A Court of Snow and Storms

3. Guilty By Association

Elodie sat on a stone bench, weaving periwinkles into a circlet while Mina and Micah played with a few of their friends. Mitsi sat beside Elodie, her short legs dangling just a few inches off the bench. She too was attempting to make a flower crown. Her tongue poked out the side of her mouth as she concentrated.

Elodie giggled and added another flower into her own. She was glad that this was one thing both Mina and Mitsi liked to do from time to time. Her own mother had just begun teaching her how to make flower crowns before she and Elodie's father died.

"Don't try to force the flowers into a certain pattern," Lilith had said. "Your crown will never work. You have to let them have their own way. Guide them into a circle, but afterwards, let them arrange themselves. Flowers are beautiful and stubborn things. Just like my little Ellie."

Elodie blinked the memory aside as Mitsi held up a rather lopsided crown. "I don't think I did it right," she pouted.

"It's beautiful," Elodie protested. "May I wear it?"

Mitsi nodded and settled the bundle of periwinkles atop Elodie's black hair. Elodie placed her own crown on Mitsi's snowy curls. Mitsi beamed, patting her head to feel the flowers.

"Am I a princess, Ellie?" She asked.

"You are."

"Are you?"

"No, I'm your Lady in Waiting."

Mitsi's lower lip jutted out. "No, you have a crown. You're a princess too."

"All right. I'm a princess too," Elodie agreed.

Something cold splattered against her cheek and Elodie gasped. She wiped the snow away, her gaze sweeping the crowd of playing children. Micah and one of his friends cackled behind a wall of snow. Elodie leaped to her feet and packed a snowball of her own. She let it fly. Micah ducked, but his friend wasn't fast enough. Snow crumbled in his dark hair. Micah's head popped up and he threw another snowball.

Soon, the other children began to join in until the air was full of flying snowballs. Elodie dodged and hurled one snowball after the other. Most of hers found their targets. Micah threw another one which smacked Mitsi right in the nose. Tears flooded her blue eyes. Quickly, Elodie swept her off her feet and carried her out of range of the snowballs.

"It's all right, Mitsi," she said. "Just a little snow. Did it hurt?" Gently, she brushed snow from Mitsi's face.

Mitsi nodded. "My nose feels funny."

Elodie tapped the tip of her nose. "Does that hurt?" Mitsi shook her head. Elodie touched her nose again, higher up. "What about that?" She couldn't feel any irregular bumps, but she wouldn't take any chances. If Mitsi was injured, it would be her fault.

"It doesn't hurt. My nose just feels too big."

"Oh, that's normal. It will feel better soon."

Mitsi nodded, then touched her hair with a sigh. "Micah knocked my crown off."

"I'll make you a new one later," Elodie promised. "We'll gather some periwinkles to take back to the house."

"Okay. Will you dry some of them for my room too?"

"If you like."

Mitsi smiled, then peered past Elodie's shoulder. "Hey, that's Wynter!"

Elodie's eyes widened in surprise and she followed Mitsi's gaze. Wynter stood across the street, just outside a library. There was a smile on his lips as he watched the children play. Elodie felt a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, but a frown replaced the smile before it truly formed. Several people brushed past Wynter, muttering under their breath as they did so. Wynter stiffened, his pale cheeks growing red.