Ice skating

[Rowena Godwin]

The cold weather always seemed to drag on, but Rowena truthfully liked it. She crossed her arms, her robes billowing in the bitter wind. She liked the cold, but this was just painful. Still, she made her way to somewhere she like to go in winter. The black lake.
Often, it was deserted. In fact, she had never met anybody there before, and all of her friends were too scared to join her. She just laughed happily, not bothered that she would go on her own. As she trudged through the path, she knew it was nearby. Not because she recognised where she was, but because she heard voices.

Rowena froze. Were they students she could hear? Rowena had been quite positive she was the only student to come to the lake. She moved more quickly, tucking her hands in her pockets and peeing around for signs of the students. She followed her ears, and when she finally saw them, she ducked out of sight, behind a thick tree trunk. She listened to their murmers for quite a while, intrigued in what they were saying.

It was growing colder, and Rowena began to shiver. She rubbed at her arms, determined to keep quiet and then come into view of them when she felt like it. But as she tried to warm up, a twig snapped beneath her feet. She cursed, then froze. Her hiding was blown. She stepped out from behind the tree, grinning foolishly. 'D'ya mind if I join you?' She asked, lifting her robes to avoid them getting covered with mud. 'I love ice skating here, I've been doing it for'a few years now. I've never seen a giant squid, by the way,' she giggled, stepping towards the lake and gently placing a foot on the ice. It was slippy, obviously, but it was certainly strong. She stepped right on, sliding effortlessly into the middle. It seemed a long way in. She grinned, loving the adreneline rush. 'Come on!' She shouted back, gliding cautiously around the center, feeling the wind through her hair and closing her eyes happily.