Winter's never been my favorite season. I'll take a nice hot summer's day over cold, dark and snowy any day of the week. I've heard that down south they have islands where it's summer all year round. That's where I want to retire. Well, wanted to retire. My priorities have changed in ways I couldn't have even imagined a year ago. See, recently, my life's been pretty much turned upside down. Meeting a girl who'd never been outside a tower her entire life (that's not some sort of metaphor, by the way; eighteen years old and she'd never actually lived in the real world) then finding out the girl had glowing magic hair, she was the missing princess, and topping it all off with getting myself stabbed and almost dying. I don't recommend trying that last one, by the way. Then, reforming from a life of crime to a mostly respectable citizen … it's a lot to happen to a guy.
Where was I?
Oh, right, winter, dislike thereof. The reason I bring it up is because the other day Rapunzel called me up to the palace because she had something to show me. So up the hill I went, trying not to kill myself by slipping on a patch of ice, and there she was with that smile brighter and warmer than any summer's day, holding a poster.
"The Frost Fair, Eugene, can you believe it?! Apparently they have one every year, and there's ice sculptures and vendors and a torchlight parade and a big play with," she looked down at the poster, "The Snow King and The Lady of Spring."
"Oh, wow, the Frost Fair," I said, taking the poster from her. "I'd forgotten all about this."
"Would you like to go with me?"
"Well…" On the one hand, staying outside in the freezing cold all day. On the other hand, staying outside in the freezing cold with Rapunzel all day. "Of course I would," I said, giving her my best smile.
"You're bringing your lizard with you?" I asked. "Isn't he cold-blooded or something?"
"Oh, Pascal will be all right," Rapunzel declared sunnily. "Look, I made him some winter clothes!" She whipped out a tiny, striped scarf and hat that matched what she was wearing, then plonked them onto her chameleon.
I opened my mouth, trying to think of something to say in response to that, and heard myself saying, "That hat is adorable."
Pascal grimaced, obviously annoyed by being called "adorable." He pawed futilely at the scarf, then flushed pink and purple striped to match the scarf and hat in an apparent attempt to disappear.
Rapunzel smothered a giggle.
"Shall we be off?" I asked, offering her my arm.
"We shall," she said, grinning and hooking her arm around mine.
"Oh, look, Eugene, ice sculptures!" Rapunzel tugged me towards the plaza full of glistening blocks of ice. The air was full of the clinks of careful taps as the sculptors carefully chiseled out their creations. There was a mermaid with crystalline scales, a sinister-looking Frost King, and what I recognized as a still blocky-looking rendition of the royal castle.
Pascal jumped off Rapunzel's shoulder and hopped up next to a nearly finished dragon. He froze into an imitation, mouth open in a silent roar, claws raised to strike. It looked fierce on the dragon. The chameleon … not so much.
Rapunzel's laugh made the sculptor look up from putting the finishing touches on the tail. "Oh, your majesty, hello! Are you ― you're not on the judging panel, are you? Only, I'm not quite finished yet, and ―"
"No, no, I was just admiring your work. It's really amazing!"
"Oh, thank you, it means a lot coming from an artist like you. I mean, I saw the chalk drawings you did for the harvest festival, and that new mural ― but wait, you've got to see this." The sculptor pulled a candle stub out of her belt pouch, struck a flint to light it, then carefully set it in the dragon's mouth. Instantly, the dragon's entire snout lit up, glowing with the flame.
"It's like it's breathing fire," Rapunzel said, walking around the front of the statue.
I let out an appreciative whistle. "Nice effect. I think you might win the contest with that one."
"You think so?"
"It's amazing!" Rapunzel said, staring transfixed at it.
Pascal crept up for a closer look, only to get hit by drops of water melting from the sculpture.
"Uh, you might want to think about saving that till the judges are making their rounds," I pointed out. "Fire and ice aren't a good mix."
"Oh, fiddlesticks," the sculptor exclaimed. She puffed up her cheeks and blew the candle out, then extracted it, with a little, "Hot hot hot hot!" before dropping it on the ground.
"Good luck with your sculpture," Rapunzel said as we left.
"Thank you, your majesty," the sculptor said.
I gave the dragon sculpture one last glance as we left the plaza. That sculptor might've been on to something.
Meanwhile, my nose was getting cold and I was starting to lose the feeling in my fingers. Something to warm up might be just the thing. I glanced around and saw a convenient stall selling cider.
"Two, please," I said to the cider vendor.
"Sure thing," the seller said, ladling the cider from a cauldron he had going over a fire behind him. He frowned as he handed me the mugs. "Say, you look familiar. Don't I know you from somewhere?"
"Uh, no, don't think so."
"Hm." He leaned in closer. I took a step back because, really, there is such a thing as personal space. "Has anyone ever told you that you look like that Flynn Rider chap who was on those posters everywhere awhile back?"
"Really? Huh, isn't that strange," I said, trying to be nonchalant.
"Wrong nose, though," the seller said, nodding to himself. "That'll be two bits."
I handed a mug to Rapunzel. "Mmm," she said, taking a careful sip. "Is that cinnamon in there?"
"Mace, too," I muttered, frowning as I tried to figure out the un-appleish flavors.
"Now, now, I'm not about to reveal my secrets to you," the seller said.
"No, and you shouldn't," I said. I took another sip. "It's delicious, whatever you put in there."
"I still say there's cinnamon," Rapunzel said into her mug. She then looked up and saw a sign. "Eugene, you want to try ice skating next?"
"But I don't know how to skate!"
"Neither do I! C'mon, it'll be fun!" She tugged me in the direction of the skating rink.
After a long day, I returned with Rapunzel to the palace. We both had some new bruises from ice skating ― as it turned out, neither one of us was very good at it. And we'd had to take Pascal back to the cider booth for emergency thawing after he fell off the bridge. But overall, I'd had a good time. Better than I'd expected. Huh.
Rapunzel snapped me out of my reverie with a peck on the cheek. "Earth to Eugene? I'll see you tomorrow night, right? I've got geography and deportment lessons, and the new ambassador from Freedonia is going to be presented at court, but after that, I'm free. And I've been told that on the last day of the Frost Fair, it's tradition to exchange gifts with the ones you love. So …"
"So, tomorrow night, then, yeah?"
"Yeah."
"Ugh," Rapunzel said the next night, flopping into a chair and slouching down. "It feels so good to not have to sit up straight. Did you know that my deportment instructor made me walk all around the perimeter of the ballroom while balancing a book on my head? Twice!"
"So, why were you balancing a book on your head?"
"It's supposed to improve my posture."
"How is ― never mind."
"So how was your day?"
"Eh, you know, same ol' same ol'." Actually, I'd spent a decent part of the day running around town, trying to find a dozen and a half buckets and some candle stubs. But she didn't need to know that.
"Oh!" Rapunzel exclaimed, suddenly sitting up, "I have a present for you!" She darted out of the room and came back with a ribbon-wrapped bundle.
I untied it and unfolded a long scarf and a peaked hat in my favorite shade of green.
"I know you're always cold in the winter, so I knitted you these."
"Aw, thanks," I said, pulling on the hat and wrapping the scarf around my neck. "They're perfect! Nice and warm and cozy." I burrowed down into the scarf, appreciating it for a moment. Then I straightened up. "Hey, I have a present for you, too. But first you have to close your eyes."
She gave me a doubtful look.
"No, really, I promise, it's a great surprise, but you need to shut your eyes first. Oh, and put these on." I tossed her her cloak and put her hat on her head.
Rapunzel reached up to straighten her hat from the lopsided angle I'd plopped it on her head.
"Okay," I said, "now we're going to be taking a little walk, all right?" I grabbed her hand and gently tugged her in the direction of the balcony.
"We're going outside?" she asked, as we walked out the doors.
"Outside," I agreed. "Now just stay there for a moment. No, don't open your eyes, no peeking." I dashed around the balcony, putting on the finishing touches as quickly as I could. "Okay, now."
Rapunzel gasped in surprise as she looked around. All along the edge of the balcony, I had set up ice lanterns ― blocks of ice with candles glowing from the inside, shimmering against the dark. "Oh, Eugene!" she exclaimed, jumping up and giving me a tackle-hug.
"Oof," I said, staggering a little before regaining my balance and returning the hug.
"It's perfect! Thank you!"
"Aw, it was nothing."
"This has been the best Frost Fair I've ever had," Rapunzel said, resting her head on my shoulder.
"Yeah, well, it's the only Frost Fair you've ever had," I said, running my fingers through her short, brown hair.
"Mmm. Well, I'm sure the next one will be the best one ever, too."
"And the one after that?"
"And the one after that."
Author's Note: This was written for the 2012 Yuletide exchange as a gift for Starbrow. Thanks to my littlest sib, beta extraordinare. Any remaining mistakes you may see are all mine. Thanks also to the people of St. Paul, Minnesota, whose annual Winter Carnival inspired this fic. If you'd like to make your own ice lanterns (and you live in a cold enough climate), you can find directions for two different variations at "almostunschoolers dot blogspot dot com slash 2011 slash 12 slash winter-ice-lanters dot html" and "www dot instructables dot com slash id slash Make-a-fancy-ice-lantern-using-a-bucket? Slash ALLSTEPS" (just put appropriate punctuation marks in place of the "dot" and "slash" bits). The former's probably more foolproof, but I think Eugene used the second method.