The wind howled and the snow blew into Andrew's face. He struggled to guide his horse up the frozen mountain path. He was determined to find Eli. Andrew was sure his brother would thaw the fjord and bring back summer. The whole kingdom would celebrate, and the two brothers would live happily ever after. The thought encouraged Andrew as he rode through the snowdrifts. "Eli!" Anna called into the blizzard. "It's me, Andrew. Your brother who didn't mean to make you freeze the summer!" He paused, shivering in the cold. "Wow, that's a sentence I never thought I'd say. Anyway, I'm sorry! This is all my f-f-f-fault."

A wolf's howl interrupted Andrew's cries. His horse stopped and looked around nervously. Andrew tried to convince himself that the sounds were just puppies playing. "Of course, none of this would have happened if he'd just told me his secret," Andrew said with a sigh. A tree branch snapped, and the horse panicked. It whinnied and kicked up its front legs. "Whoa, whoa!" Andrew commanded, pulling back on the reins. He flew off the horse into a snowdrift! He sat up, spit snow out of his mouth, and looked around just in time to see his horse running away.

"No, no, no! Come back!" Andrew called, but the horse was long gone. "Okay," he said to himself. He had to keep focused. He struggled to stand up and dusted the snow off his suit. "Snow, it had to be snow," he grumbled. "He couldn't have had a tropical magic that covered the fjords in white sand and warm..." A welcome sight interrupted Andrew's rant. He saw smoke rising in the distance. "Fire!" Andrew took one more step and stumbled down a steep hill. He began to roll like a snowball, layering on more and more snow as he went. Andrew landed with a splash in an icy stream and the snowball broke apart. He got to his feet, shivering.

"Cold, cold, cold, cold, cold...," he muttered. He was standing next to a small building. A wooden sign hung in front of him: WANDERING OAKSAN'S TRADING POST. A lump of snow fell off the sign. "And sauna!" he said, reading the end of the sign. Andrew hurried inside. The little shop was stocked with summer supplies—after all, it was technically still summertime. He gazed at the goods, looking for warm clothes. "

Hoo, hoo!" called a blond woman behind the counter wearing a bright sweater. Her name was Oaksan, and she was the owner. "Big summer blowout," she said hopefully. "Half off on our swimming suits, clogs, and a sun balm of my own invention, ja?"

"Oh, great," Andrew said, looking around the store. "For now, how about boots? Winter boots and coats?"

"Well, that would be in our winter department," the woman said in a thick accent. Andrew darted toward the single rack of warm clothing.

"Oh, um, I was just wondering," he said, trying to sound casual, "has another young man, the king, perhaps, I don't know, passed through here?" He brought a pair of boots and some clothes to the counter and set them in front of Oaksan. "Only one crazy enough to be out in the storm is you, dear," Oaksan said in a pleasant voice. At that moment, the front door opened and a gust of frigid air blew in. A large, broad woman entered. She was dressed for the arctic cold and completely covered in snow, with only her brown eyes showing. It was Kristin, and she was looking for supplies, too. "You and this fella. Hoo, hoo," Oaksan sang out. "Big summer blowout." Kristin pushed past Oaken and went straight to Andrew. "Carrots," she demanded. "Huh?" Andrew asked. "Behind you," Kristin said crossly, pointing. "OH, right," Andrew said. "Excuse me." He moved out of the way, and Kristin grabbed a bag of carrots from a shelf behind him. She gathered a few other supplies as she moved briskly around the shop. "A real howler in July, ja?" Oaksan said, trying to make conversation with the stranger. "Wherever could it be coming from?"

"The North Mountain," Kristin replied. "The North Mountain," Andrew repeated to himself. Was that where Eli had gone?

Preview of the next chapter

"Just tell me one thing," Andrew said, moving closer to Kristin. "What was happening on the North Mountain? Did it seem...magical?"

Andrew looked at his supplies, and then over at the bag Kristin had left on the counter. He smiled as an idea occurred to him.

"I want you to take me up the North Mountain," he declared.

They looked at the stranger before them as they chewed. They both knew he had no clue what was ahead.