Enthrall the Night

Winter Song

It's a cold, cold feeling
On a real lazy wind
That blows all the way trough you
And the autumn begins
How it cuts like a sabre
How it chills to the bone
You've got cold feet and fingers
And you're thinking of home
If I put my arms around you
Turn you in from the storm
From your autumn through winter
Darling I'll keep you warm

Winter Song - Chris Rae

When Zoraida was eight years old, she threw herself into a mountain river. She and the rest of the Young Scouts of Light had been training non-stop for an hour, under the hot summer sun, and she thought it was a good idea, to pretend she had tripped near the water and fall into it. She ended up being right, of course. The cold water refreshed her body and helped her regain some energy. But at the first moment of submersion, it didn't feel like that. Zora remembered the sensation. The shock of coldness paralyzed her body for a moment. Air, came out of her lungs. It was as if she had entered an ice cube. And she was sure, right before a nun took her out by the collar, that nothing could ever feel as cold.

Nineteen years later, she discovered that she had been wrong.

Bostovia was the empire of snow. Zora knew that. She had seen it in plenty of pictures, movies and documentaries. But witnessing it in person, even if only through a small window high in the air, was different.

The white vastness was overwhelming, yet beautiful.

They flew over small villages while they descended to the airport. The stone and wood houses seemed taken out of the storybook... Their roofs were sprinkled with white powder. Their chimneys were fully working. If not for the cars and antennas, Zora might have thought she was traveling through time.

It was beautiful, but it certainly made her feel cold. Wearing only the training attire the enforcers had lent her, she had nothing to protect her from the cold.

And so, when the airplane landed and the door opened, she felt five seconds away from becoming an icicle. Bostovia wasn't cold, like the winter breeze on the highest tower of Aurora. It wasn't freezing, like the river water that came from one of the few mountains in Emunal, that held any snow. This was as close to the ice age as Zoraida had ever gotten, and would probably ever get. The wind coming through the open door cut the skin and froze the throat. It was so cold it burned. Ice particles flew into the cabin. Zora forgot how to breathe until the door closed again.

Only then, did she take a look at the two men who entered the airplane, both bearing shopping bags

They were both dark-haired vampires. The first one was tall, almost as tall as an elf, and all smiles. He had olive skin and the red-eyes, vampires where known for, only his were clearer, almost orange. His heir looked too shiny, almost greasy. His smile was too bright.

He wore a silver chain around his neck, and way too little clothes for the weather outside. His shirt was unbuttoned, his scarf was untied, and thou he had both topcoat, overcoat and hat on, they seemed to be more of a fashion statement, than a necessity.

He barged in more than entered, and was already talking before the door closed.

"Good morning!" He greeted them with a strange accent. "Helmut told me you had requested winter clothes for your stuck on, Quinny, and as soon as I heard, I knew I had to come here to be the first to welcome her to Bostovia."

He gesticulated a lot while he talked to his king, and as a result, the bags he was caring flailed around.

Quintus sat on a couch, in front of a small table. He had been working on his computer, while Zoraida run from one point to the other, investigating, during the flight. He had joined in on the fun on a view occasions, when she discovered a massage option on one of the chairs, that he did not know about, and also when she tried to steal food from the flight hostess, even though the food was for free.