literature

Frost -prologue-

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Once upon a time, there lived a man. There was nothing particularly special or intriguing about him: he was just a man, living his relatively ordinary and simple life. In fact, the only thing in his life that was out of ordinary was that he was neighbors with two enchantresses--an apprentice and her master.

And the more skilled of the two decided she loved the man.

But of course, it wasn't a real love, but a warped, naive imitation of it. She tried to put herself into his life one day, never giving him a moment's peace. The man had only offered he the most basic courtesy and friendship, but he wasn't interested in any romance with her, so he tried to avoid her as politely as he was able. He would try to say he had prior engagements, he was late for an appointment, he was simply too busy to spend time with her...His spoken words to her were kind enough, but short and curt. He was hoping that she would eventually give up on him, see that he wasn't interested, and cease her advances.

The enchantress's apprentice saw what her master could not, and meekly suggested that perhaps their neighbor did not return her feelings. The enchantress was outraged by the suggestion, and went to confront their neighbor on the matter face-to-face.

That night, she appeared at his door, telling him she loved him. She told him that she wanted to be with him, wanted nothing more than to be his wife, and didn't he feel the same for her? But the man was horrified; he'd been hoping it would never have come to this. He told her, as kindly and gently as he could, that he didn't feel the same way, though he was flattered (a lie), and perhaps they could be friends.

But the angered enchantress wouldn't have it. Unable to believe that she was rejected--she, a powerful sorceress!--she grew angry with him. She accused him of being cold-hearted, ignorant of the man's protests and attempts to repair the situation. As she drew a hand back and struck him across the face, she declared she'd just have to make his outside match his supposed inside: cold. The next thing the poor man felt was an unending, freezing cold. The enchantress had suddenly vanished, leaving only a blue rose dusted with frost, so he couldn't ask what she'd done to him, but when he caught sight of his hands, he began to get frightened. When he went to a mirror to see his reflection, he was horrified.

The enchantress's apprentice, forgotten and abandoned in her master's rage, appeared to see him screaming in the middle of the floor, horrified and in pain. He pleaded with her to help him, but the enchantress was still inexperienced--it would take five centuries for her to undo what her master had done. But, she said before he could panic any further, she had just enough power to soften the spell.

Since it this mess had come about from a skewed idea of love, real love should be his salvation, she decided. She used a great deal of her own, little-trained power to soften the curse then, telling him that if he could find someone who loved him and actually told him so, then he could revert to his old self. Surely it couldn't be too hard, she suggested. After all, he was a kind-hearted person--surely the other villagers would recognize his good heart, or perhaps someone was in love with him already and just needed to know he was the same person. He wasn't convinced, but willing to try...only to find that he could barely step out of the forest, or even show his face without causing a panic. The villagers fled at the sight of him, not giving him a chance to call them back or explain.

He heard them shout, call him a monster. Demon.

After a time, he stopped trying and hid away in his home in the forest. The apprentice enchantress, desperately wanting him to be free of her master's curse, used a little more of her powers then, extending his own life along with that of the rose. The apprentice had no idea why her master had left such a thing behind, but she decided it could serve its purpose as a timer. Both of them would last a hundred years, the rose wilting little by little, the man frozen in time and never-aging. When she saw he refused to leave the forest, she also enchanted the mirror, so he could at least see whatever he asked of it.

The two of them waited nearly the entire century. The enchantress eventually left in search of further training, but the man, left alone and friendless, allowed ice to surround his heart. No one would give him a chance, no one could look past his appearance, so why bother? Little by little, he let go of his humanity, let himself forget and just give in to the horrible cold.

He barely noticed when the rose finally started to lose its petals. There was no point anymore. There was NO ONE who would give a monster like him a chance...
I did it. I put it up. Lord have mercy, I put it up.
With apologies to *BechnoKid and all characters' respective owners.
© 2012 - 2024 Lady-Moth
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Allana-san's avatar
I'm making a YukixHana sketchdump from your story! :D When I finish it, I'll give you the link to take a look ~(^0^~)