Chapter 25
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Fire and Ice
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Sarah turned in her bed, her eyes still closed she pulled the thick blankets closer to her. Feeling her feet begin to tingle with the numbness associated with being too cold she pulled her legs in tighter while goosebumps prickled all over her skin. She felt a chill breeze brush over her, "Damnit did I leave the window open?" she thought irritatedly. She did not want to get out of bed to check but the cold was becoming quite uncomfortable. "It shouldn't be this cold." she thought, becoming more conscious and sitting up in bed.
Sarah stiffled a scream when her eyes adjusted to the dim light and found a woman leering over her. The woman smiled, "So this is the great Sarah Williams. The mortal who beat Jareth the Goblin King." her icy voice held much sarcasm.
"Who are you!" Sarah demanded, she found herself afraid of this woman but hoped it did not show in her voice.
"An unhappily married woman! All because of you, a little mortal girl." the woman snapped and the room became noticibly colder. As the woman moved away from the bed and into the moonlight, Sarah was able to see the intruder more clearly. She was tall and gracefull like most of the noble fae women she had encountered. Her hair was white and chopped blunt just above the colarbone, he skin was fair and she had the palest blue eyes that seemed to shine in the moonlight when she glanced towards the window. Which Sarah noticed, was indeed closed. She wore a gown of ice blue that was made of a thin material that clung to the woman's near perfect body. Everything from the woman's skin to clothing seemed to shimmer like frost.
"I don't see what I've to do with your marriage problems." Sarah managed to choke out. She didn't know if she was shaking because of the dropping temperature or her rising temper.
The woman was back at Sarah's bedside again before she could blink. The woman grabbed Sarah by the face roughly, Sarah winced in pain. The woman's hands were so cold against her skin that it burned. "Of course not, you're to consumed with your own pretty face aren't you?" the woman spat.
Sarah tried to wrench free from the woman and cry out for help, but the woman was too quick for her. Sarah found her lips painfully frozen together and her arms pinned back against her headboard in what appeared to be shackles made of ice. "No I won't have you alarming the Duke will I?" the woman smiled again. "At least, not until your dead." her smile widened as she saw fear over take Sarah's face.
Sarah thrashed about, trying to break free while the woman just laughed at her. Sarah had never been so afraid or angry before, she tried to cry out again but only a strangled noise came from her throat.
"What was that? You want to know why I'm going to kill you?" the woman was clearly enjoying watching Sarah suffer and prolonging the ordeal. "Well I suppose I shall let you know." the woman stood at the foot of Sarah's bed, in her upturned palm the woman created a long sharp icicle. Laughing the woman threw it hard towards Sarah and laughed even more when she saw in stick into the wooden headboard right next to Sarah's head.
The woman stopped laughing and grimaced watching Sarah struggling to get free again, the tears on Sarah's face had froze. "Pathetic!" the woman spat, suddenly enraged again. "The Duke and I were engaged, the perfect match! Fire and Ice." she smiled sadly. "Then you came along...he was visiting his cousin and he saw you run the Labyrinth, another spoiled girl who wished away her baby brother." the woman looked at Sarah disgusted. "But you had to be different, didn't you? You solved the labyrinth, you won your brother back. That wasn't enough for you was it?!" she snapped again. "You won the hearts of two men that day...there's nothing Lasair loves more than someone or something who can bring defeat to his cousin. So I was tossed aside, as he became...obssessed with a pathetic little mortal girl." the icy woman had begun to pace as she told her tale to Sarah. "And you, you're just so happy and oblivious to everything around you." she stoped pacing and formed another icicle, tossing it up and catching it again.
Sarah's eyes were wide watching the ice woman toy with her, tossing up the icicle and catching it again several times. She'd become so cold that she could barely move and her teeth clattered uncontrollably. Her tears were frozen and she could not even think about what this woman had just said to her. Everything was frozen, even her thoughts. Finally, the woman stopped playing with her and hurled the icicle straight towards her heart. Sarah closed her eyes and waited for the impact.
Instead of feeling the cold stake pierce her flesh she heard her bedroom door burst open and a wave of heat rushed through the room. Sarah opened her eyes to see the icicle melt inches away from her chest. The ice that bound her wrist melted enough for her to pry herself free and she found she could open her mouth once more, but her lips were cracked and bleeding.
"Illiana!" the voice of the Duke roared. "Seize her!" he ordered to two guards that had burst into the room with him.
"You're a fool Lasair! I loved you!" the ice woman, Illiana screamed and then vanished before the guards could seize her.
"What's going on here!" Sarah tried to yell but her voice came out as a hoarse whisper. Sarah found that she was still extremly cold, her clothes and bedding were cold and damp now. Her fair skin looked blotched and purple.
"Sarah!" the Duke exclaimed. With a quick flick of the wrist, Sarah's fireplace was lit with a healthy fire. "Leave us! Send out a search for Illiana, I'll have her head for this!" the Duke ordered the guards who left promptly.
The Duke went to Sarah's bedside and sat next to her, pulling her close to him in an embrace. He emitted an unusual amount of warmth and Sarah clung close to him, trying to soak in that warmth. "Who was that woman?" Sarah questioned through still chattering teeth.
The Duke sighed. "That woman is insane, we had been engaged at one point. I never thought she would try to harm you Sarah." he sounded apologetic.
"So maybe some of her story was true?" Sarah thought and questioned the Duke further. "Why did you break off your engagement?"
"I didn't love her." the Duke said simply. Sarah wasn't satisfied but she decided not to push the subject any further, all she really cared about at this moment was getting warm.
"Thank you." Sarah finally said after a brief moment of silence. The Duke only held her closer, wrapping both arms around her and stroked her hair. Sarah felt awkward, the Duke had been flirtatious with her since he had met her but had never done more than shake her hand. Under other circumstances she probably would have protested the display of affection, but she had almost died and he had saved her. She needed his warmth and it warmed her more to know that he actually cared.
"Are you always this warm?" Sarah teased.
The Duke chuckled. "Only when I need to be."
Soon Sarah found that she was warm again, her clothing and bedding were dry and the Duke tucked her back into bed. As the Duke turned to leave, Sarah felt a strange sort anxiety well up inside her. "Please! don't go." Sarah blurted out before thinking. The Duke turned and smiled, silently he pulled up a chair and sat next to her bed, he was still there when Sarah drifted to sleep.
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Author's Note: I know I said I'd have Sarah find out about her family this chapter but this came to me instead. I wanted to expand a little bit more on the Duke and their relationship. Please review!