Hidden 19

Behind the Scenes with Mina and Molly
Book 3 Bonus Material

Mina sat on her vanity stool, humming happily to herself as she applied her makeup for the next scene. She became aware that she was being watched, and turned just in time to see a pigtailed head pull back behind a costume rack.

“It’s okay, sweetie, I don’t bite,” Mina purred.

Carefully, Molly poked her head out. “You’re Mina, right?

“Yeah, we have our first scene together today. It’s exciting. Three books and this is the first time we’re actually on stage at the same time.”

Molly took a couple steps closer. “You have ice-magic, right?”

Mina nodded as she began pulling the curlers from her fur.

Molly perked up. “Like Elsa?”

“Oh more than that, I also know sonic spells.”

Molly stepped in close. “So, can you, like, make a snowman?”

Mina chuckled and patted the little girl on the head. “Well, sure.”

Molly stepped back, nearly busting with excitement as Mina spun her hands around. An artic wind blew through the dressing room, and the cold gathered together in swirling blue mist. When it parted, a cute little snowman sat on the icy tiling of the floor.

“Wow!” Molly gasped, clapping her hands.

“I’m glad you like it,” Mina cooed, grabbing her eyelash curler.

Molly crinkled her nose.

Mina noticed from the corner of her eye. “Something wrong?”

“It’s not moving.”

“Well, yeah, it’s a snowman.”

Molly stood up and sucked on her thumb. “Elsa can make ones that are alive.”

“Well, that may be so, sweetie, but I can’t do that.”

“But I thought you said you have ice magic.”

Mina set her mascara wand down. “Well, yeah, but making life that’s…not ice magic. That’s, I dunno, life magic or something. The power of creation. I don’t know what you’d call it, but it’s not ice magic.”

Molly frowned. “You mean you can’t even make clothes for yourself?”

Mina’s tail swished in irritation. “Well, I can get a needle and thread and sew a dress, if that’s what you mean.”

“Elsa can make a dress with her ice magic. I thought you could do that too.”

“Yes, but you see, that’s not ice magic. Ice magic allows you to make and control ice, not conjure clothing out of thin air. That would be…textile conjuring or something. I mean, I could cover my clothes in a layer of frost to change its appearance, but that wouldn’t actually alter the material underneath…and it’s not something you’d really want to do anyway, you’d freeze, it would be uncomfortable, it would be too stiff to move, I mean, cut me some slack here, kid.”

Molly kicked at the snowman, knocking its little head off. “I thought you knew ice magic.”

Mina eyed the head as it rolled past her, her eyebrow twitching. “I do know ice magic. I studied and practiced for nearly two decades.”

“I bet you can’t even turn people into ice.”

“Well, of course I can’t do that! I mean, sure, I could freeze them solid, I could encase them in ice, but they wouldn’t actually turn into ice, they’d just be covered in it. There’s a lot of things I can’t do, but, the things I can do are real ice magic!”

Molly pulled out her thumb. “Prove it!”

“Prove it?”

“Make a streak of my hair turn white!”

“Fine, you know what, I will!”

Mina huffed and turned around, rustling through her makeup looking for some white hair dye.

“No, with your ice magic!”

“I keep telling you, that’s not what ice magic does! Here, I can cover your hair in frost.”

Mina snapped her fingers and a streak of Molly’s blonde hair became white as frost collected on it.

“There, you happy, you little brat?”

Molly reached up and wiped her hair off in disgust. “You lied to me! You didn’t change it to white!”

“THAT’S NOT WHAT ICE MAGIC DOES!!!”