Page 33 of Trapped with the Ice Queen

Alex set down the knife, her hands resting on the counter. “You don’t have to figure it all out right now.”

The words came easily, but as soon as she said them, Alex felt the weight of their contradiction. She was no better at staying in the moment than Vivienne seemed to be. Even now, her mind churned with questions about the days ahead.

Shaking off the thoughts, Alex turned back to the counter and began slicing carrots for their next meal, using the knife she had just sharpened. “We’ll dig out the path today,” she said, her tone deliberately practical. “Check on the shed, see how much wood we’ve got left. After a storm like that, thedrifts’ll be high. Won’t be easy, but it’ll give us something to do.”

Vivienne set her mug down and leaned forward, her elbows resting on the table. “You’ve done this before. Weathered storms like this on your own, I mean.”

Alex shrugged. “Comes with the territory. Winters up here can get rough. You learn to make do.”

Vivienne tilted her head, studying Alex with a mix of curiosity and admiration. “You make it sound so easy and matter-of-fact. Like it’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing.” Alex’s voice was quiet but firm. “It’s just...life. You adapt or you don’t survive.”

For a moment, neither of them spoke. The fire crackled softly in the hearth, its warmth filling the space between them.

Then Alex straightened, brushing her hands on her jeans. “Come on. Let’s get started before the sun drops. Snow is easier to move when it’s not frozen solid.”

Vivienne followed Alex to the door, pulling on her borrowed coat, boots, and gloves. The cold hit them as soon as they stepped outside, sharp andinvigorating. The air smelled clean, almost new, the kind of crispness that only came after a storm.

The snow was deep, just as Alex had predicted. They worked side by side, clearing the path with a pair of shovels Alex had unearthed from the shed. The effort was grueling, each scoop a reminder of how unrelenting nature could be, but there was something about it that Alex found cathartic too.

Vivienne paused to catch her breath, leaning on her shovel as she watched Alex work. “You’re good at this.”

Alex glanced up, brushing a strand of stray hair from her face. “At shoveling snow?”

Vivienne smiled. “At living out here. Surviving. Knowing what to do and how to do it.”

“You’d be surprised what you can learn how to do when you don’t have a choice.”

Vivienne’s smile faded, her gaze dropping to the snow. “I suppose that’s true.”

For the rest of the morning, they worked in relative silence, their breaths visible in the frigid air. When they finally finished clearing the path, Alex led the way to theshed. Inside, she checked the woodpile, nodding with approval at the supply they still had.

“We’ll be fine for a while,” Alex said. “But if the weather holds, we’ll need to make a run to town soon.”

Vivienne hesitated. “And if it doesn’t?”

Alex turned to her, her expression neutral. “Then we make do.”

As they made their way back to the cabin, the sun climbed higher in the sky, its light casting long shadows over the snow. Inside, the warmth of the fire greeted them like an old friend, the contrast to the cold outside almost startling.

Vivienne removed her coat and gloves, rubbing her hands together to chase away the chill. “I think I’ll miss this.”

Alex looked up at her, her brow furrowing. “Miss what?”

Vivienne gestured vaguely at the cabin, the fire, the snow outside. “All of this.”

Alex didn’t respond right away, instead mulling over her words carefully, knowing Vivienne wasn’t just talking about the surroundings so much as who she was surrounded by. When she finallyspoke, her voice was low, almost hesitant. “You don’t have to leave yet.”

The words hung in the air, heavy with meaning.

After they finished morning and afternoon chores, they sat across from each other at the table, their plates of dinner mostly untouched. The fire flickered softly in the hearth, its warmth a sharp contrast to the growing unease in the room. The storm had fully cleared now, leaving behind a world that was quieter than Alex had expected, as though the chaos of the weather had muted everything else in its wake.

Alex watched Vivienne’s gaze drift between her food and the window, her expression distant and indecipherable. It was the same look she’d had earlier—that quiet searching, as though something was pulling at her from within, something Alex wasn’t fully privy to, a part of herself Vivienne kept concealed.

Alex couldn’t help but notice how it mirrored her own feelings—this nagging,restless hunger to figure out what came next.

“So,” Vivienne said, breaking the silence. Her voice was calm but heavy. “What happens now?”

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