Chapter 2
Three days until Nordic Ice Trophy competition
Alisa got up early in the morning, as usual, but the fatigue after the flights still lingered in her body, making all the sensations heavier than they should have been.
She quickly got ready in her hotel room and took a taxi to the arena. The hotel was not far away, so after just a few minutes of driving through the dark streets of Oslo, she arrived at the rink together with the coach and Lev.
Strangely enough, today she did not see the pair she had confronted so aggressively the day before; perhaps they had a day off, or maybe they were training at another rink instead of the main arena, and Alisa even exhaled with relief when she did not find them on the ice, although they might still arrive later, but for now she chose not to think about it.
“So,” said the Pike with her characteristic menacing squint, as she adjusted Alisa’s training uniform so precisely that it almost made her uncomfortable, because even training clothes had to look perfect in the coach’s eyes, which was one of her peculiar habits, “today we are rehearsing the short program, you are given one hour to warm up and repeat spins and jumps, and then the rest of the time will be devoted to practicing the short program in pairs, exactly as in competition.”
Alisa and Lev nodded in agreement, accepting the plan for the next few hours.
Their short program lasted two minutes and forty seconds, and it required them to execute all the necessary elements within that time while maintaining precision in every movement, which always made Alisa anxious beforehand, but as soon as she stepped onto the ice and her blade touched its surface, all her worries faded, leaving only a cold focus and the determination to win.
They planned to take gold at this championship in order to prove to the Pike that they were ready for more, ready for bigger competitions, ready to qualify for the Olympics, and ready to be chosen to represent their country as the strongest and most promising pair in figure skating.
They went out onto the ice and began to roll out slowly, the blades gliding smoothly over the morning surface, which still held almost no marks, as if it were untouched, nearly virgin ice prepared for them overnight, and it felt incredibly pleasant.
There were five pairs practicing there today.
Apparently, they had all been assigned to the same group, which now made it easier to evaluate their rivals more closely, although that was not always necessary, since training existed for that purpose, and the final placements could still change later.
The coach would tell them about it anyway, Alisa thought, and after a short warm-up, she and Lev moved on to practicing their back skating elements, but the synchronization in their movements felt off today, as if they were on completely different sides of the planet.
The coach’s voice cut through the rink sharply.
“Blyat’, what is this, Alisa!? Do better, what’s going on in that head of yours today?”
But Alisa’s head was empty. She was not thinking about anything at all, only staying in the moment and trying to get the best out of herself, even through the fatigue.
She had hoped so much to recover overnight after the flights, to regain her strength, but it had not worked.
Maybe she just needed more sleep, maybe she could make up for it later, she thought as she spun along her axis, glancing at Lev and trying to match his pace, but he was rotating faster, almost as if he refused to slow down for her, even though he should have, and today, for some reason, everything seemed to work against her.
Lev took her by the waist, and they transitioned into synchronized step sequences and partner turns, the kind that always looked impressive to judges, and for a moment everything aligned, and the coach simply watched them with a neutral expression, without much enthusiasm.
“Alright, now lifts, let’s go!” the coach barked, and they both tensed slightly, but nodded to each other, silently agreeing and preparing to continue.
They picked up speed slightly, and when Lev moved into the boat position, he pulled Alisa forward by the hand, and after two controlled turns on one arm, he lifted her above him in one smooth motion.
Releasing her second hand, Alisa extended herself upward, opening her legs into a half-split while remaining supported on one arm, balanced through Lev’s hold.
After a couple of rotations, they shifted positions, and now Lev supported her at the hip, while Alisa held herself in a platter position, perfectly parallel to the ice, her body forming a clean, precise line.
She smiled, because for now everything seemed to be going well.
After another turn, Lev began to lower her carefully, and she landed back on the ice on alternating feet, facing him, still smiling, while the coach gave a satisfied nod, and they continued running through the elements of their short program.
After the grueling session, and once they had finally completed a full run-through of Alisa and Lev’s program, they headed to breakfast at around nine in the morning, while the coach went off to take care of her own matters, and another training session awaited them at ten.
Breakfast, however, was more symbolic, since they had very little time between sessions, so Alisa limited herself to green tea and a small handful of nuts, just enough to keep her energy up without overloading her body before the next workout.
She quickly finished her tea, ate the nuts, and went to the rest area, where she decided to sleep for forty-five minutes before the next session, and Lev joined her for a short nap as well.
Their gym training began at ten.
But the moment they entered the gym, Alisa felt an immediate urge to turn around and leave, because Tora and Loke were already there, the same blonde pair, training as if nothing else existed around them.
There was nowhere else to go.
They moved toward the equipment and began their usual routine, going through familiar exercises, but every time Alisa stood up from one machine and moved to another, she caught Tora’s gaze fixed on her, as if she had not looked away for a single minute, and it made Alisa wonder whether she had nothing better to do.
After a few sets, Alisa’s throat became painfully dry, and she lifted her water bottle to her lips, her hands trembling slightly from the strain, and a drop of water slipped down her chin and along her neck, disappearing beneath her training suit, making her flinch faintly, but then, from the corner of her eye, she noticed Tora again, who was drinking her own water in the exact same moment, still watching her and smiling.
Tora came closer, closing her bottle with a few characteristic clicks and extending her hand to Alisa to help her get off the machine. Alisa accepted it and stood up, nodding slightly. “Thank you,” she said quietly, and Tora only smiled in response.
“So you’ve already been tortured so much this morning that you ran out of energy by noon?” Tora looked at her with something almost like sympathy, and Alisa shook her head with a tired smile.
“Well, it’s not that they tortured us, these are standard workouts, it’s just that everything is a bit more rushed because there are so many pairs who need to run their programs, everyone has to get their time on the ice, but of course I prefer it when the rink belongs only to us and not to five pairs at once…
” Alisa grimaced slightly and headed toward the locker room, needing to change out of her damp training clothes.
“Well, your time will come to shine at the championship,” said Tora, and Alisa thought that she was acting strangely today, too friendly, although she could have helped the barbell fall directly onto Alisa’s chest while she was lifting the necessary weights, eliminating the competition.
However, the Norwegians seemed to have a different approach, as they could defeat their opponents with a single smile.
Lev and Loke were nowhere in sight, they had disappeared somewhere together again, leaving Alisa and Tora alone in the gym, and the space suddenly felt quieter, almost intimate in a way that made Alisa more aware of every movement and every breath.
There was still stretching left to do.
Alisa walked toward the mats, planning to lay one out in front of the mirror and begin her usual post-workout routine, trying to release the tension from her already overworked muscles.
But Tora reached the mats before her and handed one to Alisa, placing it directly into her hands, and Alisa narrowed her eyes slightly at the unexpected gesture.
“Are you okay?” Alisa raised an eyebrow as she spread the purple mat in front of the large mirror that stretched from floor to ceiling.
“I’m just in a good mood, that’s all,” Tora said with a small smile, placing her own mat almost directly opposite, a little too close.
“Do you want to stretch together?” Tora added, still smiling, and Alisa only shrugged and agreed, not seeing a reason to refuse.
They sat down opposite each other in a floor split, taking hold of each other’s wrists, and began to pull one another forward in turns, easing into the stretch, carefully working through the tension in their muscles.
Alisa exhaled slowly as her body lowered closer to the floor, almost wanting to close her eyes, while Tora let out a quiet breath of her own, and the sound hung in the air just a little too long, making the moment feel unexpectedly charged.
Alisa cleared her throat softly, trying to break that strange stillness, then licked her dry lips and remained still, allowing Tora to guide her deeper into the stretch, focusing on her breathing.
Then it was Tora’s turn.
Alisa pulled her forward, and Tora leaned into the stretch, letting out a soft, involuntary moan as her body lowered closer to the floor, so close that Alisa suddenly became aware of the distance between them, or rather the lack of it, and felt heat rise to her cheeks.