Shattered Ice

Assault

"You seem nervous, Retriever," the man on the throne said. The Retriever smiled nervously at the man. "Why is that?"

"I..."

"The only information you have brought me so far is her name. What is it again?"

"Eirwen Cho."

"Eirwen. Blessed snow. Do you have any idea what her power is?"

"She hides under a hood everyday, I will find out soon."

"You don't seem confident about it, do you?"

The Retriever didn't say anything.

"You like her, don't you?"

"What? No! Of course not!"

"You like her. Don't worry, I'm not mad. You just won't be seeing her disposal. It's alright if you like her, just make sure your loyalty to me lies before your love."

"Yes sir."

"Can I trust you?"

"Yes."

"Good."
...

I walked off the bus. Archer wasn't at school today, that means he couldn't save me from Devon who decided to bother me the whole day.

And that meant I had to sit with his group alone. I gotta say, the day was horrible without him. I could feel my heart do a little flutter just thinking about it.

I got off a few drops early to avoid the group. I don't like being around crowds.

I was about to cross the street when to masked men came running out from an alleyway. They stopped in front of me. These guys looked suspicious. They looked at each other.

Then they turned back to me. "Give us all your money!" One of them yelled, pulling out a knife. I stared at the knife. It has blood on it. I stepped back.

"Didn't you hear us? Give me your bag!" The other yelled. I quickly took my bag off and threw it to him with shaking hands.

He began searching through it while the other watched me. "Take your hood off," the one watching me said.

"I...I..."

"Are you deaf? I said take it off!!" He walked closer. I took a step back. I could feel my heel touch the wall behind me.

"She doesn't have anything!" The other said. "At least she didn't refuse like the other one."

Other one? I inched back against the wall. The man with the knife pointed his weapon at me. "Take the hood off!" He ordered.

"I- I can't."

"Fine, I'll take it off for you!" I don't know why he wants to see my face so badly. He reached out his hand.

"No! Don't touch me!" It was a pure warning. A reflex kicked in and I grabbed his wrist. And this time I was touching bare skin. I would have been able to control it but my accelerating heartbeat was no help.

Blue glowing swirls and speck of snowflakes curled around his wrist. I quickly let it go before it traveled any farther. He jerked his hand back, clutching it as frost began to form.

I stared at him with a mixture of fear and sadness. The man searching through my bag stood there, frozen. Then he gathered his wits and threw me back the bag.

He pulled his partner after him and they both ran for their life. I pulled my sleeves up, covering my palms. I closed my bag with shaking hands.

Other one? With my shaking legs, I turned around to find where the two robbers came from. I followed where the ran from. It came from an alleyway. The one that cut through a wall.

I quickly jogged to it despite my jittery legs. I came to it and slowed my pace down cautiously. There, lying on the concrete, lay a boy's body. His back was facing me so I couldn't see his face.

With my hand over my mouth, I slowly stepped to him. Was he dead? Please, don't be. Please, please. As I walked closer, I could see him heave and sigh. He's breathing! He's alive!

I ran over, rolling him over. "Archer?!!!"