I attempted to show Jessica, but she was already digging into my makeup. My vanity was packed with all my makeup, and I sighed in frustration, afraid that she would make me out to look like a whore.
Finally, she seemed satisfied as she looked at me, "You look good so far. Now sit down."
I sighed as I did what I was told. I knew that arguing with her was pointless. She started with foundation, then mascara, eyeliner, mascara, and lastly, lip gloss. She stepped back to admire her work.
When I looked in the mirror, even I had to admit that she did a great job. The eye makeup brought out my eyes, and I almost looked kissable.
I looked at her, "Aren't you overdoing yourself?"
Jessica hesitated for minute and then sighed as she sat down on my bed, "I can't lie to you anymore, Kat."
"Lie to me? About what?" I looked at her, confused, "Is there no party." even as I asked, I knew that that was a stupid assumption. Jessica would not have gone through all this trouble for there to be no party.
Jessica looked at me, "Oh, there's definitely a party, but...well...it's a matchmaking party."
"No!" I said, slowly backing up, "You're not playing a matchmaker with me as the victim!"
Jessica sighed more dramatically, "Come on, Kat. Even Chris notices that your lonely and agreed with me."
"Chris is in on this?" My voice gave an involuntary squeak. How many bosses do you know would help throw a matchmaking party? I was in shock.
"Well, I did all the work," Jessica said proudly, "but he did agree that you needed to get out more."

After our shift, Jessica met me at my apartment. She was excited, as usual. I was mellow, even though my hear was racing. Jessica was right about one thing. I had only been drunk once, and I wasn't looking forward to it tonight.
We went upstairs to my room, and Jessica made herself busy by tearing clothes out of my closet, "No...no...no." she held up a short dress in front of me, and then chucked it onto the bed, "Nah." she searched the closet some more, and then smiled when as she pulled out a short jean skirt and a low cut shirt.
"No!" I said quickly.
Jessica immediately started pouting, "This is supposed to be fun."
She always knew how to make me feel guilty, "Fine." I groaned as I started putting them on.
When I turned to look in the mirror, I was shocked to see how different I already looked.

Jessica seemed to be deep in thought. She had never stopped blaming herself, even though I kept telling her that it's not her fault. I mean, she feels a responsibility for her brother, and I admire that. Finally, she said, "I would like you to come. I will have your back," she looked at me with pleading eyes, "Please..."
I sighed, "Fine, but I'll need help figuring out what to wear."
Jessica squealed and hugged me, "Oh, thank you. I will never forget this."
Our boss, Chris, coughed loudly, letting us know that our conversation was over. I had been done wiping tables for five minutes, it was time to get back to work...

I drove to work, fast as usual. I parked the car and entered, "Taco Bell." There were the usual, "Hello, Kat," and I nodded in response.
I handed out the food, while pasting a fake smile on my face and wishing them to enjoy, while silently cursing them for being so impatient.
I received a tap on my shoulder, and turned to see my friend, Jessica, beaming at me, "Guess what?" she said, trying not to show her excitement. It wasn't working very well.
"What?" I asked as I started cleaning tables.
"There's going to be a party at my house tonight. There will be cute guys." she nudged me, reminding me of my barely ac-knowledgeable existence.
"I don't know." I said, shrugging my shoulders. Jessica was a beautiful brunette with big green eyes and an easy smile. She could also be a bit overwhelming.
Jessica frowned, "After you got drunk for the first time, you've changed...a lot. It's been a full year. You need to go out and have some fun."
 I cringed at the mention of my 21st birthday, "Thanks for reminding me." I said crossly.
On my 21st birthday, I had been given a date rape drug. You can guess what happened from there. I was dragged to a van, taken to a house, and...yeah.
"I'm sorry." she whispered. She was one of the very few people I had told. She had not attended that party, because she had to babysit her younger, Kyle, who had been born when she turned fifteen.

Chapter 1

I woke up to my alarm and got up to take a shower and get dressed in my "Taco Bell" uniform. I looked at my face in the mirror. I looked exhausted, like I've been crying all night. Funny how we usually don't need to talk about our personal lives, because it shows on our faces.

Sacred Until The Day I Die

Prologue

The pain is excruciating...like my heart is being ripped out of my chest. I feel hopeless as the desperation takes me, and I fall to my knees, sobbing.
What is the point of life? I kept asking myself all of last week. Do we just work, sleep, work, sleep, never knowing what our purpose is?
There is no love. I had learned that a long time ago. I was taught that love comes at a price, a price I wasn't willing to pay. So now I'm alone, left in a little apartment, with bills stacked on the counter, wondering if I'm already suffering a mid-life crisis. I'm only twenty-two.
I can't stand the pain, so I head to the medicine cabinet. I hesitate. Do I really want to shove a bunch of sleeping down my throat? That's no life, I have to face reality and bare this pain.
I lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling fan. I have work tomorrow...again. There's no love in my life. It's not that I'm not pretty. I'm about average with blonde hair and blue eyes. It's just guys in this town seem like jackasses. As much as I want my life to be interesting-there's no room for guy who are only after one thing.
Somehow, darkness hits me, and for once in about two years, I'm able to sleep without sleeping pills...

Epilogue

Serenia waited at the entrance of the gate impatiently, waiting for her dad to come out.
A revised version of what had happened came out to allow her dad to be released. She had said that she had ran into Larry on the way home from school, and he had beaten her before she went home.
No one knew about James and Serenia's connection. They went to see if it still worked. James cut his own hand, and Serenia didn't feel it. They still don't know what caused the connection. The chalk it up to fate, and they think that Serenia was to come to break, "The Iced Princess Curse."
Paul finally exited the gate, and Serenia smiled as she ran to hug her single parent.
He held her tightly, and then smiled down at her as he said, "Let's go home."


The End


*Please stay tuned for the next story: Sacred Until The Day I Die

Serenia was sobbing as she realized that getting her mom would be hopeless. James looked at the water as his heart broke. Despite all his dad's mistakes, he still loved him.

Larry's eyes looked up at the sky, lifeless, as dead as his iced princesses as he slowly sank even lower.

Serenia and James must have stood there an hour before James slowly turned around and helped Serenia to the shore.

Serenia looked at her mother in shock, and then she looked at James, who had come out of his hiding spot.
Larry started walking towards her mother, and Serenia tried to stop him, but he pushed her back onto the ice. The ice started cracking, but she moved quickly, and was able to avoid falling in.
Larry picked up her mother by the neck with one hand. Serenia cried out, "NO!" but to no avail.
Larry started walking back over to Serenia to push her in, but a sharp pain in his back stopped him. He turned around to see his own son, James, with a bloodied knife. James looked at him calmly and said, "Goodbye, dad."
Larry was able to utter one word in shock, "James..." before he fell into the hole and slowly sank to the bottom.

James was sitting behind a bush. "It's Serenia." he said, still not believing it was truly her this time. After all of his hard work to keep her safe, and it was all for naught. Now, he was stuck on what to do. Any move he made could be detrimental to Serenia.
Suddenly, he heard a car pull up. "Shit." he thought.
If someone came now, Larry might be in a rush to kill Serenia. He looked back at his dad. Larry seemed to be stuck in his own little world, oblivious to what was going on around him.
James snuck out of his hiding place. Serenia noticed him and pleaded with him with her eyes. It nearly broke his heart.
A woman, dressed too fabulously well for Minnesota, climbed out of the car and hurried towards the lake.
Jame looked at the woman, "Who is she?" he thought.
"Wait, don't go down there!" he said urgently.
The woman looked at him as if he was nuts, and then she looked like she was about to mock him, "Oh, you must be James, right? Serenia's boyfriend!" she laughed, "I'm her mother."
James blushed at being called Serenia's boyfriend, but then he looked at her in shock, "Serenia's mother?" Serenia had never mentioned her mother before, and now he was meeting her face to face.
Larry looked up, "We have company." he pushed Serenia, who once again had to catch her balance.
Theresa looked away from James towards his father and then walked towards the lake, "What's the deal between you and my daughter?" she seemed angry as she looked at Serenia.

Theresa went to the hotel and paid handsomely for the receptionist to tell her where her daughter's room was. However, when she entered, Serenia was nowhere in sight, but her stuff was there.
"So much for paying the clerk off." she murmured as she exited the room.
What did Serenia say again? Oh yeah, she had been complaining about ice skating. Maybe she was at the lake...