Ice Princess
Noelle sat in the half-empty movie theatre, occasionally munching on a handful of stale, oversalted popcorn. The light from the screen reflected off her face and her white blond hair as she stared at the film, caught up in the story. After it ended with a dash of sappiness and the requisite kiss, she sat through the credits then pushed her way back through the swinging theatre doors into the spring sunshine, squinting at the glare.
Her walk home through the streets of Talos was uneventful. She didn't seem to take much notice of the tattooed mystics she passed on the corner, nor did she give a second look when a spandexed hero leapt into their midst, throwing quicksilver punches and slapping their unconscious bodies with transporters to the Zig. Noelle wandered past the tram station and the heroes queued up to speak to Luminary and Bastion, through the lobby of her apartment building, and into the elevator, almost forgetting to hit the button for her floor. When the doors opened, she pushed off from where she leaned against the glass wall of the lift and strolled down the hall to her apartment door, unlocking her dead bolt with a distracted twist, tossing her keys on the kitchen counter as she walked in.
The apartment was chilly, the air conditioning cranked up, fighting with the sunshine pouring in the balcony sliding glass doors. Hitting a few buttons on the thermostat, she lowered the temperature even further, kicked off her shoes, and padded into her bedroom. The closet door was ajar, and Noelle flicked the lightswitch outside before she opened the door even further and stepped in.
Aside from a few picture postcards of Arctic iceflows and snowy valleys in the middle of mountain peaks, and a snapshot stuck in the frame of her mirror of Noelle with a few of the Knights, celebrating after a successful mission, the walls of her apartment were bare of any color. But the closet... here were all the bright hues, all the shades and shadows and tints she'd been able to find in the shoe stores of Paragon City. Noelle ran a finger along the opened-toe of a pair of crimson sandals, catching hold of a viridian silk ribbon that dangled from the ankle strap of another pair of heels, and caressed the butter soft leather of her favorite pair of stiletto boots before kneeling down, and reaching for a pair of boots she hadn't worn in ages.
Hefting them easily, comfortable with their familiar weight, she then grabbed a knapsack, and packed them carefully in it. She grabbed her iPod from its charger on her nightstand, and popped her headphones in before settling the backpack on her shoulder, locking the front door, and heading outside to the balcony.
A lady crooned "But baby it's cold outside" as Noelle remembered an island, with a waterfall and a sizable pool, with a nice arrangement of rocks beside, almost like benches. She got her bearings, and allowed herself to be... pulled... pulled... pulled ... and yes. She smiled. It was perfect.
Sitting down beside the water, she took off her suede sneakers and carefully eased her feet into the remembered comfort of the white leather boots. She laced them not-too-tightly, rolling her ankles around inside them, wiggling her toes. Then, she stretched out her hand, and a sheen of ice covered the water. With another gesture, it thickened, and hardened, and the waterfall fell silent, trapped in a current of ice. Noelle stood, stepped onto the frozen pond, and glided across it, her ice skates shining beneath her in the spring sunshine.
Music played, and she ignored everything else around her, cutting across the ice, twisting and turning, tracing circles on the edges of the blades on her feet, dancing in the midst of a wintry swirl of air that surrounded her. She thrust her toe pick into the ice and leapt into the air, rotating, hovering for a moment before touching down again, skimming across the slippery surface, her leg stretched out behind her and her face to the sky.
Noelle skated, losing track of the time as the sun set and the spring night's chill descended. Still, under a glowing moon, she froze the pond again and again, and danced across it.
Back at the movie theatre in Talos, "Ice Princess" played to a starry-eyed crowd of teenage girls, dreaming Olympic dreams. Noelle didn’t need medals. Just ice.
Her walk home through the streets of Talos was uneventful. She didn't seem to take much notice of the tattooed mystics she passed on the corner, nor did she give a second look when a spandexed hero leapt into their midst, throwing quicksilver punches and slapping their unconscious bodies with transporters to the Zig. Noelle wandered past the tram station and the heroes queued up to speak to Luminary and Bastion, through the lobby of her apartment building, and into the elevator, almost forgetting to hit the button for her floor. When the doors opened, she pushed off from where she leaned against the glass wall of the lift and strolled down the hall to her apartment door, unlocking her dead bolt with a distracted twist, tossing her keys on the kitchen counter as she walked in.
The apartment was chilly, the air conditioning cranked up, fighting with the sunshine pouring in the balcony sliding glass doors. Hitting a few buttons on the thermostat, she lowered the temperature even further, kicked off her shoes, and padded into her bedroom. The closet door was ajar, and Noelle flicked the lightswitch outside before she opened the door even further and stepped in.
Aside from a few picture postcards of Arctic iceflows and snowy valleys in the middle of mountain peaks, and a snapshot stuck in the frame of her mirror of Noelle with a few of the Knights, celebrating after a successful mission, the walls of her apartment were bare of any color. But the closet... here were all the bright hues, all the shades and shadows and tints she'd been able to find in the shoe stores of Paragon City. Noelle ran a finger along the opened-toe of a pair of crimson sandals, catching hold of a viridian silk ribbon that dangled from the ankle strap of another pair of heels, and caressed the butter soft leather of her favorite pair of stiletto boots before kneeling down, and reaching for a pair of boots she hadn't worn in ages.
Hefting them easily, comfortable with their familiar weight, she then grabbed a knapsack, and packed them carefully in it. She grabbed her iPod from its charger on her nightstand, and popped her headphones in before settling the backpack on her shoulder, locking the front door, and heading outside to the balcony.
A lady crooned "But baby it's cold outside" as Noelle remembered an island, with a waterfall and a sizable pool, with a nice arrangement of rocks beside, almost like benches. She got her bearings, and allowed herself to be... pulled... pulled... pulled ... and yes. She smiled. It was perfect.
Sitting down beside the water, she took off her suede sneakers and carefully eased her feet into the remembered comfort of the white leather boots. She laced them not-too-tightly, rolling her ankles around inside them, wiggling her toes. Then, she stretched out her hand, and a sheen of ice covered the water. With another gesture, it thickened, and hardened, and the waterfall fell silent, trapped in a current of ice. Noelle stood, stepped onto the frozen pond, and glided across it, her ice skates shining beneath her in the spring sunshine.
Music played, and she ignored everything else around her, cutting across the ice, twisting and turning, tracing circles on the edges of the blades on her feet, dancing in the midst of a wintry swirl of air that surrounded her. She thrust her toe pick into the ice and leapt into the air, rotating, hovering for a moment before touching down again, skimming across the slippery surface, her leg stretched out behind her and her face to the sky.
Noelle skated, losing track of the time as the sun set and the spring night's chill descended. Still, under a glowing moon, she froze the pond again and again, and danced across it.
Back at the movie theatre in Talos, "Ice Princess" played to a starry-eyed crowd of teenage girls, dreaming Olympic dreams. Noelle didn’t need medals. Just ice.
posted by ktbuffy at 11:37 PM
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