She feels nothing but loneliness. And isolation. And abnormality.
Never before has she felt as different as she does in this moment.
Glacier can barely hear past the ringing in her ears. The voices are muffled from the layer of ice covering the holes in the glass. A loud, sudden whizzing sound bursts the silence of the glass case that traps her, and her skin starts to boil in the heat. The heat builds in crescendo, until Glacier feels faint.
~
Glacier wakes to a pale light shining above her. Lying in a small single bed, a bar frame brackets either side of the cot. The pillows behind her head are positioned to sit up, causing a cramp to manifest over the time she has been unconscious.
Gazing around, she gouges her surroundings. The private room has two sidewalls made entirely from glass. One side has a vast view of the city, with the skyscrapers still towering above, and the other has a small office-looking room, with a large crème circle bench.
Behind the bench Glacier can see a blonde woman with her hair pulled into a slick ponytail, staring intently at her through the glass wall.
Glacier shies away from the woman’s intense gaze when she presses her finger to the small device in her ear. A glowing microphone appears, similar to the one her driver had. The woman speaks into the microphone with a calm exterior and hushed voice, still watching Glacier attentively.
The sound of loud talking approaches the closed door. Glacier can hear both male and female voices speaking in brash tones, talking about the dangers of something.
“It’s not safe to put her out there!”
“They will all target her first!”
“Her team will not protect her. They think she is a hybrid!”
Hybrid.
That word resonates in her head, taunting her endlessly.
“That’s impossible. Hampton said that she wasn’t a part of the trial, so she has to be something else…”
Trial?
The voices are closer to the door now; there is momentary silence for a few seconds.
“Don’t be a damn fool, Karn. She has to have been a part of it. How else could she have happened?”
What are they talking about?
“You called to say she is awake, nurse?”
“Yes. You told me to call you as soon as I saw any progressive movement…” The nurse speaks softly. She is looking down respectively as she addresses whomever she speaks to. Glacier cannot see; the group stands where the glass cuts off for the next room.
The sound of the footsteps approaching sets off a loud and fast beeping from a machine to Glacier’s side. Glacier looks over at the harping monitor perched beside her cot, finding a small box with bold numbers glowing on the face. The number grows higher as she becomes further agitated.
Her eyes follow down to a small tugging in her arm. She discovers a small little patch placed in the crease of her arm, with a tube leading out from under it. Glacier can feel something prodding into her skin.
Her head whips to the door when she hears a whoosh. It opens out the same strange way as her suite at the Persia. Waiting on the other side of the door is Karn and Emilia, the two High Chamber Seats representing Hydren. Accompanying them are four daunting guards.
Karn watches Glacier with curiosity, whilst Emilia stares with a sad look in her starry eyes.
“How are you feeling, Miss Wardgrave?” It is Karn who speaks first. He takes the first step towards her with cautious eyes, like he is expecting an attack. Nodding her head in reply, Glacier keeps her eyes low.
She doesn’t feel overly unwell like the first time she had used her element; she mostly feels achy and hot. Her hair is a wild mess around her face, itching her cheeks and the cut on her forehead. Her eyes sting from the grogginess, her mouth is dry and tacky.
“Your power seems to be extremely…strenuous on your body and mind, Miss Wardgrave…”
Emilia speaks as she steps into the room, moving closer to Glacier’s bed than Karn had. A guard rushes forward, bringing a chair from the side of the room, perching it beside Glacier’s bed. Emilia sits down in the seat, watching Glacier with desolate eyes. Knowing the look well, and it causes a churning in her stomach that Glacier despises.
“I don’t mean to sound rude, but I don’t need your pity, Chamber-woman. I can handle it.” Glacier’s voice isn’t as strong as she’d have liked it to be, due to the inevitable croakiness from her dry throat. She juts her chin to appear tougher than she feels.
Emilia nods her head slowly, still watching with pessimism, “Yes, of course… my apologies, my dear.”
Leaning forward in her seat, Emilia bends closer to Glacier’s form. She flinches back, uncomfortable with Emilia’s nearness.
The Chamber-woman’s pointer lightly traces over the ugly scar on Glacier’s forehead. Unnerved by her forwardness, Glacier turns her head away from the other woman’s touch. A deep frown pulls on Emilia’s eyebrows, pinching her lips together as she backs away.
“Your skin is as cold as ice. Do you need another cover?”
Shaking her head in response, Glacier keeps her gaze on her bony fingers.
“Well, we came to ensure you are well enough to compete.” It is Karn who speaks this time, “If you need a day or so to build up your strength, then that is not a problem. We will just swap the battles around—”
Her mind fills with the memory of Castor’s tear-welled eyes and blotchy red cheeks from the live video feed in Chancellor Staren’s office.
If I take time away from the event, Staren will take the chance to hurt him…
“I feel great, actually. Can I go back to the hotel right now?”
Karn seems surprised by her quick answer; he masks his disbelief with a gracious smile. “That’s great! However, the doctor would like to keep you overnight for observation—”
Glacier cuts him off once more, “I’m alright to leave now. I want to compete.” She tries to make her words convincing, but even to her own ears she can hear her reluctance.
Karn nods his head, his features wondering. Karn turns back to one of the guards in the room, addressing them for the first time.
“Sid, go retrieve the doctor and inform him that Miss Wardgrave is feeling well enough to leave tonight.”
The guard he addresses has short-cropped light ash blonde hair, with strong green eyes. In his left ear, he has a small earing, a thin grey circle. He nods his head respectfully before doing as the Chamber-man asks. His eyes scan over Glacier’s form, his eyebrows furrowed, before he leaves the room.
Glacier tries sitting up on the bed, her body aching. She clenches her teeth as she swings her legs over the side. A rush of air attacks her newly exposed flesh, making her feel uncomfortable as the others in her room see her pale white flesh.
A doctor rushes into her room, shortly followed by the guard who had fetched him. The doctor looks frazzled and messy; he is the first person in Alluvium Glacier has come across that doesn’t appear well kept.
His long dark hair is tangled and messy, and he has a long dark beard in the same form as his hair. His thick-framed glasses sit on the bridge of his nose, pressing against his red puffy cheeks. His long white coat is left unbuttoned, revealing a button-down red and navy checker shirt.
“You're awake…” The messy doctor seems astonished. Glacier nods her head slowly.
“Yes doctor, that is quite obvious. Now if you would discharge her, we will escort Glacier back to the Persia.” Karn seems unimpressed with the doctors’ attire. He speaks in a bored tone, with disgust curving his top lip.
The doctor’s eyes remain focused on his patient. She fidgets uncomfortably beneath his stare. “I advised strongly against that. Miss Wardgrave is—”
“She says she is fine, doctor. We have a tournament to hold, so if she is feeling alright, I see no reason why she cannot leave.”
The doctor seems irritated when the Chamberman speaks over him. “Well, before she is discharged, I wo
uld like to ask a series of questions and run a few tests to ensure that she is feeling as fit as she claims. And for that I will need you all to leave the room, to prevent any distractions or disruptions.”
Karn’s lips part as he moves to argue with the doctor on his request. Emilia rises from her seat beside the bed and walks towards him.
“Karn, listen to the doctor. We will wait outside for her.”
The Chamberman seems disgruntled by her persuasion. He straightens his coat, patting it flat against his chest before they leave the way they came, the door collapsing closed behind them. Glacier’s skin crawls as the doctor approaches her, stopping a small distance away from her legs.
He takes a deep breath, before blowing it out loudly, “Well, it’s good to see you’re alright then, Miss Wardgrave.”
Glacier nods her head, her hair swinging past her shoulders to rest on her chest. She then asks the doctor, “How long have I been asleep?”
He sighs again, “Around four hours. The start of the tournament is taking place in eight hours’ time.” His voice is sad and eerie as he says this, before he takes a step towards her and reaches out for her hand. He turns it over and presses his thumb to her pulse. On his name badge it says ‘Doctor Eli Cartmen’. Next to his name badge is a small pin, a grey circle. The same as the guard had in his ear.
“What is your full name?”
Glacier gives him a confused look before answering, “Glacier Elis Wardgrave.”
“What region are you from?” She dithers at his question.
This is pointless.
“I don’t understand why—”
“Please just answer the questions truthfully, Miss Wardgrave.”
She nods, then answers, “Hydren.”
“How old are you?” He presses his thumb harder against her wrist as he watches the small box with the bold numbers. The numbers drop and rise slowly, almost unnoticeably.
“Seventeen.”
“What number are you in the Hydra team?”
“Six.”
“What elemental are you?” Glacier pauses at his question, watching him curiously as she contemplates her answer.
“Water.” The beeping on the monitor rises slightly with her answer, but the doctor doesn’t seem surprised.
“What is your mother’s name?” She flinches at the word ‘mother’.
“I don’t know. I didn’t have one growing up.” Glacier pulls her wrist away from the doctor, cradling it to her chest. No one has asked about her mother for a long time.
“Well, that went exactly as I thought it would.”
Staring at the shabby doctor with astonishment, Glacier’s eyebrows crease.
What does that mean?
Before she can ask Cartmen what he meant, he continues, “Now Glacier, the reason you are here is because your body rapidly expelled too much energy. You experienced the effects of malnutrition. Your… element seems to be very draining on your body and mind. My advice is to go as easy as you can with using it. If you can, use it as little as possible.”
Glacier nods, absorbing the knowledge. Despite his warnings, she knows that there is nothing she can do about how often she will use her element.
“Miss Wardgrave, please understand that you have complete patient confidentiality – so what we speak about stays between you and I…” Glacier once again nods her head in understanding.
The doctor seems to have a difficult question lingering on the tip of his tongue, forming an uncomfortable grimace.
“I must ask you about the small device you have embedded into your lower back.”
Her body seizes at the mention of the microchip.
‘And the Chancellor told me to remind you: mouth shut, or your little friend will be dealt with’. Thomes’ voice sounds through her mind like warning bells, reminding her of what he promised.
“Um…uh…” Her mind cannot invent a valid excuse to explain it, so instead she says nothing.
Cartmen sighs disappointedly at her response, “I want you to feel safe, Miss Wardgrave. I will not breathe a word about it to anyone, if that is what you are concerned about.”
Glacier takes a deep breath before shaking her head, her eyes stinging. “I can't…”
His lips press together in a thin line, his eyes filling with sadness as he nods his head, “It’s alright.” Cartmen holds both her hands as he helps her down from the bed, supporting her when her legs wobble dangerously from the new pressure.
He leans forward and whispers in her ear, “Just know that there are people that will help you when you don’t feel safe.”
Her jaw clenches at his words. Glacier contemplates his meaning.
SEVEN
ELEVATOR
Glacier slides her arms into the long-sleeved uniform jacket. Adjusting her bra, the sleeveless camisole underneath tightens uncomfortably around her wider midsection. The skin-tight charcoal trousers constrict against her flesh as she walks to the bathroom, but it does not feel awkward.
The fabric of her formal battle uniform is soft against her flesh despite its snug fitting. They feel like a second skin, the tight blue hue and white-striped seams matching her constricting jacket.
Do the girls that normally compete starve themselves? How do they fit into this stuff?
She switches the light on and steps into the silent bathroom. Retrieving the hair elastic resting on the counter, she ignorantly fiddles with it for a moment as she ponders what might happen in the arena today.
Glacier looks up at her reflection, but the girl staring back seems like a stranger.
Her hair frames her face with its usual relentless frizz. Her eyes have dark purple circles below, and her skin seems ghostly against her red scar above her eyebrow. Her jade eye seems darker than usually, her cobalt eye dim. Her face is washed out and irrefutably drained.
Glacier sighs at the sight of her pathetic reflection. There is a pull on her heartstrings as she realizes how much her suffering over the past few days has nearly drained her of life.
I want this all to be a bad dream. Dad isn’t dead. Castor is safe. I’m not about to compete in a stupid tournament to represent a region that has never considered me one of their own.
But no matter how tightly Glacier squeezes her eyes together, she opens them to the same cruel reality that has taken her father’s life. That has put Castor at risk, and has her competing in this imprudent competition.
She hastily pulls her hair back into a bulbous ponytail, catching all the wispy hairs that struggle away. Her breath hitches when she feels the tugging of her sensitive flesh at the centre of her lower back, where the imbedded chip rests nestled in her skin. Breathing through the small jerks of pain, Glacier continues to tie her white waves back behind her ears.
Her hands fall once she finishes tightening it, and her jacket lowers back down around her torso.
“Miss Glacier, I have your driver Mr Grimond paging from the lobby, requesting your presence.”
Glacier jumps from the sudden sound of PAM’s robotic voice. She takes a deep breath, steeling her spine.
I might not even compete today…
Wait, who’s Mr Grimond?
“Thank you PAM. Can you tell, uh, Mr Grimond I will be down shortly?” Her voice is steady compared to her heartbeat.
This is it.
“As you wish, Miss Glacier.”
Staring for a while longer, Glacier nods her head determinedly at her reflection before leaving the bathroom with a stiff stride. Once she is close enough, the suite door folds out, opening in its peculiar way.
I don’t think I will ever get used to that.
Glacier strolls out into the hall, finding one of the twins standing by the elevator doors. From the long sleek hair tied in a thick braid, she identifies which twin it is immediately.
What if she thinks I’m a freak? What if she’s scared of me? Will she say something?
Squaring her shoulders and taking a lon
g breath, Glacier continues towards the elevator doors at the end of the corridor. Having heard her approach, Neena’s head turns in her direction. Her small smile calms Glacier’s nerves the littlest bit.
“Good morning.” Neena’s voice is soft and delicate, much like her figure.
Despite being identical twins, Neena looks like porcelain in comparison to Keena’s rougher look. Neena stands slightly taller than Glacier, her skin a light crème, not a single freckle to tarnish her complexion. Her raven hair is in a long braid down the centre of her back, full and shiny. She is dressed in an identical uniform to Glacier’s, but with her naturally beautiful features, she looks equally as flawless as she did in her gown at the introductions.
“Morning,” Glacier replies, staring down at the tip of her shoes to avoid eye contact.
“Are you excited for today?” Neena’s question catches her off guard.
Am I excited? Of course not. I didn’t want to be here in the first place.
“Sure, I am.”
Neena nods at her response, but adds nothing. The two of them wait patiently for the elevator, surrounded in uncomfortable silence. Glacier doesn’t like the quiet. It is as unnerving as Neena’s continuously staunch gaze.
“Um, do you know where the rest of the, uh, team is?” Glacier manages to pull the sentence together awkwardly, uncomfortable under the twin’s scrutiny.
The water elemental shrugs, “Most of them are probably already at the arena. Keena is still getting ready; she woke up a little late.”
Neena looks like she wants to say more than that, but she remains quiet as she watches Glacier cautiously. Suddenly realizing where her attention lies, Glacier hunches her shoulders and lower her head to gaze down at her charcoal runners.
“If you think of me as some sort of bomb that will explode any moment now, then you don’t have to worry; nothing’s going to happen.”
I hope.
Neena seems to relax at her words, but she still manages to shoot her a confused look.
The Frozen Beginning (Elemental Diamond Book 1) Page 8
