A Mix Of Worlds

IV - A Heart of Ice

IV - A Heart of Ice

The days passed, and still, there was no sign of Kai. Gerda had made inquiries throughout the village and surrounding towns to no avail. Her muscles ached and her eyes drooped as she walked further north, evidence of several nights on the cold, hard ground.

She would not give up until she found him. Besides Grandma, he was all she had. While the other children had shunned and laughed at her for being an orphan, Kai had accepted her.

He had been there for her, and now she would be there for him.

She played with her locket as she walked. She was almost out of matches to build a fire at night. And she would not sleep in the dark anymore, would not see the monsters of the basket. The other children had called her a baby because she was afraid of the dark. Sometimes, she wondered if they would still laugh if they saw what she did.

Gerda passed by a flowing stream. She wondered why it had not frozen over yet. It whispered to her, beckoning her to step into its waters. As if in a trance, she stumbled forward, unable to resist the river's compulsion.

No sooner had she dipped a toe in when the river grabbed her and carried her downstream. She screamed but hesitated to struggle when she realised the water was... warm. Sensing that magic was involved, she stopped struggling and let the current take her wherever it wished.

It took about twenty minutes for the current to deposit her in a summer garden that surrounded a large house. Summer... she loved everything about it. The birds, the flowers, and the smell of fresh soil. To see such a beautiful garden in the middle of a wintry forest, well, she now knew that it was definitely magic.

"It's beautiful, is it not?"

Gerda turned around. Where there had once been an icy forest, there was now an evergreen hedge filled with periwinkles... and a young woman with caramel skin leaning against it, watching Gerda.

"Welcome to my home." The woman pushed herself off the hedge and held out her hand for Gerda to shake. "I am the Maiden of Summer, but you may call me Thea."

"I am Gerda," Gerda replied, shaking Thea's hand. "It must be nice to live in such a beautiful place. No winter, no frost, just wonderful warmth."

A shadow fell over Thea's eyes. "It gets boring over time." The shadow disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. "But since you're here," she continued, "would you like something to eat? You're painfully thin."

Gerda considered the offer. She should keep looking, but the offer of a hot meal... "That would be wonderful, thank you."

Thea led her into the kitchen, served her food, and took her soaking wet coat.

"I'm looking for someone," Gerda blurted out between bites. "He's a little taller than me, with ocean blue eyes and dark hair. Do... do you think he might have passed this way? He was travelling in a sleigh with... the Snow Queen."

Thea's eyes widened. "Are you sure it was the Queen?"

Gerda nodded. "In the stories I've read, she had eyes of ice. Cruel, cold, unrelenting ... that's what I saw when he climbed into her sleigh."

"Oh dear..."

"That's why, if you'll excuse my haste, I must leave soon. I cannot let him stay there any longer. With her." Gerda looked at Thea, who had a troubled look on her face.

"Why don't you stay the night?" Thea suggested. "You need supplies and rest. Besides, it will be dark soon, and I'm sure it won't do you any good to sleep out there."

Gerda hesitated before agreeing, letting Thea take her hand and lead her to a room.

The next morning, Gerda woke up to the smell of fresh bread and jam. She showered and dressed in the clothes provided at the foot of her bed. After a light breakfast, she and Thea went out into the garden for a short stroll. Basking in the warm sunlight, Gerda began to forget about Kai, content to have a female friend to talk to. That night, Thea laid down next to Gerda and they chatted until the early hours of the morning.

The next few days were spent in the same way. Eventually, Gerda began to forget. Forget about her life outside of the summer haven where she now stayed.

One day, she strolled down a path in the garden to water the flowers. Her back stiffened when she saw a periwinkle peeking out from behind the bushes. Strange... she had not seen a periwinkle since she'd come here.

Why had she come here, anyway? And how? She frowned. Periwinkle... the colour of Kai's eyes. Her own widened. Kai.

She had wasted so much time. She quickly asked the periwinkle if it had seen Kai. It replied that Kai had indeed passed by, but had gone further north, where the Snow Queen resided. Gerda thanked it before sprinting towards the house.

Gerda silently slipped upstairs, grabbing her satchel and filling it with fresh provisions. The Maiden of Summer did not even bat an eye.

Gerda had ducked under the hedge and was far away before she heard an enraged shriek resound through the forest.