Saving My Broken Ice Princess

Chapter Three

“What are you waiting for?” Yule called to Báine impatiently.

“I’m sorry”, she quickly apologized and rushed to the top of the stairway where he waited. Báine poked the dangling crystals on the low hanging chandelier as they climbed to the second level. She kept pace with him as she contemplated questions. “Brother”, she called to him. He grunted to show he was listening. “How old are you?”

“Seventeen,” he answered, “and you?”

“I’ll be sixteen in January”. All she got was a hum in return. Báine hovered close but not too close for fear of annoying him, “did you know about me?”

“Yea”, he snorted. They entered the family room, and he motioned to the walls, “look around you.”

The family room was warm, and the crackle of wood in the fireplace was comforting. Handing from the white wood ceiling, silver Craftsman chandeliers light the space. Large arch-top casement windows lined the extreme ends of the wall, granting a view of the evening sky and the dimly lit driveway. Báine drew closer to the rustic stone fireplace and its alabaster mantle against the backdrop of the bleached sandstone wall. Above the mantle, it hid the rough texture sandstone walls under a collage of family portraits. This piece didn’t exist in her memories. Without thinking, Báine drew nearer to the pictures, her fingers caressing the abstract design of the silver picture frame. The images flowed together, irrespective of the various sizes and shapes of the gold and silver frames, as if they hoped to tell a story. The people, frozen in time, all wore smiles, except Yule. In the pictures with Yule and their father, the younger version of himself smiled widely. However, in every picture where he was alone, he looked sad, lonely even. She continued to follow the narrative and her brows furrowed. She was in a blue dress and ballet shoes. The child in the picture held onto her hat and smiled at the camera. Báine clearly remembers this day, however, she doesn’t remember taking this picture.

“I never knew if you were alive or whatever.” Yule looked down at his sister.

When he had first entered this household five years ago, he hoped to meet his sibling. However, no one could answer his questions and those who knew refused to share. Whenever the loneliness became unbearable, he’d wonder about his sister, what she would be doing. After a year, he became fully acclimated and his interest in this mystery person faded. Yule watched Báine’s rise in confusion, but he will never admit he was the reason for the more recent photos.

“That being said”, he moved away, “I didn’t say stop”, Yule called impatiently.

“Coming”, she chased after him.

Sofia smiled. The boy was standoffish, but in no way selfish. If he left his sister behind, he waited before calling out to her and waited again for Báine to get close before he continued moving.

Yule arched a brow but didn’t move from his spot. Báine looked at him, confused. “Why are you still wearing your glasses inside?” he asked. “While you’re at it, take off that hat too.”

“Oh this”, Bain hesitated.

“Too slow”, he scolded and snatched them himself.

“Hey!” She reached for her items, but his long arms kept them out of her reach.

“Don’t throw a wobble. I already know what you look like”, he reminded her. Báine quickly gave up and lowered her head. She also pressed her hand to her forehead. “What scares ya?

“Nothing”, she refused to meet his eyes, “anyway it’s rude to take others’ things give them back!”

“Oh, so you can raise your voice,” Yule taunted.

Báine gasped. Comically, she moved briskly and found refuge behind Sofia. “I am being bullied”, she complained.

“Young Master, please return the articles to the Young Miss,” Sofia played mediator.

“Fine”, he huffed. He strolled towards the ruddy teen. “Here”, he held out the sunhat.

“Thank you”, she reached out and retrieved it. Yule grabbed her wrist the moment she emptied his hand.

Báine tried to jerk out of his hold, but he tightened it. “How are you so cold?” he asked startled.

Before Báine could speak, Sofia separated them. “The Young Miss has always had a rather low body temperature”, she explained.

Yule hummed. He quickly pulled back when Báine tried to take her glasses from him. “Ta for the reminder”, he shook the glasses in front of her. “Do you wear these because of the old hag?” he asked seriously.

“Young Master!” Sofia sighed, exasperated, “that’s no way to speak of the old Madam.”

Yule merely hummed. “Was it her?” he asked Báine again.

The Old Madam referred to Marek’s mother, Hilda Edurne. The mention of the sharp-tongued woman made Báine fold her lips. No one made her feel as insecure about her eyes and hair, like Old Madam Hilda could. Báine can still remember the disdain in Hilda’s malevolent Hazel-blue eyes whenever she made the mistake if entering the woman’s view.

Seeing that Báine still refused to answer, he sighed again. “Well, don’t pay her any mind. Stay close to me when she visits”, Sofia smiled at the pride in his voice. “She won’t bother you if I’m around.” Báine looked at him, surprised by his confidence. “Oh, you looked up”, he smiled.

Báine took a moment to order her thoughts. “Did she say something awful to you too?”

“Yea,” he tucked her sunglasses into his shirt. “Two years after you guys left, they brought me to the house. She threw a hissy fit about having a child out of wedlock and making that child an heir.”

“Wait heir?” Báine looked at him, surprised.

“What?” he arched a brow, “you want to take over?”

“No! No!” Báine shook her head wildly. The current owner is of the estate is Marek and before she left, Báine was next in line. Her paternal grandparents weren’t very fond of that idea, but now a “worse” option is on the table.

“We don’t have to fight for it if you really want it,” Yule blinked at her. “I’m only doing it to piss them off.” He grinned at her. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you and Mrs. Willows so let’s wrangle the shares out of their hands and split it fifty-fifty.”

“Deal”, it was a weight off her shoulders, so Báine has no complaints.

“Don’t forget. If the old hag bothers you, come find me.” Yule puffed his chest.

“Young Master”, Sofia sighed.

Yule continued as if he didn’t hear, “she’s all bark and no bite. If you stand up to her, she’ll leave you alone. If you can’t, it’s fine, just stick with me. Got it?”

“I got it”, Báine nodded.

“Good”, he smiled at her, “let’s continue the tour.” Báine followed Yule closely as he showed her the recent additions to the top floor. They came to the east wing. It housed bedrooms only.

“This part hasn’t changed at all,” Báine noted.

“I guess not,” Yule shrugged. The walls and floor are plain, so he moved on. “This is my room, and yours is the door on the right,” Yule pointed each. “The bath is at the end of the hall. Across from us are two guest rooms and the master room is behind us.”

“So the room arrangements changed,” Báine nodded.

“Young Masters, why don’t you play together until dinner?” Sofia suggested, “I will fetch you after.”

“So tour of the lower level can wait”, he hummed. “Aye”, Yule made a shooing motion. Sofia bowed and dismissed herself. “What do you want to do?” he turned to his sister.

“I dunno”, she shrugged.

“You like books?” he asked as he opened his door. When Báine nodded, he motioned for her to follow. “Howay.” Báine stepped into the room and giggled. “What?” Yule asked, miffed.

“Nothing,” she calmed down, “I don’t know what I was expecting.”

Yule arched a brow, smiling, and leave her be. He moved to scan his collection. The room had red panel walls all-around, large windows on every side draped in a grey and white chevron patterned curtain. Mahogany stained hickory hidden by the antique rug, the wool woven in red and cream patterns. The room boasted a polish, dark oak bed set. Báine immediately noticed his work space. Wooden sleeves lined the walls on multiple levels, leaving a gap in the middle of the first to third level to accommodate the work desk that was pressed against the wall. Books filled the fourth to sixth level, interesting, toy cars and airplanes occupied the lower levels.

“Cars?” Báine drew closer to that shelf.

“Doesn’t everyone like cars?” he answered vaguely.

“I guess”, she agreed. “Wait”, she dared not touch it but got closer, “this isn’t a toy, it’s a model. Did you assemble it yourself?” Báine looked at him in awe.

Yule glanced at her. “Well aye, no big deal.”

“Give your head a wobble”, she scoffed. “Yule, this is wicked!” The model she was looking at was rather small, with near unnoticeable parts. The patience and dexterity to assemble it is praiseworthy.

He pretended deafness to cover his embarrassment. Soon, Yule found what he was looking for. “This”, Báine looked up from the model she was currently inspecting. “I haven’t read this as yet”, he continued, “let’s read it together.”

“Aye”, Báine agreed.

Yule took a running start and threw himself on the queen-size panel bed. The mahogany covers had a simple lattice print. Yule patted the spot next to him, “story time.” A knock on the door that cut through the teens’ laughter marked the hours that passed. “Come in”, Yule called when he calmed down.

“Supper is ready, Young Masters”, Sofia spoke with a wide smile.

They rolled off the bed, Báine trotted forward and Yule followed, laughing. Sofia tailed the children with a smile. They chattered and giggled the duration of the journey to the dining hall. Not forgetting their table manners, the children detour to the first floor powder room to wash their hands and titivated themselves. They greeted all those in the dining hall and sat by one another. Giggles filled the room while the maids worked.

“What’s so funny?” Melonie asked. Her lips curved in an amused smile.

“We read a book together,” Báine smiled, her eyes glimmering, “Yule couldn’t spoil because it’s new!”

Beside her, the boy’s shoulders shook. “She’s a doyle”, his quiet laughter escaped.

Báine folded her lips biting back her own laughter, “she really is.”

“What was it about?” Melonie’s lips curved higher.

Melonie chuckled to herself as the two animatedly retold the adventures of a silly human who shared her home with a ghost. Sofia had brought the report earlier, but seeing it with her own eyes satisfied Melonie’s soul, the children got along better than expected. Melonie had no complaints, as this was the most favourable outcome. Chatter ceased when Melonie appointed Yule to say grace. Afterwards, the clatter or utensils filled the room.

“It’s time for news”, Báine glanced at the wall clock. The maid attending to her nodded and switched on the wall mounted television.

The reports of the upcoming election and complaints regarding public infrastructure. The teens gradually zoned out the news when red flashed across the screen, the banner read “Breaking News”, and expectedly suddenly the news anchor stopped her current report.

“This just in,” she announced and followed up with a disclaimer, “the footage about to be shown may disturb some viewers, parental discretion is advised.” A smaller screen appeared on the bottom right, an agitated crowd armed with cell phones videoing the smoking park. “It’s reported the fire department was called by residents of the Raundsrith community to extinguish a blaze at Coronation Park. We turn over to Edward, who is reporting live from the scene. Edward?”

“Thank you Michelle,” the camera panned to the reporter. “As you can see behind me, firemen are still trying to quell the flames and prevent them from spreading further. However, the law enforcement became involved when a body was discovered. The cause of death is fire, but the state of the victim raised questions. Further into the park, police have investigated the crime scene. We have Detective Henry to answer some of those questions. Sir, what can you tell us about the body?”

“Goodnight,” Henry said perfunctorily. “I’ve spoken to the Captain Nicholas, and he said that he and his men arrived on the scene about 6:27 but found the body at the heart of the blaze 6:41. That window is certainly enough for someone to die of shock or organ failure, but the body looked like it had been burning for longer than fifteen minutes. When we arrived on the scene to start our investigation, we found that this indeed is a cover-up and the perpetrator attempted to dispose of the evidence.”

“Do you believe this is connected to the string of occult murders?” Edwards asked.

There was an ineffable tiredness in Henry’s eyes. “Fortunately for us, the flames did not erase the perpetrator’s handiwork. Similar to the other reports, the throat and wrists were slashed. However, my team and I believe the body was dumped here rather than this place being the site of the murder. However, only further investigation can-”

His words were cut off by an officer jogging to them. “Detective”, he addressed Henry, “you should look at this.”

“Excuse me”, Henry moved quickly towards the yellow tape.

“Another shocking find made by the authorities,” Edward addressed the audience. “This would be the twenty-second documented murder, twelve of those murders committed in this year alone with the first murder dating back to the summer of last year.” The screen transitioned to show different crime scenes. All have one eerie similarity. “The string of murders are believed to be founded in an unknown occult practise as the victims are often found sitting in a circle with strange writing.” The characters that seemed like runes made Báine’s hair stand on end. She soothed her hand subconsciously. She zoned out the report and turned to her mother to find solace only. Melonie’s eyes were blown wide with fear, the fork in her hand trembling. She glanced at her side. Yule and Sofia also expressed a muted fear. “This is Edward, reporting live from the 2 Castle Terrace, Bridnorthmid. Now back to you, Michelle.”