One year later. . .

I sit in bed in our small London townhouse, blankets wrapped around my feet. I have a book about three Christmas ghosts, and a grumpy old man called Scrooge in my hand. Having spent my life in the Yule Kingdom, I'm a little behind on the mortal literature.

Apparently this is a 'classic'. It's okay, but it's nowhere near as good as the stories the handmaidens used to tell me about Snow Queens, and Ice Palaces, and trolls, and winter battles—and they were actually true.

I wonder if Friedrich ever found his mother.

I force myself to read on, to not think about him. To not think about anything to do with the Winter Kingdoms.

I made my choice. I am home.

I manage a few more pages, but then I sigh and place the book down.

I can't believe it's been a year.

Mum and dad were so happy to see me when I knocked on their door on Christmas Eve. They welcomed me in. And after our tearful re-union, life resumed a kind of normalcy. And I love it here. I love them.

Only. . .

I stop my mind from going down that route. I've tried to all year. I've almost been successful.

Only at the start of December, when I wrote a quick letter to St. Nicholas, did my yearning for me old life consume me so completely.

I do not know what is wrong with me. This place was all I ever wanted. I look around my bedroom at the tokens on my normal year.

An end of year course certificate hangs on the wall from the ice sculpting class I took at the community college. A picture of mum, dad, and me at the ice skating rink I got a part time job at stands on the decorative mantelpiece. The strange mortal clothes my mum had taken me to buy hang over the armchair. And a small snow globe, that has a ridiculous figurine of St. Nicholas inside it, sits on my bedside table.

Rain patters against my window.

It's always raining here. In the Winter Kingdoms snow would be falling right now, covering the ground with a white, glittering blanket. I would sometimes accompany Maggie through the unspoiled snow to the forests to scavenge for winter berries.

I do not blame her for her part in the attempted assassination. She had no choice but to follow Krampus's orders.

A rap at the door jolts me out of my thoughts.

"Come in!" I say, forcing myself to sound cheery.

Mum steps into my rom. Her frizzy red hair hangs down the front of her loudly patterned Christmas jumper. She sets a mug of cocoa on the bedside table beside me and perches on the edge of the bed. She smiles.

"Listen, love, there's something your dad and I want to talk to you about," she says.

I pull my knees to my chest. "What is it?"

She sighs. "We know you're not one hundred percent happy here, love. And we know it can't be easy—to spend most of your life in a place where, well, magic is real and then come back here."

"Mum," I say. "Don't say that. I love— "

"We know you love us. And we love you, more than anything. But it's different than before. This is your choice. You know where we are, now. We'd still see each other. You'll never lose us again. And if, well. . . if you want to go back, we'd understand." She kisses me on the forehead. "We just want you to be happy, love."

She gets up and heads out of the room.

"Just think about it, okay?" she says.

I nod and smile. "Thanks, mum. I love you."

I pick up the book and read until my eyelids are heavy.

***

I jolt upright in bed, reaching for a non-existent blade beneath my pillow. My open book tumbles to the floor. I squint as my eyes adjust to the dim light.

A tall, slender figure leans casually against my fireplace. "Asleep by midnight? With a book and a mug of instant hot chocolate? Well, Joy, looks like mortal life really is keeping you thoroughly entertained."

"Friedrich?! What are you doing here?!" I pull my blankets around myself and glare at him through the shadows. "And I happen to like reading and drinking hot chocolate, thank you very much."

He steps forward. The streetlamp shines through my window onto his angular face and makes his icy eyes glint.

"You're lying," he says.

"Am not."

"You know I was right. The mortal world is tedious."

"I love it here."

He's wearing a long white coat over his shirt and brown breeches. It shimmers slightly as he reaches into a pocket inside it and pulls out an envelope. He clears his throat.

"Dear Nick," he says. "I cannot believe it has been a year. . .bla bla bla." He flicks his wrist.

"Hey! That's my letter!"

I half jump, half fall out of my bed and try to snatch it from his hand.

"How are the Kingdoms? What happened after our altercation with Krampus? How is the castle? How is the weather?" He pulls a face. "How is the weather?" He holds the piece of paper above my head as I try and grab it. "You ask lot of questions for someone having such a great time in the mortal realm."

"Give that back. Don't you know it's rude to look at someone else's mail?"

A thin smile spreads across his face.

"I have not yet reached my favorite part, Joy." He looks back at the letter, angling his body away from mine. "How is Friedrich? I miss him so."

Irritation sparks in my gut and I finally snatch it from his hand. "I asked how you were purely to be polite. And I did not say that last bit."

His grin widens. "You may as well have."

I crumple the letter up and throw it onto my bed. "What are you doing here, Friedrich?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"No."

"I've come to bring you back to the Winter Kingdoms. It's time to come home."

He turns on his heel and walks to my bedroom door. When he opens it, the lights of the aurora borealis flood my room. It's the portal back to the Christmas Kingdom.

My heart beats quickly in my chest.

He holds out his slender hand.

I stare at it, then meet his eyes.

Silence stretches between us.

A game of chicken.

The biggest one we have ever played.

I take a deep breath.

Then I turn away from him.

"Joy?" I hear the hesitation in his voice.

I grab a pen from my desk and scribble a note. Then I turn, and before I can think too much about it, I cross the room and take his hand. His long fingers curl firmly around mine.

A smile spreads across his face. "I told you that you would find it tedious here, Joy. Perhaps this will be a lesson to take better heed of my advice in future."

"Shut up."

His face is illuminated by the glowing blue portal as he looks at the crumpled letter I sent to St. Nicholas. His expression becomes serious.

"I thought of you, too, you know, Joy. More often than I would care to admit."

My gaze flickers over his long white eyelashes, the tense angles in his face, the slight downward turn of his pale lips. Standing so close to him I can feel his strange body heat and smell his scent, cold outdoors and winter spices. It used to turn my stomach.

And yet now I find it provokes a somewhat different reaction.

"A lot has happened in your absence, Joy. I have much to tell you."

"I cannot wait to hear it," I admit.

His eyes dart to my lips. "I think I would like to kiss you when we arrive."

"If it will wipe that smirk from your face, then I will be happy to oblige," I say.

He laughs, then looks into the swirling blue portal. "Well? Shall we go?"

A smile spreads across my face. "Yes."

Together, we step through the portal.

Together, we go home.

---

AUTHOR NOTE

Hi!

Thank you for coming on this journey with Joy, Friedrich, and me! I hope you enjoyed this winter-y fantasy!

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I hope you have a wonderful holiday period!

Love,

Lauren

xxx

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Link in bio, or read the first seven chapters for free here on Wattpad.

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