Elements

Chapter 17

Judging by her luck, Ira would never get out of the house.

Two weeks have passed since the Thomsons were iced. They remember nothing of the incident, except for seeing a small man in a fairy costume. They knew something was wrong, so Ira couldn't leave the house for the entire spring break.

Ira sat at the window. She'd changed. She wasn't that optimistic girl, who had found herself a boyfriend and could live life normally. She was responsible now, strengthened by the anger of the deaths the Destroyer had caused. Willow. The royal cook, Madalin. Greta herself, who couldn't live without her brother. Seeing so many people die from such a terrible fate clawed at her heart.

Before she could realize what she was doing, the window frosted over, trapping the outside scenery. The children in the park slowly faded into the ice.

Ira winced. That seemed to happen frequently. Since her training was suspended now due to her isolation, her powers were getting a little funky.

Someone knocked on the door. "Hey, darling, can I come in?"

Ira shrugged, "Sure, mom." She swiped her hand over the frost and it disappeared.

Mrs. Thomson's head poked into the room. "Hey, Ira. I baked fresh cookies." She opened the door and walked up to Ira. She placed a tray of chocolate chip cookies on the window seat beside Ira. "Chocolate chip! Your favorite."

"Not hungry." Ira stared at the tray and looked away.

"You sure?" Mrs. Thomson picked up a cookie and placed it in Ira's hand. Instantly, it turned cold.

Ira shrugged again. "Fine. I'll eat." She nibbled at the cookie and winced. Frozen.

She placed the cookie on the tray again. "Um, could you feed me? Please?"

Mrs. Thomson nodded. "Sure." She picked up another cookie and gave Ira a bite. The warmth of the cookie melted all the anger away and Ira's hands went back to their regular temperature.

"Thank you." Ira smiled for the first time in weeks.

Mrs. Thomson nudged Ira with her leg. "So, what's going on, sweetie? You seemed so let down lately."

Ira looked outside. "Just tired. That's all."

"I get it. Look, I know you don't like being locked up in the house, but something's going on. The news said that there might be some sort of storm or natural disaster on the way, based on-"

Ira sat up quickly. "What?"

"Yes, it's all over the news. The weather's been acting funky recently..."

Ira tried to take this all in.

If the elements are ever disturbed, Mother Nature had said, a storm will rise, led by the Destroyer himself.

Ira stared at her mother intently. "Mom, I need to go somewhere. Now."

Mrs. Thomson shook her head. "No. You are staying here, like anyone else-"

Then it happened. Ira's hands automatically shot out in front of her and engulfed her mother in a sheet of ice. Her eyes turned glassy, and just like that, Mrs. Thomson was frozen in time.

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"You froze your mom!?"

"I didn't mean to!" Ira quickly protested. "I just...just..."

"Ira, you need to know when your powers are supposed to be used, and what for! Using them for the wrong reasons can create a curse! You know that!" Jane stared at Ira with concern.

"But she wouldn't let me out of the house!" Ira gripped the railing to the patio. Jane and Ira were on the outside patio of the palace, away from the chaos from inside. She bowed her head. "Dad's been on a business trip for a week, and he hasn't called once. We've tried calling him, emailing, even letters! He isn't responding. Mom didn't want me to be harmed. She...she just wanted to protect me."

Jane joined Ira and leaned on the railing. She sighed. The past two weeks hadn't been easy on her, either. Her eyes had bags underneath and her face was paler than before. It was as if she aged years instead of weeks.

"My parents have also become suspicious," Jane said, looking across the landscape. Fairies were busy stocking up on food, keeping their young somewhere safe. "I think they...they want to move."

Ira looked up. "No!" she protested. "You can't leave! Not now!"

Jane smiled weakly. "I know, you look forward to seeing me. But what can I do? They think that the school, giving me all these "projects" and whatnot, isn't fit for me. Besides, with the storm coming, they believe it would be safer."

Tears welled up in Ira's eyes. She quickly wiped them away.

"That's horrible." She muttered.

After a few minutes, Jane turned her head and rested it on Ira's shoulder. Her eyelashes were brimmed with tears.

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"I'm going to keep her frozen."

"What?"

Ira and Jackson were taking a walk around the kingdom, hand in hand. After her talk with Jane, all Ira wanted to do was stay out of the palace.

"You heard me." Ira stopped walking and stared at Jackson. "She's going to keep me locked up if I don't. I won't be able to help."

"She's your mother, Ira!" Jackson looked down. "Besides, don't you think the ice will melt soon?"

"No," Ira said. "I talked to Mother about it. She said that the ice used for freezing people in time is invincible. She can only be unfrozen by my decision."

Jackson sighed. "OK, but I couldn't live with that. Seeing my mom, frozen in my room like a statue..." He shuddered. "You going to live alone now?"

"Actually..." Ira looked at him and smirked. "I was thinking I'd stay at your place."

Jackson gave her a lopsided smile. "Let's see about that."

Ira laughed, and the two walked on into the sunset, hand in hand, with no worry in the world. Well, at least, for a few moments.