Johanna
I stand knee-deep in mountain snow. My shoulders are wrapped in a white fur cloak, my feet laced in boots of ice, but the outfit is more for show than anything. The cold has never bothered me.
The sun is setting over Arendelle, gold and lavender sinking into dark violet and blue. During the summer, Arendelle glows in the soft evening light. It is picturesque, like a city in a snow globe just waiting for the ice to cover everything. I think of calling in a snowfall but decide against it. Let the people have their lukewarm summer. It is easier to call in a snowfall during the winter, when the winds are already moving in my favor.
When I was a child, King Frederick gave Queen Elsa a snow globe he'd bought in France. It was a stupid thing. The snow inside wasn't real. It felt dead. Anyone could tell that it was just bits of porcelain.
Queen Elsa loved it.
"Why do you like this stupid thing?" I said.I tried to move the fake snow, but it wouldn't obey me.
"Because it's a gift, Jo," she said.
"It's fake."
"It's only a symbol." She smiled. "It was given in love, and so it's dear to me."
"Hmmph." I made frost appear on the window pane.
She rustled my hair, pale blond and plaited like hers. "Would you like a real one?"
I nodded.
Queen Elsa thought for a moment. Then she pressed her hands together. When she separated them, a ball of pure ice balanced on her open palm. It was rough and chipped.
"Blow on it," she said. I blew. The ball of ice became smooth, clear, and hollow. Inside glittered a tiny carved city made of ice. The city was covered in snow—real snow! Queen Elsa twirled a gold-ringed finger, and a base appeared beneath the orb. She set it on the windowsill.
"Do you like it?"She said.
I ordered the snow to move. It rose inside the globe and swirled around and around. My own tiny blizzard.
"I love it," I said. I let the snow settle. For years I kept the snow globe at my bedside.
When Julian left, I shattered it. I shattered everything.
The goblins have journeyed beyond the North Mountains. I can't sense them anymore. The range of what I can feel is limited to only a few miles. I can send storms much further, but I can't control them. Queen Elsa had a much further range. She was not better than me, of course, only more experienced. Except in one thing.
For all of my talents, I cannot make a snow globe.
A/N - Bonus post! So far my birthday has been splendid and has involving me listing to Idina and eating a lot of chocolate! Thanks all for reading, and particular thanks to thelinksthatconnectus for giving me my first review!
Tomorrow posting will resume its usual M/W/F schedule.