The Message

A messenger came to Leo's village.

He handed Leo the bag, which was cold and heavy.

He said to him,

"It's from the north. It's very special. Take good care of it."

He then tipped his cap, and walked away.

Leo closed the door, and looked at the bag with curiosity. He opened it, and saw a letter and a box inside. The letter was sealed with wax, and had his name on it. The box was wrapped with paper, and had a ribbon on it.

He took out the letter, and broke the seal. He unfolded it, and read it. It said:

My dear Leo,

I hope this letter finds you well and happy. I know you must be surprised and confused to hear from me, after all these years of silence. I know you must have many questions and doubts about me, and I don't blame you for that. I have been a terrible mother to you, and I have no excuse for that.

But please, hear me out. Please, give me a chance to explain myself. Please, don't hate me for what I did.

You see, Leo, I am not an ordinary woman. I am the Ice Queen, the ruler of a frozen land in the north. I have a power that few people have: I can control ice and snow with my mind. I can create beautiful wonders and terrible horrors with my magic.

I was born with this power, but I didn't know how to use it properly. I was afraid of it, and so were others. I was shunned and hated by my family and my people. I was lonely and miserable.

Then I met your father. He was a traveler from another land, who came to visit my kingdom. He was kind and brave, handsome and charming. He saw me for who I was, not for what I could do. He loved me for me, not for my power.

We fell in love, and we got married. We were happy, and we had you. You were our miracle, our joy, our pride. You were the most beautiful thing we ever made.

But our happiness didn't last long. Soon after you were born, we discovered that you had inherited my power. You could also control ice and snow with your mind. You could also create wonders and horrors with your magic.

We were both happy and scared for you. We wanted to protect you from the world, which would fear you and hate you for your gift. We wanted to teach you how to use your power wisely and safely.

But we never got the chance to do that.

One night, while we were sleeping in our castle, we were attacked by a group of rebels who wanted to overthrow me and take my throne. They hated me for my power, and they hated you for having it too.

They stormed into our room, and tried to kill us all.

Your father fought them bravely, but he was outnumbered and outmatched. He was wounded and dying.

He told me to take you and run away.

He told me to save you.

He told me he loved us.

He died in my arms.

I took you in my arms too, and ran away from the castle.

I ran away from the rebels.

I ran away from my kingdom.

I ran away from everything.

I didn't know where to go or what to do.

I only knew that I had to keep you safe.

I found a ship that sailed to another land.

I boarded it with you.

I paid the captain with some jewels that I had hidden in my dress.

I asked him to take us somewhere far away from here.

Somewhere where no one would know us or find us.

Somewhere where we could start a new life together.

He agreed to do that.

He took us to a place called Icehaven.

It was a small town by the sea, where people lived peacefully and happily.

It was a place where we could be free and safe.

It was a place where we could be happy again.

Or so I thought.

But I was wrong.

We couldn't be happy there either.

We couldn't be happy anywhere.

Because we still had our power.

And our power still brought us trouble.

You see, Leo,

Our power is not only a gift,

It is also a curse.