I glanced at the other girls, all done up in their best. No one looked particularly eager for this choosing; no one wanted to marry Winter, to go off and leave their families, never to return, toward a life they couldn’t imagine.
I did wonder what it would be like, to be chosen. Sure, being the eccentric old lady at the edge of town was a promising future for me, but to see the castle up close instead of having it merely be a mirage in the distance… to meet Winter himself—it must be something out of a dream.
Out of all of the girls here, I was the oldest. They ranged from fifteen and up, and I spotted Sorsha standing with her family a way down. She and Ember were busy trying not to stare at each other. As the messenger in silver armor stepped down off the platform to get a better look at us, I did my best not to roll my eyes. Could my sister be any more obvious? It was a wonder my parents hadn’t discovered their little affair already.
Honestly, I assumed the messenger would choose one of the younger girls. Winter would get a few more young years out of them. I wasn’t worried about myself.
The man in armor took his time in sizing us up. He went from girl to girl, pausing as he circled us like a vulture. When he got to Ember, I felt my back straighten. I watched him study her, and though I could not tell what his face looked like, I knew he lingered a bit too long on her.
The man lifted an armored hand, taking a step back from Ember and pointing at her, saying in a low voice, “You. You will become Winter’s bride.”
The other girls appeared relieved, all of them but Sorsha. And Ember, of course. And me, because seeing my sister go off with the messenger was the last thing I wanted. It was as if the messenger had chosen the wrong girl, the one he knew would hate it the most.
For she would. Ember would hate being married to Winter. Her name was Ember, for goodness’s sake. She didn’t like men or the bit dangling between their legs; she liked Sorsha. She was going to run away with Sorsha, try to claim her own happiness in life, something I knew I would never get.
But if this messenger took her, Ember would never be happy. There would be no learning to love her husband, not when she wanted the very opposite. A woman by her side, not a man. Never a man.
As the other girls returned to their families, my family stepped forward, and Sorsha tried running over, but her mother was quick to latch onto her arm to stop her. I was certain Aela was relieved her daughter would no longer be running around with Ember.
“No,” Ember spoke, shaking her head. “No, I—”
Once the messenger chose, it wasn’t like you could deny him. His word was as good as Winter’s, but that wouldn’t stop my little sister. Nothing would, for this was quite literally the worst hand fate could deal to her.
The messenger stood close, and even though his eyes were shrouded in shadows, I knew he stared at Ember, at us and our family, at how she tried to fight it. I knew he judged us. Of course he did, but that was fine, because I judged him, too—what kind of being could ride into a village and steal a girl every twenty-five years? Who would be okay with doing that?
Tears formed in my sister’s eyes, and as I watched them fall, as I listened to my parents try to comfort her, attempting to convince her it would all be fine, I knew what I had to do. Out of the two of us, Ember had more of a future left to fight for. Me? I’d give up on finding true happiness in this town.
I had no idea if this would work, but I didn’t care.
“Take me.” The two words came out softly at first, so softly the only person who heard them was Ember. When my sister met eyes with me, as I watched another tear cascade down her cheek, I said it louder, “Take me instead of her.”
Both my parents were shocked, and they could not stop staring at me, nor could they shut their mouths. It was like me offering to take my sister’s place came out of the blue, like they never expected me to be so selfless.
Selfless. Selfish. It really depended on how you looked at it.
The man in silver armor was silent as he stepped before me, as he examined me. I held my head high, refusing to be the meek girl he probably wanted me to be. Beside me, Ember was busy tugging at the waistline of my dress, whispering various warnings, trying to convince me to take it back, to let her be stolen off and married to Winter.
No. Not Ember. She would find her own happiness, even if it meant she had to run away from this boring village with her love. Me? Well, if anyone was going to spend the next twenty-five years with a cold god, it might as well be me.
The messenger nodded once. “Very well. I will take you instead.”
The mayor appeared uneasy, as if he didn’t know what to say, not after that. “Morana, daughter of—” Whatever little speech he was going to say was interrupted by the messenger grabbing me and pulling me away from my family, away from Ember and Ma and Pa. “Surely you don’t plan on leaving now?” he asked, stunned as he watched the messenger tug me along.
I let him, because at this point, there was nothing else I could do.
“We must celebrate, er…” The mayor stopped as the messenger’s white, ethereal horse galloped to the town center. No harness, no saddle, no reins. Nothing at all to control the horse or make the journey a somewhat comfortable one.
Although, when the horse got closer, I think I understood why.
The beast wasn’t like the horses we had in town. It was bigger, its mane and tail thicker. Its eyes were a bright, vibrant blue, and they seemed to stare right through you, as if the horse had a mind of its own, and it willingly chose to follow the orders of the messenger. An animal on its own level, certainly, almost magical in its grace.
“No,” the messenger spoke, heaving me up. It was difficult to get onto the horse, especially in a dress, but after a bit of fumbling, I managed. “We leave now. Tis a long journey back.” The way he spoke, it was final.
I wouldn’t get to spend any more time with my family. I wouldn’t get to tell them goodbye, beyond the sad wave I gave them as the messenger crawled onto the horse behind me. I wouldn’t get to tell my little sister to chase her happiness, to follow her heart, to do whatever would make her smile. This, I realized, was the last time I would see any of them. The last time I’d gaze upon the townsfolk, the mayor, all of them. Once we left… I would never return. I would become winter’s bride, and that would be the end of my story.
As the messenger wrapped an arm around me, using his other to latch onto the horse’s magnificent white mane, as we galloped away from the only town I’d ever known, this thing—this ending I believed it to be—was really only the beginning of my story.
Life was about to prove to me that you never knew what life held in store for you.
Chapter Two – Summer
Human life was so fleeting. So short. It was a wonder they were able to freely smile and laugh, to have fulfilling lives when death crept closer with each passing minute. I had no idea what that was like, being the embodiment of summer, but I respected them for it. I respected the humans, and I did my best to grant them my favor.
Half the year, I had to hand them over to my brother, but that was not something I chose to do. That was simply how things were around here.
I didn’t often interfere in their lives, because it wasn’t my place to. As a god, I watched them all, and also as a god, I could tell which humans were capable of changing the very world they lived in. One strong-willed heart had caught my attention years ago, and I’d watched her ever since.