The Seven Heroes of Erde

Crystal

Chapter Four

Crystal

Cold. That was all she felt. Of course, what would you expect when you're in the Ice Tribe? Crystal sat in her house, well, more of an igloo, sharpening her blade. As a royal assassin, you never knew what, or who, the queen would have you hunt. A noise came from outside. Speaking of hunting, Crystal thought proudly. She crawled out, where a horse-sized ice dragon was waiting, with a dead polar bear cub at its feet. "Good job, Ragnar," she said, walking over to pet him. His scales were ice-blue, and his head and spikes were darker than the rest of his body. He was powerfully built, with muscles on his forearms and flanks that rivaled any other animal's around. It reminded Crystal of how she met him.

It was years ago when she was only ten years old. She was a poor child, with no friends or family; the only way she could live was by stealing. A few months went by until the king's soldiers finally caught her. She tried to fight back out of fear and the sheer will to survive. The guards had to knock her out in order to get her to the castle dungeon safely. The entire thing created a scene. As punishment for stealing, she was forced to battle a dragon. Once more or less thrown into the arena, Crystal felt unusual heat. There was a crowd. For some reason, Crystal's hearing got slowed and muffled. The king was obviously giving a speech. A gate opened somewhat in front of her, and a small dragon emerged. A surge of fear ran through Crystal. Her eyes darted around, a dagger or even a piece of wood to block of a blow. For some reason, her eyes landed on the dragons. Immediately, Crystal noted how underfed he was, and how scared he looked. She saw herself in that dragon's eyes. Seeing that the dragon was not attacking Crystal, the king called off the battle, for he had also seen her potential. It wasn't until after two years of training that she proved herself to be a worthy assassin.

Two years. Had it already been that long? Time flies, Crystal thought as Ragnar nudged her. "Come on; let's get inside."

~ + ~

Crystal smiled to herself. Although she was an assassin, that doesn't mean that she couldn't bring good to her people. She wrapped the sack tight. It was made out of polar bear fur that was massive enough to be a blanket. In it was lots of meat, more fluff and a sack with ten gold coins, Crystal's money, straight from the queen. The pay for her job wasn't a lot, but it was enough to get by with.

As she walked through town, many people avoided her, although she didn't mind. She went to the poor side of town and looked for the most unfortunate family she could find. Once she located them, she walked over. The family trembled with fear and huddled together.

"Please, don't hurt us," one managed, "we only want to live!"

Without any words, Crystal set the sack gently at their feet and smiled. As she walked off, she heard shouts of joy. Mission accomplished, Crystal thought. Why she did this? Well, it was simple. She didn't want other people to go through what she had experienced.

Crystal stroked Ragnar's head. They were just settling down at home when they heard footsteps. Ragnar growled. "Easy boy, it's probably just a messenger," Crystal said soothingly. She was right. The messenger told her that they needed to get to the castle immediately. So much for a relaxing evening, Crystal thought. She got dressed in dark and light blue layers of fur, a combat skirt of similar fashion, all with fluffy white fur lining the edges, and some matching dark blue leggings. After putting on some light navy blue leather boots, Crystal mounted Ragnar and flew off into the dark, starry night sky.

~ + ~

Ragnar burst into the throne room and Crystal jumped off him, bowing immediately. "My Queen," she said, "you called for me?"

"Of course, my dear Crystal."

Crystal shifted. She hated when the queen talked to her like that. It gave her a feeling of unease running down her spine. The queen stood, walking over to the window. "The gallows have been empty for quite a while, haven't they?" The queen asked. Crystal shifted again.

"Yes, Queen Diamond," Crystal answered warily.

"Hm. I'll make you a deal, Crystal, Master Assassin: you are to assassinate Ember, a girl from the Fire Tribe," Queen Diamond proposed, "and the gallows will remain empty."

Crystal crossed her arms, secretly grabbing three shirkins. "Is that a threat?" Crystal asked, her breath shaking.

The queen smirked. "We'll see when you finish your mission. Now go. I want you out of the kingdom by dawn."

"And how do I get there? It will take a while to get there if I don't have a shortcut," Crystal pressed. "And who is this Ember?"

"Silence. Go through the Air Tribe. You will meet up with some scouts at the border between Air and Ice. Remember that if you fail this mission, then you will die in the gallows for all to see."

Crystal forced herself to set the shurikens down in her pocket and mounted Ragnar. As she left, she did not see the dangerous smile the queen put on. "Oh, how I hope the gallows will be used. Let's see how this goes."

~ + ~

Crystal packed her final bags. She made sure she had enough food for Ragnar and herself. "That polar bear will have to do," Crystal muttered. She walked outside and clipped the bags to Ragnar's saddle, which was made of solid seal hide and polar bear fur. It was something he didn't wear often. She mounted him and flew upward. "Wait," she commanded. Ragnar obeyed, stopping to hover on his pale blue wings. Crystal looked at the sky. It was an Aurora Borealis. She sighed.

She didn't have many childhood memories, but she did remember that she and her mother would watch the skylights together until they got cold. She remembered those things well. She missed her mother. She had disappeared when Crystal was only ten years old. The guards searched for weeks with no success, but it was like something had wiped her off the face of the earth. However, Crystal had moved on. She urged Ragnar on and flew in the direction of the Air Tribe, a shortcut to the Fire Tribe, and into the northern lights.