Hey guys! Sorry that's it's been over a week. This is probably really bad, but it's really long as well. Enjoy!
P.S. A 3668 word long chapter
I woke up in a cabin, a very cold one. I felt refreshed after my sleep and I was happy with the cold that encased me. As I sat up on a cot, it seemed, I felt snow fall from my forehead. Had I been that open with my power? That was a problem. I shook my hair from side to side, my braid falling out and my dress falling lower on my shoulders. I sighed, trying to figure out where I was. After a few minutes of sitting still and recollecting energy, I slipped out of the soiled cot and let my feet touch the cold wooden floor. A shiver ran up my spine, and instead of cringing or chattering my teeth like a normal person, I set my shoulders back and let it overwhelm me. It felt great. I cracked my neck to a side to get a knot out, and then I faced the room. It had a dirty wooden floor that seriously needed a polish. It was tiny, no bigger than four times the cot I'd been on. Next to the cot was a tiny window, the outer sill encased in a thick sheet of fresh snow. To me, that was like bloomed flowers. The ceiling caved down towards the rickety door, giving it a feel of an attic. The door was in worse shape than the floor, with years of being slammed showing on its appearance. There was a dent in the wall, showing where the door had hit repeatedly. Other than that, it was empty except for quite a few dust bunnies. I sneezed in spite of my coldness, mainly because of the dust. After overcoming my fit, I trained my eyes on the door. I started towards it with great vigor, but I jumped after a few strides when the door slammed open. There was a girl, one that I'd seen sometime- who was it again? I couldn't remember, and I stared straight ahead for a few seconds.
She had dark brown hair, cascading down her shoulders, with a slightly plump body that was curvy in all the right places. Her eyes were a warm shade of green, and her lips were a pale pink. Light freckles dotted her neck and shoulders, a few residing on the sides of her nose and over her cheeks. She had small eyelashes, though they were curved in a natural way, making them appear longer. Everything about her was round, it seemed. She wasn't what you would call the most beautiful maiden, but she had something about her constant pretty smile and her beautiful green eyes that made you feel welcomed, and made you think she was prettier than she was.
Who was she? I racked my memory, this way and that, but I turned up with nothing but a faint recollection of seeing her recently.
She looked at me curiously. She opened her lips to form a word, it seemed, but she turned up with a soft 'oh.' She shrunk back into her blankets, shivering.
I gazed at her for a second.
The 'oh,' that could've even been a too loud sigh echoed in the nearly empty room, scaring me out of my silent state.
I jumped, like a hare that almost got struck by an arrow whizzing by.'
"Hello? Winter? Is that right?" The girl said. Although the British accent she had made it sound like 'Hallo? Winta'? It that rii-ght?' She extended the 'right' more than she should.
The girl shivered again. I didn't know who this girl was. I was scared. Was I being held captive? Found somewhere with the rest of us dead? What had happened?!
"Hello?"
"What?" I asked, with a horribly blank face.
"I'm Rhinestone. You can call me Stone if it's too long for you."
"Rhinestone?" I said. " You're the one who saved me!" I exclaimed, and threw my hands around her.
She stepped back, surprised.
"Thank you so much!" I exclaimed, my loud cracking through the nearly deserted room like whip.
It echoed so loudly that I swear, my ears were bleeding for a second there.
"Where's Aednat? Is she okay?" I asked.
"Yes."
"Chet?"
"Even-" I was about to ask about Calder, but I blushes and shook my head. (LOL! You'll get if you've read The Unwanteds by Lisa Mcmann, book three)
"Yes," Stone laughed. "Even him."
I blushed again, and looked away.
" At least I'm sure your sudden faint didn't hurt your love organs." She said, and I hid my face in my palms in the embarrassing comment.
She smiled at me. "It's okay, I understand it's a girls thing, and we can't do anything about it." she said in a surprisingly mature voice.
"If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?" I asked.
"Oh, fourteen." Stone said, waving it off.
"Fourteen?!" I exclaimed.
"Yes. Is that bad...?" She looked concerned.
"No, just that you seem so mature for your age. I mean, I'm sixteen, and you act older." I waved my hands around to try to make sense of it.
"Yeah, it happens when your parents die at birth and you live with your sister and your aunt for most of your life until she dies as well." Stone said bitterly, "But never mind, its not your fault. Let's go deliver you to your loved ones."
She waved me behind her, and opened the door that I hadn't noticed had closed. On the other side was a flight of stairs, zooming right down to the first floor. I felt a bit dizzy. I normally wasn't like this, I wasn't scared of heights or almost anything, but I was now. I decided that the fall ended up having me paranoid and I looked off to the side. Slowly, I gripped the banister, and I was sure that I was gripping it so hard my knuckles were turning white. I took one quivering step down, and I heard a loud crack. I jumped, and looked up with eyes wide, to see that the temperature had dropped suddenly, and that the wind was whooshing about. The stairs had turned into a slide of ice, and banister was an ice sculpture of foreign beauty. Gasping, I withdrew my hand as if I had touched something hot. Stone gasped, and opened her mouth, but she began to slide. She'd get hurt! I wasn't sure what to do so I tentitively moved my arm out and I heard a sound that resembled a poof. Pulling my hand back, I saw Stone land gracefully in a pile of snow. I sighed in relief, then worked my way down. I had no fear now, my own element. I gracefully landed on the ground, with Aednat, Chet, and Calder all staring at me oddly. I smiled.
"Don't mess with the ice queen." I laughed and splayed my hand around and them rested it on my hip, giving everyone a sassy smirk, even though there was a knot in my stomach.
I was sure I looked very feminine, and maybe even pretty standing there in that defiant way, but Aednat just twisted her lip to the side and looked away. Chet smiled, and Calder just looked on, no expression showing at all.
Then I heard a chuckle. A laugh, and then full out hollering. I turned around to see Stone and another girl in the corner. They were looking up and down at their staircase.
The other girl hadn't seen before. She had blonde curls in and short hairstyle, with huge eyelashes that fluttered every few seconds. Her face was a heart shape, and was really, really pretty. Her eyes were the color of the ocean. Her lips were like the petals of a red rose. Her skin, though light, was tanned very much. Her blonde hair resembled sand. It gave her a beach girl look. Her atrocious curves were to die for. She'd be turning mens' heads every time she walked by! I must have been staring, because she turned from her view of the stairs and smiled at me.
"Hello. The name's Raina." She had a similar accent to that of Stone, and that's when I realized that it must be her sister, the one she was talking about.
"Oh... Hello." I said.
"Ice Queen, eh?"
"Oh. Yeah." I blushed, and looked to Aednat in terror.
"Its okay. We won't report you or anything like that. We'll help." Raina said.
"And I'm guessing that that's why Aednat here put snow on your forehead after tuning out the fire?" Stone interrupted.
I opened my mouth to ask her repeat that, and I that I didn't get it when Aednat abruptly changed the subject.
"How are you feeling? We need to get back on the road you know." Aednat snapped.
"Oh, I..." before I could answer, Calder interrupted.
"Hey, um... I don't think she looks that good, I mean, she looks really pale..." he began.
"You idiot!" Aednat said, rolling her eyes. "She's always pale. That's the point."
" Well, I mean she doesn't look good.." Calder mumbled. He looked up at me, and he blushed, looking away again.
I stared at him a second longer, and he looked back, and his face flushed to a deep red, sat back and refused to look at me again. And I noted in the back of my mind that the redness didn't fade until a few minutes later, after he finished doing what looked like biting his cheek in frustration.
WHOOP! I thought. Me, drab old Winter, had a boy following around her tail! If I'd been alone, I would have danced the night away!
But according to Mom and Dad and a few of my old suitors, I was a very appealing girl. But I didn't entirely believe them.
"I feel fine." I started. "We've got enough time. If we leave in the evening, we'll get there around two days before we need to."
"But-" Aednat started.
"No buts. We have no supplies, nor food, and we look like ruffians that escaped from prison." I began again, but Calder inturrupted thoughtfully.
"Well, we all do look like ruffians, but you look great! I mean- princess-like! I mean- Oh forget it!" He looked off.
I giggled. "Please don't tell me I said that out loud." He groaned.
I laughed slightly, and blushed. "Anyway," I took a breath, "We shall repay Raina and Stone for their kindness in any way they see fit, visit town and obtain supplies, " I looked around, "Take baths, " Every on laughed at that, "and continue on our journey."
"That seems like a nice plan, but you really don't need to, Winter." Raina smiled, a smile worth millions.
"No, we must. Of formality at least." I declared, and she nodded.
I felt so strong. I had seen my Mother say something, and nobody object, so full of power and ease that it seemed like birthright.
I stood straight an tall.
"If you don't mind me asking, you are Crown Princess Winter? I mean, Pre-Coronation Crown Princess Winter? (Pre-Coronation means wills be coroneted at exactly eighteen, because of death of parents or them stepping down early)" Stone interrupted.
"Yes- how do you know that?"
"Well, your name is Winter, and Your sister's name is Aednat. Twins. And we've heard over the years that Crown Princess Winter was very special, and since your parents died, we've heard even more- condolences, from us too." Raina began.
"Oh- and what were you saying about recently hearing about us-?
"Oh, we've heard much! They say Pre-Coronation Crown Princess Winter is the fairest of all the lands, her lips like a pink sunset, her eyes like the morning sky, a natural pink shadow behind her glowing blue orbs, her beautiful nose slightly upturned in a beautiful way, her waist as thin as a healthy woman can get, her ears the size and shape or the elf queen's, her hair like a platinum waterfall, falling past her waist in such a way you cannot peel your eye off of it, and the sparkle her face shows, and any man looking at her will face under her rule in seconds, waiting for a single word to escape her lips. Her voice, like nectar, flowing fast as a river. Her smile, a gem in the sunlight. When she becomes Queen, they say, our lands will resemble heaven." Raina and Stone chorused with a knowing smile.
"Well- did you two practice that?" Chet asked.
"Nope- well, kind of. Everybody will say the exact same thing if you ask them."
"Really?" I asked.
"Yes."
"Well, all I can say is that it's all true." Chet laughed, and Calder nodded, and I began to blush again.
"How about me?" Aednat grumbled.
"I'm not sure. People don't talk about you as much." Raina said, then clapped a hand over her mouth as soon as she said it.
Aednat's eyes blazed and she sat back in her chair. " I don't care anyway."
"Good." Raina sighed, and changed the topic. "So- Let's start by going to market."
"Okay- I think I'll need new clothes though- and the others need a wash as well."
I wasn't dirty, but everybody else was. But my dress was in shreds.
"We could lend you-" Stone began.
"No." I refused. "I'll find some on my own that aren't yours."
I made my way back up the stairs, making a thicker layer as I did. I closed the door to the room How would I get clothes? At the back of my mind, I wanted to go ask Raina and Rhinestone for some, but I was already using their kindness all the way. There had to be a different way.
I paced the length of the room, thinking. Wait- I could make a dress! But I'd need sewing things, cloth, and I'd be using their things anyway. I had nothing with me, except the clothes on me, some money that wasn't enough for a dress at all, and powers. Wait- powers! That was genius! I would make a dress for myself!
I would just freeze my dress over! I jumped up, congratulating myself for the idea, and I settled back down. I only had one chance. I concentrated, and I felt a flash, and I felt colder. Better.
I looked down in surprise to see a modest dress fit for doing things in without revealing my powers. It had a white pair or sleeves, dangling in the flowiness. The collar stood up a few inches, also white. The white turned into an aqua as it reached the hem. There was an aqua sash tightly knotted across my middle. The dress ended at the bottom of my feet, covering all successfully. No sparkle no iciness. I was safe. As long as nobody touched the dress, they would never know.
I opened the door with great vigor and gracefully made my way down the stairs.
"What do you think? It's made of frost." I said, and twirled, the frosty sheets flowing as smoothly as cloth itself.
"Wowza." Chet gasped, and Calder's face grew warm, I could tell, from the redness of it.
I smiled. "Where's Aednat?"
"Right here." Aednat said, standing in the corner, a clean version of her former self. She was wearing the same dress, but it looked like it had been washed.
"Let's go to market."
After reaching the market, I bought some food with the little money we had, and began to shop for a bag to put it all in and trying to figure out how we'd travel quickly without attracting attention.
We'd have to use horses, but the financial situation was the problem. I'd never not had enough money to do something! I was stumped.
I thought through and through when I heard a voice.
"Come and get your name told! Give me three clues to guess your name, and if I don't, you'll win three gold! If I do, pay me a gold!" I heard a voice yelling.
That was a chance. I risky one, but one. I entered the center of market to see an old woman, hunched over, yelling it repeatedly.
"Hello?" I asked slowly. "I would like to play your game."
"This is not a game, but a work of art." The old woman snapped. "Gimme the clues."
"Um…. My name starts with a consonant. It also has two vowels in it. And it is also a common noun."
"Hm…. Nice clues." She commented with a smile. "Winter."
"Oh." I gasped. "You got it." I groped around in my bag to pay her.
"No, no honey." She patted my hand. "Here." She handed me a bag. "Go now."
"But-" I began.
"Shhh… close your eyes now, and take a deep breath. You look frazzled." I didn't know what else to do.
I closed my eyes and then opened them. And she was gone. The mat she's been sitting on, her basket, her money bowl, everything, just like that. I gasped for breath, my head spinning. That was impossible! Well, I'd thought Ice Powers were also impossible…
I shook my head. There was something fishy about this, and I would find out.
I met all of the in town plaza, along with Raina, but Stone was nowhere to be seen.
"I'll look for her." I offered, and I went off across the market.
I finally found her, gazing at a trinket in a stall.
"Stone, we have to go." I urged her.
"I don't want to. I want to sit here and admire."
"The trinket? I'll buy it for you!"
"Not the trinket, silly, him. " I looked up to see a man past where she was staring.
He was average height and very hunky. His muscles just rippled across his body. His skin was slightly tanned, a small goatee covering the tip of his chin. His hair was brown, swishing to the side when he said something. He laughed loudly at something, and kept on making very loud sarcastic comments that were really funny, actually. I would have liked him, if I had not had my own hot guy for myself.
"I'll take care of it." I told Stone, and walked towards him.
"Hello?" I asked.
"Yes?" He said, turning around, and I could have sworn I heard a wolf whistle from one of him pals. I could tell that they were checking me out, and I ignored it. It was for Stone.
"Hey, your name?"
"Griffin."
"Could I talk to you, privately?" I asked, and I heard the guys chuckling.
"Sure." He said, flashing a cocky smile, and led the way and rolled my eyes.
"So, Griffin." I began. "Are you free tonight?"
"Oh, need a date, don't you?" He asked, and he got a bit closer to me. I scooted back and rolled my eyes.
"Not really, but just don't ask why, but I'm inviting you to dinner. Will you please come?" I pleaded. I didn't know what else to say.
"Really?" Griffin smirked. "Pay up."
"But you're getting a free dinner!" I protested.
"Hmmm…" He seemed to think about it. "Fine, I'm in, for a copper."
I groaned. "Fine."
Later, we were back at the cottage. "So… you'll leave after dinner?" Raina asked.
"Yes. I'll miss you guys." I sighed.
"I'll miss you too. Right, Stone?"
"What?" Stone asked, back from her daydreaming. "Right, I'd love to."
"What?" Raina glared at her. "
"Never mind." Stone blushed and went back to daydreaming.
I heard a knock on the door. "Guess who it is."
After a hearty delicious dinner, Griffin gave me my copper back, and he go up.
"Hey, Rhinestone, want to come outside with me?" He asked.
"Whatever for?" I mocked.
"Um…. To get some fresh air?" He mumbled.
"Go ahead." Raina ushered her sister, and Stone practically ran out the door.
After cleaning and washing the dishes and making a pile of the clothes we had in a bag, I went outside to the horses I'd bought with the money in the bag. I was sure that woman was supernatural, and trying to help me somehow.
Lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice Stone and Griffin sitting a few feet away from me.
(if you are allergic to romance, don't read this part)
"The sky is so pretty tonight!" Stone sighed, and Griffin looked up.
"It is. But you're prettier." He smiled flirtatiously.
I then noticed they were holding hands.
"Aw….. You make me shy." She smiled.
"That's weird. You're a very loud person."
"Hey!"
"What?"
"You big mean bird!" Stone giggled.
"Bird? What the heck? Birds aren't this muscular, or handsome-" He began.
"It's your name, idiot!" Stone laughed.
"Hm... I usually don't let people call me an idiot, but I'll have to make an exception for this beautiful princess." He said.
"MmmHmmmm…" Stone muttered.
They stared at each other for a few seconds.
I waited. And waited, and a few seconds later, I turned away.
After all, it's not polite to watch someone's first kiss. (LOL, Wendy Mass, the Last Wish, on the Last page, the exact same sentence.)
Thanks for reading! Maybe it wasn't as long as I promised... but oh well, LONGER.
:) Review!
~Jessamyn