Gathering Frost (Once Upon A Curse Book 1) (8 page)

Another turn and years have passed, the baby has become a beautiful woman. Golden curls flow down to her back, an elegant dress frames her body, and she is loved by everyone. It is her birthday and she is alone for the first time in her life, free to do as she pleases, so she wanders the halls, exploring. An old woman spinning thread is all she finds, but it is enough, and she pricks her finger, falling into a deep sleep. The entire town follows her, one by one, until the kingdom itself vanishes into a dream.

The story turns to a prince, hunting, who happens upon this forgotten castle, frozen in time, cold. He is the only one awake, the only one who feels, and he breathes life into the empty hallways of the palace. Until he sees the princess, sleeping peacefully, and he touches his palm to her face.

I flip the page, but it is blank.

The story is over, incomplete. Ridges rest unevenly along the bind. The ending has been torn out, ripped free, and all I can wonder is why.

For the first time, I want to see how it ends. I want to know.

I move backward to the previous page, running my fingers along the prince's face as Asher's features fill my mind.

He's left a message for me, but I don’t know what it is. I don't understand. I flip the page again, letting my fingers scratch against torn paper.

Does the prince save her?

Does the woman wake?

Does the town?

Somehow, it seems important. The answer is on the tip of my tongue. I want my blind eyes to see. 

A small flame flickers in my chest, burning hot, willing Asher to show me.

I am too used to telling time by the rise and fall of the sun. Down here, surrounded by artificial light and concrete windows, my senses are confused. Sleep comes at seemingly random times, a quick yawn and my lids flutter closed. Only short knocks and dinner plates, or guided trips to the toilet down the hall, interrupt me. No one speaks to me. Asher has not come to see me again.

Which is why I jolt in surprise when a knock sounds, soft and gentle, almost as though I imagined it. I put my book aside, leaving the lost boys to their own devices for a little while, and slide from the bed.

Hesitantly, the door rolls open, slow enough that it seems pushed by a ghost. Then a blond head pokes through, eyes closed.

"Can I come in?" Asher asks, uncertainty etched in his face, as though he is almost afraid of something.

"Sure." I shrug.

His grin returns and the door swings wide, slamming against the stone with a smack. Hands crossing over his chest, Asher leans back against the wall, completely calm, eyes surveying the room and landing on the neat stack of books in the corner.

"Find anything you like?"

Ignoring his question, I walk over and pull the book of pictures from the pile. I've been ruminating for however long I've been stuck here, wondering why the pages were torn, what message he was trying to send me, if any at all.

"Did you do this?" I ask, flipping to the end, holding the empty binding out before me.

"Me?" His eyes go wide—too wide.

"I want to know how it ends."

"So you liked it then?" He casts a sidelong glance in my direction, a wicked smile on his lips.

"Does that matter?" I keep my tone calm, refusing to give in to his game.

"It matters," he says quietly, more to himself than to me, before snatching the book from my hands to flip through the pages. At one point he stops, running his fingers over the paper, stuck on an image I can't see, stuck on something he seems to be hiding.

Now I am certain it was a test, a way to gauge my reaction, but for what purpose I do not understand. Still, I want to know, I feel as though that art now belongs to me—the prince gave it up.

"So?" I ask, bending my fingers, holding them back so I do not snatch the volume free from his hands.

Asher looks up, an almost haunted look flashes over his features, quickly covered by the jovial face I recognize. He closes the book and hands it back to me, but for the first time his actions feel empty. "It ends happily," he says, voice resigned almost. "The prince wakes the princess, the evil fairy is destroyed, and the kingdom returns to its former glory."

"How does he wake her?" I sense that something has been left out of his tale.

A spark lights his eye. I did not realize I missed it until it reappeared, comforting me, bringing fire back to his otherwise cool face. "I'll save that lesson for another day."

Again, I feel left out of a joke, or the butt of one.

But before I can reply, a cough in the doorway grabs my attention. A girl waits there, around my age, though she seems more alive somehow. Her dark cheeks are flushed rosy, her brown eyes are wide and excited, her body seems to give off an energy that mine has never had.

"Hi," she squeaks, as though she just cannot contain herself.

"Jade, this is Maddy. Maddy, Jade."

Asher stands back as the girl rushes forward, presenting her hand. My face tightens, and I fight the urge to step back, instead lifting my hand slowly into hers. As soon as our fingers touch, her grip clamps, swishing my hand up and down until my arm feels like rubber, boneless.

Finally, she releases and my arm falls limp to my side. Her gaze falls to Asher, lip partially bit, but he presents her with an encouraging nod.

I remain silent.

"Welcome to our home," she exclaims, voice bouncing against the walls of my tiny room. I'm made dizzy by her. "I'm sorry I'm so excited, but I've just never met one of you before. Someone from Kardenia, I mean. Oh, I mean, I guess we have Asher, but he doesn't really count. He's not, you know, under the queen's thrall."

Maddy raises her hands next to her face and her eyes go wide, wiggling her fingers as though casting a spell.

My jaw slackens and my gaze slips to the side, looking pointedly at Asher, silently pleading with him to do something. A shrug is my response. A shrug and a smile—a smile I suddenly want to slap from his face.

"Oh it's okay," she continues, "you don't have to say anything. I mean, you're really overwhelmed, right? And well, we've all been told that people under the thrall tend to… How should I put this nicely? Act like total jerks. But it's not your fault, so don't worry, I won't hold it against you. I mean, you could, like say something, but…"

She trails off into silence, watching me expectantly, wriggling her hands. I lick my lips, unused to so much frenzied conversation. Life in Kardenia is slow, calm. There are no surprises, no outbursts, everyone moves at almost the same pace.

"Nice to meet you," I mutter, but that is all she needs and a bright smile infiltrates her features, stretching wide, and she takes my elbow into her hand.

"Asher asked me to take you to the bathing area of the compound, no boys allowed sort of thing, so just follow me. It's like sort of a maze down here if you don't know where to go, but you don't look like you'll have any trouble keeping up. I hear you're part of the queen's guard, I wish I knew how to fight. I mean, don't get me wrong, I, I will…" She pauses, looking to Asher for assistance.

"You're not going to punch her, are you?" He asks, but the conversation has totally lost me at this light speed. "Jade?"

"Huh?" I murmur, turning to face him, until the words all register. "Oh no, I won't try to run away if that's what you're asking. Not yet, anyway." I add the last bit just for shock value. Success. Maddy is silenced for a moment, and my mind has time to catch up.

"She's kidding," Asher asserts, but the force of his inspection suggests otherwise. I do what I do best, remain stoic and still, unaffected.

A nervous laugh escapes the girl's lips. A little thrill vibrates up my throat, a little buzz lights my heart—the warmth is unnatural, but I wonder if this is what joy feels like.

"Anyway," she says, pulling me toward the door, continuing as if nothing happened, "let's go. Later, Asher," she calls over her shoulder.

My head fights to spin around, to get one more glance at the prince before we leave, but I remain as I am, facing forward.

Maddy continues to babble as we walk arm in arm toward the baths. I learn that the compound is one of many, that other rebel networks still stand all over the world working to bring down the magic. So far, none have been successful. Electricity is mostly down everywhere, since the old grid has been destroyed by the new layout of the land, but salvaged solar panels and windmills still create usable energy for humans.

I also hear of their lives, stuck underground, basking in the few modern conveniences they were able to preserve, trying to continue on as normal as possible. There are still schools and teachers, still a variety of jobs for people to pursue, still goals like life and love and family that people yearn for.  

Though she bounces from topic to topic, I try to keep my mind focused on her words, paying close attention so I can follow her meandering thoughts. With my concentration elsewhere, the surroundings blur. As far as I'm concerned, we walk in circles through this maze, one I do not wish to unveil. My instincts fight to map the path, to lock it in my mind, but I must not give myself an exit, a way to escape. Better that I am trapped here following the queen's orders. I will not give myself a way out of the choice I've made.

I'm also distracted by Maddy herself. By the kindness in her tone, the way our arms intertwine as though we're connected, by the openness with which she speaks. Affection has never been a strong part of my life, at least since the earthquake. I've forgotten what companionship might feel like, but listening to her speak, a memory resurges just out of reach.

"Here we are."

The two of us stop just before a door, which Maddy pulls open before guiding me inside. Curtains line the walls. Water rushes out of sight. Steam seeps up through slits in the ceiling. The light here is yellow, bright, and I realize we are close to the surface. Above my head are grates, barring any exit, but still, I can just make out the sun. My breath comes easier. After so many years on the wall, so many years of candles and firelight, I am relieved to escape the dim blue lights of the rebel base.

"Welcome to the girl's shower room." Maddy keeps walking in deeper and I follow. "There's only one because it took forever for people to figure out the plumbing, cause we needed to loop an internal system without using any drinkable water up. But, I mean, it works and we still get to shower once a week, so it's okay. Some of the adults remember the good old days, back before the earthquake, but once you get used to it, it feels pretty normal. And you've been to the toilets, I mean, I hope you have. We have a few of those, but that plumbing system is totally different and way closer to your part of the compound."

"Once a week?" The question slips out before I can stop it. Her tone sounded dismissive, but once a week sounds wonderful. I am used to cold baths and infrequent ones at that.

"Ugh, I know, but it's not that bad."

I nod, hiding the grin from my face, itching to test the showers. Water falls from spouts in the wall, if I remember correctly. I've seen them during scavenging trips, in every apartment, but we never tried to make them work.

"Go ahead, I'll be back in a little while. We're only supposed to use the showers for like ten minutes, but I won't tell."

As though we are conspiring to hide a great secret, she waves goodbye, but the silence is welcome, and I pause for a minute, staring at the wall of curtains before me. One is likely no better than the other, so I just select at random, pulling a blue panel to the side before stepping in.

Like I suspected, a shiny nozzle is attached to the ceiling and below it a handle. On the opposite wall there is a hook waiting empty, and another holding soaps of different varieties.

My clothes are quickly abandoned and left on the floor. Dirty from the days of travel on the road. Smelly from my own sweat. I am happy to let the uniform fall away. Stains discolor my skin, so, almost urgently, I turn the knob.

Water slaps my face and I step back, caught off guard by the cold as a yelp escapes my lips. The water numbs like shards of ice, prickling my skin, but in the small space, there is nowhere to escape, so I wait as the onslaught continues. This water is no different from what we use at home, only it sprays at me and does not sit idle in a tub.

Then suddenly, it warms. Grows hotter still until steam filters up before my eyes. I sigh, standing below the steady stream as my muscles relax, running my hands through the knots in my hair, bringing my face as close to the spout as I possibly can.

This is amazing.

A smile presses into my lips and I laugh, heart bubbling like it did with the light switch, somehow buoyant.

I grab the soap, rubbing my hands over my skin until I am coated in white bubbles. The smell of flowers infiltrates my nose, sweet, lemony too. And then, under the water, the suds simply fall away, leaving behind a cleanliness I have never known. We had soap back home, but it never left the skin, and I would emerge from my tub feeling oily, shaking with shivers, dreading the next time I would return.

But this I never want to leave.

"Jade?" Maddy calls over the noise of the water. I groan, wishing to be invisible, to blend with the water. "I have clothes for you, if you want them, I mean."

My own clothes are a heap on the ground, white from soap, dripping with water, too dark in this already dark place. I nudge them away with my foot, only pausing to remove my black heart pin. That, I've earned. That, I will not abandon. It's a good reminder that this life is only a dream, and my real destiny waits back home, with the commander and the queen.

Relishing my last few moments of peace, I sigh and turn the water off. The instant the stream disappears, my arms feel cold. The chill returns and the heat melts away, drifting up to the sky along with the steam.

A hand pushes through the curtain. "Here!"