Winter's Child

Chapter Four~Rare

You are weary, the voice whispered in her mind. She couldn't help but flinch each time he began speaking. It was rather startling. As you should be. Crossing between worlds tends to do that to someone. Rest will come to you shortly. He had an odd way of speaking. As if every word was of great importance. It automatically made one assume that they were. You have much to learn here.

What do you mean? Elodie thought, hoping that he had heard and would respond. There was silence for a moment and she thought she felt his grip on her hand tighten for a second. She was probably just imagining it.

You are a rare find, Elodie Remley. A very rare find. You will understand why before long. His words had softened, as if he was concerned. Elodie didn't at all understand what he meant by that. How could she be rare? She had always thought she was normal. Well, normal as normal got in her family. She had been happy with her life back home. Bored at times, but happy. Of course, like most her age, she had often dreamed of travelling off to distant countries or creating her own adventures. She never thought she would be brought to a whole new world that she didn't even know existed.

Suddenly, her mind was her own once again. She could hear what was going on around her and the eerie stillness had dissipated. She assumed she was dismissed when he released her hand. She met his gaze and a moment passed where she didn't know what to do. She knew well now that he was the leader of this land and that he was very respected. She settled for a slight bow of her head and slowly descended the throne.

A woman dressed all in white came and escorted her from the room. Jack followed close behind until they were all out of the massive room and into an equally impressive hall. There were what appeared to be ice sculptures lining the halls. They were shaped like dainty, intricately carved women wearing flowing gowns. They were posed in a variety of different ways. They had been spread out and they came in pairs. One across the hall from the other was in the exact same pose and looked identical.

Jack quickly caught up with Elodie as they walked down the hall. The woman remained in front of them so Jack could discreetly speak with Elodie about what the king had said. His eyes were wide with curiosity as he turned to her, wondering what North had said and wanting every detail that she could provide.

"What did he say to you?" Jack asked anxiously.

"Just that I'm rare. Whatever that means. Hey, why doesn't he just speak? I mean, he's done that twice now. The whole telepathic thing."

"Never mind that. I'll tell you later. How did he say it, exactly?"

"Well, he told me that I was special and that I have a lot to learn. So then I asked him what he meant and he said-"

"Wait, you...you what?"

"I asked him...what he meant." Elodie met his gaze with an innocent look, making it quite clear that she didn't understand what was wrong. "Not verbally. I thought it and he heard me, I guess." There was silence. Jack's face went paler than it already was. Elodie studied him for a moment, confused by his reaction. "Jack? What is it?" No reply. Only silence as they continued to walk down the grand halls of the palace.

Once they arrived at the room Elodie would be staying in, the servant gave a simple bow of her head and left them.

The room was decorated with light blue and cream-colored accents. The large bed was bigger than Elodie had ever had in her entire life. It was decorated with a canopy over it that reminded Elodie of something she might see in a painting. There was a large, rich-looking rug on the floor that lay under the bed. There were three windows that each were accompanied by a window seat and a beautiful set of curtains. The white duvet on the bed was velvety and smooth of surface. It looked as if it were made from pure silk. There were two side tables on either side of the large bed that each were made from dark-colored wood. Elodie barely paid any attention to the beauty of the room. She was too focused on Jack and his reaction to her story. The two sat down on a sofa that sat against a far wall when Jack was finally ready to speak.

"You...spoke with the king...in your mind?" he asked shakily. Elodie simply nodded, her slender brows furrowed as she tried to figure out why that was such a terrible thing.

"Why's that so-"

"No one...can do that," Jack interrupted urgently, his eyes growing wide with passion. Elodie was silent. She stared at Jack with wide eyes, waiting for him to continue.

"Why...why not-"

"The king can speak in other people's minds. But, they can't reply in his. It's a rare, rare thing that only one other person was ever able to do." Elodie's eyes widened. Was that why she detected slight surprise when she had asked the king a question? Why was she different?

"But...that doesn't make sense. I'm nothing special."

"Listen, the only other person who had a telepathic connection with North was someone who lived a long time ago. Her name was Darcelle. She is said to have been beautiful once. In appearance and in spirit. She was the only one the king had ever seen that could connect with him on that level. When Darcelle fled to the forest, North stopped speaking. He still doesn't. Not that anyone knows of, at least." It was a rule in all the seasonal realms. Once one's heart is broken, they lose a common ability. They go mute, deaf, blind. Anything. Jack glanced up to see the same intrigued look on Elodie's face. "The king wanted to protect Darcelle. But she was lured into the condemned forest by the dark spirits and-"

"The dark spirits?" Elodie interrupted, tilting her head in confusion. "What are they?"

"They are what they sound like. Dark, evil spirits that live in the condemned forest. They lure you in and turn you against the ones you love. That's how they got Darcelle. No one knows what they told her about North. And even though it took some convincing, they eventually got to her."

"What happened?"

"They corrupted her until she full-out hated North. They say that now, she lives deep in the condemned forest, plotting her revenge against the king and readying for war. She has become a myth now though. There is an old legend that she makes everything bad happen. My people jokingly blame everything bad on Darcelle. Much like...Karma in your world."

"So, this 'Darcelle' is discreetly plotting revenge on North?" Jack shrugged.

"If the legends are true."

"And...where do I fit into all this?" Jack dropped his gaze. Should he tell her?

"Ah...that's not important-"

"Jack." He hesitantly met her determined gaze and was guilted into telling her. She deserved to know, after all. He sighed heavily.

"All right...you must be the one. To kill Darcelle. It is written that only one with the same ability as the Condemned One herself can defeat her." Elodie's eyes widened. Suddenly, a realization struck her. Did Jack know all along? Did he know that if she knew that the fate of this world depended on her that she would have to stay?

"You knew all along," She turned to him as anger flickered briefly across her gaze. Jack looked at her blankly. "You knew that if you got me here, I would have to stay. You knew that I would have no choice. You knew I was the one for the task but you didn't tell me. Why?" She was more hurt than angry. Jack hung his head guiltily.

"North told me that I, somehow, had to convince you to at least come. He didn't tell me you were..." he trailed off. Elodie knew what he meant. She couldn't stay upset with him. She understood. Something inside her told her to stay. To help these people as much as she could. But, the decision didn't have to be made then. She had time to get to know this strange land and the people in it. As well as figure out what she wanted to do.

She had a lot of thinking to do.