When Flames Fall
Her hair was brilliant fire in the wind, her eyes cold as ice. She looked like a superhero in her midnight cloak with the snow whipping around her in a blizzard. When she looked at him, it was as though his very soul was freezing over-not from fear, but intimidation and respect. Her stoic face was a mask. Behind it, she had no idea what she was doing. She could only hope that he didn’t notice the hint of uneasiness in her eyes, the way she nervously fidgeted with her ornate jacket just a little bit more than usual. She had always been good at pretending. That was how they had gotten this far, after all. He didn’t see her anxious tendencies nor did he have any suspicions that she was anything less than completely confident. In fact, he couldn’t see much of anything. A thick white blanket of snow completely clouded his vision. They had been traveling for days. Weeks, maybe. It was hard to keep track of the time when the sun never set. All the days blended together into one long arctic adventure that at first was daring and spontaneous, but now was just debilitating. His feet ached. She longed for a bed that wasn’t made of frozen slush. A typical meal of barely thawed berries and stale bread was only ending when she saw them over in the distance. Their charcoal steeds were majestic yet menacing, the men on their backs aristocratic yet alarming. No words needed to be said; the only thing to do was run. An elusive path through the forest also contained significant risks. Fallen tree trunks seemed to materialize out of no where while branches snatched at their faces stealing skin and leaving bloody gashes. Her heart was racing and his feet no longer ached in the adrenaline rush. Their bodies moved as though they were performing an elaborate dance, gracefully stepping around obstacles and twirling past thick boughs. She missed a step. In slow motion, he watched from behind, horrified as she tumbled. Her pale body lay crumbled like a rag doll, her flames a halo around her fragile head. It was wrong to see her this way; vulnerable. She wasn’t supposed to be broken, she was supposed to be strong and hold him together when all he wanted to do was fall apart. Breath was absent from her lips. Her heart was silent beneath her ivory dress that made her look like a fallen angel against the glimmer of the snow. He knew it was too late for her. He could hear the stallions and their passengers approaching. He had to keep going. He brushed a lone lock of light off of her forehand and started running without looking back.