Chapter 15-A Frozen Heart
“Hello.”
The girl looked up and saw a boy standing in front of her. He was a scrawny little kid, with a big nose and wide eyes that stared right into her face. He wore a thick blue coat and heavy pants with thick boots. She could also spot some blonde hair sticking out of his hat.
“Hello.” She said softly.
“Aren’t you cold?” He asked.
“No.” She answered. A cold breeze blew through the park, but she didn’t even flinch, despite wearing a thin indigo blue dress over her small form. “The cold doesn’t bother me.”
“Oh, that’s cool.” He replied, not aware of the pun he just made. “I’m Kai.”
The girl was silent for a moment before deciding it was safe to give her name. “Elsa.”
Kai looked around the park, not seeing any adults close by. “Where are you parents?”
“At home.” Elsa answered. “They live outside the town, but I come and go as I please.”
The way she spoke was strange. She spoke like those pretty ladies that his mother called nobles. Was she one of them? “Do you have anyone to play with?”
“No, it’s just me.” She said. She didn’t sound very happy about it. “I...I don’t know any of the children here.”
Kai didn’t like the sound of that. She looked lonely, and a bit sad. And his mother did say it was rude to ignore a girl. “Why don’t you come sledding with me?”
Elsa blinked up at him. “Excuse me?”
“Come play with me. I don’t know how long you’re supposed to be out here, but I know that it’s not fun spending your free time all by yourself.”
Elsa frowned, a bit nervous at running around with someone she just met. There was a reason she stayed away from the other children, but she didn’t have to tell him that. Still, he was nice, and he meant well. It wouldn’t hurt to play a few games with him for a while.
“Okay...I suppose we can play for a little while.” Elsa said, a bit nervous.
Kai smiled and took her hand to pull her along with him. “Great! We can go sledding! I’m pretty sure there’s a steep hill we can slide down! It’ll be a lot of fun!”
Elsa was a bit nervous about this “sledding” he spoke of, but as she felt the warmth of his hand warming her palm, she allowed herself to be taken along with him.
‘His hand feels so warm...’ She thought. ‘It feels so nice.’
XXXXXX
14 years later
The town of Freezenburg was a quaint little human settlement located within a forest that was just a few miles away from a towering mountain range from ran from the borders of Kaldheim into Aslava. As Kaldheim was located in the far north, where the climate was cold and frigid, and snowfall was as common as heavy rainfall was for Ixalan, Freezenburg was no stranger to snow or cold weather. Even in spring, the temperature only reached high 60s-low 70s. But while the land was cold, the hearts of the people remained warm.
The houses and shops were clustered close together, with few streets wide enough for carriages to pass through. It wasn’t too much of an inconvenience, since the snow and ice made it hard for anything not layered with heating spells to pass through. The people of Freezenburg were a mix between humans and monsters, warm people with a sense of community that kept them strong through many hard times in the town, among them being the religious conflict instigated by Order fanatics two years ago. But the harrowing times of that incident paled in comparison to the snowy assault the town was going through at the moment.
Gerda looked outside the window and stared at the fast-moving snow blowing hard against the glass with a frown. The white horn was no stranger to snowstorms and blizzards, as they were a common occurrence in Freezenburg, but this was just unnatural. Even though she had a thick coat, she couldn’t help but shiver at the violent icy winds that ravaged the town.
“This is ridiculous.” Gerda muttered. Sure it snowed in Freezenburg, but it felt like the weather was only getting worse.
“Gerda, could you stock the firewood, please?” Her mother called out from the lobby.
“Okay, mom!” She called back.
The Holiday Inn was a large hotel and rest station that was run by Gerda and her mother, who were both White Horns, a species of centaur native to cold regions. The lodge was located in a spot within the forest between Freezenburg and the mountains on a known path travelers take. It was a place where weary travelers either heading to and from the mountains could rest and warm up. White horns were known for running lodges and hotels alongside emergency stations for any poor soul stranded in the cold during a storm.
Gerda had taken to the family business of providing aid to the people of Freezenburg as a rescue worker and managing the Inn along with her mother. It was hard work sometimes, and there were situations that required her to make long treks up the mountain, but Gerda knew the area like the back of her hand. Saving humans and monsters was what she was born to do, and she did it well.
The door slammed open and a large, bulky man trudged through the doorway with a thick blanket of snow blowing at his back. He was covered from head to toe in thick clothing, with glowing red runes engraved along his coat and pants. He stumbled in and quickly pushed the door closed, breathing a heavy sigh as he finally found refuge from the violent winds.
“Kai!” Gerda trotted over to him and quickly took his hat and scarf, revealing a strong face with short blonde hair that reached past his ears. “How is it outside?”
“Terrible. The snow reaches up to my knees and my face is numb from getting pelted by the hail outside.” Kai breathed, tapping his clothes twice to deactivate the heat runes. “If it weren’t for the heat runes, I don’t think I would’ve gotten far.”
Kai walked over to the couch near the fireplace and plopped his large body onto the cushions. Even when protected by heat magic, that blizzard outside was still absolute hell to walk through. Gerda walked over to him and handed him some hot cocoa, which he accepted gratefully.
