One by one they disappeared into the vines leaving the pixies outside to play.

When they entered the hidden opening, their breath became wisps of steam as the temperature dropped. Even the Matron of Fire felt the dampness surround her. Wind of course, appeared to not be affected at all. She was impervious to heat and cold, and chose to toss a cold gust of wind towards her companions. Fire did not like it one bit. “Orlex, where is this ice queen? How can she stand this.. this cold?” She shivered slightly and added “Do we have to wait all day? Please call her!”

Orlex walked forward and stopped at a shallow stream that blocked his path. There were stones that crossed the stream. Orlex crossed, closely followed by Fire, while Wind just blew across the stream with ease, laughing at them as she did so. Once past the stream is when they noticed large stalactites that hung from the ceiling, dangling dangerously overhead. Ice covered every imaginable surface, so clear it looked like glass. The breathtaking chill in the air, the snow and ice, all convinced them that yes, this was indeed where they would find her. But where was she?

They searched every inch of that cavern, to no avail, she was not there. The three of them stood beside a lone tree with a stone bench at its trunk. The tree branches bore nothing but ice and snow, the tree was as empty as the cave. Silently, they sat on the bench and rested. “Where do you think she has gone? Wind whispered feeling defeated. ”What are we to do?” Orlex shook his head “I was sure she'd be here. I don't even know where to begin to look.” he stated wearily.

Above them the tree branches rustled slightly, dropping snow on Fires head “Please stop it Wind, You stirring the snow about and I do not wish to wear it.” she snapped angrily. Wind looked at her surprised “I have done no such thing!” Orlex, irritated, scolded them both “Stop your bickering we have things to...AH!” Just at that moment, a very large, very cold, and very wet pile of snow landed on top of them all! They all jumped up at the same time, shocked from the cold blast. Orlex looked up at the tree and laughed when he saw two blue eyes gleaming back at him. It was Shiver, the pixie companion of Ice. “Ok young lady,” Orlex asked the small pixie.
“Where is she!” Shiver pointed to a ice pillar, then giggled when it began to take the Matron’s form.

The Matron of Ice watched them and couldn't help but laugh. She had a silly side that overtook her more often than not. Oh and how she, Shiver, and her beloved messenger, *Sula, loved to play pranks on people. Sula will surely be disappointed that she missed this one! She would have loved to see the look of shock on their faces when Shiver covered them in snow. With a melancholy sigh she looked at Orlex and then smiled, ignoring the glares from the other two.

“My dearest Orlex!” she exclaimed excitedly “I have not seen you for ages! ”Orlex nodded in agreement “Yes my child, it has been at least a century. You are looking..” he searched for the right word. “quite youthful..” Fire whispered to Wind “Youthful! She is a mere child!” Ice looked at them and stated “I am not a child, I have nearly reached my next evolution.” Orlex smiled at her innocence “Ice you are as beautiful as ever.” Her skin was as pale as the snow itself, almost translucent. Her long hair gleamed like the brightest of white. In fact, the only color you could see was her big blue eyes, and lightly tinted lips. She was quite breathtaking for such a young woman. All the Matrons were in their own special way.

“So Ice,” blurted Wind “We are here on serious matters, matters that require you to act like an adult.” She tossed her a serious look “Do you think you can do that, or not?” Ice climbed down from her tree and stood tall, shoulders back “Of course I can.” She stated matter of factly. “Good.” Orlex began to explain what they needed of her. Once he finished, she simply stated “So you need me to make it snow, a lot of snow?” Orlex nodded “Yes, Wind will keep it moving, at the same time Fire will ignite and her heat will melt the snow which will drain into the creek that in turn will fill the well.” They all looked down at the underground creek “That is the last thing we need to do, nourish the ground with mystic waters.”

They all looked at each other, confident that this would work. Orlex gave the command to begin. Ice lifted her arms summoning a fierce blizzard. Wind kept it spinning inside the cave. Fire stood in the middle of it all and ignited herself into a big ball of flames. Orlex watched it all, shielding his face from the assault of snow, heat, and wind. As the snow became a torrent of rain, He watched the water start to drain into the melted creek, overflow, and start to trickle into a crack the cave wall, replenishing the underground stream. The stream that would replenish the well.