Algid (#TronnorAU)

Chapter 32: Alexis in Wonderland

And such, the winds changed in Yule Town, bringing forth November's looming winter. No longer were the streets smelling like pumpkin, nor were there any leaves at all on the trees, neither was there sunlight through the day, instead replaced with a forever grey sky filled with clouds that menaced an upcoming storm.

Something Connor had learnt growing up in the cold north his entire life, and not seeing any other place in the world so far, was that winter was both the most solemn and saddest of ladies. She arrived unannounced, unwanted, and brought with her only darkness and ice. She was cold, unforgiving. Misunderstood. When he was a lot younger, during his first years as a foster kid living in the orphanage with Alexis, they used to be told fairytales to bed. Those were the few good times they had in that unforgiving house. The nanny used to read them some classic stories, such as Red Riding Hood and the Three Little Pigs. But she also had some that she made up herself.

Every time there was a blizzard in the streets of Minneapolis, and the orphanage was shut down, she would tell them a story about a lonely queen named Lady Winter. She had no sisters or brothers, no children or spouse. She was born in a snowy day and lived alone in a huge Ice Palace. She was queen of the lands of ice, and every year she rode her flying carriage and traveled the entire world, spinning around it. Wherever she passed, it would snow and be cold for months.

This year, Lady Winter had gotten pretty early, or so the news said. There wasn't any snow yet, and everyone said it would be unlikely there would be. But Connor kept thinking to his insides that those types of things could never be predicted. That was one of the few things he remembered learning from his late father.

As Connor walked outside of the school bus, among the rest of the children arriving to school that morning, he took a minute to close his eyes, and just breathe. He brooded, trying to make memory of his father's exact words, one winter in particular in which the power of their house had been cut off by the blizzard, and all his siblings and mother were asleep. Connor wasn't able to sleep that night all. Instead, he stayed up with his dad, Peter, who rocked him back and forth, and kept soothing him with his words.

"We'll never leave this place...", young Connor would say.

"That's a possibility.", his father had replied, "But one can never know for certain with nature, Connor. And it's wise not to question it, for she is far older and far wiser than any man who has ever walked the Earth."

Perhaps he hadn't understood what those words meant back then, but now he had a vague idea.

He had always felt safe whenever his dad was there...

-"Connor?"

Connor was taken out of his trance by Mikey's voice, who was standing in front of him, with Alexis next to him. They were both clad in their winter coats, for it was chilling outside. Mikey's glasses were getting foggy, and Alexis had a red scarf that matched her beanie.

-"We're gonna be late."—Mikey said again, calling out his foster brother's attention.

-"Right."—Connor replied, walking towards the two—"Sorry."

Once he had caught up, the three walked in unison towards the school's entrance. People all around were going at a very slow pace, clearly bummed out from the loss of Halloween's hype, and now dreading having to go back to the same routine they did every day. Maybe some would have said that the Holidays were coming up soon, trying to make an effort to fill up the air with Christmas joy. But it was just November, and it was already a hassle having to put down all the Halloween decorations all over town before they had to start putting up Christmas and Hanukah ones. The generally felt down mood made the entry to the school quite dreadful, even more so than other days.