COLD SUMMER

Chapitre 1 : The Princess Of Silvermount

Like every morning, I opened the curtains to see the spectacle that nature showed me : an orange and misty sky stretched to the horizon. The frozen lake had no visitors yet. The children of the city would come in the afternoon and their crystalline laughter would rise in the winter-like landscape.

I never mingled with the people of Silvermount, but I liked to watch them from a distance. Sometimes I saw them glancing up at the mountain with a thoughtful look. Monica, my maid, had told me that there was a rumor going around town about me. Teenage horror movie fans thought the castle was haunted and that a ghost lived there. Dreamy kids thought a princess resided within these walls, mourning her lost love. While the adults didn't really think about it.

To me they were a picture I could look at all day, but I would not like to be a part of it. I had learned the hard way that humans were the vilest beings in this world, a great danger. I had not been able to open up to Monica even though she was the only human I still had contact with. Animals were more trustworthy. That's why my only friend was Leo, a snow wolf.

I had spent a restless night and it was not the first time. I dreamed of a little girl with the same features as me but that I knew was not me. I was sure it was Skylar.

She didn't say anything to me and just stared at me.

These strange dreams always left me pale and sweaty. And to take my mind off it, I wanted to get some fresh air. I wore a not-so-thick sweater with pants. These clothes weren't really warm but I loved feeling the bite of the cold. My brown hair was resting on my shoulders. I went down to the lake with my ice skates and Leo.

I was watching my skates slide across the hard surface, when I looked up and saw a silhouette of a child standing still. She was from behind and the wind was moving her blue dress.

"Hey ! You'll catch a cold if you stay here," I shouted.

She turned and smiled at me.

My heart skipped a beat.

Skylar.

When I blinked, she was gone.

I didn't know why my dreams followed me into reality but I didn't like it at all. It made me paranoid.

I put on my headphones and played the first song on my playlist. I was doing laps and somersaults when I noticed that the sun had risen even higher in the sky. With numb limbs, I returned to the castle. I opened the door and nearly knocked a suitcase into the hallway. Leo moved closer to sniff them out.

I frowned.

"Monica !" I called.

What's going on?

Monica came out of the kitchen with her hands behind her back. She had a sullen look on her face. At first, I thought she hated working for me, being stuck in the middle of nowhere with a strange girl. But as I've been around her all these years, I've come to understand that this was her normal face. But this morning, there was something different : that hint of anxiety in her eyes.

"Yes, Miss ?"

She didn't usually use that kind of civility with me.

"What is this suitcase? Are you going on a trip?"

She looked at it as if she hadn't seen it yet.

"You could have warned me earlier" I reproached.

She bit her lip with an uncertain look.

"How do I put this...?"

"If you want days off, just tell me. Is your mother sick again ?

Monica is not from Silvermount. She's from California, like me. I assumed the reason she followed me was because my parents paid her well. She went back once a year to see her widowed mother.

"No. Actually, this suitcase isn't mine."

" Ah?"

Well, I didn't understand anything. Nobody came to visit me. So, no matter how hard I thought, I couldn't find an explanation.

"This suitcase is yours."

I let out an incredulous laugh.

"Why?" I asked slowly.

She looked away.

"You're going back to California on your parents' orders. "

I raised my eyebrows.

"They never wanted me to come back. What changed ?"

"Billie...your sister is missing."

I wobbled and my skates slipped out of my hands.

That's how it all started.

The forgotten princess had to leave her quiet castle to return to a kingdom of darkness.