The Anti-Fairy Tales The Ice Of The White Demon Arc Part Three

Frost Of Heart

Pheoshan felt cold, like she had taken a light nap. She knew that this cold feeling in her chest was bad but she could not place why.

It must have something to do with that blade. She deduced.

“You're quite right!” came the White Demon's voice.

“What do you mean by that?” she asked.

“It does have something to do with the blade.”

“What-” that was when she realised what was going on. Somehow the White demon was reading her mind.

If that's the case then how and when did this happen?

“The moment that blade pierced your heart. It left a small ice crystal in your heart which is only going to grow and nothing, not even true love will stop it and here's the thing, the more that your heart beat increases the faster it will spread.” she explained. “And at the rate that it's spreading...Well it's safe to say that you will be dead within a day.”

Pheoshan wished that she could punch her at that moment but she forced herself to keep calm, after all if what she had told her was the truth then that meant that she could not allow herself to get worked up. So she kept walking trying to keep herself calm by thinking of things that kept her calm. She started with imagining her sleeping in a field. Then imagined a calming song. This helped her more than she thought for it helped her feel oddly at peace.

She soon came to the door at the other end and placed her hand on it and pushed, however the doors did not move. She tried it again but nothing. She tried it again but put more pressure onto the doors but again this was in vain. She looked down at the hallway and noticed that there was no other way. So she knew that this must have been the way forward, but the question was, how to get passed it?

So it that it? She taunted me and now she's going to leave me here to die! She in her anger hit the doors again but this time she felt it budge. She did it again as if to test that it wasn't just a figment of her imagination. This time it she saw it budged. She hit it again and again until the side of her hand was bleeding but the doors opened.

She smiled feeling satisfied until she saw the cloud of water vapour in her eyesight an the coldness in her chest made her cough. She realised that she was panting and her heartbeat had increased. Then she realised, those doors would only open when her heartbeat increased.

She forced herself to think about that field and the song and did not do anything until her heartbeat was the way that it should be. She then walked on to see that there was another spiral staircase.

She placed her hand on the ice bannister and placed her foot on the first step but it seemed to slip and she looked down to see a ramp where the first step was. She looked up to see that the rest of the staircase had suddenly turned into a helter-skelter.

Now how am I going to get up? She questioned.

Run! Run up to me my little girl! She heard the White Demon say using her mother's voice. She felt her heart skip a beat as her hair stood up on end.

What? Did you think that I was only able to use my only voice I can use? No, I can use any voice in your mind.

So if you want to save the prince and his sister then, you are going to have to run! She told her in her father's voice.

Feeling her heartbeat increase she ran up the ramp and the ramp became stairs again. She ran again but she started coughing again and again. She knew that her lungs were crying for her to stop but she had to ignore it. But as she approached the half way point her coughing had become worse and she had to stop and her hands clutched the side of her bannister as tears stung her cheekbones as they fell. Her lungs felt like they had ice in them.

She felt the stairs starting to become smooth. So she got hold of herself and ran the rest of the way and she fell at the top of the stairs and felt teeth clash as she shivered. Soon she was coughing again but she tasted iron and came out of her mouth. She looked at it in her blurred vision she saw small specks of red. Her eyes widened.

She forced herself to calm down and she forced herself on her feet. Her knees became shaky as she had to dig her arms in around her chest to keep warm. She could see the cloud of water vapour becoming thinner in her vision. She knew what that meant and why. She could not allow herself to waist any more time. She came to the doors and opened them.