It was not as warm as she expected it to be, it was completely ice cold to the touch. Her entire body shivered from the closeness. The hand led her further away from the crowd, onto the dance floor. When she turned around to face the owner of the hand, she was surprised to see Nicolas. His hand was usually warm like fire, but this time something changed in Nicolas, even his eyes reflected ice. It seemed as if he made a deal with winter itself.

"I apologize if I have frightened you, but it is your birthday, and a woman like you deserves a dance. Not one of those wild Narnian dances, but a proper dance." He smiled weakly.

Angelina made a small bow and followed him to the center of the dance floor. Her curiosity wanted to find out what was going on with Nicolas, for she did notice a difference in him. However, she didn't want to be around him at the moment, especially on her birthday.

"You know, it's not too late to change your mind," he whispered, being so close to her.

"About what?" She dared not show any sign of interest in him. However, she was a little intrigued, even she was surprised as to why.

Nicolas let out a laugh, "about being the queen of Telmar. We could marry right now, all you have to do is agree."

She somehow felt weaker around him, or maybe it was just weakness in general, "I don't feel very well." She stopped dancing. Another man talking about marriage. What was it with this place?

"Perhaps it is because your heart is trying to show you the right way," Nicolas said and still wouldn't let go of her hand.

Angelina looked at him sternly and then searched the room until her eyes landed on Edmund who was laughing at something with his brother, "my heart is showing me something, and it is surely not you." She pulled her hand out of his, bowed down, and started walking the opposite way. She'd rather marry Edmund right there and then, at least he would not be Nicholas.

"What a pity, keeper of light," he whispered to himself and smirked as she walked away.

She wished that he would disappear, go back to Telmar, but there was a purpose for him; good or evil. The whole ballroom seemed tiring, the people continued dancing and others eating and talking. The décor was fit for a king or a queen, but Angelina did not feel like one herself. Even the white walls seemed too fancy for her, even though she was a royal guest. The whole room was lit up with chandeliers and candles on every table. Her hands reached out for the column which was her only support as she felt weak to her knees and almost fell. The entire room started spinning and she wondered if it was something she ate or drank. Her head did spin in big crowds, but this crowd wasn't that big.

Knowing that falling on the floor would be most inappropriate and she would attract attention, Angelina continued clenching to the column to the side of the ballroom and hoping that her vision would stop blurring. She blinked a couple of times in an attempt to help herself but, no luck. She felt helpless and frozen, as if she was standing naked in a snowy blizzard.

When she was almost about to give up and fall onto the floor not caring if anyone would jump to her side, a hand quickly helped her up.

"Are you alright, love?" Someone's kind voice spoke, someone who spread warmth to her being, someone who seemed to chase away the cold.

Angelina quickly straightened her back and stood up to look him in the eyes, "I felt a bit dizzy."

"A bit?" Edmund raised his eyebrow, "you were about to fall on the floor, are you sure you feel alright? If I was being completely honest, you don't look so good."

"I'm fine, well now I am anyway. What brings you to this side of the room?" She tried to be her sarcastic self to prove to him that she was feeling better by his side.

Little did she know that the cold was slowly freezing her powers, to the point where she couldn't feel them drain away anymore. Only fire could break ice, and she had none in her anymore.

"Well, I wanted to show you your gift. I mean, if you feel terrible I could take you to your-"

"I'm fine! Trust me! Now show me your gift," Angelina cut him off before he could finish and smiled sweetly at him, taking him by the hand.

Edmund flinched from the cold which escaped it and furrowed his eyebrows. He dragged her hands closer to his lips and tried to warm them with his hot breath but to no luck, for she didn't even notice how cold her hands were.

"What's wrong?" Angelina smiled, not really understanding what he was doing.

He looked at her, surprised, "your hands are like ice, can't you feel it?"

"No, I feel nothing. I just need some fresh air, this room is filled with too many people." She pulled her hands away and made her way out of the room with Edmund close by.

They walked down the castle steps, his hand on her side in an attempt to keep her warm. Edmund himself was unsure of what to do, or how she became this cold, or why she couldn't even feel it anymore. He felt helpless, a state he never wanted to be in ever again, which made him sternly look at everything and ignore the mere emotion of caring. Through his rough behavior he did of course care, but it was not understood by her. His strive to protect others, even by pushing them away. Edmund knew very well that some monsters only live in the heads of others, driving them to do the craziest of things every day.

"So what is this gift you wanted to give me?" She leaned her head on him, breaking the chain of his thoughts.

Edmund smiled, "you'll just have to wait and see now won't you? Turn here," he instructed as they stepped outside and he led her to her gift.

"Edmund," Angelina stopped halfway, because she already guessed where they were going, "what's the secret behind this place?" She remembered how Peter told her the gardens held many secrets.

With a mysterious smirk, Edmund opened the metal gates to the Cair Paravel garden, "no secret, just a story."

"What's the story then?" She followed him in, not letting go of his hand.

They both walked to the marble bench in the center of the garden by the big tree and sat down. The stars, shining on the both of them, gave out a brilliant light of mystical like glowing. It was as if they were only created to decorate Cair Paravel by someone who was in control of the entire Narnian world; Aslan.

"A long time ago, when my siblings and I became kings and queens, certain parts of the castle were given to us, it was our sacred place, an escape from even the Narnian world. Peter was given the throne room, the main room in all of Cair Paravel. He could decorate it as he pleased. Susan was given the stables, she loved hunting and horseback riding, so we all figured it was a perfect fit. Lucy, since she was a curious soul, was given the library. Me, I was given this garden, I don't even know why, I am yet to find out. Every time, this was my safe haven." Edmund turned to her, "and I want it to be yours. I'm not good with flowers since I am a man, and I do admit this garden needs a woman's touch since it has grown in fair amounts. So, Angelina, will you accept this gift from me, to do with it as you please?" He stretched his arms out as if showing her all the forgotten and grown beauty in the garden.

Looking around, Angelina leaned her head to the side, "does this mean I can plant any flower I want?" She raised her eyebrow.

Edmund chuckled and looked down at the ground, "you can plant a billion flowers here if you want," he slowly moved his head back up.

"Good, then I'll have to accept this garden, even if it's not a diamond ring," she joked.

He moved in closer to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, "would you prefer a diamond ring? You know, the more I talk to you, the more I feel like I don't understand anything. You get mad at me when I bring up marriage, yet you tell me things about children and diamond rings." He cocked his eyebrows.

"No, I'm just kidding. This is perfect, simple yet extraordinary. And to be completely honest, I don't understand myself either. What can I say? Bad joke?" Angelina cupped his face.

Instantly he sensed the cold again in her hands, "your hands are still cold," he pointed out, furrowing his eyebrows.

"I don't know what's wrong. I mean, all I did was danced and then I felt dizzy and-ugh-that stupid smell of that flower!" She remembered the flower Nicolas gave to her.

"Flower?" Edmund asked.

Angelina shook her head, "Yeah forget about it. It's stupid, I threw it away."

"Well then that's going to be one flower you won't be planting here," he joked, "I am a bit worried. What's wrong?"

"I'm sure it's nothing, just-just be with me some more, besides, it was thanks to you I didn't fall on the floor back there." She leaned her head to the side and her hair flew in the wind. She hated it for being frizzy, but that frizz was what kept her head warm.

He took her hands and rubbed them inside of his, "now, let's get you back inside before you catch a real cold shall we?"

Looking back at the garden and then at the strong light coming out of the castle Angelina followed his lead. She didn't suspect that her hands were a big deal, that there was something freezing her powers. Being the innocent and unsuspecting soul as she tended to be, she just followed the king back into the castle without thinking twice of her state. When she attempted to warm herself with the light, it didn't work. Not alarmed by this, and thinking it was just another one of those times where she didn't have much control of her powers, Angelina smiled weakly and entered the castle.