Thin Ice.
Buffy Summers stepped off of the warm, crowded coach and looked up at the large wooden lodge in front of her. The long winding path up to the big double doors was already dusted lightly with snow after just being cleared. The square windows were frosted and looked like they might shatter if touched and the wood of the lodge looked slippery with a dark grain.
The young blonde girl sighed and carefully walked away from the doors of the coach. The ground was iced over and she briefly thought that a pair of ice skates might have been a better choice than her comfy traveling boots.
As she made her way around to the side of the coach, to collect her luggage, from the side hatch, her gaze wandered back to the lodge. A funny feeling chilled her skin and rattled down her spine causing her to shiver but not just from the cold. Her feelings told her something was waiting for her inside that big wooden hotel, something that would make a change in her and in her life. Maybe her thoughts of a warm fire and a cup of cocoa had gotten the best of her as she stood there but that fuzzy feeling didn't go away.
Shaking out of her thoughts, Buffy looked down to see the snow covered ground scattered with cases of all sizes and colours. She knew hers had to be in amongst them somewhere but most of them looked the same. A simple, black but large suitcase with a small tag labeled "Buffy " could be anywhere in the pile of thirty or more cases. Her only option was to wait until the other passengers had collected their cases and left hers behind.
She was about to turn around and head back to the busses open doors and salvage some of the body heat wafting from inside when she felt a large hand cover one of her small shoulders.
"Excuse me miss, is this your luggage? "
Upon turning around she came face to face with the rather large buss driver who had got them here. Her eyes flicked to the case he was holding out of the snow in his right hand. It was her case all right. It contained the tag with her name on it.
"Yes it is. How did you know it was mine? "
Her reply sent the buss driver into a deep chuckle and he nodded down at the suitcase.
"I remembered loading it up for ya back at the airport. Hard to forget such a little lady lugging such a big case. Now run along inside and get warmed up. I expect the snow should start fallin' pretty heavy in the next hour or so. "
With that the driver handed over Buffy's case and started rummaging through another pile of cases for the crowd of people who had just exited the buss.
Buffy decided pulling it along the ice would be a better idea rather than struggling to carry it all the way up the slippery path to the lodge doors. She soon got there without any major slip-ups and pushed the oak doors open. What she found inside brought a small smile to her face for the first time that day.
A friendly looking young woman, typing away at a keyboard, checking in the tired people standing before her, occupied the huge marble desk just behind the doors and to the left of the desk was a cozy looking lounge area complete with log fire, a couple of sofas and a table laden with magazines. Behind the lounge area stood a small café type room with another desk, this time with a man behind it, and behind that desk stood all the apparatus for making all the warm drinks you can imagine.
The people in front of Buffy, who were checking in, finished and headed off to their rooms for the night. The petite blonde stepped forward and handed the woman behind the desk her pre-paid papers stating that there was already a room waiting for her and all she needed was the key.
The woman took the papers and looked over them carefully before turning behind her and opening one of the many small wooden lockers behind her. Out of the locker came a small silver key on a chain and an envelope.
"Here is your key and your welcoming letter, Madame Buffy. We hope that you enjoy your stay here at Angel Lodge. "
The woman, Buffy realized, had a heavy French accent and as she accepted the key and the envelope she muttered a shy "Merci "before heading off to find her room. The woman smiled and nodded kindly at Buffy and set to work on welcoming the next bunch of guests.
Pulling her case along the marble floor, Buffy reached the elevator and pushed the arrow button pointing up. Not less than a minute later, she heard a ding and watched the doors open to reveal a metallic looking elevator chamber. So not everything in this place was made of wood after all. She stepped inside, pulling her case with her and stood waiting in the corner. The doors slid shut and the chamber started to rise slowly.
Three shafts of light lit up the small chamber through the tiny windows in the doors on the way up and the little lights above the doors continued to ding annoyingly before they stopped on the forth floor.
Why had it stopped?
Buffy still had another floor to go before she could get out and go to her room. Maybe it was stuck. Oh please don't let the elevator be stuck!
Her thoughts were quickly chased away when the doors dinged and opened revealing a man standing in front of the now open doors. He looked up and his face became visible.
The breath blew out of her like a freak gust of wind had swooped along and knocked it out, stealing it. Her eyes stared at his lean frame and smart appearance, his chiseled cheeks and pale skin before they landed on his eyes. Oh his eyes they were so blue. So cool and blue but yet they seemed so warm and they sparkled and... Oh God they were looking straight back at her!!
Buffy's warm hazel eyes locked with the man's she found herself unable to look away. Did he have some kind of thrall over her?
Her thoughts were squashed again when she realized the doors to the elevator were closing and the man disappeared from her view. She stood there still staring at the place he had been in the doorway as the chamber once again started to lift up. They had been too slow, caught in each other's presence like there was some kind of spell to be broken before they could move.
The door dinged and opened one last time and Buffy realized this was her floor. She got out and dragged her suitcase along behind her as she set out to find her room. The number on the key chain said 214 and as Buffy walked along the corridor she finally came across a big oak door with the same number on it. The key fit the lock like a glove and it turned with a click, revealing the luxurious insides of the room.
The room was one of the larger suites in the building, having a large double bed, a kitchen, a bathroom, a dining area and a small balcony to watch the snowfall from. The room made her smile. She defiantly owed her sister this time. She would make that known in two weeks when she reached her final destination, her sister's house. These holidays would be the best.
Putting her case down in a corner, Buffy headed straight for the bathroom for a warm, relaxing bath in the huge marble tub that awaited her.
Buffy's tense muscles became lax under the warm water and all thoughts of strenuous life disappeared. The only thought that remained was of the man. The stranger in the elevator.
Who was he?
Would she see him again?