Away with the Fairies

*°•○Part Seventeen○•°*

"Where did you find that tinderbox?" Hans asked Louise while the dog carried them across the snow-covered flatland, running so fast and smoothly as if he was flying.

"Gerda the dragonfly... Well, I should say Berenice, the sorceress, gave it to me when I told her that we would accompany Rosalind on her journey. I can't believe that... that Gerda never existed, that it was Berenice all the time..." Louise shook her head thoughtfully.

"Yes, it... she is so... unusual," Hans replied, struggling to find the most correct words to describe the Owl Sorceress of Terra Sonalis, as he brought his hand to the bridge of his nose to push back the glasses that were not there anymore. "She has been watching us from the beginning..."

"It seems that she really likes you two, she was very generous to both of you," Rosalind said, looking from Hans' face, so strange and new without his glasses, to Louise's shiny, translucent wings.

"Let us eat something, and then we should rest a little. We did not sleep at all last night. And I have a feeling that crossing the Snow Queen's garden won't be an easy task," Hans ended their conversation by fishing out some food for all of them from his pouch.

"We don't have much left to eat... and now without your magic... hopefully, it will suffice..." he whispered to Rosalind as soon as Louise fell asleep, covered from head to toe by the black dog's warm fur.

"I know, Hans. It won't be easy. We have to hope..." The fairy trailed off, yawning, and in no time, she was asleep too.

Hans sighed deeply, then, following his friends' example, settled among the dog's black fur as well.

They did not know how long the dog ran because they slept most of the time. When the large animal finally stopped, making them dismount next to a tall garden wall made of round pieces of ice rather than stones, and reminded Louise that she could only call him back twice, it was still bright. But they did now know if this was because it was still early or because the nights in this part of Terra Sonalis were as bright as days.

"Which way, Rosalind?" Louise asked when the black dog vanished into thin air.

"There!" Rosalind said unhesitatingly, and Hans and Louise followed her along the gelid, semi-transparent wall until they reached a tall garden gate. It was made of two sheets of ice and adorned with the most fantastical carvings.

As it stood open invitingly, the three friends passed underneath its arch, holding hands.

They walked up a snow-covered lane leading across a large, eerily quiet garden full of glittery, bluish flowers made of crystal or ice, they could not say, for a short while, before it started to snow. Pulling the hoods of their winter coats over their heads they kept walking bravely, listening to the susurrus of the snow settling down around them as the soles of their shoes slipped and skidded along the lane which led them deeper and deeper into the Snow Queen's sanctuary.

The perfect, tiny snowflakes falling from the sky gradually grew in size and number. Soon, they were as big as spiders, mice, then rabbits and even swans. They seemed to be rushing towards them from all directions, always faster as if they were attacking them purposely, causing great frost, wind and darkness so complete that Hans and Louise lost sight of the winding lane under their feet and followed in Rosalind's wake blindly.

When they finally reached a sweeping staircase leading to a magnificent castle made completely of ice and snow, it stopped snowing abruptly.

Trembling with cold, they tried to brush the snow off each other's clothes, but it did not help much. Their coats were damp, heavy and cold, no longer offering any protection against the frost. Exhaustedly, they stumbled up the slippery steps and walked inside the castle through another open door, not knowing what to expect.