Chapter 417: The Winter House

Back on the continent, the USA, drifting along the upper state of Alaska...

An armada of aircraft filled the sky, the sight grand and majestic, catching the attention of every person on the surface.

As they all stared into the sky in awe, wondering which big shot was coming to their safe zone...

The Winter Oasis, the safe zone of the Great Family the Griffiths...

On the ground level, massive air stations active and filled with soldiers, arrayed before the landing space, staring into the sky, standing before the bunch was a tall, bold figure...

His hair flowed against his winter coat, glinting with a shade of winter blue, his eyes a matching shade of blue, his complexion pale, and though his features seemed bold they bore an intimate resemblance to a certain member of Team Apex.

Standing with a commanding presence, the man’s eyes remained fixed on the armada as it dipped to a slow and steady descent.

The cold air beating against the frames of the aircraft as they descended to a slow, smooth landing...

The landing zone was wide and vast enough to contain the mass landing without a clash...

The aircraft rolled forward, dispersing momentum, the growl of the engines rumbling loud, contesting with the cold howl of the winds...

Before finally skidding to a gentle halt, the largest of the craft letting out a deep pneumatic hiss as the pressurized seal of the door broke, the latch springing open, allowing a sharp influx of fresh cold wind to surge into the aircraft.

From it a figure descended...

Elaine took gentle, brisk steps, descending from the vessel, eyes closed, she took in a deep breath as the wave of ice cold air hit her face.

A deep, familiar and refreshing feeling... ’Indeed, there’s nowhere like home.’

Her hands outstretched, she could almost feel the abundance of cold essence dancing in the wind, answering her call, a layer of blue sparks erupting around her palms.

Her eyes snapped back open. Her gaze scanned through the area before settling on the group further ahead, to be more accurate she focused on the figure standing before the soldiers.

A faint smile played on her lips as she gracefully took a step forward, walking towards the waiting entourage.

Arriving before the man heading the group, silence sat for a few seconds, as both sides merely stared, before she suddenly moved, leaning to bow.

"Greetings, father," her melodic yet soothing voice rang through the area...

Yes, the figure in question was none other than Elaine’s dad, a figure second only to the patriarch of the Griffith family.

To be more exact, this was the twin of the current Griffith family head, Andri Griffith!

And her voice was all that was needed to melt Andri’s ice-cold expression into warmth, stepping forward he embraced his daughter tight.

"Tsk, tsk, snowflake, I thought you were having a whole lot of fun and had long forgotten about these old bones..." Andri chuckled, pulling back as he ruffled her hair, looking down at her affectionately.

Elaine shook her head, taking her dad by the arm, "How could I ever?" she replied.

Andri laughed out loud boisterously, "Let’s go, your mother is waiting..."

Like that the pleasantries came to an end, and the winter soldiers began to pull back, escorting the little princess and her father.

While more men descended from the fleet, unloading resources to be allocated to their state...

...

A convoy of vehicles rode down the snowy roads of Alaska.

Riding straight into the Griffith estate and pulling up before a mansion.

Filled with a group standing in wait, their hair and eyes of matching complexion to Elaine’s and her father’s.

"Oh my darling Snowflake! You’re finally back." A mature lady’s voice echoed the moment Elaine descended from the vehicle.

Before she could even react she was already drawn into a warm embrace, a certain bouncy surface smothering her face.

"Oh my sweet, sweet snowflake, it’s so good to see you again." Elaine’s mother, Madame Noelle, sobbed.

Elaine sighed, patting her mother on the back, her muffled voice coming through, "It’s good to see you too, mom."

"Sigh, I can’t imagine what you have gone through." Her mother started while pulling back, staring at her child’s beautifully matured features, a proud smile blooming on her lips.

Noelle herself was a dazzling damsel, she couldn’t expect anything less from a daughter of hers.

Meanwhile on Elaine’s end, she glanced from her mother’s chest to her own, her shoulders slumping a touch.

She might have inherited her mother’s uncontested beauty, but it seemed she remained lacking in other aspects.

"Alright! Darling, our snowflake just got back from a long journey and she needs rest," Andri said, walking over to his wife’s side.

Noelle nodded, patting Elaine on the shoulders, "Mmn, true, you go take a bath and have some rest while I go prepare your favorite..."

It was a well-known fact that both Andri and Noelle doted immensely on their daughter Elaine.

So the sight playing out before the rest of the family members wasn’t much of a spectacle.

If anything it was to be expected...

Elaine walked their way, offering each a polite nod, greeting the extended members of her household.

She wasted no time, heading into the mansion as instructed by her mother.

Every second she spent before them was a second more she risked revealing her condition to everyone.

The Griffith house might be more united than most of the great families, but even they had internal conflicts of their own.

And if possible she wouldn’t want her situation to become public knowledge, at least till she was confident that it would be okay.

Signs of the imbalance symptoms began to stir, death energy surging into her cells and tearing them apart slowly, while overpowering the trickle of ice within.

Her expression grew noticeably paler, and her footsteps faltered for a bit.

But still she held it in, enduring the splicing, traumatic pain brewing within her, as sweat flowed down her neck.

She took one step after the other and headed right into her room, the feeling of being observed not fading until the doors of her grand chambers closed behind her.

Finally she gave in, collapsing, her muscles beginning to spasm uncontrollably, her eyes rolling white in her sockets as the tide of pain ascended to its peak.

The pain wrecked her from the inside out, until after a few painfully long seconds it settled down to nothing.

Her gaze glazed over the ceiling as her chest rose and fell, sweat trickling down her temples as sweet relief flooded her veins.

"I need to fix this. I can’t continue like this..."