Emma hates the cold. She really, really hates it. On Dandelion's back, she wraps herself tighter and tighter in her coat and scarf, and muses that she wishes her first quest away from home had been somewhere tropical.

She'd left Pinocchio's caravan some days ago. Far from the lush, green forests of her homeland, the land here is stark and brown. Skinny, nearly leave-less trees tower into the graying sky. The wind is harsh and unforgiving, burning her eyes and chafing her skin. And the further she feels that they are heading in the right direction, the darker the day ever becomes.

She hadn't expected the loneliness to take such a toll. It's been near on three days without speaking to a living soul. Villages are becoming few and far between. Her meal the night before, a squirrel speared with her mother's arrow and roasted on a stick, had been eaten in solitude before a quiet, wind chilled night in a makeshift tent covered with Alice's concealment cloak, with only Dandelion and the small fire for warmth.

She wraps her scarf around her face. She's lucky it's dry though. It's definitely cold enough to be snowing, and if a storm started her and Dandelion wouldn't stand a chance overnight. For now the fire keeps them safe.

The last dregs of the fading sun disappears completely, drowning the world in blackness. And just in that instant, a blast of wind blows out the fire.

"No, no, no, " Emma curses, trying her best to relight the kindling. But her gloved hands are so cold they're trembling, and the wind quickly snuffs out any sparks the flint can generate.

"No, no, no, not now" Emma tucks her hands under her arms, and urges Dandelion to her feet. If the two can't find shelter soon, neither of them will last the night. Her teeth are chattering, her whole face burns and her hands and feet are so far gone into numbness she can scarcely remember she has them.

The entire world around Emma is a blur of blackness. The trees swirl in her path as she slowly moves, leading Dandelion by her side. She thinks she sees a figure gallop by her side, but she can barely see an inch in front of her face, and can't hear a thing over her own heart pounding. Even the magic thread, previously a constant sparkling line on the ground where it trails from her its place fastened to her sash, is hardly visible.

Emma stumbles over a...something and tumbles to her knees. Deep, black despair takes over heart. She can't see anything now. all she can do is cling to Dandelion's halter, and try not to cry.

Her tears would surely just freeze.

After a moment that feels like an eternity, Emma feels someone grab her by the arm and pull her to her feet. Panic rises in her throat but is drowned out by the cold and hopelessness. Wherever they're taking her, she'll go.

The next thing Emma feels is the ground hitting her knees as she's suddenly toppled into a haven of warmth.

She looks up, finding herself in a temporary shelter of wood and tent, with a fire pit in the center below a filtered opening for the smoke. The fire itself doesn't seem to be providing much light, but Emma practically throws herself in front of it, trying to thaw her frozen limbs. She's curled over and can barely move her fingers. Someone's led Dandelion to a space cleared on the other side of the fire, and the creature has knelt before the flames and fallen almost immediately asleep. She feels a hand press into her back and lift a bowl of warm liquid to her mouth.

"Get the broth into you, let it thaw"

The heat is so small compared to the impenetrable force that her freezing body feels. But slowly, but surely, the stiffness starts to fade, and Emma slumps forward. She turns her head, to see the face of the person who saved her from certain death.

Stirring the pot of broth is a small, fair woman in a heavy, fur lined cloak.

Emma chokes out a question, "Who are you?"

"My people call me Vasilisa"

The woman presses another bowl on her before speaking again.

"Finish up, and tell me how you came to our stark and frozen land".

As she finishes, the life seems to find it's way back into Emma, and she stops and breathes in, before opening her mouth and letting her story roll out.

The woman takes it all in, with more ease than Emma would have expected.

"Three movements you saw? Red, white and black?"

Emma nods. Who is this woman, and why does she seem to accept this all with such ease?

"The three riders. That's all that could be. Baba Yaga's riders of the dawn, the noon and the dusk."

"Baba Yaga?" Emma asks. Riders of the dawn...that would make sense with the visions. And maybe even...she had been seeing the figures out in the woods...it had been so cold that she hadn't known for sure...

"Baba Yaga is the witch of this birch wood. She used to be known as a wise woman. Unpredictable yes, and often ruthless, but not cruel. She would as often give advice and aid as she would trick. But something happened, not even a generation ago. She stole the light from this wood, the light from all of our lives."

The woman- Vasilisa- turns gray in the face, before continuing.

"The way the stories go, she's even begun to eat the flesh of lost children"

Emma's mind is seized by a single memory, the smell. The sickly, sweet, meaty smell that had come with her vision. It hits her what it must have been, and Emma has to double over to stop herself from retching.

"If the object you carry is indeed the Baba Yaga's heart, then returning it to her could only bring good. The people of this wood have suffered enough since she stole the light away."

"Do you know where we could find this...Baba Yaga?" Emma asks.

Vasilisa's face twists into a frightened, but certain, countenance.

"Pretty sure I have a good idea"

After she insists that the two stay in until morning (though how she can tell morning without the sun, Emma will never know), she leads Emma to bed of straw topped by a sheepskin blanket and tells her to rest while she can, get the warmth back into her bones. She stays up to tend the fire, and in the low light, Emma still manages to drift off.

When she awakes, Vasilisa has retired herself, and the fire has burned down to harmless embers.

Emma rises, and goes to remove Dandelion's saddle and wash her down as well as she can using a cloth from her satchel and some melted snow. She sets out her remaining beet cubes for Dandelion along with the water. She's almost out, and will need to trade for more the next time she finds a town, or Dandelion would tire and not be able to carry her anymore. The stout animal is still stolidly asleep at the moment. She drinks from the bucket of slush, splashing some on her face, and retrieves a package of wrapped grain from her satchel. On the far side, near where Vasilisa lays, she notices a small shelf, where a little wooden carved doll sits.

By the time Vasilisa has woken, Emma has the porridge simmering over the embers of the fire.

"You saved and sheltered me, you could at least let me make you breakfast". She stirs the bubbling mush "It's nothing fancy, but I've been eating a lot of it lately".

The two finish the porridge, and Vasilisa wraps up the sleep rolls before pulling several strings and collapsing her shelter. All of these wrap neatly into a roll that fits snugly onto the back of her own horse, a slender bay. Emma checks her own satchel and saddles and mounts Dandelion.

The difference between the blinding blizzard of the night and before and the thin, gray, dull clarity of the day astounds Emma. She knows it's not night, but there's really nothing save the lack of moon and stars to confirm it for her.

There's a strange, white halo hovering at the edge of the horizon. It takes a minute before Emma realizes that it must be the sun.

After an hour or two of following in no particular direction, Emma finally asks

"How do you know which way we should go?"

Vasilisa touches a bundle wrapped onto her sash "My mother's blessing has always guided me through my life as long as I remember to cherish it. "

Her smile quirks "Also there's only one thing that could make the tracks I'm following".

The days stretch on with almost no change in the environment. They stop when the red rider passes, to let the horses rest and water, and eat some of the dried meat Emma has packed in the supplies.

It's here when Emma finally decides to ask the question that's been plaguing her.

"Why are you out here Vasilisa?"

Vasilisa pauses and sighs. Her fair hair has begin to come lose from her braid and fall across her face. It occurs to Emma that she appears much younger than she initially thought, perhaps even her own age.

"My stepmother never liked me. She thought that I was a threat to her own daughters' chances for marriage especially- nevermind that I have no real interest in marrying. Several moons ago, I broke the last candle we had in the hut, and she cast me out, told me not to come back until I could bring the light back".

"She tossed you out like trash? She doesn't even deserve the name stepmother".

Vasilisa laughs. "I'm not even sure what I thought I was going to do, I mean, I'm an unmarried daughter of a simple merchant. I can cook and clean as well as any other girl here, I'm not a warrior or a magician, but what was I supposed to do, go back and beg to be allowed back?"

"We're both adventurers then" Emma says "You for your pride, me because I'm a really terrible princess".

"You're a princess?" Vasilisa says, eying Emma's old dress and patched cloak.

"Don't get too excited. This is what I'm good at. The whole ruling thing is going to end up being my sister's job".

The day drags on, gray and unremarkable. As she begins to tire, Emma wonders how long this whole journey is going to take.

At one point, Vasilisa pauses, and looks clear off onto the horizon.

"There's another storm coming"

Emma blanches. The last night was bad enough, if the next storm traps them out here, they could be lost for days.

The black rider passes to their left, making Emma nearly topple. He's never been that close before.

The true blackness falls not even a minute after, and Vasilisa lights a lantern carried on her saddle and continues to lead.

"I must conserve my oil. We should take shelter soon".

Emma's not fighting her on any part of that assessment.

Besides, she's starting to feel a little uneasy. Yes, the first heart she returned was to an elderly witch, but she had been hospitable. A child eating hag? How was she even supposed to get close to her, much less convince her to take her heart back?

It's not like she could just toss it back in the general direction of her chest...she thinks.

Also, Emma seriously hopes she no longer qualifies as a child.

But it's not a quarter of an hour before Vasilisa points over the horizon.

"That's it" she says "We can probably sneak it once it appears she's asleep".

As the domicile comes more clearly into view, Emma can hardly believe her eyes.

The entire hut stands atop of two chicken legs.

Well that explains what Vasilisa meant by the tracks.

When they reach the front gate, Emma is horrified to recognize the fence posts for what they were.

Human bones, topped every arms length or so with an entire skull.

The two young women dismount their horses, and tie them to a tree in the line of the sight of the hut, but not close enough to be noticeable.

"We'll be back soon girl" Emma says, patting Dandelion's sturdy nose. "If we're lucky in one piece" The creature whinnies in return. She throws the strap of her satchel over one shoulder, and the two begin the trek across the snow dusted clearing.

The gate itself is a set of teeth. Huge ones, not human even a little. Emma doesn't even want to know what they're from.

But it's also a problem.

"How are we supposed to sneak..."

But she's cut off by an earthshaking tremor, and a loud cackle coming from the interior of the hut.

"WHO IS OUT THERE. I SMELL A HUMAN.".

Emma quakes with fear. A wizened crone explodes out the front of the hut. She's hunched over, but still clearly quite powerful even with age. Her long, gray hair is held back by a kerchief. And she glides out, on what appears to be...a giant mortar and pestle?

That can't be right, but Emma's not in the questioning mood right now.

The old woman sniffs the air;

"YOUNG MAIDENS, I SHALL HAVE A FINE MEAL OF YOU TONIGHT"

OK, Emma thinks, they both do count as children still.

She swallows, and sucks up every ounce of courage she has, and steps in front of Vasilisa.

One of the few lessons in court that Emma had paid attention to that been taught in poise. Snow had taught her how to speak to a crowd. How to be commanding, yet diplomatic. How to make some see your point of view while never appearing weak. Snow had called it the "Queen voice". Emma had never supposed she would need it so badly.

And so, Emma summons the best Queen voice she has ever used, and shouts;

"Baba Yaga, great witch of this wood, we have sought you across the land. We seek to return something that has been taken from you. If you choose to eat us, you may have yourself a fine meal tonight, but you will never have your heart returned to your body."

Baba Yaga snaps her fingers and the horrible teeth lock creaks open.

"My heart? Yes I do seem to remember. Stolen by that insolent young Queen. So upset when I didn't give her the answer she wanted."

She beckons with one of her crooked, broken fingers.

"If you indeed have it, then come forth girl. You'll be much easier to catch from this side of the gate"

Emma swallows again, tries to ignore how badly she's trembling, and strides forward with what she hopes is confidence.

She also whispers to Vasilisa, who's both shorter and thinner than her, practically disappearing behind her.

"Keep behind me, and maybe she won't notice you".

Vasilisa doesn't respond however, furiously whispering, but not to Emma.

"Stay quiet. Speak up only when she has finished a deal. Pose a question. "

Emma ignores it for now.

Baba Yaga's hut is plain and dim on the inside. A single room with a fire on one side, and a bed atop a pile of straw on the other.

The fire is roaring quite well, Emma notices. And yet it still remains dim.

Also the cauldron hanging over that fire could definitely hold her.

She stands and faces Baba Yaga (strategically away from the fire).

She takes a deep breath and removes the wooden box from it's depths. The lock unlatches easily and she holds it a front of her, open wide so the contents of it can be easily seen.

The old woman bends off and sniffs long and hard with her long and crooked nose.

She titters for a moment "Yes, that is indeed mine".

And before Emma can even say another word, the old witch snatches up the pulsating organ, and swallows it whole with a grotesque slurping noise.

And while Emma is trying to stop herself from retching, the woman pounds her chest a few times.

"Ahah, good as new. Not even shelf stale! Well, begone now young princess, I no longer have any quarrel with you, begone before I get a might peckish again".

Emma gapes for a moment before even moving, when Vasilisa appears from behind her in a flash.

It occurs to her that the hut is quite small inside. She had to duck to even get in the door. How had Vasilisa escaped notice?

"Wise woman, I have come a long way to ask you for a light so that I may return it to my people."

The woman sniffs

"Now why should I do that girl? In the dark no one can come to bother me"

Vasilisa steels "I have a question of my own. The three riders seen in this wood, the ones in white, red and black. Who are they?"

The woman's laugh is no longer quite so chilling.

"Why they are the dawn, the noon and the twilight of course. My faithful servants all three"

We figured that out already Vasilisa, Emma thinks, Why on earth are you asking her that?

Baba Yaga's nose barely comes up to Vasilisa's chest. Why had Emma just been so certain that she was small and easily hidden?

"I have a question for you now" Baba Yaga says, suspicious "How did you sneak into my hut without my notice?"

Vasilisa smiles, and touches the bundle in her sash.

"With my mother's blessing".

Baba Yaga seizes and huffs. "I should have known. You two must begone now, I won't have blessings in my house, all they ever cause is trouble"

And with that, she grabs a broom and pushes the two out the front door of the hut.

Emma stands up and brushes off her dress.

"Well that didn't exactly..."

Suddenly the front door opens again, and the witch hurls something out at Vasilisa.

"Your light, take it and leave now".

"So much for hospitality" Emma mutters, looking over at the object.

She cringes when she realizes that it too is a large skull, but inside are some of the most brilliantly burning coals Emma has ever seen. When she realizes that they put off no heat, she understand that they must be magic.

"What are you going to do with them?" Emma asks.

"I have an idea" she says, eyes sparkling. "How good are you at climbing trees?"

"Actually quite good" Emma says.

The two find the tree that they had hitched the horses to, and Vasilisa scurries up the branches, with Emma close behind.

Emma finally asks "What did you mean, when you said "by my mother's blessing"?"

Vasilisa smiles and pauses atop a large branch, and carefully unwraps the bundle on her sash.

It's the little wooden doll Emma has seen the morning before.

"When I was a little girl, my mother became very ill. She made me this doll, and told me that I must care for it, and that if I did whenever I needed help, I could just tell it my trouble and it would help me somehow. It has always been by my side, and always come to my aid. My mother died not long after, and this is her blessing onto me."

Emma laughs "That's a great story, but I think I'll keep my bow".

When they reach the top, Vasilisa's face is aglow.

The view is incredible, Emma notes. Nothing but forest as far as they eye can see.

At once, Vasilisa lifts the skull as high as she can, and hurls it into the air.

The skull makes an arc before the light from the coals explodes outward, and washes itself over the horizon.

All at once, the gray lifts. The trees become green again. The moon reappears, as do the stars. The night sky takes back it's own blue color, and even the clouds in the distance reclaim their own unique color.

Vasilisa lets out a yell of delight.

"What are you going to do now Vasilisa?"

The two have settles companionably on the top branch.

"I'll start back to my family's home tomorrow morning. If they don't want me back, I'll still find some way to make my way. The light has been returned, that's enough for me"

"I can tell the story to a few people I pass on the road" Emma says, remembering the taverns and inns she had passed on her journey "If the story gets back to your village that you were the one who brought back the light, your stepmother would have no choice but to welcome you"

Vasilisa laughs again "Oh, she just might die from that".

"Would you like me to embellish it, make it a bit more exciting?"

"Can you add something about how I convinced Baba Yaga to give me the light by doing housework? That's all they ever let me do, if my stepmother knew it made me a heroine, I don't know what she would do!"

"I think I can manage that"

"And what about you Emma?" Vasilisa counters "Are you going to return home and rest now?"

Emma looks down at her feet, suddenly bone tired.

"That was just the first heart. There are so many more journeys I shall have to make".

A/n: this chapter is heavily based on the classic Russian fairy tale "Vasilisa the Fair"- I read it in Maria Tater's excellent "The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales"