Frozen 3

Chapter 15

Ryder 

The sun had disappeared for several hours, leaving a gray sky, covered with clouds. The window of my room let only a weak whitish light pass through, illuminating only very little the small room. The snow kept falling outside, increasing little by little the already important layer that had been covering the ground for weeks. I didn't get out of my bed anymore, staying locked up in the darkness of my room. My ribs were hurting terribly. But they were not the reason for my inactivity. Honeymaren had not come back to see me. I knew she was angry at me for bringing up our parents' death. Something else worried me, though. Knowing she was alone with Erik didn't make me feel better. I had never trusted him. He had always seemed extremely cold to me, never letting the slightest expression show on his face. I had known from day one that he was not right for my sister, but I had kept my mouth shut. I knew why she was doing it, but I didn't understand her stubbornness in wanting to stay with someone she didn't love and who probably didn't love her either.I pushed back my blanket, plucking up the courage to finally get up. When I felt the cold air circulating in the room envelop me while I was only shirtless, I grumbled and let myself fall back heavily into my bed, forgetting my good resolutions made only ten seconds ago. The warmth of my bed was much more pleasant. I looked up at the wooden beams on the ceiling. Despite the lack of light, I could see their grooves perfectly. A few years earlier, Honeymaren would have rudely dragged me out of bed, forced me to dress properly, and pulled me out by my ear, lecturing me that she had to take care of everything and act as my mother. But those days seemed to be over. My twin had moved away from me. We lived separately, each doing our own thing, barely caring what the other did. I missed her. Her and her frequent mood swings. I had almost forgotten all of the reproaches she used to make to me at eight o'clock in the morning. I thought I would never regret them.I smiled sadly as I thought of all the moments with Honeymaren that I had missed in the past few months. I yawned. I had no idea what time it was. Since the episode at the Dark Sea, I had lost all sense of time, spending my days locked in my cabin. I hadn't bothered to go out once, too worried about the reception I would receive outside. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. I sighed and pulled myself out from under my blanket once again. I didn't take the time to get dressed and walked down the hall to the front door barefoot, wearing only my underwear.

"You've finally decided to come back?" I said as I turned the handle.

When the door was fully opened, I almost choked when I discovered Elsa. The young woman also seemed surprised to discover me and almost immediately looked away. She swallowed her saliva with difficulty, visibly embarrassed. Her cheeks began to turn slightly pink, betraying a form of shame at seeing me in this outfit. I scratched the back of my head, also uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry... I didn't think... I mean... I thought it was Honeymaren..." I justified myself.

Elsa looked up at me again, never taking her eyes off my face, probably for fear of further embarrassment.

"I was looking for her. I thought she would be with you," she said. "She must be with Erik, her companion.""She's not with him either. I went to see him just now. He told me he hadn't seen her all day."

I frowned, suddenly concerned.

"Are you sure? You've been looking for her everywhere?" I asked, suddenly forgetting to use my usual polite form of address. "Yes, all over the camp."