The Frozen Beginning (Elemental Diamond Book 1) (15 page)

Kellen strides across the living room to the small music box sitting on one of the few wall shelves. He had made it using the remaining fragments of his grandmother’s broken music box.

Small and rectangular, the black paint has small white snowflakes decorating the sides. Every night Glacier would listen to the song it plays… When she would hear the melody, she would try to imagine what her mother would have looked like. If she would have enjoyed the sweet sounds it made.

Kellen whines the key a few times before lifting the lid. On the inside is blue and green, with thin white stripes. A large white, intricate snowflake dances on top a spring, in the centre of the chest, spinning as the dainty music floats through the air between them.

“Dad—” Glacier tries, but he advances forward. He places his free hand on her hip before lifting her onto his toes.

“Now, you must always allow the man to lead. Give them control.”

Glacier replies with a snort.

“When ballroom dancing, the only moves you need to remember are back, left, forward, then right. Just imagine a small square guiding your feet.”

Glacier shakes her head at her dad’s illustration, a small smile adorning her lips.

‘Imagine a small square guiding your feet.’

Her father leads her around the room, between the furniture. He moves backwards then left, forwards then right, repeating the moves for a short while.

“Now, dip…”

Glacier’s limbs tense. As Kellen lowers her down, Glacier grips him for dear life, giggling childishly.

“Dad, no!” She giggles louder, “Don’t drop me!”

Kellen laughs off her worries. “So, there must be a boy you want to ask. Anyone I know of?” His cheeky words cause her heart to squeeze.

I can’t tell him; he’ll be furious.

“No, no boy…” Glacier’s nervous tone is evident. Her father’s movements slow, but don’t entirely stop.

“No boy, huh?” She lowers her head to look at their overlapping feet, afraid to meet his judging stare. Glacier shakes her head, still not looking up.

He releases a sigh, before coming to a standstill. Kellen’s hand tightens where he holds hers, his gaze burning down on her forehead.

“I know that’s not true… It’s that boy you meet outside the wall, isn’t it?”

Glacier’s breath escapes her. Her eyes start to burn, her nose aching with an itching heat.

He’s going to shout at me.

She quickly shakes her head side-to-side, enough to render her dizzy. From her peripherals, Glacier catches her father running a thick-fingered hand through his uneven brown hair.

“Glacier, you can’t keep seeing that boy! It’s bad enough that you break the law by going under the damn wall! But he is a fire elemental.” His angry voice sets her on edge.

Her father was never a violent person. Not once in her life has he ever lashed out at her physically. But sometimes the way he speaks when he’s angry frightens her just the same.

“I know dad…but he’s my only friend–”

“He is not your friend! He is not one of us!”

“I-I know that dad, but he wouldn’t hurt me–”

Kellen crosses his arms in the air, “I’ve had absolutely enough of this! From here on, you are
forbidden
from swimming under that damn wall again. Do you understand me?” Her father’s harsh gaze and menacing snarl had her blanching away from him.

Forbidden? But he is her only friend…

Her eyes burn with unshed tears, and her heart thumps painfully against her ribs, “But dad, that’s not–”

“This discussion is over.”

+++

That was one of her best and worst memories of her father. He wasn’t always like that, but he
was
always worried about her safety.

“I know how to dance.”

Glacier looks over to see Lien smile, “Then I would be honoured if I could share a dance later on.”

“You’ll be attending?”

He nods his head, “My wife and I will be attending.”

“You have a wife?” Glacier is surprised. Lien nods his head once more. “What’s her name?”

“Darmila.” The driver’s voice is as proud as his smirk, as he recalls his wife. “She is very beautiful. Stubborn as a nail as well.”

Glacier laughs at his description of his other half. She notices how good it feels to laugh.

After weaving their way through the traffic, Lien drops her off at the entrance of the Persia Hotel. Waiting outside the doors is an enormous group of photographers.

Most of them wear eye cameras; others have tall sticks with small black devices on top.

Glacier can hear Lien curse under his breath before she looks back at him with fright written across her features.

That’s
a lot
of people
.

Must be because of what happened to Care
…

“Wait in the car.” With those parting words, Lien exits the car and presses something in his hand that locks all the doors.

He makes his way towards the Persia, pushing through the disgustingly encroaching crowds of nosey photographers.

Once they realize he is of no importance, they rear back on the car, swarming it like insects.

Glacier slinks down in her seat, trying to move out of sight. Glacier sits on the floor below the glove box, where her body can squeeze perfectly.

For once, I’m glad I’m small
.

It’s not long after Glacier crouches down, that all the doors simultaneously unlock.

A rush of panic settles inside her at the thought of the vultures attacking her with their flashes and loud voices. But when her door opens, her nerves scatter as her eyes land on Lien, accompanied by four other guards.

Lien takes Glacier’s hand and pulls her from the car. The hotel guards push the press back, keeping the crowd at a safe distance.

The shouts and hollers bombard Glacier’s ears like an unwelcome alarm, allowing her to realize how quiet the Hover is.

But their questions are not what Glacier expected.

“Are you having a secret affair with Fielder Vinson?”

“How long have you been seeing each other?”

“Are you in a relationship together?”

Their questions stun her silent. Glacier almost forgets to move. Lien tugs her closer to the hotel entrance as their questions bang around in her head.

How did they find out that I knew Fielder before the tournament? Is it possible?

Glacier shakes her head.

They couldn’t possibly discover that. It’s not on any record
.

Once they pass the enormous white pillars, the crystal doors close behind them. The overwhelming sound of the elementals waiting outside is lost.

There is loud bustling around the lobby. The members from every team are all ushered in by their drivers like Glacier had been. Everyone is tense, eyeing each other with trepidation. Glacier notices Gamble by the top steps searching around the room with a dark scowl.

Lien leads her to the elevator where the four other guards disperse back to their duties.

“Go upstairs, straight to your room. In about ten minutes your beauticians will be up. That gives you ten minutes to change into your dress.”

Still dazzles from the entrance, Glacier nods her head slowly, before retreating to the elevator. After she presses the call button, the door opens immediately, and Glacier steps in.

Her mind is as numb as her body. Her finger presses the level forty-five, and the doors close inaudibly. The elevator does not stop until it reaches her floor, and Glacier exits hurriedly. When she approaches her room, her Passkey glows on her wrist, and the door collapses open.

TEN

THE WINTER GALA

Glacier exits the elevator with her beauticians still
fussing around her.

She stands still as the two of them bicker about her hair. Her expression is impassive. She has already grown to hate this part of the competition the most.

“Her hair isn’t staying straight,” the plump one complains. Her thin, long brown hair flows down her spine, her seemingly flawless face heavy with makeup. She had introduced herself as Geri.

The other woman, Wendelin, has very long pointed nails, and dark brown hair reaching mid-back. Her face is very thin and angular with light olive eyes, as opposed to Geri whose face is rounder with bright emeralds. The two women are absolute opposites.

“There seems to be no controlling it, Geri. Just leave it be. I’m more worried her scar will show. Brush some of her hair over it…”

Geri does as Wendelin instructs, brushing a hunk of hair forward from the side, covering her eye, and more effectively the scar above her brow.

Even with their expertise, they still cannot manage to conceal the ugliness of it. It creates a harsh aspect to her pretty face that Glacier knows would frighten children.

It’s not like I haven’t looked like a freak all my life
.

Her dress, although elegant, has a personally distasteful amount of her pale flesh on display. The deep blue satin hugs her every curve like a tight sheet, with a short dip down her chest. The silver diamond-encrusted straps travel over her shoulders and crisscross against her nude back, where they then lead down the rear of her dress and splay out into a shower of smaller diamonds until they reach the hem. The hem this time does not swish on the floor in a gathers heap, but instead brushes the floor in a gentle caress. Her heals are sized to a comfortable height, but Glacier knows that at some point during the evening, she will be stumbling around in them.

She ignores her somewhat straight hair and looks directly at the closed doors of the elevator.

In her barely distinguishable reflection, Glacier sees a ghostly girl with voluminous straight hair, and an unfeeling glint in her smoky-eyed stare.

The doors open as Geri and Wendelin continue to fuss over little things. Glacier gazes around the lobby. It is similar to when she had entered the hotel earlier.

The volunteers from each team squander around the lobby, fixing any last-minute touch ups and altercations. Glacier notices Gamble and Porter off to the side of the crowd, speaking to each other in hushed voices.

Bronze is helping Isaac with his bow tie, Aleena is standing close to Tric with a bored expression on her face, and seemingly all the competitors from the Pyre team have their heads hung sullenly. Glacier notices Melana running around, talking to various elementals loitering in the lobby.

“Come along, Miss Wardgrave. We must locate Mr Grimond and have you arriving on time.”

Wendelin nods her head in agreement before adding, “Punctuality is propriety.”

Glacier hadn’t heard that saying before, but she has come to discover that earth elementals have a higher regard to etiquette than those from her region.

She nods her head in reply, not entirely listening. Her mouth remains quiet despite her mind rolling with a million thoughts.

Geri rests her thick fingers on Glacier’s shoulder blade to provide direction. At the same time, Wendelin lifts Glacier’s hand straight out in front, holding it in line with her chest, and they both guide her down the steps

The way the two women manoeuvre her makes her feel like a trophy. All those who wait in the lobby turn to drink in her appearance.

Glacier glances over to where her team stands at the reception.

Keena and Neena are wearing near-identical dresses, their straps being the only difference. Keena has bold straps over her shoulder, whilst Neena has none.

Keena seems to be feeling much better now. Her short hair is pinned to swoop to one side, also consistent with Neena’s lengthy side-swept hair.

Branch is watching Glacier with a smile in his eyes and a knowing smirk on his lips. His blue suit fits snug and sleek, and his hair is unchanging. Glacier returns his look with a small smile in his direction, before continuing to look around.

Then, like magnets, her eyes find his.

Boy, he does look good in that suit
…

Fielder stands at the bottom of the steps close to the wall, watching her like a hawk does their prey. His dark, burnt-orange suit fits snug around his torso and biceps. Beneath it is a crispy white button-down, with taut black slacks and matching tie. His hair is naturally waved, a few locks dancing playfully over his eyebrow where his thin white scar sits. His eyes rapidly morph from a dull orange to a blazing fire when he spots her.

Glacier nearly stumbles down the steps from the deep look in his eye. She is grateful that Wendelin has a tight hold on her wrist.

“Do be careful, won’t you? We can’t have you ruining this dress; it will surely cost more than everything you own.”

The remembrance of her old house bombards her like a shuttle train, at full-force. Wendelin’s demeaning words strike like hot water, cremating her on the inside.

I’m valueless
.
Nothing I haven’t already heard before
.

Her head now lowered, Glacier watches her footsteps intently. Her toes peep from her shoes beneath the hem of satin that sways around her ankles.

The beauticians drop their hands from her body, and instruct her to wait at the steps whilst they have the receptionist call Lien.

Glacier watches their retreat, both bickering to one another about something insignificant.

“You look… breathtaking.”

Hearing Fielder’s deep voice behind her sends pleasant tingles down her spine, following all the way down to her toes.

Glacier spins, generating an aching squeak as her heels gyrate on the tiles. Now up close, his eyes have a significantly higher magnetism. His smell is boldly intense, like smoky wood. Glacier can feel herself rapidly drowning in it.

“Thanks,” she stutters out, her cheeks blooming an embarrassed red.

Fielder steps towards her, closing the distance the staircase barred.

“Save me a dance tonight.” He leans in to whisper.

Glacier nods her head shyly. A loud cough from behind has her turning back to find both Geri and Wendelin standing with their hands on their hips. “We have located Mr Grimond.”