Shattered Ice and Fury

Chapter 3

The door to Celeste's supposed chambers was made of frosted glass, and an elegant ocean scene had been carved into it with impressive detail. If it weren't for the pain urging her to reach their destination so she could stop moving, she might have taken a moment to appreciate the craftsmanship. The door opened with a slight push, and Alice followed Celeste in. Sphen left then but only after ordering them to hurry because they couldn't keep the king waiting, earning him another vicious look from Alice.

Part of Celeste wanted to turn around and demand answers from Sphen and whoever else would listen, but she just needed to get the wet rubbing fabric off of her damaged skin first. It was starting to feel unbearable, and she couldn't focus on much else. She hissed in a breath as she shifted to glance at the door as it sealed behind them with a thud. She half expected the door to disappear. Shaking her head at the thought, she turned to take in the space and find a place to strip, but suddenly those plans were postponed as she sucked in a short breath.

The room was tall, and so was the glass that separated her from the clear water on the other side. Sea creatures of all sizes, many of which she had never seen before, swam in swarms in the dark waters. The scales of the animals glowed and flashed with an array of vibrant colours, lighting up the walls around her. She stared at the giant aquarium before looking down, noting with momentary confusion that her feet were beginning to warm. The floors were heated. It felt good on the bottom of Celeste's frozen feet as she began exploring the chambers.

An unnecessarily large bed covered in silk sheets and built with a frame of glistening silver took up a large portion of one wall. The space was decorated with minimalistic light marble and silver accents, and a fireplace, built within the opposing wall, heated the room. There was even an entrance to a fully loaded bathroom and another to a living room and office space, both attached for easy access.

Alice quickly sat on the bed. She must have been as exhausted as Celeste was, although they could only guess at the time, as there were no windows or clocks.

"My rooms better be as nice as yours," Alice huffed, grinning in an apparent effort to lighten the mood. The blonde beauty then let out an exaggerated sigh and fell onto her back among the sheets. Celeste felt the corner of her mouth tug up as she turned from Alice, directing her awe-filled attention to the aquarium once more.
She was about to ask Alice for help with undressing, but then she felt a slight tug on her shorts.

Startled, she looked down and was met with a dozen watchful pale blue eyes that had her sucking in another stunned breath, which had Alice shooting up as fast as her tipsy self could manage.

Children stood before Celeste. The girl at the front of the significant group stood the tallest and was presumably the eldest of the misplaced bunch, although she couldn't have been older than eight. She stared at Celeste with her unnerving pale eyes, her skin and little silk dress as white and pure as pearls. She had distracting, pointed ears sticking out of the side of her head and white pin-straight hair. Celeste felt the sudden urge to reach for her pointed ears to examine them but refrained. The rest of the children peeked curiously up at Celeste from behind the eldest, their complexions, clothing and ears all identical despite their varying ages.

The other-worldly children watched the two young women, who glanced at each other briefly with uncertainty before the eldest girl tugged on Celeste's shorts again.

"You have red stuff on your face," the girl remarked, pointing at the bathroom. The others nodded, approaching a little more nervously. When two of them moved to take Celeste's hands in theirs, she flinched, and the children stepped back. Then, to Celeste's dismay, their eyes began to water.

"You don't like us?" Their big, glistening eyes stared into hers and tugged at her heartstrings. Celeste shook her sore head desperately and crouched in front of the children. Her body protested at the quick movements, but she ignored it.