\nThere was too much summer in Winter when she met the other queens.\nBlackberry wine burned her stomach as Summer and Autumn approached,\npale in the blue light of her palace. Summer shivered in her cotton\ndress, her sandaled feet ankle deep in snow. Winter understood the\nbitter touch of ice. Her wife was dead. The winter would not end by\nher choice. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cCome to wrest power away from me, sisters?\u201d Winter welcomed the\nhollowness the summer berries carved inside of her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cThe winter months have long passed and Spring is due her right to\nrule in turn,\u201d Autumn said beneath the carved arches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nWinter laughed, gesturing to her ice palace around them. Windows of\ninterlocking snowflakes, her crown of icicles, tapestries spun from\nfrozen threads. All of her nice things. The rooms that her wife,\nNadine, spent time in. The statues of her, carved in ice. Her face\nwas already fading from Winter\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cYou speak of turns like we\u2019re children? You would take\neverything I\u2019ve built this season and leave me with a puff of frost\namongst the dew.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cWe want to help,\u201d Autumn said. \u201cWe were sorry to hear of her\ndeath.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nA flash of a memory burned Winter\u2019s mind before she managed to\nfreeze it back out. Dark skin against the snow. The warmth of her\nkiss. Rage bubbled up hard and cold. \u201cYou were against us from the\nvery beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\nShe raised her hand to send an icy blast across the hall, but her\npowers were dead. Drowned in the blackberry wine along with her\nheart. Her sisters dodged the intended blast and Winter\u2019s mouth\ncrooked up in some small satisfaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cAnd where is our dear sister Spring?\u201d Winter asked. \u201cOnly she\ncan take the power from me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cSpring will be along,\u201d Autumn said. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cShe\u2019s always late, our Spring.\u201d Winter giggled into her cup. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cYou\u2019re drunk,\u201d Summer said. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cOn your wine, m\u2019dear,\u201d Winter said, toasting her sisters. \u201cI\u2019m\nall filled up with summer fruits.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nSummer covered her mouth. \u201cBut the powers. You\u2019ve shut them off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cYou can\u2019t take them if I don\u2019t have them.\u201d Winter cackled,\nfalling back to her throne. Let them come for her. Let them hold her\ndown and rip the powers out. They would find nothing there. There was\nnothing left inside of Winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cThat wasn\u2019t very nice,\u201d Spring said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nAlways the drama queen, Spring shuffled through the snow carpet of\nWinter\u2019s throne room wearing pink fuzzy slippers and her baby lamb\npajamas. She carried two bags with her. Winter thought she smelled\npopcorn. A neutral food. If they meant to crowd the summer fruits out\nof her, they would find Winter had an icy bite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cWinter is harsh and unforgiving,\u201d Winter said. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cGrief, too,\u201d Spring said. \u201cBut you don\u2019t have to grieve\nalone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nThe powers churned in the pit of Winter\u2019s stomach. They wanted to\nabandon her. To leave her with nothing. The wine was hot and heavy\ninside of her, anchoring everything else in place. With each step,\nthe snow around Spring softened. Crocuses found the audacity to burst\nthrough Winter\u2019s frozen carpet right there in her palace. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cStop,\u201d Winter shouted. A loud crack resounded from her beautiful\narchways. One drop slid down the statue of her wife, falling to the\nground in the warming air. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nSpring followed her gaze, shuffling backward. \u201cOh, Winter. I\u2019m\nsorry. I didn\u2019t think. Was that her?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nWinter\u2019s voice whispered out of her like the barest frost. \u201cWasn\u2019t\nshe lovely?\u201d \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cShe must have been a wonderful person to put up with you,\u201d\nSummer said. Autumn nudged her in the stomach and she muttered, \u201cI\u2019m\nsorry. I didn\u2019t mean that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cShe was beautiful,\u201d Spring said. \u201cDo you want to talk about\nher?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nThe universe ripped the breath out of Winter\u2019s body as she choked\nback a sob that she didn\u2019t want or need. A rattling breath couldn\u2019t\nfill her again as she tried to form words. \u201cI loved her. And now\nshe\u2019s dead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nShe sobbed without tears, forcing them back, still certain she could\ncontain herself. But soon they fell unbidden, frozen pellets sinking\ninto the soft snow. \u201cI can\u2019t release the winter. I can\u2019t. If\nyou take it from me, then she\u2019ll be gone, too. Don\u2019t you see?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nThe words tore out of her very soul. She clung to them, afraid to\nlose her last memories of Nadine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cI can\u2019t get any closer,\u201d Spring whispered to her sisters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nAutumn\u2019s wrapped her arms around Winter as the strength in Winter\u2019s\nknees evaporated. The smell of fresh powder mingled with cinnamon and\ncloves. \u201cIt\u2019s okay,\u201d Autumn cooed. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nWinter beat her hands against the snow. \u201cNo it\u2019s not. My wife is\ndead. It will never be okay again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cOh, for heaven\u2019s sake, Autumn,\u201d Spring said. \u201cTell her she\u2019s\nright. It\u2019s not okay. It\u2019s abominable. We won\u2019t take the powers\nuntil you\u2019re ready, Winter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nEvery breath Winter managed was a gasping, burning mess. \u201cDo you\npromise?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cWe promise,\u201d the other queens said. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cWe brought sappy movies to watch. And popcorn and chocolate. You\nwon\u2019t be alone until you\u2019re ready,\u201d Summer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cI brought you some jammies, too,\u201d Spring said, holding her bags\nout. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nA breath of spring air brushed Winter\u2019s cheek. She sobbed again. \u201cI\ncan\u2019t let her go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cWe won\u2019t make you,\u201d Summer said, kneeling down beside them.\n\u201cDo you want to pick the first movie?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cYou didn\u2019t even like her,\u201d Winter said. \u201cThe three of you\nalways called her my \u2018little mayfly.\u2019 My \u2018mere mortal.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cWe didn\u2019t know her,\u201d Autumn said. \u201cBut she must have been\nspecial if she loved you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cTell us about her,\u201d Spring said. \u201cPlease.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nWinter managed a steady breath, trying to squeeze out the grief with\nair. \u201cI don\u2019t know if I can.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cWhen you\u2019re ready, sister. We won\u2019t do anything until you\u2019re\nready.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nSnow soaked through her dress before she could find the strength. But\nshe knew her sisters would be waiting for her when she did. \n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There was too much summer in Winter when she met the other queens. Blackberry wine burned her stomach as Summer and Autumn approached, pale in the blue light of her palace. Summer shivered in her cotton dress, her sandaled feet ankle deep in snow. Winter understood the bitter touch of ice. Her wife was dead. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[318,422],"class_list":["post-11201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fiction","tag-drunk-powers","tag-flash-fiction"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11201\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}