Autumn's Fall

XXII. Three Strands Make a Cord

Something gently stroking the crest of his head woke him from his sleep. Opening his eyes, he saw very little, so dark was it in the cavern. It felt like early morning but with all the foliage it was difficult to tell. All he knew for certain was that the Minister of Winter was awake. Squinting into the darkness, he could barely see the outline of her face, but he knew it would be pale.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. But, since you are awake now, I wanted to thank you for all you've done for me. Even with the biting, I know you were trying to help me. You could have left me here by myself a long time ago, but you stayed to keep me company in my final hours. So, thank you; from the bottom of my heart I thank you."

Ice cold fear pricked at his dragon heart. Why was she saying this now? She couldn't be out of time! She was awake and breathing; she had to have more time! He was so close to getting her free!

In the darkness he felt for the roots covering her. The vines he had finally been able to snap yesterday, but the roots still remained unwilling to release their prisoner, and he dug at them with renewed force, begging from his heart for her to hold on just a little while longer.

ab§d

"Sophia! Stop bouncing up and down like that!" her mother scolded.

Sophia stopped her excited movements and leaned over to look out the car window at the tall, lone tower of white stretching into the sky. Almost as high as a skyscraper, the Tower of the Ministers was quickly growing closer—they were finally here!

Cecilia smiled and pointed to the bouquet of flowers clenched tightly in her sister's hands. "You're going to make them loose all their petals before we can even give them to the Minister of Winter. Here, let me hold them,"

Sophia quickly hugged them closely to herself, "I want to give them to her!"

"Girls!" Dad's brown eyes watched them from the rear view mirror, "Don't make me separate you two. You can give them together. Do try not to squeeze them so hard, Sophie."

"Whoa, look at the size of those gates." Interrupted Angus as they passed through massive, wrought-iron gates with overhead arches of intricate designs, reflecting the four seasons. They entered the grounds and found a parking spot close to the entrance.

There they all stared up at the impressive tower. It looked smooth as polished marble but was broken up here and there by large, mostly open windows and round balconies leading into dark doorways. What must it be like to live there?

In all their time with the Minister of Winter, the children hadn't asked her much about her life in the tower—they had had more important things to worry about at the time. And as she had promised, their parents had arrived the day after they had escaped from the Forbidden Mound. Dad and Mom had been greatly surprised to find that their children had beaten them home.

And now, nearly two weeks since they had last seen the Minister of Winter, they stood outside the Tower where she lived, hoping to be granted an audience with her to express their thanks. Their parents had insisted on it, and the children wanted to see the young Minister of Winter again in any case.

Sophia stood at the top of the steps, bouncing up and down again. Her hair, pulled up into curly pigtails on either side of her head, was moving up and down with her. "I can't wait to see Winter. She's going to be so surprised to see us!"

"Soph! You're killing the flowers again!"

Sophia looked down at her gift to see that indeed almost half the petals had fallen from the bunches of colored daisies and were lying at the bottom of the plastic casing. For a moment she stuck out her bottom lip in a pout, but then a wide smile filled her face, "Maybe the Minister of Spring can heal them? I've always wanted to see what he does to make them grow."