"An Albino´s Test" by Chelsa L. Dagley

      I could barely see her there, standing in the midst of the ivory branches, the snow beneath her feet the same color as her skin. She trembled as she looked upon me; her blanket of pearly hair concealing half her face. I could see one of her icy blue eyes, staring, shivering. The others called her the Ice Princess, the White One. The thought that because she was the color of winter, she had some sort of connection to me, one that would allow her to communicate without being torn to pieces. So, I waited, piercing into her with my equally blue eyes. I was very still, expecting her to spout the same courageous nonsense the others had. But, as she made no move, only standing as if she was one of the basilisks vicitms, I came to a realization.

      A deep rumbling in my belly started, preparing to speak, as I had done so in centuries. Finally my voice found escape, and I simply said, “You are no Ice Princess.”

      Her head flicked slightly and she responded in a wispy voice, “No.”

      “Then why have you come?” I roared, trying to scare her. And indeed I did; she shook like the leaves above her.

      “The villagers have hope in me.”

      “And you realize this hope is futile?”

      “Yes.”

      “Do you think you know how to destroy me?”

      “No.”

      I fell silent, rustling my feathers with thought. All others had come, sure that they knew the way to destroy me. The false courage in their actions had been their downfall. This girl seemed equally, if not more, stupid, for she came with no courage, no plan. But yet, I was intrigued by this wispy, white-haired girl.

      “What have you brought?” I asked.

      Her thin eyebrows knit together in a frown. “Nothing, but myself and what I wear.”

      “Then how to you plan to kill me, Albino?”

      Her chin lifted, sending her hair into waves of movement. “I do not have a plan, I came because it was expected of me. And what did you just call me?” She asked with a touch of defiance in her eyes.

      This girl had some spirit, I thought. Nevertheless, I ignored the question. “What is it you most fear in this world?”

      Her lips parted, surprised, but yet she still answered, “To die without truly knowing myself.”

      I laughed, a growl that started low and worked its way out until I howled into the night my mirth. The girl stepped back, afraid. “Are you telling me you stand here, a trembling kitten before me, and are unafraid?”

      “I did not and will not say that; for, I am afraid. You asked me what I most fear, and I gave you an honest answer.”

      I stiffened, knowing that she was right.

      “And what is it you most want in this world?” I said, continuing my riddles.

      “All the wisdom there is,” she answered promptly.

      I again wished to laugh, for many men had given me this answer, and it had been their demise. I lowered onto my forelegs, flexing my talons, and exhaled a hot, misty breath into her face; a pleased expression on my face.

      “And what would you give for all the wisdom there is?”

      Her answer was short and terse. “Nothing.”

      I gasped, pulling her hair into her eyes as my breath was inhaled. “You would give nothing, even if it is to receive to one thing you want most?”

      “It wouldn't be something I wanted if it were so easy to attain.”

      “And you know that this thing is unascertainable, correct?”

      “If a dream is not unimaginable, then it is not a dream, merely a goal.”

      I thought for a moment, mulling over her words. “And so you chase after this want, even though you have already accepted that it is impossible?”

      “Impossible is a man-made word, and since men are naturally flawed, it can be overcome.”

      “And you think you will be the one to do it?”

      “No, but I hope, and I try, for that is all I can do.”

      I nodded and stretched my mouth into a terrorfying smile, showing large, pointed teeth. “Albino, you have already done it.”

      She widened her eyes, a look of knowing in them that only one who had accomplished their Test could gain.

      The girl's hair picked up in an imaginary wind, expanding until her entire body was hidden by a swirling torrent of blonde locks.

      And then she was gone, taken to the next world. The albino girl had been the first in centuries to complete the Test, and there were still so many more.

      I sighed, gazing at the now empty spot where the girl had stood. Her Test may have been completed, but mine still lay ahead.

      And with that last thought, I turned to stalk silently into the night, the spiraling snowflakes descending from the sky to hide my massive bulk.