Winter of the Ice Wizard

by Mary Pope Osborne

  “Yeah, but I scared them off,” said Jack.

  “What about the Frost Giant?” Annie said.

  “He’s gone, too,” said Jack. “Come on. Let’s get out of here!” Jack helped Annie up from the snow. “Do you still have the wizard’s eye?”

  Annie felt in her pocket. “Got it,” she said.

  “Good.” Jack looked around. Beyond the heaps of fallen snow, the silver sleigh was waiting for them. Overhead, the sky had turned to a light shade of gray.

  “It’s almost dawn,” said Jack. “Remember what the wizard said? We have to bring back his eye by the break of day—or we’ll never see Merlin or Morgan again!”

  Jack held Annie’s hand and they trudged together through the snow. When they got to the sleigh, they climbed inside. Annie took her place at the rudder. Jack pulled out the wind-string and untied a knot.

  The breeze rocked the sleigh. Jack untied a second knot, and the sail began to fill. He untied a third, and the silver sleigh moved forward, gliding over the white ground.

  Swish—swish—swish. The sleigh moved through the thick snow and away from the Hollow Hill. As they sailed over the white plain, the sky was turning from gray to pale pink.

  “We have to go faster!” said Annie.

  Jack untied a fourth knot. The wind whistled in his ears. The sleigh picked up speed. Annie steered it past the rocks and over the sea ice. She steered it over the plain, south to the palace of the Ice Wizard.

  When the sleigh drew close to the palace, Jack tied a knot, and they began to slow down. He tied three more, and the sleigh came to a stop.

  Jack and Annie looked around in the faint, cold light. “I wonder where Teddy and Kathleen are,” said Annie. “They said they’d meet us here at dawn.”

  Jack studied the vast white plain, but he saw no sign of their friends. He wished he had Kathleen’s vision. “I hope they’re okay,” he said. “I hope they didn’t run into the white wolves.”

  “I have a feeling the wolves wouldn’t hurt them,” said Annie. “The wolf in my dream seemed nice.”

  “Dream wolves are different from real wolves,” said Jack.

  “I don’t think we can wait for them,” said Annie. “The eye has to be back by the time the sun comes up.”

  “The eye!” said Jack. “We never looked to see if it was inside the hailstone.”

  Annie reached in her pocket and pulled out the hailstone. She held it up.

  Jack gasped. Staring out at him from inside the ice was an eyeball. It was about the size of a large marble. The eyeball was white with a sparkling blue center.

  “Oh, man,” whispered Jack.

  “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” said Annie.

  “I don’t know about that.” Jack felt a little queasy. Seeing an eye outside of a human head was too weird for him. “Put it away for now,” he said.

  Annie put the hailstone back in her pocket. Jack looked around again. The sky had brightened from pale pink to red. A thin sliver of the sun was peeking over the horizon.

  “The sun!” cried Jack. “Hurry!” He and Annie jumped out of the sleigh and charged toward the palace.

  When they got to the entrance, Annie stopped. “Look!” she said, pointing to big paw prints in the snow. “Wolf tracks!”

  “Oh, no,” said Jack. “Do you think the white wolves are inside? That’s weird.”

  “It doesn’t matter! We have to go in! Hurry!” said Annie. They rushed into the palace—just as the fiery ball of the sun rose over the horizon.

  Jack and Annie walked through the front hall of the palace, past the ice columns, and into the wizard’s throne room. The walls and floor glittered with the brilliant, cold light of dawn.

  “Uh-oh,” said Jack.

  The wizard was waiting for them—and the two white wolves were sleeping on either side of his throne. Jack was confused. Why are they here? he wondered. Do they belong to the wizard?

  The wolves lifted their heads and sniffed the air. Their ears pricked up. When they caught sight of Jack and Annie, they sprang to their feet. They stared at them with piercing yellow eyes.

  The Ice Wizard was staring intently at Jack and Annie, too. “Well?” he said. “Did you bring back my eye?”

  “Yes,” said Jack.

  Annie took the hailstone out of her pocket and held it up to the wizard. Jack watched the wolves nervously as the hailstone passed from Annie’s small hand into the wizard’s large, rough hand.

  The wizard stared down at the chunk of ice. Then he looked at Jack and Annie. “Indeed, you are heroes,” he said breathlessly.

  “Not really,” Jack murmured.

  The wizard looked again at his eye inside the hailstone. Then, with a quick movement, he slammed the ice chunk against the arm of his throne.

  Jack and Annie gasped and stepped back. The wizard slammed the hailstone against his throne again. This time, the ice cracked.

  The wizard gently pried his eye out of the heart of the hailstone. He lifted the frozen eyeball into the air and studied it in the light. Then, with an eager cry, he ripped off his eye patch.

  Jack and Annie watched in amazement as the wizard fitted the eye into its dark, empty socket. Jack held his breath. He was horrified, yet fascinated. He couldn’t imagine someone just shoving an eye back into his head.

  The wizard slowly lowered his hand. He seemed to be holding his breath. He had two eyes. But the new one didn’t move. It looked as if it was still frozen.

  Jack grew worried. If the eye didn’t work, the wizard might not help them. “We—we brought you your eye,” he said. “So can you tell us where Merlin and Morgan are now?”

  The wizard jerked his head to look at Jack. He covered one eye with his hand. Then he covered the other. In a frenzy, he went back and forth, covering and uncovering each eye.

  Finally the wizard dropped his hand and roared, “NO!” The wizard’s howl shook the ice columns. “You have tricked me!”

  “No we haven’t,” said Annie.

  “This eye is useless!” cried the wizard. “It has no life! No sight!”

  “But that’s the eye you gave to the Norns,” said Annie. “You promised if we brought it back, you’d give us Merlin and Morgan.”

  The two white wolves threw back their heads and howled.

  “NO!” cried the wizard. “You tricked me! You tricked me!”

  “Let’s get out of here,” whispered Jack. He pulled Annie toward the ice columns.

  “STOP!” shouted the wizard. “YOU CANNOT ESCAPE ME!” He grabbed Merlin’s Staff of Strength. The wolves growled and yelped. The wizard pointed the staff at Jack and Annie. He started to say a spell—“RO-EEE—”

  “WAIT!” someone yelled. Teddy burst into the throne room. “Wait! Wait!”

  The wizard held his staff in the air. He stared wildly at Teddy. His face was twisted with rage.

  “We have something for you!” Teddy shouted at the wizard. “Kathleen!” he called.

  Kathleen stepped out from behind the ice columns. With her was a young woman with long braids. The woman wore a flowing dress. Around her shoulders was a white feathered cloak. Her eyes rested on the wizard, and a radiant smile spread over her face. She began walking slowly toward the throne.

  The wizard lowered Merlin’s Staff of Strength. He stared back at the young woman. All the color drained from his face. For a long moment, he was as still as a statue. Then an ice-blue tear leaked out of his frozen eye and ran down his white cheek.

  Jack and Annie stood with Kathleen and Teddy. They all watched the young woman and the Ice Wizard gaze silently at each other.

  “Is she his sister, the swan maiden?” whispered Annie.

  “Yes,” whispered Kathleen.

  The swan maiden spoke to the Ice Wizard in a strange language—“Val-ee-ven-o-wan.”

  The wizard did not answer. Tears flowed gently now from both his eyes.

  “Val-ee-ven-o-wan,” the swan maiden said again.

  “What’s she saying?” Jack ask
ed.

  “She is saying, I have come back to forgive you,” said Kathleen.

  The wizard stood up. He walked down the steps from his throne. He gently touched the swan maiden’s face, as if to make sure she was real. Then he answered her softly in the strange language. “Fel-o-wan.”

  “How did you find her?” Jack asked Teddy.

  “A seal took us under the ice to the Isle of the Swans,” said Teddy.

  “When we found her, I told her how much the wizard has missed her,” said Kathleen. “I also told her about the two of you and how you always help each other. I told her she should return to her brother and be his friend again.”

  The wizard and his sister kept speaking softly to each other in their strange language. Warm sunlight shimmered through the palace windows.

  Annie stepped forward. “Um—excuse me,” she said.

  The wizard looked at her. “My sister has returned home,” he said with wonder. “I can see with both eyes now. I can see perfectly.”

  “I’m glad,” said Annie. “But now you must give Merlin and Morgan back to us.”

  The wizard looked at his sister. She nodded. The wizard held out Merlin’s Staff of Strength. “Use this to bring them back,” he said. “Hold it tightly and call out for them.” He gave the staff to Annie.

  Annie could barely lift it by herself. “Hold it with me, Jack,” she said.

  Jack stepped forward and grabbed the magic staff. The smooth, golden wood felt warm and vibrant in his hands.

  As they gripped the staff together, Annie threw back her head and called out: “Merlin and Morgan, come back!”

  A long burst of blue light shot out of the end of the staff—and flashed toward the two white wolves.

  Suddenly wolf eyes changed into human eyes! Wolf noses changed into human noses! Wolf mouths changed into human mouths! Wolf ears into human ears! Wolf paws into human hands and feet! Wolf fur into long red cloaks!

  The two white wolves were gone, and a man and a woman stood in their places.

  “Merlin! Morgan!” shouted Annie.

  Teddy and Kathleen cried out in amazement.

  Annie rushed to Morgan and hugged her.

  Jack was filled with giddy relief. “Hi!” he said. “Hi!”

  “Welcome back, sir!” Teddy said to Merlin.

  “Thank you,” said Merlin. He looked at Jack and Annie. “And thank you for turning us back into ourselves.”

  “We didn’t know you and Morgan were the wolves!” Annie said.

  “We were following you so we could help you,” said Morgan.

  “The wizard told us that if you caught up with us, you would eat us!” said Jack.

  “Really?” said Morgan.

  They all looked at the Ice Wizard. Standing with his sister, he stared guiltily at Morgan and Merlin.

  “I feared that if they got close to you, they might discover who you were,” he said. “But I will do no more harm, I promise—for I can see clearly now.” The wizard looked back at his sister, and his blue eyes shined with joy.

  “You can see because you have your heart back,” said Morgan. “It was not only your eye that was missing—it was also your heart. We see with our hearts as well as our eyes.”

  “And now perhaps you can find the wisdom you were seeking from the Norns,” said Merlin, “for wisdom is knowledge learned with the heart as well as the head.”

  The Ice Wizard nodded. “Please find it in your hearts to forgive me,” he said. “Use my sleigh to take you safely home.”

  “Yes, indeed, we must leave now,” said Morgan. “We have been gone from Camelot too long.”

  “The next time you come to Camelot, my friend, you must come as a guest,” said Merlin, “not as a thief in the night.”

  “And you must bring your sister also,” Morgan said to the wizard.

  “Indeed I will,” the wizard said.

  Merlin looked at Jack, Annie, Teddy, and Kathleen. “Is everyone ready to leave now?” he asked.

  “Yes, sir,” they all answered together.

  Merlin looked at the Staff of Strength in Jack’s hands.

  “Oh! Sorry, I almost forgot,” said Jack. He handed the heavy staff to Merlin.

  As soon as Merlin held the Staff of Strength, he seemed more powerful. “Let us be off!” he said briskly.

  Merlin and Morgan led the way out of the throne room, their red cloaks billowing behind them. Teddy and Kathleen followed, and Jack and Annie hurried after them.

  Just before they left the room, Jack and Annie glanced back at the Ice Wizard and his swan sister. They were deep in conversation again.

  “They haven’t seen each other for years,” said Annie. “They must have a lot to talk about.”

  “Yeah,” said Jack. He couldn’t imagine not seeing Annie for years. “Come on, let’s go.” He took her hand and pulled her out of the throne room, through the front hall, and into the cold dawn.

  Jack and Annie followed their four Camelot friends to the wizard’s sleigh. Everyone climbed in.

  Annie sat at the rudder. Jack stood at the front. He pulled out the wind-string and untied a knot. The sleigh rocked forward. He untied another, and the sleigh started moving very slowly.

  The sleigh was heavier than before, so Jack quickly untied two more knots. The sleigh bolted across the snow.

  “Stand fast!” said Teddy.

  As the sleigh swished through the dawn, Annie turned to Morgan and Merlin. “I have a question,” she said. “Can you tell us what the giant looks like—the Frost Giant?”

  Merlin smiled. “There is no Frost Giant,” he said.

  “What?” said Kathleen and Teddy.

  “Sure there is,” said Annie. “We heard his breathing!”

  “He nearly froze us to death!” said Jack.

  “At night, the wind often swirls through the Hollow Hill like a cyclone,” said Merlin. “You experienced one of those storms.”

  “But what about the Norns’ story of giving the wizard’s eye to the Frost Giant as a gift?” said Jack.

  “Many ancient peoples believe that the forces of nature are actual giants or monsters,” said Morgan. “The Norns are the last of their kind. They hold to the idea that the Frost Giant is a living creature who haunts the Hollow Hill. In truth, the Frost Giant never accepted their gift because there is no Frost Giant.”

  Jack shook his head. “We believed what the Norns believed. They told us we’d freeze to death if we looked directly at the Frost Giant.”

  “And we believed what the wizard told us, too,” said Annie, “that the wolves would eat us if they caught up to us!”

  “People often try to convince us that the world is scarier than it truly is,” said Morgan.

  Right now the world didn’t seem at all scary to Jack. Everything was calm and bright. Soft, rose-colored light was breaking through the morning clouds.

  “Today is the first day after the winter solstice,” said Morgan. “Today the light starts to return. The days will grow longer.”

  Jack turned to look at the sun. He caught sight of the tree house sitting on top of a snowdrift, not far away.

  Jack tied a knot in the wind-string. He tied three more, and the sleigh came to a stop at the foot of the snowdrift.

  Merlin looked at them. “On the winter solstice, you showed great courage,” he said. “You endured storms and terror and extraordinary cold. You reunited the Ice Wizard and the swan maiden. And perhaps most important, you retrieved my Staff of Strength. I thank you.”

  “Sure,” Jack and Annie said modestly.

  “You have done much for the kingdom of Camelot on your last four missions,” said Merlin. “On your next adventure, you will have a mission back in your world—in real time, not in the time of myth and magicians.”

  “We will call for you again soon,” said Morgan.

  “Great!” said Annie.

  Jack and Annie climbed out of the sleigh. They looked back at Teddy and Kathleen. “I hope you will help us with our next j
ourney, too,” said Annie.

  Teddy smiled. “If we all work together, we can do anything, aye?” he said.

  “Aye!” said Jack and Annie together. Then they turned and trudged up the snowdrift. At the top, they climbed into the window of the tree house. Once they were inside, they looked back.

  The sleigh was gone.

  “Bye,” Annie said softly.

  Jack picked up the small gray stone from the floor. He pointed at the words Frog Creek in the wizard’s message. “I wish we could go there,” he said.

  The wind started to blow.

  It blew harder and harder.

  Then everything was still.

  Absolutely still.

  Jack opened his eyes. They were back in the Frog Creek woods. No time at all had passed while they’d been gone. It was almost twilight. Snowflakes fell like tiny feathers outside the tree house window.

  Annie shivered. “I’m cold,” she said.

  “Here—take my scarf,” said Jack. He pulled off his scarf.

  “No, you need it,” said Annie.

  “No, take it. I’ll be okay.” Jack put his scarf around Annie’s neck. “What will you tell Mom when she asks about your scarf?” he asked.

  “I’ll just tell her the Sisters of Fate took it as payment for telling us how to find the eye of the Ice Wizard in a hole in the Hollow Hill,” said Annie.

  “Right,” said Jack, laughing.

  “We’d better get home before dark,” said Annie. She started down the rope ladder. Jack followed her.

  As they stepped onto the ground, Jack remembered the wind-string. “We forgot to give this back,” he said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the string. “I guess Merlin’s magic took the sleigh back to Camelot.”

  Jack and Annie looked at the string for a moment. “Untie a knot,” Annie whispered.

  Jack took off his gloves and untied a knot. He held his breath and waited. Nothing happened. He gave Annie a little smile. “I guess in our world, it’s just a piece of string,” he said.

  Jack put the string back in his pocket. He and Annie started walking over the snowy ground between the trees. As they walked, Jack looked for Teddy’s and Kathleen’s footprints. But they were completely gone.