Kai swore as his foot collided painfully with the corner of a polished, finely designed sleigh – the cause of his frustration. Her screen face positioned on the helm of her sleek body gave another surge of life as she sighed deeply at the clumsiness of her master. After a light bickering going back and forth between them for an hour, Kai finally lashed out at his mechanical companion who refused to budge down the mountain.

"I won't do it," she protested once again. She felt slightly guilty for injuring her master and long-time friend, however, he should have remembered that she was a great deal heavier than she appeared. Her wooden outer appearance, painted in hues of blue with the popular Celtic designs, only concealed the wiring hardware that made her the best model of sleigh available on the market.

It wasn't his intention to kick her either; in fact, he only tried pushing her from her stuck spot in the snow when she intentionally extended her foot out to catch his leg. He was supposed to fall on his face into a pile of cushioned snow, not trudge his bulky boot into her side.

"Nainsi," he scolded, "We have to get down the mountain in order to reach the next town. These deliveries don't make themselves. you know."

"But it's so steep!" she complained. "I'll tumble and loose a snow runner or hit a tree and scratch my paint!"

"No you won't."

"You don't know that!" she whined.

Kai snorted, "Yes I do! You were designed specifically not to do that sort of thing."

Despite her reluctance, he unlatched the locks on her runners and hopped into the driver's seat. With reigns in hand, Kai repositioned the packages strapped behind him for a safer travel down the slope they were about to travel. One of the steeper mountain sides they had encountered on their years of work, he couldn't entirely blame Nainsi for her apprehension.

"Why do we even have to go to the Capital, anyway?" She tried stalling to avoid the journey she knew she would eventually be forced to take. "We've never made deliveries this far from home before."

Kai had to agree, the order was unusual. Most of Iceland had no use for the technology he sold and delivered across the surviving countries, not to mention the Capital where one could not find even a telephone line. As to the distance from their home town just across the frozen-over sea, that was one part of the journey he didn't mind as much.

Turning on the holographic reindeer useful to advert attention compared to a sleigh driving itself around, Kai jostled the reigns to let Nainsi know he was adamant about leaving. She gave a small squeal before inching her way off the small ledge where they took refuge for the night. The false reindeer in front of her yipped in impacient, an act she found very rude considering she could send them back to the database from whence they came.

Soon her creeping led to sliding, until she could no longer prolong her descent. Nainsi yelped as they flew down the mountainside, reindeer galloping and wind rushing through the fur in Kai's hood. The deliver would be expected by that afternoon with still half a day's ride to the Capital. Nainsi's tantrum had cost him valuble time, but he would never be late.

"What do you suppose the Capital is like?" she asked over the roar of the whipping wind.

"I don't know," he answered honestly. He had never been to the great Capital, the place where the rulers that protected Iceland from the wicked Snow Queen resided. A glowing city full of love and life – that is how he imagined it would be.

In the midst of his daydream, a loud noise that stirred a flock of unsuspecting birds into the sky woke him. Shocked and alarmed, Nainsi stepped on her brakes as hard as she could until she was able to spin off to the side near a patch of trees. Kai darted his head around in search for the cause of the strange sound; a cross between a crashing cart and a bucket being dropped.

On the other side of the mountain's peak – where the usurped birds fled from – something had caused some of the snow to tumble from its sturdy place glued to the mountain. Out of their view, something must have disturbed the peace on the otherwise calm mountain.

"W-What was that?" Nainsi stuttered in fear.

Kai narrowed his eyes at the horizon a moment longer, hunting for anything out of place. He couldn't be sure, but his instincts told him something about the noise wasn't right. It was too metal to be natural, yet had a ring not like anything he'd ever heard before. The world stayed quiet for Kai's benefit, until he was certain nothing would be coming from that direction.

"I don't know," he replied for the second time, just as honestly as the first.

Urging Nainsi forward, Kai only looked over his shoulder on occasion to confirm that what he thought he saw was only his imagination running away from him. Still, he could not shake the feeling that whatever made the dreadful sound was watching his every move as they traveled the rest of the way down the mountain.

My apologies, it has been so long.

Thank all you readers and reviewers for your support with this story! I'm so happy where it is going.

forgivemyfandoms: thank you so much for the compliment! I don't exactly understand your question, however, I can assure you all answers will be delivered in the story eventually. I have a habit of prolonging frank explanations. If you still have a question, I'd be happy to answer it.

The next chapter is already nearly finished and should be up in the next week.

Thanks to all again! Please review!