“Gerda! It’s time to go!” My mother yells up the stairs. I take one last look at myself in the mirror. The only thing visible is my eyes. Warm hazel flickering with life, a sharp contrast to the heavy cloth that covers me from head to toe. With some difficulty I make my way downstairs. “Is all this really necessary?” I ask my mother as she hands me a small rucksack. “You’ve not been outside in that cold before, we don’t know how well your body can cope. I’m not taking any risks of you freezing to death dear.” She pulls her own rucksack onto her back. “But I look ridiculous!” My mother rolls her eyes. “You can shed a few layers when we get inside the palace, but until then you stay as you are. I try to scowl, but with my face completely covered it seems a little pointless.
“You ready?” I nod, and she opens the door. The wind hits me like a brick wall. “Whoa.” My mother pushes me out of the doorway. “Come on, I don’t want an ice tundra for a home!”
It’s cold. More cold than I ever imagined. Clouds heavy with lakes of frozen creatures completely cover the sky, not allowing a single sun beam to slip past. I am glad of my thick furs now; it is far colder than I remember winters are supposed to be. We begin the trek to the palace, though walking is far more difficult when every time you take a step it disappears into the ground. Many other people are pouring out of their houses, cocoons of warmth in the stark frozen streets. I know many of them, but we barely recognise each other as it has been so long. I see old friends that I played with in flower filled fields during the summer that seems like a lifetime ago. We walk side by side, barely saying a word. All our energy is used to retain what body heat we have. Then we reach the palace.
It’s huge, daunting gates that had for so long been kept firmly shut, were wide open, and guards were ushering people inside. Everything was grand and huge, towering archways and exquisite fountains. The ice and snow added an odd beauty to it all, making the ancient palace seem abandoned. But once I was inside, it was very clearly not abandoned at all. People peeled off their coats and began embracing each other, asking about their lives and how their families were doing. The ancient halls rang loud with voices that had too long been contained. I strip down to my jumper, skirt and thick knee socks. I ball up my other layers and place them in a corner away from most 0f the other coats. Everyone else has jut piled them up in the hall, but I don’t want to have to fight with 100 other people for my clothes, even if they do lose some of their heat. My mother does the same, but we both keep our rucksacks. “Do you want to wander around on your own?” I nod enthusiastically. “Okay, but don’t be nosy. This is someone’s home, not your playground. I don’t want you snooping around the princess’s private quarters.” She pulls a small bag from her sack and hands me a few coins from it. “Use these to buy things, don’t just take them. And don’t spend it all at once.” She looks at me, and something flashes in her eyes. Sadness? Guilt? It’s gone before I can tell. “Have a good time, and don’t get up to any mischief alright?” I nod again and my mother smiles at me, the leaves to join some friends as they enter the main hall. I pull my boots back onto my feet, as my toes had begun to grow cold, then followed the crowd into the main hall.
A huge roaring fire fills the hall with warmth and light. The hall itself is bigger than anything I’ve ever seen before. The ceiling is intricately carved and painted, and the stonework is like nothing in the end of town I’m used to. In contrast to the grand setting, the food fair was just like the markets that used to thrive in the square that is now just a blanket of ice. People milled about the stalls of imported goods. Salted fish, fruits and vegetables, furs and cloths, and pickled god-knows-what. Nothing really catches my eye, but I buy an apple because I’ve not had any fresh food in ages. To be honest, it can barely be called fresh, as it has had to be brought in by boats that take a long time trying to get through the ice. I natter with old friends, but we have very little in common anymore, plus they all still know each other rather well. It seems everyone, no matter what age they are, comes to the food fairs. Heat grows at my fingertips. How could my mother isolate me like she has done for the past 3 years? I slump in the corner, feeling bitter and miserable. Everyone quickly loses interest in me, so decide to wander. Not too far, but anywhere would be better than here. I finish off my apple, and head of in search of something relatively interesting. I leave the main hall, and wander down one of the corridors. It’s cooler away from other people, but I didn’t mind too much. My footsteps reverb around the empty hallway, but there’s no one around to hear them. I find a huge, winding staircase. I look around, making sure that there are no guards, then begin ascending them. At the top of the stairs is a huge landing, carpeted with thick rugs. It is warmer up here. This must be where the princess lives. I should turn back, but you know what they say about the cat. I find two doors, one plain pink, the other white and decorated with blue snowflake patterns. The other side of that door is impossibly cold. I’m not sure how I know that.
“That’s the witch’s room y’know.”
I turn in panic towards the source of the voice. It came from a darker part of the corridor. I couldn’t see anything there.
“Who’s there?” I call out, but in a slightly hushed tone so as not to attract attention from guards. A figure steps out of the dark. The figure of a boy. The boy from the window.
