Fire and Ice (@OliviaLovesSnow Contest Entry)

Fire and Ice

This is a short story dedicated to @OliviaLovesSnow 's contest.

- - - - -

OLIVIA, THE SNOWGIRL, HOPPED DOWN from her nice and cool bed. It could have been easily 10pm for all she knew, but she had some important business to go through first before getting some sleep.

Phat had a special birthday party tomorrow, and she still hadn't thought of a good enough present to give to him. Over the past few but long years, she didn't know what he didn't have that he would still need. Sure, he could always use some fresh and new ingredients for his several potions, but that was way too boring and mundane.

She got up and moved to her blue ice desk. Of course! She would write him a story! Seriously, brain, she thought, how could I be more stupid?

- - - - -

Once upon a time, there was a valiant sorcerer called Phat, and a cold snowgirl named Olivia. They both were on two sides of huge armies - the legendary Sky Army and the dark Squid Army.

Both didn't know a thing about each other. Sure, they heard stories, such as the great sorcerer whom could brew up potions that could make the most ferocious beast want to play, or the snowgirl whom could freeze entire valleys into a skating rink with a flick of her wrist, but they never really knew of each other. Until that day.

One tranquil day, Olivia woke up to a nasty rustling sound. It felt like she was being shaken to death - to only see that it was the squid's most trusted general hybrid trying hard to wake her up. She groaned as she pushed him out of her face.

"Leader Squirt needs you to be present in his office," the general said. Olivia sighed. She nodded groggily before jumping off the rather warm bed. It was something she couldn't explain. The bed was as warm as a marshmallow on a s'more, yet it was as cold as an Antarctica night.

"Did he say what he wanted this time?" The snowgirl asked, dark lines under her eyes clearly noticeable. The general shook his head before letting Olivia leave the small little shack, smartly designed to keep the cold in.

The Squid Army moved bases all the time, thus the lousy lodging and the quality of anything, really. Only the most prominent people like Olivia herself got to keep a shack, when people like ordinary troopers got... Well, they got the hard ground at night.

Olivia moved under the most expensive looking building with well-placed care. There was heavy traffic around the little building, and one was smart to trod with care.

"Ah, Olivia. I had been beginning to wonder if you'd come at all."

Frankly, Olivia hated the general. In fact, she didn't know why she had stayed at all. All she knew was that she was afraid. Afraid of what the general and the people of greater importance would do to her when they found out she had rebelled and done something against them.

"Yes, general?" The snowgirl snapped back with ease.

"I need you to go after that blasted sorcerer," the general bluntly rumbled. His blue hybrid skin was more noticeable in the coming sunlight of the spring morning. "Yesterday he annihilated two of our largest and trusted troops. He'a proven to be trouble, and you're going to be the one to stop him."

Olivia shrugged. She's seen sorcerers before, and they were nothing after a little bit of snow and ice. She saluted the general more mockingly then anything else before exiting the place.

- - - - -

"Sky!" Deadlox shouted, sounding like he was meant to be heard out. He came in from Sky's left flank, startling Sky after he had finished slicing a small squid cleanly in two. Deadlox stopped panting in time to block a squid right off of his own path to Sky. "Phat's missing," was all he said after all the work.

Sky looked incredulously at Deadlox before killing at least ten vicious squids that came up in the water randomly. "You came here to tell me that? Phat's fine - he's probably in his own place right now concocting some sort of evil plan," Sky said after grinning from ear to ear, sunglasses tipped cockily downwards.

- - - - -

Phat plopped down on his chair, sprawled out in an exhausted manner. Potion after potion lined his large experimenting desk, with all of them a different shade of blue, yet all of them not perfected. He sighed as he smashed his forehead in the wood, trying to clear his scattered mind. The potions jumped a little from the sudden vibration.

"That won't help."

Phat spun around so fast in his spinny chair, he almost fell straight off on his face. Before him was the master of all ice, snow and whatever else in between. Also known as Olivia the Snowgirl, and she was not someone you'd like to ridicule.

Phat pushed himself out of his chair, and flicked his wrists in a manner that was supposed to be intimidating. Olivia did flinch hard - but she merely laughed it off later.

"Seriously, sorcerer, you need to learn to act on your intentions."

Olivia jerked her hand towards Phat, and a wall of thin icicles rained down on top of him, all tipped with twin razor sharp points. Phat merely rose the temperature in the room, causing the icicles to melt in a sad little pool of water around their feet before scarring his face for possibly forever.

"Olivia, being with the squid's side is wrong," Phat muttered under his breath as he closed his eyes tight in concentration. "Can't you see that?" He paused as he started to look at her again. "You even hate the general."

Olivia glared at him. "How do you even know that? I've never told anyone."

Phat returned her stare with as much force as she had. "I can see into anyone's past, little girl." He avoided her quick reply of thick spikes of ice, impossible to melt in time with simple heat. They crashed along the potion wall, smashing his hard work. A small fit of rage coursed through him as he raised his own purple fire in his hands, making Olivia pause the slightest bit.

Phat finally had her cornered. He raised his fire, watching her sparkly white snow slowly melt and vanish while it vaporized into the air itself. Olivia started to gasp in pain and utter shock, trying to claw her way out of his eagle grasp.

Phat grimaced. "No longer will you be freezing any troops." He wanted to intensify the heat, but... But he couldn't. No matter what he tried to do, he couldn't make himself raise the heat enough to maker her a large pool on the ground. Cool water slid down her face, and Phat knew it wasn't from the heat.

Phat let her go, letting her crash against the precariously stacked piles of books and random papers for complicated looking spells. Olivia looked Phat straight in the eye. "Thank... Thank you for sparing me," she stuttered.

Phat glanced in her direction before staring at the floor in shame. Olivia began to leave the room with great relief, but Phat stopped her with a light touch on jer shoulder.

"Wait," he whispered, curling his finger around and around in her brown hair, lost in thought. "The Squid Army is going to hate you forever for what you've done," he said. He hesitated before saying the last part. "Sky is always open to new recruits, whether it be from the Squid Army or not, as long as he thinks they are trustworthy. Could... Could you maybe join us?"

Olivia's gaze wavered as she looked at his pleading face. "...of course."

"Thank you," was all Phat said before gripping her tightly and kissing Olivia gently on the forehead before pushing her away, cheeks burning.

- - - - -

Olivia rested the pencil down, blowing the eraser dust away. That will have to do it. She stapled the papers together before blowing the candle's fire away and resting her tired eyes.