Part the Sixth: The Swedish Husband and his Finnish Wife

Arthur did not know how much time passed as the black sky bled into the trees and the fields and the rocks, and as the sky gradually turned purple, and the ground became white, and the air sharper and colder. He felt as though he was in a dream; and presently his eyelids grew heavy, and fell down slowly, and all he felt as he drifted off was a fast, cool wind against his face, and the tug of the remarkable little dog against his hand. The world rushed by, and the dog ran on, and Arthur's feet continued to move, but needlessly, for indeed there was some strange magic rushing the two of them onwards.

When at last the dog slowed and stopped, Arthur's eyes opened, though he still felt terribly tired and terribly sore from hanging on to the blue leash for such a length of time.

They were, he saw, standing outside a little house built out of white bricks. The window frames were made of blue wood, and the door was wooden too, and yellow. The dog yapped and looked up at Arthur, as if to say, go! And so together they approached the door, and Arthur raised his hand and knocked.

The door was opened, almost at once, by the tallest, most terrifying man Arthur had ever seen. For a moment, mad fear gripped him, and he was certain it was General Winter – then he looked again, and saw that the man was as human as he was.

"Yes," he said.

Arthur opened his mouth. "I – I –"

The little white dog at his feet barked, and the man looked down and spotted her, and picked her up. "What's th't?"

She barked again.

"Hm."

The man regarded him over the rim of his square spectacles. "Y'd better come in." And he stood back, and held the door open.

Arthur hesitated briefly, but the dog yipped at him, wagging her stubby tail against the stranger's arm. And he really was tired...he'd come so far...

Inside, the house was warm and cosy. The tall man gestured vaguely in the direction of a squashy grey sofa which was positioned just before an open log fire, and Arthur, forgetting his nerves, collapsed into it gratefully, for he was sore, and cold, and exhausted from his long journey.

"Name's B'rwald," the man grunted from somewhere behind him, and Arthur thanked him nervously, and introduced himself. "Hm," was the reply.

The dog barked.

"Hana says yer going t' General Winter's palace."

"Er – yes. I am."

"Long way," said Berwald shortly.

Arthur was most confused and was just wondering what he should say, when the door opened and another, shorter man, with round cheeks and big eyes and, thankfully, a bright smile ducked inside.

"Hello, Berwald!" he called, and kicked his boots off.

Arthur did not miss the way Berwald's stern eyes softened and lit up at the sight of the other. "'Lo, Tino," he said, and then, to Arthur: "That's m' wife."

"I'm not –" And then Tino noticed Hana – for that was the little white dog's name. "Ah! She's –" and here, he saw poor Arthur, who sat upon the sofa, almost asleep. "Oh! Good evening!"

"Hello," said Arthur, and he tried to heave himself up to shake the new man's han, but he was quite worn out by the cold and by his exhausting travels, and so he simply sank back down, feeling terribly rude.

"Don't get up," Tino said, waving a hand, when he saw Arthur's struggle, for he was most kind. "You are obviously exhausted! Just sit, and relax, and we shall make you something to eat, for you look half-dead! Oh – I don't mean to be rude," he added, hurriedly, his cheeks turning slightly pink. Arthur assured him that it was quite alright, and that he wasn't at all offended, and so Tino and Berwald went into the kitchen and together, they cooked a delicious stew and gave it to their guest, who was so full and so warm, and so very tired after he finished eating, that he fell fast asleep there and then before the fire.

Tino then turned to his husband, and asked him who Arthur was and how he had come to be out there in the cold, where snow lay all around, and there was nothing else, save for slippery frozen ponds, and ice-cold salty seas.

"Hana brought'm."

"Really? Hana, did Norge and Den send you?"

The dog yapped, and waggled her tail.

"Is that so? Who is he? Where is he from?"

And the little animal, who had strange powers which I cannot explain, but had heard Arthur's conversation with Den and Norge earlier, yipped and barked, and Tino and Berwald, who understood her as though she spoke in their own tongue, heard of Arthur's long and perilous journey, which had begun when he was a mere child, and had lasted for many years. And Hana told them of Alfred, too – and of General Winter, whom Norge had seen with a boy who looked just like Alfred.

When Hana spoke of Alfred, Tino became very sad, and he nodded and said that it was indeed true that Alfred was with General Winter, in his palace – for he had heard it on the wind, whispered between the snowflakes – and he had heard, too, that he was most content there.

"They say he has ice in his eyes, and lodged in his heart," Tino said. "It makes him cold and cruel, and I am afraid Arthur will never convince his friend to return home with him if the ice is not removed."

"M'st love Alfred," said Berwald, suddenly, "t' come all this way."

"Yes," said Tino, softly, "he must love him very much indeed."

The dog barked again.

"I wish we could," Tino replied, sadly. "But there is nothing we can do. General Winter is too powerful. The only thing that will save Alfred is the love in Arthur's heart. That is the only thing that will melt the splinters of ice imprisoning him."

Hana yapped once more.

"Y'must take him there," said Berwald. "Take him there t'morrow."

And he and Tino looked at one another; and they were sad, for they wished, more than anything, that they could help Arthur; that they could save Alfred for him. But only Arthur could do that; only Arthur's love for his friend was strong enough to survive entry into the palace, and to break the spell keeping him there. All they could do was equip him, and point him in the right direction, and hope, and pray...and so that night they curled up in bed together, and thought of Arthur, and Alfred, and wished for nothing more than that the two be reunited and remain happy, and together, forever.