Finding Frost-Chapter 20

Taken

Copyright 2013. All Rights Reserved

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The ride began in utter silence, for me I was kind of shocked but Arden just stared forward utterly emotionless. It was strangely familiar but I pushed that thought away trying to collect myself and figure out what the hell I was going to do. A thought finally popped into my head and I decided it was a good start as any.

“Why didn’t you go to the play?” I turned to Arden and gave him a questioning look.

All façade of nothingness on his face fell and he gave me his usual, teasing smile, “I went to the play, that’s how I was able to take you.”

I sighed, irritated because if he was going to kidnap me out of the blue, the least he could do is be cooperative, “I mean why didn’t you attend using the ticket Jack saved for you.”

“Because I was in it.” Arden said simply looking at me as if he knew something that I didn’t, something vital to understanding the big picture. He obviously did because he knew why he kidnapped me and it was obviously for a reason more than a joyride.

“The play? What do you mean you were in the play? How could you have been in the play?”

“Do I look familiar at all?”

“Yes you do because we have met before, and frequently so you obviously look familiar.”

“I understand but more so?” he strangely did but I couldn’t dwell on it, it was most likely him just trying to distract or confuse me even more so than I am now.

“Sort of.” I admitted to him.

He just laughed at that and ceased to speak. I squirmed in my seat trying to make myself comfortable. When that didn’t work, I sat crisscross on the seat. He just regarded me looking amused which only made me angrier.

Why would he ask me if he looked familiar? There were just some mannerisms that foreign to his usual, sunny personality and disposition. None of it was adding up, how could he have been in the play?  Was he one of the background characters? No he couldn’t have been because if I hadn’t recognized him, Jack would have.

“So your dad was at the show? I heard he even sat in the spot they reserved for your mother. It must be hard to see that after all these years, you used to tell me how much it hurt when he left.” Arden said softly not looking me in the eye in a voice that I knew, I knew that I knew it, but I just couldn’t put my finger on where, or who, it belong to.

“Yeah, I didn’t see him until we were bowing. It kinda hurt to see him, especially after all these years, after her death, in a seat I had saved for her. She’d been there and he hadn’t and now he chooses to come. ” I told him softly when suddenly I whipped my head to face him. Why had I admitted that to him? Better yet, what did he mean I ‘used to tell him how much it hurt when he left’? I might have met him once when Jack was still here if that.

“What do you mean I used to tell you how much it hurt?” By now, I was honestly scared of him and whatever the hell he was talking about.

“Think.” He requested of me simply and ceased to talk no matter what I said, asked or did.

So I did as he requested. I thought; and as I did, the pieces began to fit together and I had a whole new idea of what was going on. Who would have been in the play? And have been someone I confessed the hurt my dad caused me? Narrowing that down, it must have been a guy. It honestly wouldn’t have made sense if it weren’t a certain someone who I used to trust and plan to spend my life with.

I turned and admired the profile which, although held some alien features, was still so familiar from the look in his eyes, to that jaw to that slight arch of the brow. It became so obvious to me that I could have laughed if I wasn’t confused, scared, and angered by it.

“Why?” I asked coldly looking at him when he suddenly turned to the side of the road and parking.

Once he had done so he turned to me and the sunny, blonde adult I had just recently become acquainted with became the strikingly cold and handsome face of Tanner, who I had known for so long and grown to hate.

“They wanted me to watch over you, they being the council, to make sure Jack didn’t return. Of course they also wanted me to observe you, you who they deemed a perfect specimen. You just happened to be with the wrong person.” He explained in a voice I had grown used to, however had never had used when speaking to me. He reserved that for people he mocked or taunted or, as I assumed for this case, he was amused by.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“You, my darling Gwyneira Faith,” my full name rolled off his tongue, “Are exactly what the council wants to help govern us, however you were too much of a distraction for poor little Jack. It would be one thing if he were to be Summer instead of Winter but that is not the case of course.”

“And did you mean by calling me the ‘perfect specimen’?”

He placed a scorching hot finger on my icy skin and lifted my face to look at him, “You would not only be the perfect Winter Counterpart but also the perfect life-mate for me.”

I jumped back and looked at him wide eyed, “Life-mate?”

“Yes, you were even considering it for so long when we were together before, I saw the hunger and lust for power in your eyes then and I still see it now. My dear, it’s only been pushed aside for the moment by your weak feelings for Jack. If all had gone according to plan, I would have asked you to join me and you would have said yes; you know you would have said yes.”

“Yes to replacing Jack, you want me to replace Jack?” I asked incredulously, looking at me in shock.

“Of course, I’ve seen you. You’re a bitch, a cold hearted bitch and you can’t deny that.” It was true, I couldn’t but I wasn’t that bitch now, not any longer.

“Not anymore, I could never been so cruel and cold again. I especially couldn’t do that to Jack, what would happen to him?”

“He might be given a smaller role, maybe even something as big as being on your side of the council. I could always use another elder and I know just the man. First of course he’d have to be stripped of those powers of his, not that you’d need them of course, but he could become the Easter Bunny?”

“You’re losing me, what do you mean I wouldn’t need them?”

He grinned, looking at me as if I had hit a point he wanted me to, “You have it in your blood, this… infatuation you have with him is only a result of the magnetism of your blood and his powers. Your place is where he sits, your blood calls to him because he has what is yours by birthright. Our positions are usually ones earned or given but we have never had an offspring created when one was head of the council and none before you have had the power that runs through your veins, I can feel it’s power pulse within you.”

“Well I mean what’s so special about me and why can’t I be Jack’s life-mate, I love him and it would make more sense to have the both of us.” I tried to reason only because the look in Ar-Tanner’s eyes spoke that there would be no way he’d let me turn it down.

“We’ve never had a female and, while Jack and I were, we never worked in the harmony or were as close to each other as we needed to be…” shit he’s talking about them in past tense, “…and of course we can’t have three leaders of the council.”

“Why not, a third leader could be the middle ground, the tie breaker.” I suggested, trying to think rationally but his head was too filled with other stuff, mostly thoughts and traditions of the past.

“We’ve never had a third leader so no, we obviously don’t need one.”

He turned away and once again continued to drive when I realized something and mentally hit myself in the head for not thinking of it before. My cell phone. I discretely sent a quick text to the first of the gang in my recent texts, Tiff, and hoped for the best.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked curious if we had a destination in mind or if he just took me to tell me all this.

“To Gregori.”

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Jack’s POV

“Where is she?” I asked pacing backstage waiting for Gwen to come out of her dressing room, it had been at least an hour since the show ended and there was no way she should still be in there.

I had finished quickly, although not as quickly as Tanner who seemed to be in a hurry, and texted her “wondering where she was. I received no reply and I had finally sent Tiff to go check on her for me but she had yet to return. Hopefully, that’s a good sign and mean that she and Gwen are talking and they’re on their way.

I suddenly heard light foot falls and turned to see a panicking Tiff, “Jack…”

“What is it?” I asked, the way she was looking at me wasn’t exactly the most assuring thing in the world.

“Gwen wasn’t in her dressing room…”

“What!”I shouted as she made a move to show me to give her a second. I collected myself and then looked to her.

“…but I just got this text message.” She handed me her phone and looked away.

It was from Gwen and although I was hurt she hadn’t contact me first, I pushed it aside. It read, “Arden kidnap help.”

“Arden?’ I asked looking at Tiff in shock but she didn’t look surprised.

“Look, I know you think he’s a good guy but he’s not. There’s always been something about him that none of us trusted and he’s always been dropping these sneaky hints when you leave the room. Anyway let’s not lose sight of what’s important, Arden have Gwen and we have to go help her. Let’s go do this, I’ll call reinforcements!”

She continued to prattle on but all I could think about was Arden betrayal. How could he have done that to me? I know that everyone else hated him with a burning passion but I always thought he was such a nice guy and they were mistaken. I guess I was wrong, Arden is definitely not the kind of person I thought he was.

“Come on, Coop’s pulling the car around. Him being the techie he is, he managed to get her location using her phone so the three of us are going to head out and Nick and Sandy will follow us”. I was still in a bit of a daze so Tiff had to pull me with her.

“Sorry, I just can’t believe he’d take her. I trusted him!”

Tiff made a move to soothe me, “I know Jack, and for your sake, I wish he had lived up to those expectations.”

“I just don’t know why he did it.” I muttered to myself and she looked at me questioningly but then gave me a look as if I was on to something.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“There must be more of a reason than that he’s a jerk or that he wants her.” I pointed out and she nodded.

“Maybe it’s got something to do with Gregori?” Coop butt in. He motioned for us to get in the car so I slid in the passenger’s seat and Tiff sat in the back.

“Why would it have something to do with Gregori?” I asked confused, Arden was betrayed by Gregori in just the way he betrayed me. Wow, that stings.

“They were close, I knew them both well enough and I wasn’t too sure they really hated each other. I know that Gregori did what he did but Arden came out the most unscathed and I mean, the council has been scheming to get her.” Coop explained but it only made me more confused.

“What are you talking about?”

“Jack, they want her to replace you.” Coop admitted looking away and I caught Tiff do something similar.

“What?” I looked at them but neither would meet my eyes, “Did you guys both know, did everyone know?”

“I wasn’t sure,” Tiff spoke up, “But I did suspect it, I mean she was literally an ice queen and she is Gregori’s great-to-the-nth granddaughter so she has Winter in her blood, it makes sense.”

“Gwen would agree to it though, she wouldn’t do that to you. She really cares about you.” Coop told me trying to make me feel better but I felt numb.

“Let’s just go get her.” I told them emotionless and so they decided to leave me be.

~~~~~~~~~~

“We’re here.” Arden said in a mocking tone, cutting the silence as we began to pull up the long driveway to a mansion which I could only assume belonged to Gregori.

It was far out, somewhere in the mountain range, but barely still in Vermont. There had been nothing but trees and road for who knows how long and it was refreshing to see something else. The mansion itself was hard to find, you’d really need to know where to look to be able to find it.

He made his way up the steps as a well-dressed man opened my door and helped me out. He gave me a warm greeting but I stubbornly ignored him. I stalked up the steps, following Arden as he led me through the mansion and finally up the steps and to an office. He didn’t hesitate for a moment before he pushed the door open and strode into the room.

I had no choice but to follow, although much more hesitantly than him, with no idea what I would be getting myself into. Looking around as I made my way in, I found it to be…cold. It looked like something out of a catalogue, as if no one really used it although I knew that couldn’t be true. In the right hand corner, I found stacks of papers immaculately organized and pictures of both Nora and I.

Arden was near the desk having a talk with who I could only assume was Gregori. As I neared, I realized that it was in fact him and so I took him. His hair was only a shade darker than mine and eyes were an icily familiar shade of violet blue just like mine, exactly like mine. He was built like a well sculpted statue and the memory of our first meeting at the Halloween dance hit me. He hadn’t changed a bit since the picture I had seen of him and Nora.

“Hello my darling Gwyneira.” He smiled and walked over to take my left hand. He laid a gentle kiss on my knuckle, almost directly on my ring finger.

“Gregori.” 

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The picture that is on the right is a picture one of my readers made and I had planned to use it but then I found the one I'm using now. Do you like it? Do you like both? Tell me what you think!

I also plan on putting up pictures of what I think the characters look like(or close to it) and if you look on the side I updated my cast list a little. The pictures will be in the following chapters.

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