Cinder heard Winter give another giggle as she burst into a freshly formed snow heap. The soft mountains cushioned her falls and dotted her wool dress with sparkling flakes. Once one toppled to the little princess's leaping, she would just move onto the next.

Standing just beyond the castle's reach, Cinder watched over the innocent child exploring the wonders around her. Her smile was only present whenever Winter glanced her way, otherwise it twisted into a worrisome frown subject to her habit if biting her bottom lip. Worry clipped her nails and upturned her eyebrows until they were sore.

The Snow Queen's words whispered in the pits of her mind like a dark curse. Coronation? Cinder's eighteenth birthday was months away and she would not take the throne until her parents' death. Despite their absence for the past weeks, they were alive and well making trade negotiations overseas.

And what was the gift the queen spoke of? Somehow Cinder did not think it would be one she wanted or could return. Yet, she felt no different from the night if the Snow Queen's visit, except that the fear of the queen's words had chilled her beyond help.

Cinder rubbed her shoulders, covered in a fur-lined cloak over her thick knit dress. Somehow, she remained freezing even wrapped in layers of clothing. Whether it was next to the fires of the castle or bundled beneath her thick bedding, she could not warm herself from the cold that struck her.

"Your highness,"

Cinder turned to the loving face of Iko, their caring nanny. She had stepped down as Cinder's main governess only years earlier in exchange for a royal advisor to teach her the studies of ruling a kingdom. Nevertheless, her lessons with Winter continued and her presence never left Cinder's life.

The older woman smiled, "My lady, it is time for supper."

"Already?" Winter whined, overhearing the conversation.

"Now, your highness," the nanny scolded with only a sliver of seriousness. "You best come inside before you catch a wee cold."

"Iko's right," Cinder agreed, placing a comforting hand on her sister's back. "The winter doesn't love you as much as you love it."

Winter smiled up at her sister. "Who doesn't love the winter?"

Cinder couldn't keep the sympathy out of her smile. Unfortunately, there were many who hated winter despite their country's thriving lifestyle. More so than the season, they hated the far off queen who caused it.

The two princesses slipped past the towering open doors held by Iko's hip. Snow still clinging to her skirts fell off in heaps as she skipped down the long corridor. Behind her, her sister sauntered at a less enthusiastic pace along with their nanny trying to sweep up the younger girl's trail with her apron.

"Chief Advisor Torin has some news after supper," Iko mentioned after most of the snow had inevitably melted.

Cinder nodded, only partially listening to Iko's words as she ushered her out of her cloak. Reluctant and hesitant to embrace the air without the extra warmth, the cloak left her shaking hands. She watched it with longing as Iko shuffled along to finish other chores around the palace.

Running her palms along her arms, Cinder found Winter already seated at her place on the left side of the table's head. The dark wood was designed with Celtic patterns as was most of their castle home. Her father told her it was styled to honor their heritage from the now glacier-covered Europe.

She slid out the chair across from Winter, a warm bowl of soup already waiting for her. Her sister dug in as she delicately sat and spread her skirts as her mother taught her so many times it became a habit she'd rather live without. Steam rose from the bowl hinting at a heat Cinder couldn't feel even though her tongue burned from taking a sip.

The table remained quiet except for Winter's unladylike consumption of her meal. Since her parent's departure, the castle had felt empty and vacant. The servants were not bustling with their usual vigor to please their king and queen. Guests postponed their visits until the country's leaders returned. Other than her tutors and loving sister, Cinder went days without seeing anyone at all.

An abrupt clang of thick doors being barged open flustered Cinder and Winter with shock. Chief Royal Advisor Konn Torin stood tall at the opposite head of the table with a grim look engraved on his features. Even Winter's smile faded at the dark grimace aging his already older appearance.

"Your Highnesses." He bowed revealing no clue to the bleak news he withheld. Running in just on Advisor Torin's heels was a disheveled Iko. Cinder's stomach heart dropped into her stomach when she caught the tears glistening in Iko's eyes.

"I asked you to wait until after they finished their meal!" Iko pleaded with a raspy, bordering hysteric voice.

Advisor Torin spared no emotion to her cries. "We can't afford to waste any time."

"Have you no heart?! This is not the sort of news you deliever so casually."

"I'm not being causal," he snapped, irritated by her overly displayed distress. "And we will have to tell them eventually, I just don't find any use in prolonging it."

"Tell us what?" Winter asked hesitantly. Cinder couldn't say one word in assistance – she didn't want to know. There were only a handful of things she imagined that could make Iko cry, and none of them any news Cinder wanted to hear.

Advisor Torin took in a breath, but the impassive look on his face never wavered. "I'm sorry to have to inform you of this, however, there is no point in keeping it from you."

A weight deep in Cinder's chest – in the same place it felt hollow in her dream – sunk lower and lower until the next words out of his mouth sent her to the ground in grief.

"Your parents will not be returning from their journey overseas."

And with just those words, a small crack split in Cinder's heart, as if it were made of something hard and solid.

Guest: Thanks for the review! As to your question, yes and no. Frozen and this story are both based off The Snow Queen and as you will see there will be some similarities, however, the events in the story are and will be very different. I already have a full outline of this story and know where it is headed, far from the Disney musical tale.

Thanks to my other reviewer Cheesehead101! I'm ecstatic you liked it!

To the rest of you, thanks for reading as always! And as always, please review!