Part Four

 Part Four

The storm lasted two more days. Shard didn’t bother trying to escape during that time. Nathalia was correct, of course. If Shard tried to leave, she would only get caught in the blizzard again. When the storm finally settled down, the door was blocked with a pile of snow that Nathalia and Shard had to dig their way out of. By the time they were finished with that, the weather had taken a turn for the better. Sunlight broke through the overcast sky and glistened off the fresh snow. 

“There’s a town called Riftwood not far from here,” Nathalia said as she wrapped herself in multiple layers. “I’m going out for supplies. I’ll be back in a few hours. Try not to get yourself into too much trouble before I get back. Okay?” 

“Sure, sure,” Shard muttered carelessly before chomping down on a scone and drinking hot tea, her breakfast for the day. Shard wasn’t going to tell Nathalia, but she was planning to completely ignore the woman and leave anyway. 

“Shard,” Nathalia said, tone direct and commanding. “Do not leave sight of the house.” 

Shard blinked at her. “Okay, I get it.” 

Nathalia smiled pleasantly before heading out the door. When the door closed, a shiver went down Shard’s spine. Nathalia had not spoken in such a tone before and it set Shard on edge. Shard shook off the feeling and finished her breakfast. Shard pulled on her boots and cloak. She was going to leave the house either way. She had been stuck in this stuffy room too long. It might not have been so bad, if Shard was allowed to explore the other rooms, but Nathalia kept it locked at all times. Meaning, Nathalia had privacy whenever she wanted it. Shard had no such privilege. Debt or not, she was fed up with her accommodations. 

It was bright and the sky was clear when Shard stepped outside. She took a large breath of fresh, brisk air. When she let it out, a puff of steam escaped from her wide grin. A trail of footprints indicated which direction Nathalia had gone, but all the snow around it was untouched. Shard pulled the door closed behind her with a smile. The sky was blue and the snow sparkled in the sunlight. It was the first true view Shard had of what the outside world was like. It didn’t look all that different from Earth. Shard’s boots crunched as she stepped away from the house. The house itself wasn’t all that large, appearing just as small on the outside as it felt on the inside. The area was clear around the house, but it truly was in the middle of the woods, trees towering all around the little clearing. Shard glanced at the trailing leading away from the house. She didn’t exactly want to follow in Nathalia’s footsteps for fear of getting in trouble, but there didn’t seem to be any other direction she could take away from the house. Not a clear path in the front anyway. Instead of following the trail, Shard turned and decided to explore around the outside of the house instead. She circled the house twice. She found a second door in the back, much to her surprise. Shard tugged on the handle, but it was locked from the inside. She frowned. It seems Nathalia had a way of leaving the house and returning without ever needing to use the front door. “Weird,” Shard muttered and continued exploring. Behind the house was a wooden fence marking off a rectangular plot of land. Posts, pots, and weird shapes under the snow caught Shard’s attention. She leaned over the short fence and brushed the snow aside to find evidence that the little plot had been a garden at one point. 

Beyond the fenced plot, the woods encircled the house. Only then Shard noticed a gap between the trees wide enough to follow. Another way out. She followed it immediately. As she went along the path, it started to curve between the trees. Shard stopped and looked back. She could still see the house between the trunks, but a little farther ahead she would lose sight of it entirely. Do not leave sight of the house. The words echoed in Shard’s mind. Isn’t that what Nathalia said? What a strange thing to say. Was it a warning or a command? What did it matter? Shard wasn’t bound to Nathalia. Shard could leave at any time and go as far away as she wanted. So why did she stop? Shard looked ahead into the forest. There was no sign of danger, only trees and snow and sunlight. Shard tilted her head. There was no sound either. No wind. No birds. Only the sound of her own breathing with each puff of steam. Shard looked back at the house again. This is ridiculous, she chided herself. There’s nothing to be afraid of. Just keep moving. Shard lifted her boot to take another step. That was when she heard it. A low growl. 

Slowly turning back to the path in the woods, Shard spotted a wolf in the middle of the path. Where did that come from? How did it sneak up on her? Shard gulped and took a small step back. The wolf growled again and stepped closer, head low and teeth bared. There’s no way I can make it back to the house in time, Shard thought. I can’t outrun that thing. I can’t fight it either. The wolf inched closer, snarling. Move! Run! Fight! Do something! Do anything! Don’t just stand here! As much as she mentally yelled at herself to do something, Shard could not move. She stared at the wolf, unblinking, unmoving. She even stopped breathing. 

The wolf snarled again and leapt at Shard. With a squeak, Shard dropped to the ground. She covered her head with her arms, squeezed her eyes shut, and wished for a wall to protect her. Shard expected to feel the vicious wolf attack her. Instead, she heard a thump and a yelp. Waiting a moment, Shard remained curled on the ground. She didn’t feel or hear anything more so she opened her eyes. Her wish for a wall had been granted as a shield of ice jutted in front of her. “No way,” Shard whispered, cautiously rising and staring at the wall. Shard stepped around the wall to look for danger, but the wolf was already gone. With a sigh of relief, she inspected the ice barrier. There was a crater in the middle with cracks around it, the point of impact where the wolf smashed into it unexpectedly. Shard swept her hand over the ice. Plain, normal, frozen ice. There didn’t seem to be anything mysterious or magical about it at all, aside from the fact that the wall appeared out of nowhere. Shard knocked on the wall with her knuckles. Solid. Shard frowned and stared down at her hands. If she could make a wall appear, what else could she do?

Shard turned to one of the trees closest to her. Standing her ground, Shard focused on the trunk and punched the air in front of her. Nothing happened. She looked at her hand and punched the air again with the same results. “What’s the secret?” Shard asked aloud. “Go go ice powers!” She punched the air. “Ice, ice, wall!” She scooped her hands toward the ground and pulled them up. Nothing. Shard frowned again. “What am I missing?” Looking back at the ice wall, Shard’s gaze drifted to the snow on the ground. That gave her an idea. Shard walked back to the garden fence by the house. She scooped up a bunch of snow in her hands and packed it into a ball. She set the ball on top of one of the fence posts and squished snow around the base so the ball would stay in place. Scooping snow off the ground again, she made a smaller ball and set it on top of the first, making a two tier snowman on the fence post. She collected a few twigs to give the snowman arms, eyes, and a smile. She stepped back and looked at her creation. She rubbed her palms together and blew hot air into her cupped hands. She took a few more steps back and stared the happy snowman down with a determined expression. “Ok, little guy. You’re going down!” Shard punched the air in front of her again, aiming to send an icicle into the adorable creation. Again, nothing happened. She punched the air three more times and still came up with nothing. Shard glared at her hands. She narrowed her eyes at the happy snowman. Marching up to it, Shard adjusted the twig forming a smile, turning it into a frown and giving the snowman angry eyes. 

Shard walked back to her original spot and focused on the angry snowman. She took a deep breath and tried to picture exactly what she wanted to happen. Did she want to impale the snowman with an icicle or knock him off his perch with a snowball? Neither, really, she finally admitted to herself. Shard folded her arms and stared at the makeshift enemy. His angry little face wasn’t as intimidating as she was trying to make it out to be. Shard huffed and stared at her feet. She thought about the storm and the wolf. Looking back at the snowman, she tried to picture it growing into a huge monster and coming to attack her. Shard turned and threw her hand out to shield herself from the imaginary assailant. When she looked back, there was no ice wall, just an angry little snowman staring back at her. It was no use. The little guy wasn’t scary enough. “Sorry, buddy. You’re too cute.” Shard walked up to the snowman and knocked him off the post with the back of her hand. Shard gave up and went back to the house. She was tired. It was too cold to stay outside playing in the snow and she was sure the wolf would turn up again sooner or later. She had entirely forgotten about leaving.