Creaking sounds and moans of inevitability were spreading through the forest.
A basket with berries and herbs fell out of Smalt's hands. She felt that dark crackle. She exhaled in surprise and saw her own breath. The scene shocked her so much that she stepped back, as if she could escape breathing. She did not even have time to ask what was happening, when her eyes fell on the discarded basket and its contents strewn on the ground. The frost was covering them in plain sight.
She started to run, forgetting about the morning tasks Lady Cerulia had given her, which were supposed to fill her day. All she could think about was the creaking inside her and around her. All she could do was return. The first lady of the court should be with her mistress, she thought.
She burst out of the forest followed by a blizzard, the likes of which had no place in this kingdom, and stared in amazement at the castle she called home. Its towers stuck out like broken spears. Ice branched across the impressive court like a living spider's web, and the reflection of the sea on the glass walls disappeared under the frosty encroachment. The garden was covered with a seemingly fine dust of precious stones. However, it was only snow.
Smalt observed the birth of winter in the place where summer was eternally ripening, and she could not believe her eyes. Nevertheless, she felt hope when she saw the untouched sea that stretched on the east and north sides of the castle. Its surface undulated carelessly, not even sensing the growing evil.
It is not too late yet, she concluded. Whatever is happening, whoever is attacking us, may yet spare us.
READ THE FULL STORY IN A SHORT STORY COLLECTION 'HYPNAGOGIA'.
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