Many moons ago, in a land so distant from our own you could mistake it for another dimension, lived a girl called Lumikki. Being an only child, she yearned for a kindred spirit so intensely she felt the weight of the desire, so every night she wished with all her heart that a sibling would be sent to her; for the love she had received from her parents pulsed through her veins and there was plenty to share.

She cherished simple moments; gazing into her mother’s silver handled mirror as she lovingly brushed her hair, their eyes meeting in adoring glances in the glass. Sitting on the porch with her father entranced by stories as the sun set, Lumikki felt blessed and blissful and dearly wanted to share that.

One night, as Lumikki was drifting off to sleep, she experienced her first ever nightmare. Screams echoed around the room; her mother’s voice and then her father’s. Bewildered, scared and confused she sat up in the dim moonlight to discover she was in her own bed in familiar surroundings but instinct told her something was wrong. Light was creeping beneath her door and the silence was deafening, it was all so vivid yet blurred.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed and her feet met the coolness of the wooden floor, she was indeed awake and found herself tiptoeing to her door, straining to hear any sound at all in the stillness. Her hand closed around the door handle and she soon found herself standing in disbelief at the foot of her parents bed. Her mother lay lifeless in her fathers arms, his tears mixing with the blood on her skin and falling gently to meet darker droplets on the sheets as he silently sobbed. A tiny bundle lay beside them and as time stood still Lumikki knew nothing and everything in an instant, she was alone, she crept back to her room, stunned and in shock. Before she knew it the sun kissed her face as morning arrived, the nightmare was over, the weight was lifted, but the sun was the only thing that greeted her that morning, although she waited, no one came, ever again…

The love in Lumikki’s veins hardened to ice, solitude was her companion and she built the walls high around herself and her heart, dark magic flew from her fingertips as she created her castle resonating her inner spirit; cold and unforgiving. Dubbed the snow queen, nobody dared to discover if her reputation emulated the tales they had heard, a force such as she could not possibly be human, or capable of love or even mercy.

The only thing she treasured was her mother’s mirror, the single item she had kept from a past she barely recognised anymore. The magic within the mirror was always there, reflecting back to the possessor that which was truly in their heart, Lumikki’s heart had been broken that night and so had the mirror.

Submitted by: Emma Houghton