I am the Queen

Rozarria fell from the crevasse because some crazy woman pushed her. It wasn't exactly the kind of ending she was hoping for. But none of it matter. At that spec of the moment, everything turned slow for some reason, and all she could think was . . . she didn't want to die.

Her eyes traveled to Alvaro, who she knew was shock at the sudden turn of events. She was too. He was extending his hand at her, hoping to grab her. But she knew it was futile.

She never saw him so desperate before. Even with the mask and googles hindering his face, she knew he must be shouting her name. And she thought . . . she wanted to have a life with him.

The next thing she knew, she was freely falling without any lifeline, and she was going to die for sure. But what happened next, broke her cold façade and the thick layers of ice coating her heart shattered utterly.

Alvaro jumped after her, trying to catch her with arms extending, shouting her name in a frantic voice.

"Roz! Hold my hand! Quick!"

Ah . . . what an idiot.

Tears pooled beneath her eyelids, fogging her vision. Her hand extended, stretching to its limit, even if it was futile. At least, she wanted to hold hands if they were going to die together.

Truly an idiot.

"Roz!"

As soon as Alvaro caught Rozarria's hand, he grabbed his pickaxe and swung it at the block of ice, hoping it would be enough to stop their momentum.

cCRKCKrkk!!

The ice made cracking sounds, and ice shards and snow flew everywhere, even hitting his body and face. Some large blocks and sharp chards were shooting towards his head. But he didn't care about that, his grip tightened on the pickaxe, exerting all his force.

Eventually, the cracking sounds stop, and Alvaro and Rozarria found themselves hanging two hundred meters below their death, where deep layers of sharp glaciers and hard block of ice awaited them.

But even so, Alvaro didn't breathe a sigh of relief just yet. They were still not out from danger, and with the lack of oxygen, he didn't know how long he would last. Carrying two-persons weight with one hand on a pickaxe against a large block of ice proved to be a challenge.

"Alvaro . . ."

Even with the supplemental oxygen, it was still difficult to breathe, and their body was expending so much energy. With Alvaro's actions just now, Rozarria thought he was already hanging with everything he got.

"Don't look down," Alvaro warned. He glanced up, taking a slow deep breath to calm down his body to stabilize it from expending too much energy.

"Sherak! The rope!" He then shouted toward the blurry group of people who were looking at them from above.

Alvaro didn't have to shout a second time because not long after, he saw a rope coming down their way.

Even with difficulty, he still managed to smile to ease Rozarria's worries even though she couldn't see his face amidst the mask and goggles.

Rozarria didn't reply. She grabbed the rope and shifted her weight towards it. That was when Alvaro had breathed the large lump of air stuck in his throat. With the help of Rozarria, Alvaro, too, grabbed the rope before Shura, Sherak, and the rest of the helpers pulled them up.

"I thought I'm going to die . . . ," Rozarria mumbled after her breathing returned to normal. She was holding the rope with both hands while she snuggled close to Alvaro's chest, and she never felt so safe. She heard it beating wildly. Or was it hers?

"Well . . . I, for one, won't allow it."

Looking up, Rozarria saw amidst Alvaro's goggles how scary and murderous his eyes were. She even felt the threat and anger from his voice.

The moment they reached the safe ground, Alvaro strode towards Maxine with heavy steps. And before Rozarria could stop him, a resounding slap echoed in the mountain.

"Alvaro." Rozarria walked towards him in a hurry and held his hand, afraid he might accidentally kill Maxine while everyone watched with a slack jaw.

Henry was already beside Maxine, inspecting her face while he glared at Alvaro. But seeing Alvaro's almost palpable murderous air, his parted mouth clamp shut.

Alvaro gazed at Maxine with dead eyes while the latter contended to lower her head, not even minding the pain of his slap.

"What were you thinking?" Alvaro hissed, controlling his anger, for he might strangle the woman for what she did.

"Alvaro," Rozarria interfered, "It's fine. I'm alright."

"No!" Alvaro snapped. "You almost died."

Biting her inner cheeks, Maxine gathered her courage and looked over. Her face behind the mask was full of loathing directed at Rozarria.

"It's better if she died!" she shrieked. "You! How dare you walk in our life. I was the one who was by his side all this time. I love him since I was a child! And yet you . . . you stole him from me, you whore!"

Maxine lost it and stomped towards Rozarria. But Alvaro pulled Rozarria behind him, stopping Maxine from harming her.

But it only made Maxine lose her mind, and she shouted at the top of her lungs, "This is all your fault! You slut! You stole him from me! Whores like you deserved to die!"

"Stop it!" Alvaro hissed. It was dangerous to shout, especially in the mountains of snow. "Stop it, Maxine. This is not the time to––"

Alvaro didn't finish his sentence when he heard something. Rumbling and crackling sounds, followed by yelling. And everyone came back to their senses when they heard it. They flung their heads left and right, trying to see where the noises came from. Their eyes rounded when they saw a massive plume of ice and snow rolling towards them in unimaginable speed.

"Avalanche!"

"Take cover!"

Alvaro didn't have time to think of anyone else. At this moment, only one person registered in his mind.

"Rozarria!"

But before he could reach out his hand to grab her, the massive snow washed her away before his vision turned black.

----

Rozarria woke up, consumed with extreme headaches and disorientation. There was a painful pounding in her head while her throat was parched, very dry. She felt heaviness and numbness, and it took her minutes to regain her sensations.

The pounding in her head gradually stopped, and when her strength returned, she checked her limbs. Feeling those bones and muscles, it was when she breathed a sigh of relief.

That was dangerous. Extremely dangerous. She was sure she was a goner.

But here she was again. Still alive.

She huffed a dry laugh.

It must be because they were nearing the peak, and the avalanche hadn't gained enough momentum and snow to kill her with one hit. Though the force was enough to knock her unconscious.

She didn't know how much time had passed since, but judging from the oxygen supplied to her by the tank, she guessed not half a day passed.

Stumbling to her feet, she stabilized herself first before she swept her eyes around. Slowly yet forcibly expelling all breath as she tried to process what was happening around her. A dropping sensation hit her gut, which caused her heart to turned sluggish and heavy. Alvaro was nowhere to be found. To put it precisely, there was nothing but snow. Not a body to be seen.

"Alvaro . . ." She intended it to be a shout, but only a weak murmur escaped her lips.

Rustle!

Her head snapped towards the direction of the noise. Stumbling to her feet, dragging and catching each step, she walked towards the sound with a heart full of hope.

Only to be crashed when Shura came out from the snow, panting and gasping for breath.

She was glad she was alright, but the sinking feeling of her stomach only continued to grow as well as the hollowness in her heart.

Taking in periodic deep breathes with long exhales, she calmed herself. If I'm alive, there was no way he, too, was not.

Comforting her thoughts with this reason, her ears perked up when she heard another rustling sounds. Making sure Shura was alright, she walked in a hurry, self-constrained stride towards the noise, looking desperately amidst the fog of snow.

"Alvaro . . . ," she called again. Her voice was more audible than the last attempt. But still not enough to hear amidst the howling winds and snow.

When she saw a silhouette slumping on the ground, her steps quickened only to halt when she laid eyes on the figure.

Her hair rose on her nape, and a jittery feeling hit her belly when she saw Maxine vomiting and dry heaving on the ground. Her posture was bend and crumpled, her oxygen masked nowhere to be seen. Around her were loiters of dead bodies.

"He . . . h-help . . . ," Maxine barely said.

Her pupils were dilated, face red and veins protruding that Rozarria was afraid she would explode if she dawdled a little longer.

Rozarria kneeled in front of her. She searched for Maxine's backpack, but it was nowhere to be found. Come to think of it, Maxine wasn't carrying anything. She had her helpers carry her stuff.

She ransacked her bag instead for an extra tank. She then quickly put it on around the girl and instructed her to breathe.

Even with her limbs heavy, Maxine forced herself to point towards a direction when she regained some clarity.

"He . . . save me . . ."