Burned by water

Chapter 17

I woke up with the light seeping through the pine, shadows enveloping me. 

Surprisingly enough, huddled on the ground underneath that tree, I wasn't completely freezing. Yet, it ached to move as I tried to situate myself. After a few seconds, the events came back to me with a filling dread.

There was a wall of snow all around the trunk, going two feet above my head at least. I tried not to panic and listened in case this was some sort of trap.

Or simply the work of nature.

I took deep breaths to calm down and think of a way to get out. I tried digging steps in the snow, but it was falling all over me, getting inside my worn coat. I tried using the trunk, but there were only a few branches to hold on to, those cracking under my weight and making me fall back down the hole. I tried again the trick with my power but I couldn't grip the snow once up, the snow falling with me, and I couldn't get further because I wasn't strong enough still.

Utter panic about being stuck down here gripped my chest and I yelled with all my might, leaving my throat bare and croaky. I cried in despair and cursed the Saints to let me out or...

But no one answered because I was on my own. 

It was worse than when I first set foot in my new room in Bràstark, worse than being threatened by the king himself. This time, I truly had no one to offer me a hand - a way out. No one was coming to get me.

And I thought how ironic my death would be. As he'd said, a ghost through life as much as in death. I didn't want to hand it to him on a silver platter.

Hours passed by and not a single soul answered my wishes. I stopped at some point, calming down and trying to think rationally, eating some dry meat and crackers, and drinking most of my water. I dug some snow and filled my bottle with it before tugging it inside my coat so it would warm up against my body heat.

I was about to button it back up when I caught a red gleam against gold. An idea burst inside my mind followed close by fear. Delmore's gem was hidden in an inside pocket of my coat, surrounded by one of the Prince's shirts. Something though stopped me from using it, the power scarier than staying down here. Because it was appealing, toxic, and powerful, I couldn't bring myself to touch it.

And so I turned to my second option. I dragged out both daggers and checked the tree to figure out how I'd do it.

One blade after the other, I slammed them into the trunk and braced it with my legs. With the pouch over one shoulder, I started climbing up. My arms were burning after one foot, I couldn't feel them after four. When I finally got as high as I could, I dug the dagger I stole from the guard deeper inside the trunk and tried it before hanging completely off it, the Prince's dagger back in my belt. I just had to jump far enough to not slide back inside the hole. 

I could see the landscape awaiting, and I held my breath as I positioned myself and tried to ignore the numb pain in my left arm that held my whole body up. I took a deep breath-

And jumped, propelling myself further with a gush of wind - and rolled into the snow. I breathed deeply, the sun finally kissing my skin, and laughed in relief.

I walked for miles in the next days, lost in the desert between two mountains. The hardest days were the ones when snow fell down on me hard. I dug in the snow each time I was ready to settle to sleep, and although it helped, I always felt the cold, humid air seeping into my clothes. At one point, I had no more change of clothes that were dry and had to stay in my humid ones. Each night, my sleep was restless and coated with nightmares, as if the King could reach me and choke me. As if he could burn me.