed in whites and gold, spinning and twirling together with the music. As Shayla entered the room, everyone stopped and bowed their heads. Jack stepped to her side and gave a toothy little grin. "I do believe the King wishes a dance with you, my Queen. Come." Yes, her King. The man she had fallen in love with.
Catching a glimpse of this man out of the corner of her eyes, she began to turn and face him. Surely he was a handsome man, though Shayla was unable to see his face. Only seconds after turning around, screams erupted in the ball room. The castle was falling, melting away into nothingness.
"Daddy!" Shayla screamed, her crystalline dream nothing but ruins in the blink of an eye. This wasn't a dream, it was a nightmare. There, with everyone gone and the castle melted away, she sat in the vast empty ocean. Tears ran down her face as she continued to scream for her father, wanting to be rescued. Those calm ocean waves kicked up and began to shake her violently. Closing her eyes, she prayed for her father. He surely would save her.
And then, there he was. Shayla opened her eyes as she was awoken from her dream. "Oh Daddy!" She cried, latching herself onto him. "Help me Daddy! I'm melting, melting! I don't want to melt away! Please Daddy, help me!"
"You're not melting. Shayla, stop crying..." Jason muttered, trying to clam his child down. "You were just having a bad dream.'
"A bad dream? So ... I not melting?"
"No, you're fine pumpkin." Gently, Jason picked the small girl up, cradling her in his lap. "Not one chunk of hair is out of place."
"Dat's cause... It's not hair Daddy. It's ice... And da ice is melting. Daddy... Why do I have ice for hair? Taji, Elazu, Ziya, Rizu and all da other kids have soft hair. I have wet melting hair... Why?"
"That's just how things are. But, I bet you this Shayla. As you get older I'm sure you can have any hair that you want. But first, you need to master keeping cool."
"I'm very cold now Daddy..."
"Well that's because you're room is freezing. You can't have an AC attached to your hip the rest of your life.'
Shayla stared at her father, the man making absolutely no sense to her. "Oh..." She muttered, glancing around before looking up at the man again. "Daddy... If my room is freezing why are you not cold?"
"Because I have a special talent Shayla. I can increase my body heat by drawing on my H-" He paused, laughing as he shook his head. Yeah, she wouldn't understand that either. "Let's just say I can make my body hot when I need to. I'll explain more when you're older ok?"
"Okie Daddy..." Shayla fell silent for a moment, then spoke once more. "Hey Daddy. Do you think I can make me cold?"
"With no doubt. I know you can if you try hard enough."
"How Daddy?"
"I don't know how. That you'll have to figure out on your own. Now, are you going to ask me a million more questions or go back to sleep?"
"I go back to sleep Daddy..."
"Alright then." Gently, Jason tucked his little girl in. "Sweet dreams kiddo." Standing, the jay turned to leave, but was stopped with little words.
"Daddy wait. If I have a bad dream again, will you come save me?"
"Of course I will. I'm you're Daddy aren't I?" A soft smile was flashed at the girl. "Now go to sleep."
"Ok, good night Daddy. I love you."
"I love you too Shayla." And with that, Jason left her room.
Shayla only smiled as she turned over in bed. Right now she was really happy. More happy than she had ever been. She did love her Daddy lots. Little hands were lifted to rub at her eyes, the small child more or less wide awake now. Only when she pulled her hands away did she see her locket. It hung from her wrist, still froze in it's icy case. What was inside? She still didn't know. But tonight she was going to find out, one way or another.
Sitting up, she easily slipped the small bracelet from her wrist. Little fingers lifted the icy pendant up to her eyes, glancing it over before allowing the item to fall into her hands. Gently she clasped them together, pressing a little kiss to her thumbs. "Please... Let this work." She whispered. She had been able to control ice and snow, so this ice shouldn't be any different right?
Opening her hands, she wasn't at all surprised to see the ice unchanged. Blue eyes just closed, a small sigh being released. She could do this if she really wanted to. She could do it. She could..... Couldn't think of what to do. It had come so natural before, but now she couldn't even remember how to control the ice. How did she do it before? "Hmm..."
When she controlled ice before, she had just pictured what she wanted in her mind then BOOM. There it was. But with winter, it just came so natural. Now what she wanted she found was almost utterly impossible to make. It was too warm and she couldn't even stop her hair from melting. Maybe she just needed to go back to basics.
Closing her eyes, she began to imagine it. The golden locket incased in ice. When her mind held the image, she began to tug the ice. Little by little it freed it's golden prisoner. Once the ice was removed, in her mind she molded a heart of ice. There, it was that simple right?
Blue eyes opened, staring down intently at her hands. Minutes would pass, and with concentration it did finally begin to work. Much to her surprise of course. Though there it was, the separation of ice and gold. Surely the heart of ice was more like an oval, but either was she had done it.
Gently picking up the ice crystal first, she held it to her eyes and inspected it. Without the gold, it looked much like a shiny stone. Either way, it was beautiful and cold! Yes, very cold. Gently the little gem was pressed to her forehead, a sudden cool rush surging through her body. It was like a buzz, her own personal air conditioner stuck on her forehead.
After she adjusted to the sudden temperature change, her eyes once more focused on the golden locket. Yes, that was the goal after all. Finally she could see what was inside her prized locket. Gently the item was picked up into her hands, little fingers pinching in the right spot to open. With a little pop, the golden halves began to part.
This was it! Blue eyes widened in excitement as the locket fell open. Nothing. It was completely empty. That excited look vanished, replaced with one of disappointment. She had done all of that and for nothing. What was the point of the locket if nothing was to be found inside?!
Sighing, the small child decided it was in fact time to sleep again. Either that or she'd force herself to sleep. The little bracelet was slipped back around her wrist before she snuggled into her feather pillows. Even disappointed in the end, she at least achieved her goal. Too bad she didn't realize that herself.
- End.
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