리틀팍스

 「Chapter 3. Runaway」

 "Queen Irene Iceblast?" repeated Elaine. "I've never heard of her!"  

 Sharon looked at her strangely. "Then you must be from really, really far away. Nobody around here doesn't know her." Elaine and Chris nodded. "Can you tell us about the queen?"

 Sharon nodded. "Her majesty is infamous for her evil deeds and icy personality. She has uncanny abilities, such as blasting ice with her bare hands and freezing people. She can make snow and she has hypnotizing powers, too. Master Gordon, my master, works for her. He is one of the people Her Majesty has hypnotized to make a loyal servant. She lives in the Ice Castle, a large castle made of ice that Her Majesty made with her powers." Sharon suddenly clasped her hands over her mouth. "Oh, no! I shouldn't have said all this," she said. "Please forget everything I told you. If Her Majesty knows this, Master Gordon and I are in big trouble!"

 "Don't worry, Sharon. We know how to keep a secret. We'll never tell this to anyone, we promise!" said Elaine. Chris nodded, agreeing with her. Sharon let out a sigh of relief.

 Thump, thump. The sound of footsteps blared in the empty forest. "Oh, no! Master Gordon is coming! I spent all my time talking to you two. I forgot all about cleaning! Master likes his house clean. Oh, no!" moaned Sharon. She started mopping the floor instantly.

 "Sharon!" demanded a voice. "Who are these children?" Elaine and Chris turned around. A tall, muscular figure stood in the doorstep. He was wearing clothes made of leather and fur. He barged into the house. 

 "And I thought I told you to clean the house?" Poor Sharon shivered. "I'm sorry, Master Gordon!" she said in a fearful voice. "You good-for-nothing!" shouted the person called Mr. Gordon.

 Elaine couldn't stand it anymore. "Sorry to interrupt, but who are you calling a good-for-nothing? She's trying her best to satisfy you! Well, no offense, but I think you're too lazy to clean the house yourself! Instead you're making a young girl do it for you! That's brutal!" 

 Gordon glared at Elaine. "Who are you, anyway?" he asked Elaine. "That's none of your business!" retorted Elaine. Gordon raised her fist at her, as if to hit Elaine when-

 "Don't even think about hitting my friend!" Chris blocked Gordon from Elaine. "And stop bullying Sharon! She deserves much more than that!" 

 Chris took both Elaine and Sharon's hand and stormed out of the cottage. "Run!" he whispered. Elaine, Chris and Sharon ran as fast as they could. They could hear Gordon furiously chasing after them.

***

 "Where are we?" asked Sharon. "Can we rest for a while?" said Elaine, looking completely out of breath. "I think that nasty Gordon person lost us!" "I guess so," agreed Chris.

 "Sharon, you don't need to be Gordon's maid anymore! You're free!" Elaine told Sharon. "Really?" Sharon looked at Elaine and Chris with disbelief. "You two are the best! Thank you!"

 "Um, guys, I think we're lost," said Chris. "I don't know where we are." Sharon looked around, then looked like she might cry. "Me neither," she said. She looked through a small bag she was carrying. She took out a map.

 The land on the map was divided in two; the East and the West part. The East was shaped like a snowflake and the West part was a flame. 

 "It's the map we traveled with!" whispered Elaine. "Oh my god," said Chris.

 "Look, there's a castle!" shouted Elaine with joy. Sure enough, there was a gigantic castle made of ice in front of them. "Great! Let's go in! Maybe we could stay the night!" said Chris happily.

 Sharon looked like she wanted to say something, but she followed Elaine and Chris quietly. 

 Elaine knocked, and a soldier opened the door. "Why are you here?" he asked with no emotion. "Um, we're lost, and we were hoping that we could stay the night," said Elaine.

 "Who's there?" demanded a voice that was cold but full of charisma. "Children, Your Highness," said the soldier. 

 "I love children! Let them in." The soldier did as told and opened the door. 

 Elaine, Chris, and Sharon stepped into the giant castle.