The Snow Nymph Within

Winter is never the nicest time of year as it is cold and all life is dead. No. Autumn is more my style. It's getting cold, nights are getting longer and days shorter, it's got a sense of magic and mystery in the air. Yet I can't help but feel the real magic lies in Winter for one never knows what to expect next.

My family and I have always been one of those winter loving families that go absolutely crazy for snow.
I remember waking up to snow and squealing at the thought of playing in the white stuff. Little me would always climb onto the bed next to me. It was my little sister's bed as we shared a room. I would shake my sister awake (or she would depending on which one of us woke up first) then she would join me in my squealing.

Our father would often burst into our room, grinning from ear to ear. He then would tell us to get dressed so we could play outside. We would oblige to his demands, wrap up warm and spend the whole day playing outside. My mother and brother would join us later during the snowy days and we would have a whale of a time.

I always felt so at home and at one with the snow. It was like the snow obeyed my every command, but I thought nothing of it. The Mist was thick you see. It was only when I woke up in camp after a week of being out cold that I started to question things.

I had been unconscious for a good week before I awoke in the Big House. My eyes fluttered open and for a second I though I was home. Sunlight was peeking through the curtains and it warmed up my skin immediately. I stretched and yawned, it was nice to sleep so well after having to sleep on a hard bed for the past semester. I couldn't remember the last time I had slept that well, not since I was a little girl at least. I lulled my head over to one side and smiled faintly at the chirping that could be heard outside the window. It was like how it usually was at home, birds chirping and not a soul to be heard.

I closed my eyes once again, still in a half asleep state, and settled back down into the comfy bed. Mum should be cooking her infamous pancakes by now, I thought to myself. I half smiled and sniffed the air for that glorious smell that greeted me each morning when I was home. However I was only met with the smell of fresh air and the whinny of a horse.

That's when I realised something was wrong.

I shot up in bed, all of the blood rushing to my head. I seethed, stupid low blood pressure, I thought to myself and cursed my luck. Once the dizziness had subdued I glanced around the room. It was plain enough really, nothing special about it. A few bits of furniture scattered about here and there, including the bedside table next to my bed; which held a weird looking liquid that gave off an appealing smell and an empty candlestick. My first initial thought was I had been kidnapped.

Well tell a lie, the first initial thought I had was that the place needed a woman's touch.

Anyway! The memories of last week's events had left my mind so I had no clue where I was or how I had got there.

I decided that screaming would be a stupid thing to do as it would only draw attention to myself and my kidnapper. So what did I do? I grabbed the nearest heavy object I could get my hands on, the brass candlestick.

"Die motherfuckers."

I whispered as I crept out of bed, ready to face whoever had captured me and demand answers. Subconsciously I started humming the Mission Impossible theme tune to myself and I felt a new surge of panic take over me as I tiptoed to the door and I failed to notice that whenever I stepped the floor would freeze over where my feet had been. Nor the fact that the candlestick had progressively begun to freeze over, where my hands gripped it tightly.

My heart was ringing in my ears and adrenaline was rushing through me. A plan began to escalate in my head, not a very rational plan, but a plan nonetheless. My hand reached for the doorknob but I drew it back when I saw that part of it had frozen over. I gasped, was that me? I shook my head in disbelief. No that had not been me, it was just a fragment of my over active imagination.

It was... The voice of my annoying poltergeist was at it again.

"Be quiet!" I whispered harshly and winced when I brought my foot down on a floorboard that creaked. I cursed myself and my agitating poltergeist before opening the door carefully and slowly.

I poked my head out of the door and looked around. I couldn't see or hear anything so I walked out into the hallway, gently closing the door behind me. I heard voices below me so I fumbled round until I found a rickety, old staircase. I put on hand on the bannister, while the other tightly gripped my desired weapon of choice. I was going to take out my kidnapper or kidnappers. I mean look at Rapunzel, all she used was a frying pan and she gave about ten thousand people concussions or brain damage through being hit by her deadly frying pan. I was convinced my weapon of choice would be just as effective. Maybe I could get my the answers to my questions by force.

Oh Eira, such a naive little one.

"Please be quiet." I groaned and leaned against the bannister. Now was not the time. I wasn't even going to question how it knew my name.

I swear I heard the poltergeist laughing. Alright little one, but you'll regret hurting those people. Don't say I didn't warn you.

"Warn me? Why would you warn me? They kidnapped me!"

Think again young one.

Think again? What was the omnipotent voice babbling on about? I was pretty sure that these people were my kidnappers. I continued making my way down the stairs and I opened my mouth to answer. However I quickly shut it again when I heard the voices from earlier. They were very muffled but I managed to make out what they were saying.

"Chiron we can't leave her up there!"

"Leave her, she can rot, I don't really care to be honest."

"Mr D, your cooperation is not helping."

The voices got louder as I crept nearer to the door. I pushed myself against the wall when I was about a metre or so away from the door. I inhaled and exhaled deeply. Keeping calm was the key. However it was kind of hard when you swore you were going faint on the spot.

Only now do I realise I should of listened to my poltergeist friend and not of been so headstrong, as it has resulted in horrible consequences. I paused for a second and hesitated, should I go in?

Should I really attack these people?

Were they really my kidnappers?

The word kidnappers got me all infuriated again and I realised I wanted answers. Then I made my mind up.

I was going in.

With one swift motion I opened the door, only to be met with fresh air and to find I was standing on a porch, over looking some type of camp.

There were four figures in front of me. All male. One was in a wheelchair, who looked oddly familiar, and I felt something stirring in the back of my mind but didn't think to question it. He had a neatly trimmed beard and brown hair that reached just above his shoulders. He was in a business suit and looked like one of my many professors at college. "Go fish." He said and the guy next to him picked up a card from the card pile on the table, which they were all sat around.

The guy that had picked up the card looked relatively normal. He had a chubby face, a red nose and curly hair. However I couldn't make my mind up whether or not that his hair was black or purple. The strange man had watery, blue, bloodshot eyes. My friends from college often got those eyes when they had drank too much, which implied to me that this guy must really like his alcohol. He had an odd choice in clothes for sure and looked like my brother when he got into one of his beach moods. He was wearing a tiger-striped Hawaiian shirt and purple running shoes. It made me wonder if this guy did workout because he certainly looked like he didn't. I thought he was more of a slob really.

There was a brown haired guy, round about my age, staring straight at me. He had green eyes with brown rings around the pupil. It spread out, creating a variety of different greens in his eyes. They were so beautiful and the first thing I saw when threw open the door. His eyes were boring into mine and he put a finger to his lips, acting like he had not seen me. He noticed the candlestick raised above my head and raised an eyebrow at me, his eyes darting between me and the candlestick. He said nothing on it. He was wearing a orange top that read 'Camp Half-Blood' and had a silhouette of a Pegasus engraved on front. He was in shorts and stretched, a Greeklike bracelet on his wrist. He turned his attention back to the card game the four of them were playing.

I lowered the candlestick a little, coming to the terms that these people might not want to hurt me after all. I didn't notice the change in temperature nor the frost that was slowly spreading around the porch, it escalating from my feet. I was about to retreat but then I noticed the tanned male sitting at the table. His hair was black, and his eyes a very dark brown. While he was wearing a white short-sleeved T-shirt which read 'Coffee = Good Times.' Nothing unusual about that right? I thought so too until I noticed the horns coming out of his hair and where his legs should of been there were goat legs and hooves!

Actual hooves.

I couldn't believe what I seeing. This was so unnatural. That thing was definitely not human. My mind automatically flipped back to my Classical Civilisation classes and labeled the thing as a satyr.
I regret taking that class.

Then a scream of terror escaped my lips as they all turned to look at me, save the guy who had noticed me earlier. He had an amused look plastered on his stupid face. I sprinted forward and leaped onto the table. I kept screaming, attracting the attention of the campers around the camp. Some looked shocked while others looked bemused. I was gathering quite the crowd as I thrashed the candlestick about. The table was freezing over the more panicked I got. A cold wind picked up, blowing the cards off the table. I swung round and hit the guy with the Hawaiian T-shirt in the head. He didn't see it coming and winced as this golden stuff started to ooze from his head. I screamed again and slipped backwards on the now ice table. He glared at me and rose up out of his seat, which had started to freeze over. He seemed to get angry, and I mean angry. Not just your normal Oh-my-god-stop-that-now angry, I'm talking your mother angry. His eyes flashed a strange colour and I started to whimper. Maybe hitting one of my captors around the head wasn't the best idea in the world.

Told you, said the voice in my head, never anger Dionysus, child.

I stiffened. I was beginning to hate this poltergeist more and more.

Wait. Dionysus? But-

Duck, the voiced stated, interrupting my thoughts. I felt complied to follow out the command. So I did and my hand touched the ice table. Ice shot up from the table and created a protective barrier around me. There were a few gasps and mumbles which I could not make out. I had barely missed the swipe from the chubby guy.

The guy in the running shorts was about to crush me when I heard a frustrated sigh. "Mr D, your restrictions."

The guy, known as Mr D, sighed and glared at me. "Demigods, hate them." He disappeared back into the house with a huff.

Demigods? I registered that word and automatically my mind went to the Grecian myths on Heracles and Jason.

Okay now I really regretted taking Classical Civilisation as a class.

My breathing was short and rapid, my eyes wide. All of the adrenaline was leaving my body and I felt a wave of tiredness overcome me. There was silence, though I was fully aware of the many campers staring at me, whispering between themselves. I wanted to scowl and demand answers but I couldn't, my eyes were fixed on the ice shards that had erupted from the frozen table to protect me. I took a small step back from what I had created. I stared down at my hands.

I had been the cause of this.

But how?

This wasn't possible nor logical.

Had they given me some crazy drug, like LSD, that was making me have hallucinations?!

OH GOD THEY HAD DRUGGED ME.

The guy in the wheelchair approached me with extreme caution, seeing the tears in my eyes. He held out his hand for me. "Eira, calm down." Calm down?! This guy had kidnapped me with the help of that guy I had hit around the head with a candlestick! On top of that how did he know my name?! How could I calm down?

I finally found my voice.

Only then did I notice that the disabled dude was not actually disabled. His top half was human while the rest belong to a horse. "C-Centaur..." I whispered in disbelief and panic. At the point the memories from last week came flooding back to me and I screamed again and jump backwards, my hands automatically flaring out for protection. A ice beam shot out from my hand and narrowly missed the centaur. He looked slightly shocked and the campers gasped. Some started drawing in on me, how dare I hurt their beloved centaur! Others just stared at me in pity, a knowing look behind their eyes.

I was scared, for the second time in my life I was properly petrified; the first being when that thing attacked me. I was shaking from head to toe and was backing up bit by bit. I screamed again when I sensed fire. I didn't know how I knew someone had fire, instinct just told me. My eyes widened, that shouldn't possible, yet it was. How could I sense fire when there was none? Every hair on my body stood on end as fear washed over me.

Remember how I said I was slightly scared of fires?

Yeah, well now I'm petrified of them.

"Help!" I yelled through my tears to no one in particular. I thought no one was going go answer.

But I was wrong.

The poltergeist in my head spoke to me, gaining a gentle and proud tone. You are safe now, young one. Release the energy you have kept hidden for so long.

Safe?! I wanted to answer I was far from it, however a sudden burst of energy erupted from me and shot high into the sky. A collective round of gasps were heard as it started to snow. I remember thinking at the time that it was like these kids had never seen snow before. Only later would I learn that it only snowed if Mr D allowed it. So this was a rare occurrence at camp. The campers stared at the sky in shock, dumbfound. All the eyes in camp gawked at me in mix of wonder and horror. I stood, frozen on the spot, hands out in a stance. I was ready to run if necessary.

Somehow the centaur managed to find the will to speak. He cleared his throat, breaking the unnerving silence. "Travis, Connor, take her to cabin 11." Two boys about my age stepped forward to seize me.
I stared at him in shock. No, I didn't want to go anywhere with these people! They were my kidnappers! I wanted to go home. "Let me go... Please. I'll pay whatever ransom you want. Just please let me go home." I begged to the centaur, sending him a remorseful look.

A look of sorrow washed over his face for a few seconds before disappearing. "You were brought here for a reason, without the aid of Belkon, here. We need to find out how you got here on your own." He glared at the satyr, who looked at him sheepishly.

For the first time I got a proper look at the satyr. I gasped and stumbled backwards as something clicked. Cedric. That satyr was Cedric. My eyes widened. "Cedric..." I mumbled in shock.

The satyr's gaze met mine. "Well that's just my undercover name, my real name is Belkon."

Anger suddenly filled me. Not only had he lied to me but he had pretended to be my friend. I had trusted him, when all of along he was working for this very organisation who had kidnapped me! I lunged for him. He bleated in fear and darted away. He was very nimble for someone who had hooves instead of feet.
I was about to knock the daylight out of him when I was suddenly held back. My arms being held prisoner behind my back. My head whipped round to see the two guys, who the centaur dude had called earlier to take me to cabin 11. Probably another place they kept all of their hostages. They both sent me disapproving looks. I glared back, my look intensifying. They were both cute but evilly cute, if you know what I mean. Like Loki in the Avengers Assemble. Tom Hiddleston did a brilliant job at playing him and that accent! It was something to die for!

I was interrupted from my thoughts when I felt something appear on my wrists.

The two guys removed their grip on me, making my arms free once more. Only they weren't. I tried pulling my arms apart but they wouldn't budge. It took me a few minutes to realise I had handcuffs on. I scowled and began to walk down the pathway that had formed in the campers. They had parted in half, so that I could walk past them. I was met with mixed looks of curiosity, fear, anger and bemusement. I felt like Kovu from the Lion King 2: Simba's Pride. When he is thrown out of the pride in that one song 'One of us.' Yeah, I was Kovu and the campers were the animals.

I hated them all.

I blinked in surprise and paused. That was a dark thought coming from me. Eira Eddington, the usually bright and bubbly girl with her head in the clouds! I was not some violent girl with anger issues. Then it hit me. My actions had portrayed that I was. My irrational actions from fear made me seem like a monster, when I was far from it. I was just a girl who like to reference things from fandoms and had an unhealthy obsession with cake.

I was pushed forward by Connor. He had a foul look plastered on his face. “Move it. The sooner you get claimed to better.”

A confused look appeared on my face. “Claimed? What’s that?” I received no answer. It seemed like my captors would be harder to get information out of then I first thought. Connor pushed me forward again. "Come on, let's get you to Cabin 11."

I decided I had two options. One, I could go all crazy again and demand answers, or two, I could play along with their little game about Greek gods and try to escape myself.

Naturally I chose the latter.

Notes