The frozen hand

She stood on a cliff, gazing out on the land she had just inherited. It stretched out for miles and miles, long, flowing grassland. Beyond that was the low, grass covered hills. She held back the tears that threatened to flow from her eyes, and held back the sobs she knew would later rack her body. She had lost her father and mother to the plague. The very same plague that, unknown to her, would soon turn her into the ultimate warrior to ever walk the face of the planet. This power would come at a cost, though. She turned, and paced into her room as she had done that night only three weeks ago. Was it fate that had stripped her of her family? Or was it some cruel joke by an assassin? No matter, she would not show weakness in this dire time for her land. The people, or those who had survived the plague, had taken shelter in her castle. Yes, her castle, the one her family had carved into the high cliffs generations before, not knowing that this beautiful home they had carved for their village would soon become a castle after their family would be elected the village heads. Then to soon turn into the battleground for the bloodiest battle in history. As she walked into her room, she noticed that the closet door was slightly open, and the bodies of her parents were removed. Probably taken to the fire pits. They now knew that the plague was spread from the bodies of the dead, through touch or breathing the air around them for too long. She started toward the door, intent on giving her family a proper burning, to ensure they were sent on to their afterlife. She then noticed some movement by the bed. Wondering whom it could be, she crept closer, so as not to frighten the person. She moved silently, the many times of being caught trying to sneak out into the surrounding land teaching her to move quietly. As she rounded the edge of the bed, she found an old woman, dressed in less than rags, sleeping fitfully on the floor. As she moved closer to the woman, she could hear sounds, almost like the woman was talking to someone. She leaned closer to hear what the woman was saying, and she heard something that she would never forget. \"No, please don’t child, we are nothing more than travelers, trying to pass. Why would you want to release that kind of evil into this world? No one here has caused you any harm,\" And with that the woman began to wail as though her flesh were on fire. She leapt back as the woman thrashed about, knocking over the table on which sat a stone pitcher of water. With almost unnatural reflexes, she reached out and grabbed the pitcher, stopping it only inches from the woman’s head. The woman rolled about a little more, than sat bolt upright, nearly knocking her head into the pitcher as she did. \"Who is that? Come on, answer me.\" \"Can you not see me? I am standing right in front of your very eyes,\" she said. Then she looked into the eyes of the old woman, and saw they were dull and lifeless. \"I am sorry to insult you, I did not know your sight was gone,\" she said. The woman laughed harshly. \"Ha, do not worry my child, if i had known it was you i would not have reacted to you in this manner,\" \"Do you know me?\" she asked the woman. \"Of course i do, who has not heard of the child who fought off a plague with her bare hands, only to lose her parents to that very same plague?\" the woman replied. \"Do you know who I am?\" she asked the old woman, perplexed that news of her village could have traveled far enough to be found by this gypsy. \"Of course I do, it was written in the stars long ago,\" the woman replied. She then helped the woman up onto the bed. \"You can rest yourself here, old one.\" The old woman protested, \"I could not inconvenience a ruler such as yourself,\" \"Nonsense, I would not have a living soul sleep on my floor while I enjoy a bed such as this,\" she said.