I tied my skates as I looked out onto the ice the next day.

I didn't know why I why I was here when the news about Jobless Kol spun around my mind. We would starve and freeze without his fishing money. But working in the Amber mines was not an option. I wouldn't let it get to that.

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

cut firewood

make butter

make bread

smack! 

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

My eyes drifted to the sky as tears welled up. At the end of the day, the Motherwealth was to blame for this. They were always to blame. 

With a grunt, I stood up and pushed harder, faster. I was here. Might as well make the most of it. Skating was my escape. But it wasn't a fix. 

I did a spin, as tears fell from my cheeks. 

I couldn't stop thinking about it. Our damn luck. It didn't matter how Kol lost his job, that wasn't the point, it was the fact that we had nothing. Absolutly nothing.

"We will be ok," I told myself as I set up to do a jump. I just needed to tell myself that constantly and maybe we would be alright. It was my only hope.

Before long, I was landing larger jumps with more power than normal.

If skating paid bills...

It didn't. But if it did. 

The longer I skated, the less Kol consumed my mind. Today was the day I would land a triple jump. Just skate a little faster, jump a little higher. I could do it. I know I could. 

I landed a jump mom called a Double Axle. The landing was rough. My toe pick dragged against the ice. I cringed. I knew better then to lean that far forward.

A resounding clap echoed through the tree line. It caught me by surprise. No one watched me and no one ever clapped. It nearly caused me to fall to the ground.

I stopped skating to see a man dressed in a long black coat and a white fir trimmed hat. His eyes trained on me as he put his hands back into his pockets to shield him from the cold. There was excitement in his eyes. They sparkled. No one's eyes sparkled like that in Hell. No, he wasn't from here. He was a Talent Seeker. He was Motherwealth trash. 

"Well done. That was beautiful," he said, inching close to the edge of the pond. If only he could fall in.

Unsure how long he watched me was not the point. He saw enough. He wanted me. I was exactly what he was looking for. It made me sick. Why couldn't he take someone that actually cared?

"Who brought you here?" I asked. Talent Seekers never left the center of town which meant that someone brought him here. They compelled him. But joke was on them because I wasn't going anywhere. Just because he saw me skate didn't mean I would leave Hell.

"How long have you been skating?"

"I'm not interested in going to the Motherwealth," I replied as I skated to my boots on the side of the pond. There wasn't any use in skating when he was here staring. 

"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 sighed as he walked closer, making my muscles tense up. Besides Mr. Green, I don't think I had ever been so close to a Motherwealth person. He smelt like lavender and privilege. "Why don't we talk about it at town hall? I can really sweeten the deal."

"I told you; I am not interested. I am from Hell, and I will stay here in Hell," I said as I stuffed one of my skates into my bag.

"But Telvi..." he sighed.

My eyes snapped up to meet his. He knew my name... What else did he know? Who told him about me? 

He was silent for a moment until he opened his mouth again. He bit his lip then shivered. If I was lucky, he would freeze to death quickly.

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

I eyed him for a moment before tending to my other skate. I wouldn't lie, that was temping, especially since that was where most of our money went to. If there were 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 tapped his foot against the edge of the ice. "What if I gave your brother a monthly stipend. He wouldn't have to work another day in his life." 

That sounded too good to be true. He was lying. But why? It wasn't like figure skating was an in demand talent. Why did he want me so badly? My eyes met his. He had a smirk that I wanted to smack off. 

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

We both knew the answer to that. 

"Let's go to town hall and we will talk about it," I said as I stood up from the ice, then swung my bag over my shoulder.

"Very well then," he said as he walked towards his shiny black car.

I had never ridden in a car. Most people in Hell hadn't ridden in cars. So, as I rode back into town, people stared at us passing. Some whispered while others just stared me down. They probably wanted to be in my shoes. I was 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 asked me once we were in town hall.

I shook my head as I looked around the small, warm room we were in. I had only walked into town hall a few times but never as deep into the building as I was in now. As we made our way into our current room, the halls became brighter, whiter, warmer. 

Now I was in a nearly hot room with white carpet and walls with large paintings. The whiteness was overpowering. It was blinding. This room was more brightly lit and cleaner than any other place I had stepped into in Hell. The Motherwealth must be like this.

Yuri took off his coat to show a black suit underneath. The Talent Seekers always wore black, but I caught a glimpse of a colored green bracelet peeking out from his sleeve. It looked homemade, and I wondered if his lover or family member made it for him.

He adjusted 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 chewed on my lip for a moment. Did I really care about the Motherwealth to know anything? Yuri looked no more than a few years older than myself. I never thought that young people worked in the Motherwealth. Come to think about it, I didn't know much about the Motherwealth. I had spent so long hating it that I never tried to learn about it.

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

Yuri nodded. "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."

"Does it live up to expectations? The commonwealths?"

He frowned slightly. He fiddled with his bracelet in thought. "It's just different."

I bet he didn't imagine people being as poor as they were here or the condition of the homes we lived in. He probably just wanted to feel better about what he had.

"Any other questions?"

"How does the Motherwealth differ from the Commonwealths?" I already knew the answer to this, but I wanted to hear it from him. I wanted him to tell me what he noticed.

He closed his mouth, then looked out the door again, as if fearing someone would come in. But the thing was, town hall was nearly empty. The town hall doors were nearly always locked. Ironic, right? People in Hell weren'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 was boring and frustrating all at once. I wanted more than that. It was pure because we didn't have the resources to make anything better. It was untaped not by choice. 

"I also feel like there is a better sense of community in the Commonwealths. Like people would band together if someone was 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 was a real snooze. Of course I wouldn't get any real valuable details. He cared too much about the Motherwealth to paint it in a poor light. But he was hiding something, I could see it in the way his eyes darted toward the door. 

"Excuse me, I think it's ready," he said then walked out of the room. He returned a second later with a paper in his hands. He laid it down in front of me then pulled 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 looked at the paper full of long sentences and small print. No textbook I ever read was this small of print. I strained my eyes to read. 

The longer I read, the more confused I got. I was not a lawyer- the one in Hell would have been useful- but yet I felt like I needed to be one to understand this.

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

He probably wasn't used to people taking this long to sign. I would be here all night if I had to. I just had to understand what I was selling myself to. Every bone in my body said that this was wrong, but I needed the cash.

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

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

Two years. That was such a long time to be gone for. I would miss out on so much. I had never been away from Kol for more than a day, let along two years. It seemed too hard. How would he survive if I wasn't cooking his meals? It caused my throat to tighten just a little.

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

Yuri nodded as he pointed to another sentence that mentioned my question. "You have our word. It's in the contract."

I let out a sigh. Ok. That was enough for me. Kol had done so much for me. If this was how I repaid him, so be it. At least he wouldn't starve. 

I looked back at the paper, then signed my name at the bottom.

As I placed the heavy brass pen back on the table, Yuri took the paper, then neatly put it in a folder with another paper.

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

But the thing was, I didn't want to be great. I just wanted to look out for my family. Going to the Motherwealth to train had nothing to do with greatness.

"So, when do we leave?"

"Our plane leaves tomorrow evening."

My eyes widened. Tomorrow evening was too soon. I took a deep breath but it felt like I was sucking through a straw. Tomorrow as no time to prep the thought to Kol. I wanted to ease into the conversation with Kol. The conversation would now have to be rushed, harsh. He would hate me for this. But more importantly, he would hate himself. 

I stood up from the table. "Alright. I must get home then."

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

The clock on the wall said it was already noon. Not even 24 hours left in this town. What was I going to do? What was I going to say to Kol? Too many scenarios floated around my mind. All ending poorly. 

I walked out of the town hall and down the street to get back home. My feet felt heavy and my skates were stiff in my hands. This was a mis-

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

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

The skier waved his fist in the air and shouted something but all I could hear was my heartbeat in my ears.

There was a look of panic in his eyes as he wrapped his arms around me. He knew. He had to. 

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

Tears streamed down my face. He didn't hate me, it was worse. I disappointed him. I opened my mouth, although nothing came out. I couldn't utter the words that we both knew.

"What did they tell you, Telvi?" he asked as he wiped a tear from my cheek.

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

Kol swore loudly as he threw his hands up in the air. "Why didn't you talk about this with me first?"

There was nothing to talk about, especially when I knew Kol would try to convince me not to sign. He would rather commit to hard working conditions in the Amber mines. That was 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."

"You didn't have to sign anything. We could have figured this out together."

I sniffled as I tried to pull myself together.  I couldn't. The thing was, Kol was always going to be my older brother. For once in our lives though, I decided something that would protect him. It was my turn. 

"Maybe it's not too late to take it back," he said as he grabbed my hand and started to pull me back towards town hall.

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

He snapped 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 sneered.

I flinched. I was only a few years younger than he. I stared at him for a moment, hoping he would take it back, but he was silent. Finally, I sighed. "I should pack."

With that, I turned on my heels and started towards home, probably for the very last time.