Eternal Winter

TWO

Once we are home, everyone immediately wants to know how it went.

"Was it scary? Did you have to walk up and down with a book on your head? Were the other girls as beautiful as you?" My little sister, Claudia asks as I hang my winter coat on one of the pegs.

"Slow down, slow down." I smile, giving her a hug "Give me time to catch my breath from all the walking we've just had to do."

"I didn't realise the main palace was such a distance from the village," Adam says as he sits down at our table "If I had known, I would've brought the sledge."

"I doubt the woman from the palace would be very impressed if she saw us sledging down the hill to get home." I laugh.

The house has been quiet ever since mother's death however we try to keep things lively with decorations and the sounds of our voices.The best thing we can do in times like these is try to stay happy.

"So how come you had to do all that fancy practice for so long?" Adam asks me "I thought it was simply a position as a maid."

I sit down at the table as Claudia begins to dish up our dinner of dish soup.

"It's not just any maid position," I reply "Everyone knows how particular the king is with his village staff, you especially should be aware of that."

"I'm just the guy who shovels all of the horse poo," Adam laughs "All I had to do was show up to the job."

Claudia sits down and we begin to tuck into our meal. Even though we are all getting busy, we try to have dinner together every night.

"I thought that the King was away at war?" Claudia says curiously.

"Yes he is," I answer "But his standards are still being met in his absence."

"I don't even understand all of the fighting," Claudia responds as she takes a large sip of her soup "What good does killing each other do."

"I've been asking myself the same thing." Adam sighs.

Even though we haven't got Saul with us, we are lucky to have Adam by our side. Usually, he would have been sent to the army however he is far too poorly to join. Most days, he struggles to even get out of bed and go to work however he always claims to be feeling fine. I always know that he's lying though from the pale, sickly look on his face.

After dinner, Adam and I wash up whilst Claudia cleans the rest of our little home, humming a tune as she sings. After a while, we are all whistling and singing together as we do our chores; Claudia and I are both laughing over Adam's terrible singing voice.

Whilst we are finishing the last of the washing up, there's a loud knock on the door.

"That's probably Old John again to complain about the noise," Adam says "Charlotte it's your turn to open the door."

"Why me?" I whine.

Old John is our neighbour who has been living next door to us for our entire lives. We don't know much about him other than the fact that he is extremely grumpy for no apparent reason. Claudia's theory is that he has a stone cold heart and is completely unable to feel any sort of happiness.

Preparing myself to be shouted at, I swing open the door. Luckily, I am surprised to find that it isn't old Joe standing by the door, but my best friend Edward.

His auburn hair is covered in snow, making him look more like Father Christmas. As usual, he has a huge smile on his face and a sparkling glint in his hazel eyes. He's wrapped himself up in a huge fur coat and has thick gloves over his hands.

"Can you let me in?" Edward says "It's freezing out here."

"I don't know," I answer "How do I know that you aren't dangerous?"

"Nice to see you too Charlie," he smiles "Is this how you act after you haven't seen me for a month?"

I didn't even notice that you were gone," I reply "In fact, I was enjoying the peace and quiet."

"Your house doesn't sound very peaceful or quiet if you ask me," he says "I can hear you lot singing from ten miles away."

"Just come inside, or I really will let you freeze to death."

I move out of the way and he quickly comes inside, brushing the snow off his hair. Once he's in, I quickly close the door to prevent any snow from coming into the house.

"I heard a rumour that someone in this household is going to start working at the palace." He smiled.

"Well that's nothing more than a rumour," I respond with a grin, "I haven't heard back yet."

"Well if they choose you, just don't get too posh to be friends with me, alright?"

"Of course not."

Adam and Claudia hear us talking and enter the room, both smiling brightly when they see Edward. They both have a slight soft spot for him.

"Eddie!" Claudia exclaims as she jumps and hugs him "Where have you been?"

"I went on a little trip with my father," Eddie says as he takes his bag off "And I've got gifts for everyone."

He starts to remove messily wrapped presents from his bag, handing them out to everyone. First he hands Adam a box containing a dagger with ancient texts engraved into this.

"I thought you might need this incase Charlie annoyed you too much." Edward says.

I roll my eyes and watch as Claudia opens her gift: a beautiful leather notebook with a matching pen. She's always enjoyed writing her own stories and usually goes through journals in less than a week.

"You really shouldn't have, Edward." Adam says as he examines his gift "This all looks so expensive."

"Just call it an early Christmas present." Eddie says "Open your gift, Charlie!"

I begin to unravel the paper wrapping to reveal the present: a beautiful emerald necklace.

"I know that you like the colour green," Eddie begins with a shy smile "So I instantly thought of you when I saw it."

"It's beautiful!" I exclaim as I give him a huge hug "Thank you so much."

I break away from the hug and notice that Adam and Claudia are smirking at each other, as if they are in on some hidden secret.

"We're just finished eating," Adam says "But I can cook you something if you'd like."

"Oh no I've already been stuffing my face with delicious food during my travels," Edward says "I should probably get going."

"Already?" Claudia whines.

"I'll be back tomorrow, I promise." He smiles at her "And then I'll tell you lots of stories about my travels."

He puts his bag back on and everyone thanks him again before he leaves. His visit is brief but cheers everyone up.

That night, it's almost impossible to sleep with Adam snoring like a hog. Claudia and I are wrapped up in the duvet and silently lying awake.

"Charlie." She whispers.

I turn around to face her.

"Yeah?"

"Are you going to marry Eddie one day?"

Her question surprises me. I hesitate at first, not knowing what to say.

"Of course not," I answer "He's my best friend."

"Oh okay."

After a while I hear her drifting back off to sleep. That night, I can't help but reflect on her question.