The ice kingdom was on fire.

It raced across the kingdom, burning everything in its path. It had started from the outskirts of the kingdom and was slowly eating its way to the center, where the castle resided.

The royal guard were trying their best to keep the kingdom under control. The king and queen themselves were helping, too. Some escorted citizens out of the danger zone. The queen used her ice powers to battle the fire, but it kept on melting. Soon, it would overpower the kingdom's forces and destroy it.

From afar, the heir to the throne watched in horror. Stress was only a teenager, but very powerful. She had inherited her mother's powers of controlling the ice. She was just as strong and brave as her mother, if not more. The princess knew she could do something to help the kingdom, but her parents would never allow it.

There was only one way to escape, and all the citizens were rushing towards it. It was in the castle. A portal. It was only supposed to be used in dire situations because it was never really understood. But since the entrance of the kingdom had been swallowed by fire, this was the kingdom's best hope.

Stress was in the castle. She had a perfect view of the battle, and it infuriated her. Her parents were overprotective. She was more than capable of fighting that fire, right next to them. Her fingertips itched to release the magic that was in them.

"Please," she begged the guard next to her. "I want to go down there! They don't stand a chance against the fire!"

The guard shook his head. "Stress, I have strict orders to bring you to the portal downstairs."

"What about my parents? Am I supposed to just leave them here?"

The guard bit his lip. That was enough for Stress.

She pushed past the guard before he could protest and ran down the crystal stairs. She passed the room that the portal was in. People were swarming towards it.

She ran past them and put the door, to where the fire had almost reached the castle. Her parents were standing there, doing their best to hold it back.

"Mom! Dad! I can help! Please."

Her eyes told the story. The king and queen exchanged a look, then nodded. "We could use the extra help."

Despite the situation, Stress felt a surge of joy. Is she was to die today, she would die defending her kingdom, along with her parents.

The fire was getting closer.

Stress bent all her will and concentration into forming a wall of ice that would buy them time. The ice shot out of her hands and built up, forming the barricade. But it wasn't enough—cracks started forming immediately.

Stress grunted with the effort. She hadn't tried to summon something this big. She was almost blasted back from the force of her powers, but she held her ground and kept the fire at bay.

Not all the citizens were inside the castle and through the portal yet. Stress's mother helped build up the wall, and her father ran off to save the people.

Just a few more minutes. Please, that's all we need.

Stress sent a second wave of ice up. The energy it took to make it flew out of her. With every blast of ice, Stress grew more tired. But she had to keep going—for the sake of her people, and her kingdom.

Finally, the wall of flames was too much to handle. Stress collapsed from the effort, and her mother helped her up. They ran towards the castle, leaving all their belongings behind. Even from a safe distance, Stress could hear the crackling of flames draw near.

The guard who had watched Stress was already gone. All the citizens had made it. It was just the royal family now. Without hesitation, they ran into the portal room.

Stress faltered. The portal really was majestic. It was framed with blue ice and the center shimmered with unknown magic. Stress had spent her whole life identifying different types of magic and the signs, but this magic confused her. It wasn't dark magic. Not ice magic. Or Vex, or Void, or even the magic from the Aether or Nether. The sorcerers couldn't figure it out. Even its arrival was a mystery--just appearing out of nowhere, on an ordinary day. Normally this portal would be annoying, but in the kingdom's current state, it was a beacon of salvation.

What is this portal kills us all? What if it doesn't take us to a safe place? We don't know anything about it. I don't want to lose my family after all of this.

Stress tried to tamp down these thoughts. This was the only way out. If they stayed here, they had a 100% chance of death. This portal was a gamble, but it was a gamble they were all willing to take.

Without thinking further into the situation, Stress jumped through the portal at the same time as her parents. She braced herself for the worst. She was already exhausted from making the ice wall--if something were to attack her on the other side, she probably wouldn't be able to fight it off.

Stress stepped out on the other side of the portal, dizzy. She braced herself against a nearby tree and immediately noticed one major detail: there was no ice. This didn't mean Stress couldn't use her powers, but she was out of her natural environment.

Second detail: she was alone.

Stress whipped her head around. "Mom? Dad?" Her voice shook a bit. Whether her parents were busy or not, there was always someone else there. Her tutors, the royal guard, the citizens...but now, she was by herself, in this strange new world.

"Stupid portal," she cursed. She turned around to go through the receiving end, but was shocked to find that no portal was in sight. "What?" She looked around for some sort of thing that could take her home.

"No. No, no, no, no."

She was trapped, alone, in a place she didn't recognize. Things couldn't get worse.

Until she realized she wasn't alone.

The snap of a twig alerted Stress. She whirled around and shot a blast of ice from her hands. Or she tried to. Her powers were so drained that she only managed a cool breeze. Even that made her feel woozy and tired.

The two people facing her were unfamiliar--definitely not from her kingdom. The one on the left had dirty blonde hair and a red sweater. The one on the right had some sort of helmet on and a suit. He carried a pair of Elytra.

"W-who are you?" Stress really hoped they weren't hostile. In her current state, she couldn't fight. She leaned against the tree and tried to look brave.

"Two things," the man on the right said. "First of all, we're not dangerous. We came across this world, too, when we weren't expecting it. Second of all...what was that thing you did with your hands? Magic?"

They stepped closer. Instead of backing away, Stress looked over the two newcomers. She realized something they probably haven't. "You two are magic, too, aren't you?"

The guy with the red sweater blinked. "I don't have magic."

Stress looked at him closer. "Your pupils are a bit different. I recognize that form of magic--it's really rare, no one in my kingdom has seen anyone with it. It's Watcher magic."

His eyes widened, but he tried to hold back the emotions. "No. They couldn't have..." He held out his hand. Instantly, dark magic danced across his palm. To Stress, it was amazing, seeing Watcher magic for the first time. But to the man, it jostled something--a memory, maybe. Whatever it was, it was painful.

"I'm sorry. I thought you knew. I won't press."

The man nodded, clearly lost in thought. He shook his head and tried for a smile. "No, it's okay. It's fine."

It obviously wasn't, but Stress didn't press. She turned towards the other person. "You have Void magic. Hereditary?"

"Um, yeah, actually...I was born in the End. I lived there...until recently."

"The End," Stress breathed. She'd read all about it. It was a hostile place, not suitable for living. But this person had grown up in the End. He probably knew more about it than the castle library knew!

"And what about you?" He asked. "You have magic, too. You tried to cast a spell earlier."

Stress nodded. "Ice magic. My kingdom is"--her throat closed up as she thought about what happened to it--"was in the north. I inherited my ice powers from my mother."

Thinking about her parents and where they had gone only broke Stress's heart further, but for the sake of appearances, she kept a brave face.

Trying to keep things light, the guy in the red sweater cracked a small grin. "I don't suppose you're a...ice princess?"

Stress forgot what she was wearing. She still had on her white dress and pink cardigan, and the tiara that sat atop her head. "I am, actually. Heir to the throne. Respect me."

He held out his hand. "I'm Grian. That's X. What's your story on how you got here?"

Stress was about to explain when she saw another silhouette appear from the shadows of the trees. It was someone she recognized. She smiled.

"Come and join us, Wels."

(WC: 1608)