Children Of Frost (Book 1: Spirit Tales)

Chapter Five- Autumn and Summer

"Winter, it's time to wake up," Spring said shaking the sleeping girl's shoulder. River had asked her to wake the girl up, just to make sure that she didn't pass away in her sleep. "Winter, we need to eat. You're not getting out of it, you know."

She didn't know what happened to the girl. Only Autumn seemed to know, but when she asked him, he only muttered an answer. To say 'stubborn Imani' and 'stubborn children' didn't make a lot of sense to her.

Summer and Autumn went back to get Lily's body, as soon as Winter was given to her grandmother. She felt like she was missing something, like she had forgotten a secret, one that Lily was hiding.

She was gone. Nothing they could, or would, do was going to bring her back. Hunter wasn't happy when he saw the blue face of his beloved child. He screamed at them, telling them that they should've helped Lily and let Winter die, that they should've saved his baby girl.

Spring thought the thing that brothered her the most, was the girls smile. It was small, but she had seen it before, but she couldn't... no, she could. The only thing she could remember, Adam. He had the exact same smile on his face, before he also fell into the icy cold water.

"Winter wake up!" Spring shouted. She knew that Luna was going to tell her off for that, but she didn't care what her sister thought, she needed to wake up Winter and if she had to shout in her ear to it, then so be it.

"Lily, go brother Mother or Father," Winter muttered before rolling over, the blanket going down to show Luna's old sliver dress.

Spring only looked at her. She was still getting used to seeing Winter in a dress, since the girl only owned hunting gear. "Come Winter, Lily's funeral. You know she's going to be given one. It's this bell ring's."

"I don't want to go," Winter said opening her eyes. Lily was gone, so of course her sister wasn't waking her up. It was just wishful thinking on her part. "I'm sick and tired of everything thinking I'm going to do what Lily wants. You know Hunter and Dylan will want me dead, I bet I'll be disowned. Then they'll kick me out, I'll die, because I'll be caught in a storm, but who will care? Right, I meant the poor angel had to die for the little devil. I w-"

"Winter! People die all the time," Spring said looking at her dull brown eyes. This was the only way she could find out what was wrong, when the girl was half-asleep. "You know this, I know this. Hunter and Dylan know this, everyone knows."

"Spring can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"When does that ever stop anyone?" Winter asked sitting up and looking at her sheets. She doesn't know how long she's been asleep, but she doesn't want to know. "He'll want me dead. Everyone will want me dead. Grief doesn't have a reason, blaming someone for something also doesn't follow reasoning. You say they know people die, but they don't think it's happen to them, that it'll happen to those they love."

"They won't," Spring told her. She wanted to believe it, they were better then that. They would see that Winter didn't want to hurt her sister, Autumn had told them what happened. "Autumn has told Hunter what happened, his told everyone what he saw."

"Spring, neither you nor I can hide from the facts. You know they will, I know they will," Winter said. She wished she could go back to sleep. Go back to sleep and never wake up again. That would be the only way she's be free and happy, her happiness didn't matter to the village, no one's did. The only thing that mattered was surveying, living and making sure their race lived on.

"Winter you need to tell them."

"Tell who? And what am I telling them?"

"Well me, Luna and Summer," Spring told her. Sure, Autumn told them what he saw, but he didn't know why Lily was on the ice, nor did he know what they were talking about.