The Snowblossom siblings

Waking up to the sound of birds singing was a peaceful feeling. A blanket was pulled over her and she noticed that she still had journey clothes on. Yawning she sat up and stretched, looking around she saw someone laying down on the floor. She frowned, feeling slightly bad that she took his bed.

Loud knocking was heard on the door and Brem jerked awake and quickly opened the door, being met by things being thrown at him.

"He's still asleep so we have to go. Now" It was the same girl yesterday with the fiery red hair. Her dress wasn't completely on and she was struggling to put on her shoes and her hair was a mess.

"You too princess unless you want to be left behind." The woman said before disappearing. Eris quickly packed her stuff and followed them out.

Their belongings were thrown inside their carriage without any care except their instruments. Edeltria hopped in front of the carriage, making the horses almost run and Eris had to jump onto the carriage and Brem helped her in. Only then was Eris able to catch her breath when the tavern was out of sight.

"Why did we have to be in a rush?" Eris couldn't hold her curiosity and Brem just smiled before he began to fidget on his lute.

"You see… We aren't really… I don't know the word for it… Let's just say that in the eyes of society we are criminals. Entertainers don't always get paid much and Edeltria makes sure we get what we deserve. Sometimes even more than that. She has some sort of obsession with shiny things"

"I heard that!" Eris nodded, not really sure how she should feel. They steal… But it didn't really bother her. They have shown her kindness, especially Brem. Someone with a heart like that couldn't be evil. She has seen evil back at the village and none of them broke any laws, none of the villagers has been called a criminal.

The sun began to set and the carriage stopped somewhere in the woods. Eris had no idea where they were but it seemed like the two of them knew which felt safe.

"We will camp here for the night. In two days we'll arrive in Frosa if everything goes as planned." Edeltria sighed as she was looking at their map before preparing for the night. Brem helped as well while Eris tried to help but Edeltria hushed her away and Brem didn't need any help. So she sat down, sighing and waiting for them to finish.

Edeltria was struggling to start a fire, groaning as she did then slammed the stuff on the ground, running her hands through her hair and walked away from it.

"We always struggle at this part." Brem said as he was playing in his lute without any care. Eris bit her lip. Maybe she can help out now? Using her magic for something good this time. She stood up and walked towards the pile of wood and began to imagine how she wanted it to look. A small and cozy fireplace. She slowly breathed out and felt the warmth vibrate through her arm and golden glitter escaped from her fingertips, lighting up the wood. A smile appeared on her lips as she looked at Brem but he didn't seem to notice but Edeltria did however.

"You can use magic?" She crossed her arms as she walked closer and Eris backed away.

"Yes, is that a problem?" She felt how her face tensed up as Edeltria had a grin on her lips, her eyes observing her from top to toe then let out a chuckle.

"We might have a use for you after all"

"Edeltria, stop treating people as objects. This is why you are so lonely in life." Brem placed a hand on Eris' shoulder which made her feel relieved that he stood up for her. The other girl just flipped her hair to the side and rolled her eyes but she didn't say anything back. She didn't say anything for the rest of the evening.

Brem cooked a meal for all of them then they sat down and ate while Brem was telling a story about Frosa and the kingdom it belongs to.

"Ice kingdom is what they call it since it's so cold there, always snowing. Rumors say that the royal family all have ice powers and that's why it's always cold there. But years ago, they say it was completely green and full of life. But something happened with the royal family and since then it has never been warm" Edeltria finished her meal when Brem finished the story.

"Night" She left them and laid down in her sleeping bag. Eris muttered it back before turning her attention at Brem.

"Is it all just rumors?" She asked, wanting to confirm if it was real or not. Brem smiled and he took the empty bowls and began to clean up.

"It's up to you to believe. Like legends and religions, you never know if it's true or not." Eris thought about her magic and Cashimir, how he was called out by the goddess herself. Then a rumor like that must be true. Eris nodded and helped him clean up after the meal. When they finished they laid down in the sleeping bag as well. Eris closed her eyes and tried to imagine how the ice kingdom would look like. Is the castle out of ice? Are there special flowers that can grow there or is everything dead like during winter?

She eventually started to fall asleep, appearing in a dream world. She was in a cold castle and everything was shimmering, like it was out of diamonds. She made a small twirl as she realized she was wearing a heavy, beautiful warm dress. Music began to play and she closed her eyes as she kept twirling and dancing. She felt a warm hand embrace hers as they began to lead in the dance. She opened her eyes and saw Cashimir, wearing pure white and had a charming smile. Eris felt her heart beating faster but something didn't feel right about him. A smile didn't appear on her lips as she just saw hunger in his eyes. He didn't hold her in the same gentleness as he usually has.

"Oh sweetheart."

"Evodine… Please stop" Eris moved away from her as the disguise of Cashimir melted away.

"I thought I would cheer you up a little. Letting you spend some time with him" Eris hugged herself, everything feeling even more cold. The dress began to feel suffocating.

"I'll meet him… When the time comes… I don't want him to see me… Like this. Confused and lost. Sad like I always am. I want to become stronger and show him I am not a helpless girl anymore…" Eris looked away, seeing the ice castle melt away as well as the dress.

"I don't want empty fantasies…" She added and looked at Evodine who smiled and nodded then made a bow.

"As you wish, darling" She disappeared and everything was black. Eris looked around, not seeing anything and she was all alone. She felt anger on how she left her alone like this, her fear growing inside of her.

Jerking awake, the sun was up and the fire was gone. She slowly breathed out as she sat up then stretched. She didn't understand Evodine. Her motives, her wishes. It began to feel like she was toying with her. The thought made her blood boil and she looked at the top of her hand, stroking it slowly.

"To serve and rule over you…" Her voice was only a whisper but the mark glowed slightly. Eris has just as much power over Evodine as she has over Eris. It's maybe the time to use it.