"Mummy, why does it snow?" Merida asked as she looked up at the clouds through her bedroom window.
"You mean you don't know, sweetheart?" Elinor gasped in mock horror.
"I bet it's an angel!" Merida giggled. "Or a gnome?"
"Oh no," Elinor dimmed the candles and lowered her voice. "It's a demon. An old, evil being who fought against the spirits of the seasons, and who every year awakens from his slumber to freeze our world out of spite."
"No!" Merida gasped, flinching away from the window, staring wide-eyed at the flakes of snow falling nonchalantly past. Elinor took the opportunity to scoop the small girl up into her arms and wrap her up in a flurry of blankets and giggles.
"Mummy is there really demon?"
"Just good fun, my girl, don't you be afraid. As long as you keep close to the castle, and wear your coat, you have nothing to fear from the winter." She kissed Merida's forehead. "Goodnight my wee girl,"
"Goodnight mummy," Elinor closed the door quietly and made her way down the hall toward the promise of her own night of rest.
Merida felt same enough in her bed, in her room, but she couldn't help but pull the covers up close under her chin as the snow fell heavily against the wall outside.
The next morning, Merida stepped out into the snow-covered courtyard warily, glancing back and forth between the clouds above her and the trees in the distance. She sat down slowly, not entirely convinced that the demon her mother and spoken of was only farce. Fifteen minutes of intended caution, however, quickly deteriorated into laughs, snow angels, and chilled hands, Elinor's tale forgotten.
In light of her frivolity and joy, Merida ventured closer to the edge of the forest, keeping close the small bow and arrows her father had given her. She'd taken up the habit of hiding it from her mother beneath her cloak.
She'd never been so close to the forest alone before, and the trees seemed so much bigger now that all she had to compare them to was her own small stature. Putting on as determined an expression as she could muster, she stepped past the nearest tree, then the next, and the next.
Her attention to the distance between herself and her home dwindled with each second as she found herself enthralled with shooting at the knots in every passing tree. It was good fun, good practice; she would be an excellent hunter one day, she mused.
But her fantasy was broken by the sound of a twig snapping nearby. She froze and stared unblinking into the forest in front of her, daring only a quick glance back in the direction she'd come. Fear twisted her stomach as she realized that she could no longer see the castle. She could run, but if it was a bear, she'd be caught and eaten. If she stayed where she was, she could try and fend off any attack…but would probably end up getting eaten. If she screamed for help, whatever it was might eat her to make her be quiet.
So instead, she slowly raised an arrow to her bow and aimed at the nearest tree, listening.
The wind through the leaves…
Silence…
Wind again…
CRUNCH
The sound of feet in the snow behind her spiked her adrenaline, and before she knew exactly what she was shooting at, she had turned and let the arrow fly.
"Hey!" An angry voice shouted from behind a tree. "You could have hit me!"
"Aye, that's the idea, genius!" She shouted back, surprised by his strange accent. "Who are you? Show yourself!" She aimed another arrow.
"Only if you put that thing away!" Said the boy, who had poked his head out from behind the tree to see that she complied. Merida studied him for a moment. He didn't appear any older than her, except for his decidedly white hair. She waited another moment, then lowered her bow, realizing too late that, despite his apparent age, his head was up a great deal higher than it should have been. As he emerged from behind the tree, she saw why.
"Thanks for that," He said, looking at the bow. Merida stared, mouth agape, unable to even struggle for words.
"Right, " the boy continued, floating in mid air before her. "I'm Jack Frost, who are you?"