Chapter Seventeen: Winters Gift

                                    

                                          
It was Wassailia today and I had a gift for Cedric. It's a wand case I made for him. I thought it would be a nice thing to give him. But I don't think I should give it to him. I was with him this afternoon and he absolutely hates Wassailia because all he's ever given is an ill-fitting sweater or a 'Kingdom's Best Sorcerer' mug. All those are just common gifts but what he really wants is a gift worthy of a sorcerer. So, I don't think this wand case is good enough for him.
After hearing him say that, I secretly left with (P/N) to leave him alone and think of a new gift. What kind of magical gift can I get Cedric? It's hard to think of something when this is so last minute. I ran into Baileywick who wasn't really impressed with the Wassailia decorations. He told me that, one Wassailia, they filled the castle with Ice Lilies. They're magical flowers that grow in the Icicle Forest every winter but now they're hard to find for some reason. Well, I'm going to find them for Cedric.
It's the perfect gift! But I don't know where that is. Well, I'll just improvise. I got into something warm and went into the forest with (P/N). I passed by the children and Mum who asked where I was going. I told them what I was up to and Mum told me to be back in time for us to light the Wassailia candle. That shouldn't be so hard. I went into the forest where I just started looking around for any Ice Lilies. That's then I encountered and fox. (P/N) and the fox started talking but I couldn't understand them.
That's when I remembered I did recently learn a spell to temporarily understand animals. It only lasts about an hour so I'll have to update it from time to time. I used it and it worked! I can hear them! The fox is called Whiskers and (P/N) is a boy. I never knew this. I told them about the spell I used and I learned something new about my sorcery pet. His name is actually Abu. Well, I'm happy to call him that. Abu told Whiskers about me needing Ice Lilies.
Whiskers called some birds over who told him where to find them. So, we followed him and he made fun of Abu being a castle pet now instead of a circus pet. Does it really matter? He's living how he wants to live. We made it to the Icicle Forest where I heard a flute playing in the distance. Who's playing that? I took a closer look to see a creature that was half human, half goat. It's a faun. But according to Whiskers, they aren't usually in this part of the forest. Well, I approached her anyway. 
"Oh, hi there," She sounds shy, "I hope I wasn't bothering you, I can keep it down or just stop."
"No, don't stop. It's beautiful," I said smiling.
"Really? Oh, okay. Oh, I know an even better tune. How's this?"
She started playing the flute again. She's really good at it and she looks around Sofia's age. The tune was short but nice. I clapped for her.
"That was so pretty," I said smiling
"Hey, you look just like a Sorceress!" she said smiling, "oh, you probably are one, aren't you? I mean, why else would you be wearing a wand and Sorceress cloak? Oh, I'm talking a lot. Sorry, I do that. My name is Winter. Like the season."
"I'm (Y/N)," I offered my hand to shake.
She backed off instantly and touched a tree that turned into ice! How did that happen?
"Did you do that?" I asked rather shocked
But Winter hummed a yes, "Everything I touch turns to ice."
"That's impressive."
"No, it's awful. When I say everything I touch gets covered in ice, I mean everything. I even had to leave my family because I kept forgetting and trying to hug them. I've been gone a long time and I really miss them."
"Have you always been like this?"
"Oh, no. It was a year ago today when I got the ice touch. There was this witch..."