Author's notes: This is a submission to Myths and Legends's Winter Folklore Contest. I picked Snow Queen, with a side dish of a memorable moment from Tove Jansson's Moomins (winter riding away on a horse made of snow). I'm Finnish, so I watched that TV series a lot as a kid.

Word count: 1380

~*~*~

Far in the north there was a land that was frozen over around the year. It was the land of the Snow Queen. Her palace, made entirely of ice, stood in the middle of snow-covered plains, illuminated by the pale sun and the gorgeous moon.

The queen herself was a tall and regal woman, with silky white hair and ice-blue eyes and her form adorned by a long, pale blue dress that shimmered like frost and a tiara made of ice like crystal. Her heart was cold as ice too. And why would it not be? Every year she ventured to the lands in the south to bring the winter, and every year the people living there hated her for it.

But one day a man came to her palace. A man rough in appearance like the cruelest blizzard, dressed in thick skins and furs.

"What do you wish?" she asked, seated on her throne in the middle of the ice lake, the mirror that showed her the bitter world. "Have you come to attempt to claim my life to erase ice and snow from the world?"

"That is not my wish," he replied and dropped to one knee. "My people thrive in the snow. The cold winds make our children strong, our warriors second to none. I have come to offer our gratitude, my queen."

"And what is it that you bring?"

"The softest white pelts to adorn you. The greatest works of our artisans, carved of wood and bone, to complement your beauty."

Mere trinkets.

"And my undying love and loyalty," he continued. "I am your servant to the end of my days."

She rose from her throne and gracefully glided to where he was kneeling. "Do you understand what you are offering? You will forget everything. Your home. Your family."

He nodded and then gazed up at her. "My home is by your side, my queen. My heart yearns for nothing else."

She kissed him. Once to protect him from the cold. Twice to make him forget the world beyond the walls of her palace. And even as the memories slipped away, he only watched her with complete adoration.

He taught her so many things of the world, of so many wonders she had not seen, lost in her loneliness and hatred as she had been. And in time love blossomed between them, like a beautiful flower in the snow fields. Just like the gentle warmth growing in her belly after they became one. A child. A daughter of snow and ice.

Yet as the baby grew inside her, her lover grew weaker by the day. His skin became cold and his movements lethargic. And when he placed the little girl on her breast after her delivery, he kissed her one last time and whispered, "Let her be the proof of my love for you for all eternity."

Then his body turned into a statue of ice.

~*~*~

The little girl, fair of hair and blue of eyes, blew on the window and giggled as frost flowers formed on the glass. It was her fifth winter, and everything was still so new and exciting. Most of the year it was just her and her mother, but whenever they moved to the "winter palace" above the clouds, there were towns and people around down below.

Mother would dress her like the town children, kiss her forehead and tell her to come home before nightfall. And to never kiss any of the boys she met. She didn't really understand why, but why would she want to kiss any of them anyway? The only person she kissed was her mother.

She looked away from the window as she heard other children laughing. A large group of them ran past her, throwing lumps of snow at each other. Excited, she grabbed a handful and ran after them.

The boy – a few years older than her - she threw her snowball at yelped in surprise as it hit the back of his head and fell down his collar. Then he turned to look at her. "Sneaking up from behind gets you snow-washed!" he yelled and lunged at her.

"Eek!" she shrieked and ran up the snowbank lining the street. This was so much fun!

He tried to follow, but suddenly sank down to his armpits in the snow.

She stopped and giggled as she looked at him, trapped and flustered.

"Okay, okay, you win, little girl. Give me a hand, would you?"

"Okay." She dug and pushed the snow aside to clear a way for him back to the street. "Here you go."

"Thanks," he said once he was out of the snowbank. "I'm Erik. Nice to meet you."

Silence.

"What's your name?"

"Name?"

"Yeah, what does your mother call you?"

"Snowflake. Mother calls me little snowflake."

"Snowflake, huh? You're not from around here, are you?"

"My winter home is here. But the rest of the year I live in the ice palace."

He stared at her for a moment and then laughed. "You're weird." Then he grabbed her hand. "Come on. I'll introduce you to everyone."

They built snow statues, slid down the slopes on wooden planks the other children called "sleds" and skated on the frozen lake. When they were all tired and covered in snow, they were welcomed into one of the houses by a nice old man and woman and given hot berry juice and cookies.

Snowflake was really happy to spend her days in the town, and since she was happy, her mother – the Snow Queen – was happy too. But eventually the winter drew near its end. The time to depart for their kingdom of ice would soon be upon them.

The little girl did not know this yet, though. As usual, she went down to the town to meet Erik and her other friends. They were clustered around a -huge- snow statue in the likeness of a horse.

"Hey, Snowflake!" Erik waved as he saw her. "Come see! We've made a grand steed for Lady Winter, so she can ride away rapidly and the spring will come."

"It looks great!" she exclaimed, his enthusiasm catching on her. "But why do you want her to ride away?"

"Because spring won't come otherwise, of course. And after spring there will be summer, then autumn and then winter again."

There was suddenly a strange ache in her heart. "But when winter ends, I have to go away too..."

"Oh..." He quickly took her hands. "But you will come back, right? I will wait for you. And then we'll again have all kinds of fun."

She smiled softly. "Thank you, Erik..."

And then she did what her mother had warned her never to do. He kissed him.

Erik's face turned white and his lips became blue. His eyes rolled back in his head and he fell to the frozen ground.

The other children recoiled in horror. Erik's big brother – really big, at least 15 years old – hurried to his side and desperately sought for his pulse at his neck. He sighed in relief.

Snowflake looked at her own hands. They had turned paler. Her hair had also gained a pale blue sheen instead of the blonde. The spell mother used on her every time they moved to the winter palace was broken.

"You...you are Lady Winter!" Erik's brother yelled at her. "Begone!"

"I didn't-" she hiccupped. "Is Erik...is he alright?"

"This happened because of you!" He took hold of her waist and swung her to the snow horse's back. "Go back to your own domain!"

Like by magic, the beast came alive, snorted and stomped the ground with its hooves. Then it galloped away from the town and straight to the sky.

"Mother!" Snowflake screamed, holding on for dear life. "Help me!"

The Snow Queen did not hear her, far above the clouds as she was. She only learned of what had happened when her daughter did not return home and she went to look for her.

She cursed the town and its inhabitants. She cursed the entire world. No matter their apologies. No matter their pleas. No matter how many innocents would suffer.

Spring will not come until my daughter is returned to me.