Many years ago, when the stars shined bright with the glory of a long-past Golden Age, there was a mirror. This mirror was wicked and forged from the harsh coldness of the shadows. In this looking glass, nothing good could be seen through them. It showed only the worst parts of anything. The world in the looking glass was distorted and horrible. The mirror was in the possession of Nightmare creatures called Fearlings. They used this mirror to terrorize the people of the Golden Age. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the cursed looking glass was destroyed. The shards of the mirror became scattered throughout a planet called Earth as the Golden Age ended in an explosion of light and darkness

However, the mirror's horrifying abilities still worked though it was shattered. The shards came in sizes ranging from a few inches to a speck of sand. The mirror looked like any other piece of glass, so there was no way anyone could tell that the shards were enchanted. The shards would be used in just about everything- mirrors, glasses, windows, and more. Those looking through them would see the dreadful, distorted world with nothing good in them. It was rather terrible. Of course, there was a worse fate for those who had the cursed fragments struck in their hearts.

They would no longer see the wonder in the world, dream of fantastic stories, remember the good times, or have hope in a better tomorrow. Instead, they'd see a nightmare of their world. Their hearts would become cold and made of ice.

This is the story of a chain of events that were caused by one of the wicked shards.

This is the story of the Eternal Winter and the Ice Prince

In the Kingdom of Tanglewood, there lived a brother and a sister. These siblings were the Prince and Princess- Jackson and Mary Overland. Jackson and Mary were as close as siblings could be. In Mary's eyes, her brother was the best one in the whole world, she couldn't have asked for a better one. Jackson was next in line for the throne; only he wasn't interested in growing up and taking up the duties of a king. Unlike most parents, his understood and didn't pressure him into giving up childhood too soon.

Jackson Overland was a fifteen year old trickster who spent his time messing around and playing with the children of the Kingdom instead of studying and learning how to be a proper king for when he grew up. His outgoing and upbeat personality lit up an entire room with joy and laughs. He loved games and ignoring responsibilities. However, that didn't mean that he didn't enjoy his time alone in his room drawing or reading.

Mary Overland was a twelve year old girl who although had a cheerful personality like her brother, was more reserved. She was more comfortable being with her brother and close friends instead of being in a big crowd. That doesn't mean that she wasn't a trickster like her brother, he taught her all of his best tricks. Together, the Overland Siblings would play tricks on anyone in the kingdom that would bring their attention to them.

It was a nice life, living in the Castle of Tanglewood. Everything was peaceful, there were no nightmares, only blissful dreams. The creatures called Fearlings were rarely ever seen inside the kingdom's walls. The children told stories of Guardians that would protect them and the kingdom, but adults would shrug them off as them having amazing imaginations. It was only a few weeks into Winter and everyone was excited for the spectacular lights, presents, and snow. It was like they were living in a dream were there was never anything bad.

The dream of that life would soon shatter like the cursed mirror all those years ago.

It started out as a regular day, Mary and her parents were sitting down in the ponderous dining room that was obviously too large for a family of four. As usual, Jackson was absent. Their father, Nathaniel, awkwardly cleared his throat to disrupt the silence in the room. He started talking about random news and observations in a sad attempt to get his wife and daughter to end the deafening silence that seemed to go on forever. Mary let out a small laugh as the King continued to try to get a conversation started.

Suddenly, the massive doors that reached almost up to the ceiling opened and Jackson stumbled into the dining room. The King and Queen could tell that their son stayed up late by the way he flopped into his seat and stared at the empty plate, not even attempting to put food on it. The Queen, Lydia, waved her hand in front of her son's face in an almost comical attempt to get his attention. His mumbled "hmm?" was the only answer she received, but it meant that he was paying attention to her.

"Jack? Are you alright?" Lydia said in a somewhat gentle tone, making sure that she wouldn't give the impression that she was angered with her son.

Jack took a quick glance at her and then back at the still empty plate in front of him. "Hmm? Yeah, 'm fine. "

Lydia wanted to press him for more of an answer of that, but didn't push it, It was still early in the morning. So instead, she pursed her lips in slight annoyance. Only to focus her attention to her own food instead a few minutes later when a drowsy Jack started to put food on his plate. Nathaniel on the other hand, tried yet again to strike up a conversation now that the whole family was in the room, "So, Jackson, what did you stay up doing? I definitely know that you weren't studying."

Jack seemed to wake up from his lethargic trance and quickly became the Jackson that his family knew, "Well duh, of course not! But you see, I'm telling you, I'm this close to finding out some of the secrets of the kingdom's history." Jack continued to ramble on about how he discovered some old texts about the history of mythical cities and some strange time period called the Golden Age.

Nathaniel's smiling face turned into one of concern. "Son, I'm telling you, some things are just not supposed to be solved. I'm not telling you to stop, I'm just saying that I'm worried that things might go to far."

Jack brushed the words off with a wave of his hand, "Dad, don't worry, it's not like I'm gonna get assassinated or something for reading things that are probably not even real." He shrugged before eating from his plate.

The rest of the breakfast continued normally, with Jack and Nathaniel making jokes at and playfully insulting one another. The royal family told each other fairytales they all knew by heart and news that they heard around the kingdom.

"Jack! Come on, let's go! You promised!" Mary was practically bouncing with excitement as she held her brother's hand. Every year since she could walk, Jack always took her to play in the snow and go ice skating on the nearby lake. Of course, her brother agreed with no hesitation. Recently, they both had been too cooped up with their education and haven't had a chance to 'properly' (as Jack complained to their parents) play and enjoy a day in the snow.

"Be careful!" Lydia warned her children as Mary was slowly pulling Jack towards the door.

"Don't worry, we will!" Jack shouted as Mary broke off into a sprint, dragging him along with her.

"Mary. Mary. Hey. Y-you're…. you're gonna be fine. We're gonna have a little fun instead!"

Panic reflected in both of the siblings eyes. The shadows loved it. They could feel the fear and desired it.

"No we're not!"

"Would I play tricks on you?"

"Yes! You always play tricks!"

"Y-yeah…? well….. not this time."

…

The living shadows wrapped their wisps around the Prince's ankles.

One readied the shard to stab through the Prince's chest.

…

Jack breathes a sigh of relief. He then smiled brightly at his sister. She was safe. He was safe. Everything was going to be okay.

But then everything went dark.

…

"JACK!"

…

…

…

Darkness. It was dark. And it was cold. And he was scared. He could faintly hear someone shrieking his name. He couldn't move, either he was already dead or frozen, or… there was something alive holding him down. He couldn't see anything except for moving shadows- wait. Moving shadows. His fear grew but as it did so did the shadows. Everything was too dark and it was too cold and suddenly he felt a pain in his chest. Right where his heart was. It felt like something was digging into his chest and ripping it apart from the inside. It hurt. He wanted it to stop. It hurt too much and he felt like he was going to die. Time seemed to stand still in his moment of terror and he could no longer hear the wailing above him. The pounding of his heart was rapidly growing louder

and then

he didn't feel anything anymore.

…

…

…

Mary's screams alerted the guards around the entrance to the lake. When they approached the rim of the lake, they could see Mary… but no Jack. Panic flooded into them as they noticed the hole in the ice a few feet away from the princess.

"Princess Mary!" the taller of the two guards, William, called out. "Mary please get over here!"

"Jack fell through the ice, he fell through, it's all my fault!" the girl continued to cry and scream over her brother. He was her best friend and her role model and now he was going to die because of her.

The shorter guard hastily ran over to where Mary was, careful to avoid any other cracks that might be on the surface of the frozen lake. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to safety. He pulled her into a reassuring hug in an attempt to comfort her. But he failed; she continued to cry out about her brother.

William went on his stomach to crawl towards the space where thin ice used to be. He hoped that they could avoid the worst outcome. As he reached the hole, the guard forced his arm to reach into it and ignore the cold. He couldn't feel anything aside from the numbness starting to spread through his arm. Finally, after what was too long even though it was only minutes, he arm felt something solid. He gripped his hand tight and pulled.

The body was unconscious, but once William was back on the shore of the frozen lake, he could feel a thin pulse. Both guards sighed in relief while Mary's stifled cries grew into piercing cries as she ran and held onto her brother's unconscious body.

Jack was never the same after that day.