“Get away, you cannot have her!”
The guards were surrounding the ice coffin.
A woman with a white dress was inside of it.
Her eyes closed and sleeping so peacefully.
“By order of the king of this land we hereby declare the mage of Winthrop a threat to the kingdom and its inhabitants, no mercy shall be shone and all his artifacts will be removed hereafter!”
The guard reciting all this from a scroll spoke in a loud voice.
Other guards were collecting the heavy books, antique swords, and wild birds the mage kept in his humble home.
He lived in the mountains far from the prying eyes of the people he was sworn to protect.
Magic was misunderstood and feared.
The few mages who were still alive were forced into hiding or bound to serve the king.
The Mage of Winthrop was bound to serve and had been given the task to control the weather.
He was to make the winter short and the spring longer so that the farms could grow more crops.
As commanded, the mage used his magic to do just that and then something unexpected happened.
A frozen block of ice floated down stream to the pond he collected water from.
She was encapsulated in thick ice. An enchanting beauty frozen from head to toe.
The mage tired to defrost it and could not find enough heat to melt this ice coffin.
As time passed the mage grew to enjoy her quiet company. He told her about his life and explained all things magic to the sleeping woman.
He retold stories of how magic once and a few adventures he went on.
He confessed to losing all hope in magic until he met her.
He promised to free her from her frozen state.
A desire to help this alluring woman lit a flame in his heart, one that the mage had not felt before…
The guards all stared at the woman in the ice coffin and were stunned at her beauty.
“How could the mage do this to a woman?! He froze her and locked her away in his home so he could gaze at her beauty. That twisted man!”
The mage was shackled and brought to the king.
The ice coffin was placed on a cart and taken to the king immediately.
All the villagers looked in awe as the ice coffin passed by.
No one had ever seen a woman so beautiful…
It made all the women jealous and all the men smitten.
The mage worked to break his chain.
The task proved impossible.
He was drained of magic. So much so, that he had difficulty finding energy to make the simplest spell.
Goosebumps suddenly covered his arms.
“Try again, mage of Winthrop. Try until you have succeeded. I know you can do it.”
A rich voice flowed into his ears and melted his fears in an instant. It was the tenderness that this woman had spoken with that gave the mage the courage to try once more.
He closed his eyes and concentrated on magic.
The guards pulled the mage from the carriage and pulled him like cattle.
“Hurry up! The king demands it.”
Stumbling along, the mage continued to focus on his power.
The ice coffin was carefully lifted and taken to the throne.
The air grew cold and the clouds darkened.
Snow began to fall.
