The Red Winter

Chapter 1

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Half an hour went by before we heard a knock at carriage door. Meg got up and slid the door open. We were greeted by a kind-looking plump lady, pushing a cart filled with colourful sweets and chocolates. Meg and I looked at each other and our eyes widened. I came to the door and surveyed the cart. "We'll take two of those," I said, pointing at the chocolate frogs. The woman nodded and reached to grab them. We exchanged money and Meg and I went back into our carriage. 

"What are they?" Meg asked, turning over the box. 

"I don't know," I replied ripping the top off. "I heard some boys talking about getting 'chocolate frogs' when we were boarding. They sounded pretty excited."

Megan mauled this over as she looked for a way to open it. I looked down at my box and took the remained of the packaging off. I was confused. "It's just a frog-" I yelped as it twitched.

"What?" Meg asked alarmed. 

"I think it just moved," I whispered, eyeing the frog. 

Meg scoffed. "Don't be silly," She ripped the top off of hers and looked at it. "See? It's not mov-" She squealed as her frog jumped out of the box. "Ohmygodgetitawayfromme." She screamed, squeezing her eyes closed and hugging her legs. 

I froze, unsure of what to do when my frog jumped onto the window. Devin eyed it and got ready to pounce. The frog was about to hop away, but Devin was faster. The black cat pounced on top of the frog and dragged it to the ground. After biting it, he decided that he didn't want it and jumped back up onto the seat. I leaned down cautiously and grabbed the now limp frog. It was... melting. I looked over at Megan who was still screaming at the frog beside her on the seat. "Hey!" I yelled at her and leaned over the snatch the frog. "It's just chocolate." I grinned taking a bite to her horror. 

"B-But it moved!" She blubbered, pointing accusatorily at me. 

"It's not my bloody fault, Meg!" I roared with laughter at her shaking form. 

"It's not funny!" She howled, a hand braced over her heart. That just made me laugh harder. 

After a few minutes, the cart lady came back and told us that we'd better get our robes on as we'll be arriving shortly. We fished our robes out of our luggage and pulled them on. Just as I clipped my robe over the top of my uniform, the terrain changed. Gone was the empty rolling hills and fields, instead stood a mighty castle. 

"Woah," I whispered. 

"What?" Meg inquired, turning to see what had caught my attention. 

I pointed at the castle and gulped. She inhaled sharply and nodded. "Woah, indeed."

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As we near the docks I grow nervous. I play with the cuff of my sweater and try to control my breathing. I hate water. Like hate, hate water. If I had to choose between going into water and gouging out my eyeballs, then I'd be a happy, dry blind person.

"Here we are." Said the large man leading the group. He didn't really look human-sized. He was large. Very large. But he didn't scare me. He gave off a friendly vibe. 

I shuffled into a boat, close to hyperventilating when I felt someone put their hand on my back. I turned assuming it was Megan. I was surprised when I was met by the face of a man. Definitely not Meg.

"Are you okay?" He asked, his face portraying concern. 

"Uh, yes," I mumbled, looking up at him. "I'm just not a fan of water."