Diamonds and Ice

Chapter 10

"Good evening, Miss Sterling," Mr. Denver is surprised to see me enter the Public Hall.

I'm surprised that he actually recognized me, since I don't leave the house for social calls very much and get dressed up much less often.

"Good evening," I nod with a smile and start looking for an open seat amongst the gathering crowd.

A waving hand catches my attention. It's the Midaf brother, the one from the market, handsome as always. And it looks like he inviting me to sit next to him.

"Hi," trying to play cool, I casually accept the invitation.

"Hi, stranger. Or should I call you Miss Sterling?"

Oh my goodness, that smile.

"I don't know. What do you think we should call each other, Mr. Midaf?"

"Hmm, good question. Call me Mika from now on."

"You may call me Victoria," it's hard to keep a straight face as we shake hands and finally get to properly introduce ourselves. "Did you come here with your family?"

"No, it's just my father and I. He's on the Village Council, so he has to be here. My mother is still sore about me skipping out on the Matchmaker, so she made me come along. Are you here with your step sisters?"

"No. They're feeling under the weather, so I took the opportunity to get out of the house," I laughed at how different our reasons are for being here.

"Wow, you weren't kidding at all."

"Not kidding about what?"

"About not having much of a social life," he bring up what I told him on that day at the market.

"Hey," I tilt my head. "Maybe, I care about what happened to those poor pigs."

"You're not fooling anyone. I saw you cooked bacon along with the raisin bread."

"And what happened to them in the forest was a complete misuse of pork belly," finding this teasing game amusing, I refuse to let him win.

Just then, the meeting is called to start.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for coming on such a short notice!" sitting behind the council's table, Mika's father welcomes his fellow villagers. "But, what happened today near our village is disturbing and improper!"

"Sounds like my father agrees with you," Mika leans in.

"Shhh," playfully, I nudge him.

"Mr. Denver!" Mika's father motions for the squirrel hunter to come on stage. "Will you please explain to everyone here what is it you saw during your morning hunt."

Uneasy about all the attention he's getting, Mr. Denver steps up. In complete silence, everyone keeps their eyes on him as he tells about the blood in the snow, the frozen pieces of flesh, pale eyes of the severed pig heads looking down on him from the trees, and all the rope that creaked from their weight.

"Thank you, Mr. Denver," a different councilman instructs the witness to get back in his seat.

"Please, bring the evidence!" another one commands.

A cart on wheels busts the back doors open. A thawing pink mass jiggles at every bump in the wood floor. A smell of cold stale blood follows behind it. Just as Mr. Denver described, a pair of hazy eyes lock gaze with me. Even after being dead for a while, I can still see the last of terror that lingers behind them.

Neither Mika or I want to make jokes any more.

"None of the farmers reported any missing or stolen livestock, so we have no grounds to treat this as a crime," Mika's father stands up. "But! This is still no light matter! Is this someone's idea of a sick prank?! Is this some kind of a threat or message of ill will?! We don't know, but the council and I will investigate this! We will get to the bottom of this! If anyone has any information about this occurrence, the council encourages you to step forward whenever you feel comfortable!" He ends his speech with a fist to the table.

I jump back a little.

Mika looks on to me to see if I'm okay.

"He can be a bit scary, but his bark is a lot worse than his bite," he whispers.

"Hm," I give him a weak smile, but his father's bass voice is not what's bothering me.

Something in those dead eyes tells me that this is not a prank or a threat. This has a trap written all over them and the pigs were just bait. But who's hunting who? Is the predator on a hunt? Or is someone hunting the predator?

The meeting is adjourned and right away everyone is eager to share with their own theories about what's going on.

"That was intense," I look at Mika.

"I'm sure they'll figure it out."

"I don't know. There aren't any leads."

"Well, for now we just have to be careful next time we venture out."

I smile, knowing very well that he's talking about me, "Don't worry, I'm sure everyone is going to take this very seriously."

"May I walk you home? Just as a precaution?" he offers his arm.

"You may, as a precaution of course," I slide my hand in.

As captivating his manners are, I can't help but think of the wolf. I can't help, but worry about Liam.

I must tell him that his affairs are no longer private and my village's council is on the trail.

But how do I do that? A simple girl can't just walk in into the Governor's Mansion and even if he wanted me to, my uncalled- for visit would cause rumors and suspicion.

Luckily, my mysterious friend is one step ahead and took a chance, hoping that I would notice his secret message. As we head for the exit, the bulletin board catches my attention. On one of the postings, I recognize his beautiful handwriting. It's a job posting, saying that the Governor's son is opening his office and is looking for a personal assistant from local region. How fortunate that I check off on all of the requirements listed. This sounds like a perfect opportunity, but I have questions about the job. There are a lot of questions I have for him.

"Looking for a job?" Mika reads over my shoulder.

"I am now," I fold it up and put it in my coat pocket.

"A personal assistant at the Governor's Mansion. Sounds fancy."

"Such jobs might not be as glamorous as they sound," I come to think of it.

"Is it really that bad?" Mika tries being careful about sticking his nose into my personal family life.

"Don't worry. I'm sure it will be great," I appreciate his concern.

"Then, I really hope you get it."

His caring sincerity is heartwarming. With our shoulders pressed against each other he walks me home, keeping the dark cold at bay.