From The Ashes.

Chapter 1

Music swirled around us, somehow blasting over the noise of the crowd. Colours exploded, multicoloured flags hanging above the stalls that stretched out in front of us.

"Hey, ice cream!" I blinked, turning to my red headed best friend as she grabbed my hand and dragged me over to a stall beside us.

"Seriously, Rach? It's like negative a hundred degrees!" Rachel smirked, leaning over the ice cream stall. The refrigerator was full of weird flavours, like pistachio and coffee.

"Who eats coffee ice cream?" I exclaimed and she chuckled.

"People who don't spend eight hours a day surrounded by the smell of coffee grains! Also, it is not that cold, you just have the tolerance of a wombat. Can I have one of the triple choc cones please?" Rachel asked, handing the vendor some coins.

"Why am I suddenly a four legged mammal?" I asked, wrapping my jumper closer to my body. I smiled at my bests friends logic as the white snow crunched beneath our feet.

"Marsupial." Biting into her ice cream, Rachel's face instantly scrunched up.

"Hah, brain freeze! And what in the hell is a marsupial?" The red head was silent for a second as the brain freeze passed before turning to me.

"A wombat is a marsupial!" She laughed, dragging me along in the crowd. "We need to find Mr Durvis' stall, I want some new books." 

"That explains nothing, woman." Rachel grinned at me and I stuck my tongue out at her. "It shouldn't be hard to find Mr Durvis' stall." I said, ducking under a low hanging string of flags.

"Why's that?" Rachel asked, looking around at the surrounding stalls whilst licking her ice cream.

"Because all we have to do is walk in a straight line." I announced, pointing down the incredibly organised line of stalls.

""Are we really questioning the layout of the stalls?" Rachel groaned, glaring at me. I smiled and shrugged.

"You don't think it's weird? They have the entire town to spread out their stalls but they all organise it so the stalls go right through the middle of town." Rachel frowned, shoving the rest of her ice cream into her mouth as she side stepped a group of children running through the crowd.

"It's tradition." She eventually answered.

"It's a weird tradition!" We were silent for a moment, navigating our way through the crowd before I frowned.

"You and your damned ice cream. Now I want chocolate!" Rachel smirked at me, pausing in the middle of the crowd.

"You can get your own ice cream."

"I am not having anything cold! Let's go to the Cafe and get a hot chocolate." Rachel was silent for a moment as we continued working our way through the crowd.

"Can we find Mr Durvis first? The markets the only time I'm allowed to buy books." She spoke quietly, her fingers tightening in my hand. I scowled, running my thumb over her hand in an attempt to comfort her.

"You know you can ask me to buy you books whenever you want, right?" The red head was silent for a moment as she chewed on her lip. I sighed, watching as she triple checked every choice she could make. 

"I know but I can't tell you what books I want if I can't see them..." I pursed my lips, noting how she seemed intently focused on a painting of a poodle leaning against one of the stalls.

"Okay, let's go find your books then. It'll be good to sit down and have a read whilst we're at the cafe anyway." Rachel lit up, her bright green eyes shining as she turned to look at me.