As the rosy light of dawn began to make the snow-swept city blush, the Snow Queen climbed back into her sleigh. The unicorn, who’d been giving children rides around the city park all night, returned to its harness. The Ice Children waved their goodbyes, repeating their promise to make the planet a place in which winter would always be welcome. Winterton, with its rides, games and winter creatures, began to fade.
Jack, Quilo, Pitter and Patter gathered with Bianca, Finn and the other Ice Children in the rose garden, where it had all started on the first of December.
‘Will we ever see you again?’ Finn asked mournfully, his eyes on the sky, even though Ishild had disappeared from view.
‘What kind of a fool have we here?’ asked Pitter.
‘Why, you’ll see us every year!’ replied Patter.
‘We will keep our promise, Jack,’ Bianca said, and the Ice Children echoed her with a ripple of agreement and nodding heads.
‘You once told me that love was the most powerful thing in the world,’ Jack said to Bianca. ‘Well, we got a lot of people to fall in love with winter this night.’ Jack winked at her. ‘Don’t you think?’
‘Yes,’ Bianca said, smiling. ‘And every year, on the longest night of winter, we will celebrate all that is wonderful about you and your season.’
‘We all want to play in Winterton again,’ Finn said.
‘We don’t want a world too warm for ice and snow,’ Bianca said.
‘No.’ Finn shook his head. ‘Never, ever, ever.’
‘Oh, but I bet they don’t mind seeing the back of hail and sleet . . .’ grumbled Pitter, rolling his grey eyes.
‘. . . cos of the irritating noise you make with those tapping feet.’ Patter shoved him.
‘Next time you visit the city, I’ll go outside and dance,’ Casper told them. ‘I don’t mind you pelting me with your hailstones.’
‘Much obliged.’ Pitter bowed his head.
‘Bet he stays inside,’ Patter whispered to Quilo.
‘I think I want to be a vegetarian, to help the planet,’ Gwen announced to her parents. ‘I don’t want to eat meat if it hurts Grendel.’
‘Eating less meat will certainly help.’ Quilo nodded approvingly. ‘Those cow farts really heat up the atmosphere, I can tell you.’ He waved his hand in front of his face. ‘And they smell terrible! Phew!’
Bianca laughed, but then Jack caught her eye. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘It’s time for us to leave.’
‘Oh!’ Bianca didn’t know when it had happened, but she’d grown fond of Frost. ‘If you ever need me, you can leave a message on my window. And . . . thank you, for giving us a chance . . . and not taking our hearts.’
‘Well . . .’ Jack arched a white eyebrow. ‘There’s always next year.’
Stepping back onto the grass, top hat at a jaunty angle, Jack stood tall, right on the spot where Finn had first been found frozen. Pitter and Patter joined on either side, folding their arms and each lifting a foot as if they were about to dance. Quilo bounded over on all fours, the hood of his bear suit falling back to reveal his chubby cheeks. Jack placed his snowflake hands onto the shoulders of Pitter and Patter, and with a shimmer of silver and the sound of crumpling foil the four of them became figures of ice, rising up on a rectangular pedestal until they stood taller by far than all the children around them. There was a thunderous sound that shook the earth under their feet, and the ice took on the colour of granite, leaving only Jack’s eyes entirely white.
Engraved in capital letters beneath the four figures were the words:
THERE ONCE WAS A TIME OF HARMONY
And it’s up to us to bring it back, Bianca thought.
There was a long moment of silence, then the children and their grown-ups began drifting home. The sun chased away the darkness, lighting up the city’s houses, snuggled under their blanket of snow.
‘Where did you get that necklace?’ Bianca’s dad asked her. ‘It’s very pretty.’
Bianca put her hand to her neck and found a delicate silver chain there. Hanging from it was a crystal reindeer. ‘Pordis!’ She hugged the necklace to her chest.
‘My Bianca,’ came the warm voice inside her head. ‘I will be with you, always.’
‘Sposh!’ Finn exclaimed in delight, finding a crystal snow hare hanging round his own neck.
‘I think it’s time we all went home, don’t you?’ Bianca’s mum said, hugging her two children to her.
And the Albedo family stumbled wearily, but happily, out of the park.
