Mirror, Mirror

2.18 The Woods

My little ray,

I hope you can find it in yourself to forgive me one day for what I'm about to do.

One of my ladies in waiting, the youngest one, just gave birth to a little girl last night. A man slept with her months back and then vanished. It's tragic really. But she's perfect to play Ice Princess. No one will suspect that she has no magic until you're long gone.

I'll send you far far away, where you'll never have to care about the Ice Princess and all the expectations that come with being her.

❖

Starla couldn't avoid Rayvin for long. It was Rayvin's last physical assessment, where he, accompanied by Starla and Master Severest the wilderness teacher, would travel to the top of the highest nearby mountain and stay there overnight. It was already shaping up to be a miserable journey, with a fresh snowfall coming down. Starla wondered how much of it was Rayvin's doing. It was certainly pretty, but it was bitterly cold.

"Remember, this is only a fraction of how cold it will be when you actually climb Mount Winter," Master Severest helpfully reminded Rayvin for perhaps the fifth time.

"Mm," Rayvin agreed noncommittally. Starla wanted to smack either of them.

Halfway up the mountain, they broke for lunch. They found a dry clearing to sit and look out across the city as they ate their cold sandwiches in gloved hands. She sullenly remembered months back telling Rayvin how much he would love the view from up here and how maybe he could write it into his story.

But all they could see so far was blurry grey and white over a sprawling city. It was depressing to look at. Starla could have sworn it had been less grey than this the last time she had made this hike.

Lunch was incredibly uncomfortable. Master Severest tried to make conversation with the both of them, but neither was interested. Rayvin, for his part, at least tried to be polite, which only further annoyed Starla. She kept her responses clipped and monosyllabic. Master Severest did not seem to notice, plowing forward with his attempts to draw Starla into conversation.

Thankfully, lunch was short, and then they were off again.

Throughout the journey, Rayvin used his ice powers in different creative ways to aid them. He wasn't slow and methodical like Starla was, often coming up with ways to solve problems on the fly. This bothered Starla, who preferred to think each problem through and compare solutions, but Master Severest seemed satisfied with this. At one point, they had to cross a small chasm where the trail had fallen away.

"I'll just create an ice bridge," Rayvin said. "Then we can get across."

"That is a wonderful idea, Lady Rayna," Master Severest said. "Why don't we—"

"Oh, absolutely not," Starla said. "That sounds unnecessarily dangerous. I've sat back with all your other ideas, but this is not going to fly with me."

"Why?" Rayvin demanded, looking like he was gearing up for a fight. Starla was too, to be honest.

"Miss Starla, Lady Rayna, please—" Master Severest tried to butt in.

"It is too far of a distance," Starla said. "And too steep of a drop if the ice collapses."

"OK, what other solutions do you have?" Rayvin asked coldly.

"I think we should go around. If we go back the way we came, we can go up and around this area and bypass it completely."

"Now, Miss Starla—" Master Severest tried again.

"You want to go back?" Rayvin laughed, icy wind whipping through his hair. "By all means, go ahead."

"I will," Starla said. "When your broken body is at the bottom of this cliff, don't blame me." She stomped off.

"Miss Starla!" Master Severest called after her. Soon, he was swallowed up by white and gray and cold.

❖

Starla spent the next hour or so trying to find a way to get around the chasm before she finally gave up. It was getting dark. So, she took the path back the way she came. She knew this mountain like the back of her hand.

For a while, she was scared she would never find them again. What if she died up here alone? She was miserable and cold.

Then, finally, she saw the glow of campfire in the distance. It had been hours.

"You are unbelievable," Rayvin said, leaping to his feet as soon as he saw her emerge from the trees. "I thought you were fucking DEAD."

"Lady Rayna! Language!" Master Severest said, looking scandalized. "Glad to see you found your way to us, Miss Starla."

"You were the one who told me to go do my way," Starla said grumpily, taking a seat by the fire and taking some food for herself. "What do you care anyway if I'm dead? Maybe your life would be a little easier."

"I can't do this," Rayvin said, throwing his hands in the air. He disappeared into his tent.

It was just Starla and Master Severest by the fire. He gave a weary sigh.

"Miss Starla," he began.

"I don't want to hear it," Starla said. "I already have enough people in my life lecturing me. Let me eat in peace and spare me."

"I know, I know," Master Severest said. "Young women fight. This is normal. I know you both feel threatened by each other, but you need to find a way to get along."

"You don't know anything about me and R— the Princess," Starla snapped. "I don't need you to psychoanalyze us." She stomped off, which was a little less dramatic since she had to share a tent with Rayvin and also the tent was only 10 feet away.

He was already bundled up and ready to sleep. She nearly tripped on him. She suppressed a frustrated scream.

Shivering, she shucked her wet snowy clothes and bundled herself into her sleeping bag. The worse one too, she noticed.

Rayvin's words played again in her head. He had thought she was dead. Good. He deserved a scare like that after being so mean to her today.

Starla spent a long time tossing and turning, uncomfortable and unhappy.

❖

Starla woke up in a sweat, shaking off a dream of Ri-Yu graphically showing her all the ways she could kill Starla with a knife.

Starla hadn't even remembered falling asleep. She struggled out of her bag, scared to fall back asleep and back into that dream. She needed to take a walk.

She was putting on her snow boots when she heard something. It sounded living, like something making its way through the forest and shaking branches as they went.

Was that what had awakened her?

Starla grabbed a dagger. She slowly peeled the tent flap open. Rayvin stirred awake.

"Rayvin, you need to wake up," she whispered urgently.

"Starla, you're letting in all the warm air out," Rayvin said groggily. Starla ignored him. She was in survival mode.

"Rayvin, I think I heard something," she whispered. He seemed to hear the seriousness in her voice or notice the dagger in her hand because he quietly got to his feet too.

Starla took one step out into the clearing and didn't have time to react before she was slammed to the ground.

On top of her was a wolf, and it was going to kill her.