Swapping elements

The Ultimate Switch

Snow awoke a couple of weeks later in the middle of the night with a gasp, feeling as if he'd swallowed a pitcher of ice water. He gave a shout then twisted and fell out of bed. Cinder came running, shoving open the doors.

"Another nightmare, sir?" he began then noticed the bed was empty. "Sir?!"

"Help," Snow said weakly.

Cinder ran around the bed, brushing his fingers over Snow's forehead. It was far too cool. "Oh no. Have you chilled yourself again, sir? Should I get Heat?"

Snow couldn't reply, gasping and shuddering. Then he began to sweat. Cinder was even more alarmed. Then he saw, to his astonishment, that Snow's skin was turning blue. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. There was a great burst of blue light, and Snow shrieked. Cinder stood there and stared at Snow, who looked just like his old self. Excitement nearly made him scream.

"Does this mean you've switched back?" Cinder asked, bouncing on his heels.

"Maybe," Snow croaked. He peered at his blue skin. He did feel too hot in the palace. He sat up. "Quick, get me over to Heat. He'll need help getting back."

Cinder threw out a portal and Snow gingerly walked over and stepped through into Heat's room. Heat was glowing like a hot coal, and he looked shellshocked. Flurry was there, too, and he turned to look at his sire as he came in.

"Up we go, hothead. Need to get you somewhere warm," Snow said, helping his twin out of bed.

They all quickly went through the portal back into Heat's castle. Heat relaxed. "Mm, that's better," he sighed.

Snow fell back into the bed and reached down to rub his feet. They were much better, but they still got sore very quickly. "So... I guess Luck favored Jackie," he finally said.

"Guess so," Heat said. He sat down beside Snow and gazed at him in concern. "You okay?"

"I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Heat pressed.

"No," Snow answered after a moment.

"Well, I'm here if you wanna talk, slush brain."

Snow smiled. "Thanks. But right now I just want to sleep in my own castle."

"Me, too," Heat said. "We'll talk tomorrow."

"Jack should be back here with an adventurous tale to tell by then," Snow said. He stood up then threw out his hand. Nothing happened. Snow blinked and tried to throw another portal. Heat frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't portal," Snow said. He threw his hand out again and nothing happened. Concern creased his brow. "Um, can you portal?"

Heat threw out his hand and nothing happened. Cinder tried, but though he'd just thrown one out five minutes before, nothing happened.

"Oh, fractals," Snow said softly. "Jackie, what did you do?"

Heat stood up. "Where is he?"

"Flurry!" Snow said, turning to his servant. "I need you to track Jack down. Look for cold anomalies anywhere. Let me know as soon as you find him. I have to talk with him now."

Flurry bowed then turned and ran for the world map in Snow's castle. Snow began to pace, running his fingers through his hair. His feet began to ache again, and he looked down to see he was still barefoot. While that hadn't mattered when he was the embodiment of heat, it certainly mattered now. He skittered over to the bed and hurriedly jumped into it, tucking his feet under himself.

"Cinder, grab my shoes. And my clothes. We can't sleep right now."

Cinder bowed then hurried to retrieve the requested items. Heat went into his own room and changed out of his nightshirt and into his clothes before heading back. Snow was pulling on his shirt when Heat came back in.