Graupel flew over Diamond, shielding her with his body.
“What's going on?” she cried.
“I don't know.” he said. “Just hold on tight.”
Chapter Seven
They stayed in each other's arms unharmed for many minutes until Graupel raised his head from her chest and looked into her eyes. Both of them were shaken up but still seemed to have a moment.
Graupel ruined the moment by turning away to get up and inspect the damage from the tunnel entrance.
“We're stuck.” he said after looking and trying to remove ice boulders from the cave entrance. He swept his hand through his short blue hair and sighed as his shoulders dropped. “I'm not sure how we're going to get out of this. And it's all my fault. If I had been more attentive to the Dashes... really tried, then possibly the ice wouldn't be softening. Perhaps we wouldn't be stuck here.” he turned to her, his gaze bleak. “I'm so sorry Diamond.”
Diamond quickly scrambled up fluttering out her wings to make sure that none of them had been hurt in the fall. She straightened out her dress slightly disappointed for the lack of attention that Graupel was giving to her. She flew over to him and laid her hand on his arm. “Graupel, you made a mistake, we can fix this. You can fix this. All you have to do is look deep within yourself and try to grasp the gentle softness and nudge that is there inside of you. Just like we did earlier. It’s there like the crisps that are on the ground, like freshly fallen snow in the movement of the wind. Like the love of winter. Graupel, do you love winter?” Diamond carefully moved in front of him. “Do you understand snow and how the temperature drops? How your heart quickens and the strength inside you? How it leads. Focus on that, Graupel.”
He lifted his fingers to caress her cheek. “The way you describe it… it's so much better. Better than my father did.”
She lifted her hand to his cheek, and he closed his eyes. “Feel it inside of you. It’s there. You just have to want it. Take it.” she said, lifting up, her face getting close. “Accept it.” She let go of his arm and put her other hand on his chest. The burning sensation between them became as heated as the slow burn of frostbite. Wolven ice curled around them and Graupel sensed the shift within the air as if a long ago prayer whispered on the wind.
Soft lips met his and emotions arose, like a thousand prickles of diamond dust searing into his soul, claiming him and letting him know that there was no other.
His hand tenderly cupped her face leaning into the kiss as if lost lovers had reunited between them.
His heart thumped and smoothed over as a thin lace of a snowflake laid across his iced heart softening the edges into something more intricate and beautiful. His heart had been claimed. Full of wonder and excitement he never realized he never knew. But here in this cavern he'd found his Dashes. He'd found his snowflake, and all they needed to do was to get out so he could tell everybody. Rejoice in the fact that he was no longer alone. That he never was in the first place. She had been there the whole entire time and so had the impression. He just had to listen.
In this moment Diamond was entranced, her heart full of burning for the prince in front of her that was devouring her like no other. Like she was his only one. Her heart started to notice the prickle and turned it into something more intricate, more firm and desirable. Her heart was touched by frostbite and in the end the intricate woven design of a snowflake left replaced. She was his as much as he was hers. There was no denying it. She clasped his arm that wrapped around her waist, snuggling her to his side. Diamond’s wings flooded with excitement as her little purple heart became a gem desired to be loved. She sensed waves upon her skin as if a tiny snow storm circled around them curling up, making it known that they were each other's.
After the long-awaited kiss Graupel pulled away, his eyes bright with something anew. “You are mine,” he said in a possessive manner, pulling her to him once again. “You're mine.” but this time he said it softer. “You're my snowflake.”
His hands lifted to her hair, brushing it back and gazing into her eyes. “You were in front of me the whole time. I should have known.” He smiled. “I always noticed you in the cafe. I always took in every detail, but my heart was too hard too even recognize it was you. It was you who brought back the life in me and brought back winter.”
He lifted and twirled her around like a giddy half pint fairie. “My snowflake,” he bellowed happily as his wings fluttered, bringing them up into the air. And once again, the two of them dance around, joyful with glee.
Diamond grinned. “I was always blinded by the heat when I should have been looking for the frostbite. For my snowflake within the storm.”
He slowed their dancing, glancing to the piles of frozen boulders that were blocking their way out. “That looks like a problem.”
“How do we even dream about getting out?” A knowing smile spread across her face. “My dear prince, you should know by now that someone who is obsessed with heat,” she said letting him go, flying down to her bag and she pulled out something thin and smooth. One of her trinkets. Something he had never ever seen before. “will, have matches in their bag.”
“What is that?” he asked
She shrugged. “It’s something that humans have to make heat. Something I have been fascinated with, but now no longer need. Not when I have you.”
Graupel flew down next to her, studying the items closely. “So how will it help?”
Diamond bit her lip knowing full well what she could burn in order to get them out. At first, she wasn't sure if she was ready to give them up yet. Her parchment books.
She flew over to Graupel, grasping his shirt with sheer determination. “Do you think they're sending someone to get us out?”
“Yes but it might take days,” he said “and by then we could starve. Not even the small amount of snacks you have would keep us. Our little bodies need nourishment often my snowflake. We're such fragile creatures.” His hands lifted to brush back her hair. “But I would die a thousand deaths if this is what I’d have to go through to realize. Understanding what I know now.”
Her heart warmed and Diamond knew what she had to do. She grabbed his hand and darted towards her satchel and rifled through it. “Graupel,” she handed him her first parchment book and then a second one and held another in her hand. “I need you to do something for me.”
With white eyebrows drawn in confusion he asked, “What is that, my darling snowflake?”
Diamond swallowed hard but she was sure that this was what she needed to do. “I need you to rip the pages, my love.”
Graupel’s gaze shot up from the books to stare at a resolved Diamond. She was making a sacrifice. “But these are yours…”
Diamond shook her head as she laid a hand on his. “It's the only way,” She told him, her eyes softening on to his. “It's the only way to bring heat, and why not bring heat in the most delicious way. You have found your Dashes. You’ve found me. Perhaps it is time that I let go of the summer heat and embrace the frostbite winters.”
Graupel gave a firm nod and she was surprised that when he started tearing her pages out, the absolute sound of it didn’t shatter her heart. Now she only felt the urgency. She joined in to rip the pages of her books and then both of them piled the loose pages by the blocked cave door.