Dancing on Strings

Behind The Scenes

"He's only playing around," Mai said.

"Sure, and I'm only pretending to be a man – I am, in fact, a donkey."

"Har har, you're so witty."

"Funny, Cole says I have no sense of humour."

"Just help me."

They had reached the gates and Mai pushed against the bars that refused to move. She wasn't surprised.

"Why don't you just tell your father you have your suspicions?" Kazimir asked.

"Because then he might arrest The Rabbit."

"And this is a bad thing?"

"Kazimir."

"What?"

"Give me a leg up."

"You're fantastically un-ladylike at times," Kazimir said, looking around. "We really need Dalton."

"Why?"

"Because my power if water, his is ice."

"I thought he couldn't control his gifts."

"Oh he can't. He'd turn you into an ice sculpture in the process, but at least it would be good practice while he worked on forming stairs out of all this snow. Oh well."

He reached forwards, catching Mai around the waist, and before she could say anything, he threw her.

When she had said he would have to throw her; she hadn't actually meant throw her. She had assumed they'd find a way to climb over.

But no, Kazimir, using his inhuman strength, simply flung her sky high, at just the right angle that she would sail in a graceful arch over the top of the gate and careen down the other side.

She barely contained her scream as the ground hurtled up to her right before she hit a huge ball of freezing water that saved her from breaking something.

Her feet touched the ground and the water ball collapsed.

And she was left in a state that resembled a drowned poodle, water pouring from her hair and clothes that now weight a backbreaking tonne.

And she was frozen.

All around her, the snow on the ground was gone, she assumed that had formed the water she'd landed in, and she was now starting to shiver.

Slowly, she turned to look at Kazimir, her hair plastered to her face.

"What? You're fine," Kazimir said innocently.

"I hate you."

"Why thank you."

She opened her mouth and then looked down. The water was starting to heat up.

In no time at all, before the chill could take hold, the water was as warm as any of her baths and the heat sank down into her bones, tossing out the cold. And then, once she was warm again, Kazimir waved a hand through the air and the water simply drew out of her, her hair and clothes drying in seconds, forming into a ball that hovered beside her until he tossed it aside.

She looked at where the warm water now lay, melting the snow. She hadn't had much chance to see Kazimir's powers, and she was in awe of them, but at the same time...

"I feel there was an easier way to do all that," she said.

"Almost certainly, but you're the one who said you wanted to be thrown over."

"Are you being difficult because you don't approve of this plan?"

"I'm being difficult because it is in my nature. Now hurry and go do whatever you have to do and finish."