The Winter Rivals

Chapter 14| Hazel Quinn

7th October 2008
It had been a week since the situation with Shawn occurred. I offered my apologies for Jess's rude reply, and fortunately, Shawn was understanding about it. However, he appeared to be suspicious that Jess was intentionally making things difficult for me. In reality, this suspicion was entirely accurate, as Jess had been doing nothing but attempting to annoy me with his immature actions, spiteful teasing, and charming but devilish behaviour.

After some contemplation, I came to the conclusion that in order for the documentary to fully take its place, I needed to limit my conversations with Jess outside of filming. It was clear that my efforts to be friendly were not easing his willingness to discuss his past; instead, they were encouraging his egotistical and controlling behaviour.

I began avoiding Jess on October second, and even though it had only been about five or six days, I saw results, but they weren't the ones I wanted. Minimising interactions outside of filming only seemed to backfire in a different way. Eventually, after several attempts to provoke me, he settled on reverting back to distant, cold-blooded hatred. However, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing since we were preparing for our off-camera meeting with Luke's sister, Hazel Quinn. The only worry floating in the back of my mind was whether Jess would eventually discover that we had gone to speak with her. Naturally, we would likely inform him, but it was far too early for him to find out just yet.

Luckily, Tora had managed to convince Rowen to let us use his car, allowing us, for the first time since we arrived in Switzerland, to do our job alone. This meant there was a high chance that Jess would just assume we weren't working that day.

Strapping myself into the car, I asked, "Where are we going to meet Hazel?" Mariam, with her golden brown eyes glued to the road ahead, explained that Hazel had settled on the idea of meeting somewhere public and outdoors. She had told Mariam that she felt calmer when surrounded by nature and was more likely to hold herself together while discussing such sensitive topics.

11:00AM
Tora exclaimed joyfully, "I must admit, she chose a beautiful spot!" We were surrounded by patches of dusted snow, crunching autumn leaves, and graceful willow trees with intertwined branches that twisted like braided hair. Peeking through the gaps in the long spiralling willow leaves, was a stunning castle delicately perched atop a tall mountain. I would like to find myself up there someday, I thought.

"I think I can see her, Tora. On that bench over there," I pointed to a spot nestled behind a bush full of flowers. "Where?" Tora asked, whipping her head in every possible direction. Mariam playfully rolled her eyes and gently turned Tora's head to the correct place, saying, "Over there, silly," with a laugh.

A sheepish expression had crossed Tora's face as she awkwardly muttered, "Whoopsie!" She reminded me a lot of Ana from 'Frozen,' not only in personality but also in appearance. With flowing strawberry-blonde hair, freckles scattered along her nose, and her bubbly personality, she would have made a perfect princess impersonator for children's parties.

Reaching the rickety, weathered bench where Hazel was seated, I greeted her with a warm smile, aiming to make her feel comfortable. "Hello, you must be Hazel. I'm Elora Winter," I said, extending my hand for her to shake. She greeted me with a smile similar to my own, only hers faltered slightly, as though she was concealing a small part of how she truly felt. The way her smile glitched momentarily sprung memories into my mind that I'd tried to push away. That expression was one I'd worn regularly as a child.

"Yes, that's right. It's lovely to meet you," Hazel responded, grasping my hand, her eyes hesitant to meet mine. It was clear that she was grieving the loss of her brother, and the last thing I wanted to do was unsettle her. So, I refrained from pushing for any further conversation until Mariam and Tora had both introduced themselves.