White Ice and Cold Ashes

[Almagest]

Just a simple short story.


Alyssa strode down the cold, dim hallways, heading deeper and deeper into the abyssal shadows of the ancient castle’s basement levels. Her destination was the lowest floor, which boasted the darkest, most isolated room this place had to offer. The corridors twisted and turned in bizarre ways, but Alyssa knew exactly where to go. Up the staircase on the left, down this hallway, turn right, now down the narrow spiraling steps hidden behind a concealed door, another right, and on and on, until anyone else would have been completely lost. But not Alyssa. She navigated the labyrinth with ease, even though she had not been down here for many years.

Her footsteps echoed through the empty passageways as the beam of her flashlight illuminated the dust clouds rising from the floor. How many years had it been? Nine? Ten? Ten. Definitely ten. Because today was her equinox of sorts. Ten years without her to match the ten years with her. Alyssa’s colorless lips lifted at the corners as she thought to herself, a fall equinox. Leading to a never ending winter solstice.

She turned down yet another dark, narrow hallway, heading towards a locked door at the end. The door. The number pad beeped as she punched in the ten-digit code and the heavy slab of metal slid open with a slight hiss. As she stepped inside, the door automatically closed behind her, once again sealing off this small room from the outside world. Computers lined the walls, humming and beeping constantly as they monitored vitals, chamber temperature, and security. Anyone else trying to gain access to this room, even if they somehow discovered the code, would be denied by face recognition technology. Of course, she was not yet in the room. More like the antechamber.

Alyssa left her flashlight on one of the computers and walked to another heavy door set in the wall, where she entered an additional code and stepped inside once the door slid open. A second door now stood before her, and she waited patiently in the tiny space as the first glided back into its spot. Then the last door slid open, and freezing cold air billowed from the inner chamber, sending Alyssa’s black hair flying around her pale face. Her breath crystallized into white fog before her as she walked to the center of the room. Here lay the crown jewel. A cryogenic casket protecting her prisoner. Karina.

Alyssa entered a code into the number pad on the cover and the lid’s seal released with a pneumatic hiss as it opened. For the first time in ten years, Alyssa looked into Karina’s once rosy face, now snow white with cold. Her fiery red hair, now laced with frost, lay around her heart-shaped face in frozen waves. Her rosebud lips, once ruby red and always moving as she talked incessantly, were now pale pink in tinge and quite still.

As Alyssa’s dark eyes gazed upon her lifelong friend, she began to have doubts about her plan. Which was highly unusual for her. But Karina looked so peaceful in her frozen sleep. Undisturbed. At peace. Do I really have to…?

Yes, Alyssa answered, mentally shaking herself. It has to be done. What had gotten into her? Emotions were Karina’s territory—they had no place in Alyssa’s head. Once again, she went over her reasons for doing this. Even with all the security measures, there was still a slim chance that someone could infiltrate the castle, find Karina, and “rescue” her. And if that happened…the results would be disastrous. Everything that Alyssa had built up over the years would be destroyed in an instant. Besides, she had nothing to gain by keeping Karina in this frozen state. Reaching the same decision she had arrived at years ago, Alyssa reached into her sleeve and pulled out a dagger with an ebony handle.

And she swiftly plunged it into Karina’s heart.

An unnatural silence filled the room as Alyssa began to comprehend the enormity of what she had done. Freezing Karina had pushed the boundaries of what was considered acceptable, but killing her…that crossed a line. Went against everything normal and natural. But somehow, Alyssa did not care. Now Karina would never wake up. Never wreak havoc with her emotional roller coaster. Never endanger their lives again.

Alyssa left the knife in Karina’s chest and closed the lid. Once back inside the computer room, she turned off the machines monitoring Karina’s vitals since they were obviously no longer needed. The only computer she left on was the one that maintained the chamber’s freezing temperatures. Might as well preserve the body and prevent the smell of decomposing flesh. She deactivated the additional security measures as well. Even if someone managed to find this place and crack three different codes, they would not be able to help Karina.

After retrieving her flashlight, Alyssa left the room for the last time and walked down the hallway as the outer door closed behind her. Once again she navigated the dark basement maze with ease, and when Alyssa emerged from its depths, she headed for her library, located on the north side of the castle.

She breathed deeply of the intoxicating aroma of books, parchment and ink as she entered her sanctuary. No. The entire castle was her sanctuary now. She smiled at the thought and strolled over to the grand, two-story windows looking out upon the walled grounds below.

The lifeless leaves had fallen from the gnarled trees some time ago, and the delicate flowers had long since withered into dust. A gentle snowfall had started to blanket the grounds, burying the dead gardens. The radiant moon, adorned in her gown of stars and clouds, bathed the wintry scene in her white light as the stars twinkled around her.

Alyssa smiled as she watched the snowflakes drift to the frozen ground, and she thought to herself, let it snow.

[Nevermore]

Her destination lay on the lowest floor—the darkest, most isolated room this place had to offer.

This line struck me as odd. The formatting makes me think you are describing the floor, yet the word "room" seems to indicate that the description belongs to the destination. It's nothing major, but it does sound a bit awkward.

Other than that, I didn't notice anything in particular. This is a very well written piece. Your detail is fabulous, and the story passed at just the right speed for flash fiction. Overall, an excellently done work of fiction.

As for the symbolism that you wanted people to find, the only thing I can think of is that these two characters are, in fact, two parts of the same person; and the logical self has been wrestling with the emotional self for years until she was finally able to suppress it completely (effectively killing it off).

Of course, if by "symbolism", you meant that you were alluding to some other story, I'd have no clue, lol.

[Almagest]

Hurray! A comment! Finally! It only took...what? The 37th person? =P

Originally Posted by Nevermore

This line struck me as odd. The formatting makes me think you are describing the floor, yet the word "room" seems to indicate that the description belongs to the destination. It's nothing major, but it does sound a bit awkward.

Oh, that does sound awkward now that I'm reading it over again. The room is the destination and it's on the lowest floor, but I phrased it rather poorly =P

As for the symbolism that you wanted people to find, the only thing I can think of is that these two characters are, in fact, to parts of the same person; and the logical self has been wrestling with the emotional self for years until she was finally able to suppress it completely (effectively killing it off).

Ding ding ding! Give the man a prize! =D That is indeed the symbolism. Kudos to you! *gives cookie*

I wanted to write about the conflict between mind and heart, and I was torn between creating a poem or a short story. I wrote the poem first, but I wanted more description so I wrote this short story. =P I'm thinking about posting the poem too.

[khfreak17]

wow. this is really good. lots of detail, no confusion, perfect. i love it.

[Riel]

I like your sense of voice with this one. Good story, and it's told well; unfortunately I didn't try to pick through it for the symbolism, so thank god for Nevermore, right?

One thing:

anti-chamber.

I believe that the term is 'antechamber' or 'ante-chamber' or something of the sort.

[Almagest]

Originally Posted by Riel

I believe that the term is 'antechamber' or 'ante-chamber' or something of the sort.

Ah, thank you =) Typo fixed.