Love is An Open Door

Onward and Upward

HELP I'M ON A ROLL I CAN'T STOP

"Elsa?" Andar called, riding Kjekk, who trudged through the powder, through the now-frozen fjord. "Elsa! Elsa, it's me, Andar. Your brother who didn't mean to make you freeze summer. I'm sorry! It's all my f - fault." Under his breath, he added, "Of course, none of this would've happened if she'd just told me her secrete." He laughed, Kjekk becoming concerned that his master was losing it from excessive exposure to the cold. "She's a stinker."

Karmatically, a tree branch fell in front of him, spitting snow all over him. Panicked, Kjekk threw him back, Andar falling awkwardly. Kjekk ran off, Andar trying to call him back. "Oh, no. No no no, come back! No no no no!" He looked around for something to help him. "Ooookay..." Grabbing onto the pine tree, he went to stand, the snow coming off and landing on top of him.

-

All day, he chugged through the snow, Andar taking long strides to get over the snow, the bottoms of his pant legs soaked.

"Snow..." he mumbled, trying to huddle himself in his cape. "It had to be snow. She couldn't have had tropical magic that covered the fjords in white sand and warm..." Seeing a trail of smoke seeping into the sky, he cried, "Fire!"

But he slipped down the hill, both landing with a splash into the river.

"Cold cold cold..." Andar mantraed. His pants stiffened around his legs as he waddled over to the small wooden cabin. He reached up and knocked the snow off of the sign. "Wandering Oaken's Trading Post," he read. His eye caught the small sign as the snow fell off of that one, as well. "Ooh, and sauna!"

Stepping in, he was insanely greeted by a cherry, "Yoo-hoo!" Behind the counter was a stalky man with a handlebar mustache and a sweater. "Big Summer Blowout. Half off swimsuits, clogs, and a sub balm of my own invention, ja?" He held up the balm helpfully.

Andar blinked and politely nodded. "Oh, great. For now, um, how about boots? Winter boots? A - and some warm clothes?"

He nodded and gestured to a corner. "That would be in our winter department."

An outfit was folded on the chair with a pair of boots, along with a rope and axe. One of the two snowshoes fell pathetically.

"Oh." He went to retrieve the clothes. As he did, he asked, "Um...I was wondering...has a young woman...the queen, perhaps...pass through here?"

"Only one crazy enough to be out in this storm is you, gutt."

Just as he said that, the door shut and a man came in, his clothes covered in snow.

"You and this fellow. Yoo-hoo! Big Summer Blowout."

The man tromped in to Andar, who backed into the counter, grabbing onto it. He leaned over, saying, muffled through his scarf, "Carrots."

Andar, confused, blinked stupidly. "Huh?"

He motioned at the counter. "Behind you."

He glanced down, indeed seeing the carrots, and jumped away from the counter. "Oh! Right. Excuse me."

He reached past him and took one of the sacks, then, from the winter department, took the rope and axe.

"A real howler in July, ja?" Oaken asked him, trying to make small talk. "Wherever could it be coming from?"

"From the North Mountain," he replied, not faltering in his quest. Once finished, he brought his stuff to the counter.

"North Mountain..." Andar whispered, glancing up at the man - he was considerably taller by at least two feet - hopefully.