Above the Winter Skies [English Version]

1

It was the day of Aetheria's arrival and the whole city was buzzing about it. The night before, there had been heavy snowfall in Hjartvik, and as I walked to the market at dawn, pulling my sled behind me, the white powder crunched under my boots.

Ignoring my loudly beating heart was difficult. By noon, the airship would dock, carrying over a hundred Seraphim on board. Just one of them would have been enough to make my knees weak, though I wasn't aware of that then. All I knew was that I would see angels, and that filled me with awe and excitement.

"Watch where you're going, you oaf!" someone shouted beside me. I flinched. A finely dressed lady bumped into me, causing the basket of eggs I had carried carefully  to fall from my hands. Horrified, I watched as it hit the ground, the eggs rolling out and cracking open. The yellow spilled into the snow.

"No, no, no," I whispered, dropping to my knees and trying to salvage what I could. The woman had already walked away and disappeared around the next corner. The legs of my wool stockings soaked up water. In no time, the fabric was completely drenched.

Three eggs survived. I tried not to think about what awaited me at home because of this. If I was lucky, Eldrid would deduct the lost earnings only from my wages. If I was unlucky... I pushed the thought aside and stood back up. My stockings were completely soaked, and I immediately started shivering, but I couldn't go back to change. The market had already opened, and if I didn't get there in time, I would lose too much revenue. So I ignored the cold and wrapped the three remaining eggs in a cloth before continuing on my way.

By the time I arrived, the sun was already up and there was a bustling crowd. Murmurs filled the air, and I had to push through masses of people to get to my spot. I was late. Not terribly so, but enough that it would cost me more losses because many of my early customers had already bought their goods from other vendors. I suppressed a curse. I hadn't considered that people would be up earlier today because of the ship's arrival. The incident with the eggs had also cost me valuable time. Afterward, I had been slower moving forward, shivering from the cold by now. I didn't know how I would endure until noon in my wet clothes. It was minus ten degrees. If I was lucky, the thermometer would climb a bit higher in the next few hours; it was supposed to be a sunny day, but temperatures would surely remain below freezing, as they almost always did in Skaldengard.

I just hoped I wouldn't get sick. My pneumonia last year had sent Eldrid into a fit of rage, and she had nearly thrown me out.

"I don't have money to feed conniving layabouts," I heard her voice in my head. "Either you work, or you can find yourself a new place, lazy wench."

I swallowed and shook off the thought. By now, I had reached my spot and arranged the baskets on the sled so customers could get a good view of my goods. We had chickens and cows on the farm, so I sold milk and eggs. Additionally, we grew potatoes, onions, turnips, and cabbage.

"You're late today," a familiar voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I turned to the side and looked into Nevis' smiling face. His cheeks were red from the cold, a few dark curls peeking out from under his wool hat.

"Here. You look like you haven't eaten anything today," he handed me an apple, and warmth flooded my chest; he was right.

Gratefully, I accepted the fruit. I took a bite, and the apple made a loud crunching sound. A second later, I tasted the sweet juice on my tongue. I suppressed a moan. When was the last time I had eaten? It must have been almost twenty-four hours ago.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Nevis watching me with concern, and I realized I hadn't thanked him at all.

"Thank you," I mumbled, feeling a bit ashamed, and wiped some juice from my chin with frozen fingers.