'Winter, you will not encroach further,' Ella said, hardly recognising her booming voice.
'At last,' her mum sobbed. 'I'm sorry. I sent the card to remind you who you really are - queen of summer.'
The air warmed and the fire burst into flames. Ella smiled. Winter was tamed. #FiveActFestiveStory
A memory flickered of a man falling from a chimney and hitting his head on the hearth – losing what it was to be good.
Snatches of spells came back to her, banishments cast by a woman as warm as the man was cold. But now he was back, and there was only one thing Ella could do.
#FiveActFestiveStory
Ella paused. ‘20 years?’
Her mother dropped her gaze. ‘You were so fragile. Born that midwinter night.’ She pushed Ella behind her as the window panes cracked. ‘We couldn’t let him keep you.’
‘We? Let who keep me?’
The glass shattered, and their breath plumed.
‘The Frost King.’
#FiveActFestiveStory
She tentatively traced the lettering. “A man I once knew.”
“Then I’ll find him,” said Ella, pulling on her snow gear. “He won’t have gone too far, not in this weather.”
“Wait,” called her mother. “You don’t know what he did.”
But it was too late. Ella had run out into the cold. #FiveActFestiveStory
𝑁𝑜, 𝑦𝑜𝑢’𝑟𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡, thought Clara.
She flipped the postcard over to reveal ink snaked across the reverse, depicting her destination. It meant the Frost Fair was back, but not for long.
She dug out her skates and headed for the frozen Thames.
#FiveActFestiveStory
