Betrothed to Jack Frost: Fire's Fury **SOON TO BE PUBLISHED**

7) A Little Hel

A/N "Dance with the Devil" by Breaking Benjamin



"To hell with him and his papers," Elle snarled the moment she finished reading. Snivel the elf shivered nearby, clearly unprepared for the onslaught of her fury. It was evident that no one had briefed him on the nature of the delivery.
"It has been MONTHS," Elle seethed, controlling her irrational desire to burst into flames. She set the thick papers back inside the envelope to resist setting them on fire. "MONTHS! And he signed these the same day we married?!" Elle stalked around the coffee shop, snarling profanities all the while. Poor Snivel shook with nerves, clearly not knowing what to do or say. A heavy, pregnant pause filled the air. Nothing was said for the longest time until the elf finally spoke again.

"Sh-should I come back for a signature at another time?" he asked feebly.

Elle had been glaring out the window of the coffee shop before her head snapped down to look at him, her eyes narrowing. "What did you just say...?"

Snivel was slack-jawed as he watched Elle, clearly unsure of what to say or do next. "My queen, I only mean... er..."
"If Jack Frost wants a divorce so bad, HE can be the one to give me these papers," Elle exclaimed vehemently, her voice laced with frustration. She gestured wildly towards the snow outside, her hand slicing through the air. "He was clearly in the area!" Her words echoed in the room as she punctuated her statement with a jump, her anger palpable in every movement.

"He could have stopped by at any time!" Her hands were engulfing in flames, spooking Snivel. She knew her eyes were most likely changing color for the small elf backed away slowly. Elle's long sleeves shriveled and burned up quickly, making her long-sleeved black shirt now look like a short sleeve. Taking a deep breath, Elle knew she had to calm down. She would accidentally set off the fire alarms to the shop if she weren't careful. She couldn't have that happen, not again...

"Perhaps I'll come by in an hour when you have a moment to calm yourself down...?" ventured Snivel timidly, attempting to diffuse the tension in the air.

Elle struggled to contain her anger, recognizing that Snivel was merely a messenger caught in the crossfire of Jack's decisions. However, his last comment ignited a fierce determination within her. With a concentrated effort, she channeled her energy, summoning flames into her right hand. The fire danced and flickered, casting an ominous glow in the room.

As Snivel's eyes widened with fear, the bells on his robes jingled nervously. Elle's narrowed gaze remained fixed on him, her silent command cutting through the tense atmosphere. "Leave," she commanded.

Snivel needed no further prompting. With a frightened glance, he vanished in an instant, leaving behind only the echo of his departure and the lingering scent of burnt ember.

Elle felt proud of herself as she caused the fireball in her hand to vanish nearly as fast as Snivel had. She was getting better at controlling the flames. Only Elle had been two seconds too slow. She set off the fire alarm that was unfortunately placed just above her head. Powerful jets of water soon started streaming down on her as well as all around the coffee shop. A horrible alarm started blaring as well, no doubt the alarm alerting the local fire department the building was in flames. The fire department would have no idea that nothing was wrong up until multiple trucks arrived for inspection to see things for themselves.
"This has not been one of my finer moments," admitted Elle to herself, wiping sopping wet strands of hair from her eyes. Due to what was most definitely the influence of immortals and magic, the file containing the divorce papers was waterproof. Elle grabbed the envelope off the bar top and sure enough, there wasn't a drop of moisture on them even as the sprinkler doused her completely in water. As Elle went in search of her cell phone, she tried thinking of a lie that sounded somewhat plausible to explain not only to Jake but the fire department as well. She was so distracted by what she was going to say that she didn't notice the little girl standing outside of Bean Bodega's front windows. Elle started calling Jake, momentarily forgetting about the little girl. As he finally answered the phone, Elle's mouth slowly fell open. There was something very wrong with this scenario.