Frosted Ranger: Time's Illusion

Chapter 13: An Awakening

Melina blinks her eyes as she slowly awakens in the cabin. Then she starts to feel the weight on her body and hearing the light breathing of a passed out Elisia.

Melina pulls her pounding head up to see Elisia sleeping on top of her. Melina sighs and lowers her head gently back onto the ground. The fire had died out and the empty bottle of Crimson Blood laid not too far away from their sleeping bodies.

She lays there in silence and allows Elisia to sleep, but Melina couldn't help but think about where Dayton was right now. The afterlife, revived and recovering, or burning in one of the nine hells. She imagined every scenario possible. Kywin could have just dumped his body and leave. The friend failed to revive Dayton.

Whatever rage was building up within her for the last eight days now had faded once she went crazy against her father last night. She began to feel bad about that. She had no control over it, but she still did it.

Elisia mumbles a name in her sleep, but Melina couldn't quite make it out. Maybe it was her father's or mother's name Melina thought. "Alright.." Melina says and shoves Elisia off of her. "Sorry."

Melina stands up and uses her wrists to pick up the Crimson Blood bottle and she sets it down on a counter. Elisia lays on her back still asleep and breathing slowly.

Melina walks throughout the house to find nothing standing out besides a set of armor hanging nicely on a wall. She passes it by and continues on to a back room. She turns the knob with her wrists and it opens up.

Upon pushing the door open, she finds it littered with dust and and clothes on the bed and floor. Some weapons leaning against the wall also smothered in dust. A mirror that's not reflective any more.

"It was my mother's room." Elisia says from behind Melina. Melina jumps and turns to face Elisia. "My father said no one is to go in there, but I always open the door like you did so I can just see a little piece of her world."

Elisia reaches over Melina and shuts the door, putting them face to face with almost no space between again. Speechless Melina felt a little awkward with this girl all over her. One night of drinks didn't mean they got intimate. 'Did we?' Melina asks herself. "I'm sorry, Elisia. I got curious."

"It's okay." She says, stands in front of Melina and looks her over for a second before stepping back towards the suit of armor on the wall. Elisia kneels down in front of it. Melina watches as Elisia's blue hair falls back down over the scar on her right eye. Those claw marks had a story, but Melina is unsure of when to ask about it.

Melina looks back to the dusty room and then leaves it be. Letting Elisia kneel in peace. Whatever the armor resembles, Melina took it as a sign of faith and lets Elisia have her moment.

Walking back into the living room, Melina sees the snow encasing the building. Getting out is going to take some time. Melina walks over to the cabinet and looks through the variety of bottles of Alcohol.

She finds the Peach of Parel, Neomic's Blizzard, Crimson Blood, Firebreath and so on with the titles. Had to be a dozen more bottles inside.

"Planning on getting drunk again?" Elisia says standing in the doorway. A smile across her face. Melina shrugs her shoulders. "Maybe. Last night was enjoyable."

"How so?" Elisia steps up to cabinet to overlook the bottle collection with Melina.

"I don't know. It felt weird to not have to worry about anything else. For a while now i've been worrying about my mission. Letting it dictate my life, my emotions and everything else."

Melina reaches into the cabinet and pulls out a clear bottle filled with a blue liquid. Simply called "Frostbite". She barely keeps a good grasp on it with her situation and Elisia takes it from her.

"For the hours we drank, I felt relaxed. Stress free, not angry, not sad, but content. If I want that again, for good. I know what has to be done."

"What needs to be done?" Elisia asks while popping off the lid of the bottle.

"My mother gave me one more chance to defeat her. I'll do it smart this time. I'll need help and to clear my name." Elisia raises an eyebrow. "A traitor in the Frostguard is spreading rumors that I sided with my mother. Little does everyone else know that he is the one that sided with her."

"Who is your mother?" Elisia.

"The Dark Queen." Melina looks to the bottle and Elisia stands there with a surprised face and then pours the glass. With both arms, Melina takes a drink. A cold freezing sensation pulses through Melina's body as she begins to shiver for a second. "I'll need my hands back first. Expose Daximus is second. From there, I don't know... wow that was cold.."

Elisia laughs. "Allow me to be of assistance. I have combat expertise." Elisia turns her gaze to her curved swords resting against the wall that leads outside into the world.

"Yea, I can use all the help I can get." Melina takes a deep breath and sets the glass down. "I'm taking that bottle."

"All yours, Frosty."

The two of them set up their gear and bags for travel and store the bottle of Frostbite for future drinking. Melina has to travel weaponless, but Elisia wraps her belt carrying her two swords around her waist.

Elisia opens the front door once they are ready to venture out into the snow again. The snow falls inwards into the house and Elisia holds out her hands. They catch fire and she begins to melt through the snow encasing her house and making a pathway out into the open.

Melina follows through the melting pathway. They reach outside into the clear daylight skies and head to where they met to follow the tracks of a certain wagon carrying Dayton's corpse.

With all the snowfall, the tracks had been buried. Melina begins to feel that hatred swell up inside of her again. "If he just told me where he was going.."

"Melina, who are we tracking?" Elisia keeps looking around the area to spot for dangerous wildlife.

"Kywin pulling a wagon by horse. He's carrying the corpse of my boyfriend to a friend of his. Claims his friend can save Dayton."

"If Dayton comes back, you'll be reunited with him?" The thought of it stung Elisia, but she keeps searching to distract her mindset.

"Yea.." Melina bites down on her lower lip. "I chose to walk away. Maybe Dayton is already alive again or Kywin is still pulling the horse."

"Well, where to now?"

"Yggdrasil Stronghold. A doctor there could help with my hands."

Elisia and Melina look to the sun's direction to determine which direction to head in. They begin to head west in hopes of finding the stronghold before a random clan.

As day one comes to an end, they set up their camp against a mountain side and light the campfire. They sit on opposite sides of the fire and watch it closely in silence. The claws on the eye however, Melina has felt compelled to ask all day."

"Okay, so what's the story with your eye and the scar. You hide it with your hair, why?"

Elisia sighs. "It's why my father died. It's a long story."

"We got time, I wanna hear it." Melina gets up and walks over besides Elisia and sits next to her. "I've told you things about me. Tell me this one story."

"Fine." Elisia shakes her head and keeps her gaze on the fire. "Just over a year ago..."