"Truth is a weapon. Ice is a shield. I needed both."
❅❅❅❅❅❅
The next day, Mamma meets me in the library again. She promised me she would train me in ice magic. No wonder Mamma runs colder than a normal human. Her ice magic, constantly circulating within her, keeps her body temperature colder than the norm, something that'll happen to me once I master ice magic too.
'Are you ready, sweetheart?' Mamma asks.
'Yep! Ready!'
'Good. We'll start with feeling magic. Magic is warm and in the air around us. It's in the trees and animals we eat. It's in us. You need to close your eyes and feel a current of warmth in the air.'
I close my eyes, taking deep breaths.
One minute.
Two minutes.
I open my eyes again.
'I don't feel anything,' I say, feeling depressed.
'That's alright. You're new to it. Feeling magic outside your body is harder than feeling it inside your body.'
'How long did it take for you to feel magic, Mamma?' I ask curiously.
'It took me a good few hours. You just need to sit and focus.'
'A few hours?' I groan.
'Nothing comes without hard work, Adira,' she warns.
'I know,' I sigh.
I close my eyes again, this time focusing even harder.
One hour passes, but all I feel is the warm sun shining through the windows.
Two hours.
My mind begins to wander.
'Adira, focus.'
This is the twentieth time Mamma's told me to focus. I can't help but feel a little embarrassed. I may look 10, but I still have the mind of a 35 year old! How is it I can't sit still for a few hours without being scolded?
By the third hour, I could finally feel waves of warmth spreading over me, pulsing like it's alive.
'It's pulsing,' I whisper.
'Yes. You finally feel the magic.'
I open my eyes to see Mamma smiling at me, her face radiantly lit.
'Is it alive?'
'Not quite. It responds to things that are alive, but it's not alive itself.'
'That's weird.'
'I know, right?'
We both giggle.
'Now, you need to learn how to feel the magic in your body. I will push some of my magic into you. With this, you need to be very careful. You cannot push your magic into someone else's body unless you're of the same element.'
'Why?'
'Because different elements cannot mix in one body. Disastrous results will happen if you do.'
'It's that scary?'
'Yes. It's painful and can cause death, so this is not to be done lightly, alright?'
'Yes, Mamma,' I say solemnly.
Thinking you can die from a different element in your body makes me shiver. How terrifying!
Standing face-to-face, Mamma intertwines her fingers into mine, holding me tight. She takes a deep breath.
'Are you ready?' She asks.
I nod. We both close our eyes.
Suddenly, a fierce current enters my body through my hands. It's a sharp, piercing cold, but not a hated feeling. It felt like my body was calling out for the cold. The cold gently seeps into my bones.
Suddenly, something inside me wakes up.
A dormant chill, as cold as the current Mamma was running through my body, stirs in my core, rising to meet Mamma's ice magic. The two currents intertwine, dancing together like old friends. It's at this moment that I truly understood what magic is.
'There it is,' Mamma whispers.
She pushes her current harder, and mine pushes back just as hard, spiralling through a path she created within my body.
Slowly, I am able to focus and control the circulation of the cold current throughout my body.
We open our eyes and stare at each other. I can see her love shining through, open and unconditional.
'You found it,' she says with a smile.
'Yes,' I whisper, tears forming. I can control it, my magic.
'I feel it, Mamma.'
As the days pass, I am slowly able to control it fully on my own, and by spring, I can form and control small shards of ice, as if it were natural.
So far, Mamma hasn't died yet, and that's been a relief to me. She's survived past the two months deadline! I keep a magic detection crystal with me in case Mamma is poisoned. There's not much we can do with natural poisons, but magic poisons can definitely be avoided with this crystal.
Today, we're playing ice shard tag in the library. Mamma's ice shards are bigger and faster than mine, but I'm sometimes able to shatter her shards. I have to think quickly, or Mamma gets the best of me.
Whoosh.
Swish.
Crash.
Splinter.
There go two ice shards. Two of mine are able to shatter one of Mamma's. Panting, I wipe the sweat from my forehead.
'You're too good, Mamma,' I gasp, my magic used up.
'You'll get as good as me with practice. How's your ice wall going?'
'It's still too small, and I can't hold it steady. It keeps breaking quickly.'
'You need to think about the structure of the ice. How hard do you want it to be? You can't have it too cold, otherwise it becomes brittle. Try and keep it at a temperature of around minus sone hundred and fifty degrees Celsius.'
'Why minus one hundred and fifty?'
'Because that's where ice becomes nearly indestructible since we use water to make ice. Anything less, and it's a little soft, though still durable to withstand sieges. Anything more, and it becomes brittle, shattering into small pieces. That's when ice becomes dangerous.'
'How can you tell the temperature of the ice?' I ask.
'That comes with time and practice. Patience too.'
I groan. I'm not good at patience.
'You're so mean, Mamma!'
Mamma just grins
'How are you feeling, sweetheart?'
'Tired.'
'You're pacing yourself properly?'
'Of course, Mamma. Shall we clean up and then have something to eat?'
'Sure. In the dining room, or in our rooms?'
'Maybe in our rooms tonight? I don't like those maids watching us like hawks. I already have my fill of them when Brother Xander comes over.'
'I know, sweetie, but that comes with the territory of being a Princess.'
'You're always so logical,' I whine. 'I just want to complain for once.'
'I'm your mother. It's my duty to make things harder for you. Otherwise, how will you learn dn grow?'
'I know,' I sigh.
By my eleventh birthday the following year, I'm able to hold an ice wall to protect the books in the library while having a mock battle with Mamma.
'Hiya!'
Thunk.
Crack.
Shick.
'Well done, sweetheart.'
'How'd I do, Mamma?'
'You're definitely much better at controlling your ice shards and the ice wall. Now we can try other things.'
'Like what?'
'Well, you can try making an ice sword. For this, you need a temperature of around minus sixty to minus one hundred degrees.'
'Why this temperature?'
'Because this is the temperature that holds a nice sharp edge. It won't shatter on impact, and it's very hard.'
'Why a sword?'
'You don't want to use a sword?'
'Hm… I want something with a longer reach.'
'A spear will need an ice shard at the end of a stick-'
'What about a scythe?'
'A scythe?'
'Yeah. Like those grim reapers in stories. You know, those long scythes? That'd be cool!'
'I guess. It's a longer reach and follows the mixed motions of swords and spears. It just wouldn't have any jabbing motions because it has a long blade like a sword but doesn't have a sword's sharp point like a spear does.'
By June that year, I was diligently learning sword and spear techniques that could be used with a scythe. In a little over a month, it would be one year since Mamma was supposed to die. That's one year longer I've had to spend with her, and I'm loving every minute of it.
'Mamma, can I use two different temperatures at the same time?'
'What do you mean, Adira?'
'Well, I want to use my scythe, but also freeze my enemies.'
'Hm… freezing, huh? Well, to freeze someone, you need frost, and frost is usually around minus thirty to minus seventy degrees.'
'So… if I warm up my scythe a little, maybe to minus sixty-five degrees, I should be able to emit a cold air that rapidly freezes something?'
'Yes. That's exactly right.'
Focusing on a more precise temperature and actually using it in tandem with my scythe attacks took me until my twelfth year to master.
'Well done, Adira. You've done it!'
'I'm so glad I can't hurt you, Mamma,' I sigh, looking at her frozen hand.
'You'll eventually learn how to do this too. It does take time and patience, but learning how to walk around without the cold affecting you is very helpful.'
'I know,' I grumble. 'Everything takes time and patience.'
'As it should. Nothing good comes cheap.'
'Mamma, what if I want to use a blunt-force attack on a wall?'
'Well, you can use a temperature of around minus forty to minus eighty degrees.'
'Why is it so warm?'
'Because it doesn't have a sharp point and only needs enough hardness to transfer force, reducing any shattering on impact.'
'So I could smash something with my fist covered with ice?'
'Of course you can.'
'That's so cool!'
'I know.'
When spring comes around, I have mastered a lot of techniques on how to use ice magic, but mastery of ice magic is still a long and exciting journey… well, according to Mamma, that is. It's been two whole years since Mamma was supposed to die. She's safe now. We can finally relax a little.
Today we're having tea in the garden. It's very warm today, and the garden is looking beautiful now that the flowers are blossoming.
'It's so pretty,' I sigh.
'We see it every spring. What makes today so special?'
'I don't know,' I shrug. You're alive, Mamma. You really are alive!
'You should do some ice magic training today.'
'But it's such a nice day! Do I have to?'
'Yes, you do.'
'Aawh,' I groan. 'I want to take a rest!'
'Mastery of a topic will not wait for you. Diligent studying and experimentation is the only way to go.'
'Mamma! No more pushing. Please? Just for today?'
Mamma sighs.
'Alright, fine. But you must work twice as hard tomorrow.'
'It'll be fine. It's not like you're going anywhere.'
'You never know in this place, Adira. Everyone's watching us.'
December comes, and with it comes a hot summer. It's time for our daily tea together. Today, we decided to eat in the library. The heat was too much to have tea outdoors.
'Mamma, here're the mini cakes and sandwiches.'
'I already have the tea here,' she says, taking a sip from her cup.
'Oh, right! I forgot the magic detector! Don't eat anything yet, Mamma! I'll be right back!'
'I quickly run out of the library.'
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I watch as my daughter leaves to get her magic detector. Sighing, I look at the finger food she left on the table. If I were going to die, I would've died by now. I can't help but think she's worrying about nothing.
I pick up a sandwich, pausing a little, before I take a bite.
Delicious as usual.
Suddenly, I feel pain in my stomach. What is this?
Hack. Hack. Cough. Cough.
Something's wrong.
My breathing is harsh and raspy, and I feel something rising up my throat.
I cover my mouth, trying to hold it in, but the pain is too much.
Click.
I turn to look at the opening door.
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'Mamma! I'm back!' I call out, opening the library door.
Spurt.
Hack.
Cough.
Blood.
'Mamma! No!'