Mara breathed in as much she could. The midnight summer air. The soft breeze hitting her face. The tender buzz of the city bustle surrounding her, and the mellow lights glowing in the distance.

She loved every bit of it.

The midnight hour on the rooftop was the only place Mara ever felt a sense of freedom. It was her room to breathe, her time to think over just how much longer her life would be strung to this place.

It has been a year since her time in the ice, but she could still feel the frost hanging off the tips of fingers and the edges of her eyelashes. She could still remember the way her cheeks stung with every swift breeze as if she was going to crumble at any given moment.

It took her months before she could be free from the stiff movements that her body had gotten used to, and never in her years had she felt so vulnerable. So violated and robbed of her life.

Mara stared at the intricate design of her glove. It was a gift from her father just a few months ago, but she doubted it was from out of the kindness of his heart. It had been made clear to her that everything he did played a part in service for him and nothing more. What he had done to her was enough to prove that.

His wish to harness her gift had been granted, and the gloves reminded her everyday of the chain around her neck. It terrorized her whole being and even she doesn't know the extent of her powers.

A week ago, she had sent a man to the asylum on a mission.

The Sparrows had just defended a bank from a group of robbers, and they were helping the hostages up to their feet. Mara was to assist a bank worker out to the paramedics, but the issue of her condition had slipped her mind and she held his bare arm ungloved.

The man threw himself to the wall, yelling how he didn't want to drown in the pits. He seized another hostage, an elderly woman, and dragged her down with him before moving on to grab a taser gun from a nearby officer and threatened anyone near him.

Mara had to be pried away from the man to the far end of the hall by Alvi as the rest of her brothers tried to detain him, eventually leading to Jesper freezing his legs and Matthew to knock him unconscious.

When the press got word of it and questioned Hargreeves, he merely ruled the man's state as a direct reaction to trauma.

By the time they came back to the Academy, his façade to the outside world had melted into what the Sparrows only knew about him. 

The man yanked her away from her brothers, who could only stare powerlessly, and locked her in a less extreme version of the ice box. "Think of your fallacies." he had said before he left her there overnight knowing full well about the night terrors she suffered from it.

Thinking about it now, she could still see the harrowing depictions of his fear. She could still feel the vivid sensation of water filling her lungs as she sunk to the bottom, the light above her growing smaller and smaller until all she could see was the endless night.

Mara had only wanted to help, but she ended up robbing him of a life instead.

A creak from the window behind snapped her from her thoughts, and saw Jesper poke his head out. The blond man gave her a toothy grin before he proceeded to climb out through the hole.

"What are you doing out here?" Mara pulled the cardigan tighter around her. She still wasn't used to the older, more  rugged, faces of her brothers. They can just as much be strangers with the amount of new habits they have developed along with unknown past events that have changed them almost entirely.

Jesper didn't answer back right away. He carefully made his way across the roof and sat down beside her, letting his legs dangle off the edge before he signed his response. "Looking for you."

"Well you found me."  Mara joked awkwardly.

"You do know there's mosquitos right?" Jesper moved his hands exasperatedly before he continued to swat away.

"A bunch of flies never killed anyone." 

"You can say that about dengue."

"Good point." Mara somehow felt lighter. He always had a way of melting down her walls even with just his presence no matter how much he's changed in the few years she was gone.

The pair sat in comfortable silence, gazing at the faded city lights and the echoes of a bush neighboring city. The scenery could just about lull her to sleep, but the graphic imagery of the man's demise still occupied her thoughts.

The bank worker was a simple man. He liked chocolate-covered strawberries and bringing his golden retriever on a joyride to the countryside. No partner in the past two years, but he was content and didn't loathe over it.

His fear had stemmed from a moment in his childhood when he had played amongst the company of other boys within a forest. They ran down a hill in the late afternoon on a race against time to come home, and he was falling behind. One unfortunate step and the ground beneath him crumbled, sending him crashing into the depths below. Amidst the excited shouts of his peers, his screams were not heard and he stayed there until the next late afternoon.

The experience haunted him ever since, and now it has been passed down to her.

"Are you holding up okay?" the blond nudged her shoulder lightly. 

"Yeah." she paused, "Just can't sleep."

"Hang on." Jesper took out packet that suspiciously looked like a cigarette pack from his pajama pocket, "You didn't get this from me, but I just put one of these in my mouth."

"Jesper Hargreeves." Mara gasped, "I never would've thought you smoked."

"I don't." he placed a single roll in her palm, "Its just something that helps keep my thoughts at bay."

Mara dangled the cigarette in her fingers. It laid cold and stiff from being under the 'iceman's' possession. She figured he wouldn't be able to smoke effectively even if he wanted to.

"I know it isn't much."  Jesper hastily signed, his face full of  worry and concern.

"It's fine, Jess." Mara gave him a reassuring grin. "Thank you."

"Please just keep it under wraps. The old man will kill me." Jesper smiled back, but his eyebrows raised almost pleadingly.

"You underestimate me." She grinned, almost forgetting about the man's torment.

"Shall we head back inside?" Jesper stood up carefully and stretched a hand towards her. "We need some rest after today's training."

Mara couldn't help but feel a bit upset. She wanted to stay longer, keep herself away from the pressing hands of Tartarus, but she took his hand anyway. She would tell him about her nightmares another time.

The blond helped himself through the window first. He continued to offer his help towards Mara, but she refused, jumping into the carpet floor herself. Jesper held his hands up in the air and walked further into her room.

"By the way, I came to ask if you wanted to go with us tomorrow to the theater." He signed when he turned back towards her.

"Us?" Mara arched an eyebrow.

"The family. Us siblings."

Mara sat quietly on her bed. The free weekends had been implemented during her frozen period, and there was never an attempt to go out together as a family since she got out. It was always customary for her to leave on her own, get adjusted to the world that went on without her.

"Sure, Jess."  she grinned. "I'd love to."

Jesper's face seemed to light up  at her response, and clasped his hands together before he replied. "You won't regret it. We're going to watch a horror movie and Ben doesn't know about it."

"You guys better not set off without me then." Mara laughed.

"Don't worry." Jesper ruffled her hair as he stepped out her door. "I'll never leave you behind."

___________________________

A/N:

I probably should've put this author's note in the first chapter.

Anyway, this book came into existence because I waited a whole year for season 2 and I finished all of it in a day, which led me to feel a bit empty.

I really wanted to make this work, but I didn't want it to end up discontinued from loss of interest or no ideas so I already wrote an outline of what I wanted it to be. Sometimes it gets changed, but the general idea is still there and I really can't wait to start writing it properly.

Hopefully I get to finish this book before the actual season 3 airs.

I know my writing is a bit rusty and I still edit the already published chapters, but please leave a vote or a comment! Every single one means so much to me, and one is just enough to keep me going.