The noise of the crowd hushed when the spotlights swept across the ice to reveal a single figure in the center of the rink.

She was petite, like most skaters, with golden hair swept back into a high ponytail that allowed loose curls to tumble down to her shoulders. Her dress was a light blue with sparkling white rhinestones scattered across its smooth surface like crystals of ice. Delicate white lace gloves dotted with the same sort of rhinestones hugged her hands.

Her legs started together, toes turned out slightly, as though impatient for the music to start. Her arms were at her side, completely relaxed. There was a smile on her face and excitement sparkling in her blue eyes.

All together the effect made her look very much like a small porcelain doll. Expectation filled the air around her.

This was her time to shine.

Only then did the dulcet tones of the piano fill the air, beginning to play Waldteufel's Skater's Waltz. After a breath, she pushed forward on her right foot, her motions smooth and slow to match the music. The look on her face was full of wonder, like someone who was skating for the first time and had immediately fallen in love.

When the introduction of the piece moved into the faster tempo of the rest of the song, so too did the speed of her steps. With each note, she was twizzling across the ice, moving with the grace of a ballerina and loving every moment.

This was not a program written for competition, but instead to show off what she was artistically capable of, the things that she liked most about skating. Most importantly, it was a personalized thank you note to everyone watching for being there, for supporting her. She was going to make it the performance of a lifetime.

She had timed her steps just right so her jumps were synced to the crescendo of the music. First came a perfect Lutz, landed with a flourish of her right arm over her head, and leading into a blurring spin. Next came a pair of toe loops, landed with simple ease.

The crowd was loving what they were seeing, clapping for every jump and spin. Their energy was infectious. It gave her the confidence she needed to attempt the hardest jump she had in her repertoire: the triple axel.

She used it in practice when working on the program, but usually only performed a double axel instead. That was the safer jump; she could land those with her eyes closed.

But this crowd!

This crowd deserved more than the safe choice of jump.

This crowd deserved to see her use the most difficult jump she could land.

The tempo to the music slowed, as did her steps across the ice, but not the speed she had built up since her last landing. It was not the most elegant choreography in the program, but it was necessary to build the power she needed to successfully complete all three and a half rotations.

The crowd recognized which jump was coming next, and their energy ramped up even higher. Axels were easy to recognize because of their forward take off, so people always got excited for them.

That only made her more determined to land the jump.

When her blades left the ice, it seemed like everyone held their breath.

And everything felt good.

She had good height, speed, and rotation right away.

And then came the landing.

The toe pick on her skate caught the ice, arresting her momentum suddenly. Her whole body jerked.

Pain lanced through her knee. It felt like something in the joint had snapped.

She crumpled to the ice, sliding along the surface until she hit the boards with what momentum she had left.

She did not rise.

A murmur travelled through the audience as the music came to a stop. Paramedics skated to her on the ice as the announcer came over the speaker to declare a short break. The paramedics spoke soothingly to her, obviously trying to keep her calm as they assessed her condition.

The only stubbornness she showed was refusing to be strapped to a stretcher on the ice. Two of the male skaters who had been waiting rink-side for their skates came out and helped her to make it to the edge of the ice. Once there, she was hustled into a waiting ambulance.

It was a memorable exit to make from a night that was supposed to be a celebration.

What was supposed to be the start of her rise to the top had ended in what just might be the end of her career.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Thanks for taking the time to read this story! I hope you enjoyed it. And just to help out a bit with the skating terms, I'm going to include definitions for what I use at the end of each chapter and then again in a more in depth glossary at the end of the book

Twizzle: Quick turns performed on one foot while moving backwards or forwards across the ice.

Lutz: A jump where the skater strikes the ice with their toe pick like a hammer to launch themselves into the air, rotating away from the leg used to strike the ice.

Toe Loop: A jump where the skater strikes the ice with their toe pick to launch into the air, rotating towards the striking leg.

Axel: The most recognizeable figure skating jump as it is the only one that is entered facing forward. A triple axel is a very difficult jump, few women have landed one in competition.

Toepick: Jagged teeth on the toe end of a skate that is used in jumps, footwork, and spins.