Once Upon A Dream (Thranduil Fanfic)

Chapter 9-Blue Winter

The hot summer days passed, and autumn left its mark of fallen leaves and the last of the forest fruits. The cold began to set in, and patrol soldiers withdrew from the borders of Mirkwood to spend the winter indoors or guarding the gates.

Greenhouses were used more frequently, and more elves gathered into the underground palace to temporarily live in the farther rooms for the winter.

Catalina sat and watched from her window seat as white powder fell from the sky one day. It covered the ground and blanketed the trees, transforming Mirkwood into a white wonderland.

"Have you ever seen snow My Lady?" Asked Iellwen as she happily stripped the mattress of its sheets to be washed.

"So that's what snow looks like?" Catalina smiled. She had never seen snow, every once in a long while there would be light rains, but never snow. For the most part, Asgard was always sunny, and clouds were rarely seen in the sky. Asgard never got to the snowing temperature. Snow was for Frost Giants.

But as she observed the slowly falling ice, Catalina felt a desire to touch it. The sparkling whiteness of the landscape drew her closer to the window. Soon, Catalina had unlocked the thick glass window and opened it. Without Iellwen's watchful eye on her, Catalina silently slipped out of the warm elvish bedroom, not worrying about dirtying her dress as she stepped onto the frozen ground.

Once the window was carefully closed back up, Catalina trotted into the now ankle high snow. The air was bitingly cold and the princess shivered at the sudden change of temperature. But as she stood in the snow and her skin adjusted to the frozen air, she smiled, watching the snowflakes fall on her nose. She bent down and sunk her fingers into the ice, drawing up a snowball. As she held the snow in her palm, her skin began to change.
Her pale skin began to darken: pale fingers to blue, white nails to black, the sensation of water running down her hand. Catalina's eyes widened and she dropped the snow to the ground. She watched as her darkened hand turned pale once again. A dark suspicion began to spread through her mind, and the sudden image of an unfamiliar elf woman flashed in front of her eyes, then disappeared as quickly as it came.

I must be seeing things.

Catalina shook her head and peered once again at her left hand. It was normal.

She walked back to her window and climbed in. As her boots hit the floor, the edge of her dress flopped behind them, soaking wet from the snow. Catalina looked up, catching the eyes of Iellwen.

Her arms were crossed, "Princess, you do not know the momentary panic I experienced not ten minutes ago. Please tell me of your goings next time. Hearing the window scared me."
Catalina apologized, her mind still elsewhere as she changed out her wet dress for a dry one. She met her own eyes in the mirror, staring into their greenness, hoping with all of her might that they were real.

Snow is for Frost Giants. She remembered the saying Balder had made one day as he had described to her through the pages of a book what snow was. He had told her of how Frost Giants had ice in their blood, and they had a natural attraction to it. Catalina began to wonder now, of her own liking for the snow. It had looked so lovely from the window, and it felt so perfect on her skin when she touched it.

Maybe Mother is part Jotun, Catalina reasoned on the possibility, but found it unfathomable. She would have told me. Or maybe she was just going mad being in the presence of such nature oriented beings the elves. She decided she'd stick to the idea of being insane since it meant she wouldn't have to deal with the ever looming possibility of being a Frost Giant.

Still, questions would have to be answered sooner or later, she thought.