Monday, February 20, 2017

When Springs Blooms (Short Story)



So I did a thing. I sort of accidentally wrote a short story when I supposed to be editing Burning Thorns. *cough, cough*


The fantastic Jenelle Schmidt has proclaimed February as Fantasy Month, which is obviously the best idea ever. There’s all sorts of fun fantasy things going on at her blog. Do go check it out!



One of the fun things is a short story challenge. Her challenge was to write a story using the word SNOW somewhere. When I saw that, my brain got an image of a girl standing in a snowstorm, and things exploded from there. Except…the story is supposed to be 3k words or less, and mine ended at 4.6k words. Ooooops. I CAN’T WRITE SHORT THINGS, GUYS. But I thought I'd post it anyway.


This story may or may not have changed plots about 6 and a half times while I was writing it. I literally had no plot when I started it, but that was the fun part. It’s been a loooong time since I’ve just purely pants something and let my imagination run wild. It’s anything but perfect, and kinda odd. I think there’s still some plot holes and may not even make sense, but this was more just to loosen my creative muscles and let my imagination run free (which is often scary, buuut…) before burying myself under endless editing.


But plot holes and oddness and length (sowwy) aside, I hope you guys enjoy it!


~ ~ ~

WHEN SPRING BLOOMS
By Christine Smith



She clutched the frozen rose in both hands—its petals the same faded pink as her gown. The falling snow gathered silently around her boots. Her fingers, her nose, every inch of her had numbed so, so long ago. But they were only a dull ache compared to the constraining, endless numbing of her heart.

Once, numb fingers, frostbitten skin, was her only world. Once, she had not known there was anything but the bitter, cutting cold.

Not until he had entered her frozen kingdom, did she know the soothing comfort of warmth. And how she longed for it now.

The way his sun-filled smile cracked the ice binding her heart. The way his golden eyes sent waves of joy within her very core.

But oh, if only she had known then. If only she had realized.

Winter and Summer could never be together.

One would always destroy the other.

The snowflakes twirled and danced like the fairies once did in his sunlit kingdom. The wind picked up, howled around her like the roar of a dragon.

She tightened her stiff fingers around the rose—the last remnant of him. “I'm so sorry,” she whispered. But the harsh wind swept her apology away into the white wasteland of snow and ice and broken promises.

* * *

“I am cursed.”

He rested his ever-warm fingers atop her pale arm. Her skin tingled, turned rosy as the frostbites faded. “Winter is not a curse.” Those golden eyes sparked as they met hers, and she couldn't constrain the upward tug of her lips. “Winter is beautiful.” He stood and swept an arm out—at the icicles glimmering down from the frosty trees, at the white ground glittering like diamonds, at the snowflakes swirling around them and melting into his fair hair, his eyelashes.

“It is only beautiful when you are here,” she said. “It is so dark and cold without you. Won't you stay forever?”

He turned back to her, and the spark in his eyes had faded. “I cannot.”

She jumped to her feet and grabbed his hand in both of hers. Steam hissed between their palms as cold met hot. “But why?”

He dropped his gaze down to their joint hands, his eyebrows drawn. And that's when she saw it, when she knew.

She jerked her hands away and took a step back. Her heart twisted, tightened, leaving her breaths shallow. “I hurt you. You...you can't stay because of the cold. Because of me. You're...” The word would not come, was unthinkable.

“I'm dying.”

Hearing it out loud was like a knife to the chest. She shook her head, tried to deny it, to find some way out. “No,” she murmured. “But it can't... You can't be! You do not hurt me.”

His smile was so soft, so kind. He reached for her, but she pulled away, didn't want to hurt him anymore, however much she longed for his warm touch. Sighing, he dropped his hand. “This is your kingdom. You are so much stronger here than I.”

“Then...” She darted her eyes across the ground, searching, searching, searching. There had to be an answer. “Then I shall go to your kingdom!”

“No!”

She sucked in a breath at the sudden harsh reply, so unlike the gentle aura always surrounding him.

He blew out a long breath and then swallowed, his next words quiet, calm. “No, please.” He stepped up to her and grabbed her hand before she could pull away. His jaw clenched, but he did not release his hold. “The warmth will be too much for you in my kingdom. You will die instead, and I can't...” His voice hitched. “You must stay here.”

“But—”

“Please.”

She blinked at the sting of tears forming behind her eyes. “This kingdom is so dark without you. Your light makes me forget about Mother's shadow always looming over us.”

“Oh, Princess.” He tightened his grip around her fingers. “I can see a light within you. You must hold onto it. I believe this kingdom will be filled with light when you ascend the throne.”

One of the tears slipped out, but it only reached her cheek before freezing over. “But I will always be Winter, and you Summer.”

With another sigh, he reached up and brushed at her frozen tear. It thawed as it trickled down his finger. “I had so hoped to conjoin our kingdoms. To bring us snow and cool breezes. To give you sunlight, flowers.”

A lump formed in her throat, strangling her words. “I'd like to see a flower one day.”

He smiled, even as tears filled his own eyes. “I originally opened the door between our kingdoms because I wanted to see the snow. But instead I found such a greater treasure.” He lowered his head toward hers, so close the warmth from his body thawed every inch of her. “Promise me you'll never enter my kingdom.”

The lump in her throat grew, constricting. Unbearable. How could she promise that? Because with that promise came the one thing she could never endure.

She endured the cold. She endured Mother's tyranny. She endured the dreary world she lived in.

But how could she bear never seeing him again?

His hand trembled against hers. She looked down to find frost crawling along his fingers. His face had gone pale. White streaks appeared in his fair hair. And his eyes—his luminescent eyes that held the sunlight themselves—were beginning to fade.

She was killing him.

She threw her arms around him. Just for one second, just to feel his warmth one last time. Then she jerked away and, with a shuddering breath, she spoke the impossible words. “I promise.”

* * *

Ice grew thicker upon the rose's beautiful pink petals. She pressed it closer against her chest, but that only froze it more.

Because she was Winter. She froze everything.

Why had she believed Mother? Why had she broken her promise?

She should never have opened the doorway.

* * *

“You love him, don't you?”

Mother's silky voice sent goosebumps down her already chilled skin. She kept her eyes on the great silver door, sitting lone and precarious at the edge of the snowy cliff—the door between kingdoms.

The gateway separating her and the Prince of Summer.

She could open it, whenever she wished. Only her Mother could not pass to the Summer Kingdom, and the Summer King could not enter the Winter Kingdom. Their elements were too strong, too opposing. They could never touch. But she was only a Princess, did not hold her Mother's full power. The door would allow her entrance.

But she had promised him.

She stroked its intricate carvings, willing the stinging frozen tears to not come. “Yes. But I can never see him again.”

“Who's to say?”

This brought her around to face Mother, who stood with her delicate eyebrows raised and the faintest upward turn of her white lips.

“Because I...I can't,” said the Princess, now unsure of herself. Mother always had that effect. “Our kingdom will kill him, and his me.”

Mother sashayed toward her, and the Princess swallowed, taking a step back. “Not if you were stronger,” Mother said.

Her thrumming heartbeat took a momentary lapse. “St—stronger?”

“Princess.” Mother reached out a hand and slid her slender fingers across the Princess's cheek.

The Princess had to hold in the shudder the frozen touch sent down her body. Mother was always so cold, and yet she never seemed to mind. In fact, she relished it.

“My sweet girl.” The cool words sent chills deeper than the touch. “You will never hold the entire power of Winter until you are queen. But, I can grant you some of my power now. Enough for you to endure the Summer Kingdom.”

The Princess's breath caught in her throat. For a moment, she couldn't move, couldn't speak. Could hardly think. Mother's words repeated in her mind over and over again. Enough to endure the Summer Kingdom. The Summer Kingdom... Where he lived.

She blinked away the haze in her mind, tried to focus back on Mother. On the woman who held the kingdom with such a tight fist. Whose presence sent waves of dread through her subjects, her daughter most of all.

The Princess swallowed, fearing to even speak the words lest her ears had played tricks on her. “You'd help me?”

Mother's solid blue eyes flicked to the left, and for one fragment of a second, the Princess saw something in them she had never seen before. The icy exterior cracked, and for that tiny, sliver of a moment, Mother looked almost...sad. “You forget, dear, I was in love once as well.”

The Princess followed Mother's line of sight. Only snow lay across the empty field, but she had heard the stories of a third kingdom. Autumn, Mother once called it, but any questions about it sent her into one of her tantrums. The Princess had learned long ago to keep all inquiries to herself.

“I do not wish for you to hold the pain I do.”

She turned her gaze back to Mother, and a flicker of warmth stirred inside her, like when the Prince was nearby. Her Mother actually wanted to help her. Maybe she did care. “I do love him, Mother. I want to see him again.”

A hint of a smile touched Mother's lips. “Then you shall.” She brought her other hand up and pressed both palms against the Princess's temple. Then, with a deep breath, she closed her eyes.

The cold, sharp pain came instantly, like the winter storms that rushed across the kingdom during one of Mother's tantrums. The Princess sucked in a sharp breath. Mother's hands were like two icicles digging into her temples. Her entire body jolted, but Mother held fast, pressing harder, harder.

The Princess only thought she had experienced cold before.

This penetrated down to her bones, froze each muscle. Every inch of her skin burned underneath the frostbites. She couldn't move, couldn't breathe. White spots danced in her vision. Her thoughts fogged.

Then Mother removed her hands.

The Princess gasped in a biting breath. Her muscles still clenched together as stiff as frozen branches, and she couldn't stop shivering, but the unbearable pain ebbed.

But oh, she was cold. Colder than she had ever known. Once she was queen, would she be even colder? How did Mother bear it?

This brought her eyes to Mother, who stepped back, that rare smile still at the edge of her lips. “How do you feel?”

“Cold.”

An odd sound bubbled up from Mother's throat, stiff but not unpleasant—a laugh. “You'll get used to it.”

She never had before, but had no intention of telling that to Mother. Besides, soon she would be wrapped in the Prince's warm arms. The thought sent a hint of warmth around her quickening heart. “I will be safe in the Summer Kingdom now?”

A spark of something flicked in Mother's blue, blue eyes. Surely it wasn't...joy? “Summer will be no match for you now.”

* * *

She should have known then, should have seen the signs. Her emotions had blinded her.

Thrill had tingled her spine as she opened the door, entered into his sun-painted domain. How quickly that ecstasy turned to despair.

Why had she ever listened to Mother?

Why had she broken her promise?

* * *

Sunlight filled her whole vision, blinding her. She squeezed her eyes shut, but kept moving toward the light, refusing to look back. Just as the door clicked shut behind her, she dared open her eyes.

Her breath was snatched from her.

The Prince had told her of his kingdom, but words were only shadows compared to witnessing the real thing.

Instead of a land of white, she stood within a world of vibrant color. Miles upon miles of rolling hills filled with grass greener than any evergreen tree in Winter's forests. Trees with leaves so wide and flourishing they sat like hats atop the solid, dark trunks. Fairies, birds, deer, rabbits, and countless other creatures she couldn't even name skittered across the hills and between the trees. And a dizzying array of colors dotted across the land.

“Flowers.”

With a laugh, the Princess raised her face to the sunlight. Ached for its warmth. But it never came.

Frowning, she touched her skin. Still frozen. Mother really had given her much power. It seemed Summer could not touch her. But that's what she wanted, wasn't it? Now she could be in the Summer Kingdom without dying.

Still, how she longed for just a little warmth.

The sun glinted off something to the distance. Squinting, she spotted silvery towers glowing in the sunlight. The castle.

Her heartbeat hiccuped. Her prince. Forget the cold. She could endure anything as long as she was with him. And perhaps he could warm her, as he had before.

She sprinted forward.

Her feet pounded so easy into the solid earth, so different from the thick, slippery ground of home. But an odd crackling sound halted her. She glanced behind her. A sliver of dread clawed down her stomach.

At each spot her foot had touched, a pile of frost grew across the green grass. The crackling grew louder. Looking down, she found more frost climbing up around the grass under her boots.

“Oh no...”

“Princess?”

She spun around, and her heart stuttered as he approached, but instead of the elation she had imagined would brighten his eyes at their reunion, she found fear.

A dark shadow passed over them. Above, an enormous gray cloud blocked the blazing sun. The Summer Kingdom creatures darted under the trees just as the snow began to fall.

As she looked back at her Prince, the dread in her stomach tightened. His face had gone pale, but from fear or cold, she did not know.

He swallowed, and the sadness that fell over his fair features knifed into her very core. Yet all he said was, “You came to me.”

“I...” She reached a hand out, but ice crackled across her fingertips. She dropped it, not daring to touch him, hurt him. “Mother gave me some of her power. She said Summer wouldn't hurt me. I just couldn't bear the thought of never seeing you again. But—” The snowfall heightened, heaving into a blizzard.

Heart pounding, the Princess stumbled backward. “She tricked me,” she breathed. Mother gave her too much power. Winter was taking over Summer. She was taking over Summer. How had she been so foolish to trust Mother? This was her fault for breaking her promise. “I have to go!”

She lurched around and shot back for the door to Winter. Wind picked up around her, biting and violent. The sting of frozen tears pricked her eyes.

No, no, no, no.

“Princess!”

Footsteps pounded behind her, but she didn't stop, not until she reached the door. She had to leave before Winter consumed Summer. She snagged the handle and lurched it open. A blast of ice shot from the other side. Then Mother appeared.

A gust of wind snatched up the Princess’s gasp. “Mother! You can't...you can't be here!”

Mother's laugh roiled her stomach. “Oh, my dear, but I can. Now that you've opened the door and brought winter. The Summer Kingdom is becoming our domain.”

“It can't!” She spun around. The ground that had been so green only moments ago, now lay under a solid layer of snow. Gray clouds swirled above as wind eddied across the land, tearing the large leaves off the trees and tossing the birds and fairies to and fro. Ground creatures scurried into holes and within tree trunks.

Only one kept his ground.

The Prince stood two feet away, his golden eyes large with the hurt of betrayal. Facing him was unbearable.

The Princess reeled back around to Mother. “Why are you doing this? I thought you wanted to help me.”

Mother tilted her head. “But I am.” Her eyebrows lowered, face hardened. “I will not have you suffer the same hurts I have.”

“I don't understand.”

Mother's eyes cut over to the Prince. “Love is a poison,” she hissed between her teeth. “You will only be betrayed. As I was.” Her gaze slid back over to the Princess, but the sharpness in her eyes only intensified. “Winter was once such a large kingdom, but your father took some of my power to create his own kingdom, cutting Winter in half. Before he could take all of my power, I locked his side of the kingdom away.”

“Autumn,” the Princess murmured.

“Yes. A place near to Winter but never strong enough to thrive like our kingdom.”

The Princess's mind swirled as violent and dizzying as the wind. She had never known her father, never understood why Mother did not speak of him or Autumn. But that didn't matter, not right now. She straightened, clasping both hands into fists at her side. “What does any of this have to do with the Summer Kingdom?”

Mother's eyes locked onto hers, and her voice lowered. “Because your father came from the Summer Kingdom.”

The Princess's stomach lurched. “What?”

Mother jerked a finger at the Prince. “Summer always seeks to destroy Winter! Is that not why he came?”

“No!” The Prince stepped forward, shaking his head violently. “I just wanted us to coincide! I had hoped there was a way.”

“Lies!” Mother raised her hands, and the wind picked up as more dark clouds formed.

“Winter!”

The voice thundered above the roaring wind.

The Princess squinted in the dark blur of the snowstorm at a glint of light. A man with hair even more golden than the Prince appeared amidst the sea of white. The snow around him melted in his luminescence, and his incandescent eyes locked straight on Mother.

“How dare you enter my kingdom!”

Mother merely laughed. “You are not strong enough to stop me now, Summer. Winter will reign.” She shot her hands out toward him. Ice and snow and wind blasted from her palms. The Summer King brought up his own hands and countered with a burst of light, but Mother was right. He was not strong enough. Her attack dispersed his light, and he collapsed. The glow of his body began to fade, his skin turning blue.

“Father!” The Prince darted for him and dropped to his knees. He cradled his father's head in his lap. Frost began crawling along his own skin.

Fear strangled the Princess's heart, but something else as well. As she stared at her Prince, a new warmth boiled within her.

She swerved to face Mother. “You must stop!”

“Oh, child. You will see. Soon our kingdom will be so large, so powerful, and you will never have to suffer any heartbreaks. I'm doing this for you.”

“No!” The warmth inside her intensified, tingled all the way down to her fingertips. “You are wrong about love! It is the very thing that keeps us warm and whole and good. It is your lack of love that has frozen your heart!” With the new sense of warmth stirring inside her, she raised her hands and let it loose. An explosion of solid ice and vehement wind erupted from her palms. It shot forward and blasted into Mother, shoving her back through the doorway. Before she could stand, the Princess let loose another eruption. Icicles burst from within her and crashed into the door. The impact sent an ear-thrumming crack through the air. The door trembled as webs of cracks scattered across its surface.

Mother lay on the other side. She looked at the shuddering doorway, and, for the first time the Princess had ever known, fear crossed her features.

The Princess's own heart jumped to her throat.

The doorway...

She darted forward. The door continued to shudder and split open. The Princess made it inches away, saw the wintry land of home and Mother's horror-filled eyes beyond it, and then everything vanished. The door collapsed, fell into a thousand pieces at her feet and dissolved into snowflakes.

The doorway between kingdoms was gone.

And yet the wind still howled around them, the snow still fell.

She swerved around. Her legs nearly collapsed beneath her at the sight. The Prince still knelt on the ground, now holding the frozen body of his dead father.

Her hands flew to her mouth, and icy tears tried to squeeze past her eyes. “Oh, please no.”

Mother had killed the King of Summer, and had given her too much power. And now she couldn't leave. Which meant she couldn't stop Winter.

She was Winter.

Her gaze locked onto the Prince's. The light in his eyes had faded, and his own skin and hair had whitened.

His father was dead, and he was too weak.

She shook her head, trying to shove the words past the strangling lump in her throat. “I didn't mean for any of this to happen.”

The Prince just smiled sadly, nodding. “I know. I do not blame you.”

She pulled in a shuddering breath, longing to say so many apologies, but they all clogged in her throat. Why did he not blame her? It was her fault. She broke their promise. She destroyed everything. But he only held that smile.

He pressed a hand against the ground and closed his eyes. His brow scrunched, as if something pained him, then a flicker of light appeared under his palm. Beneath has hand, something rose up from the snow. He plucked it up, and slowly pushed himself to his feet. “For my Princess.”

With trembling fingers, she took the delicate flower from him, its petals the same blushing pink of her dress. “Wh—what's it called?”

His lips curled into a smile, and she knew she'd hold that image of him forever. “A rose.”

Frost crawled onto the delicate petals, reminding her of who she was, what she was doing. She gasped out a sob. “I can't lose you!”

Cracks of ice appeared across his cheeks, but he only stepped closer and pressed a kiss against her forehead. Then he looked down at her and smiled. “I love you.”

She opened her trembling lips, but the wind picked up, and behind him the Summer King's body turned white and began to disperse into thousands, millions of snowflakes. When she looked back to the Prince, his own body rapidly turned white.

“No! Please, no!” She backed away from him, hoping to stop herself from killing him, hoping to make Winter cease. But he closed the gap between them again and grabbed her hand in both of his—now frozen, all the warmth seeped out of him.

“I am glad I got to know you, Princess.”

She shook her head, her frozen tears forcing their way out. “Please don't go.”

He merely smiled, and then his hold on her loosened as his fingers dissolved into snow. It spread up his arms, all the way across his body, until his smile disappeared and the wind carried him away.

* * *

Now she stood within the winter wasteland alone, nothing left of him but a single pink rose. But it, too, began to die.

She took in a deep breath, the frozen air stinging her lungs.

Why did the cold hurt? She was Winter, like Mother. But she longed for warmth. For color and sunlight and flowers.

For new life.

She knelt and brushed a patch of snow away and then dug, not caring as the frozen ground sliced into her fingers. She continued to dig until she had made a small hole. Then, she brought the rose up to her lips and whispered the words she never got the chance to tell him.

“I love you, too.”

She placed the stem into the hole and pushed dirt back into it until it stood on its own.

The numbing cold around her heart tightened as she stood. She turned to leave, but a glimpse of light halted her steps.

The rose glowed.

She pulled in a breath and held it, not daring to hope.

Light emanated from the rose—brighter, brighter. Frost fell away from its petals, and it began to grow. The light only became brighter as the petals expanded, as the stem reached up. And she felt it. Warmth.

Heat flooded from the flower that now stood as tall as her, and only grew higher. The petals reached, reached, reached. Then they burst.

She gasped, releasing her held breath.

Before her, in place of the rose, stood a solid silver door. It swung open as if on its own, and light poured out, encompassing her in its warmth. She blinked in the sudden brightness. When her eyes adjusted, she saw him.

“Hello, Princess.”

The frozen tears stuck behind her eyes gushed out, warm and wet.

The Prince stood in the doorway, his smile brighter than ever.

She threw her arms around him, crying and laughing and so, so hoping this wasn't a dream. “You're here! You're really here!” She pulled away, just enough to look up at his golden eyes, to see that it really was him, he truly wasn't a dream. “How? I don't understand.”

He pulled her to his side and turned her around to face the land within the new doorway. “Because of this.”

A world of light greens and sunlight and countless woodland creatures met her eyes. And flowers. Budding, colorful flowers as far as the eye could see. A gentle breeze breathed across her face—cool, but not cold, just comfortable enough to combat the warm sunlight.

“Spring.”

The new word slipped from her tongue on its own accord, but it felt right. As if it had been there all along.

“Spring,” the Prince repeated. He encompassed both his warm hands in hers and faced her. “This is our kingdom.”

She took a moment to let his words sink in, take root. She looked back out into the land of fresh grass, newly growing trees, budding flowers.

This was hers. This was theirs.

“We are Spring,” she breathed.

He tightened his hold on her hands. “Yes.”

“And with Spring, comes Summer.”

She started at the new voice and turned back to the doorway. Her heart flipped.

With sunlight pouring from his very being, the King of Summer stood on the other side. The dark clouds had parted, and new light beamed from the sky, melting away the snow. The Summer creatures tentatively appeared out from their hiding places, blinking in the light.

“Spring transitions into Summer,” the Summer King said, a twinkle in his bright, bright eyes. “Our kingdoms are connected now. As long as the doorway to Spring is opened, there will always be Summer.”

She looked from the King, to her new kingdom, and back to the man she held hands with. And understanding began to dawn.

The cold had always hurt her because she was never meant to be Winter, and the Prince had searched the Winter Kingdom because he knew he did not belong in Summer.

She smiled up at him, the love in her heart warming her from the inside out, and he smiled back.

It all made sense now.

When Winter and Summer meet, Spring blooms.


~ ~ ~


Despite appearances, winter is actually my favorite season, and summer my least favorite… My stories just do what they want, guys! I have no control over them. >.>


Thanks so much for reading! (Seriously, if you made it to the end, I’m so honored!) Hope you enjoyed it!

45 comments:

  1. Your words are always laced with magic, Christine!
    Beautiful!

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    1. Laced with magic? SKYYYYYE. THAT IS LITERALLY THE NICEST THING. THANK YOU!!!! <3

      Delete
  2. That's a sweet story- and look, it's true! The snow is gone and there are snowdrops beneath my window!

    By the by, I've nominated you for a blog award:
    https://tobeashennachie.wordpress.com/2017/02/18/the-sunshine-blogging-award/





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    1. Awww, thanks, Blue. ^_^ Haha! I thought it was fitting, since we're transitioning into spring. Well, some people are still in the thick of winter, but not where I live! It's quite warm right now. Lol.

      Oh yay! Thank you!!! I'm going to check it out right now.

      Delete
  3. Oh my goodness, this was so beautiful! I loved every word, Christine! The imagery is so vivid and the emotions are so real. *fangirl squeals* Such a lovely story! Thanks for sharing it!

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    1. *flails* MEEP. Thank you so much, Jameson!!! Your comment is making me grin so wide, you just have no idea! <333

      Delete
  4. This... this story is beautiful. It's something that I could read again and again, hundreds of times, without getting tired of it. So lovely! :) I want to draw the Prince and Princess now. *happy sigh*

    ~Lizzy

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    1. *clutches heart* GIRL. I...I don't even know what to SAY. Just...just...THANK YOU!!! This makes me so happy! YOU ARE THE SWEETEST. *drowns in all the niceness*

      Delete
  5. CHRISTINE SMITH. I HAVE NO WORDS. *is literally speechless*

    *comes back slightly more coherent* THIS WAS GORGEOUS. Literally, I want to print the whole thing out so I can read it whenever I need story inspiration.

    The Winter/Summer ideas was BEAUTIFUL. And your CHARACTERS - HOW EVEN can you write characters with some much personality in ONLY 4K WORDS? Like, I literally love them already. I NEED MORE *begs*. Your words are beautifully vivid, I could picture the story so clearly in my mind. I want to go to Spring SO BAD, oh gracious. YOUR WORDS ARE MAGIC, LAURI.

    ANYWAYS. This was the more gorgeous thing in the history of stories. I was GOING to smack you for not editing Burning Thorns ... but I can't xD. I LOVED THIS TOO MUCH. Thank you for sharing it with us! It was epicness <3 <3 <3.

    ~ Savannah
    scattered-scribblings.blogspot.com

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    1. SAVANNAH. NOW I HAVE NO WORDS. Literally like...how do I respond to this????

      I'm really happy you liked the Winter/Summer thing! It was not planned. Like, AT ALL. It just...happened. The whole story just happened. XD

      Oh, you liked the charries? THANK YOU. I was worried they were a little cliche and lifeless, the Princess especially. I would have liked her to have a bit more of a personality but... *shrugs* It was all just for fun.

      BUT SERIOUSLY, SAVANNAH. I just keep reading your comment over and over and over again. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! <3333333

      PLEASE SMACK ME. I've GOT to start editing BT. I can't believe I haven't even started yet. AGH. I NEED YELLING AT.

      Delete
  6. This is literally one of the best stories I have ever read!!!!!!!!!
    It was so beautiful. Your writing is magical :)

    -Lia
    catholicgirlstuff.blogspot.com

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    1. AAAAHHHH!!! THAT IS SO NICE OF YOU TO SAY. I CAN'T EVEN TURN CAPSLOCK OFF. THANK YOU!!! <333

      Delete
    2. Your welcome!! Capslock is one of the most wonderful things ever created ;)
      My best friend and I have most of our conversations in capslock. haha.

      -Lia

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    3. I use it so much! I maaay be a slightly over excitable person, so capslock helps get my feelings across. XD

      Delete
  7. I LITERALLY CRIED OKAY. LITERALLY. THIS IS SO BEAUTIFUL AND I CAN'T THINK OF WORDS TO FLAIL HOW EPIC IT WAS. I loved this so much and it was just EEP. SO AMAZING. I could FEEL every single part of the story.
    I LOVE SPRING EVEN MORE NOW.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. *dies*
      *revives self and reads your comment again*
      *dies*

      JANE. You cried? CRIED??? I CAN'T WITH THIS COMMENT. I just want to hug it and carry it around forever. THANK YOU SO MUCH. Day = MADE x10000!!!

      Delete
  8. Dude that imagery though omgns. It's so beautiful wow. Thanks for making my procrastination on school funner XD

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    1. MEEP. I am so ridiculously happy over your comment! THANK YOU. <333 It is my pleasure to make procrastination more fun. ;D

      Delete
  9. Beautiful story, Christine!

    I too have some struggles with working on stories when I should be writing boring essays *gag*.

    So, I do have a question...how does the Summer Prince keep returning? It sounds like Winter can return, but Autumm not? And is the Summer King really dead? I'm confused.

    You know what's funny? I listened to a song called Snow Dancer by Antti Martikainen and it made me think of a story idea similar to this. I think that you wrote it MUCH better than I would have! Great job!

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    1. Thank you so much! ^_^

      Oh man, the trials of procrastination. I've been seriously procrastinating editing. It's been bad...

      Okay, um. Let me see if I can explain. The Summer Prince returned because when he and the Princess fell in love, it created Spring, which is what he was always meant to be. And with Spring comes Summer. So creating Spring, revived Summer (and the Summer King) because they're connected.
      Autumn exists, there just isn't a door to it because the Winter Queen destroyed the gateway. In my head I was thinking Autumn was a part of Winter, but when the gateway to it got destroyed, it became Autumn--a weak and dead fragment of Winter. But, um, I don't think I portrayed ANY of that in the story... The Autumn plot was kind of thrown in at the last minute because I realized I probably should add that season. XD
      And Winter still exists. The Princess destroyed the gateway, but the Winter Queen and her kingdom is still there.

      Wow, I probably just confused you more! Like I said in the post, this story probably has some plot holes. Actually, I know it does. I was just writing it to exercise my creative muscles mostly. One day I may go back and perfect it! It could use a lot more expounded on!

      Really? That is awesome. YOU SHOULD WRITE IT. Psssh. Don't even think that. I know you could do an AWESOME job! My story needs work! Lol.

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    2. Actually, it makes a lot of sense, now that you explained it.

      Haha, maybe I'll attempt it....after I finish a created-in-the-middle-of-the-night sketch that I'm working on. LOL

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    3. Oh good! I was thinking my explanation just made it MORE confusing. XD

      Oooh, sketching. Cool! I...can't draw to save my life, so I super admire those who can. I love sketches!

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    4. I can draw, but not that well....I'm actually finishing a character sketch, which is another name for a really short story. I'll be posting it to The Rebellious Muse within the next week or so, come check it out!

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    5. Oh cool! I'll definitely have to go see it once you post. :D

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    6. I (finally) wrote that Snow Dancer story. Feel free to check it out here: http://catherinesrebellingmuse.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-snow-dancer-of-iclyn.html

      Catherine
      catherinesrebellingmuse.blogspot.com

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  10. .................
    ...........................
    ......................................
    I AM LITERALLY SO PENSLAIN I CANNOT WORD
    I
    I
    HOW DO I WORD
    WHAT EVEN ARE WORDS
    ASDFJLSKJDLAKSDJFALSKFAJSLDKFJASLKDFJALSKDJFLKJ
    *collapses*

    I... I... I... WHAT DO I EVEN SAY TO THIS TO DESCRIBE MY LOVE FOR IT??? I DON'T THINK I CAN.

    HOW ABOUT THIS.
    I LOVE AND ADORE THIS
    AND IT IS PERFECT.
    PERFEEEEEEEEEEEEECT!!!!! <333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333
    AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

    OKAY. OKAY. I CAN BE CALM. MAYBE. LESS OF THE CAPSLOCK AND INCOHERENCY. BUTBUTBUT REALLY NOW. O__________O THIS STORY. THIS STORYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!! *huggles it for a million years*

    *tries to breathe* Ahem. So. I read it very very quickly because I could NOT stop or slow down, so I look forward to reading it again (because really, it needs more than one reading for all the amazing. o.o). It's thrilling and ADORBZ ALSKDFJLSKDJFSLK <3333 and just the perfect fairytale type thing! I looooove how she's the winter princess and doesn't want to be, and how he's the summer prince and how that's like the ULTIMATE can't-get-together-thing BUT THEY DOOOOO AND THEY'RE LIKE SPRING NOW AND ALSKDFJLSJDLFJSLDK MY LITTLE HEART IS SO HAPPEHHHH!!! ^__________________^ And the writing is awesome, and I was so terrified the entire time that it wouldn't turn out okay and that I'd be heartbroken (because GOODNESS it kept breaking my heart--in the best way--through the whole thing. o.o The darlings!! *huggle-squishes them*) BUT THEN. THENNNNNN. IT ALL WORKED OUT PERFECTLY AND SLKAJDLFKJSLK. It's just SO fairytale-like!!! I adore how fairytale-like it is, and just... just... I CAN'T WORD OKAY! IT'S ABSOLUTE PERFECTION. One of my favorite short stories of ever, I think. o.o I've always adored the idea of people who are seasons, or weathers, or winter/summer, opposites, that sort of thing... and this was just awesommmmmme!! :D You don't need to change it one bit, darling, because it's perfect and whimsical and gripping and the themes and imagery are INCREDIBLE and it's fairytale-ish and and and I LOVE IT OKAY.

    *collapses panting* Pardon my incoherence, I simply cannot word. alskdjflas;jlfksj Aaand now I want you to write more amazing fairytale-ish short stories. SEE WHAT YOU'VE DONE?? (*insert Dr. Who "Hee!" gif here* XD) It made me very very happy. :D *clutches heart and beams* Thank you soooo much for sharing this! EEP!!! ^__________^ *huggles it forever*

    ReplyDelete
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    1. *reads your comment*
      *collapses*
      *reads your comment again*
      *dies*

      CELTIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!! How am I... What do I... I CAN'T WORD RIGHT NOW.
      *scrambles around trying to find coherent sentences*
      Nope. Can't.
      Just
      LSKDJF:LJS:LKJD:LFJS:LDKJF

      CELTI. Like...literally, what do I even SAY??? I just keep staring at your comment trying to form any sort of proper thanks, BUT THERE IS NONE. There is no way I can express to you how unbelievably ecstatic this comment made me. YOU HAVE RENDERED ME SPEECHLESS. Just... *collapses again* I AM SO RIDICULOUSLY HAPPY RIGHT NOW.

      Honestly, I was terrified the whole time, too. XD That ending was a huge relief for even me! LOL. Really, I was kinda thinking it would end sadly. Actually, it came VERY close to being a bittersweet type ending, sorta sad, sorta okay. So I was ecstatic when this ending presented itself. Because, ya know, HAPPILY EVER AFTERS FOREVER. So yes, the ending pleased me. Hehe.

      One of your favorite short stories ever???? *collapses AGAIN* HONESTLY, CELTI. YOUR COMMENT IS KILLING ME.
      I've always liked the idea of people as seasons as well! Actually, I've been wanting to write a story with people as the seasons for...gracious. Probably since I was like 12 or something! Not even joking. It's something that's been in my brain for half my life! I guess it finally just decided to come out. XD It's a really fun concept to play with.

      I also loooove writing in the fairytale-like style. It's one of my top favorite styles to read AND write, so I'm learning. Sooo...who knows, maybe I will do more fairytale short stories...? We shall seeee! (Doctor Who "Hee" gif indeed. XDDDD That's perfect!)

      But really now, Celti! I wish I could properly thank you, but, AAAGH, it's impossible!!! *throws a thousand hugging and flailing gifs at you* YOUR COMMENT MADE MY DAY. No, actually, my LIFE. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! I CAN'T RIGHT NOW. CAN'T. *frolics away in endless happiness*

      Delete
    2. Reading discussions of flailing between you two is my favorite thing. xD

      Delete
    3. Oh my word Katie. XD

      @Lauri: *whispers* But it's so gooooood. <3

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    4. KATIE. XDDD

      Deb and I are literally the same person and we may or may not get a little over-excitable. *cough* We just can't help iiiittt!

      @Celti - *whispers* And you're so niiiiiice! <3

      Delete
  11. This was so beautiful, Christine!!!! I loved it!!

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    1. MEEP. Thank you, sweet girl! That makes me so happy! ^_^

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  12. This is absolutely gorgeous! Now I feel like there needs to be a sequel in which poor Autumn gets rescued or set free... because... I mean... it's Autumn!!!

    I can't gush quite the way Deborah can, but I loved this story so very much! Thanks for participating in the challenge! I added the link for your story to the linky list, I hope that's okay (and I don't give two hoots about the word count... those things are more "general guidelines than actual RULES..." :-D :-D

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    1. Awww, thank you! Lol, you're right! That's the problem when I try to write short stories, they want to become full novels. There was SO much of this that could have been expounded on. Maybe I should do one about Autumn sometime... Because, yes, Autumn is amazing!

      Oh you added the link? D'awww! THANK YOU. I wasn't sure if I should since the wordcount was so high. XD But that makes me happy you put it there. ^_^ Thank you so much for everything, Jenelle! <3

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  13. AHHH I LOVE THIS SO MUCH.
    SO. SO. MUCH.

    Especially the beginning. o.o It was... ooh. *shivers* So delightful. o.o And the ending line. And every line in between, really. I AM SO IMPRESSED BY YOUR SKILLS WITH WORDS. I JUST... THERE ARE NO WORDS. You are an amazing, amazing writer, and I can't wait to hold Burning Thorns someday and spread it to the word. <3

    ReplyDelete
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    1. WELP. I just... Nope. No words. BECAUSE I CAN'T EVEN. JUST LET ME GLOMP YOU.

      Seriously, thank you so much! This comment makes me feel allllll the happy things! <3333

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  14. This is SO GOOD!!! You're writing is so so SO beautiful!!!!!!!!! <3 This is the best short story I have EVER read! Your writing is AMAZINGl!!! >o< <3 Thank you for the amazing read!

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    1. Oh my goodness. This is the nicest thiiiing! I...I don't even know what to SAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. My day is made! ^_^

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    2. You're welcome! I'm glad my comment made ya' happy! But SERIOUSLY. BEST. READ. EVER.

      Delete
    3. You are just making my day left and right! Seriously now, that is one of the nicest things I've ever been told about my writing. Thank you!!!

      Delete
    4. Yay! <3 It's so pretty.... Your writing actually inspired MY writing! :D Thanx!!!!!

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  15. *GASP*
    This is the most beautiful thing I've read in awhile! I love your blog by the way and can hardly wait for Burning Thorns to come out! Do you have a rough idea of when it might be published?

    -Mary Kate
    henscratchandscribblings.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
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    1. AWk. GIRL. YOUR COMMENT MAKES ME SO HAPPY. Thank you!!!

      Oh goodness, I honestly have no idea. I'm hoping to traditionally publish it, but I've got a long, looong road with that. So it could be years... *cough* But your interest pushes me to keep on. <3

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  16. Oh my goodness gracious, Christine! THIS IS GORGEOUS. I loooove the concept of seasonal kingdoms and romance and all this fairytale goodness! I just can't word right now. This is perfect. <333 I wish I had more to say, but it's just....lovely. Absolutely lovely. You're so good at the fairytale vibe! Reading this brought back memories of BT, come to think of it. ;)

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    1. *clutches chest* Now *I* can't even word! Your comment is making me grin and flail all over the place. I CAN'T.

      You saying I'm good at the fairytale vibe basically makes my LIFE because that's been my goal since...forever basically. So...just...THANK YOU!!!! *frolics*

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