Hearts of Fire & Ice

A prince wants to save a princess and become a legend. But...is she worth saving?

Hearts of Fire & Ice

By Omegax45

 

 

 There was once a village called Sola.  The people were magic wielders of fire and were labeled Fire Dancers, for they had made many dances that included their fire weaving around their bodies.  Royals and nobles alike would hire the best Fire Dancers they could afford to perform at their parties and the village prospered from the profits they earned. 

The color of a Fire Dancer’s flames determined how powerful they were when they put all of their energy into them.  Reds and orange indicated a weak Fire Dancer, and yellow and light blue indicated a strong Fire Dancer.  However, the strongest Fire Dancers happened to be those of their royal family.

King Alexander was the ruler of Sola, although those outside the village saw him more as a leader than a king.  He and his family lived in houses made of wood, mud, hay, and furs like the rest of the villagers.  He had no servants, nor did he want them.  He had six daughters and one son, his eldest, his pride and joy.

 Prince Zack, the heir to the title of king.  He had spiky red hair and fiery orange eyes.  He was well-known for his unique dances, his flames a pale yellow and can change them into different colors depending on how much strength he placed in them.  He was one of the very few that can do this, for it required much concentration.  He was a happy and carefree youth in search of love.  However, none of the females of his village seemed to struck his heart, so he continued his search whenever he was asked to dance in other lands, other kingdoms.  He was very determined to find his future wife, his future queen.

Sola began their traditional festival to the harvest gods in gratitude foe their abundance of crops and good fortune in hunts.  The best Fire Dancers swung and weaved their bodies and their flames to the beat of the music from the drummers and flute-players, many eyes upon Prince Zack.  His muscles moved fluently and the flames slithered so close to his skin yet left it unblemished.  He was the best, and most handsome, to their eyes, but many knew that he was searching for someone to steal his heart.  They were unsuccessful.

 Eventually, the music ended and the Fire Dancers laughed and complimented one another, sitting down to enjoy the fest.

 “I say young prince,” an elderly man said, “your dancing is so well, you can come second to your father.  Very splendid, indeed!”

 “Thank you Benjamin,” Prince Zack replied happily, downing a mug of ale.

“They say that the winter coming will be our coldest yet,” a middle-aged man commented, picking cooked meat off a bone.

 “Can’t be any colder than Princess Emily’s heart,” another man said loudly, making everyone laugh.  Everyone, but Prince Zack.

 “Who’s Princess Emily,” he asked, making everyone sober up and stare at their prince, “Is she a pretty lady?”

 “Do not dare my son,” King Alexander warned as he placed a hand upon Prince Zack’s shoulder, “She is a cursed woman that is beyond your reach.”

 “Gather all,” an elderly woman said as she walked up to the bonfire, “Our prince know not the tale of Princess Emily, and I will tell you all now.

“A hundred years ago, there was the kingdom of Lore.  It was famous for its markets and vast rice fields.  Outshining those was the beautiful Princess Emily, the king’s only child.  They say she had hair the color of the earth in long curls that reached the hem of her dress, eyes the color of emeralds, skin as white as snow.  They say that she was like a doll, beautiful and lacking a heart to love.  All that sought her hand were turned down with an insult that fell from lips as red as blood.  None knew why she turned them down, for she refused to give her reasons.

 “The king knew that his daughter had to wed soon and bear and heir for the kingdom, so he had her see suitors of all classes in hopes that one of them would melt the ice around her heart.  Each suitor would offer her gifts, poems to her beauty, and promises of wealth and happiness.  Each one, Princess Emily would stare at them coldly and reject their proposals harshly before sending them on their way with their gifts.

 “One day, a man wearing rags and using a walking stick came before the princess.  He had no treasures or status, but he promised her that if she were to become his wife, he would adore her and love her forever.  Princess Emily not only turned him down harshly, but ordered the guards to send the man to the dungeons as an example to all the sought her hand in marriage.  Before the guards could touch him, the man tapped his walking stick and they turned to stone rocks.  His outfit and appearances changed, and the royal court knew that they were before a powerful sorcerer.

 “The king tried to apologize for his daughter’s behavior, but Princess Emily refused to apologize. The sorcerer could clearly see that the princess refused her duty to wed because of her selfishness, the need to be in control of her own life.  To marry would mean she would have to give up some of that control.  He told the king that Lore will fall if the princess continued to refuse to marry and fulfill her duty.  The princess vowed to never wed and threw her goblet at the sorcerer, informing him that she was better off alone.  The sorcerer saw that his words did not reach her and decided to grant her wish.

“The Kingdom of Lore fell upon that day and all but Princess Emily found themselves outside the kingdom’s borders. The princess found herself unable to leave the castle as ice surrounded it and swallowed everything up to the borders.  The sorcerer told the king that Princess Emily will live forever in the castle alone.  The only way to break the curse was for one to melt the ice and enter the castle to meet her, then gain her hand in marriage and for both to leave together.  He warned that if one stops in their attempt, the ice would reform and he or she will have to start over.  That is, if they can escape the ice before being trapped in its frozen embrace forever.

 “Many have tried to save Princess Emily.  Some returned in failure, others never to be seen or heard from again.  It is said that she is still in there, awaiting the one to set her free.”

The children awed at the story while the adults spoke amongst themselves.  Prince Zack remained silent, and King Alexander took it as a sign that his son understood.  That he would never speak of it again.

However, he was soon to be proven wrong.

 

* * * *

 

Days past, and Prince Zack decided to lead a hunting party consisting of his friends to the forests of Giswar.  King Alexander was concerned, for it was a seven-day travel in one direction and even longer with game.  However, Giswar was home to the Ice Boars, which have the most delicious meat of any game and their hides made the best winter clothing.  He allowed them to go so long as they return before the start of winter in two month’s time.

 The hunting party rode on horseback with their finest weapons and enough food to last for the duration of the trip.  Prince Zack led them through forests and mountain trails, only stopping to rest and eat.  It was not until four days later when the hunters saw a sparkling clear mountain top with a flag frozen in its center that they realized they were going in the wrong direction.

 “My prince,” one of them spoke up, riding up to the red-haired young man, “We must turn away.  We are heading-“

“To Lore Castle,” Prince Zack finished, to which all of the hunters and himself stopped their horses, “Listen guys.  I’ve been thinking.  We Fire Dancers are only known for our dancing.  No one believes that we can be more than just that.  Well, I think they’re wrong.  We’re going to prove them wrong.”

  “By going to our deaths,” another hunter asked incredulously, “You heard what the old lady said.  No one has been able to reach the castle!”

 “But they didn’t have what we have,” Prince Zack pointed out, “We can wield fire.  We are a group, not a lone individual.  By working together, we can not only set a miserable princess free, but prove to the world that we are more than just mere flashy dancers.  We are proud warriors, and powerful fire mages!”

The hunters cheered at the declaration, their heads filling with the idea of being respected more than they already are.  A few were looking a bit unconvinced, even worried, but they did not want to be turned away and kept silent.

They continued until they reached the edge of a city surrounded by what could be mistaken for crystal, a castle in the center.  There was no doubt in their minds.  This was the Lost Kingdom of Lore.
 “We’ll work in groups of three and take turns melting the ice,” Prince Zack instructed, “We’ll have this legend put to rest and start a new legend of our own!”

He threw a fist forward, flames rushing from his flesh and colliding with the ice.  Steam sizzled as the ice melted by a few feet and everyone cheered.  A minute later though, they became silent as the ice reformed slowly, leaving not even a scratch or a scar on its shiny surface.

“Well,” their prince said after a moment of silence, “we all knew that this wasn’t going to be easy.  Let’s go!”

 

* * * *

 

Someone has come.  No, more than someone.

They’ve come to try again.  They won’t succeed.

 Try and try, my little dolls.  Try to find me.  Try to save me. 

 

* * * *

 

Two weeks have passed.  Following Prince Zack’s plan, they marched forward through the ice they have melted and were now a quarter into the city.  However, as they moved deeper, the ice behind them would reform.  They moved their camp with them, leaving fire pits behind them to keep the ice from reforming and blocking their escape.

 “Huh,” Prince Zack suddenly uttered as he was eating, “Did you guys hear something?”

“No my prince,” one of the hunters answered, “Why?  What did it sound like?”

“It sounded like…a woman.”

“A woman?  You must be imagining things.”

“I heard it too,” another hunter revealed, “It happened the other day.”

“Maybe it’s Princess Emily begging us to save her,” a third hunter joked, making the others laughed.

There was one that wasn’t laughing though.  He was a young child that had just turned thirteen.  His older brother was supposed to take him on his very first hunt.  They weren’t supposed to be here.  As it stood, he was the weakest of the Fire Dancers and had to keep the fire pits in the icy cave alive and going. 

He wanted to leave and go home.  He wanted to get away from here.  However, he couldn’t just leave his brother, their prince, and the others behind.  He will just have to wait until everyone became bored with this quest and decided to quit.

He just had to wait.

 

* * * *

 

It was now a month after they had begun this journey, and things have become worse.

  They were half-way into the city now, and the young child had to run back-and-forth through the ice tunnel to make sure that the fire pits did not go out.  Since the ice evaporated, there was no water to extinguish the fire pits.  It was finding decent wood nearby that was the hard part, for the more fire pits there are, the more wood he needed and the farther he had to go.  The wood from the ice-incased buildings was too rotted to be of any used.  It burnt too fast.  It would have made things easier for him if the wood was in good condition.  He was even forced to break branches from trees to feed the fire pits, and now they were too high for him to reach.

What was worse was the other hunters and Prince Zack’s behavior.  Slowly, each of them were taking less breaks and working themselves to exhaustion.  None of them even flinched when they melted the ice surrounded a corpse they came across and allowed it to fall onto the ground, leaving it there.  Judging by the clothing that was still intact, the corpse appeared to be a male from the far south.  He looked like he was just frozen, but to be this far in...and with an outdated weapon…

The young teen was scared.  More corpses littered the tunnel and the stench was overwhelming.  The others ignored it while the poor young Fire Dancer did all he could to keep his meals within him and not expel them out.  He begged his brother to stop this and for them to go home, but the elder appeared to not have heard him, muttering that he had to hurry.  The rest of the hunters were acting almost the same, some more aggressive than the others.  When he reached Prince Zack, he was so desperate that he grabbed the red-haired young man’s arm.  The prince turned towards him, eyes ablaze with anger, and threw flames at the young teen, who barely blocked them with his own flames and fell on his rear.  Prince Zack turned away and returned to melting the ice before him.

 With tears in his frightened eyes, he ran for the horses.  They had eaten all of the grass that was around them from where they were tied up, eating the leaves and bark from the trees in desperation for nourishment and water.  They were walking in their own feces and were both thin and had skin infections.  Many will have to be mercifully killed to end their suffering, for they were beyond help.  With good fortune as he set the horses free, his own horse was still well enough to be ridden, for it was close to a water source and more grass than the others.  He quickly climbed on and rode as fast as he could away from that horrible and cursed place.

 

* * * *

 

   Find me.  Save me.

You are almost there.

I’m so cold.  I’m so lonely.

Hurry.  Hurry.

I’m waiting.

Please.  Hurry.

 

* * * *

 

 “Hurry,” Prince Zack muttered, the other hunters chanting the same word as well.  They were close now, so very close.  They didn’t need to look to know.  They just did.

How much time had passed was lost to them.  What was once a proud group of Fire Dancers were now pale shades of their former selves.  Muscular tanned bodies had become thin and pale from lack of food, sun, and rest.  Trim bellies were now flat and beginning to bulge out.  Their possessed eyes were sunk into their heads, red lines moving across the whiteness to reach their colored irises.  Their flames appeared weak and dark in color.  They had already lost several hunters now that there was no more fire pits behind them to keep the ice at bay.  They had stopped caring.  Escape didn’t matter.  Their lives didn’t matter.

The voice was all that mattered.

There were down to four now.  They were so close now.

They could see a large door leading to the inside of the castle.  Just a few more feet of ice.  Damn it, why are their flames so weak?  They were melting the ice so slowly.  To slow.  They need to hurry!

  Suddenly, a noise began behind them, but they ignored it.  The noise became louder, and Prince Zack looked back to see a bright light.  Dull eyes became wide and he jumped to the ground.  Bright white flames burst into the small icy room and knocked the hunters to the ground, some screaming as their flesh was burned.

“Grab all the surviving hunters,” King Alexander commanded, one arm burning with white fire as many Fire Dancers used their flames to keep the tunnel open, “We are leaving this damned place immediately.”

“Hurry,” Prince Zack droned as he stood up slowly, seeing that the door before him had burned away.  At last.  He can get inside the castle!

“Stop Zack,” King Alexander shouted in fright as his son ran inside the castle, ice quickly covering the entranceway.  He threw flames at the ice, but they reformed just as fast as he could melt it.

“We must leave My King,” a Fire Dancer shouted, one hunter in the crook of his arm, “The ice is quickly reforming! We’ll die if we stay any longer!”

 “No,” the king shouted, being dragged away by another Fire Dancer as the ice began descending upon them, “Zack!!!”

 

* * * *

 

Prince Zack ran happily down the dark and icy hallways.  He didn’t know where he was going, and he didn’t care.  He was only happy that he and his friends had made it.  Now to-

Wait.

He slowed then stopped.  Where were his friends?  Shouldn’t they be here by his side?  Where are they?  Come to think of it. How did he get in here?

Head aching and fatigue draining him, he leans against a wall to collect his thoughts.  All he remembered was hearing a voice that said to hurry.  He looked at the wall to realize it was a mirror, bloodshot eyes staring at him.  He turned quickly in fright to see who was behind him, but he saw no one.  Turning back, he saw that those haunting eyes belonged to him!

What has happened to him?! His muscles had faded, his stomach now flat and rounded, his hair…This can’t be his hair!  He had spiky red locks, not flat shoulder-length oily dark brown hair!  Why?!  Why did this happen?!  Why can’t he remember?!!

“You have finally come,” Prince Zack turned swiftly to a soft feminine voice coming from a dark figure in the doorway, “It’s been so long since someone had managed to get through the ice.”

 “There were…others?”

“Oh yes.  They have come to save me from this cursed place.  They were unable to do it, so weak they were after such a enduring trial.”

  “Are you…Princess Emily?”

“That I am.  If you expect to do what none have done, I’m afraid that you will fail as well.”

  Now terrified, Prince Zack searches in the darkness for any form of light.  He spots a candleholder with three candles on it upon a table and threw several small flames at it.  The candles’ wicks caught the flames and began lighting the room, swallowing the darkness and revealing the old walls, cracked wood, and…

Corpses! Many corpses!  They were of different nationalities, frozen in frightened positions.  Fear was filling the young prince, the need to escape becoming strong within him.  He turned wide eyes to the doorway and sucked in a scared gasp, a scream stuck in his throat.

Within the doorway was a woman wearing a long black dress and a veil behind her head.  Her skin was dry and wrinkle, many rings under large pale green eyes.  Pale gray hair fell back in wavy lengths, pooling down onto the old floor and heading back into the room she came from.  Bony hands rested upon an old cane, the fingernails like sharp claws that appear to be made of ice.  Dark freckles decorated her very pale skin and her dry thin lips parted to reveal decaying gums and yellow teeth with black spots.

“As you can see,” Princess Emily said, walking into the room, “Although I was cursed with immortality, I was not given eternal youth.  My body will continue to degrade for all time.  Those that come here are so weak that they die upon seeing me, becoming frozen statues for my amusement.”

“Amusement,” Prince Zack repeated incredulously, “These men risked their lives to save you!  How could you think so little of them?!”

“And why have you come to save me,” Princess Emily suddenly asked, “Do you love me?  Someone you never met before?  Someone who is old enough to be your grandmother?”

 He opens his mouth to answer, but no sound passes his throat.  How can he answer?  It was the right thing to do?  He wanted to help her?  He had a reason, but it was so long ago…

“That’s what I thought,” the princess stated, “Like so many others, I an only seen as a trophy to be claimed for their own ego.

 “Do you want to know why I turned down all those suitors years ago?  It was because I had a lover.  Yes, I, the Ice Princess Emily, was in love. 

“He was from a family of shape shifters, changing from man to bear.  We met in secret, he and I, and I loved him dearly.  We had plans for our parents to meet and give us their blessing, so we could get married and start a family of our own.

“I returned home one day to find my father gone on a hunt with the hunting party.  I waited for my beloved and his parents to come, for that was the day our parents would meet for the first time.  They didn’t come.

“Before I could leave in search for them, fearing the worst, my father and the hunting party returned. They were celebrating, I was screaming.

“They had killed my love and his parents.

“My father thought I was afraid of bears and that was the cause of my screams.  He never believed me when I told him the truth.  He just had my loves cooked and served to the civilians in a feast.  A feast!

“I had vowed since that day to never take another as my mate,” she looked at Prince Zack with hatred in her eyes, “I had vowed to avenge my loves and destroy all that my father had built.  The sorcerer wanted me to let go of my hatred, telling me that the civilians were innocent of my father’s sin.  Innocent!  Hah!  What he had done merely helped my plan all along.”

 “It was you,” Prince Zack accused as realization hit him, taking a step back, “You manipulated me.  My friends!”

“A final gift from my beloved,” Princess Emily confirmed, “You and your friends would not be the first.  So many lose interest so early that they needed a little…stimulation.”

“You…you’re out of your mind…”

“And you were foolish to believe in a children’s legend,” Princess Emily began walking towards the trembling prince, “Now, be a good boy and hold still.  Very soon, all of your worries and fears will be gone forever.”

“No,” Prince Zack backed away in fright, trying to call upon his powers.  To his greatest fear, he was too weak to create flames longer and brighter than the small deep red flames upon his fingertips, too weak to harm anything.  His arm hit the arm of a corpse, knocking a lantern it was holding onto the ground and the smell of oil hit his nostrils.  The small of his back hits the edge of the table and he gabs it with both hands, the candleholder swaying.

“Nowhere to run now,” Princess Emily said, a smile on malice upon her crinkly face, “Time to sleep for eternity.”

“No,” Prince Zack cried out, pushing against the table to escape those vile hands.  The extra force tips the candleholder over, one of the candles falling off.  It hits the floor and rolls into the pool of oil, igniting it.

Princess Emily pulls away as the flames raced down the oil path, her hair and dress soaked from stepping into the crude fluid.  She screamed as the flames grasped her frame and rose high upon her, engulfing her.  The flames began to sweep throughout the castle, engulfing the rooms in warmth for the first, and last, time in a hundred years.  The elderly princess kept screaming as she twist and turned to escape the fire that was eating away at her, splintering her skin and burning her hair and dress away.  The young prince felt no pain, for it was his fire that lit the candle and now destroying the castle, and could do no harm to him.  The corpse statues cracked and melt from the intense heat, splintering like weak wood and falling to the floor.

“You b*****d,” Princess Emily screamed, her face covered in burn wounds and her hair burnt to tiny black nubs, “You shall die before me!”

She ran towards Prince Zack, burning arms outstretched to crush his neck.  However, the young prince felt a rush of adrenaline and avoiding the elderly princess’ hands, running towards the nearest open door.  Princess Emily screeched and ran for him, but a beam fell and blocked her path.  The red-haired young man turned back to watch the last Princess of Lore trying to reach him with one arm that was now nothing but burnt flesh and bone, screaming and staring at him with those horrible eyes, eyes forever burned into his memory. Frightened, and feeling a bit sorry for the woman poisoned by hatred, he fled.

 

* * * *

 

King Alexander and the Fire Dancers watched as the ice melted from the fire spewing out of the windows of the castle.  They saw Prince Zack running as fast as he could before he faltered in his step and collapsed.  Two Fire Dancers rescued the young prince and they fled as fire consumed the ruined city, leaving nothing but ash and burnt stone.  No one came back to search for Princess Emily’s corpse.  For all they knew, she was burned alive and her body was now dust in the wind.

It took many weeks for the hunting party and Prince Zack to regain their former health.  They were detained in Sola for lying and disobeying their king and their parents.  They had apologized and vowed to never do it again, although all but Prince Zack had forgotten what had happened after hearing that voice for the first time.

Prince Zack, however, still had the mental scars from that time.  He would awake in the middle of the night, screaming from the horrible nightmares he had.  Nightmares of Princess Emily strangling him in that fiery room.  Princess Emily burnt body finding him and slaughtering his family.  Making them kill each other, or kill him.  His sisters had tried to comfort him each time he had such a nightmare, but they began to worry and fear that it would never end.  That their brother would know no rest.

The nightmares began to lessen as time passed.  Prince Zack rarely danced anymore and King Alexander informed anyone that wished for his son to perform for them that he cannot.  Many were upset at the news, but understood after hearing about his adventure.  Ice caused the red-haired young man to panic and scream, including snow.  He wore a cloth to cover his eyes when he was forced to confront any ice or snow and stayed as close to the fire pit inside the house as possible.  He would wait until spring to come to leave the house, but would quickly rush back inside once it began to snow again.  King Alexander was worried. Something had to be done to save his son from falling into an endless pit of fear and solitude.

He had sent a message to his dearest friend, the king of the village Iglesia.  He implored him to visit with his daughter in hopes of sparking some life back into his son.  The king of Iglesia, Eric, agreed and would arrive within a few weeks.  King Alexander was grateful, and welcomed his friend with open arms the moment he arrived. 

Once the two kings had their long-overdue conversation, they decided to introduce their children to one another.  Prince Zack entered the room with his sisters beside him, dark circles under his eyes.  He greeted King Eric warmly, then he noticed the young woman next to him.  She had short black hair that reached her shoulder, her skin pale.  She kept her head bowed and her eyes closed, long dark lashes sweeping upon pink cheeks.  The red-head young man felt his heat skip a beat.  This young woman, she wasn’t as pretty as the many women he had seen during his quest for a wife, but she…he couldn’t look away.  Is it possible?  Could she be…the one?

King Alexander and King Erie could see that Prince Zack was interested in her, and introduced the young woman as Princess Eva.  Prince Zack took Princess Eva’s hand and kissed it, them looked up as she opened her eyes.

The moment their eyes met, Prince Zack’s face widened in intense fear and he began to scream.  Princess Eva backed away in fright, King Alexander and King Eric asking what’s wrong.  Prince Zack’s sisters reached out to their brother, but the red-haired young man scooted away from them until his back hit the wall, still screaming.  King Eric held his trembling daughter as Prince Zack’s family tried to calm him down.  He just kept screaming.  Screaming until his throat hurt.  Screaming until his lungs burned.  Screaming until no more sound escaped his opened mouth and his eyes rolled into the back of his head, then his body collapsed.  King Alexander screamed for the healer, but his son was already dead.  His heart had given out.

It was those eyes.

Those very same eyes.

Princess Eva had those eyes.

Princess Emily’s eyes.

 

THE END

  

Author's Note

This is my first horror story. Any suggestion to make this better will be under consideration.

Reviews

[Lost in Wonderland]

Wow :D I quite liked that story. It seemed to me more of a fantasy but there were some chilling descriptions (no pun intended) Nice job!
God bless
~Mickey

[♥Dancing giraffe..]

I didn't realize this was a horror story until the very ending. Mostly because there was a spark of hope just at the end, where he couldn't look away from Princess Eva, wandering if she was 'the one'.Though, it was chilling that the princesses had the same eyes. "Those eyes..." it was a good way to end it, but i couldn't help but feel bad for the prince, who only wanted an adventure and to find his true love. And for Princess Emily, that her father ate her lover.... D:
I loved the idea of the 'Fire Dancers', and couldn't stop reading until the very end. Nicely done.