The Achievement Junkie

It was late in the afternoon by the time the group of three reached the palace.

With its magnificent size and the regal blue colors, the Frostburn Palace was just as remarkable as Jack remembered seeing in-game. However, his eyes gave him far better graphics than any graphics card.

"Big Brother, is this it? It's bigger than Mom!"

Jack and Maura both laughed as Lina expanded her horizons. They glanced at one of the palace guards, who in turn approached them kindly.

"Is there something you need?" asked the guard.

"I'm Jack from the association. I've come to visit his highness Prince Willim before I leave the country."

"You're Jack?! Hurry, the prince has been expecting you." The palace guard immediately turned and looked to the other guards in front of the gate. "This is Jack, the man Prince Willim was searching for. Open the gates immediately, and let them pass!"

"Um… Did something happen?" asked Jack, surprised to see that it was so easy to enter.

"No, it's just that the prince had us search for you a couple of days ago. He mentioned being worried that you didn't make it during your trip to the Icicle Mountains," explained the guard. "He'll be happy to know that you're fine and will be glad to welcome you as guests. Come, I'll take you to him."

"Thank you. Let's go girls."

Jack, Maura, and Lina followed the guard, answering Lina's many simple-minded questions along the way. She wanted to know what everything was, and Jack was fine with explaining it all. He wouldn't easily admit it, but he liked having a little sister to take care of.

The guard led them through many halls, but oddly enough they were all side halls. They were going a way that Jack hadn't traveled before. He didn't question the guard but waited to see what the destination might be.

Eventually, the guard led them up a tower on the west side of the palace. "Behind that door, you'll find Prince Willim and Princess Erina. Please, go on ahead."

With his job finished, the guard turned and left.

"I guess we'll just have to knock our selves," whispered Jack.

He gave the heavy door a firm knock and heard a familiar voice yell, "Come in!"

"Excuse us," stated Jack as he opened the door for the two behind him. They entered the room and were surprised to see that it was a bedroom, a girl's bedroom.

"Jack, it's really you!" Willim was beside the bed and looked up with a tired smile.

Seeing the bags under Willim's eyes, Jack could tell that he'd been there for some time. He also noticed Erina tucked up in her large bed.

Maura instantly reached the other side of the bed and put her hand on Erina's head. "She's… getting colder?"

"Yeah… it's been like this for the past few days. Not much has happened since you last saw us, but this is Erina's third day in bed. She's been like this before, but never for more than a day or two," explained Willim.

Erina smiled and opened her mouth, but she was too weak to make a sound. This only made her look even more pitiful.

"What did you decide about what I said?" asked Jack.

Willim shook his head. "I didn't decide anything, but we mentioned it to my father and uncle. My uncle was against believing it, and so was my father at first. Then, two days ago, the same day Erina was bedridden, our father came to speak with us in private. He said that he believed you and wanted to speak with you personally."

Jack sighed, "So that's why you sent people to look for me."

"Actually, I only did because my father asked. He didn't want others to know about you and him meeting. That's why we had a guard stationed outside, waiting for the moment you arrived. He was given specific instructions with a specific path to follow," explained Willim. "No one is supposed to know that you're in here with us. At least, that's what father said."

"Really?" Startled that they took so many measures of security, Jack started to imagine what the king may be like.

"Really."

That deep voice echoed from the balcony window. As everyone looked over, they noticed an aging middle-aged man. His black hair was becoming gray and his beard was doing the same, but his eyes were still sharp.

"I'm Wilheim Frant, Willim and Erina's father. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Jack." The king showed Jack a warm smile and bowed to him, not caring about his status.

"Father…" Willim was amazed to see his father bow to Jack. There were very few people that he had ever bowed to, but Jack wasn't anything like those powerful old men.

"Willim, it's fine. This man is completely trustworthy, I've confirmed that with Argyle's help," said the king. "Anyway, I've come to ask you a few things. First, is there anything you can do to help my daughter?"

"So, you believe me when I say that she's being possessed by an ice spirit? Removing something like that can be incredibly dangerous," stated Jack, testing the king's response.

"I have no capability to remove the spirit and will have to search for someone who can. Since you recognized it, I want to think that you know of a way to remove it."

Jack looked at the king and scratched his head. "I know a way, but I'm not strong enough to do that. And it'll be hard to even get the needed materials…"

This whole time, Lina has been at Maura's side. She at first tried to play with Erina, but Maura wouldn't let her. When Maura explained that there was something cold inside of Erina making her sick, Lina blinked and crawled onto the bed, beside the smiling Erina.

"Lina, what are you doing?" asked Maura, interrupting Jack and the king's conversation.

"I'll make Erina feel better," answered Lina with a proud smile. She turned to Erina and asked, "Do you want the cold to go away?"

Erina was still too weak to reply, but she managed to nod slightly.

"Okay, then I'll make the cold go away," as Lina said that, her eyes started to glow blue. Without warning, Lina's body and also started glowing as it expanded and grew.

While the king, Willim, and Erina were startled, Jack and Maura shook their heads. They didn't think that Lina would just transform in front of everyone, they hadn't considered that.

Ignoring the others, Lina's Three-headed Glacier Hydra from was shown in all its glory. She was still on the bed, making the bed's legs give out and crumble under her weight.

Before anyone could do anything, Lina opened all three of her mouths and got extremely close to Erina. She roared, "Devour!"

"Stop, beast!" shouted the king, who drew a sword.

"Wait!" Thanks to Sudden Death, Jack appeared between the king and Lina. "She's helping Erina! She's devouring the ice spirit!"

"What?!"

Stopping himself, he looked more closely at his daughter. He smiled when he saw that the hydra hadn't bitten Erina, but was draining the cold energy out of her.

Jack was baffled. He knew that Glacier Hydra's were known for their abilities to devour the world, but he didn't think that the cute Lina would already have the Devour skill. After this, Jack planned to have a long talk with Lina about her many abilities that they would have to keep secret. Also, he would make sure that Maura kept a close eye on her.

A minute passed and there was no longer any cold energy left within Erina.

Overjoyed to never have to worry about it again, Erina started jumping on the bed. She then started petting Lina's hydra heads and climbing around on her long necks.

"Well… I guess she'd no longer cursed," laughed the king. His eyes were watery, almost brimming over with tears. "Jack… thank you."

"Don't thank me, thank Lina. But, please, no one can know that Lina is a hydra, so keep that between us," replied Jack.

"That girl only appeared with you after your trip to Glacier Peak, so what was it you found there?" asked the king. "If you don't want to say anything, then I'll--"

"Mom and Dad live up there!" Lina blurted out the answer. She was told to keep things a secret before the entered the city, but she was too busy having fun with Erina to remember the warning.

"Mom and Dad…"

The happiness of the king vanished and filled with fear. If Lina was a giant hydra as a little girl, that could only mean that her parents were enormous hydras. That was not something the king would want near the city.

"King Wilheim, don't worry about them."

"Jack, can you please elaborate on what you found on that mountain? It's a matter of security for my people, so please tell me," asked the king.

With a sigh, Jack shook his head at Lina. "King Wilheim, can we speak in private before we continue this conversation?"