ARIBETH

I sat beside the fire, making sure that it wouldn't go out before the beautiful elven woman had completely thawed.

Vikki stood back, knowing from past experience that her cold presence near the fire would definitely extinguish it. She feinted disinterest, looking everywhere but the woman in ice. I thought I'd seen a spark of recognition in her eyes upon finding the elf and my suspicions had been confirmed when she'd uttered the name 'Aribeth' beneath her breath.

So we waited for the mysterious woman, a fierce looking spirit whom had been rumoured to have opposed Mephistopheles, to be freed from her block of ice.

It, in all honesty, had surprised me that Vikki had even bothered going so far out of her way for another being. Then again, it was ultimately to her advantage; bringing us closer to our escape of this frozen over hell.

Our escape... something that, the closer we came to it, the more it seemed as if Vikki didn't want to leave.

She was at home in this frozen wasteland of evil beings, but I seriously doubted that was her reason for wanting to stay. No, it was something more. Something I intended to find out.

I saw movement from the elf, just a slight twitch of her finger, but movement none the less. Her whole arm was free, the rest of the ice melting rapidly now. Her arm was the first thing freed, then her torso and, in turn, her head and legs.

The elf blinked; her expression dazed and child-like. Her beautiful eyes fell onto me and, without warning, she attacked.

Her speed and accuracy was not at all hampered by her previous imprisonment within the ice. She was, after all, a spirit, no longer alive.

She hadn't picked up her weapon that lay half frozen in the snow near the fire; having attacked me almost instantly. Why though? Was it fear, or something different altogether?

She laid a right hook on my cheek before I could properly defend myself, her skin as cold as the ice that had previously been her prison. I cringed upon the impact; feeling warm, tangy blood well up within my mouth.

She went to kick me in the chest; her technique and form making me wonder what kind of training she had received in life. I was one step, so to speak, ahead of her. I grasped her foot and ankle within a tight, two-handed grip. I spun her foot about, spinning her in the air and causing her to lose her balance. She face planted in the snow, a small hiss escaping her lips.

Vikki simply evaluated the exchange with a vacant and unreadable mask held firmly in place. It was an expression she always wore when her face wasn't marred with her ice cold smirk.

"Why did you free me?" the elf asked.

She still lay in a heap n the ground, her breathing heavy, and hair covering her face. Being a spirit, she was completely void of colour. Despite this all, it took no genius to see that she had been a vessel of pure beauty in life. Hells, even in death she was.

Her voice, however, didn't match her appearance.

Appearances were always deceiving. Except, of course, in Vikki's case; she was as cold as she looked.

When she spoke it sent chills running up and down my neck. It was as if two beings had spoken. One was a deep, dark voice, a voice that didn't seem to belong to her. The other was timid and innocent, softer and less dominant than the last.

"Haven't I been through enough already?" the elf pressed.

The softer voice was more prominent in that statement, but when the elf looked up again her face had shifted to a darker mask, her eyes fierce and warning.

"Just leave me be!" she shouted aggressively.

My frown deepened, and I looked to Vikki. She usually handled these situations, whilst I sat on the side lines and watched. Her eyes, ever calculating, failed to show a hint of her inner thoughts, she didn't look like she was going to step up and take control this time.

I knelt down beside the spirit, cautious of her altering moods. Once I was sure she wasn't about to attack me, I motioned towards the slowly dying fire that I had used to free her.

"You were cold so I warmed you," I stated. "Was that really so bad?"

"I'm broken; will you fix me?" she asked eerily. "I'm a betrayer; will you trust me?"

I heard Vikki give a small, humourless chuckle, but she didn't offer her input, donning to simply watch.

The spirit wasn't in her right mind; that much was obvious. However, what the cause of her insanity was, I wasn't sure. All I knew was that something was eating her up from the inside. It was something so terrible that, even in death, it plagued her.

Playing mind games with her would just send us in circles. She wasn't in her right mind, and it was cruel to torture her further. It would be best to get straight to the point.

"You were the spirit that opposed Mephistopheles, yes?" I asked.

"What does it matter? It did no good. Even when I have nothing to loose, I'm worthless. I didn't think I could fall any further, but here I am," she rambled. "No wonder my god left me."

Her opposing voices spoke as one, making her seem all the more inhuman because of this.

My eyes widened, though I tried not to show it. She was a paladin. What was a paladin doing in the ninth hell?

…Unless she'd fallen from grace.

"I opposed him; yes, but it did no good. So, in my shame, I came here," she said.

Her voice was quiet, scared.

Suddenly her whole demeanour shifted for the worse.

"That was until you decided to torture me further," she shouted. "You woke me! I was finally asleep. There was finally darkness, finally oblivion. I was at peace."

Her eyes were hard and her voice was brutally ferocious.

"Aribeth, you really did keep digging after you hit rock bottom," Vikki suddenly droned. "If I'd known that simply killing you would result in this encounter, I would have done the lawful thing and turned you over to the City Watch instead. Then again, they probably would have simply hung you for your betrayal, and I'd still have to listen to your insane ramblings."

Vikki's voice was unexpected, I'd almost forgotten about her. Keeping her distance, she paced back and forth slowly, reminding me somewhat of a caged animal.

Aribeth looked up from her place on the ground, as if only now noticing my companion's presence. A small, dour smile curved at the spirit's lips upon recognising the speaker. She said nothing in reply to Vikki's insulting comment. She seemed to expect such words from her, she seemed to appreciate them.

A sudden chill fell over me, and the fire went out completely, alerting me of Vikki's immediate presence. She approached the kneeling spirit, a determined gleam to her cold, hard eyes. Once she was within reach of Aribeth, she reached out, carefully placing a slender white hand on her shoulder.

Aribeth looked to Vikki's hand in disgust, trying to tug away. Vikki, having other plans, simply dug her claws into the flesh of the spirits shoulder. Not deep enough to cause serious pain, but just enough to keep the spirit in place.

Ice crept out from beneath Vikki's hand, stretching out over the elven spirit's colourless body. Aribeth, understanding what she was trying to do, did not fight the growing sheets of ice that promised to encase her.

I glanced suspiciously at Vikki from the corner of my eye. She really did revel in the death of others. Why did she do it when there were always other options? Did she enjoy the power that taking weaker lives brought her? Or was it something else altogether that made her act this way?

I frowned as I watched her, her next actions making me rethink everything I'd always thought about her and her motives.

The spirit locked eyes with Vikki for the barest of moments, before grasping hold of her cold wrist within her remaining, unfrozen arm. She held Vikki in place, being sure that she could not avoid eye contact.

"Thank you, Vikki," Aribeth whispered.

Immediately after she had spoken, the ice enveloped the whole spirit, causing her to fall both still and silent. She's finally been granted her eternal slumber.

Vikki carefully pried Aribeth's frozen fingers from around her wrist, placing the spirit's rigid arm back to her side as the ice around her continued to thicken.

Once Vikki was done with her, it was obvious that none would be able to thaw Aribeth out ever again. The spirit was free; she was free within her prison of ice.

Vikki turned from the solid block of ice, her eyes, once more, downcast and ---sorrowful? Feeling my curious eyes on her, her whole mood suddenly altered.

"Well that was a complete waste of our time," she seethed.

With that she made her way to the entrance we'd used to get into this snow filled cave. Her strides were long and regal, and her poise ever unwavering. It was when she looked back over her shoulder at Aribeth that I knew it was all a mask.

She wasn't as strong as she seemed; she never was.

What Vikki uttered next was so quiet that I wasn't completely sure if it was the wind playing tricks on me or not.

"Sleep well, my friend."

Any and all whom are reading, reviews are greatly appreciated; it helps me know what it is that you enjoy or dislike thus far.

~just-passing-time