Crossover IV Poison Apple (Part II)

Chapter 3 Ice

Chapter 3

Ice

Vanessa asked her brother to take her and Aria downtown so they can cross worlds. They did not want to draw too much attention to the fact that they were going. Their boyfriends both could be a bit overprotective, which Aria saw as a distraction at the moment. Neither seemed to know just how to approach Ian with all this. Aria just hoped they could figure out a way to simply convince Kendal to return to Nebraska.

When they used the fountain to enter into the other world, Aria felt a chill when she stepped onto the surface by the lake, even though she was not wet.

"Does it seem colder to you?" Vanessa asked, wrapping her hands around her bare arms. "I would have brought a jacket if I'd known it'd be like this."

"I guess maybe winter's drawing out a bit more this year," Aria suggested with a shrug. "If you're cold, you can bother one of my coats in Galatia."

"We're going to Galatia first?"

Aria nodded. "Yeah, it's the nearest kingdom to this lake. We'll probably need a horse or something to take us to Bellaire."

Vanessa looked around. "Doesn't something usually show up to give us a ride?"

Aria glanced into the nearby forest. "Sometimes, but I don't see anything now. Anyway, we don't have time to wait around. We need to get to Kendal as soon as we can. Besides, the transportation's not always convenient. If we get that donkey that took Walter and me to Evalius last year, we'd be better off walking."

The two girls followed the path that led to Galatia. The more they walked, the more coldness seemed to fill the air. By the time they arrived, Aria and Vanessa saw Galatia covered from the edge of the city in a sheet of snow.

"Snow in the springtime?" Vanessa question, tilting her head. "That's kind of weird for here, don't you think?"

"I guess," Aria muttered, not wanting to take the time to be concerned about the weather. "Let's just go in."

When Aria stepped through the gate, she felt her feet slip from beneath her causing her to fall flat on her bottom on the cold hard ground.

"Aria, you okay?" Vanessa asked, as she slipped too, landing on her side.

"Yeah," Aria panted, as she attempted to stand up.

Both girls struggled to stand firmly on the solid ice. Vanessa tried stomping to crack the ice but it would not budge.

"Jeeze, why can't this be snow?" Vanessa grumbled, still trying to stand properly. "At least you can walk on snow."

Aria scanned the streets. There were hardly any people outside. They few that were would slip about unable to grip their feet on the ground. Aria wondered if Galatia ever had this kind of ice storm often or even at all. The people did not seem to know how to cope with this extreme cold.

"Aria, what are you doing here?"

Aria turned to see Adora, apparently using her magic to hover above the ground. She appeared rather frustrated.

"You really should be careful about traveling between worlds," Adora continued. "You can't just come whenever you feel like it. These trips need to be carefully planned."

Aria raised her eyebrow. "You kind of sound like Verna."

Adora sighed. "I know. Verna has us quite busy now with all this going on."