Snow fell continuously across the vast northern plains.
The sky remained covered by dense, gray clouds, forming a huge blanket that completely hid any trace of the sun. Gusts of wind swept across the frozen fields at constant intervals, lifting small spirals of pulverized ice that danced through the air before disappearing again among the flakes that continued to fall unhurriedly.
It was a scene that normally conveyed silence.
Calm.
Immobility.
But, on that day, none of that existed.
Because there was a small creature completely destroying any possibility of peace.
"Mom!"
The child's voice echoed across the frozen landscape.
"Mom!"
The same voice echoed again less than three seconds later.
"Mom!"
The Ice Monarch closed her eyes.
She took a deep breath.
Then opened them again.
She was trying.
Sincerely trying.
But with each passing minute, that task became more difficult.
Much more difficult.
