Chapter 280: A Fateful Blizzard

 

  There were few villages on the outskirts of Frost Rim. While the Great City was a bastion of safety for the people, the Rupture Mountains were anything but safe. The further one drew from the city, the fewer people lived, and the more wildlife stalked the land.

  Winter was especially dangerous in the mountains. If one wasn’t careful they’d lose themselves in the snowstorms or worse to the hungry predators that lurked at the edges of society.

  Still, winter was the time when many rare faunas roamed about. The perfect chance for a budding vampire to catch their first great elk or so her father had said. Kalliste’s father had said many things she disagreed with, but she went along with them anyway, as was expected of her as the daughter of the Great House of Lilith.

  The first night of hunting had been a failure, with no sightings of elks anywhere near the outskirts of the rural village. The second night had proved a meager success, one of her father’s hunters had spotted elk tracks in the snow, fairly fresh or so they said. The third night proved no advancement, no one not even her father had found a single track of elk or any other animal.

  After six hours in the snow and the beginning signs of a storm, Lord Lilith had thankfully decided to call it a night and head back to their lodgings. Kalliste said nothing and only smiled, as was expected of a young child of House Lilith. A budding aristocrat had to be reserved, polite, with a smile always at the ready. Impatience, anger, annoyance, all of these were tell-tale signs of a lack of control in one’s self and such actions were unbefitting of a Lilith. Still, Kalliste sighed in relief at the thought of soaking her numb toes in a hot tub. 

  As the dogs pulled their sleds into the village, Kalliste pulled her bundle of furs closer to herself. The snowstorm had already begun to grow in full. There were no villagers in sight, save for the village chief that waited for them to return each night at the local tavern.

  As usual, the chief was covered from head to toe in the furs of a white bear, one he had claimed to have killed himself years ago when he was young. But even the chief, a vampire who had lived his entire life in this village, dared not wander far on a stormy night like this.

  The chief bowed low as the sleds pulled up at the tavern, “Welcome back, my lord. Was your trip a success?”

  “Unfortunately, no, not this time,” Lord Lilith sighed.

  “Ah, I’m sorry to hear that, my lord. I am certain you’ll find the elk one of these nights, you always do. But for now, a hot meal and a warm fire will lighten the spirits.” 

  “A warm meal does sound nice,” Lord Lilith stretched his arms and yawned. “Kal, after dinner we’ll practice your shooting. Kal…? Kalliste, why are you gawking like a simpleton?”

  Kalliste heard her father’s voice and even noticed the hint of anger within it, but she could not move her eyes away from what she saw. A lone figure trudged through the blizzard with only a mere linen cloth wrapped around her body.

  Kalliste raised a small finger and pointed at the oddity, “Who is that?”

  “It looks like a simpleton,” Lord Lilith laughed. “What imbecile is out and about in the middle of a blizzard?”

  “Forgive me, my lord,” the chief said anxiously. “She is an orphan and truly is a  simpleton, a buffoon, really. She can’t even speak properly.”

  “Oh? Tell me more,” he said.

  The chief nodded reluctantly, “Her mother was a villager who got pregnant with a frost giant, gods knows where. She died a few years. I let her hybrid child stay out of regard for the mother’s last wish, but the child really is useless. I told her not to show her face near the tavern while you were staying here, but clearly, she is even too stupid to listen to that simple request.”

  “...I see,” Lord Lilith rubbed his chin in thought. “Well, so long as she doesn’t bother us, I don’t care what she does.”

  “Thank you for your kindness, my lord,” the chief bowed. “I’ll get the girl out of here right away.”

  Kalliste ignored the adults’ chattering and hopped off her sled. She marched through the snow and blocked the orphan’s path. As Kalliste drew near she noticed how strangely tall the girl was. The girl wasn’t even wearing any shoes, but she was still several heads taller than Kalliste.

  The orphan quickly bowed her head repeatedly in fear, “S-sorry, I-I don’t m-mean a-any t-t-trouble.”

  “Why are you apologizing? Did I accuse you of something?” Kalliste crossed her arms.

  “...N-no?”

  “It’s considered rude to not look at someone while they’re talking to you, you know,” Kalliste said, a trace of annoyance in her voice.

  “S-sorry.” The orphan slowly raised her head and looked at the young vampiress.

  Kalliste’s eyes widened at the gaunt face staring back at her. The orphan noticed the expression and quickly looked away in shame. But Kalliste drew closer until they were face to face or at least face to stomach. 

  Kalliste looked up at the orphan and cocked her head to the side, “How old are you?”

  “E-eight,” she mumbled.

  “You’re the same age as me? Why are you so tall?”

  “I d-don’t know,” she shrugged uncomfortably.

  “Aren’t you cold?”

  “Not r-really.”

  Kalliste blinked, “Huh, that’s pretty cool.” 

  The orphan stared at the girl with surprise, she didn’t know what to say.

  “Why are you out here by yourself?” Kalliste asked.

  “I w-was hungry. I usually get leftovers from the tavern’s cook, b-but, I didn’t know you and your people were coming back so soon… I wouldn’t have come if I had known…” 

  “So you’re not stupid, just scared…” Kalliste noted. “What’s your name, girl?”

  “L-Lynn?”

  “Is that a question?”

  “N-no.”

  “So, what’s your name?”

  “Lynn. Just Lynn.”

  “A hybrid named Lynn, huh?” Kalliste nodded to herself. She reached out and grabbed Lynn’s hand without hesitation. “You smell terrible, probably because you’re a hybrid.” She puffed her cheeks, “Ugh, I got no choice but to get you a bath. And your cheeks are so thin, you’ll need some food too.”

  “H-huh?” Lynn frowned.

  “Kal, what are you doing?” Lord Lilith asked curiously.

  Kalliste groaned, “The girl’s by herself and she’s terrible at it! It's annoying to even look at! I’ll fix it!”

  “Fix it?” Lord Lilith raised his eyebrow. “How are you going to do that?”

  “I… I’ll take her away from this stupid village!” Kalliste crossed her arms.

  “Stupid!?” the village chief coughed.

  “Do you want the girl as your slave, Kal?” Lord Lilith asked.

  Kalliste glanced at Lynn, the hybrid’s expression was a mixture of fear and worry.

  “No,” Kalliste shook her head. “She’s uh… too ugly for that. She’ll be my… maid. Yeah, my maid.”

  “She’s too ugly for a slave, but not for a maid?” Lord Lilith asked wryly.

  “Y-yeah! What of it!?” Kalliste glared.

  Lord Lilith laughed happily, “Oh, Kal, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you get so worked up before let alone stand up for yourself, and now you do it for a stranger, and a hybrid at that? I’m surprised… and honestly a little impressed.”

  “I’m not doing it for her,” Kalliste mumbled.

  “We don’t have a need for any more maids at the moment, not to mention a frost giant would stick out, and she’s a hybrid…” Lord Lilith pondered. 

  Kalliste’s face paled with dread.

  Lord Lilith grinned sympathetically, “Hm, how about this. Instead of a maid, I’ll let you bring the girl along as a playmate. You’ve already scared away all the other children at the castle, so maybe a frost giant might just work out.”

  “Really!? She can come home with us!?” Kalliste asked excitedly.

  “But you will have to make sure she is cleaned and well fed,” he nodded. “I will not have anyone in my House looking so haggard, she will be your responsibility. Do we have a deal?”

  “Deal!” Kalliste smiled brightly. She glanced at Lynn and quickly changed her expression to one of reluctance, “I mean, if I have to, fine.”

  “Alright, Kal, let’s go inside already, I’m freezing,” Lord Lilith rubbed his arms and walked into the tavern with the stupefied chief.

  “Thank you,” Lynn mumbled quietly.

  Kalliste’s cheeks suddenly grew warm, she quickly looked away. “It’s not like that, you just looked so pathetic, you don’t even have shoes…”

  “Should I leave then?”

  “No! I-I mean, you’ll stop being so pathetic when you get cleaned up… You heard my father, you have to play dolls with me after we take a bath. The vampire aristocracy doesn’t approve of hybrids but you don’t look so bad. And I’ve got no one else to play with so I’ll make an exception for now. You should be honored, o-okay?” Kalliste muttered nervously.

  Lynn couldn’t help but smile, “Okay.”

  “Hehe,” Kalliste grinned and ran inside.

~~~

  “Lynn, what are you doing!?” Kalliste screamed from the coliseum’s front row.

  Lynn slowly looked up with a faint smile. 

  Kalliste’s usual pale face was an angry scarlet red. Her hands were wrapped around the guardrails with a white-knuckle grip. “Why are you letting her mock you like that?!” Kalliste yelled. “Don’t just give up, Lynn! Get up, damn you!”

  Lynn couldn’t help but grin wryly. Kalliste’s angry expression just seemed so… sad.

  I know, Kal, Lynn glanced at the bloody gash over her leg. You're always angry, so bitter at the world, but I know…

  Lynn took a deep breath and held it as she pushed herself to her feet. “You’re right,” she called out to her opponent. “The world is unfair, but I am lucky. I’m lucky to have found a true friend in such an unfair world.”

  Diane stared at her, confused, “A friend?”

  Lynn chuckled to herself, “I didn’t have much. No home, no family, no talent. But I had her. She often doesn’t know how to express herself and she sometimes can be immature, but she was always there for me… So for her, I gathered what meager talent I had and I worked hard, as hard as I could, just for a chance to stand next to her, even in a ridiculous tournament like this.”

  “What are you saying?” Diane narrowed her eyes warily.

  Lynn stretched her arms to the sky, “I’m saying that for her, I’ll make sure Frost Rim wins, no matter the cost.”

  The four pools sloshed about and floated into the air in giant globs of water, gathering above the center of the arena in the shape of a giant sphere.

  Diane’s eyes widened in shock, “H-how is this possible…!?”

  Lynn grimaced in pain, her arms trembled from the exertion. Blood spilled down her leg, pooling at her feet.

  “What are you doing!? You’re killing yourself!” Diane yelled.

  Lynn’s lips stretched wide in a wry grin, “No matter the cost.”

  “Damn you!” Diane raised her swords and prepared to dash.

  “You and me both,” Lynn threw her arms down. Dozens of ice spears emerged from the giant sphere and rained down on Diane.

  The orc dashed away from the spears, but volley after volley fell down after her, corralling her in place. Diane screamed in defiance and shifted her stance. Her swords became a silver blur as they slashed the falling spears apart. A faint green dome slowly formed around her as the blades spun in an unseen pattern.

  “Swordmaster, huh…” Lynn muttered bitterly. Her vision was beginning to blur, but she recognized the lifeforce shield surrounding the orc. Her body burned as the elemental mana in her veins surged through to extreme limits.

  Lynn shook her head and threw her arms apart, “No matter the cost!”

  The water above transformed into a hundred frozen spears, sharper and larger than the ones before. Diane looked up in despair, her mouth open wide.

  “STOP!!” a voice screeched through the crowd's cheers.

  Lynn slowly turned to the familiar voice. Her body stiffened at the sight of Kalliste. The ever-so-composed vampiress had tears streaming down her cheeks.

  “Stop, please, I’m begging you!” Kalliste cried out. “I’m sorry! You’ve done enough! So, please, just stop!”

  Lynn closed her eyes and smiled, “Is that so…?” She swayed to the side and fell over heavily.

  The hundred spears melted and the giant sphere of water crumbled apart and fell down in a cloud of rain.

  “Lynn of Frost Rim is unable to continue, the victory goes to Diane of Murkton!” the herald Mark announced from his tower.

  Kalliste jumped off the stands and ran across the arena to the fallen Lynn.

  Diane stared at Lynn, ashamed. “You were more dedicated than I ever was…” She dropped her blades and bowed low.

~~~

  “Holy shit… is that what a frost giant is capable of?” Freya mumbled in awe.

  “No, that’s what Frost Rim is capable of,” Callum said grimly. “I’m not liking our chances…”

  Stryg hurried down the coliseum’s steps, his face covered in a grey cloak. He found the seats where his friends sat and rushed over and joined them.

  “Oh, you made it!” Sylvie said.

  “Yeah, I got caught up with some… things,” Stryg shook his head. “So, what’d I miss?”