Note: Hi! In this chapter you meet Adriana aka Adie. She takes after me, only because I know how I would react to certain situations though. Hope you like her!

Disclaimer - Ella Enchanted doesn't belong to me

To Melt the Ice By DyingFlames

Chapter 1

"Pa! You better come see this!" Adie called to her father. The boy laying below her had a streak of red across his forehead and was covered in blood from head to toe. Adie jumped off the low roof of her house, still yelling for her father. She hitched up her brothers too-large breeches and sauntered toward the person.

She knelt next to the person. Gently shaking the man, the sailor's daughter murmured, "Hey, are you okay?"

"Leave me alone." the person moaned below.

"What?" she asked in disbelief.

"Leave me alone."

"Are you saying that I jumped off a roof to sit here and watch you die? Well you got another thing coming boy." The man simply groaned again. Adie looked up to see her father stalking towards them. Without question Adie's father lifted the injured man, carried him into the house, and laid him on Adie's bed, which always served as the "guest" bed when it was needed. "Oh, Pa?" began Adie, "before you leave, here's your and Peter's dinner." she finished, handing him two sacks, one with Pa wrote on it and the other labeled with her brother's name.

Adie turned to the visitor. "Okay, sir. If you are well enough to tell me what to do, answer me some questions."

"May I clean up first?" he was sitting up now and didn't look at all sick, except for the blood.

Adie smiled and said, "No you may not, you have to. MY house is starting to smell like a butcher's shop."

Without responding the mystery man stood and walked out the door. Adie watched him walk off with mixed feelings. Dying curiosity forced her to want to know more about this man, but common sense was pulling her away, positive she didn't want to know. * ~ ! ~ *

Aden walked out of the house and looked around in search of a lake. That girl should have left me to die. He thought coldly. It would have been better than living. The cry of a seagull caused him to look up. The was a whole flock swarming overhead. If he looked to his left there was a busy dock. The air smelled strongly of fish and salt. Did I really come this far, all the way to the ocean? he asked himself. He spotted a pond about one fourth of a mile off. He set out with much purpose.

Feeling the cold water wash over him as he dived in sent all gruesome thoughts from his head. Unfortunately, this oblivious paradise of no thoughts or worries lasted only a couple minutes before thoughts and shivers set in. Just staying in long enough to become reasonably clean, Aden climbed reluctantly back into his blood-stained breeches and tunic.

He set out towards the cabin, hoping in spite of his rudeness, that they would give him food and shelter for a few days. He found his rescuer stirring something in a pot over the fire. Without looking up she said, "There are fresh clothes on the table, go change in that room over there, then come back out to talk. I have some questions for you."

Without comment once again he took the clothes and did as he was instructed. The girl told him to sit and thrust a bowl of soup into his hands. "Eat while I find some bandages for your head." Aden finished the hot soup quickly and had set the bowl aside when the girl came back. She simply smiled, cleaned the gash on his forehead, and wrapped it in gauze.

A smile again on her face, the sailor's daughter said, "Okay, now first things first. My name is Adie. And your name is?"

The royal automatically responded, "Aden."

"I see, and my second question is, are you going to go swimming with me, or are you going to stay here."

Aden was shocked. "Um, okay." He said cautiously.

Adie flashed a new grin showing her set of white teeth. "Okay, you can wear this." she said handing him a pair of breeches that had been cut off at the knee. "I am going to go change." she jogged into the next room and left him standing there, aghast. This girl was so strange. One minute she's telling you you're going to be questioned, the next you're going swimming. This girl was strange indeed.

Note - Hi! There is the first chapter. Please review, flames are all right too, and I have no idea when the next chapter will be put up.