Glacier approaches the tree line, scoping what she can see. When she doesn’t see anything dangerous, she continues on ahead. Her bare feet trek through the icy thickness coating the forest floor. She is unfazed by the tiny icicles that slowly melt against her flesh.
She grips her hair, ringing as much water as she can from it. She squeezes and twists her white locks, drying to lighten her heavy head. When she hears something odd in the distance, her body stiffens. Her body stands submerged in the unknown woods, wearing only a dripping t-shirt and long trousers.
The noise sounds familiar, like the music box her father had made her when she was four. She cannot identify where the sound is coming from, but biting curiosity has Glacier pining for its location.
Fear instantly grips her throat, her heart held captive.
The need to know what makes the sound out in these isolated woods, where no one should be, burns in her veins like hot water. In this moment, Glacier finally understands what her father has always meant every time he told her ‘curiosity killed the cat’.
Glacier’s palms touch the bark of the pine trees that broaden into the thick forest that surrounds her. Glazed with a sheer coat of ice, creating a slippery barrier against the aged wood. Glacier walks through the purest of white, leaving deep footprints in her place. The soft wind carries the sound to her. Every tune and every note is heard.
The breeze blows her curly white mane across her nose, sending water dripping across her cheek. The melody guides her to secrets that are begging to be discovered. The frigid air holds no value against her flesh as she follows an unmarked path between the trees.
It is a long walk. The melodic tones pass through her entire body, surging her on. The sound grows the further she walks. Glacier enjoys the soft sound. The snow crackles beneath her feet like crinkling paper, seeping between her toes like shredded mud.
When she notices something odd in the distance, Glacier stumbles into a slow jog. Each step brings her closer, and as they do it becomes easier to distinguish what the odd shape is.
It looks like a building, no a house. No, it’s a shack, a small brown shack.
The wooden panels of the shack are rotten. There is an apparent smell, almost distinguishable. The decking is broken and bent with gaping holes scattered like booby traps. The steps leading up to the wide open door are shattered into slivers of broken wood. The roof is layered with a thicker sheet of snow than the ground, and the windows are glassed with a frozen aura. Scorch marks aimlessly stain the wooden exterior of the shack, as though–
Glacier quickly scopes her surroundings, noticing the black burns stained to the tree trunks of nearby pines. The soft melody continues on around her, emanating from the worn ruins. Despite her mind and body throbbing on high alert, her curiosity continues to outweigh her caution. Glacier brings her focus back to the shack, when she realizes there is no immediate danger. There is a small whispering voice in her mind, cautioning her.
Don’t go in the cabin. Don’t go in the cabin. Don’t go in the cabin.
Despite her better judgment, Glacier proceeds with small steps towards the remnants of the broken house, lured by the peaceful song.
Glacier watches her feet as she tests the stability of the aged wood. Her toes press against the boards, the coarse wood prickling her sensitive flesh. The planks support her weight, but release a small squeak. Glacier quickly moves to the next plank, stepping around the dangerous gaping hole.
Taking a cautious step past the threshold of the small hut, she enters into what appears to be an old sitting room. The house holds no sign of restoration. What she guesses to be a once lovely balm floral sofa is now a heaped mess of scorched fabric and patchy framings. The flowers from the cloth are faded, but the faint patterns are not omissible to her keen eye.
Glacier drinks in her surroundings, from the seared sheets of the wallpaper to the sharp corners of the shattered glass residing in fractured window frames. The rug below her feet is in patchy tatters, hopelessly willing to remain in one piece.
Her attention is captured by the sudden silence. Her body stiffens, switching to shut down mode as utter terror fills her body like water. Her eyes are all that move, as they flicker fearfully to the end of the corridor to her right. An eerie stillness embeds itself within her, terrifying her to the bone.
I was wrong. This was a mistake. I shouldn’t have come here!
Glacier slowly retreats, careful of where she steps as she keeps her eyes glued to the dark and narrow corridor.
Then suddenly, the soft lulling sound begins once more. It starts with its slow, drawling beginning before it gradually gains momentum.
At the sound of the comforting harmony, Glacier then makes a second unwise decision.
Turning back to the empty corridor, the melody leads her.
Glacier treads carefully down the narrow walkway towards the melodious sound. The voice inside her head begs her to turn around. To go back to where she came from. Pretend she never found the decrepit cottage.
That she never made it this far…
Throwing caution to the wind, Glacier takes the final steps towards the doorframe that entailed one of the greatest mysteries of her life so far.
Leaning forward slightly, she peeps into the room, surveying it before imprudently entering.
Glacier feels her eyebrows furrow, and her jaw fall slightly.
Is that what I think it is?
Against her better instincts to hightail it out of the shack and forget everything she has seen so far, Glacier leans forward on her toes, peeping into the room once more.
It’s a boy.
He sits on a small wooden bench seat, perched at a strange wooden table with long white buttons. At least fifty white ones with fewer shorter black buttons between the white.
How is he doing that?
But what makes it truly fascinating is as the boy’s fingers pressed each button, a different sound echoes harmoniously around and beyond the room.
It’s like a sound box!
Her eyes bulge with surprised wonder. Glacier watches his fingers dance along the buttons, creating a flow of synchronized music that caresses her skin, calming her nerves. The song could easily lull her into a deep slumber.
Leaning forward, she peeks into the room for a better view. The plank beneath her feet creaks loudly, echoing above the noise of the sound box.
The melody stops suddenly, and her eyes flicker to the boy. He sits at the bench, with eyes that capture her entirely. Their dark orange irises are wide with surprise. He gawks at her with his jaw clenched, like he was biting a nail.
Her eyes are wide with fearful attention, glued to the ball of hot flaming fire that sits in his hand like a thrashing orb.
Fire elemental…
Glacier takes off down the corridor with her heart in her throat, her mind blurring with how many more stupid decisions she has left to make before curiosity finally kills the cat.
Curiosity can suck it! Never again.
Her naked feet pound in tune with the squeaks of the flimsy aged floorboards. When she reaches the door, Glacier leaps over the gaping hole in the balcony in a single bound. Her feet land in the crushed snow, sinking knee deep. Clumsily catching herself with her hands, she presses them deep into the white slush.
“Wait!”
The boy’s voice is frantic, alarming her. But fear isn't what alarms her. It is something else. Something familiar. His voice sounds young.
“Don’t go! Wait, please!”
Mixed with the adrenaline and her jerky movements, Glacier’s stomach turns with queasiness.
Dodging tree after tree, Glacier criss-crosses through them like hurdles. Running for no longer than ten seconds, Glacier suddenly finds herself sprawled on the ground once more, face first in the snow.
However, the wet slosh coating her frame is the least of her concerns. Rolled onto her back, Glacier is pinned to the slushy ground by an incredibly warm pair
of hands.
Glancing up with frightful eyes, she is frantic for escape but frozen in fear. The boy looks down at her, his face close.
His warm coloured eyes shine with excitement and adrenaline, but his face portrays exhaustion and wariness.
The remarkable colouring to his eyes leaves her breathless, stunned by the endless depths.
Snow has melted in his soft brown dapper curls, with small specks of water droplets glistening at the tips of the short locks.
His face is noticeably young.
He’s a fire elemental!
His breath blows gently against her skin, heat seeping from his hands through the material of her clothing. Glacier is caught in a whirlwind she wasn’t aware she had entered.
It is one she has no idea how to escape.
“I won’t hurt you, I promise. You just surprised me…”
His voice is strong, but not raspy with age. His skin looks soft and young. She would guess that the two of them are close in age. His jaw is strong, his nose narrow. His blood-orange gaze glows with the adrenaline of the short chase.
He watches her, waiting for her to kick and scream until the last flake of snow falls from the sky.
“Wow…” he mumbles, gazing at her with wonder.
Oh crap, my eyes! He’s probably thinking that I'm a freak…
Glacier looks away, shutting her eyes so he can't see them.
“Wait, let me see…Please…”
Unsure why her eyes open at his request, she watches him with caution. The boy’s eyes widen further as he gazes deeply into hers.
Glacier doesn’t expect him to whisper, “That’s amazing.” He slowly climbs off her.
The absence of his weight leaves her with a puzzling feeling in her stomach. Ignoring it, she is helped to her feet by his grip on the front of her shirt.
“I’m sorry,” he starts, “about tackling you. I just…”
He pauses for a moment, gazing at her with those fascinating orangey-brown eyes, “I have never met anyone else that has made it over the border…”
Against her better judgment and natural instinct, she asks “Why are you all the way out here, in that broken old shack?” Her voice is jittery, but ultimately Glacier holds strong. Her fingers tingle and her skin cools to her normal body temperature as the adrenaline slowly subsides.
He looks genuinely curious about her, about her presence.
Maybe he is wondering why I haven’t taken off again?
“Why are you all the way out here? And how did you find my shack?” His voice supports his curiously raised eyebrow. His lips pucker slightly as he contemplates her possible answers. Glacier’s focus remains on those light pink lips as opposed to answering his questions.
“I, uh–” Glacier is uncertain how to answer his questions.
Do I tell him the truth? Would it be better if I lie?
“I asked you first.”
His eyes flash with excitement. “Well,” he says, the corner of his lip hitching, “I’m not going to answer your questions until you answer mine.”
He steps closer until he is a foot from where she stands. His eyes flicker to his wet maroon sweater. The bottom of the sweater is now a darker red, opposed to the shoulders and chest.
Glacier takes a clumsily step back, her mouth popping like a goldfish. Instead, she changes the subject.
“Why haven’t you tried to kill me yet?” Glacier watches him with attentiveness, preparing herself for an attack. Her father had taught her a few manoeuvres once, but Glacier has never been brave enough to use them until now.
His eyes sadden before he speaks, “I already promised that I wouldn’t hurt you. I wasn’t lying,” he speaks wistfully. “I won’t.”
Watching him for a second longer, the boy surrenders his hands above his head in submission. Glacier brings her feet together once more, before assessing him.
Wearing tan trousers, and a thick red sweater with a button down collar, he is dressed casually for the cold.
“So, what’s your name?” he rushes. Suddenly her hackles raise and her caution is on high alert.
Don’t tell him your name. He could run back and tell someone from his region. I would be in so much trouble…
“I should probably go home now,” she mutters, turning away without having answered any of his question. “It’s getting late…”
His eyes widen again, surprised with her response. “Wait, please don’t go,” the boy begs.
His portrait is one of desperation as he reaches forward to snatch her arm. Glacier wrenches her arm back, startled by his sudden grabbing. Her eyes are wide, her breathing heavy as she backs off quicker than before.
The boy brings his hands above his head in surrender again, showing he is no threat. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you…”
Glacier knows when his face lights up that he has thought of something. “Do you want to hear me play the piano?”
He watches her expectantly, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Glacier shakes her head to clear her thoughts, exchanging a strange look with him before asking him what a ‘piano’ is. His reaction is one of confusion.
His lips tilt down slightly as he speaks, “Don’t you know what a piano is?” Glacier shakes her head side to side, attempting to speak when he steps close, leaving minimal space between the two of them.
Before she can think to step back, he is speaking again. “I’ll show you. Just come with me.”
He holds his hand out, looking towards her hopefully. Her mind boggles at the thoughts racing through her mind.
Here I am, coaxed back into the death trap of a ‘cottage’ I just ran from to escape a fire elemental that I am currently speaking to…
Her thoughts, however, do not cloud her already-made decision.
Instead of taking his hand, she steps closer until she is standing next to him. She nods her head in the direction of the decrepit shack.
“Alright, I’ll come on one condition…”
He pulls his hand back to his body when he realizes she is not going to take it. He watches her with curiosity.
“What’s the condition?” He does not take his eyes off her. Not for a second.
Glacier takes in a big breath, to calm herself. The cold frigid air calms her lungs substantially. This is the first time Glacier has ever meet a fire elemental …
Please don’t kill me…
Staring directly into those strangely beautiful orange eyes, she becomes so deeply entranced that she almost forgets to answer him.
“If you won’t hurt me… Will you be my friend?”
TWELVE
ICE FIELD
“Fielder, we need to go back out…”
Sighing in agreement, Fielder places his hand against her back, creating a beautiful scorching sensation from the connection of their flesh. Biting her lips, she resists moaning at the feeling.
He is so warm…
Leaving the sanctuary of the bathroom, Glacier walks faster to move ahead of him. Fielder matches her pace, his hand languidly searing her skin.
“Fielder, the night is almost over–”
“You still haven’t danced with me yet.”
His eyes linger with disappointment. Glacier remembers him asking her at the hotel to save him a dance, not thinking he would follow up on it.
“Tomorrow night. I promise.”
His eyes suddenly become guarded, his eyes hissing with distrust as he remembers the last time she promised him something.
He hadn’t seen her again after that.
“Alright,” he agrees, “tomorrow night.”
~
The next morning is equally as awkward and uncomfortable as the last. Glacier wakes up, dresses, and finds herself waiting at the elevator doors with Neena and Keena once again. Only this time, Branch is waiting as well.
“It might be our turn today, Glacier!” Branch says, perking at the idea. He rubs his
hands together with a teasing smile. Glacier rolls her eyes, returning the smile nonetheless.
The trip down the elevator today is undisturbed and quick. At the lobby they split to their separate drivers, all without saying a word.
Lien speaks softly, telling Glacier how beautiful she had looked last night. Suddenly feeling stupid, she realizes that she had not seen Lien at the ball with his wife. Promising to find him and his wife at the gala tonight, they settle into a comfortable silence.
Her mind and body are numb with stillness, as the Hydra team is lowered down the same elevator platform that leaves them at the tunnel leading toward the arena. The thought of battling again terrifies her.
What if I'm chosen today? If it’s not, then it’ll only be tomorrow…
Glacier know that Thomes will be seated at the front of the crowd, as he had been yesterday. Because of this, Glacier is terrified that she will hurt whoever it is that she battles.
What if I kill someone again?
The image of Mr Michaels hanging in the air with a large ice shard penetrating his torso hovers at the forefront of her mind like a plague, tormenting her.
I won’t hurt anybody. I will control it.
As her team moves down the small barred walkway, Glacier consciously waits for someone to yell out to her.
But the only sounds are the cheers of excitement.
The anticipation thrumming in the air fills the room like music. It is clear that what happened to Care yesterday in the arena is the last thing on the audience’s mind.
Tanner waits for the team at the bottom of the corridor, greeting them with basic pleasantries before moving into the underground arena.
The ring where the battles take place seems untouched by any lava that may have stained or altered the form of it, like yesterday hadn’t happened.
Shifting behind the glass box, everyone waits for the Pyre team to enter the arena. The Terra team are already seated, one seat is empty.
The five of them sit huddled around on their bench, discussing something private and important. Their eyes continuously flicker around, keeping constant watch over their surroundings.
The Frozen Beginning (Elemental Diamond Book 1) Page 14
