Dancing On Ice

Frozen Sunlight

To say Kazimir slept poorly the remainder of the night was an understatement; in fact he didn't get near his bed. He paced through the apartments, back and forth, wearing down his carpets until morning arrived.

His servants arrived with it and everyone panicked about Kazimir's sudden loss of colour.

And since he had no explanation for it, he could just shake his head and say it was some medical mystery.

Tying it up into a knot at the back of his head was the best he could hide it in short notice but it didn't really help when he also tried to pull locks forward to distract from his eyes.

By the end, the result was he walked into the dining hall, everyone present and awake at that moment stared at him and Dalton's morning greet was, "Good god, what the hell is wrong with your face?"

And that wiped out any awkwardness Kazimir had felt and was replaced by a glare.

"You make it sound like I'm hideous," he said.

"You're something alright."

"Oh shut up."

"Just wait until Cole sees."

"Let's leave him out of it for a bit."

"What happened?" Dalton asked, tugging at a lock of white hair. "You've been completely bleached. I've never heard of a medical issue like this. Even your eyes have lost colour. Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm feeling fine," Kazimir said, "Really."

"And you're not bothered by a sudden change of appearance?"

"You change hair colour all the time I hear. That doesn't seem to bother you."

"I don't get a choice in that matter."

"Well, neither do I," Kazimir said.

Dalton's brow rose. Kazimir could see him starting to form his next question and Kazimir moved passed, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Now I need some breakfast," he said, heading for his seat and sitting down, pretending not to see all the stares from the courtiers who had come down for an early meal. He indicated to a servant to prepare his tea and folded his arms on the table.

He had spoken to his brother.

He had spoken to him as if nothing had changed.

A breath of relief swept out of him and he closed his eyes.

Were his hands shaking?

Had his voice sounded high? Tense? Strained?

He didn't think so.

Dalton didn't seem any the wiser.

The doors opened and he glanced around to see Aeralie enter. She was up and about, her legs still strong, unlike after her first transformation.

Dalton greeted her and gestured to Kazimir.

Aeralie looked around and her acting was priceless.

She let out a gigantic gasp, throwing her hands to her mouth before lifting her skirts and running to him, grabbing his shoulders, yanking him around to face her, tugging at his hair and pulling at his cheeks until he whacked her hands away and glared up at her – she in turn was trying not to laugh hysterically and was having great fun poking at him, using hand gestures to ask after his wellbeing while desperately stifling her voice.

Kazimir losing colour was one thing.

How they could possibly explain Aeralie suddenly gaining her voice would be a new challenge entirely.