Tossing and turning, Winter's sleep was filled to the brim with horrifying nightmares. She saw her mother sitting on the edge of her bed, blood slipping out of her mouth as she tried finishing a story. She saw her father outstretching his arms to enwrap her in a loving embrace, but his arms were stripped of skin and flesh. She saw shards of ice spring up from the ground and tear her home apart brick by brick.

Searching for salvation from the terrors, Winter hunted for Cinder amongst the dark chaos. Through corridors distorted by madness, she ran away from the haunting images of her parents she left behind. Cinder would save her. Cinder could comfort her. All she needed to do was find Cinder.

Rolling into her path, she jumped over the body of her beloved nanny. Winter barely suppressed her shrieks as she left behind Iko choking on her own blood. Biting down on her cheek, harder and harder with her flowing tears, she left behind the body in hopes that Cinder would be waiting on the other side of their bedroom door.

And she was right.

Making it to the top of what felt like an endless staircase, their door remained untouched by the disfigurements tearing at her reality. She threw it open, thoughts only focused on how grateful she was to see her sister. Across the room, she saw her older sister and resisted the urge to run towards her. A wise decision when she fully took in her sister's form.

Long, sharp slivers of ice ripped into the bedroom from the flooring to the walls. They acted as daggers, piercing holes in the wooden floorboards and shattering the windows into a rain of glass. Among the tattered furniture and dismantled structure, Cinder stood unmoving, facing the very door Winter stared at her from. Her feet did not touch the floor; a feat that would seem impossible if not for the darkened ice shard impaling her through the chest.

Before Winter could let out the tears building in her throat, laughter filled the spaces where ice and disarray left bare. She spun on her heel to face the source of the vile sound, already recognizing where she heard it from. It was in the very same room, with a woman colder than the ice she wielded.

Decorated in lace of snow from her eyelashes to the train of her dress, the Snow Queen snickered behind a sheer veil. Her smile reflected that of pure wickedness as she stared into Winter's very soul. Though she was never close enough to get a clear look, somehow she knew her eyes glistened with grey crystals like sharp-edged blades.

Winter screamed at the top of her lungs when she awoke with tear-streaked cheeks. Gripping her covers until her knuckles were sore, she muffled the sound to save Cinder sleeping beside her. The reality of the nightmares clung to her mind as she regulated her breathing to a normal speed. Even after her body settled, it took a few minutes before she could truly convince herself what was and was not a dream.

Glancing over at the mess over covers on Cinder's bed, she contemplated waking her sister for her own selfish desire for console. Somehow, the lump had not stirred with her cries causing Winter guilt for even thinking of waking her. She was not the only one, she reminded herself, who lost her parents that day.

And still, the pull to rest in her sister's arms like she did when she fell asleep compelled her out of her bed. Sneaking over to Cinder's bed, Winter nudged the side of the comforter mountain and spoke in a hushed tone. "Cinder? I had a nightmare."

While Cinder was no light sleeper, she could never sleep through her sister's pestering in her side. Confused, Winter shook the pile more vigorously to warrant some kind of movement from beneath the covers. Under her grip, she felt no movement and nothing solid; only the softness of bedding that cushioned her pressure.

Growing fearful, Winter tore back the blankets off the bed to find nothing but a pillow supporting the mesh of sheets. Both puzzled and hysteric, her mind tried piecing together why Cinder's bed was empty. Just hours earlier she was wrapped in her sister's warmth that was now missing from her body like Cinder was missing from her bed.

Turning to search the halls, Winter tripped over some cloth strung across the floor. Cinder never left things untidy; her side always remained cleaner of the two. Picking up the rough fabric, she recognized the material – too thick to be any indoor clothing. The woolen poncho was one of many spilled out from the pits of Cinder's wardrobe where only clothing for travel rested.

Frightened by her own words, Winter ran out into the vacant halls with real tears brimming her eyes. Not caring if the entire castle woke from her pounding feet, she rushed down a predetermined path to the very entrance way she and Cinder played in the snow earlier. Some of the castle even did wake, one being the sweet Iko who opened the door of her quarters just as Winter flew by.

"Good gracious child!" she exclaimed in shock. "What are you doing?!"

The young princess ignored the pleas following her as she headed toward the door. Faintly her mind warned her of the danger; all she wore to protect herself from the bitter frost was a thin nightgown. Even her dark, curled hair was too short to give her any protection from the billowing winds.

Iko called out behind Winter as she began chasing her down the long hallway. Winter, knowing she would not stop for anything, thrashed her legs harder until she reached the intimidating wooden doors leading out into the snow. It took both hands and all of her strength to pry the doors apart far enough to all her to slip through.

Cold air seeped into the crack and chilled every bone in Winter's body. Fighting off rattling teeth and bump-covered arms, she thrust herself into the night to find any clue at where her sister disappeared to. Bare feet trudging straight into the piles of white, her eyes darted every which way in search of anything useful.

Not two feet in front of her lay shallow footprints leading off into the woods. They seemed to be recently filled by freshly fallen snow still trickling down on Winter's hair. Some were completely filled, hinting at the hours the hollowed-out steps had to have laid underneath the dropping flakes. Whoever made the small intrusions was long gone.

"Cinder!" Winter screamed into the starless sky. A raspy edge found its way into her voice from the sobs contorting her body. "Cinder!"

Catching up to the younger princess, Iko flew out the doors with just enough time to stop Winter from running deeper into the open air. Questioning her with a scolding tone, the nanny soon grew silent as she listened to the words hidden in her cries. Peering out over the white-blanketed land, Iko's brow furrowed, following the path of prints Winter could not tear her eyes from.

Everything is coming together! I was going to post this with the last chapter in Book One, however, I am still not entirely sure what - or rather who - it will be about yet.

Malika DaughterOfWisdom: Of course she will! And I'm so excited for it! I'm sticking to the main couples and Cress and Thorne are my favorite.

Lady Jo Editor Extraordinaire: We'll see him very soon . . .

Thanks you two so much for reviewing! I really, really enjoyed them!

A humongous thanks to everyone reading! Please review!