Hearts Under Ice

by CS Patra

  “She’s the real villain, and she’s working for someone else? Everyone seems to like her in this world. I’ve heard nothing but how good she is and how she’s been trying to protect the world. As far as I’ve learned, she’s been the best ruler you’ve had.”

  There were so many different stories in her mind now, and Olivia was starting to have trouble keeping track of them all. The more Olivia heard, the more she had trouble believing anything. Maybe this entire world was all in her head now. She could have been making it up as she went along, and this was all just another dream. She probably fell down again and was still dreaming. That was the only explanation that made sense.

  A blast of cold air hit her in the face, and she realized that it was all very much real. The weather was real. Her pain was real. Donnie was real. Everyone she spoke to existed, and they were caught in some war that she could not even begin to understand.

  “Everyone told me that the Queen was trustworthy,” Olivia went on. “They told me that she kept this place safe.”

  “They are lying to you. You see, she’s got people all over the place who are keeping track of every villager’s move. If one person dares to take a step in the wrong direction, she’ll make sure to have them eliminated. We try to stay under the radar as much as we can. They have deemed us to be terrorists, but we’re the ones who’ll win in the end. We are far more powerful now that we have you on our side.”

  “Um,” Olivia bit her lip. “I’m not even sure what side I’m on. I’m hearing so many different things. All I really want is to be with my boy—Donnie.” She put her hand to her mouth. “I mean, all I want is to save Donnie. Yeah, that’s what I meant.”

  “I’m sure,” Mina said with a sly grin. “Look, you don’t have to tell us anything about your relationship. We know that he’s the reason you’re in this world in the first place. Whether you like it or not, you are stuck with us. You are stuck in a world at war.”

  “At war?” Olivia repeated. As far as she could see, nothing in this world seemed to indicate that it was in the middle of war. “I’m afraid I’m going to need some more explanation here. How can this world be in the middle of a war? I haven’t heard of anyone fighting or dying.”

  “It’s not that kind of war!” Sara snapped. “This war is underground, and subtle!”

  “A subtle war? Now that’s new.” Olivia crossed her arms and looked towards Goran. “Start from the beginning. I just came to this world, and all I know is that it’s covered in snow. I know it’s ruled by a Queen who has a million identical castles, and also that she is in possession of some vital gems known as the Hearts Under Ice. I need to understand the stuff in between all of this.”

  “Very well. You do deserve an explanation. A long time ago, this world wasn’t as peaceful as it is now. Maybe our Queen was nice before, but she isn’t so much anymore. The Queen feared being overthrown, so she panicked and hid her most precious gems, the Hearts Under Ice, in a place where no one could find them. She knew that if they fell into the wrong hands, our whole world would be destroyed. Unfortunately for us, she became more and more paranoid and suspicious of everything. Her emotions were always on a high, so we ended up with snow and ice all year long. A huge winter storm swept through the land and left several homes destroyed. People died, either of starvation or from the cold. If that wasn’t bad enough, her troops stormed through villages and terrorized everyone. That led to more death and destruction. War broke out in our world, and that’s around the time our group formed,” Goran explained. “We were scared of what was happening.”

  “If the Queen is so evil, why haven’t people stopped her? Why hasn’t anyone tried to confront her about the Hearts Under Ice?”

  “That is easier said than done. The Queen has always been very rigid with her rules, and getting face to face with her would be difficult. Not to mention, she does have the ability to freeze anything she wishes. She has killed people in this way who have opposed her in the past,” Ze explained. “The Hearts Under Ice hold the power to heal the world, which is why we’ve been after it. However, no one has been able to thaw them out, or even see them with their own eyes. We’ve got an idea of what they look like, but it’s not enough. We need them if we want to get the world back in balance.”

  “I see,” she mumbled. It didn’t help that she was getting so many different sides to this story. Neither party had hurt her, but she knew deep down that she really couldn’t trust anyone. All she wanted was to get Donnie out of here. “How much longer will it take to get there?”

  “Judging by how clear the roads are, probably another fifteen minutes,” Sara said. “When we get there, you’d better hang back. You have no idea what the Queen has in store.”

  “What?” Olivia repeated, shaking her head. “No! No, I can’t hang back! We’re talking about my boy—my friend here! He’s not going to go with you! He definitely doesn’t trust you. It would be better if I was there. At least then you’ll have a chance of convincing him to cooperate.”

  The four of them looked at each other, and Mina shrugged. “She does have a point. I think we can bring her along, just for a little bit.”

  “Yes, he would probably approach her before he approaches us.” Ze agreed. “All right, Olivia. You can come along, but do not try to do anything funny. The Queen is not a forgiving person. Stick by us, and things will go smoothly.”

  “You got it,” Olivia agreed. Her heart was pounding. She didn’t trust them. Still, she could not afford to toy with them. She needed to be on their side, at least for now. The longer she hung around them, the more she found out, and the better prepared she became for whatever lay ahead. The only person she could trust in this world was Donnie, and she needed to find him.

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  The remainder of the ride to the castles had been quiet and smooth. Olivia stayed on the Brotherhood’s good side and listened to everything they said. Once in a while, if they asked for it, she would throw in her opinion. Bit by bit, she was collecting information on them. She knew they had come together years ago to save the world. They had been trying their hardest to fix everything that was wrong. In her mind, everything they said made sense. Now she had two conflicting stories, and one of them had to be a false. Only time was going to tell which was the lie. Olivia stayed bundled up and focused on finding Donnie.

  Within minutes, they had finally made it to their destination. Olivia never expected to see so many castles out in the snow, but there they were. Her eyes widened as the sleigh slowed down, and she tried to take it all in. They all had to be at least twenty feet tall, surrounded by nothing. Each one was so beautiful, carved out of ice, and featuring many details on the facade. She had no idea who had made them, but they were lovely. Donnie was stuck in one of them though, and she needed to figure out which one.

  “You know, if it weren’t for the fact Donnie is here, I would have found all of this really beautiful,” she admitted.

  “Don’t be fooled by the beauty. You have no idea what darkness lurks in these places.” Ze stopped the sleigh, and everyone got down. “Let’s split up and check each one. Be careful, because danger could be waiting around every corner. We’ll meet back here in an hour, okay?”

  The others nodded and went their different ways. Olivia took a deep breath before deciding to take a look around. They had told her to stick by them, yet they were leaving her behind now. She made herself a promise that she wouldn’t go too deep into this area. She would wander around the nearest castles, and then head back to the sleigh when she was ready. If no one else would take care of there, then she’d do it herself. She could all of this by herself.

  “All right, O. You can find your boy—Donnie—all by yourself.” She said, trying to crack her knuckles. It was hard to do so under her gloves, but she felt confident. “Figure out the different castle and get him out of there. He’s still here. You know in your heart that he’s close.”

  The castles were all identical, with the same patterns etched into
them. The Frost Queen was smart to hide her jewels this way. No one would have any idea of how to get in or where to start looking. She slowly walked around, taking a look at each one. She noticed that they didn’t have doors, but there were windows up high on the outer walls. It would be difficult to get inside, and she saw nothing on the walls that suggested someone had climbed up them to enter. She stood for a second and tried to decipher the difference on the outside.

  “It can’t be the lack of doors. That would be too obvious.” She said to herself, walking through the snow. The storm had calmed down, but she felt lost. It had been a bad idea to split up from everyone else just so they could search castles. The worst part was that she really didn’t trust them. For all she knew, they could have been lying to her. The friends she had made in this world were on opposing sides. Right now, what she really wanted was to be home. Home was where she had people she could trust. Her mother and father were waiting for her there. Her room, books, and everything she held dear was also there. She had made a promise to get back home after this mess. Once Donnie had perfected his invention, they would travel the universes in a safer way. Of course, that wasn’t going to be for a nice, long while. She wanted to enjoy the world that she had come from first.

  Olivia’s guilt was starting to settle in again. She felt awful for abandoning everyone else and running off. Her feelings for Donnie were starting to overwhelm her. It didn’t make sense. They had only known each other for a few weeks, but he had taken over her life. Somehow, she regarded him as being more important than anything else. She thought that he must be scared and alone at this point. He probably hadn’t had anything to eat in the last couple of hours, and the castles didn’t seem like they would be heated. Hopefully, he hadn’t frozen to death. She had to stay optimistic for him. She had to believe he was still ok.

  “Oh, Donnie. If you just give me a sign, we can get out of this place and go back home.” She said to herself, looking up at the sky. No snow was falling, but her hopes sill felt dashed. At this rate, they were never going to find him. She didn’t even think she could find her friends or a way out. Hopeless, she sunk down to her knees and looked at the snow. If she never saw it again, it would be wonderful. She wanted to forget that the Frostland ever existed.

  “Olivia?”

  That was when she saw him. He had said her name out loud, and was standing by the castle in front of her. She blinked twice to make sure that she wasn’t seeing things. Even though she was hungry and tired, this was real. This was her Donnie. He was probably cold, tired, and ready to go home, but it was still the same old Donnie. While he was still a few feet from her, she could tell that he had changed. His cheeks and nose were bright red, and he had clearly caught a cold. He sneezed and waved towards her, and that was proof enough for Olivia. She was just so glad to see him. She forgot that they were in a frozen world and started towards him, her arms out. The storm was picking up now, but it didn’t matter. She had found him. She had found the one who she had been thinking of all this time. He ran towards her, looking relieved and happy that she was there.

  “Olivia!” he yelled out. “Olivia, stay where you are!”

  “No way! I’ve waited too long for this! You stay where you are!” she yelled back, pushing through the snow. It was finally happening. Her heart was beating fast, and now she understood why. Somehow along the way, she had fallen in love with him. She had met him, talked to him, learned about his goals and hopes, and eventually fell in love with him. Her mother had always said that love worked in strange ways. It really doesn’t get much stranger than this. Her hands were stretched out, and she moved as quickly as she could through the snow. It didn’t matter that she looked ridiculous. She had found him, and she didn’t want to let go anymore. That was all she had come for.

  “Really, Olivia! You shouldn’t—” Donnie wasn’t able to finish his sentence, because she threw herself on him and had her arms around his neck. They both fell into the snow, and Donnie let out a sneeze. Olivia forgave him for it since he didn’t have a coat on, and had probably been standing out here for a while. She tried her best not to start crying in front of him. A tear or two escaped from her eyes, but it was all right. She was happy. For once in her life, she was truly happy. She put her head against his chest and listened to his heart. He was alive and in her arms now. This was the place she wanted to be for the rest of her life.

  “I’ve missed you, too.” He mumbled, running his hands through her hair. She felt so soft and warm in his cold hands. “I thought I was never going to see you again. I had no way of getting back, and I didn’t think you had a way to get here. Clearly, I misjudged you. I’m sorry for that. I should have had more faith in you.”

  “Don’t worry about that now. I was coming for you, no matter what you thought. Let’s just get to the most important questions now. How did you get out?” she asked. He kissed her hand and pressed it against his cheek. He felt so hot through her gloves, but she let him hold on.

  “I found my way out. I was trapped in that castle for so long that I just had to escape. I couldn’t wait there any longer. That probably wasn’t a great move in hindsight, but I’m glad I got out.” He sniffled loudly, and it was a miserable sight to behold. His cheeks were pink, his nose was dripping, and his eyes were red. No doubt he hadn’t had the same luxuries that she was afforded. She could tell that he was feverish. She felt his forehead, and realized that he was seriously sick. The cold had gotten to him long enough to attack his Earthly immune system. “Hey, it’s okay. I’m okay. I might be a little ill, but—”

  “No buts, Donnie. You need some warmth, right away.” She said, helping him sit up. She took her own coat off and put it on him. The cold was terrible, but seeing him in this situation was worse. She could always borrow a coat from Mina or Sara when they found her. “I’ll try to get you a coat in your size when we reach another village.”

  “What about you, though?” he asked, letting out another sneeze. She rubbed his back as he shivered. “I’m sorry about that. I know what you’re going to say. It was kind of dumb to walk out of there and try to find my way around. I just couldn’t stay there. Something didn’t feel right.”

  “I know. This entire world is trippy, and I have no idea who to trust. Did the Queen do anything to you?” she asked, looking him over. Aside from being sick, he didn’t seem injured. “She didn’t hurt you, did she?”

  “No, why would she do that?” he was confused. “Wait, how did you get this far, anyway? You did come with other people, right? Where are they?”

  “I, um—” Olivia trailed off. “I kind of left them behind.”

  “You did what?” he coughed and shook his head. “No, Olivia, you shouldn’t have done that! Do you even know how to get around this world?”

  “Donnie, please. I couldn’t wait any longer, either. They wanted to wait, and were stopping in too many places. I knew you didn’t have much time. So I ran from them and tried to get here on my own. It’s a good thing I did, because look at you! You’re in horrible condition, and you need to see a doctor, right away! I’m glad I found you in time! Of course, I had help from the Brotherhood. They got me to you.”

  Donnie blinked. “Back that up a little bit. You got help from who now?”

  “The Brotherhood of Iced Blood.” His jaw fell open, so she quickly tried to explain and calm him down. “Don’t say anything! I know what you’re thinking! You think they’re dangerous and they’re trying to trap us, but they’re not!”

  “How do you know that for a fact? What did they tell you?” Donnie stood up and felt his own forehead. Olivia was right—he definitely had a fever and a cold. But he also had the one thing that he wanted. All he needed now was his bed to sleep in. “They could be toying with you.”

  “That’s what I thought, too. I didn’t tell them everything about me because I’m still so confused. I don’t know who to believe right now. Our friends say that the Queen is a good person. The others say that she’s evil. Who am I supposed to
trust in this, Donnie? You’re the only one that makes sense right now.”

  “I make sense, even though my nose is stuffed up and I can’t speak properly?” he joked. “Seriously though, I don’t think we should take anything that anyone else says as the truth. From now on, you and I will stick together. We’ll get through this, and we won’t trust anyone but each other. The one thing I need to do is find a way to get out of here. From what I can tell, this world does have some technology, but it’s not as advanced as back home. Throwing in the fact that we’re stuck in the middle of the woods, it will be hard to make anything that could take us back home. I could always go back in my prison, but I’m not sure if that’s a good idea. Someone will find out that I escaped, and they could trap me again or punish me for leaving. They called me bait earlier.”

  “So I’ve heard. The truth is, I have no idea who the real bait is supposed to be. I still can’t figure out this world. I feel guilty for leaving Ms. Howard and everyone else behind, but—” Olivia saw that he had put his hand on top of hers. It felt so cold that she could feel it through her gloves. “Donnie, as much as I hate to admit it, we need to find that prison you were in and get warm. Maybe we’ll have to go back to that room and get your stuff. We’re not getting anything over here.”

  “It’ll take me a long time to make something, Olivia. Considering the fact that I’m in poor health, I may not be in tiptop shape for a long while.” He sneezed again. “You didn’t happen to travel with a doctor over here, did you?”

  Before she could help him up, Ze appeared and stood before them. Donnie shuddered, but she stayed firm. She had to pretend that they hadn’t done anything behind his back. No matter what, she had to play it cool. She held Donnie’s hand, and hoped he wouldn’t react irrationally.