A Spark of Hope
DISCLAIMER: This story is only loosely based on Jamie Salé and David Pelletier. I don’t know them, and the only likenesses they have to Rachel and Joseph are their physical looks, their nationality [Canadian] and that they are figure skaters. Other than that, Rachel and Joey are totally different people than Jamie and David. All characters in this story are mine, so please don’t take them!
Prologue: Lost Hope
The cold of the ice against the warmth of Joseph Sterling‘s lips shocked him into reality as he looked up and found the crowd before him, jumping to their feet to applaud him. Beside Joseph, his pairs partner Rachel Pierce stood with pure joy and exhilaration, her eyes wide as the two of them bowed to their audience. They had just completed their free skate program for the 2002 Winter Olympics, with a performance that was flawless and filled with passion for the sport. As they headed over to the bench where Joseph and Rachel would receive their scores, the crowd cheering “Six! Six!” just fueled the thrill their adrenaline rush had begun.
However, when the scores had been given, five of the nine judges had placed Joseph and Rachel in second place, meaning that the Russian dynasty had yet again secured their top position on the podium. Rachel, unshed tears shimmering in her eyes, was devastated. All that work she and Joey had put into their program, all the sacrifice she had made, all the pain she had faced before finding Joey as a pairs partner and almost giving up her skating career… she had weathered all that and had to settle for second place? It just wasn’t a fair decision.
Joseph, whose head was in his hands, couldn’t believe what was occurring. He and Rachel had skated a flawless performance, securing even hard technical elements [like a throw triple Salchow] with ease. Joseph knew, that in his heart, silver wasn’t good enough for them. He realized that if they had skated their best—which they did—and there was another team who had skated better than they did, then silver would have been more than enough for him and Rachel. But watching their Russian rivals falter repeatedly and yet still be awarded the gold medal—something just wasn’t right. And the crowd knew it, too.
Still, there was nothing that could be done to change the decision. At the medal stand, Rachel and Joseph stood in their second-place position, feigning pride and happiness, as the Russian national anthem played and the white, blue and reddish-tinted flag of the gold medalists’ home country was displayed. The tears continued to stream down Rachel’s face as she kept asking herself the same question over and over again: “Will I ever get to know what it’s like to skate a flawless performance and get the prize I rightfully deserve?” Something deep, deep inside of her vaguely told her not to give up hope. But it was just too deep that it couldn’t help her. Time was the only thing that would give Rachel Pierce her hope back completely.
story index | chapter 1: a spark of love...?