The wind was roaring in the great crimson trees of the centre, as if it were some wild dark grove deep in a forgotten land.

An open landscape where four different paths connected, branching through the open meadows, each one of them laden with discoveries. She blinked and it was as if she entered a portal of an uncanny realm. Stepping into the scene now robbed you of one sense and heightened another. The tapestry of autumn trees stood half naked.
The sky was an unusually mass of grey clouds for October. The air visibly emitted an ethereal glow of blue hues, resulting in a icy-covered terrain.

Fabricating through the wind swirled a storm of screaming silver; cold, wet, slippery and hard. Glassy Ice glistening, erupting like Winter's sharp daggers spewing in every direction.
And then it came.
"No!" A voice screamed, making the wind seem like a faint hush.
"No! No!" It continued to echo.
The scream that filled the air was as good as a siren. Nobody screams like that unless it is painful beyond endurance. It was unmistakably a child, and a young one, the most pure way one soul can ask another for help. "No! No! Come back!" The shrieks came to a still but was accompanied by a multitude of other disagreeable noises that were more menacing than the latter.
"Out of control." An unseen voice exclaimed.
"She's too dangerous!"
"How much more do we have to put up with before she destroys everything."
"She's nothing but a monster"
"What have you done?" A woman cried in horror.

Suddenly, a silhouette of a slim woman emerging from the fog, her hair fanning in the unsettled wind. Stepping closer, her face almost seemed visible  and then...

Mairead's eyes opened like two moonlit beams. This dream was always the same, every moment replaying in her head in perpetual detail.
Sweat beaded on her forehead like morning dew on wild clovers, her breathing slowing back to its normal pace.
Mairead's head spun in every direction, enough times to ease her mind that she had finally awoken. Who would have ever thought one would be aching to be welcomed back to reality than any dreamworld? Except Mairead's was more of a nightmare.
When she came out of it, she'd always find her heart beating one pound heavier than the last.

Mairead has given up trying to make sense of it. Almost considering that these illusions could possibly mean something. But such unnecessary anxieties were minor compared to what she needed to be focused on. Things were finally becoming normal once again, for the first time in...well...ever. Mairead had never known the meaning of normality a day in her life.

She lived in constant fear of what she would do if she never learned to control her powers, afraid of the harm it would cause those whom she loved dearly.
Even her own parents, as much as they loved her, trembled at the thought of what would happen if she grew too powerful to control and never learned to balance her emotions with her gifts.
But that's the last thing Mairead would call them.
They always said her gifts is what made her so special, but what they failed to mention is that it's also what made her so fearsome.
So depised.
So alone.

Just last year, she had turned her whole Kingdom into a Frozen wasteland with no way to unfreeze it, her people clinging to the realization that there was no hope as the blizzard raged on.  And to make matters worse, she came so close to losing her only sister who risked her own life trying to save Mairead and the entire kingdom for that matter. Even now, she still struggled to master her abilities.
Needless to say, despite past events, she was learning to be quite content.
At peace.
She was the Queen after all, wanting nothing more than to redeem herself, striving to be just as capable a fierce ruler as her father.
But above all, she finally had reestablished a close relationship with her younger sister that she desired in isolation for so many years. The last thing she needed was to put everything on the line to chase some peripheral dream; possibly finding more danger than answers. More risks.

The egg yolk sun poured through the shadows of her room and awaited entrance into Mairead's deep, ocean-blue eyes. The sun had a way of making them seem more inviting. Her body tensed with the sudden, invigorating sensation of the cold tile beneath her petite feet.
Blue, glowing hues encased her frosted hands as she curled them as the the power inside of her awoken. "Control it." Is what she's always been told. 
Inhaling the first breaths of the morning made her calm. With each slow exhale, her powers settled, the blue hues vanishing like the wind when a storm settles. Her icy hands regained its normal complexion, revealing her smooth, snowflake skin once more.

Looking through her window each morning  was her portrait to the outside world, captivating the breathtaking foliage in every characteristic. From so high,  Mairead could see the trees, the flowers, the sea and rocky cliffs that held the castle upright on its back.
Wide open spaces collapsing into an unending array of green pastures, stitching together of what seemed like glimmering Emeralds engulfed into the rich soil.
It was the living embodiment of what made Ireland so rich with enchantment, its beauty distinguishably captivating.
Mairead could spend a whole day alone mesmerized in Eire's beauty. There was always something new to discover, making it even more majestic.

Whether she was ready or not, this image she saw every morning was worth getting out of bed for.
This was her world.
A world she was determined to restore to its glory and much more.