His eyes narrow down at her disbelievingly before he instructs her to turn out her pockets. Glacier stands a good head and a half below him, so she has to crane her neck back painfully to meet his stare.
She rolls her eyes at his forwardness, but does as he asks, knowing that he has nothing to find in her pockets. Once he is happy that Glacier hasn’t stashed anything in her pockets, he releases her and once again trails behind as she enters her room.
Not taking a second to look around her room one last time, Glacier heads straight for her bedside table. She searches around for a couple of seconds before finding what she is looking for.
She wraps her fingers around the small, aged stick. Completely translucent, it glows a bright blue when activated, with a large rolling ballpoint on one end. When Glacier walks out of the room, she holds up the timeworn stick, a Memory Wand, to the guard.
“Found it.” He nods his head before placing his hand on the small of her back, ushering her outside faster.
“Come along, Miss Wardgrave. Your ride is waiting.”
THREE
THE PERSIA HOTEL
The only way of travelling to Alluvium is by the underground shuttle tram.
There are few tunnels around Hydren that can take someone from the centre of the region to the lake skirtings in a couple of minutes.
Glacier had never ridden the tram before. She had always been afraid of trapping herself in a small space, with people whom openly loath her existence.
The decrepit tram is out-dated. The region has not won the tournament for the last twenty-four years, leaving no possibility to fund its renewal.
Stepping off the empty tram carriage, she takes note of the sterile platform she has arrived at. The tidy station tiles sparkle a pearly white, the steal shining brilliantly. The Hydren Tram Station had been dirty, unkempt and rusted.
Glacier spots a man with dark skin, dressed in a uniform similar to the Chancellor’s Guard. His dark sunglasses shield his eyes from the bright sun behind her. His arms hang at his sides, his fists clenched. He looks to be in his twenties.
“Good evening, Miss Wardgrave. My name is Lien. I will be your driver over the period of the Tournament.” His voice is friendly, his posture taut. He grants her a kind smile.
She raises an eyebrow at her driver, “Just Lien?”
“Do you need more than that?” he asks, followed by a short laugh.
Shaking her head in response, a strange smile pulls at her lips. The movement aches her cheeks.
Lien’s eyes are trained to hers, noticeably flickering to the stitches across her forehead. The black stitch thread is barely hidden behind her curtain of reckless curls. Her smile fades at the reminder.
He gestures to the dark grey Hover that sits behind him, “Shall we?”
The vehicle is large, with deep round disks below the engine and the trunk to help it endure a half-metre distance above the ground. The body is completely enclosed, with dark black windows. A sixth-generation model Hover would be Glacier’s guess.
“Where are you going to be taking me, Mr Lien?” His lips quirk at the title, but he doesn’t comment on it. “I will be taking you to the Persia Hotel, where all the other participants are staying for this year’s Tournament.”
The Persia Hotel? Sounds fancy…
Glacier nods silently. Following Lien to the vehicle, she climbs into the passenger seat. Glacier looks over to find him staring at her oddly.
“What?”
“You are supposed to sit in the back…” he says. His voice sounds amused.
“Do I have to?” Lien shakes his head, chuckling as he starts the vehicle. The leather squeaks beneath her body as she moves, the sun heating her jeans uncomfortably.
She notices small spots of her father’s blood staining the denim, causing her stomach to roll.
Glacier turns to Lien, asking him various questions, anything to get her mind off the fact that her father is dead. But when they leave the station runway, entering the city a few minutes later, Glacier speechlessly gazes out at the city.
The skyscrapers wow her. She presses her face to the glass window to get a view of the entire height of each building. Glacier immediately flinches back when her nose aches painfully.
She lowers the window and unclips her seat harness to stick her head out into the open air. The fast breeze whips her hair back behind her ears, her eyes squinting at the rush of air.
“Miss Wardgrave, I need you to sit back down in your seat and fasten your belt.”
Glacier gazes up at the skyscrapers gleaming in the sunlight, shining in her narrowed eyes.
“I will in a minute, just… Hold on a second…” She calls back, unsure whether he heard her.
The sense of freedom that blows against her cheeks lifts something heavy from her shoulders. The air around her is harsh against her ears, clearing her mind.
She turns to stare down the roads as they pass by. Every one of them is littered with Hovers, all moving in a systematic and safe order. The other vehicles hover like the one Glacier rides in, creating a loud humming in the air.
Glacier notices that all the elementals that fill the streets are wearing plain clothing in variations of green. No originality or uniqueness.
They all look the same as each other.
She enjoys the breeze whipping across her face for a little while longer, before pulling back into the car and reharnessing herself.
Glacier turns to Lien, finding him speaking into a transparent glowing microphone that hovers by his lips, tethered to the earpiece.
“We will be arriving shortly. Ensure everything is ready upon our arrival.” His voice is stern.
He presses his pointing finger to the centre of the earpiece and the microphone disappears. “We will be arriving at the hotel in two minutes.”
Glacier realizes he is now addressing her, and nods in understanding.
Running her fingers through her snarling curls, she tries to tame it back from the wild mane it had blown into from the wind. Lien pulls the Hover off the road smoothly, into a secondary lane leading up to the entrance of a colossal white building.
Giant white pillars stage the entrance, with glass surrounding them. An array of gardens, water features and a few lanterns surround the crystal entrance. Pulling up to the front of the tall steps that lead to the open doorway, Glacier notices many other elementals mulling in and out of the building wearing green, blue or orange clothing.
Glacier hears the door open on Lien’s side of the Hover, but remains glued to her seat.
This is a lot more than I was expecting…
Gazing up at the building’s entrance, a woman stands at the top holding a tray in both hands, a straining smile on her face.
Her door suddenly opens. Glacier looks up to see Lien standing to the side of her door, gazing straight ahead. Using her hair as a shield, she steps out of the Hover, mumbling a quick farewell to her driver.
“Good luck, Miss Wardgrave.” He sneaks a small glass card into her hand, “You can contact me at any time you need.”
Glacier glances up to Lien, “Thank you.”
He nods with a small smile on his face before hitching his head to the side, indicating to continue walking.
Glacier returns his smile with a small one of her own before turning to the women at the entrance. She climbs the steps hurriedly, watching her feet the entire journey up.
When Glacier is a few metres away, the woman with the tray calls out to her. “Welcome to the Persia Hotel, Miss Wardgrave. My name is Melana Hyde, and I am the hotel’s Dormitory Keeper. My job is to ensure you feel as comfortable and safe at this hotel as possible.” Her smile is tight, and her eyes gleam brightly with interest as she absorbs Glacier’s features.
Her ordinary green eyes watch Glacier carefully. Curiosity shines at the sight of the two different colours before they dart to the young girl’s forehead, like Lien had. Glacier tilts her head forward to cove
r her stitches with her lengthy curls.
Melana coughs awkwardly at Glacier’s silence before holding the tray out in offering. Glacier notices an illuminating blue wristband lying flat on the tray.
“This is your Passkey. With this, you have wireless entry to your room.” Melana lifts the tray higher towards Glacier, “Please hold your wrist over the band.”
Glacier sends Melana an odd look. Hesitantly lifting her left wrist out over the band, the straps quickly snap around it with a small click, securing it snug to her skin. Glacier flinches at the sharp movement, her heartbeat spiking.
The band glows brighter at the touch of her skin before dimming to a pale blue strip, hugging her wrist like cloth.
Glacier breathes out as she turns her wrist over left and right, analysing the tight strap. It doesn’t itch or irritate with movement; in fact, she almost doesn’t feel it at all.
“Now that you have your Passkey, I can show you to your room. You are to stay there for the remainder of the night, and tomorrow evening you will be heading to the Terrain Stadium where the introductions are held.”
Melana turns swiftly, strutting off without checking to confirm Glacier is following her. Resting the empty tray on the reception desk, she heads towards the next set of stairs leading to an elevator.
Glacier struggles to keep up with her fast pace, stumbling when her shoes scuff on the lobby tiles. Gazing around, she is captivated by her surroundings as she follows the clacking of Melana’s heels.
The interior of the lobby is crystal white with many fresh green ferns. Lush green moss climbs the pillars decoratively.
A few people mill around the lobby, some casting a quick glance in her direction, whilst others go about their business.
Glacier rushes to catch up to Melana. The older woman waits for her in the translucent elevator, an even tighter smile on her lips. “Come along, Miss Wardgrave.”
The woman’s impatience is irking, but Glacier does not comment on it. Instead, she asks the Dormitory Keeper an easy question.
“Why is everything made of glass?”
Melana does not miss a beat, “So the sun can light the hotel with a welcoming, natural glow.”
Glacier frowns.
Is that rehearsed?
She watches as Melana presses the button numbered forty-five before stepping back and clasping her hands. The silence is awkward, mostly because Melana ignores her as Glacier gazes out the glass as they ascend. A small beep sounds before the doors open smoothly to reveal a long hallway with six doors, three on either side.
Melana steps out onto the dark greyish-green carpet, passing all five doors on the way. The doors are all pale blue, with nothing but a number slightly above the centre. The doors all have a different number starting from one, and we stop in front of door number six.
“Your Passkey will automatically open the door when you are within thirty centimetres of it. No other elemental can open your door except those from your own team, or a resilient electric current will zap them and the lobby will be notified of their attempt.” Melana’s eyes alight with mischief at the mention of electricity.
Glacier nods her head, watching Melana as she gestures to door six.
“This is your room.”
Glacier reaches for the handle but realizes there isn’t one. When her hand is close enough to the door, her Passkey glows light blue and the door automatically begins to slide open. The top and the bottom separate into two flat squares, sliding out and across the wall to the right, connected only by a corner.
Glacier steps back as the door reconnects into a solid panel once more, pressed against the wall to the side.
“Dinner will be delivered by room service at seven and breakfast at eight A.M. If you have any dietary requirements we should know about, please inform either myself or the kitchen staff before six.” And with a quick smile, Melana leaves the way she came.
Glacier peeps into the now open room before taking two cautious steps forward. Once her eyes complete a brief scan of the room, she takes another few steps. The whooshing sound of the door moving has her spinning around to find the door parting into two again as it now closes.
Once she is concealed in her new room, Glacier walks over to the heavily cushioned bed with soft looking charcoal covers. She gazes around the plain hotel room. She is amazed with the way its simplicity overcomes the elaborate decorations. A beautiful crystal chandelier hangs above the bed, casting colourful rays of sunlight around the room.
Glacier pulls the spray bottle from its safe place in her waistband, and her Memory Wand from her pocket, placing them both on the nightstand.
Climbing onto the large bed, she shuffles into the middle before lying back with her head on the pillows, staring up at the ceiling. As she lay there in complete silence, Glacier begins to miss the small things about home.
The constant chirping of crickets outside her window, and the sound of the wind passing through the walls. The aroma of her father’s daily tea.
Dad…
Glacier feels a twinge in her chest. She turns onto her side and rolls into a ball, before finally letting it all out – the pain, the loss, and the loneliness. Her father was her only family. Glacier can’t even begin to imagine where she will go after the Tournament, what she will do, or who she will become…
Will I go back home? Will I have to get a job? Will I have to stay here, perhaps?
Her father had home-schooled her, and she had finished her lessons last year. Since then, Glacier has helped her father with his inventions, giving him ideas or helping him with formulas.
Sobs come in deep heaves as Glacier struggles to control her breathing.
How can I do this without him?
FOUR
P.A.M
The sound of someone knocking on the door wakes Glacier with a stiff face and sore eyes.
She notices it is dark outside as she rubs her cheeks before quickly approaching the door. When Glacier is less than a metre from her door, it opens in its unusually quirky way, and she finds a smiling boy standing outside with a floating trolley perched beside him.
“Evening Miss, I have your dinner. Where would you like me to place it?”
“That’s alright, I can take it.” Glacier croaks, coughing to clear her throat.
His smile falters when his eyes scan her face, lingering on her stitches. When his eyes meet Glacier’s, they widen considerably. She tilts her head down, causing her hair to swoop past her shoulder to shield her face. Glacier grabs the dome he holds out to her in his stunned state, muttering a quick thank you before closing the door.
As if I don’t feel ugly enough, I don’t need everybody coming to my door to stare at me like I am some kind of monster.
Glacier takes her dome to the floor in front of her bed, and seats herself on the soft carpet.
Even the floor is comfy.
Glacier stares at the dome as she tries to lift the lid. But nothing happens. It didn’t feel stuck, but Glacier can’t see another way to open it. She tries holding it differently to get a better grip, but that still does nothing to open the dome. Glacier pushes it away when she is unsuccessful at opening it.
I’m not hungry anyway.
Standing up from the floor Glacier trots over to the door beside the nightstand. She notices a small panel on the wall when she sees there is again no door handle.
What is with this place and its lack of door handles?
Glacier hesitantly touches the small screen with her finger, and the door opens with a small click and a whoosh. The room lights with a harsh glow automatically, and Glacier is welcomed by the view of a crystal white-wall bathroom with a large double shower and a lone wall shielding the middle. The porcelain toilet and basin have matte black colour schemes and the towels over the rack are a soft blue.
Her lips open in awe, and she looks back at the screen that now illuminates with a menu. Glacier presses the button that reads Lights and a submenu
comes forward.
The option Ceiling is highlighted, with other options including Floor and Vanity below it. Glacier taps Ceiling and the lights turn off. She then presses Floor. Small floor lights brighten the shiny room with a softer glow than the ceiling lights. Glacier presses the button again, and the room is dark once more.
Glacier presses another button and the door closes. She walks across to the other doorway opposing the bed. This one has no door, just an entrance with the same panel as the bathroom. Glacier presses the same Light button as she did for the bathroom, and the light flickers on.
Glacier finds at least a hundred variations of clothing lining the wardrobe racks, and shoes of all varieties filling the shelves. She walks into the spacious room, touching all the soft fabrics of the fancy dresses and skirts. Everything is blue, with the odd white and black accessories.
Hunting through the gowns and fancy dress shirts, she searches for something comfortable and clean to wear to bed. Something that isn’t stained with her father’s blood.
The closest Glacier can find to comfortable looking nightwear is a silk black nightgown that only reaches mid-thigh and a pair of cotton undergarments. She locates a blue robe near the jackets, and takes them with her to the bathroom.
Glacier only turns on the vanity and floor lights when she enters the bathroom this time. She rests her pyjamas on the counter and observes her reflection. Her hair sits limp and knotted, and her face is flush with patchy pink cheeks and a dark purple bruise across her nose. Her eyes, something her father had always said were uniquely beautiful, are bloodshot and lifeless.
Here I am, surrounded in riches and glamour and luxury, and all I want is my broken home and my shabby clothing.
Glacier feels deep down that she is wasting the opportunity that she has by being here, but she can’t bring herself to care about it. She doesn’t want the luxury, or the money, or the fame when it came at the price of her father’s life and Castor’s freedom.
She turns in the mirror, and pulls her sweater down past her shoulder to see where her skin tingles in pain; there are two large puncture marks adorning her skin, looking red and swollen with irritation. Glacier moves away from the mirror and moves back to turn off the vanity light. She doesn’t want to look at herself when she looks as miserable and pathetic as she does.
The Frozen Beginning (Elemental Diamond Book 1) Page 4
