Frozen Flame

Chapter 62: One Man, Far Too Much Food

Pale Glass

A large yellow door stood closed in front of them. A large plate of food stood towering in their hands, decorated with splendorous shapes, with twirls and falling spirals, heavy and unbalanced.

Bob groaned. "We didn't really need to bring him this much did we?"

Glancing at him, Eliza chuckled. "Well, a man wants what a man wants."

"Easy for you to say!" Bob frowned, switching hands as his muscles strained at the weight of the precariously balanced food. "You're not carrying a mountain!"

"Neither are you." She raised an eyebrow. "If Thorn were here, he'd be carrying the food on one finger and be looking bored."

"How about you carry it then!?"

She held up hands before crossing her arms once more. "I'm just saying, stop complaining. It's your fault you didn't build strength before we came."

He glowered. "Stop comparing me to Thorn."

Eliza glanced at the food once more before raising an eyebrow. "Geez, he must eat a lot."

"That's an understatement. My arms feel like they're about to explode-" Seeing her raised eyebrow and pointed look at him, he shut his mouth. "Right. Do you want to knock or shall I?"

She gestured towards the door. "By all means, go ahead."

Rolling his eyes, he swivelled his body, carefully manoeuvring the food to lean against him as he awkwardly reaching out an arm and knocked. "Old Jimmy sent us. Can we come in?"

A moment of silence.

"And we have food."

Still nothing.

He turned to Eliza. "Do you think he's home?"

The door swung open, a bearded man standing in the entry, brown hair rough and tangled around his face. He glared at them in silence, pulling out a small knife. "Who-er you?"

Peering around the dish, Bob smiled at him. "Hello, my name's Bob. We're from the Ice Kingdom and we'd like to have a chat... with you... do you think you could spare a moment?"

The man lowered furrowed brows, moving his jaw to the side as he looked them up and down. His hand raised, gesturing to Eliza. "Who's she?"

Still smiling, Bob glanced at her. "Um, she's... ur..."

"His sister." She stepped forward. "I'm Bob's sister, Eliza."

"Oh?" He looked between them, glancing back and forth. "You don't look related."

The two stepped forward again, speaking at the same time as they tried to explain it away.

"We both had different fathers."

"He was dropped as a newborn."

A pause.

They stared at each other, mouths forming the same word. "What!?"

Waving his hand, the man turned around, gesturing for them to enter. "Doesn't matter to me. Come in and dump the food on the table over there." He pointed to a table on the far end of the room.

Bob sighed, muttering to himself. "Nope, I'll just carry the food over there myself. Thank you for the hospitality. Oh, you're welcome! No, no, I deeply appreciate the gesture. Oh, you do? That's wonderful to hear! I'll just go die over there in the corner – don't mind me."