Crystal Snow

Snow

Dinner flies by, I hardly notice the flavors of my meal. All rations are perfectly portioned to match our needs, and never have I tasted a disgusting meal. But today my shepards pie tastes like sawdust against my tongue. My parents shift worried glances in my direction but I keep my head to my food, shoveling it into my mouth. As soon as the last bite has been scrapped from the ceramic plate I race upstairs to get changed.

I quickly change from my school uniform to a shimmering silver top and a pair of black jeans and race out the door taking my purple bike with me. The smell of winter tickles my nose, sending warmth to my core. For I cannot feel the cold, and the taste of the icy air is the most delicious thing that has ever graced my lips.

The wind that rushes through my hair  awakes all of my senses, I feel free, I feel that I am once again ice. Enthralled in these emotions I hardly notice when I have reached the park. The neat white fence surrounding the grassy plain sends surges of nostalgia through my gut. This place used to be second home to me, this is where I met Eric, then Hazel. We used to play fire and ice here, though back then the magic lived only in our heads.

Even once we got glitter of our own the magic of the games remained a mere figment of our hearts and our imaginations. I guess Eric must have seen me standing in front of the park just staring, because I soon hear him whisper shout "Crystal!" From behind me, it startles me so badly that I nearly drop my bike to the ground.

"Don't scare me like that." I laugh giving my best friend's shoulder a playful nudge.

He chuckles before responding. "I thought warriors can never be caught off guard."

"And that is where you are wrong." I tell him, "Warriors are caught off guard all the time. The Alliance just doesn't tell you." I laugh bringing my index finger to my lips.

"Anyway why did you ask me to come here?" Eric begins wheeling his bike into the park, I follow before responding.

"Yeah, I have to show you..." My tone is uncertain. Insignificant diversions are racing through my head, giving me pause on my previous decision. Maybe I can just tell him that I wanted to make up. But I can't make up with him without telling him the truth.

"Okay." His voice sounds funny, it is slightly distorted. But I know it is just my mind playing tricks on me. The ice itches against my skin, clawing and screaming for me to release it. I give in allowing the sharp cold to engulf me, I am no longer frightend by my translucent hands, but Eric quite obviously is.

Eric's face is pale, his brown eyes are wide as saucers. We stand in silence for a few seconds before he begins "h-h-h-how?" His voice is weak. Shock has rendered him dumb.

"I don't know..." My voice is small, and it fades along with the ice of my hands. They fall limp besides me.

"Well, at least I get why you're not wearing a jacket" Eric is always a light in the darkness. Even in times like these, when I have been given a gift, but I'm so scared. Why me, and once again my dream resurface. Who was that strange woman, and what connection does she have to my new abilities.

Tears burn my eyes, I know that they are shining green through the darkness. "Eric," my voice is nearly a whisper. "I haven't told you everything."

❅❆❅

    "Who do you think that woman was, and why did she come to you?" Eric's voice is frantic as he paces back and forth in front of the park bench I sit on. I had explained everything that had happened in my strange dream to Eric, everything except how she had told me that she could help me, make me powerful. "Crystal! Stop zoning out, we need to tell someone! An Upper Warrior maybe,or your parents." Eric's voice was beginning to be too loud for comfort.

    "Shhh," I hushed him, "We can't tell anyone if the Upper Warriors know that I've had any type of dream communication with this person, who I'm assuming is the enemy we hear about on the comms every once and awhile, I could lose my spot at YLSA." I hiss, trying to hide the quiver of concern in my voice. I'm not worried about my place at the school, I could care less at this point, but deep down I'm curious about this woman, I want to know what she could offer me. This is why I can't tell Eric about what she said down there in that hot red cave. I fear her, but no more than I fear myself and who I am becoming.

"Seriously! That school again!" Eric's anger is potent. "This information could be used to better The Alliance and help us on our fight against The Fire Kingdom, or whatever they're calling themselves now. But no, Crystal has to secure her future, so she doesn't need to tell officials that The Fire Kingdom now has the power to infiltrate dreams!" He was fuming now, I could practically see the steam leaving his nose.

"Eric! Calm down!" I hiss urgently. I've never seen him in a rage like this. Something feels off, something is changing about my best friend. My best friend that I have known for my whole life, my best friend that I know everything about. Yet I still have a feeling of unease looking at him.

"How can you tell me to calm down when the enemy of everything that we hold dear is growing more powerful by the day and you have had a direct line of communication with her, and you just want to pretend that nothing ever happened!" With that Eric's hands ignite and we both look down in horror at this feat of natural-born fire magic. 

"H-how?" I finally manage to choke out the word after at least five minutes of stunned silence. We are only 14, barely ready to start training for our future jobs. We're not old enough to deal with the life or death situations that have been handed to each of us.