Fire and Ice by J. E. Christer Read Free Book Online Page A

fingers.  He had felt the energy flow between them, seen the spark in her eyes and felt her tremble at his touch.  Could it be she was afraid of him?  Perhaps Thorvald was wrong in his assumption and it was fear that showed in her eyes and not the attraction he had hoped for.
    He sat for a long while trying to work out how things always went wrong for him when it came to Juliana.  He was so engrossed in his musings that he did not notice the darkening sky, or the wind beginning to pick up.  The previous summer days had been too perfect and now a downpour was about to happen and Juliana had run off.  He presumed she had gone back to the Hall by another route and decided to seek shelter himself until the rain finished.  Thunder began to rumble and lightning flashed as he entered the Hall and looked around, only to see de Gant asleep at the table and the servants busy with their work.  Hilde was supervising the cooking of a pig hanging on a large spit over the fire.  The young boy who was turning the beast looked over as he approached warning Hilde of Ulfric’s presence.
    “My lady, Hilde,” he said to get her attention.  “Is your daughter in the Hall? 
    Hilde dropped a curtsey, “I haven’t seen her, my lord, but she may be in your chamber.”
    Thorvald entered at that moment and brushed the rain from his tunic.
    “The thunder is unsettling the horses, Ulfric, but I’ve managed to settle them for now.”
    “Good,” was his curt reply and he flew up the stairs to find Juliana and hope she had recovered her good temper.  He opened their chamber door but one glance was enough to inform him that she was not there.  He searched her mother’s room too but there was no sign of her.  He leaned on the window ledge and looked out through the rain for any glimpse of her but again there was no sign.   He went to the big bed and lay down thinking of shining red hair framing a beautiful face and bright green eyes flecked with orange which sparked red when angry.  His tiredness caught up with him and he fell asleep amid the thunder claps and lightning forks hoping Juliana would return soon.
     
    ***
     
    Juliana was deep in the woods when the thunder and lightning began.  The canopy of foliage from the trees helped shelter her from the downpour but as it became harder and the thunder grew louder she crouched down and looked for shelter somewhere else.  There was a tree nearby which offered some cover as, unlike the others, it had a hollow trunk just big enough for her to crawl into and wait until the storm passed praying that the lightning would not strike.  She hoped there would not be any woodland creatures seeking the same security as she squeezed into her temporary shelter.
    After some jiggling and wriggling she managed to find a comfortable spot and relaxed.  Thankfully the tree was not hollow all the way up and she looked out onto the woodland and as usual despite the rain and thunder it calmed her mood.  Immediately, thoughts of Ulfric suffused her imagination and she wondered if he would come looking for her , and then decided that he would not after their latest argument.  She wondered why they could never have a real conversation without it always turning into misunderstandings and hurt feelings.  She tried to think rationally about why she always felt uncomfortable with him when they were alone and then had to admit to herself that she was nervous around him because she was attracted to him.  If she let herself go to him then her reputation would be sullied and she would never find a husband from the nobility, she would always be thought of as Ulfric’s mistress, and any ensuing children would be illegitimate.  That was not the life she had planned for herself.  She would have married Erik and been happy if only Ulfric had not entered her life so dramatically, and she wondered why she could so easily dismiss her feelings for him.  Tears began to roll down her cheeks as she realised that she