Mirror, Mirror

3.08 Not Deep

The next morning, Starla and Rayvin crossed the frozen river.

"Here, hold on," Rayvin said, holding out his elbow to Starla. Starla hesitated.

"I promise I won't fall in this time," she protested.

"I know," Rayvin said. "Even so, I'd feel better knowing you're right next to me."

"My hero," Starla said with an eye roll, then took his arm shyly. It wasn't that deep. He was just being a caring friend, especially after their vulnerable conversation last night.

Starla pushed the thoughts and feelings out of her head and focused on making her way carefully across the ice by Rayvin's side. Where he stepped, the ice thickened and solidified.

In no time, they made it to the other side, stepping onto solid ground. Starla quickly let go of Rayvin's arm, before he could move away first. She didn't want to be weird.

After a few hours of travel, they eventually made it to the checkpoint town they'd meant to get to yesterday, where they stocked up on food and supplies. The townfolk were excited for the arrival of the Ice Princess, but were utterly baffled by the odd pair. However, they couldn't question Rayvin's powers, and they warily accepted him as the supposed "Ice Princess." Starla wondered if the news about the royal family's situation hadn't made it out this far.

So, after escaping a few awkward interactions with the locals, Starla and Rayvin found an empty tavern corner to discuss their next options for their journey.

"At this point, we're not going to outpace the storm," Rayvin said. "It's not your fault, Starla. We were falling behind before our little— er, mishap yesterday."

"Yeah, yeah," Starla said, surprised Rayvin had caught the flash of guilt before she'd erased it from her face. "OK, so we probably shouldn't spend the night at this town then. Better to keep moving. Unless you think the storm is close by and we should just hunker down here until it passes?" Rayvin blinked at her.

"Oh. Was that a question?" Rayvin said.

"Yeah, didn't you hear the question mark?" Starla joked. "But seriously. I trust your read of the weather. You can sense it better than I can. If you say it's a no-go, then we'll find another way."

"The storm's close, but I'm definitely in favor of not staying here the night," Rayvin said, then lowered his voice. "The people in this town seem... a little unimpressed with us as the Ice Princess." He glanced over his shoulder at the bartender, who was openly staring at them with shark eyes. Rayvin turned away quickly.

"I'm not that impressed with them either," Starla said, giving the bartender a regal glare. "They haven't quite given us the hero's welcome I was expecting. The last town we stopped at was a lot friendlier." The bartender finally looked away, cowed by Starla's gaze.

"So, it's decided that we'll keep going then?" Rayvin asked.

"Yes," Starla said. "We'll have to move fast though. The next checkpoint town is a few days away. You're sure we'll be able to make it before the storm hits?"

"I... I think so?" Rayvin said uncertainly.

"You're not inspiring confidence, Rayvin," Starla said. "I definitely heard a question mark."

"Yes, I think we can make it," Rayvin said.

"OK, let's go then," Starla said, and the two of them continued on their journey.

❖

Once night fell, Starla started to regret the decision to keep going. It got so cold that, even tucked in Rayvin's makeshift ice fort, bundled in many layers of clothing and a bed roll, Starla shook with the cold. Her teeth clattered together. Even sleeping rolls pressed together to conserve heat, she could still feel his body trembling.

Finally, Starla couldn't take it anymore.

"Rayvin?" she said softly, rolling over. She didn't want to wake him if he'd already fallen asleep.

"Yeah?"

"I'm cold," Starla said.

"Me too," Rayvin said. There was silence, except for the soft breath of the wind through snow. Starla hesitated. Would Rayvin think it was strange if she suggested...?

"I was thinking," Rayvin said. "What if we shared a bedroll? You know, to share warmth? If you're comfortable with that of course."

"Yes, let's do that, please," Starla said. So, she shimmied out of hers and into Rayvin's, dragging her own to drape across their shared one for extra warmth. There was an awkward shuffle of limbs as they arranged themselves in the shared space.In such a small space, it was impossible not to touch. Starla felt intensely aware of every connection point between the two of them. Back to back, hip to hip. It must be really cold because even Rayvin was shivering violently too. They both shook for a while.

Finally, as Rayvin's warmth seeped into Starla, her shivering subsided, and she felt his subside as well. The two of them shifted against one another every now and then to find a better position in this tight squeeze. But other than that, it was nice.

Starla tried not to read too far into it. Sharing the warmth of a friend was nice, that was all. Just two bodies braving the elements. Two bodies that fit rather nicely together.

In a platonic way. Starla was scandalized by any thoughts about her and Rayvin as anything more than— Because he would never... NEVER...

"I vote doing this every time we sleep," Rayvin said drowsily.

"I agree," Starla said.

From then on, they shared a bedroll at night, no questions asked.

❖

At this point, it was a daily fight Starla had with herself to not think about Rayvin. Not like that. Please.

And so, she filled her head and heart with ice. It wasn't hard, when that was everything that surrounded them too.

It got colder and harsher as they continued on. She rarely felt warmth when they travelled. If it weren't for Rayvin's command over the cold weather, she probably would have died out here on her own.

"The storm is coming," Rayvin said abruptly, closing his eyes. Starla stopped, shrugging her load off to momentarily rest her shoulders. She looked behind them. A dark, gray mass of clouds was heading their way.

"I'm sure we'll be fine," Starla said, trying to keep it light. "What's a little snow to heroes like us?"

"Haha," Rayvin laughed.