by C S Patra
Alice swallowed when she heard that. She could see where Lavinia was coming from and felt terrible for her. It was no fun to be locked away while everyone else was living their lives. That explained why Lavinia seemed to be so excited when they were on their date. She walked around those gardens like she was walking for the first time in her life. She ran around in her shoes like she had never worn them before and eyed those dragons that had been carved in the garden. A part of her had a desire to touch one but held off because she didn’t want to make a mark. She was a girl who had finally been freed of her prison and was getting a chance to explore this world.
“It doesn’t feel fair,” Alice murmured. “I understand why they may be worried but keeping you locked up isn’t a good idea.”
“It isn’t. I feel like I was hurting more inside of the castle than being outside of it. That’s why I learned to escape at a young age. I wanted to run down hills and see the people of Themasa. I wanted to be part of their lives. In a way, that’s why I came to the bakery,” Lavinia explained. She was able to hear everything Alice was saying from the other end. The water was running but she knew what Alice was feeling. “I have come into town but I never interacted with anyone until that day.”
“So you chose to interact with me?”
“It’s like I said. There was something about you that I trusted. Even before I knew of your powers, I felt like we could be friends. Maybe we could be more than friends one day.”
“Maybe,” Alice murmured. “First, we need to remove our curses. There’s not much we can do together if we can’t even touch each other. It will be a hard life to live if we are together but can’t hold each other.”
“Indeed. This curse has to go.” Lavinia got out of the washroom, fully dressed and washed. There was something about her thick, dark hair being clean and frizzy that was attractive. Alice tried to keep her mouth closed as she watched Lavinia walking around in a simple beige dress. Anyone else would have looked like a field mouse in that but she walked around like royalty. It figured that she was more proper than the usual citizen of Themasa.
“You should probably go down and tell Kian that I’m on the way,” Alice said, nodding at her bags. “If you can take some of those down, that would be nice.”
It felt strange to tell a princess to carry her own bags but Lavinia seemed to have no problem with it. Her bags were not very heavy so she was able to pick them with ease. “I will wait for you then. I’ll tell Kian that you will be down and then we can head to the station. I’ve never seen a train before, let alone ridden in one, so this so should be exciting!”
“Yes, yes, I know! Now you should go on down before Kian comes back up here and demands to know what we’re up to!”
Lavinia left Alice alone to get ready but she couldn’t stop thinking about her. As she came down with the bags, she looked at the walls of the inn and admired the few drawings and small dragon statues around the banisters. This entire city had been a sign for her to head to the Frost Kingdom. It was telling her that a dragon was necessary to be a part of their group. All of this would lead her to the answers that she was seeking.
I wonder if I would even be able to touch an ice dragon. She thought, running her finger down the statue of a dragon at the bottom of the stairs. That was the one nice thing about solid objects; they didn’t crumble to ashes. They weren’t alive. In a way, it felt like she was touching the real thing. An ice dragon would be different in the sense that it was made out of ice. Everything running through its veins was ice water. Water never turned to ash in her presence so perhaps they wouldn’t either.
Then again, they are also living creatures. Does my ability only work with those made of flesh and blood? Could I hurt an ice dragon if I touched them with my hands? These were difficult questions to ask but she needed the answers to them. Gingerly, she touched the dragon statue once more before leaving it alone.
She went down to where Kian was waiting with the rest of the bags. He was relieved when she showed up but his face fell when he saw Alice wasn’t there. “What happened to Miss Alice?”
“She is on the way. I’m glad that I have you alone because I need to talk to you. How well do you know Alice?” She began.
“I’ve only started working at the bakery a few months ago but Miss Alice is nice.” Kian was confused by the sudden question. “She is very helpful and never seems to raise her voice when someone is doing something wrong. Other than that, I don’t know much about her.”
“So you don’t know if she’s ever been with anyone before?”
“I can’t say I do. I’ve never seen Miss Alice come in with anyone. She’s never talked about having a special person in her life.” He blushed. “It’s so hard to talk about her that way. We’ve only been working together and nothing more. I do know that she doesn’t have a family. She’s been alone most of her life, which probably explains why she’s so friendly and willing to help others. She doesn’t want them to be alone either.”
“How about you? Do you like being alone?”
“I don’t have much of a choice, Vinnie. I was brought into this world alone and I will probably die alone,” Kian sighed. “I know you worry a lot about your mother and father finding out the truth. The thing is that you have someone who will worry about you. When all of this is said and done, there will be no one waiting for me. There’s no one who is writing letters or sending people out to find me.”
“Really? Don’t you have a mother or father that is worried back there?”
He laughed bitterly at that. “My mother died as soon as she gave birth to me and I never knew my father. He left well before I came into the world. I was raised by a band of thieves that found me alone in the house. No one knew whose house I had been left at or why. They were the ones who named and trained me. All the while, I knew that what they did was wrong but I also learned how unfair the world was. The rich got wealthier and had all the money yet barely spent it on what they needed to spend it on.”
“The rich like my family, right?” Lavinia realized. “I swear to you that my father and mother are doing their best to help others. They aren’t the kind of people to keep their wealth to themselves.”
“Well, they haven’t spread it far either. I know it’s painful to hear, Vinnie, but you saw what’s going on with your own eyes. Even in Losalle, the shopkeeper I met is struggling to make ends meet. It costs so much to live here so you can imagine how much she’d have to make to survive. I don’t doubt that your family is doing what they can. It’s just not happening as fast as it should.”
Lavinia nodded. Anyone else that had said such things would have been executed on the spot but Kian was right. He was telling her a truth that no one else wanted her to know. He was telling her what was wrong with world and giving her a chance to try and fix it. She already knew that she had to take care of the small villages that were struggling with their crops and businesses. That was going to be her main focus along with the issues in Themasa. She knew there was a lot of poverty in the kingdom and Kian would probably be the one to help her see that. For a sixteen-year old, he was very small and thin. It made him a perfect thief in terms of running and hiding but he wasn’t very strong. He would never be able to fight against someone bigger and heavier than him.
“Do you have a home at all?” She had to ask.
“If you can call a run-down shack a home, then yes, I have a home. That’s what I go home to. It’s where I sleep, eat, bathe, and survive the cold in. Go down to the forest and you’ll find a tiny house with a bunch of firewood out front.”
“And no one else lives with you? That’s terrible!”
“I don’t have very many friends, Vinnie. Of course, I have Miss Alice, Tamara, and all the other bakers but we aren’t that close. I knew about Miss Alice’s curse but everyone did. Everyone had to know the truth and those who were strong enough to understand it stayed to work. Those who weren’t turned strong to deal with it had to turn around and find ano
ther place.”
“If they’ve seen her power, how come not everyone knows about it? I would figure that someone would try to hurt Alice or take advantage of her.”
“Who’s to say that people haven’t tried?” Kian whispered. “The thing about it is that those who do try to run never make it out alive. Do you understand what I’m getting at?”
Lavinia swallowed as everything made sense. Alice’s abilities were very dangerous if she touched another person. She didn’t want to believe Alice could be that cold to kill someone like that. She didn’t have that horrible bone in her body. “Well, someone must have forced her to do that. Someone must have done something horrible for her to want to defend herself. I’ll have to ask Alice when she comes down.”
As if on cue, Alice came downstairs with the rest of the bags. She had also dressed in a simple white dress with small yellow flowers on it and her comfortable shoes for walking. She had a shawl wrapped around her shoulders and a hat on her head. “I know it’s not too cold but it’s better to be prepared.”
“Excellent! We’ll have time to catch that train. I sent those two spirits to keep an eye out on things. If the train came, they were supposed to come back and tell me,” Kian said, looking a little wary about that. “I’m not sure if they understood me. I haven’t seen them return at all so I assume this is a good sign.”
“It’s not quite dawn yet so I think they believed us,” Alice said. “How far is the station?”
“It’s only a block away. I think we can walk with our bags but we have to hurry. There aren’t too many people on the streets but we cannot draw any attention. The quicker we get on the train; the better things will be.” He lowered his voice. “And if you don’t mind, Miss Alice, I need to bring up something with you in private when we’re at the station. It’s very important.”
“Wait ‘til you get to the station then. I’m sure we can find a private place to talk.”
“Then why are we still standing around? Let’s move!” Lavinia suggested.
The air around Losalle was cold so she pulled the scarf tightly around her neck and tried to keep up with Alice and Kian. Cursing herself for wearing the small shoes today, she could feel the blisters forming around her heels. She ran and was able to get next to Alice who was taking some long strides. The whole time they were moving, she was on guard for anyone who could be watching them.
“Are you scared?” Alice whispered.
“I’m so nervous. Ever since Kian mentioned my father had sent his men after me, all I keep thinking is that there are spies around us. Someone must be following us and keeping tabs on my movement.”
“How can that be? Very few people know what you look like.”
“That may be true but the guards are far more clever than you realize. They haven’t struck yet because they are waiting for the right moment,” Lavinia explained. “They don’t want to make a scene where people can see them. They will do it when they know we are alone.”
“Then the smart thing for us to do is not be alone.” Alice realized. “No matter where we go, we have to be surrounded by people. That will be fine as long as we don’t touch anyone. Keep the conversations short and sweet with others. Don’t give away too much.”
“I don’t intend to. The only talking I will do to others if I need to buy something, barter with people, or get the information I need.”
They kept walking together and made it to the train station in time for the first train to pull up. Kian motioned them to come closer and have their tickets ready. There were already a few people forming a line up front so they got behind those people and waited to board. Alice and Lavinia didn’t look at anyone as they handed their tickets in. This was not the time that they could draw attention. Once they were cleared, they made their way into the train and found their seats all the way in the back. Kian had wanted to get a place here so they could have some conversations and no one would eavesdrop. The trip from Losalle to the town Farenza would take the entire day so that would give them time to prepare.
Before they sat down, Kian took Alice aside and told her something while Lavinia tried to get comfortable. They didn’t spend too much time talking but when they returned, their faces were completely neutral. Lavinia looked at Alice who immediately smiled at her and sat down. Now they were on the way, they could relax.
“Are you sure this invitation will be all that we need to get into the Frost Ball?” Alice asked.
“I’m absolutely certain. No one is going to be worried about who you are. They just care that you have the invitation and you are dressed for the occasion,” Kian said. “If anyone is going to have any trouble fitting in, it will be me. I’m not sure if any of the outfits I brought will fit with anything. This is a fancy party, after all, and I’ve never been invited to one before. I had no need to get an outfit until now.”
“Oh dear!” Lavinia put her hand to her mouth. “I wish you had told me sooner. I would have brought you an outfit that you could wear.”
“You don’t need to worry about me, Vinnie. As soon as we get to Farenza, I will buy myself a nice outfit. Or even better, I won’t go to the ball.” He decided. “After all, who wants to see a poor baker boy over there? That’s the type of party for the wealthiest and the well-liked, neither of which I am. I’ll just wait outside and gather information.”
“That doesn’t seem fair. I will try to get you something nice when we arrive. You’ve been doing more of the work than we have. I should buy you something for your trouble.”
“To be honest, I didn’t have much of a choice. It was either that or jail,” he whispered. “Besides, I have a feeling that you two would be lost on your own. You’ve never left Themasa so you don’t know what lies beyond it. You don’t know what you could run into or how people act in other kingdoms. If you crossed the wrong person, you don’t know what could happen.”
“You do deserve to look your best at this party though. I’m going into Farenza to get you the fanciest costume out there. I’ll get one for you too, Alice.” Lavinia decided. “In fact, I’ll get you a fancy wig and mask to go with your dress.”
“Oh, Vinnie, you shouldn’t!” Alice insisted. “You can’t keep spending your coins on us! We need to save them for supplies.”
“She’s right, Vinnie. What if you run out of money?” Kian asked. “Even worse, what if someone realizes how wealthy you are and try to take advantage? Just because we are not in the woods doesn’t mean there aren’t thieves lurking around. You have to be on your guard. One minute, you will have all your coins and jewelry. In the next minute, they’ll be gone.”
“Trust me. I am very aware of the fact that thieves lurk in cities and towns.” She winked at him and he turned white. “However, I am careful with what I have. I don’t flaunt everything around. For a party though, I think we need to mingle with the people around us. As long as Alice and I don’t touch anyone, we should be safe. We need to find a sorcerer or witch that can reverse this curse and this is the best place to start.”
Alice leaned against the window and stared outside as she watched the snow start to fall. It was clear that they were moving further and further away from Losalle because the ice was forming on the window pane. She gently touched the cold glass and trace her finger around it. A part of her wanted to get out of the train and run through all that white snow. She wanted to lay down in it and feel the flakes touching her face. Snow was good for one thing; she could touch it and nothing would grow out of it. If she touched the ground under it, flowers and leaves would bloom but snow itself would stay intact. As a child, she loved it even though she never really went out to play in it. Winter was beautiful as it was deadly. If she stayed out too long, she got a cold and missed many days of work and play. So she spent more of those days indoors than out.
She looked closed at some of the flakes and saw that they weren’t snow at all. Instead, they were tiny insects and dragons flying around. Her mouth dropped open as they came closer and o
ne of them ended up right next to their window. The little thing looked like it was scared and injured. It was trying to fly but the winds were too strong. There was a tiny crack in one of its wings so there was no way it could move. If its wing wasn’t fixed, it would probably die of that injury.
“Everyone, look!” She motioned to the window at the dragon. Lavinia moved closer to see what it was. “They exist! They’re real!”
“Yes, I can see that. They’re flying outside of our window!” Kian pointed. “Not only that, I can see ice butterflies and dragonflies around here! I thought we wouldn’t see them until we got to the Frost Kingdom.”
“I didn’t either but I guess they are flying over there. At least, they are trying to.” Alice looked at the baby ice dragon who was struggling. “I don’t think this poor thing is going to make it. We have to fix its wing.”
“How do we fix a dragon’s wing though?” Lavinia asked, watching as Alice tried to open the train window. “What are you doing?”
“I can’t let it stay out here! It won’t make it through the night if its wing is broken!” Alice managed to crack the window open but the dragon wasn’t budging. “The poor thing won’t get inside!”
