Ice

9

I glance around the hall. No one is here. No one to barge in. I can say what I need to, and if he rejects me, I will have to resort to my next best options. Running away would be next. Running away is the only other option. I do not count the other alternative of dying here to be an option.

With a shaking hand, I knock. I knock twice. The sound echoes through the ice whilst I hold in my tears. I need to convince him to take me from here, not to leave me here. I do not know how to convince him. I have absolutely nothing. I have no power, no valuables other than a medallion that means nothing to him. I do not know how to convince him.

I hear his footsteps. I feel that relief. He is not asleep. The meeting just ended but I was worried he would have gone to sleep. I did after midnight meetings. The moment my body touched my bed I would be out, not even in my night clothes.

"Look if you are here to convince me to change my opinion, it is not going to happen. Now let me slee-" He yawns opening his door. He freezes. "Snow? Are you okay? You look upset. Want to come in. I have hot chocolate; it helps with the cold."

His tone jumps from tired, to oddly odd. Just odd. A very odd sort of odd. Like excited? Is he excited to see me? I can ignore this confusion. At least he has not turned me away. That's a good thing.

The door is shut behind me and I feel myself deposited on a very comfy couch. The plush material sinks under my weight.

"So what brings you here at uh... 1.46 in the morning?" He asks checking the metal mechanism on his arm.

The ticks are annoying. They have been all day. But that does not matter. I must focus. That's right. I must stop getting distracted by all these new age things.

I just feel afraid. Maybe it is wrong to ask for something like this. Maybe I am better off here. They would not kill me, would they? I do not belong here. I do not belong anywhere. I miss my parents and my friends and my life. I miss seeing smiles when I walk by. I miss being able to run over and talk freely. The warmth even in the cold. It feels dead here. It feels dead everywhere.

"You did not answer me Snow," he says putting a mug with a warm drink in my hand.

"Uh I did not hear you."

"You are pretty observant. But not now... Not at all. You look completely thrown off. There must be a reason you came to me," he says raising an eyebrow.

"Take me please! Take me with you to Ignius," I blurt out, desperate.

"Is there a reason-"

"I listened to the meeting. I was right outside. Please I do not want them to hurt me. You are all I have right now. I do not have anything to give you right now, but the moment I do I will repay you in full. You do not even need to take me there. Just dump me anywhere. Anywhere that is not here. Please," I beg him.

I never beg. I never used to at least. But I never needed to. For the first time in my life, I am dependent on mercy. Someone else's mercy. I need him to just take pity on me. But why should he? I am just a wild animal to them. I want to be anywhere but here. They are not going to change their ideology for one ancient relic. I need to start a new life somewhere and I most certainly do not want to do it here.

"I cannot just take you and walk out with you. I will need to sneak you out-"

"I will repay you for any troubles I cause. I will serve you. You can make me do whatever you want me to. I will owe you a life debt for this. Please. I will do anything you want me to. I will be a weapon for you or a slave. I just need you to get me out of this place," I plead getting onto my knees at his feet.

Will he accept my surrender and complete obedience? It is what I got when I conquered. I am sure it will make him give me some pity. Hopefully enough pity to spare me mercy and help.

His eyes turn startled, horrified even. "No no Snow stop kneeling. You do not give people such things for saving your life. If you do that, they will use you and abuse you." His hands grab my waist. He picks me up off the floor and plonks me back on the couch.

"But I have nothing other than my life to offer as payment," I frown. I have no money, no possessions. I have to pay him with something right?

"Well it is a horrible idea. You cannot pay me with your life, and I do not need payment. I was planning on taking you out anyway. Your consent is making this a whole lot more legal though."

"So like kidnapping?"

"Well it will not be now that I have your consent. Do you think I plan to let you stay in a place where they view you as a lab rat and government property?"

"I do not know what a lab rat is."

"What matters is making sure that you do not become one."

"Why are you helping me? I tried to impale you with ice," I query, very confused. I thought this would take a lot more begging and degrading myself. There is no way he would just help me out of the goodness of his heart.

"I really like to uphold justice and the international laws, plus my own morals. What they are doing is currently a criminal offence. War criminals were not punished after the war, there is a document prohibiting it. Unless you commit war crimes after being informed of this, there is no punishment allowed. For a nation so obsessed with peace, they should be well aware of that. So until we get that sorted, feel free to call Ignius your home," he says petting my head.

"You are incredibly kind. The last person I saw in my time let me fall off a cliff."

"We will leave tomorrow morning. I have called and scheduled everything," he hurries as if he is almost terrified of what I just said.

"Tomorrow?" I repeat.

"The more we wait, the harder it will be to sneak you out. Not that they have a layer of security on you. They think you are a thoughtless idiot."

"I was at the meeting. I know that."

"The whole meeting? I hoped it was just a part of it... so you heard all the things they said?" He asks, he looks upset.

"I heard you though, you kept defending me. It is why I came here. I would not usually come to someone who is not part of my empire for help, but they all hate me."

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A/N

 I apologise for my lack of updates across all books this year. I have been very stressed and busy which has caused a ridiculous amount of writers block that I am trying to overcome. I really do love updating but it has been difficult so please bear with me. I really understand how frustrating it is as a reader when books do not update since I experience it with books that I read.

Have an amazing day and please comment any suggestions or ideas for the book. it really helps with my creativity.