The Island of the Eternal Snowflake

Chapter 1

FROSTY

I was taking a stroll through the island of Eternal Snowflake, smelling the fresh scent of snow. It was a beautiful day but something seemed strange. The Island of Eternal Snowflake usually has a clear and cloudless sky. Today though, I could only see a very small amount of the blue sky. The rest was completely covered with dark grey clouds.

My mother suddenly appeared behind me. My white tail swished in the snow. At first, my mother looked around trying to find me since my fur was as white as the snow. Then she looked closer and saw me. “This is odd! We rarely have rain…” she mewed. “We should go back home, Frosty.” I followed her back home.

I was a little scared but overjoyed at the same time. Maybe it’s another mystery that I could solve! My mother and father, Snow and Ice, were great detectives and I personally didn’t think I was bad either!

As I walked to my house, a warm smell hit me as soon as I entered the door. Pancakes!

BLACKFEATHER

“Take a deep breath,” I told myself over and over. My plan was perfect! All I had to do was to wait for the golden opportunity to kill the queen of the Kingdom in the Stars and I will be leader! It was coming soon! I had lots of the most powerful creatures in the kingdom at my command. There were werewolves that kill even in the mornings, Pythons that have deadly venom, and some of the wizards and witches of the kingdom.

A bitter feeling came to my stomach again. Queen Starry had killed my sister. She was jealous of magic since she had none herself. She was especially jealous of my sister. She was fantastic at magic, since she was a Star. Stars studied at the Hall of Stars and were one of the most powerful beings in the kingdom. This would be the perfect way of revenge.

As soon as I am leader, I will make sure that they print my name in my favourite book, The Most Powerful Crows of all Time. It had all the names of the most powerful and famous crows living or dead.

I paced around my room again, my head buzzing.

But in the end, I sat down and opened my books. I remembered the first spell book I had ever read. It had taught me to do things slowly, so that it would be more mysterious. I found it very tricky sometimes, especially now. But the book has never failed me so I did as it instructed.

Chapter 2

FROSTY

“Frosty! Come on out! Your pancakes are getting cold!” my dad yelled somewhere in the kitchen.

“Coming!” I yowled and hurried to the bathroom to wash my paws.

When I went back to the table, my mom and dad were already sitting there, eating.

“Here Frosty!” my mom mewed, handing me a plate. “Do you want any jam? Cheese? Or do you wan-” A loud noise cut her off.

CRASH!

Suddenly, the glass on the kitchen window shattered. And there, I caught a glimpse of something that looked like a werewolf, dragging off a shape that looked like a cat! But it disappeared almost as soon as I saw it.

“That’s odd,” I told myself. “Don’t werewolves only turn into werewolves on the night of the full moon? It was far from the full moon and it was morning!”

I turned back to my parents, wondering if they saw anything. But the looks on their faces surprised me. My mother, even though her fur was even more white than mine, had turned paler. She looked like a ghost under the kitchen light. My father looked just as scared, and in all the commotion, he even dropped his pancake!

What was happening? I thought. The werewolf might have just been an illusion! But most of all, my parents are two of the bravest cats in the kingdom! Why did they look so terrified now?

BLACKFEATHER

I paced around my room. I was waiting for SharpClaw, my favourite werewolf. He was dragging off Princess BrightStar. If SharpClaw succeeded, I would be able to hold her hostage. Queen Starry loved her daughter and would do anything to save her. I could charge a big ransom, maybe a few powerful Stars… But maybe I should just kill her. That way, when I kill Queen Starry, I can make sure she doesn't have an heir to the throne. Also, if I released her, Princess BrightStar would then be even more well protected, with many Stars guarding her.

Suddenly, I slapped my head with my wing. How should I expect Queen Starry would give me anything at all? She hated me too, since she hated my sister. Plus, she would be furious that her daughter was kidnapped! She would just come here with a battalion of Stars and rescue her daughter.

That’s it. I told myself. I will kill her. Suddenly, I heard someone knock three times on my door. SharpClaw had come at last! I hurried to open the door and as soon as I did, a sweet smell of vanilla wafted into my study.

“I have captured Princess BrightStar!” A triumphant growl came. It was SharpClaw! “Have you decided if the princess lives or dies? As I said, you would not have to give me anything, so long as you let me take a little bite of her,” he growled. I could tell he was impatient, since we had a long talk about this. But now, I have made up my mind.

“Take as much of her as you like,” I replied smoothly. “I have to kill her somehow anyways.”

At first, the werewolf looked surprised that he had won so easily. Then he said a hasty goodbye and quickly dived into the princess. Nobody would notice that she is dead… at least not now. She was going on vacation to visit the seven realms of the kingdom. SharpClaw captured her in the fifth realm, the Island of Eternal Snowflake. Right now, she is in the sixth realm… The Cave of Never-ending Night.

This is good. I thought. Everything is going according to the plan.

Chapter 3

FROSTY

It has been a while since my parents (sort of) freaked out over a shadow. I was stirring my cereal and watching the dark grey clouds covering up the whole sky when I saw my dad leaving.

I jumped up immediately. “Where are you going, Dad?” I asked. At first, he looked surprised since it was dawn. I don’t think that he thought anyone would be up so early.

“I… um… I’m going uh shopping!” he mumbled. He looked uneasy.

That’s odd. I thought. Since when did my dad go shopping? And at dawn?

My dad was fumbling at the door and flashing worried glances at me.

“Well.... ‘bye, Dad!” I called as he went out.

The door locked behind him. Is he worried that I might slip out and follow him? It isn’t like him to keep secrets! I thought.

Just as I was about to go up to my mom to see if she knew anything, I heard somebody knocking. Snowball’s birthday party!

I quickly ran down the stairs to open the door. There, I saw a beaming Snowball.

“Frosty!” she mewed happily. “Do you want to race to my house? Everybody is here with me!”

I looked around and I saw more snouts. I recognized WhiteFur, PalePaw, IceTail, and FrozenWhisker.

“Sure!” I mewed happily.

“The last one will be the pinata for my birthday!” Snowball yowled.

We raced to Snowball’s house, kicking up lots and lots of ice frost.

When we got there, our friend FrozenWhisker, who was greyish black, was completely white too!

“Hey cats! You wanna see me perform a new spell?” PalePaw asked. PalePaw was a Star-in-training, and she knew the funniest spells!

“Sure!” we all cheered. But as we did, I saw something odd. FrozenWhisker was the most powerful cat here, even though she wasn’t a Star, wasn’t cheering. In fact, she didn’t make a sound. That was when I noticed a strange glint in her eyes… Greed? Hunger for Power? It can’t be! She was never greedy! It must be a trick from the light. That’s all. I told myself.

“AH-HA!” Snowball yowled. “I have found my pinata! Frosty’s it!” I was so focused on FrozenWhisker that I forgot that it was still a race! But I wasn’t mad.

So the party continued. It was lots of fun and FrozenWhisker was normal again, cheering and clapping and everything. Strange right?

Then we got to the pinata part.

“PalePaw! Can you use your magic?”

PalePaw immediately became serious. “What magic?” she asked. I knew that Star magic was carefully kept track of since it was so dangerous. But even with all the restrictions, many still became unlicensed. PalePaw was learning and she might use her powers and accidentally hurt people. But only when you become qualified do you need to sign a sheet of paper and register yourself. Many became unlicensed by running away and signing false names.

“It’s okay PalePaw! Just the spell that can create a billion snowballs! That isn’t illegal, right? What’s wrong with a snowball competition?”

Snowball’s yowl came somewhere in her house.

“Oh good! Yeah, you're right. It isn’t illegal!” PalePaw mewed happily. She said some words and a pile of fresh snowballs appeared! So I picked a nice spot for hitting and started to swing around. Yowling filled the air as my friends tried to hit me. But suddenly, I saw FrozenWhisker aiming a snowball at me. I swung to the left and the snowball missed me. I thought that the snowball would hit Snowball’s shed like all of the other snowballs do but what happened next surprised me. The snowball hit the shed and exploded with a mighty crash.

The shed shattered. FrozenWhisker looked very scared. She immediately turned to Snowball.

“I’m so sor-” she got cut off as PalePaw rushed to Snowball.

“I’m so sorry! I don’t know why, maybe my spell went a little wrong! Oh! I’m so sorry about your shed! I will repair it, I promise!” she wailed.

“It’s okay!” Snowball said cheerfully. “My parents wanted me to take apart the shed anyways!”

BLACKFEATHER

Ice and Snow will see soon! They will never expect that their daughter’s friend is controlled by me! Right now, FrozenWhiskers might just be blasting apart Frosty! They would never know that the blasting was a show! Instead, Frosty would be asleep. I could hold her for ransom! If I had her as ransom, Ice and Snow would give anything for their daughter! In the fight for the ring, if I don’t win, I can threaten to kill her!

But suddenly, a knock on the door made me jump back to my first plan- to kill the queen.

“Come in!” I snapped annoyed. SharpClaw entered with Mud and Slime. Toxic came in as well, snapping his threatening pincers. Last of all came Bite. He was so small that I could barely see him!

“We’re ready,” SharpClaw declared.

“Good,” I said grimly. “Recite the whole plan.”

SharpClaw’s snout showed nothing but shock at being treated like a kid. Mud and Slime exchanged glances and Toxic snapped his pincers angrily. Bite squeaked something inaudible. Eventually, SharpClaw began reciting.

“First, Mud, Slime, and I would sneak into the secret passageway Bite found. There, We would meet the rest of the forces. Bite and Toxic would sneak into Queen Starry’s chambers. You, sir, would turn into a dove and fly into her chamber. She would be so focused on you that Toxic, since he is a scorpion, would have the opportunity to sting Queen Starry. After she falls asleep, You can kill her.”

I was impressed at how well he remembered the plan.

“Good,” I nodded. “But what is Bite going to do?” I questioned.

SharpClaw seemed angry that he forgot Bite’s part. “Since Bite’s a rat, he can go around the room and get the Ring.” That was the most important part. If I failed to kill Queen Starry, I would have the ring to kill her. But if I lost the ring… I shook my head. “Let’s get going then,” I cawed. I spun around and suddenly, I became a dove, with an olive branch in my beak.

Finally, FINALLY, we set off. The ring is as good as mine.

Chapter 4

FROSTY

I couldn’t believe it! FrozenWhiskers tried to kill me! Or did she? Yes, she was acting strange, but did she really WANT to kill me? Or was she CONTROLLED??? “Always more questions than answers,” I muttered grumpily to myself.

“Hey grump!” Snowball yelled. “Who wants HyperSnow? I’ve got strawberry, huckleberry, gooseberry, blueberry…” While she mewed on and on, I reflected back. I had overheard Snowball’s parents talking. They said that Princess BrightStar has been missing for weeks, and my parents were acting strange, and so many strange things had been happening.

BAM!

I had just landed smack in the middle of a bucket as big as a swimming pool. No kidding. I thought to myself. She has too much HyperSnow. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through my tail. It was FrozenWhiskers trying to drag me out.

Finally, I scrambled out and began licking my tail like crazy. “Sorry!” I puffed. What I really thought was much more complicated than that. FrozenWhisker again! Is she trying to kill me? But also, she “saved” me too! I could have scrambled out myself! Why do I have to be bitten?

“Are you all right?” Snowball asked anxiously.

“I’m fin-” I began but she cut me off.

“No you're not fine! Come on, my mom is a healer at the ‘Seven Realms healing- From Abec bites to Zyx disease.’”

She led me to her house while I thought irritably. Why bother asking when you make the decision in the end anyway?

While WhiteLeaf sorted me out, WhiteFur and Snowball got me two colossal sticks of HyperSnow.

Finally, WhiteLeaf finished.

“There, all done,” she said,

“Thank you!” I mewed with my mouth full of HyperSnow. All of us began eating HyperSnow.

When we finished, we ate Freezing Freeze Marble Cake and had some ice slushies and WhiteLeaf began handing out party favours. Mine had an Aurora Ice Slinky, White unicorn poop, lots of HyperSnow, and a surprise box!

“For the surprise box, It can enlarge itself when you say ‘Blah,’ and shrink itself when you say ‘Blub.’

The bigger it is, the more stuff there is! When you think it’s big enough, you can open it! If the box is bigger than a 1234x1234 square, it can turn into a house!” Snowball said happily. “Thanks so much!” We all called and we all separated to go to our own houses.

BLACKFEATHER

As we arrived at the castle, Mud and Slime stuck out their fork-shaped tongues and hissed happily.

We then separated, with Mud, Slime, and SharpClaw going into the secret passageway. Toxic and Bite hurried up to the Queen Starry’s Chambers and I flew there.

As I expected, Queen Starry was worrying herself over some state documents and stuff like that. I made a little chirping noise that alerted her.

“Oh my gosh! A pretty dove! I haven’t seen one for weeks!” She squealed and immediately rushed over to me. While she petted and stroked me, I saw Toxic, scuttling forward with Bite on his back and it all went to plan.

Toxic stung the queen and Bite hurried to get the ring. But suddenly, Ice and Snow, the famous detectives and the parents of Frosty, turned up! Seeing what had happened, I quickly shifted back into a crow.

Ice created a snowstorm, throwing Bite and Toxic out of the tower. Snow screeched and a blast of icy wind hurled at me. But I used my own magic to reveal it.

Snow waved her tail this time, and a thousand arctic foxes, arctic wolves, polar bears, and seals rushed at me. But I was ready: I chirped and thousands of birds came flying in and started battling the animals.

Snow swiped her paw and icicles rushed to me. At first, I underestimated her, thinking that they would just go straight ahead. Instead, it followed me! I quickly conjured up a shadow shield and the icicles bounced back to her.

Suddenly, My forces came, led by SharpClaw, Mud, and Slime. Ice and Snow, knowing that they were defeated, Disaparated. But before they did, Snow reached out and grabbed the ring from the glass globe! ‘No!!!!!!” I cawed angrily. I must have the ring! But their house had magical protection and they probably had told the Stars already. We needed to retreat.

Chapter 5

FROSTY

I arrived home from the party. I was expecting my mom and dad to be in the house but instead, I found my parents standing outside the door, looking ruffled! My dad showed signs of bleeding and my mom looked like she had severe dark magic damage! She had a scar shaped like a crow, looking like it was burned into the flesh, etched deep on her heart, and she had claw marks too!

I reflected back, trying to remember if there were any crow villains. With no doubt, I remembered BlackFeather. His sister was a powerful Star. She was punished years ago by Queen Starry. Her name was unknown to many since they all called her ‘The Star’.

That was it. I knew it. My mother and father were planning something. I had to stand up once and for all. “I’m home!” I yowled. My mom and dad turned startled.

“Oh! Well, uh… hi Frosty! Err.. uh… did you have.. ah… fun?” my mother stammered.

“I did!” I replied cheerfully. Then, I dropped my tone. “You are planning something.” I said flatly.

My mother and father exchanged looks. Then my mother sighed.

“Well, we should tell her. It’s better to tell her this ourselves than other people’s rumors.”

“Well?” I asked.

So they began to tell the tale. But all of it revolved around one thing: BlackFeather was rising. He was powerless and exiled when his sister was killed. Now, he had come back, to take revenge. But most of all, TO STEAL THE CROWN!

BLACKFEATHER

I wanted to pull all of my feathers out! Ice and Snow weren’t mourning! That meant Frosty wasn’t asleep! My carefully laid plan was in pieces!

I did what I always did when my plan failed: to read one of my books. But I barely took in anything.

My mind was buzzing with anger at my dim-witted employees. I tried to comfort myself. “At least I have killed the queen! I have taken revenge!” I muttered over and over. But my anger overcomes my comforts. I won’t gain power without the ring. Suddenly, an idea struck me. I have her. I will get the ring. I flicked up the eagle knocker. “Call Luminis. Tell her to come. Now.”

Soon, my door got burned down. I had to click my beak to not scream. First Toxic, then SharpClaw, now Luminis?!

“I am awwwwfully sorry, my lord,” came Luminis’s sleek reply. “I cannot exactly control my fire when I am excited…” she drawled. She was trying very hard to flatter me. Luminis was a beautiful dragon. She had white and yellow scales and turquoise eyes that danced with fire. She had two polished gold horns and a tail descending from orange, to yellow, to white. She had sharp white teeth and a flame-like tail. She was perfect for the mission. The kingdom in the stars depended on sunlight and without it, even the strongest stars became powerless. She was the only Light Dragon in the kingdom and it took my sister and I a decade to obtain her. This was it. We were off.

Chapter 6

FROSTY

Finally I knew everything! I was sooooo happy! My mom and dad seemed more cheerful as well. But that wasn’t the real, real surprise. My mom and dad were so happy that they even threw a party!

They said that I could invite 10 friends. So I invited Snowball, PalePaw, WhiteFur, IceTail, SapphireEyes, PearlFace, BlizzardNose, IceCurl, WoolFeathers, and FrozenWhisker! FrozenWhisker was normal again, laughing, cheering, and yelling at the top of her lungs!

The party was AMAZING! We ate pizacat, chocolate mousssssssse cake, and too much HyperSnow! Burp!

BLACKFEATHER

The wind was rushing through my fur. Even though I could fly, I preferred to rest on Luminis’s cold, scaly back.

Soon, we arrived at the palace. I sneered. Right now, Ice and Snow would be partying and drinking hot catolate while I’m stealing the ring!

Luminis landed lightly. Suddenly, the world turned pitch black. Guards ran away from their posts, screaming.

In the midst of the screaming, I flew into Queen Starry’s chamber. There, in the middle of the dust, stood the ring in it’s beautiful glass globe. I clicked my beak and muttered a human/animal revealing spell. No one there. But I was careful.

I swished my wing and a sword of light crashed into the room. Even Ice and Snow’s magic can’t stand the explosion! The ray of light was taught to me by my sister. Still, no one.

I opened the glass globe. I flew up a little so my beak can be the exact height of the ring. I carefully reached out with my beak. As I took the ring, golden sparks showered down on me. The ring was finally mine! THE TIME WAS RIGHT!

Chapter 7

FROSTY

As the party was nearly ending, something happened that I would have never expected. The chandelier hanging on top of the table crashed down! A shatter told me that a few windows had broke.

Suddenly, I saw a flash of light and a flaming tail. It was a light dragon! There hasn’t been one spotted for 10 centuries! But a chill ran down my spine as I saw a golden beak and a distinctive black wing.

A terrible howl came from outside. “I say these words to Ice and Snow. Ice and Snow only. You have lost and I have won! The ring is mine, and will forever be mine! Now hand me the others and I will let you go! Or you can watch the realms being destroyed! It is your decision that decides the future of all the creatures in the realms! You will have until midnight!” Another terrible howl and it was gone.

All my friends looked at me, scared. But I was even more scared. My parents didn’t tell me everything! They still had a secret, one that they had never, ever told me! All those days! A shriek from Snowball made me jump back to reality. Even though my thoughts snapped back, my feeling of hurt and betrayal remained.