He managed to catch her wrist with his good arm. It took a great deal of coordinated pulling and maneuvering with his legs to get her into a position where he could wrap his right arm around her waist, and he thanked the Almighty she was so small. The bag with the mirror shards was still looped across her torso.
As Alex kicked towards the surface, he felt something small and hard bounce against his legs. His harmonica caught the last bit of light on its metal surface before slowly sinking to the bed of the lake. For a split second, Alex considered trying to retrieve it–the last remnants of his old life and the one thing that had brought him purpose and a sense of control in the last few days. But the burning in his lungs and the dead weight of Celesta in his arms compelled him to leave the instrument behind.
As soon as his head broke the surface of the water, Alex gasped out a prayer of thanks. He knew that it had been a gamble, going after Celesta himself, and he was lucky that he did not become disoriented in the dark water underneath the ice and find himself just as trapped as Celesta had been. And he had no idea how he was supposed to get them both out of the water with only one usable arm.
“Here! Alexander!”
Alex’s teeth were chattering wildly, and he was sure at first he had imagined the voice. Strong, warm hands grabbed his shoulders and turned him around. Drosselmeyer was kneeling on the ice, his face lined with concern and a length of rope in his hands. “Can you wrap the rope around yourself?”
Alex shook his head. “N-n-n-not w-w-without m-my oth-th-ther arm.”
The old man edged forward slowly and held out his hands. The end of his long beard blew in the wind. “Can you push her up onto the ice?”
“I c-c-c-can t-try.”
Between the two of them, they were able to get the little pixie out of the water and onto the ice far enough from the edge to be out of danger. Drosselmeyer handed him the rope. “Tie it around your waist and I’ll pull you out,” he instructed.
Alex moved sluggishly as he attempted to do as the wizard commanded. His thoughts were growing fuzzy and his limbs, which were already stiff and numb from the curse, felt heavy and useless. Somehow, he was able to get the rope looped and tied around him.
Alex tried to grip the corner of the ice as Drosselmeyer started pulling up the rope. When it pulled taut under Alex’s weight, the old man spread his legs wide to brace himself and began to pull. Alex felt himself begin to rise out of the water, then suddenly fell back in again as Drosselmeyer lost his footing on the ice.
He was too cold and tired to react quickly enough, and a moment later found himself once more underneath the water. His brain was sluggish, and he had barely even registered he was sinking before he hit the solid ground of the lake bed. Something bright glittered in the silty ground beside him, and the last thing Alex did before his eyes drifted closed was wrap his frozen fingers around the piece of glass.
Twelve
Alexawoketothecrackling of a fire and the weight of something warm and heavy draped over him. Soft, steady breathing came from somewhere near his shoulder, and as he shifted slightly, he could smell a faint floral scent and something soft tickled his chin. Alex’s brain slowly came back to life, and he noticed that there was a pair of arms wrapped around his waist.
A pair of arms attached to a body that snuggled closer with a contented sigh.
His eyes flew open. Underneath a pile of blankets, Celesta lay beside him with her head nestled against his chest. Her hair was a wild, tangled mess and her face was pale, but she was alive.
“Ah, the hero awakens.” Drosselmeyer’s voice carried from the other side of the fire, followed a moment later by the sight of the wizard himself. He looked tired and drawn, but he smiled down at Alex fondly. He wore the same dark gray overcoat and red scarf that Alex had first seen him in.
Alex began to move to sit up, but Drosselmeyer held up a hand to stop him. “Don’t move yet. I was able to use magic to get you both dry but thought it best for you to warm up slowly to keep your bodies from going into further shock. Until Celesta wakes up, you should stay put.”
He certainly wasn’t going to argue with that–not when his body was still so tired, the blankets were warm, and his little pixie was snuggled against him. “What happened?” He laid his head back on the ground.
“You fell back into the water, and I had to drag you out. It’s probably a good thing you don’t remember it; you’ll have a number of bruises by tomorrow, I imagine.”
“It won’t matter for long. I can barely feel a thing,” Alex answered, closing his eyes sleepily.
“Yes, I noticed that. You don’t have much time.” Drosselmeyer’s voice was heavy.
“We found three of the mirror pieces.”
“Four.”
Alex forced his eyes open. “What?”
“You found all of the pieces. When I pulled you from the bottom of the lake, the final piece of the mirror was in your hand.” The wizard gave him a proud smile, his bright blue eyes wrinkling in the corners. “You did it, my boy.”
It took Alex a moment to process his words. “I don’t even know how,” he admitted. “Celesta and I just kind of happened upon all of them.”
“Your instructions were less than helpful,” the little pixie piped up from her place beside her chest. She turned just enough to allow her to narrow her eyes up at Drosselmeyer. “Next time, I would appreciate a little more straightforward and a little less mysterious.”
The wizard chuckled and Alex began to move away from Celesta, now that she was awake. She grabbed his shirt and held him in place, burying her face once more in his chest. “Don’t go,” she mumbled. “You’re warm and comfy.”
Alex stayed put, though he was all too aware of the laughing eyes of the wizard looking down at them and the inappropriateness of their position.
