Birds chirped. Wind whistled. The pine trees wavered. It was a typical snowy morning in Rem Boreas. All was frozen, and blanketed in a fresh layer of snow that had lightly fallen overnight. The princess was woken gently, and served black peppermint tea with her breakfast. Her chilling hair was washed, brushed, and styled to her liking. Being already beautiful, she wore little make up. She was dressed in furs and wool, her dress underneath was made from a heavy velvet. The day came to a slow start. Even after ruling for over a thousand years, she still had lessons and activities to attend to on a schedule every day. She never got bored of them, quite surprisingly... Although, she would like some time to herself. It was a rare sight to see Princess Hansel doing anything because she wanted to, especially at that time. The ice-clocks hit 9, and rang. accompanied by her maid, Mandoline, she made her way through the shining and never melting ice-castle. Windows, carved from glass-thin ice, chandeliers that glittered, and flames that burnt colder than the top of the Family Rock to keep it all lit. She approached the door of the study. The heavy door groaned as it opened, and rattled the ground as it shut. The room was made of ice, naturally. Except to please the eye, the walls very closely resembled dark wood, and the ceiling was painted intricately with a map of the ancient Kingdom. The floor was set with large marble tiles, and thick velvet curtains hung from the massive windows on the back wall. A large desk stood in the middle, where a butler sat, his hands folded in front of him on the desk. He had navy blue hair, straight and long. He kept it in a pony tail. His eyes were the color of holly leaves. He wore a navy blue tailcoat, dress pants, and white silk gloves. He was young, and would often unknowingly distract the maids from their work. But he tried his best to take his work very seriously, and had no time for romance. He stood as the Princess entered the room with her maid.
"Good morning, Princess Hansel." The familiar voice rang through her ears.
"Hello, Youenn." She said calmly, crossing the room and folding her hands together as she approached him.
He bowed as she came closer, moving a strand of navy blue hair that had fallen onto his face while he bowed.
"Your schedule from the Ice Queen for today is quite full. If you get tired throughout the day, please let me know..." He sighed before continuing, "We don't want another incident like last time."
The Princess turned scarlet and averted her gaze. Mandoline hushed the butler and snatched the list from his hand.
"You've no right to embarrass the Princess like that, Youenn."
"And you've no right to do my job!" He snatched the list from the maid's hand and adjusted his ice-glasses.
"Now," He continued boastfully, "The first thing on our agenda are your lessons." He looked over to Mandoline.
"Mandoline, could you retrieve the Armonica from the closet?" He ordered loudly.
"Yes, sir." She skipped towards a short little closet on the wall to the right of them, and pulled out a large glass armonica. She wheeled it over to the large set of windows, and left the room quickly. Youenn pulled the chair from his desk, placed it in front of the armonica, and dusted it off. The Princess adjusted her skirts before sitting down in the ice-chair, and waited for Mandoline to return with the water. Mandoline rushed back, and returned with a silver tray. On it, sat a bowl made from ice, so wide that if a cat wanted to drink from it her whiskers would not get wet. A large pitcher of water from the eternal spring sat on the tray as well, along with a white towel. Youenn reached for the bowl, and set it on the armonica in front of the Princess. He reached over the maid for the towel, and laid it over the Princess's lap. Then, he carefully poured the spring water from the pitcher into the tiny bowl. The Princess had composed ''Sadness Crystal'' on the armonica over a thousand years ago, and it had become the Kingdom's anthem. She began to play it slowly and daintily. She released her yearning to visit her twin, and drowned in the sweet memories as she poured her worries onto the instrument. The tune of the spinning ice echoed through the frozen castle, and could be heard faintly over Lake Boreas. After she was finished, she played many other ancient melodies. "Haddock's Eyes," "Moonlight," and "The Lobster Quadrille." She knew hundreds of songs, though she only practiced for a little while every day. When she was finished, she returned with Mandoline to her chamber to change clothes. Mandoline helped the Princess change into another heavy velvet dress, colored a deep red.
"Mandoline, where are we going?" The Princess was curious, as Youenn had not specified.
"Someplace in town. I know as much as you do, dear Princess. I'm sorry." She said, stressing the last few words as she pulled at the Princess's corset lacing.
"It's alright, Mandoline." She said, breathing a few shaky breaths, getting used to the tightened brace around her midsection.
Mandoline crossed the room, to open a large wardrobe. Inside of it were many fur coats and scarves, all from various monsters. Princess Hansel adored wildlife, and would never kill any creature unless it posed a threat. All of the creatures inside of her wardrobe had threatened the village in some way. Mandoline chose a large pelt from a spotted muffy. It was by far the warmest in the wardrobe, and today, the temperatures were at their summer average of below freezing. Hansel slipped the coat over her dress, and let Mandoline adjust it. And then they headed out.
She was to go into town to help a villager who had requested her presence. The people of Rem Boreas shared a very close relationship with their Princess. Because the Kingdom was so bitterly cold, very few could live there. Only one town had stood in the Kingdom, for the entirety of it's existence. The Princess had watched many generations run their courses, which was painful; yet it tightened the bond between the villagers and the Princess. She very well knew the villager she was visiting- and she was in fact overjoyed that she could visit her. Princess Hansel was escorted into a giant dog drawn carriage-sled, and pulled into the village from the back of the castle. The sled glided smoothly over the freshly fallen snow. Outside of the carriage window, the snow laden 200 foot tall pine trees blurred into the distance. Their glowing pine cones and natural tinsel shone through the snow, and the Princess took in every inch that she could. The village gates were not too far from the great castle. Through these gates stood the small village of just 40 people. Under the snow, the streets were made of mountain rock. The houses were made from the same mountain rock, and reinforced on the outside with ice. Roofing had to be strong, so Princess Dorothy helped in the development of a strong roofing material that could be conjured from the mountain rock. Streetlights glowed with blue flame or pine cone. The carriage made it's way through the ice-gates, and Princess Hansel smiled brightly at all of the excited familiar faces from windows and streets she got in return. She waved gently with a gloved hand at the people as she passed them. When they finally arrived at the villager's house, she waited to be introduced. Mandoline got out before her, and helped her step onto the frigid ground below her feet. She was walked into the villager's cottage, which was cozy and warm.
A wreath made of holly hung on the wooden door. It was opened for her, and she stepped in gently, removing her shoes and coat and putting on a pair of slippers Mandoline had brought with her. The house was small. The inside walls were made of real wood, because using magic to color ice was a rarity outside of the castle. A fireplace burned on the far right, with stockings over the top of it. A piano sat on the far wall, along with picture frames and decorations like wreaths and tinsel. Candles burned and a large gingerbread house sat on top of the piano. On the wall to the left were two doors; one, a closet, and the second was the kitchen. A large armchair sat in the far corner next to the fireplace and a rug sat on the floor. A staircase was seen to the left of the piano to the far wall. It was the typical house of the rare Boreasan. The villager was already downstairs, with their best tea set and a pot of porridge on the table. Youenn helped Princess Hansel to one of the chairs, and the villager smiled brightly while pouring her a cup of their best mint-chocolate tea.
"It's so nice to see you again, Princess Hansel." The villager said, smiling brightly. She had long hazel hair, resembling Princess Gretel's. Her voice was as gentle as a sugar plum fairy, and her eyes shone like the crystal oceans of Oceria. Princess Hansel took a long sip of the mint-chocolate tea she was offered. Unlike other Princesses who were supposed to turn down offerings such as these, Princess Hansel took advantage of them. The steam from the tea felt good on her face that was still cold.
"So what is it you need, Yvenna?" Princess Hansel said calmly, averting her gaze to the child who was peeking out from the staircase.
"My child is sick. I can't afford medicine for her to get better, Princess." The villager said solemnly, looking to the Princess with tears in her eyes.
"What has she contracted?" The Princess said, looking back at the young woman.
"A horrible case of snow-pine fever." She said, taking a deep breath shakily.
"Oh, my..." She breathed out a heavy sigh before continuing. "Well, I've nothing to buy with what I have, currently, Yvenna." Princess Hansel signaled for Youenn. He came to her side immediately, and bent down so she could whisper into his ear.
"Could you come back here tomorrow and drop off enough money at each house for a bottle of medicine?" She whispered daintily.
"Of course, Princess." He bowed before returning to the doorstep where he stood with Mandoline.
"Tomorrow will hold many a blessing for Rem Boreas." Princess Hansel said before signalling for Mandoline. Mandoline rushed towards the Princess, and took her hand in her's.
"It's settled, then, Princess? Should we take our leave?" Mandoline said quietly.
"Yes." Without a second word, she was on her feet, at the doorstep. "Do not worry, Yvenna. Your child will be cured." She continued as her shoes were put back onto her feet.
"Thank you, dear Princess..." The woman said, bowing in front of the royal.
"Send word if you ever need help." The Princess smiled lightly, and then headed out into the town of white with her servants.
They helped her back into the carriage, and then out again when it returned to the castle. After a lesson in Old Geielnean, (the language spoken in Rem Boreas before the Great War) a break for lunch and tea, a singing lesson, and finally a long lecture on how to turn pine needles into sewing needles or even honey needles. Before bed, the Princess was bathed. She took her night bath time to relax, since she knew the day's activities had come to an end. She settled into the hot water that was infused with lavendar and chamomile. The bubbles overflowed onto the frozen floor. Her gaze averted to the large window beside her bathtub. The moon was out in full. The sky swirled with a thousand lights, and showed no sign of stopping. Underneath the borealis were a million stars, some of them colored and others not. The ancient pines gleamed and reflected onto the snow. The candlelit houses of the village could be seen in the distance, and the smoke from their chimneys clouded part of the distant sky. She looked even further out into the distance, and noticed that the mountains on the far side of the singing forest were visible. She smiled. Those mountains were topped with ice cream.
After soaking in warmth for a while, she got into silk pajamas, dried her hair, and was escorted to her bedroom. Mandoline wished her goodnight, closed the heavy curtains, and blew out the blue flame burning on her bedside table.
"Wait." Hansel said, before Mandoline was about to leave the room.
"Yes, Princess?" She looked over her shoulder, answering her call.
"Can you relight the flame... and make it like the ones in Rem Sacchras?"
"... I could try, Princess..."
"Thank you."
Mandoline paced over to the candle on the bedside table, holding her hand over the wick. Using all the power she could, the area around her hand glowed pink, and the room smelt of strawberries. The candle was lit, a pink flame burning, and the Princess grinned widely.
"Don't stay up too late, Princess."
"I won't, Mandoline. Good night."
"Good night, dear Princess."
The door creaked shut, and the only light in the room came from the sweet candle on the table. Hansel watched it for a while, thinking of her lovely twin...
"Goodnight, Gretel." She said, blowing out the candle.
Hello, all. I'm having a fantastic time writing this, even if not many people are going to read it. Regardless, I'll have the next chapter up very soon!
