Winterland

By Jareth Sparrow

Chapter One

In the land of eternal snow and coldness lives the most powerful being who ever ruled the kingdom of the Winterland. His name is Ulbrich Wenceslaus, the wizard of the frost. Ulbrich is a powerful and cruel tyrant. He had fought against Soren, the true wizard of the frost and the ruler of Winterland. Ulbrich had won the battle and banished Soren to the unknown parts of the Winterland. If anyone dares to defy Ulbrich, the punishment was severe; either the offender was turned into an ice statue or turned into a winter animal. Yet he yearn for a lover, so he search for one, until at least, he found the one that he was looking for. In his full-length mirror, he saw the most beautiful girl in the world, who loves to tell stories. His heart poured out for her. He wanted her for his bride. But there was a problem for him; she has a lover. Ulbrich was furious and jealous when he found out that she has a lover. Ulbrich wanted the girl for himself! How dare she had lover! Ulbrich developed a plan that he would have the girl to himself. So he had given her lover certain powers to make him lose the beautiful girl forever. Ulbrich grinned so evilly that the idea of it was sweet. So he waits for his bride to be called away by her lover knowing that her lover is sometimes annoyed by her storytelling and would to be free of her of the annoyance and her storytelling. Night after night after being tired from working, the lover couldn’t stand it anymore. That night, after a hard day at work and annoyed by her stories, he wished for her to go to the Winterland and stay there. Forever!

As she finished the last few lines of the story that she was telling, Aurelia Shayne closed her favorite book, Winterland, to her best friend’s daughter.

“Please tell me more, Aunty Aurelia! I want to know if her lover rescues the girl that he loves,” cried the six year old.

“Rachel, you need to sleep besides, I promised your mom that you would be asleep at seven-thirty because you and her are going on a trip to New York. Besides you can wait until later next week when you come back,” Aurelia said as she smiled at Rachel.

“Ok. I will wait. Promise?”

“I promise. Night, night Rachel.”

“Night, night Aunty Aurelia,” as Rachel curled up in her green blanket and closed her eyes.

Aurelia shut the light off so the six year old could get some sleep as she was walking down stairs to grabbed her coat and looked at her watch to see the time when her best friend, Caitlin Ranceford, to get home.

“Where is she? I thought she was supposed to be here at seven thirty. Where could she be?” Aurelia wonder in her mind. Then she hears the familiar sounds of a car pulling in the driveway. Aurelia breathes a sigh of relief as she walked out the door to the car and greeted her friend.

“I about time that you showed up! I was being to wonder if you just disappeared and leave your loving daughter behind with me, Aurelia the storyteller,” as she laughed while walking to Caitlin.

“Sorry about that. Things got crazy on the freeway. A car accident made everyone stared for while then after seeing it, then everyone drove like mad man on wheels,” Caitlin said as she was getting out of the car, “Thank you for watching her, Aurelia, I know that she looks forward to your storytelling. I just hope that Drake doesn’t make a fuss over it. I don’t know why he hates your storytelling.”

“It’s my book that I always read, Winterland, I fell in love with it when I was a child. I couldn’t stop reading it. Still I wished that Drake would appreciated a little bit more,” Aurelia said sadly as she was walking down the driveway.

“You could wish for him to disappear and take the wizard for a husband! Think of this, the wizard can change Drake into a frog, a monster or either a huge polar bear!”

“Thanks Caitlin, for that advice. I keep that in mind! Have fun in New York!” Aurelia smiled as walked down the sidewalk.

While holding the book in her hand, Aurelia begins to recite the lines from the book, as if she was rehearsing for a play, towards her home.

“Sunlight, sun bright, let your rays warm my love, free my love from the icy bonds, let her feel the happiness of the sun, let her feel the warmth of my arms, let her remember my kiss, free her from this icy place and away from winter’s grasp and into spring’s bliss, for I love her and her alone, I claim her as my own bride of Spring …oh damn! What was that last line?” she said as opened up the door and walked in.

“For spring is here and winter is dead! God, Aurelia must you tell that story every single time! It is driving me insane!”

“Drake, I didn’t know that you were home so early.”

Drake Stonewall was standing in the hallway hanging up his coat, hearing everything what Aurelia said outside the door. Sure, he knows it is a story, but Aurelia has been telling that story so many times, in fact that he lost count completely. At first it didn’t bother him at all, but later on it did. It was starting to become annoying.

“Couldn’t you read a different book? How about something on the realistic side, I don’t know, how about reading the newspaper or someone’s true story?”

“Drake, Caitlin’s daughter asked me to read her the Winterland story to her. I had no chose. Plus it is one of my favorites when I was a child…”

“Aurey, I can recite the lines by heart. To tell you the truth, I am sick of hearing it!”

“Drake, please…” Aurelia began to say but she was cut off.

“Aurelia, listen! You live in that world too much! It is time that you stop living in that world and come back to reality!” as he walked into the living room trying to get away from her.

“Drake, will you shut up! It is the only world that I have, and NO ONE tells me how to live my life!” as Aurelia followed him into the living room.

“Fine,” shouted Drake as he spun around, “I wish that you live in the Winterland and never return!” Then he walked into the hallway towards the kitchen. Suddenly it had gotten really dark and cold in the room.

“What no nasty come back, Aurelia?” snapped Drake.

Then he turned around and noticed the darken room. His heart began to beat fast to the silence room. Drake was starting to get scare.

“Aurelia, are you here? Where are you? Come on it isn’t funny!” as he was turning on the light switch. It wouldn’t turn on at all.

“What the hell?” as he glanced the lights over his head. Then he started to move in living room towards the French doors. His heart began to pound even harder. Aurelia was nowhere in site. The doors began to rattle and shake. Drake was watching as the wind was banging against the doors. Then suddenly, they burst open with the snow was flying into the living room, pushing Drake back and almost blinding him with the snow. A dark figure stood in the door with his hands at his hips. He was dress in dark blue robes with a very high collar. His skin was very white and his hair was white with light blue strikes in it. Drake turned around and stared at the figure who had entered in the room.

“Who are you? Where is Aurelia!?” demanded Drake.

“For a man who knows the story so well, you damn well know my name you fool!”

“I don’t believe it. It is you, you’re Ulbrich Wenceslaus, the wizard of frost. I want my Aurelia back, please, I know that she is scared, please bring her back!”

“No way I will give her back willingly to you. Forget about her. She is much happier there with me than in this world with you. You didn’t want a storyteller for a lover anyways,” sneered Ulbrich.

“But she is my love. I know that we had a fight and I didn’t mean to wish her away! I…”

“Spare me your lies! You do not truly love Aurelia at all. You despised her! So I freed you from her. And now, she is mine, forever!”

“Where is she? I need to find her,” Drake said desperately.

“You know damn well where she is!” Ulbrich angrily pointed out to the palace between the forests and mountains of ice.

“Is this place Winterland?” asked Drake.

“What a fool you are not to recognize this place. I suggest that you forget about Aurelia Shayne and live your life without her. I know that you would be much happier,” said Ulbrich.

“You know that I can’t do that! Don’t you understand that I can’t do that to her. I will find her and bring her back.”

“I would like to see that. You have three months, three weeks, three days, three hours, and three minutes to conquered Winterland to save Aurelia or she will be mine forever! What a fool you are!” as Ulbrich disappeared with the swirling snow.

“Winterland, well better start now. It is so cold. Damn it, I wish that I would have brought my coat, hat and gloves,” shivered Drake as he walked through the snow with his arms across his chest.