Beauty Restored

A dim light reached into the small hole of the cave opening and tickled Gabriel’s nose. Though the light was weak and distant compared to the light at home, he sensed the small energy from the sun just the same. The little bits of light began to dance upon his eyelids and Gabriel knew he had to start making his way to the wintery mountains. Mauriden had told him that the mountain in the north would be where the stones would be located, if they still existed. He started to move and felt a twinge in his back where a rock had lodged itself during his restless night of sleep. At least this cave had provided cover from the creature and what little warmth and protection from the cold that it could during the night. Gabriel crawled his way over the rocky ground, staying low to avoid the close ceiling above, and was relieved to stand up fully once he reached the outside of the cave. He pulled a small pouch from his satchel that contained some summer berries and greens. Food that wasn’t completely frozen solid seemed hard to find in this realm of frigid ice and snow. After he ate a handful of berries, Gabriel put the small pouch of food away and pulled out the enchanted map Mauriden had given him. He glanced around the clearing and tried to decipher the direction he should be heading. After getting a pretty good idea of where he was at, he packed up the rest of his satchel and was about to set out when a flash of color caught his eye. A patch of royal blue fabric waved at him in the chilly winter wind. Gabriel approached carefully, unsure of what he might be stumbling upon. As he came closer, he could see what appeared to be a body lying under the bright blue stitching of a once beautiful dress. The dress was torn and tattered but he could tell it was very elegantly made with the threads of silver forming delicate snowflakes in striking contrasts to the brilliant blue against which they fell. Dark marks of purple and tinges of red stood out in a stark, painful contrast to the pale white skin of the maiden. The prince knelt beside her motionless body to see if she was still breathing. As he brushed the mess of tangled curls from her delicate face, his heart stopped and the world around him stood frozen in time. Never before had he seen such beauty. The delicate beads of ice that laced her long eyelashes. The shimmering glimmer of her frosted cheeks. The pale blush of her frozen lips. The prince’s gaze was interrupted by the slight groan that escaped her frosted lips. She was alive. Relief spread across the prince’s body as he watched the soft flutter of the maiden’s eyelashes. The beads of ice on her delicate lashes reflected the sun and looked like an iridescent butterfly taking flight. The fluttering stopped long enough to reveal a pool of deep crystal irises staring up at him. The endless clarity of the eyes staring back at him held his gaze until another moan from the maiden shook him from the trance. “Are you alright?” he asked, gently brushing another wayward curl from her face. The warm touch of his finger against her icy skin felt like the heat of a blazing fire. The strange sensation sent snakes of heat slithering down her cheek and neck and down to the tips of her left hand. Erianna’s pupils narrowed in her crystal blue eyes and she swiftly rolled to her side and pushed herself up in an attempt to escape her captor. Her sudden movement caused the prince to fall backwards, which was just the effect she hoped for. The prince, who had become a sprawled mess of legs and arms in the snow, called out to her, “Please. Calm down. I am not trying to hurt you. I want to help.” He scrambled to his knees and reached out to grab her. Erianna tripped on her gown in her haste to get away and lurched forward, giving the prince an opportunity to close the small gap between them. She quickly gathered as much of the full gown in her hands as she could so she could get to higher ground over her pursuer and defend herself. Gabriel launched himself at her before she could pull herself up and pinned her to the ground. Erianna began thrashing about in an attempt to free herself. He was so much stronger than she was and her only defense would be to outsmart him. When he grabbed her wrists, he was ill prepared for the sharp pain that pricked the skin of his arm like a small thorn and then blossomed into a full flower of pain. His grip immediately loosened and Erianna looked up, stunned by the sudden cease in struggle. The eyes of her captor glazed over with pale shock and his right hand left her wrist completely to grasp his left arm. Erianna scrambled out from underneath him and crawled breathlessly backwards until her back came into contact with a tree not too far from where they were. As she focused on the man she had just freed herself from, a sea of emerald green eyes met her crystal blue eyes. Something in his vibrant eyes caused her to be lost to the world around her for a moment. A tempest of pain clouded his eyes and broke their gaze as a drop of crimson red fell slowly and silently to the pure, snow white ground.