In a world where everything is ruled by a certain species, there lived the kingdom of elves called Losaranndor. Their king was an ice elf, the only one in the existence. He was freezing to the touch and no one could even go near him, he has not even known the warmth of a hug. Everyone calls him Lord Himeldaer as he requested, the title King put him under a certain pressure and he hated feeling as if the world rested on his shoulders.
He has long, flowing, crystal white hair tied by a brown ribbon, his skin glistens a beautiful sapphire that looks like perfectly crystallized ice. Eyes a piercing blue with flashes of white, like icicles all pointing at the dark hole in the middle. Each time he walked he would leave icy footprints that soon melted like chocolate on a hot day. His servants suffered terrible colds everyday for being near him for too long. The servants were not the average ones you’d find in many elven kingdoms, these servants were well built, strong, and had more freedom than servants would normally have.
In the Kingdom of elves, King Himeldaer travelled through the streets on a cushioned seat, carried by his servants. Himeldaer wished to find a suitable wife to carry on his legacy, even though he already had a wife. However she could not bare his child as she could not touch him. So he sent word out about the test he was conducting to see if there was anyone who could touch him and not feel his icy chill. Woman after woman lined up to touch the young handsome king even if he was icy cold. Days passed and not one woman walked away without shaking horribly all day, contracting a cold, or in some worse cases; turning into ice and having to be hauled away by the castle guards to the nearest elven doctor to cure and rehabilitate their senses.
Word went out to other elven kingdoms and women from there came from miles away just to see if they had a shot at marrying the young king. Some were so desperate that they faked their reactions, saying he was not cold even if they were visibly shaking. Himeldaer gave up hope about finding someone and went back to his castle, adopting a gloomy routine. Each day he woke up, feet shuffling on the floor, back slightly hunched over and eyes dull, losing their colour.
“Lord Himeldaer!” A voice called.
He slowly lifted his head as if it weighed as much as a ton of bricks. “..yes?” He mumbled as if he had not slept.
“There are women from other kingdoms here to see you. Not the elven ones My lord but other species. Humans, orcs, satyrs, fairies, the whole lot!” The messenger announced with excitement in his voice.
King Himeldaer was not impressed. “What’s the point? There’s nobody out there who can touch me.” He replied solemnly.
“My lord, they came all the way out here, we can at least try.”
“........Alright.” He shuffled.
********
Nothing surprising happened that day, everyone travelled back to their own kingdoms wrapped in warm layers of clothing. The young king's ice cold touch still clenched them and it would take a few days for it to wear off.
To take his mind off things, Himeldaer wandered around his flower garden by his lonesome. He dared not touch the flowers as they would crystallize and freeze over. He looked up at the bright blue sky and a tear ran down his face. Will he ever find love? Will he ever experience being close and intimate with someone? He begged to the gods to free him of this torment. To give him a chance to love someone and care for them. Someone he could call his own and not a wife he had to marry for royal connections.
He loved his wife dearly, but not romantically. She was a human and her family had found out about her attraction towards females so they forced her to marry him. The two agreed since they had grown up together and he considered her a sibling, so he did everything he could to help her. The Losaranndor people were very fond of her and she eventually fell in love with one of the elven doctors. Everyone was happy for her and Himeldaer had her lover move into the castle so they could be closer to each other. Some people felt sorry for their King and left him alone when he became depressed.
He fell to his knees and let tears roll down his face. His kind will become extinct after he goes and that’s something he did not want. He begged to gods once more, begging them to make this feeling of loneliness disappear. As he cried, icicles began to materialise around him and circled him, creating a strong, cold wind. Once he noticed this, he stood up quickly and looked at his hands. The ice began to slowly turn black the more he felt sad. He clenched his eyes shut and a bright light burst into the sky.
The young king opened his eyes and all was well, no one had seen him and nothing was destroyed. He sighed and continued he walk around the garden. He wandered over to the huge fountain and noticed a figure lying on the far side of the bottom layer. Curious, he called out to it.
“Excuse me?” The figure did not move and made no sign of acknowledgment that they had heard him. Himeldaer called for his guards and three appeared, running over to their king.
The four of them leaned toward the unknown figure, one of the guards shook the figure and turned it to the side. It was a woman. She started shaking as if she was cold and immediately Himeldaer moved to step away, when her eyes suddenly shot open.
-------
A 20 year old girl named Amber adjusted the strap on her shoulder from her space themed bag, making her way to her classes. She stopped in front of her University and sighed, today she would have to deal with the torment of her classmates. They bullied her because of her unnatural hair colour and eyes. She had icy blue hair and caramel eyes all of them completely natural. Everyone called her a freak and often started rumours about her, saying she was an alien or she was some sort of shape-shifting monster. She only had a few friends and was extremely socially awkward. When asked about the rumours she simply excused herself and carried on with her task.
Amber stepped into her class and all fell silent. This was normal for her as most conversations were about her and they would immediately stop once she was in the room.. After she sat down, the chatter continued and she set up her equipment for art class.
**
After classes, she made her way to the big courtyard and sat down on a bench reading her favourite book. Out of nowhere, a group of girls and boys wandered up to her. The girl who looked like the ringleader grabbed her book and read the cover.
“Lord of the Rings? Seriously?” She scoffed and the group giggled.
“Give it back Alysha.” Amber went to grab for it but one of the boys grabbed her wrist and dragged her into the middle of a circle where everyone crowded around her.
“You’re such a nerd. Why does my boyfriend even talk to you?” Alysha rested a hand on her hip and chewed her gum obnoxiously.
Little did she know though, her boyfriend, Louie, was gay and only went out with her because he didn't want rumours to spread of people thinking he was gay and as she was pretty basic he knew he wouldn't draw attention to his sexuality. He talked to Amber because she had caught him with a guy and he became embarrassed. Of course, Amber knew he was already gay as she had a brother who also had the same sexual orientation and soon to be married with his male partner. The two quickly became friends and soon her whole family saw Louie as a cherished loved one. They even invited him to the wedding and Amber’s brother gave him tips on how to hide it from those who seeked to harm people like him and how to tell someone in a way that wasn’t too personal.
“You know he only hangs out with you because he feels sorry for you!” Alysha sneered. This was true but Louie soon warmed up to her and now saw her as a sister.
“I know that.” Amber spoke quietly.
“Then why are you still hanging out with him? Are you in love with him or something? Well too bad he’s mine. He loves me with all his heart!” She crossed her arms and huffed.
“Not true.” Amber lifted her gaze from the floor and straight into Alysha’s. This caused the bully to step back slightly at the sudden eye contact.
“Louie is only going out with you because he pities you.” Amber’s tone was not harsh but rather gentle.
“How dare you!! Boys! Sort her out!” Alysha stomped her foot on the ground.
Amber was dragged by both her arms, headed towards an unknown location. She tried to keep her cool but a sense of dread overtook her and she meekly asked. “Where are you taking me?” However her answer was only a dark chuckle from one of the boys.
She was dragged into the basement of the University and was stopped in front of a huge metal door.
The freezer.
Amber’s eyes went wide in fear. “NO! Please no! Don’t put me in there! I’ll die in the cold!!” She pleaded.
“What do you mean? Aren’t you the ice queen?” One of the boys cackled and threw her inside, locking the door afterwards.
“NO! LET ME OUT! PLEASE!!” She pounded on the door and began to cry.
After several hours, Amber was laying on the floor passed out from her crying and exhaustion. As she lay freezing on the floor, deep dark memories flooded into her mind and she begged to any higher power that she wasn’t on this planet anymore. As she passed out, the room she was in began to shake and and shards of ice began to circle her. The meat and other frozen foods seemed to vanish as a bright light enveloped the whole room. A warmth covered her face and she awoke.
-----
Himeldaer then noticed her blue hair and her glowing golden eyes. He knelt down to her and touched her shoulder.
“Are you okay?” He asked gently.
The shaking girl jolted at his touch and instantly got up to hug him. She held him tightly and Himeldaer felt how warm she was, his heart speeding up.
“Y-y-y-you’re s-s-s-s-so w-w-w-w-w-w-warm.” Her teeth chattered together and she nuzzled her head into his neck where she passed out once again.
Everyone gasped. “My lord!” One of the guards loudly whispered.
Himeldaer slowly and gently brought his arms up and returned her hug, picking her up bridal style as he stood. He felt her warmth as she held his neck as she still shivered, but less now than she was before. The king looked down at her and saw how peaceful she now looked.
“My Lord. She can touch you!” One of the guards spoke with disbelief.
Himeldaer stared at his men confused. This woman whom he had met only seconds prior was now snuggled up against him, using his body for warmth. He stood there, not knowing what to do with the mysterious woman. He looked dead ahead, his eyes dull as he thought about his next move. Finally, he made his way to the royal chamber, signalling for his guards to return to their posts.
The young king lay the shaking girl on his huge bed and stood there, scratching his head lightly.
She seemed to tremble more as the king let go of her and he brung the two blankets up to her chin to give her warmth. He stared at her sleeping face and saw her eyebrows furrowed as she shook from the non-existent cold that gripped her. Himeldaer thought about laying next to her to keep her warm but decided against it as that is something only couples do and he was not use to the concept of someone being so close to him.
He stepped to walk away when a shaking hand reached out and clutched his robe. He looked down at the hand and his eyes travelled along the arm to the sleeping girl. She was asleep but had instinctively reached out to the warmth that stood before her. He did not understand why he was so warm for her when others would deem him the complete opposite.
The young elf grabbed a stool and sat near her, observing her sleeping face as he shuffled closer, her face would become more peaceful the closer he was to this strange girl. She breathed a sigh when he brushed a stray hair from her face.
For the first time in many months, Himeldaer smiled.
Comments (0)
See all