White Force

Submerged

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOY THE 1ST DAY OF 2019 WITH AN UPDATE FROM...YOURS TRULY!

ANYA

When I was five years old, my father took me to the edge of the boarder and we went swimming. It was an odd thing to do so close to where battles were fought, but the lake he'd found was undiscovered, pristine. It was as if the lake existed for us and us alone, and no matter how badly the war at the boarder raged on, we were kept.

It was one of the only memories I had of him. Of his bright, masculine smile that made all the stars in the night sky twinkle with envy. I remember the way his shoulder length, silver hair clung to his face as water dripped from his eye lashes. He owned the water, and the water succumed to him as if it knew nothing else.

"Do you feel it, Anya?" he'd asked me. "The warm current carressing your toes? How does it feel?"

"Yes," I smiled, kicking my feet through the current that passed beneath me.

"And the warmth? Does it hurt you?"

"No, daddy" I giggled.

"No, it doesn't," he continued. "It almost feels right. Don't you agree?"

I hadn't understood what he had meant but I nodded anyway. My father leaned close to me, his head the only part of him sticking out of the water. His gleaming eyes were full of wonder and something else I didn't quite understand. "This is where fire and ice meet, where lava kisses the cold waters and nuetralizes it. This is harmony...peace. This is what I stand for, and someday, you will know what it feels like to also be neautralized...to know both fire and ice." My father leaned close and whispered so low that I barely heard him. "You will know the meaning of Amicus."

The vision vanished the moment I opened my eyes under water. I was completely submerged in the cave's majestic lake, quickly sinking to the bottom. The water was surprisingly warm, and it sizzled against my skin the lower I sank. It reminded me of the few memories I had of my father.

For a moment I was comfortable, but the feeling lasted only seconds. My skin began to burn, and the heat grew hotter until I felt as if I was on fire. I began to panic and tried to swim upward, but the lake's current held me down. Instead, I sank lower until my feet touched the hard stone at the bottom of the lake.

I needed air. I needed the familiarity of the cold. I couldn't stand the way my skinned burned and bubbled as if it was melting off of my bones.

I writhed and fought against an invisible force but the more I struggled, the more I burned. I knew I was going to die. Cros had been wrong. This. This was death. I was not pure enough to withstand it and I was going to die.

Sebastian's face appeared before me,  a silent mirage of hope. His handsome face so chiseled and angular. His stormy eyes so electric and penetrating. I missed his fierceness; the chill of his presence. I missed the way he looked at me, as if he had just discovered love.

When I had first met him, the prince was cold and cruel. He drew pleasure from my misery and he relished in my pain. And then something switched. He began to fall in love with me, and slowly, I began to break away the ice that had formed over his heart.

It was that very heart that I devoted my life to. It nurtured me and gave me strength where I was weak. It always protected me, even in my weakest hour. Even now.

With determination, I fought against the pain and focus on the winter stone below me. I reached my hand out and grabbed as much as I could.

I quickly kicked off of the ground, using my remaining strength to thwart me upward. Within seconds, I broke through the surface of the lake, gasping for air and screaming the moment my lungs were full enough to make a sound. I pulled my aching body from the lake, and panted as I let go of the stone. The hard rocks echoed throughout the cave as they landed next to me.