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The ice palace was quiet when their sled landed, but Jade’s heart was beating fast. They could see the path of destruction through the royal garden. The stone bench where Freya and Zaeden reconciled was broken in half. Kia’s greenhouse was smashed to pieces on the ground.
“Where is Freya?” Kia asked tearfully.
“I don’t know,” Jade replied, her heart sinking.
“Maybe they weren’t here when it happened?” Kyle said, hopefully.
They saw movement from beneath the rubble, and then Freya and Zaeden came out from underneath it. They had cuts on their body, but otherwise seemed okay. Zaeden gave Freya his hand and pulled her to her feet.
They were still alive.
“Zaeden!” Aeron rushed to his younger brother and pulled him into a tight hug.
Zaeden groans in pain. “Brother, if I had known you would react like this, I would have stayed under the rubble. Now my bruises have bruises!”
“He was braver half an hour ago,” Freya said to them, smiling. “Zaeden created a dome of fire to protect us.”
Zaeden sighed. “I wasn’t strong enough. The queen’s blizzard still came through it.”
“Thank goodness you are still alive,” Jade said with relief.
“We barely made it, but yes, we are alive,” Zaeden said. “Wait, what are you all doing back here? You should have been out of the ice realm by now.”
“You won’t believe what happened. Jade spoke with Selene’s owl,” Aeron said. “She can tell you better than I can.”
Jade smiled. She updated Zaeden and Freya with what happened, including how Aeron used his powers, how the ice queen saved him when he couldn’t control it, and what the oracle said about Selene.
“You forgot the part where the animals fled and we had to get them back,” Kyle said. “The reindeer head-butted me... nearly gave me a concussion.”
“The reindeer told me to tell you he was sorry,” Kia said.
Kyle laughs. “I forgot you could talk to them. I guess I accept his apology.”
Jade and Kia both smiled.
“So you came back because of what Selene’s owl said?” Zaeden asked. “Do you think it is important?”
“The Moon gave the first families of the ice realm their powers. They were to serve and protect her favorite daughter, Selene, as she visited this world,” Freya said. “I imagine it was the same for the fire realm with the sun prince, Aurelius. To answer your question, yes, I believe this is something we should look into.”
Zaeden gawked at Freya, open-mouthed.
“I know our history,” Freya said. She saw Zaeden staring at her still. “What?” she asked with irritation.
“I had a crush before, but now I am completely smitten,” Zaeden said, clutching his chest. “Curse this besotted heart!”
Freya rolled her eyes.
“How can we find Selene?” Jade asked.
“If her familiar cannot find her, there must be a powerful spell that is hiding her location,” Freya said thoughtfully. “There is only one creature strong enough to break such a spell.”
“Queen Eirlys,” Jade said. “But will she help us?”
“If you had asked this question before you left, I would have said no,” Freya said. “But what you told me gives me hope that the queen I love and admire is still present. Queen Eirlys could have left Aeron to die, but she saved him. I don’t know if she will help, but I hope that she will.”
“Has she returned to the palace?” Aeron asked. “How do we find her?”
“If the queen returned, she will be in her tower,” Freya said. “I can show you the way.”
“What do I say to Queen Eirlys when I see her?” Jade asked. “Will she even listen to me?”
“All we can do is try,” Aeron said. “Perhaps you should talk to her first to see how she reacts. Kia and the rest of us should stay behind.”
Jade and everyone else agreed with the idea.
Jade found the ice queen in her tower. Queen Eirlys was a lonely figure there, staring at the stars through the glass ceiling. There was an opening from where an icy wind blew in, making Jade shiver.
“You returned,” the ice queen said when she heard her footsteps. “After what I did to you, I didn’t think you would.”
“I didn’t come back for myself, but I had to think about the others,” Jade replied.
“Others?” the ice queen said, coldly. “What have they given me but pain and suffering? Everyone except the child... is she here?”
“She is around,” Jade replied. She still didn’t trust the queen around her little sister. “I need to know... will you put another spell on my sister now that she remembers who she is?”
“I put a spell on her heart so she only loved the ice realm and remembered nothing of her past. I put a spell on her sight so she could only see ice and frost as beautiful,” Queen Eirlys replied. “The spell won’t work on her anymore because your little sister sees the beauty in everything and she will never forget who she loves. The child hates what I did to her... I will never put a spell on her again.”
Jade sighed in relief.
“I thought my greatest wish came true when I found the child,” Queen Eirlys said sadly. “Now, I don’t know if that is true.”
Jade felt the sadness in the ice queen’s words. “What is your wish, Eirlys?”
“To break hold of the past.”
“Why?”
“Why? So I can live. So I can breathe again.”
“What is stopping you from breaking free?” Jade asked.
“Rage,” the ice queen said. “I cannot forgive what they did to me.”
“You don’t have to forgive them,” Jade said.
“Then what could I do?”
“You can start by forgiving yourself,” Jade said. “Heal your heart so you can stop the anger and the hate. Heal the pain so you can love again.”
“Love?” Queen Eirlys said, mesmerized. “Is that even possible for someone with a frozen heart? For someone like me?”
“Your heart was never frozen, it was just numb,” Jade said. “Your pain and suffering made it numb, but you have loved. You love my sister and would do anything for her.”
“Is that love?” Queen Eirlys asked. “Why does it hurt when she is not there? Should love hurt?”
“Yes, love hurts, but it also heals.”
“You speak like it is a dream, but it sounds like a nightmare,” the ice queen said.
“Hate is the nightmare that stops you from living,” Jade said. “To love is to dream.”
“I want to heal,” the ice queen said. “I want to dream again. I want to love again... but it won’t be possible until I find Selene.”
“Selene?” Jade asked, surprised. “What has she got to do with it?”
The ice queen gave a grim smile. “Everything.”
She will not tell me, Jade thought. Perhaps it was a secret? But the ice queen was looking for Selene so this was her chance to tell her about the oracle.
“Have you looked for the daughter of the moon?” Jade asked.
Queen Eirlys shook her head. “I have not.”
“Why not?”
“I need something that belongs to her,” Queen Eirlys said. “A lock of her hair or something very personal.”
“What about her familiar?” Jade asked. “Her owl?”
“It could work, but no one has seen her owl,” the ice queen said. “It disappeared when Selene did.”
“I have seen this creature,” Jade replied.
“What do you mean?” the queen asked. “You have seen the oracle? No one has seen the bird in thousands of years.”
“I met the owl when I went searching for my sister,” Jade said. “The oracle told me about the sun prince and the daughter of the moon.”
“Selene went to meet with Aurelius and was never seen again,” the ice queen said. “Our people were still looking for her when Sol, the prince’s guardian, accused us of abducting their sun prince and declared war on us.”
“What happened after that?” Jade asked.
“The moon was furious with our realm. It was our task to protect her daughter while she was in this world,” the ice queen said. “She cursed the ice queens with a tragic fate. Until we found her daughter, we would never feel love again.”
“You could end the curse, Eirlys,” Jade said. “I will call the oracle now.”
As Jade spoke, the oracle flew in through the opening in the ceiling and landed on her shoulder.
“That is her owl,” the ice queen exclaimed. “How did you find it?”
“We found each other,” Jade replied. “Will it be enough?”
“Let me cast the spell and we will find out,” the ice queen replied. “Could you come nearer?”
The oracle flew and perched on the ice queen’s shoulder. “Thank you. Let us begin.”
The ice queen concentrated, and a strange light emitted out of her. The light became brighter until a single beam glowed on the floor.
“This light will take us to Selene,” Queen Eirlys said.
Aeron came with Jade this time. While she was with the ice queen, Aeron changed out of his burnt clothes. Now he was the second fire prince that was wearing ice realm's attire.
The path glowed ahead, and they followed. The guiding light continued into an ancient structure, which was falling to ruins with the passing of time. Queen Eirlys stood frozen in place, unable to move. The oracle shifted uncomfortably on her shoulder.
“What is it?” Jade asked. “Why did you stop?”
“I am afraid to go inside,” the ice queen said. “I thought I would only go inside once in my life.”
“What is this place?” Jade asked.
“The hall of the past ice queens. Our final resting place,” she said. “This is where the spell leads. If we want our answers, this is where we should go.”
The ice queen reluctantly stepped into the building, and Jade and Aeron both followed. There was a great hall and in it rows and rows of frozen bodies stood in place. Ghosts of the past.
Once ruling queens, feared and revered. Now nothing but haunting statues. Their empty eyes sent a chill down her spine.
Would this be her little sister’s future?
“This is so sad,” Jade said. “What a horrible thing to happen.”
“Do not pity them. They were barely living as they were in their lives,” the ice queen said, seeing Jade’s expression. “They had nothing. Death would have been a respite for them.”
“They could have lived. They could have loved,” Jade said.
“Yes, perhaps in a better world.” she said. “More likely, they wouldn’t have. I know because I am like them.”
Jade didn’t know what to say. Aeron looked at the frozen statues with sadness.
The ice queen continued, “In my heart, I know my time is running out. I hoped to find my heir before I became frozen like them. I found her at last, but fate is cruel to me. The child that I waited two hundred years for never wants to see me again.”
“My sister is not angry with you. She told me so,” Jade said. “Kia might not trust you the same as she did before, but she would still like to be your friend.”
The ice queen listened to her with astonishment. “Even after I tried to take your life, you give me hope,” she said. “Thank you for your kindness.”
The glowing light stopped in front of a wall.
“The path ends here,” Aeron said. “What do we do now?”
The ice queen examined the wall. “There is an ancient spell here. It prevents us from seeing what lies ahead.”
“How do we break the spell?” Jade asked.
The ice queen was still studying the wall. “Interesting,” she said. “Only those who have Selene’s permission can go through, but there is one other way.”
“What is it?” Aeron asked.
“It is good that you are here, fire prince, for I could not break the spell on my own.”
“What do I need to do?” Aeron asked.
“We both use our powers together,” the ice queen said. “The spell works when a person from each realm works together.”
“Is my Selene beyond this wall?” the oracle asked.
“Yes, perhaps,” she replied. “Are you ready, Prince Aeron?”
Aeron nodded. Aeron threw a fireball towards the wall, while the queen blasted it with her ice. The wall trembled and then disappeared, revealing a secret passage behind it. They walked the tunnel towards the light and emerged in an underground cavern.
There were two figures on the ground, perfectly still, like beautiful statues.
She had a locket with a crescent hanging at the end of the chain. Her crown of moonstones sat on top of her head.
He had a crown with rays of the beaming sun. His robes had the symbol of the fire realm.
The two figures were separated inches from one another, but that distance could have been an eternity. The moon princess was frozen, chains covering her body, her arm stretched out to reach her lover. The stone figure she was reaching for was the sun prince. He was on his knees, crying tears of molten lava, a knife buried deep in his chest.
Queen Eirlys gasped when she saw them.
“Selene, my goddess!” the oracle cried.
“That is Aurelius!” Aeron exclaimed. “The missing sun prince...”
“What happened to them?” Jade asked. “Who did this to them?”
Jade turned to ask the oracle, but the owl had disappeared. Something shone near the back wall.
There was an altar with a small gold box on it. The lid had the carving of the sun.
That is the fire realm’s symbol, Jade thought. I wonder what is inside the box?
She opened it and was surprised to see a letter.
When Jade read it, she realized it was more than a letter... it was a confession to murder.
The last piece of the puzzle. It was the rambling words of a man corrupted by greed and power.
I killed Aurelius and Selene. I, their most trusted friend, became their murderer.
I never intended for such violence. I got afraid and made a terrible mistake. When the sun prince and the daughter of the moon confided to me that they were in love, I panicked.
I feared the sun would snatch my powers away for failing to control his son.
For failing my duty as his guardian.
Aurelius no longer wanted to claim this world for his realm, and he assured me that neither did Selene. But how could I trust the witch?
I couldn’t.
I begged them to think of what they were doing. They were letting their feelings impede their purpose. I gave them a chance to reconsider, but they didn’t listen... so I did what I had to do.
I cannot let their spirits go free, for they will surely let their parents know. The sun would incinerate this world and every being on it for harming his son, and as the world burns, the moon goddess will watch with glee.
I might have doomed future generations, but I cannot take back what I did. I am already suffering. I feel the witch cursed me with madness before she died.
Aurelius said that our powers are not meant to be self-serving, but to serve others. Selene bewitched him, and all he could see was her.
He forgot his people.
He forgot me.
We deserved better.
His love for this world was pure, but he put us all in danger.
I will spend the rest of my life serving my people, so that on my death, they will remember me as their protector.
I did this all for my people.
I did it all for the fire realm.
I will become what the mirror showed me. I will become their fire king.
I am reborn. I leave my old name ‘Sol’ behind.
From henceforth, I shall be
Fireborne.
These were the two forbidden lovers and their mortal enemy, Sol, or Fireborne, as he later called himself. The catalyst for the chaos and division of their world centuries ago.
Queen Eirlys removed the chains from Selene, while Aeron removed Deianira from the sun prince’s chest. The daughter of the moon melted before their eyes, her watery form inching closer to her love. The stone statue of the prince crumbled, and the lava slowly made its way towards Selene. The two combined and a brilliant light emitted, blinding them.
When they could see again, there was no trace of Aurelius or Selene remaining, only a symbol glowed above them. It was a crescent moon, and at the centre was a blazing sun.
“What does it mean?” Jade asked.
“It is a message from the daughter of the moon and the sun prince,” the ice queen said. “They want the war to end. They want the ice and fire realms to be in harmony.”
Was this the answer? Would this message of love from Aurelius and Selene be enough?
“Will you help us stop the war?” Jade asked.
The ice queen gave a grim smile. “Why would I help you? This changes nothing.”
Jade could look at her, surprised.
“Because both Aurelius and Selene wanted peace,” Aeron said. “You should honor their wish.”
“It was the fire guardian who killed the daughter of the moon,” the ice queen said. “I will not consider peace with the realm that killed our goddess.”
Aeron shook his head. “You are no better than Fireborne.”
The temperature dropped with a spike. Jade teeth chattered with the cold.
“You dare.. you dare compare me to that murderer?” the ice queen hissed.
“Fireborne didn’t want the realms to unite,” Aeron said. “He wanted strife between us, so no one could learn about the past. So no one would know the truth of what he did. Selene and Aurelius were in love with each other. They would never want the ice and fire realms to be at war.”
“Why should the burden fall on the shoulders of the ice realm?” the ice queen asked. “Why shouldn’t it be on your father?”
“He will never listen,” Aeron replied, saddened. “The father I knew is gone. Now, all that remains is a madman. I lost all hope of ever seeing my father a long time ago.”
Something about his words seem to affect the queen.
“You lost hope?” the ice queen murmured.
The temperature became warmer, but Jade still felt the cold linger.
Queen Eirlys spoke to Aeron with a softer voice, “You love your father and want him back to who he was?”
He remained silent, but the tension in his shoulders eased.
“What if there was a way to cure his madness?”
“You speak of impossibilities,” Aeron replied.
“I speak of hope.”
It was the closest thing to humanity the queen had shown; Jade realized.
Something had changed.
They made the slow, solemn procession back. Aeron was turning Deianira over again and again in his hands, thinking about something. The ice queen was quiet since she spoke about hope, but said nothing more. They went past the hall where the frozen statues of the ice queens were, but they were all gone.
We found Selene, Jade thought. Perhaps her mother finally ended her curse on the ice queens?
They just arrived near the palace when Freya rushed to them. Jade could tell something was wrong.
“Your majesty, I have alarming news. My scouts informed me that a troop from the fire army is near the border,” Freya said. “King Cyrus is leading them.”
“What is father doing here?” Aeron said, shocked. “It must be my brother’s doing. I will go speak to him.”
“No,” the ice queen said. “I will go. I want to hear what King Cyrus has to say.”
Freya bowed to her queen. She looked worried.
Jade was worried too. King Cyrus feared the queen and wanted her dead, because of what he saw in the mirror. But what did Eirlys want?
Was the ice queen for peace or for war?