A gift. She was such a precious gift. Tiny and shimmering, she was like glass, catching the sun in the most enchanting way as she played nearby. Her little gems of ice were secured and neatly embedded in each little nick and divot across her otherwise smooth surface, sparkling like diamonds. A treasure.
He'd found her in the forest. Abandoned and so very little. It wasn't the first time he'd adopted. He'd given a number of children a loving mother and father before her. But she was the first that would only receive a father. Only a father. Only him. There was no mother to offer now.
He lay in a patch of light, the sun warming his purple-spotted side -as much as was possible in his current, icy condition- as he watched her play not too far off. A thin bed of frost helplessly blanketed the ground around him. His magic was still free, still wild, still barely contained as it chilled the air with a cold snap. He didn't look back so much anymore, to a time when it was trapped safely within him. Nothing seemed to capture it anymore, hold it inside him where it belonged, and he'd stopped fighting it. He'd let it go.
Now, he fed it. He'd rarely ever used his magic before, and only as a last resort to protect the ones he loved. But now, today, he pushed it out, tried to exhaust it. Tested the limits. It seemed to have no end.
It swirled around her in a breath, spanning the distance between them effortlessly and drawing up a glittering little crown, a glimmering little veil down her back. He smiled softly. Every little girl wished to be a princess, and today she would be. The earth at her feet stayed dry and solid, easy for her glassy hooves to catch on so she wouldn't slip, but at her sides and around her, in a wide span, pillars of ice slowly grew from the ground. They arched up and over her extravagantly, lacing and twisting in intricate detail where the sunlight overhead would shatter across it all and light up like a house of mirrors.
Her very own, child-sized palace.
She was the youngest, his only young one, and didn't have siblings her age, didn't have friends when her father was so busy with duties. Today, though, he'd made sure to get away just for a while. He couldn't give her a friend, but he could give her this. A young girl needs to play in the sun, not wither away beneath the shadows of the forest. This place was new, was still forested. So it was enough like home to be comfortable and safe, but new enough to be an adventure for her.
He remained on the ground, the river running gently at his back with a whispering trickle unlike the other roaring parts of it, and he soaked in her happiness, let it warm him like nothing else could anymore.
He'd found her in the forest. Abandoned and so very little. It wasn't the first time he'd adopted. He'd given a number of children a loving mother and father before her. But she was the first that would only receive a father. Only a father. Only him. There was no mother to offer now.
He lay in a patch of light, the sun warming his purple-spotted side -as much as was possible in his current, icy condition- as he watched her play not too far off. A thin bed of frost helplessly blanketed the ground around him. His magic was still free, still wild, still barely contained as it chilled the air with a cold snap. He didn't look back so much anymore, to a time when it was trapped safely within him. Nothing seemed to capture it anymore, hold it inside him where it belonged, and he'd stopped fighting it. He'd let it go.
Now, he fed it. He'd rarely ever used his magic before, and only as a last resort to protect the ones he loved. But now, today, he pushed it out, tried to exhaust it. Tested the limits. It seemed to have no end.
It swirled around her in a breath, spanning the distance between them effortlessly and drawing up a glittering little crown, a glimmering little veil down her back. He smiled softly. Every little girl wished to be a princess, and today she would be. The earth at her feet stayed dry and solid, easy for her glassy hooves to catch on so she wouldn't slip, but at her sides and around her, in a wide span, pillars of ice slowly grew from the ground. They arched up and over her extravagantly, lacing and twisting in intricate detail where the sunlight overhead would shatter across it all and light up like a house of mirrors.
Her very own, child-sized palace.
She was the youngest, his only young one, and didn't have siblings her age, didn't have friends when her father was so busy with duties. Today, though, he'd made sure to get away just for a while. He couldn't give her a friend, but he could give her this. A young girl needs to play in the sun, not wither away beneath the shadows of the forest. This place was new, was still forested. So it was enough like home to be comfortable and safe, but new enough to be an adventure for her.
He remained on the ground, the river running gently at his back with a whispering trickle unlike the other roaring parts of it, and he soaked in her happiness, let it warm him like nothing else could anymore.
