I tie my skates then look out onto the ice the next day. I don't know why I'm here when the news about Jobless Kol still made my head spin. Skating is an escape, not a fix.

We will starve and freeze without his fishing money. But working in the Amber mines is not an option.

My blades drag against the ice. It's smoother today. Maybe Kol dumped water on the ice while I was out the day before.

Find a job

Cut firewood

Make butter

Make bread

Smack!

My body bounces off the ice from the impact. I grimace, rubbing my knee. My soul wasn't in it today but like a drug, I am unable to tear myself away from it.

I look up into the sky, fighting back tears. The searing pain radiates from my knee up my body.

With a grunt, I stand, pushing the pain to the back of my mind.

My eyes look around for the patch of ice that tripped me up, I don't see it.

Next time, I will push harder, faster. I am here. Might as well make the most of it.

I do a spin. Tears are whipped from my cheeks, falling to the ice.

No job, no money. I can't stop thinking about it. It is consuming. Our damn luck. We have nothing. Absolutely nothing.

"We will be ok," I tell myself as I set up a jump.

I just need to tell myself that constantly and maybe we would be alright. It's my only hope.

Before long, I'm landing larger jumps with more power.

If skating pays bills...

It doesn't.

The longer I skate, the less Kol consumes my mind.

Today is the day I will land a triple jump. That would be just a sliver of good in this terrible mucked up world.

Just skate a little faster, jump a little higher. I can do it. I know I could.

I land a jump mom called a Double Axle. The landing is rough. My toe pick drags against the ice. The crunching sound makes me cringe. I know better than to lean that far forward.

A resounding clap echoes through the tree line. It catches me by surprise since no one watches me and no one ever claps. It nearly causes me to fall to the ground.

My attention turns to a man dressed in a long black coat and a white fir trim hat. His eyes are on me as he put his hands back into his pockets to shield them from the cold. There's excitement in his sparkling eyes. No one's eyes sparkled like that in Hell. No, he wasn't from here. He's a Talent Seeker. He is Motherwealth trash.

"Well done. That was beautiful," he says, inching closer to the edge of the pond.

If only he could fall in.

Unsure how long he watched me is not the point. He saw enough. He wants me. I'm exactly what he's looking for. Talent. It makes me sick. Why couldn't he take someone that actually cared about going to the Motherwealth?

"Who brought you here?" I snap.

Talent Seekers never leave the center of town, which means someone showed him where I would be. But jokes on them because I'm not going anywhere. Just because he saw me skate doesn't mean I would leave Hell.

"How long have you been skating?"

"I'm not interested in going to the Motherwealth," I reply, skating to my boots on the side of the pond. There isn't any use in skating when he's here staring at me like some vulture.

"You haven't even heard the offer. The Motherwealth has everything you want to be truly the best athlete you can be."

"Not interested."

He sighs, walking closer, making my muscles tense. He smells like lavender and privilege. "Why don't we talk about it at town hall? I can really sweeten the deal."

"I told you; I'm not interested. I'm from Hell, and I will stay here in Hell," I say as I stuff one of my skates into my bag with more force than normal.

"But Telvi..." he sighs.

My eyes snap up to meet his. He knows my name... What else does he know? Who told him about me?

He's silent for a moment until he opens his mouth again. He bites his lip then shivers. If I'm lucky, he would freeze to death... quickly.

"What if I told you we will eliminate your house taxes, water, and electricity costs forever?"

I eye him for a moment before tending to my other skate. I'm not going to lie, it's temping. If there's no major bills Kol wouldn't have to go to the Amber mines. But was it really worth selling my soul to the Motherwealth?

"Not interested."

He taps his foot against the edge of the ice.

Why couldn't he just fall into it? Why does the ice have to be so thick?

"What if I gave your brother a monthly stipend. He wouldn't have to work another day in his life."

That sounds too good to be true. He's lying. But why would he lie? It's not like figure skating is an in-demand talent like science or math. Why does he want me so badly? My eyes meet his. He smirks and I want to smack it off.

"Do I have your attention now?" he asks.

We both know the answer to that.

Money speaks. It's speaking to me.

"Let's go to town hall and we will talk about it," I suggest as I stand from the ice, swinging my bag over my shoulder.

The corners of his thick lips turn up. He wants to smile but holds it. "Very well then."

I never rode in a car. Most people in Hell hadn't. So, as I sit in the back of the car cruising towards town, people stare at us passing. Some whisper while others just stare me down. They probably want to be in my shoes. I'm taking a spot of some willing participant.

"While the contract is being drawn up, do you want a cup of tea?" the Talent Seeker by the name of Yuri asks me once we're in town hall.

I shake my head as I look around the small, warm room we are in. I have only walked into town hall a few times but never as deep into the building as I am now.

Deep within the building, the halls became brighter, whiter, warmer. Everything is spotless. No dust or dirt in sight. The place smells strongly of flowers but it's artificial. Like the hand creams they sell in the shops.

I'm sweating and I'm not sure if it's because of the heat or the nerves.

Within the nearly pure white room, I feel like I have made a grave mistake. What was I thinking? I could not trust them.

Yuri takes off his coat to show a coal black suit underneath. The Talent Seekers always wear black, but I catch a glimpse of a green colored bracelet peeking out from his sleeve. It looks homemade, and I wonder if his lover or family member made it for him.

He adjusts his sleeves, hiding the bracelet from view. "You don't speak much, do you?"

"Not unless there is something important to say."

"Well, here's your chance. I bet you don't talk to Talent Seekers often. I'm all yours if you want to ask anything."

I chew on my bottom lip for a moment. Do I really care about the Motherwealth enough to ask anything? Yuri looks no more than a few years older than myself. I didn't realize young people worked in the Motherwealth. Come to think about it, I don't know much about the Motherwealth. I spent so long hating anything related to it that I never tried to learn about it.

"Do you like being a Talent Seeker?" I ask.

Yuri nod. "I've only been a Talent Seeker for two years, but so far I like it."

"What made you want to become a Talent Seeker?"

"The short answer, to travel. You see, people in the Motherwealth don't travel to the commonwealths and I wanted to see those places."

"Do they live up to expectations? The commonwealths?"

He frowns slightly, fiddling with his bracelet. "It's just different."

I bet he didn't imagine people being as poor as they were or how they fought for survival every day. It probably makes him feel better about what he has.

"Any other questions?"

"How does the Motherwealth differ from the Commonwealths?" I already knew the answer to this. I heard stories from Mr. Green about its opulence and wealth, but I wanted to hear it from him. I want him to tell me what he notices. Maybe then it would make him less despicable.

He closes his mouth, then looks out the door again, as if fearing someone will walk in. But the thing is, the town hall is almost always nearly empty. It's easy to shut people out when the doors are locked. Ironic, right? People in Hell aren't special enough to come in. Not really a town hall is it then.

"The nature is more beautiful out here. It feels more natural- pure."

His response is boring and frustrating all at once. I want more than that. I want gossip. Not that dull information.

"I also feel like there is a better sense of community in the Commonwealths. Like people will band together if someone's sick. We don't have that in the Motherwealth. I don't even know my neighbors and we have lived next to each other for two years."

This conversation is a real snooze. It sounds like he's repeating everything from a textbook. But I shouldn't have expected this. He's one of them, he cares too much about the Motherwealth to paint it in a poor light. But he's hiding something, I can see it in the way his eyes dart toward the door.

"Excuse me, I think your contract is ready," he says then walks out of the room. He returns a second later with a paper in his hands. He lays it down in front of me then pulls out a brass heavy pen from his pocket. "So, you will have to sign this agreement stating you will come with us and train."

I look at the paper full of long sentences and small print. It might as well be a different language and no textbook I ever read had print this small.

The longer I read, the more confused I get. I'm not a lawyer- the one in Hell would have been useful- but yet I feel like I need to be one to understand this.

"If you have any questions about the contract, let me know," Yuri says kindly.

I just want to smash his face in. In my confusion, I only get more irritated.

He probably isn't used to people taking this long to sign. But I would be here all night if I must. I need to understand what I'm selling myself to. Every bone in my body says this is wrong, but I need the cash.

"How long is this agreement for? I don't see a time on it."

Yuri beams at me, then points to a sentence that mentions something about two years. "After two years, you are free to either stay in the Motherwealth or return to your town."

Two years. That's such a long time. I would miss out on so much. I had never been away from Kol for more than a day, let alone two years. It seems too hard. Would Kol forget about me? Move on? Realize he didn't need me? These thoughts cause my throat to tighten just a little.

"And if I sign this, not only will you remove all taxes from our house but also give a stipend to my brother?" I confirmed.

Yuri nods as he points to another sentence that answers my question. "You have our word. It's in the contract."

I let out a sigh. Ok. That is enough for me. Kol has done so much for me. It is my turn to repay him. At least he wouldn't starve.

I look back at the paper, then sign my name at the bottom.

Telvi Edman

As I place the heavy brass pen back on the table, Yuri takes the paper, then neatly puts it in a folder with other papers.

"You are really going to be great, Telvi," he assures me.

But the thing was, I don't want to be great. I just want to look out for my brother, repay him for all those long hours worked. Going to the Motherwealth to train has nothing to do with a quest for greatness.

"Our plane will leave tomorrow evening."

My eyes widened. Tomorrow evening is too soon. I take a deep breath, but it feels like I'm sucking through a straw. Tomorrow will leave no time to prep the thought to Kol. I want to ease into the conversation. Now it would be hasty and harsh. He will hate me for this. Many of times we talked about never signing up for talent with the Talent Seekers. We promised each other. Now that promise is broken.

I stand from my seat. "Alright. I must get home then."

"Of course. Don't let me hold you up. We will see you tomorrow evening. Just be at town hall by five."

The clock on the wall says it's already noon. There is so little time to wrap up loose ends. What would I say to Kol? What should I do to prepare? Too many scenarios float around my mind. They all end poorly.

I walk out of the town hall and down the street to get back home in silence. My feet are heavy, I barely have strength to carry my skates back. This is a mista-

"Telvi!" Kol's voice shouts, causing me to stop in mid-step and turn to face him.

He comes running from a store, bumping into a cross-country skier, throwing them into the snow.

The skier waves his fist in the air and shouts but all I can hear is my heartbeat in my ears.

He had panic in his eyes. He wraps his arms around me pulling me into a hug. He knows. He must.

"People said you rode with a Talent Seeker. Telvi, please don't tell me you did it."

I was never good at lying. Tears stream down my face. Words can't come out. I'm breathless. He didn't hate me, but this is worse. I disappointed him. I open my mouth, although nothing comes out. I can't utter the words that we both know.

"What did they tell you, Telvi?" he asks, wiping a tear from my cheek. His tone comforting, coaxing the answer out of me.

"They said they would remove all taxes on the house if I signed."

"Those damn Talent Seekers." Kol raised his fist in the air. "Why didn't you talk about this with me first?"

It all happened so fast. The pond, the town hall, the contract... But at the end of the day, I knew Kol would try to convince me not to sign. He would rather commit to hard working conditions in the Amber mines. That is something I would never let him do.

"Telvi, you know the Motherwealth cannot be trusted."

"But I signed a contract. They will live out their agreement."

He gives a humorless chuckle. "You didn't have to sign anything. We could have figured this out together."

I'm a disappointment. That's the hardest bit. I sniffle, trying to pull myself together. I couldn't. Tears keep coming. In a perfect world I would not have to go. The thing was, Kol is always going to be my older brother. He looked out for me, but for once in our lives, I decided something that would look out for him.

"Maybe it's not too late to take it back," he says, grabbing my hand, pulling me back towards town hall.

I dug my heels into the snow. "No, Kol."

He snaps his head towards me. "What?"

"No. The Motherwealth can't be too bad. And you don't have a job, Kol. We are in the dead of winter, and we already live paycheck to paycheck. This is the best thing for us. I know it is."

"How do you know anything about being the best thing for us? You are a child," he sneers.

I flinch. His words might as well be acid.

I stare at him for a moment, hoping he will take it back, but he's silent, just like the street we are on.

Finally, I sigh. "I should pack."

With that, I turn on my heels and start towardshome, probably for the very last time.