Hearts Under Ice

by CS Patra

  “Is the Frost Queen evil?” Olivia asked.

  “On the contrary, she’s a relatively good ruler. She just has her moods.” The shop owner said. “Unfortunately for us, those moods affect the weather. It can have a huge effect on my business, too. People don’t tend to come in when the storms are raging. We’re used to them, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be annoyed by them.”

  “How often do the storms come in?”

  “You’re not from around here, are you?” the shop owner asked. Before Olivia could say anything, he added, “It’s okay. We get a lot of travelers in these parts. The storms are very random. You can see them in the earliest hours of the morning, or deep into the night. You can always tell when they’re about to come up, though. It starts with a small gust of wind. Then the wind will pick up, and the snow will start to fall. Soon it will fall faster, and then a bigger gust of wind blows in. Before long, all you will see is nothing but white snow. You must also be careful around the ice. The trees get covered with dangerous icicles, and they will fall at any given moment.”

  “Thanks for the advice,” Gemma said. “What kind of potions will we need?”

  “Mostly medicinal and herbal potions.” The shopkeeper handed her a box. “Be careful of the ice wolves out there. In the event that you are bitten, you should have something at hand to take care of the wound and scratches. There are also all kinds of poisonous plants growing in the woods.”

  “In the snow?” Olivia asked.

  “Just because it’s cold doesn’t mean we don’t have plants and flowers. There are going to be a lot of things in those woods that you need to look out for. Do you want me to add a guidebook to help you figure out which plants are poisonous?”

  Olivia looked over at Alice, who sighed and nodded. “Just throw it on top with everything else. By the way, have you seen anyone come in here lately from another world?”

  “I’ve seen a lot of people come in here. They stopped by and get supplies from me.”

  “Well, we’re talking about someone who is a—” Olivia stopped herself and wondered if this village had scientists in it. “Um, he’s a—medicine man. Did he come over here for anything?”

  “I haven’t seen any medicine men in here. What does he look like?”

  “He has dark hair, green eyes, some freckles across his nose—” Olivia tried her hardest to think about any particular marks Donnie had. She had spent so much time looking at him that she had made mental notes about all of his features. Thinking about him and his freckles now made her miss him even more. “He is probably a little older than I am, and taller, too.”

  “Hmm—I can’t say that I have seen anyone fitting that description around here. Definitely no medicine man, anyway. If I do see him though, I’ll let him know that you’re looking for him.”

  “Thank you.” Olivia watched as Ms. Howard paid for everything and put it all in a giant bag. “Do you know the quickest way to the Frost Queen’s castle?”

  “Turn left into the woods and keep going straight. Those castles will be hard to miss. I do suggest waiting until morning, though. It’s going to get dark soon, and you don’t want to get caught during a night storm. The inn is next door, and they only require a few coins,” he explained. “Ask the innkeeper. He may have seen your friend.”

  “I will. Thank you for all of your help.” Olivia nodded as Ms. Howard dragged her to a dressing room. Alice and Gemma followed them inside. “Wait, what are we doing here?”

  “Getting dressed.” Ms. Howard handed her the big fur coat and red scarf. “You cannot brave those winter winds with what you’re wearing now. That pleated skirt and nice blouse combo would work if you were going to school. As we are in a strange world that is covered in ice and snow, I think you need to be dressed a little more warmly.”

  “Point taken.” Olivia put them on. Gemma handed her some boots and gloves that matched the scarf. “But why are we dressing up like this if the inn is next door?”

  “We’re not stopping there right now,” Alice explained. “We can’t waste any time while your boyfriend is trapped in here. Something tells me that he’s not in a good situation right now. We will move as fast as we can while the sun is still out. The faster we move, the quicker we’ll reach him.”

  Olivia nodded. She was thinking the same thing, but had said nothing about it. Her mind was on Donnie and where he could be. He wasn’t running around in this world for no reason. He wouldn’t just get up, leave, and not tell anyone about it. This Brotherhood of Iced Blood had taken him, and she had a strong feeling they weren’t exactly hospitable people. As the other ladies moved on out, her mind was on Donnie. She had gotten that message, loud and clear. She had heard him when no one else did. She knew he wasn’t in the best of places, and he wanted her. He needed her.

  Hang in there, Donnie, she thought. I’m coming for you. One way or another, I will bring you home.

  Chapter Eighteen

  As soon as the group headed out, darkness began to fall. They all learned quickly that this world was not like home. Towns were few and far between. The four of them had been walking for ten minutes, yet it felt like they had only gone about a foot into the woods. Olivia began to see why everyone kept warning her to not go after dark. Once it went pitch black, she wouldn’t be able to see anything. Swallowing hard, she held Ms. Howard’s hand and followed the three older women. At the moment, she had to trust them. She was in a new world, one that she didn’t know was real until now. This was not her dream anymore. If she died tonight, that would be it for her.

  “How far is the castle?” she asked.

  “If we keep going straight, we should get there eventually,” Gemma said. “Of course, I did ask around. Some people said it would take three hours. Others said it would take three days.”

  “We don’t really have three days to waste here.”

  “You think I don’t know that? I want to get your boyfriend out of there as fast as possible. Whoever took him didn’t do it for a good reason.”

  “He’s not my boyfriend.”

  “Well, whoever he is, he’s clearly in danger. You said that he couldn’t make it here on his own. Someone must have dragged him here.”

  Olivia listened to the hooting of owls and looked back at where they’d started. “You know, I’m starting to think that we should have stayed at that inn. It really is dark out. How far do you think the next village is?”

  “According to this map,” Alice looked down at the map that they had purchased, “the next village is fifteen miles away.”

  “Fantastic. You don’t suppose there would be an inn out here, huh?”

  “Probably not, so stay alert.” Ms. Howard turned her head to the left. “I think I heard something from there. It sounded like someone was chopping something.”

  Olivia gulped and stuck close to the other three. “Let’s go back to where we were. If there’s some serial killer on the loose here, I don’t want to stick around to find out.”

  They ignored Olivia and kept walking into the woods, where the strange sounds started to get louder. The sun had gone down completely, and only a little bit of daylight remained. Even the light from their lanterns wasn’t enough to guide them through it. The woods themselves were too dark to go deeper into, and Olivia hoped someone would change her mind and turn around. She didn’t want to sleep here for the night. The ground was wet with the snow, and those scary sounds coming from beyond the group were not much help to ease her fears. She saw a small cabin to the side with the lights on and wondered if they could spend the night there. Tugging on Ms. Howard’s arm, she nodded towards it.

  “I think we should stop now. There’s no more daylight,” she pointed out. “We can ask whoever lives there for some shelter.”

  Gemma shook her head. “I don’t know about that. We’re pressed for time. It doesn’t seem like anyone lives there, anyway.”

  “What are you talking about? The lights are on!” Olivia exclaimed. There was a howl coming from the woods
, and her stomach turned at the sound of it. It seemed like it was a little too close to them. “If you don’t want to stay here, we should turn back. Go back to that inn and start again in the morning.”

  Before anyone could argue, a figure appeared from behind the cabin. Olivia tried hard not to scream as it came into the light and started to approach them. Ms. Howard, Gemma, and Alice held their ground and waited to see what the figure would do. It stopped inches from the light to take a look.

  “Hold on! What are you doing here?”

  Olivia opened her eyes and saw who was standing in the light. It was a dark-skinned girl who was gathering wood in the back of the cabin. She held a pile of it in her arms. “What are you doing out at this hour? Don’t you know that the wolves are roaming around?”

  “I apologize for trespassing through your property, miss. We were looking for an inn to stay for the night, but didn’t find any.” Ms. Howard said, staying cool. “You wouldn’t happen to know where the nearest inn is, would you?”

  “In these woods, you’re not going to find an inn. You’d have to go further to get to one, and chances are, you’ll struggle in the dark. A lot of travelers come down here, but get lost easily.” The girl shook her head, nodding towards her cabin. “You’d better come inside my house and spend the night here. I’ll start a fire and make some tea. There’s no point in freezing out here. You can go search for the Frost Queen tomorrow.”

  “How did you know that we were going after the Frost Queen?” Olivia asked.

  “That’s the only reason anyone comes down here anymore,” the girl said. “Most people will usually stop right before they get to my house. They come in here to hunt and collect wood, but that’s about it. The only ones crazy enough to go beyond this point are those who want to see the Frost Queen.”

  “All right, you’ve got us there.” Alice agreed. “We are crazy enough to go after the Frost Queen but with good reason. We’re looking for someone, and we think that she might know where he is.”

  “I’ve heard that reason, too.” The girl let them inside, and everyone felt better immediately. The warmth in her cabin was ten times more welcoming than the cold. The cabin was small, but she had enough beds and room for them to sleep in. The fire was roaring, and there was something cooking in a pot that smelled delicious. Olivia wondered if it was okay to eat the food in this world. She was a little hungry, but she didn’t want to eat unless the other three deemed it to be okay. The girl pointed to the coatrack where everyone began to hang up their coats and get out of their winter clothes.

  “My name is Astrid.” She said, putting the logs by the fireplace. She stirred the pot a little bit and took a sniff. “This is almost ready to eat, and I have enough for all of us. I hope you all like vegetable stew.”

  “That will be fine.” Ms. Howard said. She saw Olivia’s face and added, “We would all like to have some. We haven’t eaten in a while, and had no idea what to do about dinner.”

  “It’s good thing you showed up at my doorstep then.” Astrid joked, giving each one a bowl of stew. “I made a lot so it could last me through the tough winter nights. The vegetables are from my garden. They last all year round.”

  Olivia took a bite and felt warmed up instantly. The stew tasted just as good as the one her mother made during cold nights at home. All of the vegetables were crisp and delicious, and the seasonings that Astrid used were a perfect blend of flavorful and tasty. She was glad that the food in another world was edible. As they all ate, Astrid gave them some water and put a few logs on the fire.

  “You should probably stay with me for the night. These woods aren’t safe for anyone, and I would hate to see you encounter one of those wolves. You can go back out in the morning when the storm has cleared.”

  “Thank you,” Olivia said sincerely. “I’m Olivia, and these are some of my friends. We were trying to get to the Frost Queen’s castle.”

  “You’re not the only ones,” Astrid said. “A lot of people come down this way just to find that castle. No one has seen what it looks like. You hear all kinds of things, but none of the stories match up. Anyway, why do you want to go to see her?”

  “We think she might have someone I know. By the way, you wouldn’t have happened to see a young man about my age, would you? He’s just a little taller than me, dark hair, green eyes, might be dressed like a—medicine man. Was someone like that wandering around here?”

  “A medicine man in this part of the woods? The only reason they’d come down here is if they needed to get herbs for their potions.” Astrid shook her head. “No one fitting that description has crossed my path, I’m afraid. Who is that, anyway?”

  “He’s a friend of hers.” Ms. Howard said. Olivia gave her a grateful look and secretly thanked her for not calling Donnie her boyfriend. “We think he’s been kidnapped by some group known as The Brotherhood of Iced Blood.”

  “The Brotherhood of Iced Blood?” she repeated, taking a seat and looking into her bowl of stew. “I was hoping you wouldn’t say that. It’s even worse than I feared.”

  “Are they dangerous?” Olivia asked.

  “I would say so. Their name makes everyone’s blood turn to ice.” Astrid nodded, taking a bite and swallowing. “They want to promote peace and freedom throughout the world.”

  Olivia finished her stew and put her spoon back in the bowl. “O-kay, I fail to see how that is dangerous. Someone who wants peace and freedom clearly has good intentions.”

  “On the contrary, that doesn’t make them good people,” Gemma said. “You have heard the expression that good intentions pave the road to Hell, right? I get what Astrid is trying to say. It sounds to me like this group wants to promote peace and freedom by causing chaos.”

  “Chaos is putting it lightly,” Astrid said. “I remember years ago when they first formed. They were able to successfully steal the Hearts Under Ice when no one else could. The Frost Queen eventually got it back, and they were all captured. They were questioned, but no one ever mentioned why they wanted it. When they refused to break, the case was dropped. After that fiasco, she decided that she couldn’t risk having it out in the open. That’s why she had so many identical castles built—so it would confuse anyone else that wanted to steal from her. The Brotherhood of Iced Blood ended up behind bars, and we all thought that was the end of it. I guess it’s not.” She pointed to the beds in the corner and started to collect the bowls. “You can sleep over there. They are the closest to the fireplace.”

  “Thanks, but I don’t think I can sleep now.” Olivia sighed, handing her the bowl. She was full and very satisfied from the stew. “I just want to know why someone would kidnap Donnie. He never really mentioned wanting to bring more freedom or peace into the world.”

  “Well, The Brotherhood of Iced Blood is all about freedom and peace. That’s what they claim, anyway. They have been spreading the idea of a free universe for a long time. That is not the problem. It’s that they go through extreme lengths to get their message across.”

  “Describe the extreme lengths,” Alice probed. “How bad are these people? They claim to stand for peace, but obviously that’s not what they want.”

  “Well, one day they tried to firebomb the Frost Queen’s castles during a snowstorm. They also tried to kidnap her, as well as other members of her royal court. Those attacks led to a lot of death and destruction. The world fell into chaos until several members of the group were captured. Even then, the riots and protests didn’t stop right away. There were many people who wanted the group to be released. They began to rebel because they wanted freedom. Thieves began to try to steal the Hearts Under Ice in hopes they could disrupt the world. Similar groups with the desire for a free world formed, and no one wanted to be under anyone else’s rule. The Frost Queen couldn’t take the destruction anymore. That’s also why she hid herself in the woods and made so many replicas of her castle. She wasn’t ready for the world to change.”

  “How powerful are those gems?” Olivia asked. “Do t
hey really control this world?”

  “Oh, yes. The gems are buried deep inside of solid ice, and no one can get them out. People have tried cutting and melting it, but they were never successful. The Frost Queen has begged us not to go after them, and disappeared. The last time anyone saw her was twenty years ago. I barely remember what she looked like.” Astrid put out the light in the lantern. “Anyway, I’ll tell you more in the morning. You need to get some rest if you want to get out early.”

  “We should.” Ms. Howard agreed, getting into her bed. “We have a long journey ahead of us.”

  Everyone said goodnight to each other and got into their beds. Olivia stared up at the ceiling and thought about her family. Her mother and father were probably worried sick by now. She had failed to leave them a note, but they would never have believed her story anyway. They would never understand how their daughter could be off in a parallel universe. Olivia herself was having a hard time accepting this whole situation. She had spoken to these people, visited their shops, and was now sleeping in someone’s house. Closing her eyes, she tried to send a message to her parents the same way that Donnie had sent a message to her.

  Mom…Dad…Guys, please don’t worry about me. I am alive. I am okay. I will explain everything when I come home. For now, you just need to trust me. I have to save my friend.

  It felt strange calling Donnie her friend now. They hadn’t spent enough time together to call each other that yet. Her heart was experiencing those palpitations again, now that she was thinking about him. She hoped that no one had killed him off yet. Inside, she knew he was alive. She also knew that he would fight to keep himself alive. Gripping the side of the bed, she tried to sleep. There were soft snores coming from the corner, but her mind wouldn’t shut up.

  Hang on, Donnie. I’ll be there soon.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Donnie was certain that he would have frozen to death in that cell, so he was surprised to find himself alive the next morning. He had been moved from the ice prison, and was now in a room made of metal. This time, his kidnappers had been kind enough to give him a pillow and blanket. All of his limbs were still intact, though his ankles remained an angry red. He had struggled against his chains too much the day before, and now they were in pain. As he sat up, he noticed that his hands were still shackled together with metal cuffs, but his feet were free. They had also been kind enough to leave his clothes on. His mouth felt awful inside, and he knew he needed a shower and a shave. Something told him that his kidnappers did not care about his personal hygiene. All they had done was give him a bed and take him out of the cold.