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Serena was sitting outside. It was cold, as it always was in Idera. Behind her, she could hear the distant noise of the camp. People talking, laughing, shouting and maybe even crying. It was a place filled to the brim with emotions, which is exactly why Serena had chosen to get away, even if just for a minute.
It was calm on the lonely hill she was sat on. The chill didn’t bother her, it never had, and from the sky, little snowflakes came drifting downwards, until they slowly started to paint the grass white. This far away from the camp, the only source of light came from the stars. The nights in Idera was truly something special to behold. Serena let herself close her eyes and breathe. It was all very peaceful. It was peaceful in a way Serena hadn’t felt in years. Peaceful in a way only Idera could make her feel. As she sat there on the lonely hill, with only the snow and the stars to keep her company, she truly felt like she was home.
She was, however, interrupted by the sound of steps coming closer. For a second Serena wondered which one of her generals was stupid enough to interrupt her in what was clearly a very privat moment, but then she recognized the sound of the person’s walking pattern. Knowing that it wasn’t someone she needed to hide from, Serena once again closed her eyes and let herself get swept away by the songs being sung by the falling snow. She was distantly aware as the other person sat down beside her, but she spared them no thought.
For a long while, the two of them sat in silence. But, it was only a matter of time before Kira cracked. She had, after all, never done well with the quiet, and always wanted to find something to fill it with. But when she spoke, it wasn’t loud and boisterous as usual, but gentle, almost a whisper. As if she, too, could sense that this was a moment for calm.
“General Gevalt is looking for you. He said he had something important to talk to you about. And then he started swearing profoundly, but I’m not going to reiterate that.” Kira wasn’t looking at Serena when she said it. Instead she was gazing up at the bright night sky.
“Well, Gevalt can go fuck himself for all I care,” Serena replied, voice equally as low and gentil as Kira’s had been.
“You shouldn’t say that. As much as I hate to admit it, we do need him.” From the corner of her eye, Serena could see Kira turning to look at her. Serena was still firmly looking away.
“It doesn’t matter what I say. That old bastard is still going to do whatever he wants,” Serena sighed. “Look, I don’t want to think about that right now. I came here to have some peace and quiet.”
Serena could practically feel Kira’s gaze boring into her, but Serena still refused to meet her eyes. Kira gave up first, and instead just sighed.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to bother you.” When she got no answer, Kira just laid down in the grass, and studied all the different stars. Slowly, hesitantly, Serena laid down beside her. The ground was a little wet from the snow, and Serena wondered how Kira wasn’t freezing in her mortal skin. Beside her, she could feel the heat radiating off Kira, the contrast so much much evident when the rest of the world was so cold. Serena was painfully aware of Kira’s hand, just a few inches away from her own. The only thing she had to do was move her thumb a little bit, and then they would be touching. It would be so easy…
Serena did not move.
“Did you know that snow has memories?” Serena instead said out of the blue.
“What?” Kira turned to look at her, and their faces were so incredibly close now. Serena was sure she could feel Kira’s breath on her cheek. Without really meaning to, her eyes drifted down to Kira’s beautiful lips. For a moment that was all she could see, and it wasn’t until Kira cleared her throat that Serena remembered she was supposed to be talking.
“The snow can remember things.” Serena looked away from Kira, and instead focused on the slowly drifting snow, letting their strange songs fill her mind. “You wouldn’t know of course. Only those who are connected to the land have the ability to understand it. And since I am of the royal bloodline, and was chosen to be my aunt’s descender before I was exiled, I have that connection to these lands.” When Kira said nothing, but kept looking at her, Serena took it as an invite to continue.
“It’s not just the snow I can understand. Everything that is alive, whether it be an animal or a tree or the ice, they all have stories to tell.”
“And what is the snow saying right now?” Kira asked, her voice barely a whisper, as if she was afraid of speaking too loud, for that might cause Sererna to close in on herself once more. But Serena for once did not notice, too preoccupied trying to interpret what the snow was telling her.
“Each and every snowflake has a different tale to tell. Some I can understand, some I cannot, for they are being spoken to me in languages long since forgotten. Those I do understand aren’t speaking to me in the way you are used to communicate in. They are not telling a coherent story using well laid out sentences. They tell me snippets of truth in the form of never ending songs. In these songs the tales of long lost kingdoms, brave heroes, vicious enemies, catastrophes and miracles can be heard. Tales that will remain until the end of time, and maybe even after, just waiting for someone to discover them. It is very beautiful.”
“Wow, that sounds incredible,” marvelled Kira, fascination clear in her voice.
“It is,” Serenda agreed. “When I was a child, my mother used to take me to this lonely mountain top. We would sit under the stars, and I would tell her what I heard, for she could not hear it herself. She was, after all, never destined to lead Idera. And when I became too tired to continue talking, she instead would sing for me. A lullaby her mother had sung once upon a time...” Serena drifted off, not knowing what more to say.
“Would you sing it for me?” Kira asked gently.
“What?”
“Would you sing your mother’s lullaby for me?”
If it had been anyone else, Serena would have flat out refused. Her mother was a very private subject, and to sing a lullaby that had been meant for Serena’s ears alone, would have felt like betraying her mother.
But if it had been anyone else, Serena wouldn't even be in this situation. She would not be laying on the ground, talking about the song of the snow and of secret nights on a mountain top. So, because it was Kira, Serena decided to take a leap of faith. Therefore, she started singing.
You should look up
To the sky of stars
For you will see
His loving arms
He will guide you to your home
He’s the Lord of the North
It starts to snow
In the winter night
It’s getting cold
So hold me tight
He will lead you to your home
He’s the Lord of the North
The ice goes deep
In the freezing lake
A silence fall
In the snowstorm’s wake
He will take you to your home
He’s the lord of the north
When she sang, it was in a gentle way. Serena barely even registered the words she was signing. It all came so natural, as if it hadn’t been over a century since she had last sung the song. Everything else faded away, until it was only Serena and the melody. In that moment, for just a second, Serena could almost feel her mother beside her, could almost hear the words she was singing being uttered in her mothers kind voice. In that moment, Serena felt like was closer to her mom than she had been in a long time. When there were no more words left to sing, and no more melody to be heard, Serena opened her eyes and was met with Kira’s forest green ones. Those green eyes, that represented an incredible human, who was unafraid to help those in need, who was kind and loving and honest and funny and loud and annoying and all those things Serena hadn’t seen in a long while. And suddenly Serena knew that she hadn’t made a mistake in letting Kira in. She realised that it wasn’t the ghost of her mother’s presence that made her feel such content. It was the human girl right in front of her.