Snow Wars

As Nohla the yellow Usul stood facing the 10ft wall opposite her on the snowy battlefield, her mind was filled with recent memories. She remembered her last victory, how it was so close. She was only one hit in front of her opposition. She remembered his jolly face and how his fat stomach wobbled from eating too many mince pies. Her friends had warned her before the game that if she defeated him, her advent calendar would be empty on Christmas day. But Nohla had ignored them. She had wanted to win so badly, but not as much as she did now. Even though she had won her last game, it didn't help her nerves when she had entered the ice arena half an hour earlier.

     Just like last time, she was only one up on the opposition, the Snow Cone. And it was his turn. Anything could happen. Nohla had flattened everything but the ice puddle on the Snow Cone's side of the field in the first 22 minutes, but had been missing ever since. Slowly, he had caught up with her and she only had two small snowmen left. Her mind raced through the possible outcomes of this game. It was the semi-finals and just one game lost could send her out of the league. Just one game, that's all it took. No lifelines, she would be out. Out of the competition! She winced as she thought about losing at this stage.

     She waited in the cold arena. She had never imagined that she would come this far. It was Nohla's dream to become Snow Wars champion. Crowds of her friends were watching, waving brightly coloured banners and chanting her name. They had been with her since her first game. (Though her crowd of friends had suddenly grown in recent matches). There were also others seated on the other side of the massive arena. Some of them cheered on the Snow Cone, while others had just come to enjoy the match. All wrapped up hats, gloves and thick coats to keep out the cold. They had borrowed the Snow Faerie's arena. Obviously it was perfect for the game.

     Taelia the Snow Faerie sat up higher than the crowd in her balcony to watch the match. Other faeries sat with her on either side.

     Suddenly the crowd went silent. The shouts of "Nohla! Nohla!" slowly faded out. Nohla knew that this meant only one thing. The Snow Cone was taking his aim. She held her breath and watched for the giant snowball to come flying over the wall. It felt like minutes rather than seconds as she shivered in anticipation. "This is it," she thought. "Please miss, please miss."

     Finally the snowball came hurtling over the ice wall. Nohla watched it glisten in the air before it came crashing down, landing on one of her small snowmen out in the field. The crowd groaned and booed. On the other side they cheered loudly to congratulate the Snow Cone.

     "No!" she said angrily but quietly. Now she only had one snowman left. Nohla was fuming. They were drawing with just one target each left on the field. Nohla had her snowman and on the other side of the wall, the Snow Cone had his icy puddle. How she wished she could crack that puddle!

     She couldn't believe that she had been winning by so much early on in the game to be drawing so close to the end. She couldn't give it all away now! She had to win! She heard her trainer's voice echo in her mind. "Stay focused, Nohla; then you can achieve anything!"

     Nohla stared at the 10-inch thick ice wall as if trying to melt it with her fiery glare. Her insides were squirming, but her face showed power and determination. She hadn't lost yet. She had nine places left to hit on his side. One of them was the Snow Cone's icy puddle. But where could she go? 4D? No, there had already been three targets near that area already; she doubted that there could be another so close together. Or could there? "Argh!" she thought in frustration. "I just don't know!"

     She started walking slowly behind her catapult. The crowd was full blast again and was growing louder with every step she took. She tried to shut the noise out so that she could focus mainly on the target that needed to be hit. "Focus and you can achieve anything!" She tried not to think about all of the luxurious things that she could buy with the prize money if she won. She would have to buy herself some new make up and perhaps decorate her house...

     She still hadn't made up her mind as she loaded the catapult with the huge frozen snowball. She pulled the leaver back firmly, holding it in place. The crowd went instantly silent. "Ok," she said quietly to herself, "this is it." She aimed the snowball towards 5C and let go. She listened through the silence to hear the shattering of ice. It didn't come. She had missed. The crowd turned up the volume yet again. Nohla sighed. She didn't want to let herself down. "I need to win!" she thought. It was the Snow Cone's turn to go.

     Again she saw the snowball fall through the air. She crossed her fingers behind her back. The crowd cheered as it thumped loudly on soft snow. "Yes!! It's a miss!!" Nohla tried to stop herself from getting too excited. She still had everything to play for. The smile slipped from her face as she returned to her catapult. She had decided to go for 6F. Nohla felt strangely confident as she released the lever and watched the snowball zoom over the wall at full speed. She stood perfectly still, waiting for the crowd to signal the hit. Then it came; the roars filled the arena. She had done it! She had defeated the Snow Cone and now her victory would take her through to the finals where she would fight harder and stronger opponents. As she raised her fists into the air she was hailed with red roses from her fans and silver confetti that fell from the high ceiling. The Snow Faerie flew gracefully down from her seat accompanied with two other faeries. Her beautiful long hair flowed behind her. She held a small blue box in her hand. Once her toes had reached the wispy snow she opened the box to reveal a shiny medal. She leaned forwards and her small hands carefully placed the medal around Nohla's neck.

     Nohla had made it to the finals! But could she ever win? It was possible, only the future could tell. Her heart was beating madly. Nohla smiled and fluttered her glitter eyelashes as the crowd continued to applause. She was going to enjoy this.

The End

Author's Note: If you have not yet played Snow Wars I suggest that you do! Imagine battleships except you have different people to defeat and win cool prises. And, if you are really good then you could even get medals. Playing Snow Wars gave me the inspiration to write a story. I wanted to start writing for the Neopian Times because I read another player's story that was about a Lupe. That person made me want to write about my pets, so I have. I suggest that if you have a good idea, then share it. I would really enjoy hearing from anyone who has read my story. Mail me and tell me what you think! Thanks...