Frozen Flame

Chapter 35: Bob and Jared and Doubt

Ice Kingdom

The castle walls were like glass – thick yet invisible. No-one could hear them, no-one could speak to them, but all could see them. So, they had to keep up appearances, they had to become a vision for the kingdom to follow.

Or, at least, that's what Jared told himself as he sat in his room reviewing a version of the plan. Truthfully, the walls were more like thick ice. You could catch shadows and shapes through the wall, you could hear murmurs, but you couldn't discern what was happening. Oh, the state of his kingdom!

But the Fire Lord's? His nation was like an army. A rough, tough army where all must follow the rules on pain of death or worse. Their walls were like fire. You could see shadowy figures through the smoke and flames, you could hear voices only over the crackling of the flames, but you always stayed away for fear of getting burnt.

As much as Jared loved the way his kingdom ran itself, he had to admit that Fire, although strict and dangerous, was much, much stronger. Stronger in many things, from the leadership to the organisation to the ability control to... many things.

A slight noise startled Jared and he looked up in time to see the door to his room start to open. Bob stood there, a slight smile on his face.

Jared sighed before turning back to the paper in front on him. "What's the problem?"

Walking past Jared and lying down on the bed he was sitting on, Bob answered, "Nothing. Do I need a reason to see you?"

Jared sighed again as Bob closed his eyes. "No, I guess not."

A long pause quickly followed Jared's statement, so quiet in fact that Jared thought Bob had fallen asleep. This was not the case, however. "Jared?"

"Hmm?"

"Did you mean what you said to the Fire Lord? About not continuing to attempt to rescue the children. Larcens told me everything that happened."

Jared halted, before covering it up with, "You're smart. You tell me." The plans in front of him suddenly started becoming very interesting.

Bob cracked open an eye and grabbed the plans off him. "Although I can't read minds, I can generally discern what people are thinking by their face. I couldn't see your face at the time because I wasn't there, so I have no idea what your true intention was. I wouldn't be asking otherwise."

Jared turned to face him. "Look... I don't know."

Bob grunted and closed his eyes again. He clicked his jaw before saying in Jared's voice, "It's your head. You should know things like this."

Jared only shook his head. He raised his hand towards his face, studying the lines covering them. He then placed the hand next to Bob's stomach and started pouring his power into it. Mist clouded the air, intertwining and swirling between different patterns before gaining shape and mass. A small ice-covered dragon soon stood over Bob's stomach, staring at him with blazing eyes.

Bob, eyes still tightly shut, reached towards the dragon and flicked three separate points. The dragon crumbled to pieces, Jared's eyes following it.

Finally, he said, "You were best friends with Thorn, right?"

Bob grimaced. "I wouldn't go so far as to say that. We got along. Perhaps I was as close to Thorn as anyone but his family could get, but..."

"So, can I ask you something?"

"You just did." Bob cracked a smile.

Jared wrapped Bob in an ice rope, tying him down. His face dropped. "I'm serious."