This is my non-eligible entry for the Once Upon a Time Flash Fiction contest. Of course, the linky is closed, but hope you enjoy it regardless.
The Ice Maiden
Inge was accustomed to her daughter’s formal way of speaking. It’d been a mistake to read Greta poetry, but she hated how mothers gibbered at their babies. As a result, Greta was all precocity at six.
Inge stirred in milk as the wind blew ceaseless at the shutters. After Erik left, she’d scorned moving to her parent’s flat in Reykjavik, opting for country solitude. She’d raise her daughter in peace, without interference or superstition.
“A story, please,” Greta had the golden braids and command of a Nordic princess.
“I told you all the stories I know.”
“Tell me the Ice Maiden.”
“On dark, starred nights the Ice Maiden comes, robed in velvet black and crowned with icicles. If you do not leave her a tribute at the hollow tree, she steals under your sill and kisses you with frozen lips.”
Inge knew the words, but was hopeless at the rich cadences her father once infused in them.
Greta didn’t mind, listening rapt, “Then what happened?”
Inge scooped her up, “Then they lived happily ever after, because it was past their bedtime.”
Once she deposited Greta in bed, Inge snuck to her bedroom for a secret cigarette. She cranked the window open an inch, watching the ash blot the snow on the eaves. Stupid of her to tell Greta that story; she needn’t fill her head with dark-edged tales.
The stove was turned too high and Inge nodded off in her chair.
Outside, snow whirled wildly, like they were encased in a glass globe.
Inge woke abruptly. Something had burned – cocoa! She hurried downstairs, pulling on her thin robe. Uneasy, she switched the stove off. Didn’t she turn it off before? Then she saw the open door.
She ran, bare feet crunching unfeeling through ice crust.
“Greta, Greta!” she cried, wind stealing her words.
She found her at the foot of the hollow tree, mug of cocoa clenched in ice-rimed hand, an unclaimed offering.
Inge kissed her daughter’s frozen lips, to keep from screaming.
and we have a winner :)) Your writing is beautiful Anna, a magical story beautifully woven. We knew you wouldn’t be able to resist! No wonder you are our Fairytale mentor, my dear!
A work of art. Crafted by words. Leaving pictures that never were painted in life in a reader’s mind. A work of art.
Beautiful!
Beautiful!
Wicked cool (pun intended). I love the lyrical tone and the mythical feel to it. And Inge is such an interesting character.
I’m new to your fiction, but if everything is half this whimsical, you are now reading an addict 😉
Awesome! You totally nailed it…I think you just put us all to shame lmfao.
Very well done 🙂
So lovely, Anna. The classic style suits you so well.
Oh this is wonderful! I could see every word. LOVE 🙂
Absolutely beautiful & heart-breaking. Love it.
A gorgeous, haunting story, Anna! So evoctaive, and chilling (no pun intended), with a hint of heartless nastiness at its’ centre. A proper, spooky fairytale. Thank You for sharing!
More please. Liked that one very much *settles down with cocoa to hear another story* …. oh dear, did we say cocoa?
Beautifully crafted piece almost lulling us into a false sense of complaceny before the ice cold ending. A true fairy story a la Grimm…
http://cameron-writes.blogspot.fr/2012/05/ice-queen.html
Thanks so much Anna – here is my (wildly different and not at all lyrical) effort.
oh, crushing.
This is perfection! I loved every word!!!
creepy. magical. beautiful. and oh-so-wonderful.
*lubs*
Yikes! This is fantastic Ms Fairyqueen! 🙂 x
Very good 🙂
The dark fairy queen emerges! Wow, Anna, this is really beautiful! Love it. You are a real talent!!
So gorgeous! Anna, you are a master of language and enchantment : )
That was truly unexpected. I thought the Ice Maiden might pay a visit, but I didn’t think Greta would do that! But children take stories very seriously … Makes me wonder if Inge’s father left an offering at his own hollow tree. Superb!
Blown away. I don’t even know what to say…
Oh so sad! Absolutely beautiful! The ending surprised me. 🙂
Fabulous! I really enjoyed this – beautifully crafted 🙂
Ooo, I have the chills now! Just the right amount of darkness to make it beautiful.
Love your writing!
I read this when you first wrote it, but I just had to read it again–so exquisitely beautiful!! Heartbreaking, yet it draws you in and won’t let you go. I can’t wait to read more flash fiction from the Faery Queene!
A little slice of frozen sadness and wonder. So short and so lovely!