P.S. Whew, I'm back! I'm exhausted! I'll get this chapter uploaded, then Sixue will keep writing! Please vote with your monthly tickets—today's tickets and tips are looking bare! Sob.
Cold. Cold enough to pierce the bone!
But Isabella paid it no heed. Her frail body faced the wind and snow as she strode resolutely into the depths of the Northern Frontier!
The blizzard raged, and the sky grew darker still!
She clutched a small bundle tightly to her chest. It was tattered and held a few books—the only possessions she had taken when she escaped from that place!
"Run—keep running!"
"Hold on, Isabella. You finally escaped that den of demons. Even if you die here, you can't let them catch you again!"
The little girl gritted her teeth, determination written across her face.
That day, she had simply been especially tired and returned early to the little wooden hut where she rested!
But when she picked up that forbidden, mysterious black book again, something strange happened. A powerful force suddenly surged from it, and the chains around her ankles shattered in an instant!
The little girl was clever, too. Rather than rush off in excitement, she took time to make a plan!
The thought of escape had never left her. She made her decision at once, took out the little food she had saved to restore her strength, and began planning her flight!
Everything that had happened since followed from there!
There was no turning back for Isabella now. If she was caught again, death—or cruel punishment—awaited her!
In the Wizard World, runaway slaves were punished with exceptional brutality!
The little girl stumbled onward through the wind and snow. She had reached the edge of the Northern Frontier. The blizzard was fiercer here, and with night about to fall, visibility