Frostbitten Past

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 "PRINCESS, COME  in!" The Clan Leader opened the door, ignoring the maid completely. Andorra sent the woman one last look before she stumbled in, tripping over her gown. In the room, she saw a woman who also looked like Noah, but in a different way. She saw Noah's eyes in her face, saw kindness on her features that reminded her of Noah, also.

And there, beside his mother, was Noah himself. His eyes were impossibly dark, and his face was angry. Andorra was shocked to see him, and she was shocked to see emotion on his face, even if it wasn't pleasant.

She froze, not stepping towards them. She remembered his words outside of the gate. Don't trust me. The Noah inside the gates is not me.

She felt the Clan Leader's hand on the small of her back, pushing her towards a chair. "Please, sit. We have a lot to discuss. This is my wife, Simmer. You may address her as Mrs. And you know my son, Noah. I think, perhaps, he had you call him Noah before, but you should only address him as Sir, and you should only address him here if he addresses you first."

When she sat down, she felt stiff and numb, and absolutely terrified. Noah did not warn her for this, for his father, for the way he looked at her through eyes that were cruel and wicked. There was nothing warm about this man or this clan.

When the Clan Leader sat down, his grin was predatory. "You may call me Sir as well. Welcome to our clan base."

The fear was up her throat, threatening to come out. She usually wasn't an anxious person, but in that moment, she felt extreme anxiety. She felt her throat closing up, her heart beating in her chest, her eyes widening in fear.

She said nothing. Her eyes found Noah's, hoping for a moment to gather some calm from his presence, but he glared at her as though he hated her, and it made everything worse. I am not to be trusted. I need you to know the way I act does not change our friendship. She chanted that to herself as she faced the Clan Leader again.

"You look cold. Are you cold?" His eyes were calculating, like he enjoyed her pain. The trust was, she was freezing, but she felt as though this were a game he was trying to play.

"I'm fine." Her lie sounded real, even to her ears, and she was impressed.

The Clan Leader's laugh sounded like danger. "You know what is funny, Princess? You are nothing like I imagined you would be. No wonder my son had such trouble getting you here. You're so sweet, so innocent, so easy to break. My son probably scared you, right? He has a tendency to make enemies and not friends."

Andorra felt like his words were bait, challenging. Andorra said nothing, her eyes glancing at Noah, but he wasn't looking at her. His face was still angry, his eyes still dark.

"So tell me, why did you pick my useless son? How did he manage to get you here? I'm oh so very interested."

Andorra tried to swallow, but it felt like her throat was sandpaper. "The sun clan kidnapped me and tried to force me to choose them. So your clan felt like the better option."

The man tipped his head back and laughed. "So, it wasn't my son at all!" He continued to roar with laughter. "I could have sent anyone and you would've come, if the sun clan kidnapped you. Oh, how delightful."

Andorra looked at Noah again, watching the way his face twisted, and then he was completely neutral. His eyes met hers, and his look was so completely angry that he felt burned by him.

"Not my fault she's been living with weak humans. They've made her weak, too."

Noah's words cut through her, reminded of a time where he was mean to her at school, too. She forced herself to ignore them, turning towards the clan leader. "How will I get us to Anlithamy?"