Kaley
_ The wind blew cold against our skin, leaving us
feeling damp and stripped. My hair dipped in front of my face, hiding me from
the stares my father and little sister shot at me. I shivered for the first
time in my life, feeling stricken and lost. I wanted to run. To sprint. Leave
this disastrous place and find a new home. To cry and scream and run and beat
down on the ground.
But I couldn’t. I was stronger than that.
Instead, when my little sister tugged on my sleeve, I looked at her with awaiting eyes. My heart sank as I looked at her. Her white hair was ruffled and tangled, her eyes watering. Tears stained her face. I was terrified of what I saw. Of what this has done to my happy, sparkly, optimistic sister. She was only four and already seeing a glimpse of hell. Or so I thought.
“Kaley,” she choked out, her voice wavering. “When is mommy coming home?” I shook my head, dropped down to my knees and pulled my sister to me. I could feel my heart beat in rhythm to hers as I caressed her shaking, sobbing face. I looked her in the eye, doing all I could to not break down into sobs, and shook my head once more.
“I don’t know, Annie. I don’t know.”
Three years later…
Run.
My brain has taught my body to, when at the correct circumstance, I should run. Bolt. Sprint. Laugh in the person’s face and let my legs carry me to distant places. Right now, it was more like a game. I was laughing as I sprinted through the markets. People hooted in chock and hollered at me to cut it out. But did I stop? Of course not. When a Caladin gets caught up in something, she never stops. She does nothing but continue. I heard Zach yelling from behind me, laughing and letting out empty threats.
“You better get back here Kaley! I’m gonna getcha!” Zach called. I laughed and turned around, running backwards. Cocking an eyebrow, I laughed at him.
“Whatever!” I cooed, turned, and continued. My feet beat against the continuous snow and the kyanite roads. My dress flowed awkwardly, so I shoved up the sleeves and continued. I could hear Zach’s feet beat behind me as he panted. I, however, didn’t even break a sweat.
My legs absentmindedly took me home. I hurried past shops and the cute Victorian styled houses until I got to a forbidden patch of grass. It wasn’t like the blue grass that so often takes place here in the Ice Realm. Instead, it was colored like the grass in the Human Realm. Black at the tips, scorched, then a vibrant green. My legs wobbled as I stepped in front of it, then buckled under me. I could feel the ice and snow against my bare skin, leaving me cold, but I didn’t mind. Instead, I reached over and plucked one of the blades. Turning it over in my hands, I studied it.
The crunching of snow behind me seemed to turn me to rock. Carefully, a warm hand was set on my shoulder. I knew immediately who it was, my body suddenly relaxing. Usually, the people in the Ice Realm are cold. We’re almost like dead people, or vampires, but we’re quite alive and, well… We all get quite queasy around blood. We also despise the heat, so our fires give off cold waves aside from normal fire. Being cold is refreshing, and snow is like the sun to Humans. Zach, however, has a human dad, so he’s quite warm. His mom was childhood friends with my own mother, so Zach slightly resembles them. He’s got metallic blond hair and honey-nut colored eyes.
Dropping down beside me, he reached over and grabbed my hand. I squeezed it reassuringly and smiled.
“Why did you come here?” he whispered. “I know you hate letting go of the past, but I can see it hurts you.”
“Yeah, well I–” I started.
“Kaley Anne Caladin!” the screeching caught me off guard. A shuddering sense of anger and shock rippled through me and I leaped up. There, standing before me, was a crow in a human body. Not really, but she sure seemed like it. I cowered like an abused dog as those red, beady eyes glared down at me. Her jaw-length, black hair frizzed in anger. Only then did I realize how dirty and muddy I was. Taking a long stride towards me, Royal Rachel – excuse me, Mother Rachel – grabbed my ear. Hard. I howled in pain and ripped at her hands. Her nails dug into my ear and I could feel my blood trickle down my jaw line. A high-pitch ringing grew and I whimpered. “You damn child from hell.” I could practically feel Zach’s anger, but he was smart and ran off. Suddenly, we were engulfed in a blue flame, leaving me alone with the crow. I felt the need to reach over and throttle her, but somehow I felt that would do nothing.
All I knew next was the pain that suddenly rippled through me. Rachel’s hands tossed me against the wall and I crumpled to the floor, shaking and whimpering. She took a step towards me, looming over my shaking body. Reaching over, she grabbed my neck and lifted me up, pressing against the wall. I choked and coughed, her razor sharp nails digging into my neck. I could sense some light amusement in her eyes as she cackled maliciously.
“This is your warning, girl.” She growled. Her voice was grainy and rolled angrily. I shuddered at the very sound of it. “You stay in this castle. And you will never see that boy again. If you do, you’ll regret it.” My eyes widened in absolute horror. My mouth opened in protest, but before I could say I word, I was thrown at the ground in record speed. I choked as all of the air left my lungs. I tried to inhale, exhale, anything, but my lungs were stone. I choked and coughed, getting a chuckle from Rachel. She stalked off then, telling every that looked at me to leave me. That I deserved this random punishment. After regaining my breath, I choked for a moment and staggered into my own room.
The castle is beautiful. It’s a wonderful place. There’s so much to it and I, quite frankly, love everything about it. Except, you know, the psycho who runs the place and all of the ignorant servants. Of course, none of this really mattered to me as I stumbled into my room. I passed by Annie and went straight into the bathroom to identify my wounds. There were four cuts on the right side of my neck, from Rachel’s nails, and my ear was covered in blood. Getting a wash bin, I dipped an old handkerchief in and started cleaning the blood. Annie was the queasiest of all of us. She is also the mousiest, and has more phobias than I have hair. If she sees a spider, she tears up in fright, and if I kill it, she turns a little green. Quickly, I ran my fingers over the wound. What was left behind the most useful ice – Healing Ice.
Every realm has there upsides. Every person in the realm has a specialty. The Woodland Elves, from the realm that I don’t remember, have healing powers. That is there main specialty. Dragons take fire and are accompanied by Pyros, which also claim fire. The Dark Elves are great assassins and murderers, so they have dark powers. Humans are good with technology, and being complete idiots. Wizards are each to their own. The Nekos, or Fox Demons, or Wolf Demons, or whatever suits your liking, are great with stones. Us Ice Demons? Well, we use ice. Those who come from royal families can use a type of ice called Eternal Ice. It is indestructible in all ways. Then we have ice that can heal – only if you have lessons on how to make healing ice – and ice that can kill. We can make these little treats of ice that can taste however you like. Zach is constantly making them taste like something called “cinnamon” that grows in the Human Realm. Annie loves to make berry flavors and I, myself, like anything sour. Zach constantly joked about how that is the reason I’m so bitter.
Running my hands over the wound on my ear, I studied myself in the mirror. I was filthy. Standing, I reached over and turned the water on extra cold. Showers were granted to us, thanks to Zach’s dad. Only the wealthy people have showers, so when before my mother died we didn’t have any.
Pulling off my torn and dirt-caked dress, I stepped under the water. The sound of it beating against the tub was soothing, drowning everything out. I couldn’t hear Annie’s page turning in her studies, nor could I hear the servants’ gossiping about me. It seemed that, whenever I was caught up in something, I was safe. With everyone gone, I was finally safe. I felt great and alone and well… Soothed. Quite soothed. “Soothed” is the only word that can describe this feeling, really. I stared at the tiles on the wall and reached out to touch them. They were cold, just like mostly anything in here. I sighed deeply, let my head roll back, closed my eyes, and let the water dash onto my face.
Annie gave me a worried look as I stepped out of the bathroom. I had a towel wrapped tightly around me, my hair dripping down my back. Bouncing up, she seemed to dance to me. I stopped walking and looked at her as she fingered my wounds carefully. I winced.
“Were you playing with Zach again?” she asked, looking at me innocently, but so afraid at the same time. I nodded and she sat me down. “I made a new dress for you!” she chirped, trying to distract herself from my wounds. Spinning to her own bed, she lifted up an elegant mint-green dress. It had long sleeves that were cut at the elbows so I could move easier. The skirt was shorter than usual and much more open. It swirled at the slightest touch. The corset had a light blue ribbon accompanied with it, the bust being a milky white. I smiled at my little sister, thanking the Lords for her talent. I stood and slipped into the dress. As I did, Annie’s eyes lit up like little stars. Tightening the corset, she clapped happily.
“It’s quite efficient,” I laughed, smiling at little Annie. She poked and prodded me until clapping happily.
“It fits perfectly!” She cooed. I laughed, took her into my arms and hugged her tightly. Annie went on for a few minutes on how great she was at making dresses and how proud she was. After a moment, she asked if I could braid her hair. Together, we sat on my bed while she talked about her lessons and my hands ran through her perfect white hair. I divided it into two braids, weaving them down her back. Every now and then I would reach out the window, pluck one of the flowers on the vines, and weave them into her hair. She looked stunning. Then again, Annie always looked stunning.
Annie turned to me and smiled. “Let me do something to your hair!” she begged. I laughed, nodded, and turned. I felt her hands run through my hair as she debated what she was going to do with it. Her nimble fingers started twisting some locked of my hair, then braiding them. She made about eight little braids then pulled some hair back. A couple locks of hair fell in my face, covering my eye. Annoyed, I tugged it back, but Annie would keep pushing it forward. “Stop it!” she whined, and I obeyed. I had no clue as to what she was doing, but I was afraid it would look me a little less than 10.
It took her a couple more minutes then she finally clapped her hands together. “Perfect!” she said happily. Jumping off of the bed, she seemed to dance to get some sort of mirror. Holding it out to me, I gasped. My hair was pulled to the other side, tied up in a ribbon, little braids decorating it. The other locks covered my eye, giving me a mysterious look. I looked way older than ten. I looked like a teenager, a grownup…
A younger version of Mom.
“I kind of based it off of Mother’s wedding hair. Except… pulled to the side, and a little more modern.” Annie cooed proudly. I touched my hair gingerly and smiled. I loved the look. It sent sparks of happiness through me. I stood and kissed my sister on the head.
“It’s gorgeous,” I said softly, “Thank you.”
The fountain is long since abandoned.
It was night out, and the starts twinkled in the distance. My hands traced over the white marble fountain, the place where Mom and my father met. The place where she said she “fell in love with him.” I scowled at the very thought of my mother – my beautiful, caring, smart, perfect mother – falling for something like my father. Mom was murdered. I squeezed my eyes shut, but the memories came anyway.
Blood. Blood everywhere. Mom lying on the ground. She’s not moving, not making a sound or a breath. There’s a little girl screaming. Is it me? Is it me screaming in terror? The blond man slides his sword in a sheath and I’m attacking him. Screaming, crying, punching, only to be pulled up by strong arms. Ugh! Let me go! Squirming, terror, terror, blood, blood everywhere. It’s everywhere! The man just walks out. No one saved her. Blood. Why is there so much blood?! LET ME GO!
“Kaley! Kaley!” I hear my name being hissed. I come back and realize I’m shaking. Two warm hands grip my shoulder, nails digging into me. “Kaley, wake up!” Tears stain my cheeks as I look up at Zach. His brown eyes are wide in utter fear. Shaking his head, he pulls me to him. I’m in shock, so I don’t hug back, just stare up at the dark sky. The stars twinkle like far away hopes, just out of reach. Happiness. What would happen if I get to those twinkling balls of joy? Would everything be okay?
Zach pulls away from me and sits down, his hand on my back. “Are you okay?” he whispers carefully. I just continue staring, staring into the distance.
“Hey, Zach?”
“Hm?”
“Would I gain happiness if I get to those? Maybe… Maybe if I jump high enough… Or climb far enough… Or get to the horizon and climb up the clouds…” My voice trails off and I’m faintly aware Zach is staring at me. Of course, he’s always staring at me for one reason or another. I wait a moment for him to say something stupid, but he misses his cue. I wait a little longer before I turn to face him, frowning. “What?” I snap.
Zach stares at me in fear, and then presses the back of his hand to my cheek. “Are you feeling okay? You’re talking like a crazy person.” He sounds genuinely worried, but this irks me somehow. I shove him, but not hard enough to push him off the ledge of the fountain.
“Crazy?! You know, who’s crazy, Zach?! My –”
“Your father.” He finishes for me, looking at me wearily. “Your father is crazy. You’re not. I’m sorry, K. I’m sorry.” His brown eyes look big and understanding and, for once, I’m aware that maybe, just maybe, he knows me better than I know myself.
My eyes tear up and I bury my face in his shoulder. Zach laughs slightly and pushes me away. “Hey,” he says, lifting up a satchel. “Look at your new present.”
Zach opens the satchel and my eyes widen in absolute awe. Daggers. Tons of daggers, beautiful, shiny, wonderful daggers. My breath catches in my throat and I reach out to gingerly touch them. They’re warm despite the biting air of the Ice Realm. Reaching in, I pull one with a bone handle out. It’s gorgeous, the blade made of perfect ice. It’s glossed over with something, I don’t know what, and I honestly don’t care. I just smile happily. Spinning 90 degrees, I throw the dagger. It lands directly in the center of a tree trunk. Zach laughs and slips the satchel over my head. I clutch it to my heart and smile. I’m so happy, words cannot explain. “I thought that you might want it,” Zach shrugs. I beam and hug him, pulling him as close as I can. He tentatively hugs back.
“Oh, thank you, Zach! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” my voice was high and girly, like I had just received a large wardrobe of wonderful dresses. But that wasn’t the case. No, not at all. I had just received my way of getting through this place. Intimidation.
“Yeah, you’re –” Zach began.
But that’s when we heard the screams.
I was running.
Really, really fast.
The satchel beat against my leg, keeping me running. It was Annie. I knew it was Annie. The screams belonged to her. The worst part?
No one was doing a damn thing.
Instead of people running out of their homes, they turned the lights off. The same thing happened when Mom was murdered, when I screamed. No one did a thing. Maybe it was because everyone was afraid to interfere with anything, afraid that it was the work of the Royals.
My whole body was shaking, but the only thing I was aware of was the sound of my boots crunching against the snow and my little sister’s screams. My wonderful, perfect, little sister. In the middle of the night. Screaming her bloody brains out.
My heart was thudding against the chest and I shrieked her name, running quicker and quicker. Her screams grew closer and closer.
I just kept running.
Faster and faster I went.
Until I got there.
Black hair. Red eyes. White hair. Silver eyes. Blood. Screams. Terror. Fear. My absolute worst nightmare.
It was all there.
Everything became a blur as I reached into my satchel, chucking the dagger. The blade flew quite nicely in Rachel’s throat, but what happened next threw me off guard. Black blood oozed out, dribbling down her neck. Terror coursed through my veins and I screamed. Her head rolled back and she gurgled a laugh, the blood oozing out of her mouth. It ran down her face, in her hair, onto the snow, staining it. I felt like vomiting, but instead I just screamed.
“You stupid child,” she gurgled, and then laughed evilly. It was like the screech of a crow. Terrifying. Horrible. “You stupid, stupid, good for nothing brat!” The last word was bellowed, sending shivers down my spine. It was unnatural and Annie looked horrified. She was shaking so very violently, it almost seemed like hands were gripping her and throwing her about. Her whimpers shuddered through my body as Rachel continued gurgling, “stupid, stupid, stupid.”
All of a sudden, Rachel sat upright.
And my dagger…
She ripped it out of her throat and, with one swift move, she slit Annie’s throat.
Oh, God, no!
“I warned you!” Rachel screeched.
And that was when everything became dark.
I woke up on a large ice platform, something more familiar than my room. I could feel the back of my dress – the beautiful dress Annie made for me – ripped open. I was shaking violently, colder than usual. Binds cut into my wrists as I thrashed about, shaking and screaming.
“ANNIE! ANNIE!” I screeched, louder and louder. The sirens to meet at the plate went off and, almost immediately, everyone in ear shot came. Everything seemed to be fast-forwarding. I watched with slow eyes as people magically appeared before me. Some looked sympathetic. Some looked bored. Children I knew stared at me with tears in their eyes. God, it was all so fast. I couldn’t think too much of anything. Everything was so quick. A beat danced about in my head as I sat on my knees, pulling forward, wrists bleeding, and mouth open. I was a mess. I could tell by the terrified looks in their eyes.
A child?
Is she insane?
Is that Kaley Caladin?
This is an execution, I know it.
Murder?
Why is she here?
Most of these people I knew. I knew them thanks to my bastard of a father marrying Rachel. They saw me running through the streets with Zach. Eating treats in the parks. My mother being a blacksmith. Most of them knew me, or heard about me from others. I was a mischief maker.
“Kaley. Anne. Caladin.” The usual voice announced me, an ice plate raising him to my own platform. I nodded at the man, his white hair shaggy and his beard freshly trimmed.
“Mark.” I said. He scowled at me and I smirked, knowing I had gotten to him. His boots clacked as they stepped onto the bloody platform, heading towards me. From behind his back, he pulled out a scroll. Rolling it open, he cleared his throat.
“Kaley Anne Caladin. Sentenced for murder of her very own sister.”
Excuse me!?
A roll of gasps vibrated through the crowd. Practically everyone knew my adorable little sister, who would always sell people her dresses and give the money to the poor. She was so little, so perfect, so cute and amazing. Tears pricked my eyes and anger clouded inside of me. I felt as though I was about to vomit.
“Kill ‘er!” someone with an accent screamed. A boy, about 16, who threw his fist up. Couples cheered with him, but were soon silenced with Mark’s dirty look. He continued.
“Her punishment will be fifteen whippings and banishment. Kaley Anne Caladin will be sent to the human realm,” gasps, murmurs, “and will be forced to learn to survive. Estimated death time: two days. Let the punishment begin.”
I looked to my left immediately as a girl bounced into sight. Her hair was as pitch black as Rachel’s and eyes as green as an emerald. Her teeth were purposefully filed into sharp points, expressing her demonism. I shrunk away from her as she reached for her whip.
Elizabeth.
I could feel all of the Es etched into my back from all of my past whippings. They happened quite a lot, you know. Elizabeth took a step to me and cracked your whip. I sat up straight and smiled at her, all teeth.
“Good morning, Elizabeth! How did you sleep?” I chirped. She growled at my fake happiness.
“Shut up, Trash!” she bellowed. Her voice was husky and had an edge to it. She hissed at me, like a snake. “I’ma kill ya right ‘ere, right now. Ya got it, Trash?!” I make a snrrk sound and chuckled.
“Oh, Elizabeth, you always crack me up!” I slouched forward. “Hit me with your best -!”
Crack!
The whip was new. Different. I screamed in pain as I felt large spikes being ripped out. Tears began to roll down my eyes. Elizabeth screeched a laugh and traced a finger over my scars. I shuddered. Not a single word was said; instead she whipped again, and again, and again. I felt the E being carved into my back, the spikes being ripped out, heard my screams pierce through the dawn. Horror rippled through me and I screamed over, and over, and over as the whip bit my skin. My blood soon followed.
I collapsed as far as I could with pain, watching my blood drip onto the platform. It was absolutely terrifying.
My vision grew hazy due to the blood loss as I felt arms grip me. I was pulled to my feet, my binds snapped off. Everything was limp. My entire attention was focused on my back, on the pain, on the blood trickling down my leg.
Mark stepped up and began speaking, announcing that my banishment was next. That was when I saw Zach shove through the crowd, his face pale.
“Wait!” I heard him scream. He shoved past people and to the platform. He held out my satchel and Mark gingerly took it, ready to toss it away, but Zach screamed him to stop. “The-There are rules! Anyone… can give the… banished… one gift…” he swallowed some air. He was so out of breath. “Let her have it. Please.” Mark stared into Zach’s pleading eyes and tossed it to me. He agreed and I looked down at Zach. A small, shaky smile crossed my lips for a split second, but then the pain became too much. I squeezed my eyes shut and screamed as someone’s sleeve pressed against a wound. Zach grimaced, but there was nothing he could do. He would be killed on the spot.
Then Mark stepped forward, snapping, and a portal was created.
It seemed to suck all of the energy around us, green trees waving, rippling. I was quite intrigued. My body subconsciously leaned forward, and the hands let me.
“Farewell, Kaley.” Mark sniffed, turning up his nose. He tossed in the satchel and, with such speed, so was I.
I rolled with great speed into the back of something hard. My body began to shake with anger, pain and sobs, as I screamed and beat at the ground. Everything was blurry and my blood was flooding into my vision. Pain. That was all I was aware of. Pain and…
Heat.
Screaming with frustration, I leaped up and started clawing at myself, screaming, crying, bleeding. The heat never went away! I started pounding at the hard thing, screeching for someone to save me, clawing at my throat, begging for the heat to go away. Slumping to the ground, I sobbed.
I had to kill myself.
Reaching over, I yanked the satchel to me and tore it open, but not literally. Many things fell out, things except daggers. There was a book on Human plants, a white wood box that was polished to a shine, and lastly, a thick book, leather bound book. My heart began to race. What was this stuff? Why was it given to me? How come I had these survival things?
Forgetting about the blood and the depression, I looked at the leather bound book first. It was empty – a journal of some sort. My fingers lightly stroked the pages, where you could see the pulp of the tree. God, it was beautiful. Next, I turned to the other book. I could feel my blood make a pool on the ground behind me, blood stains being left behind on the plants. It was homemade, it seemed, seeing as the paper was much like the journal’s. My eyes began to water with joy – someone had ordered this to be sent with me. Someone wanted me to live. Lastly, I turned to the box.
It was almost like a little chest. The area was small, smaller than something holding a normal sized dagger. Carefully, tentatively, I tugged it open, sucking in my breath. What lay there shocked me to now end. It was a gorgeous choker – a type of necklace that wasn’t very common, actually. Oh, how I loved this style! I pulled it up and studied it. The fabric was a black silk, silver silk designs stitched in. The stone was perfectly round, about the size of a small roll, and when it moved it seemed to shower blue. It was green, blue, and white, starting with green and slowly turning white. I ran my fingers over it, astonished, the whole world falling behind me. A little note had been left under it. Picking it up, I began to read.
Kaley –
This stone and this fabric is very rare indeed in the Ice Realm. It gives you a strength you would have never imagined. Keep it on at all times and you will be safe from any harm – or blood loss.
Less blood loss? Impossible! Slipping it on around my neck, I took a deep breath. The feeling that came next was horrifying and soothing all at the same time.
The cold started at my toes then slowly spread up my body. I gripped myself and shivered, not even bothering to notice how good it felt. A weird, clothed feeling came over my back, the blood stopped streaming, and breathing was easier. I pulled one hand away and looked at it, studying it. The paper cuts were being swallowed up! The blood was disappearing!
Terror filled my body before I could be glad for this, and I screamed so loud that everything became black.
But I couldn’t. I was stronger than that.
Instead, when my little sister tugged on my sleeve, I looked at her with awaiting eyes. My heart sank as I looked at her. Her white hair was ruffled and tangled, her eyes watering. Tears stained her face. I was terrified of what I saw. Of what this has done to my happy, sparkly, optimistic sister. She was only four and already seeing a glimpse of hell. Or so I thought.
“Kaley,” she choked out, her voice wavering. “When is mommy coming home?” I shook my head, dropped down to my knees and pulled my sister to me. I could feel my heart beat in rhythm to hers as I caressed her shaking, sobbing face. I looked her in the eye, doing all I could to not break down into sobs, and shook my head once more.
“I don’t know, Annie. I don’t know.”
Three years later…
Run.
My brain has taught my body to, when at the correct circumstance, I should run. Bolt. Sprint. Laugh in the person’s face and let my legs carry me to distant places. Right now, it was more like a game. I was laughing as I sprinted through the markets. People hooted in chock and hollered at me to cut it out. But did I stop? Of course not. When a Caladin gets caught up in something, she never stops. She does nothing but continue. I heard Zach yelling from behind me, laughing and letting out empty threats.
“You better get back here Kaley! I’m gonna getcha!” Zach called. I laughed and turned around, running backwards. Cocking an eyebrow, I laughed at him.
“Whatever!” I cooed, turned, and continued. My feet beat against the continuous snow and the kyanite roads. My dress flowed awkwardly, so I shoved up the sleeves and continued. I could hear Zach’s feet beat behind me as he panted. I, however, didn’t even break a sweat.
My legs absentmindedly took me home. I hurried past shops and the cute Victorian styled houses until I got to a forbidden patch of grass. It wasn’t like the blue grass that so often takes place here in the Ice Realm. Instead, it was colored like the grass in the Human Realm. Black at the tips, scorched, then a vibrant green. My legs wobbled as I stepped in front of it, then buckled under me. I could feel the ice and snow against my bare skin, leaving me cold, but I didn’t mind. Instead, I reached over and plucked one of the blades. Turning it over in my hands, I studied it.
The crunching of snow behind me seemed to turn me to rock. Carefully, a warm hand was set on my shoulder. I knew immediately who it was, my body suddenly relaxing. Usually, the people in the Ice Realm are cold. We’re almost like dead people, or vampires, but we’re quite alive and, well… We all get quite queasy around blood. We also despise the heat, so our fires give off cold waves aside from normal fire. Being cold is refreshing, and snow is like the sun to Humans. Zach, however, has a human dad, so he’s quite warm. His mom was childhood friends with my own mother, so Zach slightly resembles them. He’s got metallic blond hair and honey-nut colored eyes.
Dropping down beside me, he reached over and grabbed my hand. I squeezed it reassuringly and smiled.
“Why did you come here?” he whispered. “I know you hate letting go of the past, but I can see it hurts you.”
“Yeah, well I–” I started.
“Kaley Anne Caladin!” the screeching caught me off guard. A shuddering sense of anger and shock rippled through me and I leaped up. There, standing before me, was a crow in a human body. Not really, but she sure seemed like it. I cowered like an abused dog as those red, beady eyes glared down at me. Her jaw-length, black hair frizzed in anger. Only then did I realize how dirty and muddy I was. Taking a long stride towards me, Royal Rachel – excuse me, Mother Rachel – grabbed my ear. Hard. I howled in pain and ripped at her hands. Her nails dug into my ear and I could feel my blood trickle down my jaw line. A high-pitch ringing grew and I whimpered. “You damn child from hell.” I could practically feel Zach’s anger, but he was smart and ran off. Suddenly, we were engulfed in a blue flame, leaving me alone with the crow. I felt the need to reach over and throttle her, but somehow I felt that would do nothing.
All I knew next was the pain that suddenly rippled through me. Rachel’s hands tossed me against the wall and I crumpled to the floor, shaking and whimpering. She took a step towards me, looming over my shaking body. Reaching over, she grabbed my neck and lifted me up, pressing against the wall. I choked and coughed, her razor sharp nails digging into my neck. I could sense some light amusement in her eyes as she cackled maliciously.
“This is your warning, girl.” She growled. Her voice was grainy and rolled angrily. I shuddered at the very sound of it. “You stay in this castle. And you will never see that boy again. If you do, you’ll regret it.” My eyes widened in absolute horror. My mouth opened in protest, but before I could say I word, I was thrown at the ground in record speed. I choked as all of the air left my lungs. I tried to inhale, exhale, anything, but my lungs were stone. I choked and coughed, getting a chuckle from Rachel. She stalked off then, telling every that looked at me to leave me. That I deserved this random punishment. After regaining my breath, I choked for a moment and staggered into my own room.
The castle is beautiful. It’s a wonderful place. There’s so much to it and I, quite frankly, love everything about it. Except, you know, the psycho who runs the place and all of the ignorant servants. Of course, none of this really mattered to me as I stumbled into my room. I passed by Annie and went straight into the bathroom to identify my wounds. There were four cuts on the right side of my neck, from Rachel’s nails, and my ear was covered in blood. Getting a wash bin, I dipped an old handkerchief in and started cleaning the blood. Annie was the queasiest of all of us. She is also the mousiest, and has more phobias than I have hair. If she sees a spider, she tears up in fright, and if I kill it, she turns a little green. Quickly, I ran my fingers over the wound. What was left behind the most useful ice – Healing Ice.
Every realm has there upsides. Every person in the realm has a specialty. The Woodland Elves, from the realm that I don’t remember, have healing powers. That is there main specialty. Dragons take fire and are accompanied by Pyros, which also claim fire. The Dark Elves are great assassins and murderers, so they have dark powers. Humans are good with technology, and being complete idiots. Wizards are each to their own. The Nekos, or Fox Demons, or Wolf Demons, or whatever suits your liking, are great with stones. Us Ice Demons? Well, we use ice. Those who come from royal families can use a type of ice called Eternal Ice. It is indestructible in all ways. Then we have ice that can heal – only if you have lessons on how to make healing ice – and ice that can kill. We can make these little treats of ice that can taste however you like. Zach is constantly making them taste like something called “cinnamon” that grows in the Human Realm. Annie loves to make berry flavors and I, myself, like anything sour. Zach constantly joked about how that is the reason I’m so bitter.
Running my hands over the wound on my ear, I studied myself in the mirror. I was filthy. Standing, I reached over and turned the water on extra cold. Showers were granted to us, thanks to Zach’s dad. Only the wealthy people have showers, so when before my mother died we didn’t have any.
Pulling off my torn and dirt-caked dress, I stepped under the water. The sound of it beating against the tub was soothing, drowning everything out. I couldn’t hear Annie’s page turning in her studies, nor could I hear the servants’ gossiping about me. It seemed that, whenever I was caught up in something, I was safe. With everyone gone, I was finally safe. I felt great and alone and well… Soothed. Quite soothed. “Soothed” is the only word that can describe this feeling, really. I stared at the tiles on the wall and reached out to touch them. They were cold, just like mostly anything in here. I sighed deeply, let my head roll back, closed my eyes, and let the water dash onto my face.
Annie gave me a worried look as I stepped out of the bathroom. I had a towel wrapped tightly around me, my hair dripping down my back. Bouncing up, she seemed to dance to me. I stopped walking and looked at her as she fingered my wounds carefully. I winced.
“Were you playing with Zach again?” she asked, looking at me innocently, but so afraid at the same time. I nodded and she sat me down. “I made a new dress for you!” she chirped, trying to distract herself from my wounds. Spinning to her own bed, she lifted up an elegant mint-green dress. It had long sleeves that were cut at the elbows so I could move easier. The skirt was shorter than usual and much more open. It swirled at the slightest touch. The corset had a light blue ribbon accompanied with it, the bust being a milky white. I smiled at my little sister, thanking the Lords for her talent. I stood and slipped into the dress. As I did, Annie’s eyes lit up like little stars. Tightening the corset, she clapped happily.
“It’s quite efficient,” I laughed, smiling at little Annie. She poked and prodded me until clapping happily.
“It fits perfectly!” She cooed. I laughed, took her into my arms and hugged her tightly. Annie went on for a few minutes on how great she was at making dresses and how proud she was. After a moment, she asked if I could braid her hair. Together, we sat on my bed while she talked about her lessons and my hands ran through her perfect white hair. I divided it into two braids, weaving them down her back. Every now and then I would reach out the window, pluck one of the flowers on the vines, and weave them into her hair. She looked stunning. Then again, Annie always looked stunning.
Annie turned to me and smiled. “Let me do something to your hair!” she begged. I laughed, nodded, and turned. I felt her hands run through my hair as she debated what she was going to do with it. Her nimble fingers started twisting some locked of my hair, then braiding them. She made about eight little braids then pulled some hair back. A couple locks of hair fell in my face, covering my eye. Annoyed, I tugged it back, but Annie would keep pushing it forward. “Stop it!” she whined, and I obeyed. I had no clue as to what she was doing, but I was afraid it would look me a little less than 10.
It took her a couple more minutes then she finally clapped her hands together. “Perfect!” she said happily. Jumping off of the bed, she seemed to dance to get some sort of mirror. Holding it out to me, I gasped. My hair was pulled to the other side, tied up in a ribbon, little braids decorating it. The other locks covered my eye, giving me a mysterious look. I looked way older than ten. I looked like a teenager, a grownup…
A younger version of Mom.
“I kind of based it off of Mother’s wedding hair. Except… pulled to the side, and a little more modern.” Annie cooed proudly. I touched my hair gingerly and smiled. I loved the look. It sent sparks of happiness through me. I stood and kissed my sister on the head.
“It’s gorgeous,” I said softly, “Thank you.”
The fountain is long since abandoned.
It was night out, and the starts twinkled in the distance. My hands traced over the white marble fountain, the place where Mom and my father met. The place where she said she “fell in love with him.” I scowled at the very thought of my mother – my beautiful, caring, smart, perfect mother – falling for something like my father. Mom was murdered. I squeezed my eyes shut, but the memories came anyway.
Blood. Blood everywhere. Mom lying on the ground. She’s not moving, not making a sound or a breath. There’s a little girl screaming. Is it me? Is it me screaming in terror? The blond man slides his sword in a sheath and I’m attacking him. Screaming, crying, punching, only to be pulled up by strong arms. Ugh! Let me go! Squirming, terror, terror, blood, blood everywhere. It’s everywhere! The man just walks out. No one saved her. Blood. Why is there so much blood?! LET ME GO!
“Kaley! Kaley!” I hear my name being hissed. I come back and realize I’m shaking. Two warm hands grip my shoulder, nails digging into me. “Kaley, wake up!” Tears stain my cheeks as I look up at Zach. His brown eyes are wide in utter fear. Shaking his head, he pulls me to him. I’m in shock, so I don’t hug back, just stare up at the dark sky. The stars twinkle like far away hopes, just out of reach. Happiness. What would happen if I get to those twinkling balls of joy? Would everything be okay?
Zach pulls away from me and sits down, his hand on my back. “Are you okay?” he whispers carefully. I just continue staring, staring into the distance.
“Hey, Zach?”
“Hm?”
“Would I gain happiness if I get to those? Maybe… Maybe if I jump high enough… Or climb far enough… Or get to the horizon and climb up the clouds…” My voice trails off and I’m faintly aware Zach is staring at me. Of course, he’s always staring at me for one reason or another. I wait a moment for him to say something stupid, but he misses his cue. I wait a little longer before I turn to face him, frowning. “What?” I snap.
Zach stares at me in fear, and then presses the back of his hand to my cheek. “Are you feeling okay? You’re talking like a crazy person.” He sounds genuinely worried, but this irks me somehow. I shove him, but not hard enough to push him off the ledge of the fountain.
“Crazy?! You know, who’s crazy, Zach?! My –”
“Your father.” He finishes for me, looking at me wearily. “Your father is crazy. You’re not. I’m sorry, K. I’m sorry.” His brown eyes look big and understanding and, for once, I’m aware that maybe, just maybe, he knows me better than I know myself.
My eyes tear up and I bury my face in his shoulder. Zach laughs slightly and pushes me away. “Hey,” he says, lifting up a satchel. “Look at your new present.”
Zach opens the satchel and my eyes widen in absolute awe. Daggers. Tons of daggers, beautiful, shiny, wonderful daggers. My breath catches in my throat and I reach out to gingerly touch them. They’re warm despite the biting air of the Ice Realm. Reaching in, I pull one with a bone handle out. It’s gorgeous, the blade made of perfect ice. It’s glossed over with something, I don’t know what, and I honestly don’t care. I just smile happily. Spinning 90 degrees, I throw the dagger. It lands directly in the center of a tree trunk. Zach laughs and slips the satchel over my head. I clutch it to my heart and smile. I’m so happy, words cannot explain. “I thought that you might want it,” Zach shrugs. I beam and hug him, pulling him as close as I can. He tentatively hugs back.
“Oh, thank you, Zach! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” my voice was high and girly, like I had just received a large wardrobe of wonderful dresses. But that wasn’t the case. No, not at all. I had just received my way of getting through this place. Intimidation.
“Yeah, you’re –” Zach began.
But that’s when we heard the screams.
I was running.
Really, really fast.
The satchel beat against my leg, keeping me running. It was Annie. I knew it was Annie. The screams belonged to her. The worst part?
No one was doing a damn thing.
Instead of people running out of their homes, they turned the lights off. The same thing happened when Mom was murdered, when I screamed. No one did a thing. Maybe it was because everyone was afraid to interfere with anything, afraid that it was the work of the Royals.
My whole body was shaking, but the only thing I was aware of was the sound of my boots crunching against the snow and my little sister’s screams. My wonderful, perfect, little sister. In the middle of the night. Screaming her bloody brains out.
My heart was thudding against the chest and I shrieked her name, running quicker and quicker. Her screams grew closer and closer.
I just kept running.
Faster and faster I went.
Until I got there.
Black hair. Red eyes. White hair. Silver eyes. Blood. Screams. Terror. Fear. My absolute worst nightmare.
It was all there.
Everything became a blur as I reached into my satchel, chucking the dagger. The blade flew quite nicely in Rachel’s throat, but what happened next threw me off guard. Black blood oozed out, dribbling down her neck. Terror coursed through my veins and I screamed. Her head rolled back and she gurgled a laugh, the blood oozing out of her mouth. It ran down her face, in her hair, onto the snow, staining it. I felt like vomiting, but instead I just screamed.
“You stupid child,” she gurgled, and then laughed evilly. It was like the screech of a crow. Terrifying. Horrible. “You stupid, stupid, good for nothing brat!” The last word was bellowed, sending shivers down my spine. It was unnatural and Annie looked horrified. She was shaking so very violently, it almost seemed like hands were gripping her and throwing her about. Her whimpers shuddered through my body as Rachel continued gurgling, “stupid, stupid, stupid.”
All of a sudden, Rachel sat upright.
And my dagger…
She ripped it out of her throat and, with one swift move, she slit Annie’s throat.
Oh, God, no!
“I warned you!” Rachel screeched.
And that was when everything became dark.
I woke up on a large ice platform, something more familiar than my room. I could feel the back of my dress – the beautiful dress Annie made for me – ripped open. I was shaking violently, colder than usual. Binds cut into my wrists as I thrashed about, shaking and screaming.
“ANNIE! ANNIE!” I screeched, louder and louder. The sirens to meet at the plate went off and, almost immediately, everyone in ear shot came. Everything seemed to be fast-forwarding. I watched with slow eyes as people magically appeared before me. Some looked sympathetic. Some looked bored. Children I knew stared at me with tears in their eyes. God, it was all so fast. I couldn’t think too much of anything. Everything was so quick. A beat danced about in my head as I sat on my knees, pulling forward, wrists bleeding, and mouth open. I was a mess. I could tell by the terrified looks in their eyes.
A child?
Is she insane?
Is that Kaley Caladin?
This is an execution, I know it.
Murder?
Why is she here?
Most of these people I knew. I knew them thanks to my bastard of a father marrying Rachel. They saw me running through the streets with Zach. Eating treats in the parks. My mother being a blacksmith. Most of them knew me, or heard about me from others. I was a mischief maker.
“Kaley. Anne. Caladin.” The usual voice announced me, an ice plate raising him to my own platform. I nodded at the man, his white hair shaggy and his beard freshly trimmed.
“Mark.” I said. He scowled at me and I smirked, knowing I had gotten to him. His boots clacked as they stepped onto the bloody platform, heading towards me. From behind his back, he pulled out a scroll. Rolling it open, he cleared his throat.
“Kaley Anne Caladin. Sentenced for murder of her very own sister.”
Excuse me!?
A roll of gasps vibrated through the crowd. Practically everyone knew my adorable little sister, who would always sell people her dresses and give the money to the poor. She was so little, so perfect, so cute and amazing. Tears pricked my eyes and anger clouded inside of me. I felt as though I was about to vomit.
“Kill ‘er!” someone with an accent screamed. A boy, about 16, who threw his fist up. Couples cheered with him, but were soon silenced with Mark’s dirty look. He continued.
“Her punishment will be fifteen whippings and banishment. Kaley Anne Caladin will be sent to the human realm,” gasps, murmurs, “and will be forced to learn to survive. Estimated death time: two days. Let the punishment begin.”
I looked to my left immediately as a girl bounced into sight. Her hair was as pitch black as Rachel’s and eyes as green as an emerald. Her teeth were purposefully filed into sharp points, expressing her demonism. I shrunk away from her as she reached for her whip.
Elizabeth.
I could feel all of the Es etched into my back from all of my past whippings. They happened quite a lot, you know. Elizabeth took a step to me and cracked your whip. I sat up straight and smiled at her, all teeth.
“Good morning, Elizabeth! How did you sleep?” I chirped. She growled at my fake happiness.
“Shut up, Trash!” she bellowed. Her voice was husky and had an edge to it. She hissed at me, like a snake. “I’ma kill ya right ‘ere, right now. Ya got it, Trash?!” I make a snrrk sound and chuckled.
“Oh, Elizabeth, you always crack me up!” I slouched forward. “Hit me with your best -!”
Crack!
The whip was new. Different. I screamed in pain as I felt large spikes being ripped out. Tears began to roll down my eyes. Elizabeth screeched a laugh and traced a finger over my scars. I shuddered. Not a single word was said; instead she whipped again, and again, and again. I felt the E being carved into my back, the spikes being ripped out, heard my screams pierce through the dawn. Horror rippled through me and I screamed over, and over, and over as the whip bit my skin. My blood soon followed.
I collapsed as far as I could with pain, watching my blood drip onto the platform. It was absolutely terrifying.
My vision grew hazy due to the blood loss as I felt arms grip me. I was pulled to my feet, my binds snapped off. Everything was limp. My entire attention was focused on my back, on the pain, on the blood trickling down my leg.
Mark stepped up and began speaking, announcing that my banishment was next. That was when I saw Zach shove through the crowd, his face pale.
“Wait!” I heard him scream. He shoved past people and to the platform. He held out my satchel and Mark gingerly took it, ready to toss it away, but Zach screamed him to stop. “The-There are rules! Anyone… can give the… banished… one gift…” he swallowed some air. He was so out of breath. “Let her have it. Please.” Mark stared into Zach’s pleading eyes and tossed it to me. He agreed and I looked down at Zach. A small, shaky smile crossed my lips for a split second, but then the pain became too much. I squeezed my eyes shut and screamed as someone’s sleeve pressed against a wound. Zach grimaced, but there was nothing he could do. He would be killed on the spot.
Then Mark stepped forward, snapping, and a portal was created.
It seemed to suck all of the energy around us, green trees waving, rippling. I was quite intrigued. My body subconsciously leaned forward, and the hands let me.
“Farewell, Kaley.” Mark sniffed, turning up his nose. He tossed in the satchel and, with such speed, so was I.
I rolled with great speed into the back of something hard. My body began to shake with anger, pain and sobs, as I screamed and beat at the ground. Everything was blurry and my blood was flooding into my vision. Pain. That was all I was aware of. Pain and…
Heat.
Screaming with frustration, I leaped up and started clawing at myself, screaming, crying, bleeding. The heat never went away! I started pounding at the hard thing, screeching for someone to save me, clawing at my throat, begging for the heat to go away. Slumping to the ground, I sobbed.
I had to kill myself.
Reaching over, I yanked the satchel to me and tore it open, but not literally. Many things fell out, things except daggers. There was a book on Human plants, a white wood box that was polished to a shine, and lastly, a thick book, leather bound book. My heart began to race. What was this stuff? Why was it given to me? How come I had these survival things?
Forgetting about the blood and the depression, I looked at the leather bound book first. It was empty – a journal of some sort. My fingers lightly stroked the pages, where you could see the pulp of the tree. God, it was beautiful. Next, I turned to the other book. I could feel my blood make a pool on the ground behind me, blood stains being left behind on the plants. It was homemade, it seemed, seeing as the paper was much like the journal’s. My eyes began to water with joy – someone had ordered this to be sent with me. Someone wanted me to live. Lastly, I turned to the box.
It was almost like a little chest. The area was small, smaller than something holding a normal sized dagger. Carefully, tentatively, I tugged it open, sucking in my breath. What lay there shocked me to now end. It was a gorgeous choker – a type of necklace that wasn’t very common, actually. Oh, how I loved this style! I pulled it up and studied it. The fabric was a black silk, silver silk designs stitched in. The stone was perfectly round, about the size of a small roll, and when it moved it seemed to shower blue. It was green, blue, and white, starting with green and slowly turning white. I ran my fingers over it, astonished, the whole world falling behind me. A little note had been left under it. Picking it up, I began to read.
Kaley –
This stone and this fabric is very rare indeed in the Ice Realm. It gives you a strength you would have never imagined. Keep it on at all times and you will be safe from any harm – or blood loss.
Less blood loss? Impossible! Slipping it on around my neck, I took a deep breath. The feeling that came next was horrifying and soothing all at the same time.
The cold started at my toes then slowly spread up my body. I gripped myself and shivered, not even bothering to notice how good it felt. A weird, clothed feeling came over my back, the blood stopped streaming, and breathing was easier. I pulled one hand away and looked at it, studying it. The paper cuts were being swallowed up! The blood was disappearing!
Terror filled my body before I could be glad for this, and I screamed so loud that everything became black.