Chapter Sixteen

I was already awake when the dim sunlight snuck it's way out from between the curtains. With no change of clothes, I was forced to put on the same dress I wore the day before, the one I had worn to the inn. And I had to put it on by myself. After I was dressed, and I struggled with the corset which was fairly loose. The driver had come to fetch me to finish our journey.

The morning air was cold and crisped, it reminded me very much of late autumn. Autumn had been my favorite season, back before I became a princess. Even now, autumn is still my favorite. One thing I had mentally noted was that the further away from the small village we had traveled, the colder it had gotten to the point that I could see my breath inside the carriage. I missed riding in a car, having ac and a heat just by the push of a button. And although I was glad that my cloak had been lined with wool I couldn't help but wish for another layer. I felt terrible for the driver the most, if I was in here freezing and safe from the freezing breeze, I couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

A couple hours had passed and during that time I had watched as the path of rocks and grass besides us quickly turned to snow and ice. It was long till nature hit and I needed to be let out, so I tapped the ceiling and the carriage stopped and the driver helped me out of the carriage. And with no restrooms, I had to waddle my way through foot deep snow and hid behind a nearby tree before coming back, the snow that was falling had started to lightly cover my footsteps. When I returned back, I stood by the driver and took in the absolutely incredible view. We stood in the middle of nowhere, in a forest of white. Something that reminded me of a Hallmark Christmas movie. It was strange though, from behind where I had come from off in the distance I could see a faint line of green. As if two seasons meet, and not blend into one another, like the sea kissing the land. It was cold here, and yet so beautiful.

I was absolutely amazed by the sheer sight of the landscape around me. "Welcome to Yukiguni, Princess." The driver glanced up ahead at the road. I could see dark clouds ahead, my stomach turned. A storm was coming, and I knew we would be going through it.

"Why is it so cold here?" I asked him, he took his hat off and scratched his head before opening the door. He knew there was a storm too, and I was freighted from him.

"It's nicknamed the Ice Kingdom." He let me stand there in the snow a few moments later before helping me back in the cold carriage. He told me that it was a two more day journey to where the castle sat, which was smackdown in the middle of the kingdom. He said that there would be no more inns until then, that on the path we were taking, was a side path and if we are lucky we might find a small cottage on the way. Other than that we were all alone, besides countless acres of trees and flatland. He said that where Rowan sat was on the top of the tallest mountain in Yukiguni.But he never mentioned the storm that was brewing up ahead in the mountains. Maybe we would be going past, or maybe he was simply not trying to frighten me or himself.

So, I said nothing and sat back in my seat. Watching the trees covered in ice passed. I spotted one evergreen that sat alone in a field, it was the only tree with color for what seemed like for miles. We passed a few deers, and rabbits that seemed to be playing between trees. I thought it was strange to see deers and rabbits that weren't usually brown. These animals were also void of color and were hard to spot in the snow.

Eventually my eyelids grew heavy and I dozed off and when I woke up again I knew we had entered the storm. The carriage was shaky, and the inside temperature had dropped like twenty degrees. I could hear the wind howling outside the carriage and just faintly through the wind I could hear the driver shouting to the horses. I turned to the window, trying to gage how bad the storm was and when I looked out I could see through the harsh snow pelting towards the ground that we were on a narrow path with a drop off. Just by the sight of it, my heart began to pound. Just by the look of the world outside the tiny door window, I couldn't help but brace for the worse and instinctively I reached out for the locket and held it tightly.

Closing my eyes and concentrating on my breathing, I was trying to calm down when I heard a loud creaking sound, a sound that echoed throughout the land. The horses jerked forward in fear, which caused me to face plant into the wall in front of me. I felt my nose start to bleed from the impact, I heard the driver shout and felt the carriage jerk over and I could feel as one of the wheels hit a small patch of ice.

The driver shouted again as we swerved, only for the driver to over-correct himself. I braced myself for the crash, knowing that in just a few seconds that we were going to fall, and then we did. I closed my eyes, praying for the first time in years. We rolled and found myself hitting the roof and all the walls, I felt my arm snap and felt my ankle pop and I was tossed about in the carriage. And when we came to a stop, the carriage was on its top side.

My head was pounding and I could feel the blood slowly falling. My left arm was hurt pretty badly and so was my right ankle. My heart was pounding, I struggled to pull myself to open the door. I was crying as I called out to the driver, but I was only answered with complete silence. Not even the wind was blowing, and I stumbled my way out the door the snow had stooped and in the dim light, I saw a form slumped nearby. Cradling my arm, I limped through the snow. And that's when I saw the driver. He had bones sticking out of his arms, and his head was thrown somewhere else. He was dead, and I was alone.

I screamed and fell backwards into the snow. Crying, I gathered myself up and started walking away. Unable to run because of my ankle, I needed to get as far away from the crash as possible. Either way , I would most likely die from hypothermia. But I couldn't keep looking at the driver.

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Time seems to slow when you are dying. As I continued to walk through the storm, I began to lose feeling in my limbs. I walked for a distance before coming to the end of the storm, and found myself in a snow covered valley and fell to my knees. Snow was falling slowly around me, my body was beginning to become heavy as I laid down in the snow and started to close my eyes. How long did I lay there in the snow? It seemed like an eternity.

I heard the sound of flapping wings, and weakly I lifted my head and saw a beautiful white dragon. He looked like an Eastern Dragon, with a beautiful mane of white fur and long white whiskers. He gazed down at me, looking at me with his gold eyes. "Are you death?" I asked him, he said nothing, only flaring his nostrils at me. He laid down lowering his head in the snow. And weakly, I rose and wobbled my way to him. Funny, I thought. On my way to the Dragon, an actual dragon comes to take my souls to the underworld. "Take me with you, noble sir." I mumbled as I fell forward on the paws of the white dragon and the world turned black.

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