Appreciation
All appreciations go to God
Dedication
Dedicated to all my fans ❤️
All names, characters, events and places are purely fictional. Any resemblance to real life events or persons are purely coincidental.
Episode 1
It was night. The snow was falling. A wooden cottage stood isolated on the snowy mountain. The mountain was vast,and the white snow was conspicuous. From the lighted cottage was a teenage voice singing.
🎶Once upon a time in a far away land,was a king and queen.
The king was gay and the queen was may.
But life had been imperfect of them
But life had been imperfect of them
But soon,was born of a fine princess...
The girl's white hair blew with the wind from outside. Her back was shown,and she was caressing a cute,white dog. "Winsley, we have no porridge tonight to feed on. The grain bowls are all empty. Shall we feed on the crusty bread and water?"she asked, rubbing the dog's fur. The dog wagged its tail.
Her face was now shown as she chuckled. She had blue eyes,white hair,pink lips,and a high nose. She removed her cloak. She was wearing an old frock, perhaps,one that had belonged to her mother. She carried the only lamp that provided light into the room,to the place she called kitchen. Everything in the house was old fashioned. The kitchen had a wooden table,on which there were bowls of grains;empty bowls,bowls of rotten vegetables and a bunch of equally rotten grapes.
She reached for the last bowl on the table,with a snow frozen, crusty bread. The oil jar on the wooden floor had been long exhausted,for it was so dry.
She left the kitchen,and reached for an old tin cup to get water from the water jar. The only thing that was ever surplus in the house. Water. She sat on the bed in the corner of the room. Winsley followed. She was sad. She,on this snowy mountain alone was so sad and odd,with little or no food. She had been living in the house for a year,after she had fled from her former house,after she was being chased by a wild bear. She had found this cottage while freezing out in the cold snow that night. She had spent the night in the cottage,with the privilege of a fine bed. She had waited on the second day,for the owner to come, but she saw no one. The third, fourth, fifth, sixth,seventh day, nobody had come to claim the house,and so,she has been staying since then.
But she didn't want to make the dog sad. So,she smiled,"Old boy,we have to go hunting tomorrow,or we would have to starve the whole of tomorrow" she said,and rubbed its head,while the dog wagged its tail in response. She broke the crusty bread into two. She gave one to the dog and munched the other herself. She wished she had the privilege to a hot cup of tea,and a big slice of cheese,but it was all imagination. She drank the water and looked out into the cold night.
*. *. *
It was a busy town. Even though it was night,the town was bustling. There were chatters in lighted houses. From some houses were voices of unsatisfied husbands scolding their wives,lashes landing on bodies. Men and women and children walked around in old frocks,old clothes. There were also gentlemen walking around. It was an old town. A few people that had the privilege to a carriage were in it, looking out of the windows. Some had the curtains down. A particular carriage was coming. A young girl of eighteen was inside, dressed in an extravagant gown and cloak. She had her hair tied up. The front part was curled, dropping down to her cheek. A lady,dressed in poor maiden's clothes sat in front of her in the carriage.
"My lady,shall we stop over at Lord Simon's place?" The maiden asked.
" Why?"she asked, turning to the girl. " Has father told you to keep tabs on me? Or to persuade me?"
" Pray, milady. It was but a harmless statement. I'm sorry, if I've made you hurt"the maid said politely, bowing her head. She said no more. The girl looked outside.
"Announcing lady Ella's return!"
A maid's voice rang out as the girl entered. The maids on duty bowed. "Milady" they echoed. The house was a mansion. It was an extravagant house,with flowers all around. The chandeliers were lighted,and the house was colourful,as maids moved about,all dressed in uniformity. There were aromas of grilled goose coming from the chicken.
Ella's wooly black cloak swept the marble floor as she walked into her mother's chamber, paying little attention to the greetings. A maid in front of her mother's room collected her cloak, and followed her in.
"Mother" she called. Her mother was lying on the bed as usual. She was ailing. The maids and an older looking woman, wearing a more decent clothing was seated on the bed beside her. She got up as soon as she saw Ella.
"Lady Ella" the woman said, and bowed. There was a cup of herbs on the polished mahogany wood. The room was warm,and smelt of mint,what her mother loved best. It was an expensively furnished room,an example of a Noble's bedroom. The curtains were made of rich,fine silk,polished marble floor and expensive flowers. Outside the window was the orchard. It was a sight to behold.
The woman was coughing, as Ella sat beside her. "Mother" Ella repeated. The woman replied between coughs,her cheeks red. She was weak and frail.
"Child, were you off to Lord Simon's all evening?" The woman asked.
Her daughter blushed. " Mother,you are in no position to joke around. How's she fairing?"she asked, turning to the lady that stood. " Her pneumonia is getting better, milady. My Lord just left a while ago,to his chamber for some works" the lady reported.
Ella's face brightened. The woman was getting better.
*. *. *
"You are running away from yourself,and it would not help you" a woman said in gothic. Her voice was echoing. She was dressed in a black clothe,with a hoodie. Her face was scary,and she was wearing red black lipstick. Her lips moved,"Come closer, Potter Snow!" . She was blurry. Her scary face came to screen.
The girl jerked awake with the bark of Winsley. She got off the bed, sweating. It was morning. That dream again. She shook her head to forget it,and reached over to pick up the cup from the previous night. She gulped down the water in it. Her blue eyes rolled. She got out of the house, seeing Winsley in front of the house, barking. "Winsley" she called the dog,whose colour was in uniformity with the snow. Winsley ran towards her, wagging its tail. "Good morning,old boy. Now,let me get my cloak and bonnet,so that we can set out in search of our meal today" she said,went inside,reached for her white cloak and bonnet,a bottle containing water,and an old tattering bag,then closed the door with a bang.
She had not had a proper bath since two days. And she was starting to stink. But it didn't matter to her, because she knew she wouldn't come across anyone,but she had always managed to bath Winsley almost every day. And that was why he was so white. Her boots were getting older and older. She knew she needed a replacement,but she had not a single penny on her. Winsley's fur brushed her leg slightly,as the dog walked by her side. As she walked in the heavy snow of the day, she recalled her life events. She had left the house her father left her in some years ago. The man was an hunter and her mother had died from childbirth. Her father was the only one taking care of her.
He had went on an hunting expedition one day,and didn't return. She knew she had lost her father.
Winsley's barks called her back to the present. The dog was ahead of her now, jumping around with joy. They had come across a plantation of wild berries in the snow. The snow wasn't as heavy as before. There were trees all around,all having snow flakes. Her boots made traces in the snow as she walked towards the dog.
She helped him to some of the berries. Winsley ate greedily. She reached for more and more and put them in the tattered bag she was holding. Her pure white hair blew with the wind as she bent to pick the berries. She ate a few mouthfuls herself,as she gave Winsley more and more.
And suddenly,they heard the murmurs of an animal. She paused to listen. Then it came nearer and nearer. She knew what it was. A polar bear. She took Winsley by the chains tied to his collar and ran,"It's a polar bear! It's going to rob us of our berries!"she shouted.
Winsley ran with her, away from the large, omnivorous animal.
*. *. *
She was tired, having been running for over an hour. She pulled Winsley to a corner of the cold cave they had found themselves. She was breathing hard. She pulled out the water bottle from the tattered bag and drank it.
Winsley was breathing hard too. She rubbed his body.
She sensed the presence of a person. She was startled. Was a person following her? She didn't know. She didn't want to look back. She was scared.
Winsley was barking. She knew someone was there. She looked back and saw a girl, looking her age,fairly dirty and looking puzzled.
She fell back, falling slightly on winsley's side. She was startled,her blue eyes rolling questioningly. "Ow, get that cute devil away from me!" The girl,in fast words said. She had red hair and was wearing an heavy teal color frock and cloak. Her eyes were green, contradicting her hair colour.
Winsley answered her call and came closer to his owner.
"So,what you doing out here in the wild?" The girl asked,as they walked. "My home is not far from here" she said.
" My bad. My name is Alice. Alice Cooper"she said, introducing herself,as if realizing that she was wrong. " I'm Snow. Potter Snow"she said, letting winsley's chains off.
"Snow? A lovely hair you have there, though" she commented.
" Thank you. You must be around my age. I'm sixteen"Snow said.
" You guessed right. I'm sixteen"Alice said.
" Nice"
" What are you doing in the wild, though? Plus,it's so cold up here"Alice said, realizing the freezing cold.
"Where are you headed to too?" Snow asked smartly, avoiding a twig that was about to enter her eyes. "Winsley,come here" she called the dog,and it walked at her pace. "I was heading to the lower part of the woods. Heard there was a magic and spell school,headed by an elf principal. It's in the North,I guess"
" Didn't know elves still existed. What about the school?"snow asked. " My master wants me to complete my apprenticeship this summer. I've not learnt enough magic and spell"Alice said. Snow looked at her. She looked like she was lying.
"I've been roaming around all day,and I've found nothing but ruins. I'm thinking of going into town. It's gonna be fun. Some handsome men are interest to the eyes, too. Would you mind?"
Snow had been thinking of going into town too,for her usual ritual to seek for food.
"Actually, I've been thinking of going into town" Snow said.
Upbeat music was playing.