Frostbite

Chapter Four

The Testers led Eira to a carriage parked a few streets away from the house. It was grander than any vehicle she'd ever seen— let alone been inside. It was painted a pale shade of blue and its wheels were made of a silvery metal that glinted with sunlight that had just escaped from behind a cloud. Its sides were bedecked in ornate carvings; swirls and swooping lines that didn't appear to be anything but abstract. It was pulled by two white horses, their coats so clean there didn't appear to be one visible spec of dust on them. They munched oats from sacks that lay on the ground by their hooves.

The freezing wind bit at her and she wrapped her cloak around herself tightly. The effects of the Test had worn off, and she had returned to being as susceptible to the cold as ever before. The Testers remained completely silent, striding confidently through the streets to their destination. Eira often caught herself casting melancholic glances back in the direction of her home. However, she always willed herself to look forwards once again.

Standing in front of that carriage, she knew there was no turning back. This was it for her.

A tall, lanky man came down from the driver's seat and began talking to the Testers. He appeared to be somewhere in his early thirties. He looked Eira up and down, before nodding once in confirmation.

"You are leaving now. The journey will take four hours and you will be supplied with food and water along the way," one of the Testers informed her.

She nodded silently and the driver motioned for her to get into the carriage. She picked up her satchel from where she'd placed it beside her and clambered up the steps that led up to it. The driver shut the door behind her with a slam once she was inside.

The interior was just as grand as the outside. There were two wide benches at each end, upholstered with grey silk cushioning. The floor was covered in a fluffy white hide rug and the walls were papered with swirling patterns of greys and blues. It was admittedly nice, and warm for once. Eira set down her satchel and sat on one of the benches, looking out of the small window on the far wall.

They were heading to the largest city in the land, which resided in the northernmost part of the central county of the kingdom. Eira lived in a small town —or rather, a large village— that lay a few miles south of it. She had been before, but not for several months. Her family took the trip there for biannual shopping trips in the spring and autumn. It was February now, and she hadn't set foot there since October of the year before.

Realising how drained and exhausted she felt, Eira flopped prostrate along one of the benches. She took her cloak off and then lay it over her as if it were a blanket. The test must have really taken it out of her. Perhaps it was because she's used her powers.

She yawned, closing her eyes. Before she knew it— she had fallen into a soundless sleep, undisturbed by the wheels of the carriage moving along the bumpy, stony road.

~

Eira was awoken by a sharp jolt, signifying that the carriage had stopped. They had arrived? Had she slept for the entire time?

She sat up, rubbed her eyes and yawned. Straightening herself, she refastened her cloak and stood. There was a knock on the door. "My lady, we're here." My lady? Lady? No, no, that was all wrong. She was-- had been-- but a simple, poor peasant girl, and now she was going to be treated with respect? Just because of some newfound powers? It was ridiculous.

Emerging from the carriage, she told the driver: "Please don't call me that."

"It's the law, my lady."

She bit her lip. That was always how it went in this kingdom. Permafrosts were treated with the utmost respect and reverence and ordinary people treated with no respect at all, as if they were somehow less important—subhuman. She hated it. Hated this society. She couldn't bear the fact that now she would be considered of a higher species than everyone she loved. It had been much easier when she was just one of the lot. She would have been treated with contempt, yes, but now she was singled out. Or, perhaps that wasn't the right way to think. She had grown up lucky-- never having met a single Permafrost and never experienced society for what it was. However, it would probably have worsened greatly once she left school and became of working age. Graham and Moira had worked for relentless hours every day. Graham, building houses; Moira, making shoes.