“What will you do when you arrive at Frostfell?” The beautiful woman returned to asking questions when Adriel was still silent while looking at her. "I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave if you don't answer my question clearly."

Adriel thought the change in character was quite impressive. He didn't know where his courage had come from, but he responded to the woman's words in much the same way.

The young man crossed his arms over his chest, raised his eyebrows, and spoke in a mocking voice. “Why do I have to tell you everything when I don't even know your name? All I know is that you befriended an ugly monster that hurt my precious friend over there, and you expect me to open up to you?"

The woman seemed quite surprised by the response she got. She blinked her beautiful eyes a few times before letting out a soft sigh. By now Adriel was sure everything the woman was doing was being done gently, he almost felt bad for behaving like an impolite guest.

Right. The woman had clearly referred to him and Meyara as her guests, so could she possibly be the owner of the cave? Or the boss of the monsters? Adriel really needed to know before deciding on his next move.

The woman's heart must be as beautiful as her appearance because in an instant she changed back to her polite demeanor. Bowing deeply while tugging at the sides of her navy blue dress slightly, she introduced herself. “You can call me Eva. Once again I'm deeply sorry for your inconvenience, but you need to stop calling Juma a monster. Don't we all like to be called something we're not?"

Adriel snorted. "Okay, Eva. I'm Adriel, and I admire your wisdom. But he's a monster. Can't you see his gigantic body?"

“Then you can just see him as a giant. Monsters and giants are different. Monsters are closely related to evil intentions and bring badness. Juma is not anything like that."

Adriel strongly disagreed with Eva's words. Nonetheless, seeing the woman bow down to ask him to fix the way he called her best friend made the young man couldn't bear to ignore her.

“They must be very close friends,” he thought. "I don't feel any danger like before. The white energy radiating from her must have stabilized the ugly giant's negative energy."

"I think you've shown me how much you don't want to talk to me anymore," Eva suddenly said while Adriel was deep in thought. "Then I have no other choice but to ask you to continue your journey away from here. Take your friend with you. She should be awake in a few minutes from now."

She turned around without waiting for a response. Juma kept whining, saying that he couldn't walk well on his stone soles. Hearing that, Eva touched his soles, and spoke in a soft tone, almost in a whisper but Adriel could hear her clearly.

“Try walking or crawling to the edge of the Lake of The Lost. The frost there will help you get rid of that hardened skin.”

Adriel took a sharp breath. Eventually, he was able to piece together every piece of information he could get his hands on.

The beautiful creatures, the icy wind and feeling, the lake and frost that Eva had just mentioned … all of them meant only one thing.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Why didn't you say that you were one of the seers in Frostfell?" he exclaimed in one breath. He continued after making sure Eva turned to face him one more time. "That would be a lot easier, right? That way, I can give you an answer willingly. My friend and I have no ill will here, we just want to ask for help."

"What kind of help?"

Adriel took his and Meyara's belongings and walked over to Meyara's body. He touched the girl's forehead gently to make sure she didn't have a fever. "I'll explain everything after you walk us there." He glanced down with a heavy sigh. "She needs plenty of rest and a thick rug to lie on, please."

Eva stared at him intently, as if she was reading every thought that went through his head to make sure he wasn't a threat. Then her gaze shifted to Meyara who groaned slightly in pain. With a heavy heart she nodded. "Okay. I trust you for now. We will provide you with all the medicine you and your friend need, and maybe we can fulfill your wish as a peace offering as well. After all, Juma did hurt you both."

Juma looked like he wanted to protest hearing that, but Eva had already turned around while spreading her hands. She caressed the surface of a nearby cave wall, instantly transforming the surface from a dull stone into a clear, see-through stone containing many colorful waves of light. The waves move according to the direction of her touch, reminding Adriel of the visual manipulation abilities that used to be Meyara's specialty.

But the young man firmly believed that what he saw was not just the result of mere magic manipulation. The cave actually reacted to the woman's touch. The cold wind was slowly getting stronger, making Adriel have to clench his jaw to prevent his teeth from chattering. He hugged Meyara tightly, hoping he could provide some warmth for the girl.

The top of the cave that had turned clear suddenly dropped. Each clear stone positioned itself to a lower position, lined up to form a ladder leading to the hole that opened above.

“This shortcut was only formed under my command, you will no longer be able to pass through it a second time without me accompanying you. I have to do this in case you guys are bad people.” Eva explained without even turning her head. “You can't know the original path to Frostfell to prevent you from going back and forth as you please.”

Adriel gulped. “There's nothing you should worry about us. You can keep my promise.”

The promise that Adriel made in a hurry must have sounded convincing, because Eva didn't say anything else and only directed Adriel to follow her. The young man carried Meyara on his back and began trailing behind Eva with Juma who was dragging his heavy legs right behind him.

What greeted his sight as he stepped onto the last step was an endless expanse of white snow, with streaks of light in the sky, illuminating the evening that should have looked dark. Adriel almost thought they were in someone's ice globe had he not seen the birds flying above. There was no way anyone could create such a detailed ice globe, after all, he was certain that he was a real person and not a magically living toy display.

Without asking anything else, he continued following Eva. Swallowing all the questions out of fear that Eva would change her mind and cancel helping them. Even though his mind kept wandering, how long would they continue to explore the pile of snow that felt like it would suck him down at any time?

Small movements and heavy breathing on his back distracted him. Right beside his ear he heard Meyara groaning softly. "Meyara?" he asked carefully.

"I'm cold," was the only response.

"Hang in there. It shouldn't be far." Adriel managed to answer in a confident tone even though he, himself, doubted it because until now he had not seen any signs of settlement.

Just then, Eva stopped walking and turned towards them. “We are close. Watch your step lest you slip.”

“Slip?”

Adriel didn't understand what Eva meant until he stood right beside the woman. He was surprised when he realized they were standing at the end of a pile of snow high enough to resemble a cliff.

It wasn't the height that made him gape, but what lay beneath them.

“I hereby welcome you two to Frostfell.”

***