The Ice Warrior

Chapter 13

"Are you alright?" Rose asked as tears rolled down her aged face.

"You aren't hurt, are you?" She added, breaking the hug and holding Silv at arm's length to check her for injuries.

"I am fine. Well, I am better than fine now that I am with you," Silv said.

"I was worried about you," she added, looking deep into her grandmother's warm eyes.

"Isn't that just silly of you, to worry about me when you were the one who fell through a hole and into an underground base. Denis said you died from the fall..." Rose said, shifting uncomfortably, "...but I didn't believe you were dead. I would have felt it. I was researching about the base just now, trying to find the best way to get to you."

Silv could see how strong her grandmother was, even at a time when other people would have given up when Silv's mother had surely given up. It was that kind of strength and determination that Silv strived for.

"What happened?" Rose asked.

"I think we better go to the kitchen. We'll drink some tea, and I'll tell you all you need to know," Silv said, still worried about her grandmother's health.

Silv was not sure how much bad news the poor woman could take, and it felt right to comfort her with the taste of the 'good old days' that her grandmother had always missed so dearly.

"That doesn't sound good," Rose said as Silv led her through the automatic doors and into the average-looking kitchen.

The moment they entered the kitchen, the hum of machinery came to life. Soon enough, a familiar voice filled the room.

"My fair ladies, how may I be of service?" Arthur, the AI, asked.

It still brought a smile to Silv's face to hear the old-fashioned expressions from such a latest modernity such as were the AIs. Even after everything she had been through, she could not help but feel joy at the familiarity and comfort of it all.

"Two mugs of chamomile tea, please," Silv said.

"Two mugs of chamomile tea shall be served in thirty seconds," Arthur said.

"You are worrying me, my dear. The last time we had chamomile tea was when you told me about you failing the exam." Rose said.

As they took the steaming mugs from the beverage dispenser, they sat opposite each other, enjoying each other's company, inhaling the rich flavor of the rare treat that the tea had become since the world had changed. It was something they rarely indulged in, yet Rose could sense that it was something they both needed.

"Silv, tell me, please. It sounds more serious than I expected. What happened to you?" Rose asked reaching out to hold her granddaughter's hand in encouragement.

"Denis," Silv said, looking at their clasped hands, not daring to make eye contact with Rose afraid that she might break to pieces.

"I knew I shouldn't have trusted that boy. No one can be that nice, that perfectly pleasant, all the time. Thank God you are okay." Rose said anger making her eyes more alive than Silv had seen them since her return.

"God?" Silv asked, curiously.

"Ah, sometimes I forget how incredibly young you are. It feels like you have always been here with me. I forget how little you know about the world of the past. God was what we believed in, in those old days before the ice age. It was believed to be a power that protected us all, something beyond us. Now, of course, talking about it is a taboo. Only the rare few remember." Rose said.

Silv was fascinated to learn something about the past that she was unable to get from any of the books, from any of the archives. She thanked her lucky stars that her grandmother had such a good memory, otherwise she would have never been able to truly engage with the world of the past.