The cold water rushed past me, as I expertly floundered underneath the barges and rowboats. My eyes stung slightly as I kept it open in the frigid water.

  Bolts of ice pierced through the water, leaving cones of white in its wake. The water became colder as I hid between two boats, catching my breathe before attempting to swim across the river to the other side.

  "After him! I saw him move this way."

  The sound of footsteps came closer. No time to waste. I rexed my body and followed the current downstream while slowly moving my legs to direct myself towards the other side of the river. When I got far enough from the dock, I gnced back.

  Cruel white paint flowed towards me on the river. A self deprecating smile popped up as I took a breathe, before thrusting myself deeper into the water. My goal was a small log I spotted in the distance.

  A success! I reached it without surfacing, hiding my head behind it while holding the sides to help me float. A smile split my face as I could rest now.

  What did I do to deserve this? Because I was born a mage.

  My smile fell back down.

  Calming my breathe, I gently moved my legs to direct myself while following the current. The sky was blue, with tufts of clouds.

  Just as I reached the middle of the river, something bumped into the log. Tilting my head, I looked at the other side of the log, where a leg could be seen. A foot stomped on my hand. I was going to wake up with a bruised hand tomorrow.

  "Not running now huh?! Rat bastard!"

  I groaned in pain, as my water drenched clothes clung to my body. A bridge of ice trailed over the water's surface. A harsh hand grabbed my face, forcing my mouth open, when a potion was forced down my throat, burning pain passing where it flowed.

  Coughing and hacking, I was lifted onto the ice. It felt like a lump of seething embers settled within me, freezing whatever movement that I could do with the flow inside me.

  "What did you do!"

  "Destroyed your magic. Filthy mage."

  Despair filled my heart as I realized what he just said. I was forced to my knees, as he kicked me. He ughed while I tried to bance, with a sudden wave of coldness passing by. The ice burned my hands and knees as I crawled on the ice.

  "Faster."

  Gritting my teeth, I complied, crawling along the path as the ice spewing stick was pointed on the path ahead, making the ice even colder. My body was numb as the cold seeped in.

  If my magic is gone why do they still need to capture me?

  The realization struck my head. It must be temporary.

  A new fire ignited inside me. As long as I can dey my capture, I can find a way.

  "Good job."

  Adept Lowe praised the ice mageseeker as he cpped. The old man Cowe was sporting cuts through his clothes with fine red lines on his body. He was breathing heavily as he leaned with his head bowed on the stick.

  "I'm really too old to be fighting. I have failed you kids."

  "You were a knight in the past, so I still have to treat you with some respect."

  The rower on the other hand was being restrained by the third mageseeker, pinned on the floor. Battered, weary and tired, I smiled at him.

  "Thank you for trying."

  "Well, this one knows manners."

  Adept Lowe remarked while grabbing manacles of white stone from his back. Roughly, the ice mageseeker brought my hands forward to have it encapsuted in the manacles. With the potion down my throat already, I was numb to this. But as my feet touched the ground, a warm feeling rose upwards, soothing the burn in my stomach.

  Led by the chains, I was walked towards the bridge on the other side. A kindling of hope appeared within me, as every step gave me some sort of energy, resonating deep in my bones. Onlookers gnced at me with disgust and fear, like I was the person that killed their retive. Enduring the bming looks, I was paraded onto the bridge.

  We walked one third of the bridge, when I tried my first attempt. Using the stagnant flow inside, I tried to colpse the bridge by shaking it. My mother described my sleeping as 'rumbling the floor with every breathe' so my magic must be reted to the earth. Futile attempts as nothing happened.

  We continued onwards.

  Despair after hope is greater than the one before it. Halfway across the bridge, something snapped inside me. A torrent flowed up my feet, where I preceded to stomp the bridge with frustration.

  A click. The manacles cracked. The bridge split.

  An immense groan was heard as the bridge shattered in the center into pieces, slowly opening the chasm to the river, sending everyone holding onto the sides for dear life as people, cargo, animals were indiscriminately thrown off the bridge into the water.

  As I fell, I thought.

  Is what I did correct? How many will die?

  Whatever the outcome, as long as I'm free, I will do this again if I had the choice. My heart set, as I threw the shattered manacles at the ice mageseeker in the air beside me to prevent him from freezing me. Feet first, I plunged into the water, before diving deeper to not get hit on the head by any falling object.

  Swimming towards the side of Jandelle, I narrowly dodged the dropping objects by rexing my body and swimming around the rocks. Needing a breathe of air, I swam upwards among the crowd when I was suddenly kicked in the head. Feeling woozy now, I tched on one of the bridge pilrs with the others, catching my breathe slightly before pushing off it.

  A healthy amount of swimming everyday with my friends back at Terbisia gave me a lot of endurance, but this time is really really pushing it. Repeatedly pushing off the pilrs to head to shore, I left the floundering people with the debris and arrived at shore.

  The crowd of onlookers made way for me, as some people brought bnkets and hot coals wrapped in cloth. Accepting some of the hospitality, I recovered some strength after eating some hot gruel.

  "Thank you, thank you, I have to head home now to notify my parents and change clothes."

  Standing up and thanking profusely, I borrowed a bnket before heading down the street casually. With shivers, wet look and a bnket, I walked past the guards rushing to the scene, giving directions to the accident.

  Drying myself off for the final time, I folded the bnket and left it on a random doorstep before leaving.