Disclaimer: Trinity Blood was created by Sunao Yoshida.
Today's letter is I.
Ice
Esther didn't like ice at all.
She knew that people from all over the world loved to strap on a pair of ice skates and have a good time sliding around on the frozen water. She knew from her talks with Ion that the noble himself was an avid skater, and many of her fellow AX agents skated whenever they had the time during the winter. She just didn't like to herself.
Esther mentally kicked herself for allowing Ion to talk her into going skating with him.
He took her to a pond he used on his property during the winter, and the two of them proceeded to put on the required skates while sitting on a bench the Earl had placed there. The redheaded nun took as long as she possibly could to tie the laces on, allowing the Methuselah to go on ahead and begin skating without her. She was content to watch as he seemed to dance about the ice in beautiful patterns and motions.
A small voice inside her head warned her that he was just showing off for her, but that thought was cut off when Ion skidded to a stop.
"Aren't you going to skate with me?" She would have replied no, but Esther was not the type to turn down a friend like that. She carefully edged towards the pond and stepped forward. She then proceeded to show Ion as to why she was so reluctant to go skating with him.
She fell flat on her butt, the young Earl rushing over to her side to help her to her feet. Esther wobbled unsteadily, her feet threatening to slide out from under her, and her face was as red as her hair. Ion never relinquished his hold on her arms.
"So…you can't skate?" He asked reluctantly, not wanting to upset his obviously embarrassed friend. She shook her head, still blushing.
"I'll teach you how then." Ion stepped backwards carefully and gripped Esther's hands with his own. He pulled her along gently while instructing her on the proper movements of her feet. Several times she fell over, and several times she also pulled the Methuselah down with her. At one point Esther had managed to stay up, only stopping when she landed in a snow bank.
Each time the young noble remained patient, and soon both were laughing at some of the incidences the nun had on the ice.
They spent several hours more at the pond before returning to Ion's house, and Esther assumed that she would no longer have to deal with the ice anymore. Or so she thought.
Both she and Father Abel had been deployed to the area on a joint mission dealing with one of Ion's fellow earls. Since she knew how Abel seemed to dislike work, she wasn't surprised to receive a transmission early one morning from Kate that the silver-haired man had shirked his duties for that day. Esther had little time to reflect on this before Ion had dragged her back to the pond for more skating lessons.
There she found the truant priest, an avid skater himself, sliding about the ice doing remarkable spins and other showy stunts.
"Father Nightroad," she taunted, "Sister Kate is dying to talk to you right now, and she wont take no for an answer.
The priest, startled, fell to the ice. He winced and walked back towards the home, not before looking back at the pond and the two who were on it.
"What were those things he was doing?" She questioned the nobleman. Ion turned back to her. Red eyes looked into blue.
"He did a few Lutzes, Axels, and a few spins. Usually a person has to be very talented or good to do stuff like that."
"Oh." Now she was positive that he was showing off to her. In fact, Abel seemed to have been showing off to her too.
When the mission had been complete, she went home with more that a few bruises, but a new appreciation for ice skating and her friend.
