The Counterfeit

ten

A couple of hours had passed and Jasmine had arranged with Susan to set out just after dawn.

In the meantime, she'd been exploring the village even further and had wandered off with Hannah to the igloos. They were perfectly shaped and the smooth ice glistened.

"Who wouldn't want to live in these?" Hannah remarked, impressed. Jasmine pulled a face.
"Me. It's too cold." Even though Susan had kindly provided Jasmine and her friends with fur coats like her own, Jasmine was still freezing to the bone.
"It's not cold, you've just got thin skin."

Jasmine smiled and shook her head.
"Come on. We'll get colder standing around."

The pair crunched through the snow and through the igloos. It was awfully quiet however.
"Something doesn't feel right." Hannah said lowly, her tone sounding nervous. Jasmine's eyes darted in all different directions to see if anyone else was around, but there wasn't a person in sight.

"Yeah, it's too quiet."
"Why do you think there's no one here?" Hannah's voice dropped to a whisper.
"I don't know."

They continued to walk, slower than their normal paces, until they reached an igloo with a wooden sign beside the entrance. The only one with a sign.

"I don't think we're supposed to be here." Jasmine acknowledged Hannah's statement, but didn't respond. Curiosity rushed through her as she stepped forward to get a closer look at the sign.

There was nothing on it except one bold, blood-red word engraved into the wood; Ingressum.

"What does Ingressum mean?"
"I don't know, but I think we should go back. It doesn't sound inviting."
"Hannah, what if there's something these people are hiding from us? What if it's something we could solve?"

"What if it's not?" Hannah sighed in frustration. "Look, I get that these things interest you, but we don't know what we're getting into. It could be something terrible. It could ruin you." Jasmine dropped her gaze to her feet. "I'm sorry but I can't afford to lose you. To anyone. Or anything."

"You won't, I promise. It's just this time okay? Please, I need to know." Hannah pursed her lips and hesitated to respond. Finally she let out a deep breath.
"Fine."

With that, Jasmine kneeled down into the snow and crawled through the entrance, Hannah reluctant but close behind. "I wish this was bigge-- ow!" Hannah said loudly, rubbing her head as she stood up. "Geez. It's not funny, that hurt!" She whined when she saw Jasmine trying to keep from giggling.

The mood instantly dropped when Hannah removed her hand from her head and pointed ahead of her, horror plastered over her face.

Jasmine cautiously twisted around. Now she wasn't sure if she wanted to look due to Hannah's expression. But did she have a choice?

When Jasmine caught sight of what Hannah was gawking at, she blinked. Repeatedly.
"Hey Jaz? Could you do me a favour and pinch me?" Jasmine turned her head to look at Hannah and slowly shook her head as if to say this is not the time.

What was slumped down against the ice only a metre away from them wasn't a what, but a who. A young girl, no older than Jasmine herself, was unconscious. She was chained to the ice by her hands and feet, her fingertips blue.

Her brown hair looked like a bird's nest and she had a streak of baby blue coloured hair on the left side of her head. It reminded Jasmine for a split second of the ladder she'd climbed up out of the nothingness.

The girl was in rags and her face was mostly covered by her hair, but what intrigued Jasmine most was the purple patches and bloodied scratches all over her skin. She looked like she'd been fighting with lions or alligators. But Jasmine knew that most likely wasn't the case because surely the people of the Glacies would've helped her. Cleaned her wounds.

This could've meant so many things but to Jasmine, only one word swirled in her mind: abuse.

"What on earth happened to her?" Hannah barely whispered. Jasmine said nothing. She took a step foward only to be grabbed at the arm by Hannah. "You don't know what you're getting into."

Jasmine looked between Hannah and the beaten down girl. Twice.
"You're right. I don't know." Hearing that, Hannah dropped her arm. Which only encouraged Jasmine to step closer to the girl.
"Jasmine!" She whisper-shouted.

"It's fine! I'm just checking her wrist, that's all." Hannah breathed anxiously as Jasmine knelt down beside the girl.
"How did I wind up here?" She murmured to herself.

Jasmine looked up at the girl's face every half a second to make sure she didn't notice her. Steadily she tilted her head to read the girl's wrist.

Animo.

"Animo." She breathed. "What does that mean again?" Before Hannah could answer, the girl flinched very suddenly causing Jasmine to stumble back into the snow.
"Oh my god," Hannah strained herself from yelling as she pulled Jasmine up and gripped onto her arm with both hands.

Jasmine's eyes grew wide as she listened to the chained up girl cough and splutter like she had a huge furball lodged in her throat. It was possibly the most unpleasant sound Jasmine had ever heard.

As she coughed and choked, droplets of blood splattered across the snow, staining it bright red.

Jasmine grew less tense the longer she stood watching and actually began to feel pity rise up inside her.

Finally the girl stopped and leaned back against the wall of ice, her head making a small thud as she hit it.

"Who the hell are you?" She croaked, her tone was sharp with hurt. Jasmine and Hannah exchanged anxious looks and Hannah nodded for Jasmine to take a step towards her.

"We're just stopping by." Jasmine thought she would've sounded shaky and was surprised to hear herself sounding confident.
"To see me? Their prized possession? Yeah right." A pause.

"Prized possession?"
"Yeah. Oh, they didn't tell you? Well now that does shock me." Despite sounding like she was in immense pain, the girl sure had a way with words. It was almost identical to Cavan's speech, Jasmine thought.

"No. They didn't. They keep you here?" Jasmine frowned.
"Nah, I just decided being locked up in an igloo and being assaulted was a new favourite hobby of mine." So Jasmine was right. About her being abused.

"Yeah, I'm sure it's spectacular." The girl snorted. But began coughing again when she did.
"You can say that again." She muttered when she'd settled down. "You didn't answer my question by the way. Who are you?" Before Jasmine could open her mouth, Hannah chimed in.

"It's not your business." The girl chortled.
"Well, technically it is. The only company I get is when someone brings me a slice of bread. Or when someone feels like taking their anger out on me. So please, what are your names?" She said the last sentence very sincerely.

Hannah was going to speak again but this time, Jasmine interrupted her.
"Jasmine. Hannah." She pointed at Hannah when she said her name.
"Cute. Suppose you want to know mine?"

Jasmine and Hannah exchanged yet another glance.
"If you don't mind."
"Blue." The girl spoke, more blood droplets staining the snow.

"My name is Blue."