The Ice Czar (Part Two)
Jun. 29th, 2004 07:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mishalakPart One
The great czar wanted to be well very soon, but he also didn't want to fail for want of thought before he sent someone. So he sat in a chair by a narrow window in his fortress palace looking at the thin sliver of ice blue sky as he thought. After thinking all the day through he announced to his courtiers that he would send forth whomever could prove to be the cleverest in his kingdom. He would decide that in six days after all who wanted brought to him whatever they thought the best way to show their wit. And whomever he sent he would reward as greatly as would be deserved for bringing back he knew not what from where he did not know.
The word went out and many people started to bring all manner of things before the czar. Poems showing great mastery, works from they hearth, forge, and carving shop. There were huntsmen heroes showing their greatest trophies, boyar warriors doing feats of arms, and even sorcerers showing off mighty spells. Amid all of this no one noticed Ekaterina the Czar's fair young daughter. She loved her father very much and had decided that she would save him. She dressed herself in dark blue clothes from head to foot. Blue trousers, a blue coat, a blue cloak, and blue felt boots for traveling. And she hid her face with a long dark grey scarf.
Ekaterina set out on foot for the woods where she sat down in the biting cold of the forest to wait. Though wrapped in her scarf, coat, and cloak her teeth began to chatter and she began to shiver after a while. And then Morozko, who is winter himself, came leaping from tree to tree. He jumped down in front of her with his beard of frost and his coat of ice and asked, "Are you warm my lass?"
She pulled aside her scarf and said, "I am warm enough Father Frost."
Her courage impressed him and though at first Morozko had wanted to freeze the life out of her he now changed his mind. He decided to show her some mercy and send her a gift if she knew enough how to take advantage of it. So he left her there as the sun set on the second day of the Czar's challenge. The stars did not show themselves that night, nor did the moon, for Grandfather Frost sent clouds and snow to fall upon the forest. Knowing what to do Ekaterina dug into a snow bank and made for herself a bed under a blanket of snow.
The next day she dug out and waited again in the forest. Again Morozko came to her and asked, "Are you warm enough dear lass?"
She pulled aside her scarf and replied, "I was quite warm enough in the night, thank you Father Frost for sending me the blanket for my bed."
He smiled at her now and resolved to give her another gift if she was wise enough to know how to use it. All that day snow melted on tree limbs near Ekaterina and formed into great icicles. Seeing this she broke some down carved herself a round lense. The next day as the sun rose up and she used it to start a fire from the rays of the sun in some dry tinder. When Morozko found her she had a neat little fire. Again he asked, "Are you warm enough my dear?"
She stopped warming herself at the fire and replied, "I am very warm, thank you Father Frost for sending me fire from ice."
He nodded with respect to her now and decided to test her mettle a bit and send her another gift if she was brave enough to take it. As the sun set on the forth day of the Czar's challenge and a great fearsome beast like a wolf the size of a horse with eyes of cold fire and great teeth came to her clearing. She wanted to hide under her blanket of snow, but Ekaterina knew that would do no good. So instead she gathered one of the coals from the fire she had kept burning all day. She pretended to be dead as it came closer and closer to her while the coal burned in her fire cup. When it sniffed at her, its great maw just inches away she threw the coals inside it.
It howled in fierce pain and thrashed away from her as the magic of fire from ice burned away inside of it. She got up cautiously as it fell down with fire erupting from inside it. Ekaterina walked towards it and reached into the burning skull carefully and pulled forth a sword that shone like silver and written into the metal of the blade were words proclaiming this sword to be The Teeth of Winter.
She lay down now next to her fire with her blanket of snow that had become a real blanket that just looked like snow and her weapon. She was soon asleep.
The next day Morozko came again to see how she was doing. He came upon her making lunch and asked her, "Are you warm enough dear one?"
She stopped her cooking and replied, "I am as warm as can be, thank you Farther Frost for arming me so that I may hunt for my repast. Will you join me?"
He laughed and said, "I like you dear lass. I know you've come to the woods to seek knowledge of how to help your father the Czar. Tonight I shall give you what you need to know."
And as the sun set upon the fifth day of the Czar's challenge Ekaterina waited in her blanket of snow with her fire from ice banked to coals in her fire cup as the stars moved overhead. And as she watched the stars she came to know where she must travel and the garden she must seek far to the east where the sun starts each day beyond the endless forest.
On the sixth day she gathered her gifts and returned to the Fortress Palace. She arrived just before the sun set and presented herself wrapped up again in her dark grey scarf so none would know her. The Czar was having a difficult time choosing amongst all the clever men of his kingdom. But when the blanket of snow, the fire cup with fire from ice, and The Teeth of Winter all won from Morozko the Czar leapt up and proclaimed, "This is my champion!"
He was greatly surprised when Ekaterina unwound her scarf and was almost angry with her, but saw what she had done for what it was. Her love. So he gave her a cold kiss upon her forehead and told her to go with his blessing and wish for her safe return even more than a cure. For if she could not find the garden of the sun and the fruit that grew there none could.
The great czar wanted to be well very soon, but he also didn't want to fail for want of thought before he sent someone. So he sat in a chair by a narrow window in his fortress palace looking at the thin sliver of ice blue sky as he thought. After thinking all the day through he announced to his courtiers that he would send forth whomever could prove to be the cleverest in his kingdom. He would decide that in six days after all who wanted brought to him whatever they thought the best way to show their wit. And whomever he sent he would reward as greatly as would be deserved for bringing back he knew not what from where he did not know.
The word went out and many people started to bring all manner of things before the czar. Poems showing great mastery, works from they hearth, forge, and carving shop. There were huntsmen heroes showing their greatest trophies, boyar warriors doing feats of arms, and even sorcerers showing off mighty spells. Amid all of this no one noticed Ekaterina the Czar's fair young daughter. She loved her father very much and had decided that she would save him. She dressed herself in dark blue clothes from head to foot. Blue trousers, a blue coat, a blue cloak, and blue felt boots for traveling. And she hid her face with a long dark grey scarf.
Ekaterina set out on foot for the woods where she sat down in the biting cold of the forest to wait. Though wrapped in her scarf, coat, and cloak her teeth began to chatter and she began to shiver after a while. And then Morozko, who is winter himself, came leaping from tree to tree. He jumped down in front of her with his beard of frost and his coat of ice and asked, "Are you warm my lass?"
She pulled aside her scarf and said, "I am warm enough Father Frost."
Her courage impressed him and though at first Morozko had wanted to freeze the life out of her he now changed his mind. He decided to show her some mercy and send her a gift if she knew enough how to take advantage of it. So he left her there as the sun set on the second day of the Czar's challenge. The stars did not show themselves that night, nor did the moon, for Grandfather Frost sent clouds and snow to fall upon the forest. Knowing what to do Ekaterina dug into a snow bank and made for herself a bed under a blanket of snow.
The next day she dug out and waited again in the forest. Again Morozko came to her and asked, "Are you warm enough dear lass?"
She pulled aside her scarf and replied, "I was quite warm enough in the night, thank you Father Frost for sending me the blanket for my bed."
He smiled at her now and resolved to give her another gift if she was wise enough to know how to use it. All that day snow melted on tree limbs near Ekaterina and formed into great icicles. Seeing this she broke some down carved herself a round lense. The next day as the sun rose up and she used it to start a fire from the rays of the sun in some dry tinder. When Morozko found her she had a neat little fire. Again he asked, "Are you warm enough my dear?"
She stopped warming herself at the fire and replied, "I am very warm, thank you Father Frost for sending me fire from ice."
He nodded with respect to her now and decided to test her mettle a bit and send her another gift if she was brave enough to take it. As the sun set on the forth day of the Czar's challenge and a great fearsome beast like a wolf the size of a horse with eyes of cold fire and great teeth came to her clearing. She wanted to hide under her blanket of snow, but Ekaterina knew that would do no good. So instead she gathered one of the coals from the fire she had kept burning all day. She pretended to be dead as it came closer and closer to her while the coal burned in her fire cup. When it sniffed at her, its great maw just inches away she threw the coals inside it.
It howled in fierce pain and thrashed away from her as the magic of fire from ice burned away inside of it. She got up cautiously as it fell down with fire erupting from inside it. Ekaterina walked towards it and reached into the burning skull carefully and pulled forth a sword that shone like silver and written into the metal of the blade were words proclaiming this sword to be The Teeth of Winter.
She lay down now next to her fire with her blanket of snow that had become a real blanket that just looked like snow and her weapon. She was soon asleep.
The next day Morozko came again to see how she was doing. He came upon her making lunch and asked her, "Are you warm enough dear one?"
She stopped her cooking and replied, "I am as warm as can be, thank you Farther Frost for arming me so that I may hunt for my repast. Will you join me?"
He laughed and said, "I like you dear lass. I know you've come to the woods to seek knowledge of how to help your father the Czar. Tonight I shall give you what you need to know."
And as the sun set upon the fifth day of the Czar's challenge Ekaterina waited in her blanket of snow with her fire from ice banked to coals in her fire cup as the stars moved overhead. And as she watched the stars she came to know where she must travel and the garden she must seek far to the east where the sun starts each day beyond the endless forest.
On the sixth day she gathered her gifts and returned to the Fortress Palace. She arrived just before the sun set and presented herself wrapped up again in her dark grey scarf so none would know her. The Czar was having a difficult time choosing amongst all the clever men of his kingdom. But when the blanket of snow, the fire cup with fire from ice, and The Teeth of Winter all won from Morozko the Czar leapt up and proclaimed, "This is my champion!"
He was greatly surprised when Ekaterina unwound her scarf and was almost angry with her, but saw what she had done for what it was. Her love. So he gave her a cold kiss upon her forehead and told her to go with his blessing and wish for her safe return even more than a cure. For if she could not find the garden of the sun and the fruit that grew there none could.
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Date: 2004-06-30 06:29 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-06-30 09:39 pm (UTC)