Frostbitten Fairy Tales

by Melanie Karsak

  “Yes. I’ll be leaving shortly,” I said, glancing back at Edwin, who was joking with the queen.

  I turned to Lucas. “And you?”

  He gazed at Bunny. “Her Majesty offered us work here. I think I’ll…I think we’ll stay. Never thought I’d get to work at the palace. How can you say no to that?”

  I smiled at him. “I’ll inform Pastor Rosenberry,” I said, secretly delighting in anticipation of the Pastor’s shocked expression. “Tom, I’ll be leaving in a moment.”

  The boy nodded.

  Queen Victoria left Edwin to make her rounds about the room. I rejoined Edwin. “I need to take Tom back to Saint Clement Danes. Since my grand-mère lives close by, I thought… Well, it’s Christmas, and she is alone.”

  Edwin shifted. “Oh. Yes. Well, it’s very late. I am sure she’s worried about you. And young Tom must be exhausted.”

  “Yes. Well, I wanted to mention… My offer of dinner stands, if you’d still like to come.”

  Edwin looked down at me, his eyes soft. He smiled gently. “I’d like that very much.”

  Hell’s bells. I’d nearly forgotten. “I must warn you, my grand-mère is under the impression that you and I are very close to being affianced and that you're desperately in love with me.”

  Edwin smirked, raising an eyebrow. “Is she?”

  I felt my cheeks redden. “A simple misunderstanding.”

  “I shall do my best to humor her.”

  I smiled. “I’ll see you later tonight then.”

  Considering it was not long after midnight, tonight was accurate even if it was still dark outside.

  He nodded. “Be safe.”

  “You too.”

  Leaving Edwin, I went to the queen and princess. “I beg your pardon, Your Majesty. I’ll return Tom to Saint Clement Danes and retire for the evening.”

  Queen Victoria nodded. “You are commended for your service, Agent. I cannot thank you enough.”

  “You are very welcome, Your Majesty.”

  The princess stepped forward and curtsied to me. “Thank you, Agent. I can see what you risked for me, for all of us. Thank you.”

  I smiled at her then curtsied. “You’re very welcome, Princess.”

  The child nodded to me then turned back to the others.

  I grinned at Victoria, whose eyes delighted in the small change—at least for tonight—in her child.

  Waving to Tom, I motioned it was time to leave.

  I cast one last look back at Edwin, who stood by the fire. My heart ached to leave him there. But there was still Grand-mère to contend with, and keeping her enthusiasm for my fictionalized version of Edwin was going to be more challenging to manage than taking down Krampus.

  Chapter 22: Under the Mistletoe

  “Oranges and lemons, you scared me half to death,” Grand-mère said as she unbolted the door. “Do you know what time it is?”

  “Almost four, I think. I’m very sorry. I’ve just finished a case,” I said with a yawn as I entered.

  “A case. The children?”

  I nodded.

  “Everyone okay?”

  “They are now.”

  “Do you want tea? Let me fix you something to eat.”

  I shook my head. “Sleep. Want sleep,” I said groggily.

  Grand-mère laughed. “Clemeny,” she said with a shake of the head. “Why I ever let Eliza talk me into letting you go is beyond me. Your bed is made, my girl. I was expecting you.”

  Yawning once more, I kissed her on the cheek. I was about to head to bed but paused first. Stopping at the hearth, I pulled a sprig of mistletoe from my pocket and lay it on the mantelpiece.

  “What is that leaf?”

  “Mistletoe.”

  “And why do we have that there?”

  “Because Queen Victoria said so.”

  Grand-mère chuckled.

  “Make sure you don’t move it,” I said. “Promise. No cleaning it up.”

  “I promise. Now go sleep. We’ll have a big breakfast in the morning then get ready for Christmas dinner. Is your gentleman caller still coming?”

  Gentleman caller. “Yes,” I said, this time answering honestly.

  “Very good. Goodnight, my love,” she chirped happily, waving me off to bed.

  I ambled to my small room and slumped into my bed. I heard Grand-mère’s bed creak as she slipped into her own bed once more as well. Soon, everything fell silent. Just before my eyes closed, I looked out the window. Fat snowflakes were falling. They shimmered in the glow of the moonlight. Now, all was calm. Now, all was bright. Not a creature was stirring. And I fell fast asleep for the night knowing that Krampus was back in the Otherworld where he belonged. And that Edwin Hunter was coming to dinner.

  The flat smelled of roasted ham with spiced apples, turnips, and freshly baked bread. A beautifully decorated Bûche de Noël sat on the middle of the table. The thick dark chocolate frosting and black cherries seemed to call out my name. If Edwin didn’t come soon, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to resist.

  Grand-mère was about to ask me for the hundredth time when my guest would arrive when there was a knock on the door.

  “I will answer,” Grand-mère said then rose. A second later, she shook her head. “No. You must answer. Be all feminine politeness. Curtsey like this,” she said, inclining her head so her neck appeared long, her profile gentled.

  I rolled my eyes at her. She had already talked me into wearing a green holiday gown, my hair tied up with a sprig of holly. I felt like I’d gone back to my younger years before I’d swapped the confines of a corset for my trousers and vambraces.

  “Fine,” I said, rising. “But I’m not doing that.”

  Grand-mère rolled her eyes then muttered in French.

  “I can hear you. And it’s Christmas.”

  “Yes, yes,” she said, shooing me off.

  I went to the door and took a deep breath. Opening the door, I found Edwin standing there with a light dusting of snow on his shoulders.

  “Happy Christmas,” I said.

  He stared at me.

  “Edwin?”

  “Sorry. It’s just…Happy Christmas,” he said then smiled gently at me. “You look beautiful.”

  A flash of heat rose in my cheeks. “Thank you.”

  I stepped back so he could enter and helped him shrug out of his coat which I hung on the coat stand.

  “Come in, come in, come in,” Grand-mère called. Apparently, she’d held herself back to give us a moment, but could wait no longer.

  I held my breath.

  “So, you are Agent Hunter. Oh, oranges and lemons, a fine cut of a gentleman. Eliza was right. Do come in. How about a wassail? It’s very cold outside. Come, come. Clemeny, sit Agent Hunter down by the hearth so he can warm up. Dinner will be served within the hour. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Felice Louvel, Clemeny’s grand-mère. I have heard so much about you. Now, let me bring you some wine. Sit, sit.”

  I nodded to Edwin, who followed me to the small parlor. While the flat was tiny, Grand-mère had decorated it nicely for the holiday. The fire burned cheerfully, filling the room with an orange glow.

  Edwin walked over to the fireplace. Chuckling, he lifted the spring of mistletoe. “From the palace?”

  I nodded then joined him. “It seemed prudent. How are the children?”

  “Remarkably resilient and recovering very well. Mister Anderson and the Browns asked me to send my thanks.”

  I smiled. “And Her Majesty and the princess?”

  “Well, the princess’s manners are in check, for now. Perhaps we should have let Krampus stay a bit longer just to be sure.”

  I grinned. “Be careful. Wicked talk might just summon him back.”

  Edwin twirled the sprig of mistletoe between his fingers. “I think I’m safe. As will everyone else be once the kissing fashion takes hold.”

  A heavy silence fell between us.

  After a moment, Edwin stepped closer to me. He studied my face car
efully. Reaching out, he gently removed the black silk eye patch I was wearing. He set it on the mantel then turned and smiled gently at me.

  “Clemeny, I…I’m not sure I can be your reporting director anymore,” he said.

  Well, that was unexpected. “Why not?”

  “Because there is a new law.”

  “A new law?”

  “You see, I may request a kiss from the girl I fancy in the presence of mistletoe. It would be improper for me to kiss a subordinate. But…but I can kiss the girl I favor.”

  “Then kiss me, Edwin.”

  He leaned in and set the most gentle of kisses on my lips. And, as I had long imagined, his soft, warm kiss tasted slightly salty and of spicy-sweet cinnamon. And in that moment, I realized I had never, ever, had a merrier Christmas.

  Continue Clemeny’s Adventures in Wolves and Daggers

  Ice and Embers: A Snow Queen Retelling

 

  It takes more than passion and pixie dust to thaw a frozen heart.

  With the 1814 London Frost Fair in full swing, actress Elyse McKenna's performance in A Midwinter Night’s Dream thrills the crowd. But Elyse’s backstage has life begins to take on a distinctly Shakespearean flavor.

  When she fell in love with Lord John Waldegrave, Elyse was prepared to keep their affair secret. But she wasn’t ready for her new love to rock her relationship with her dearest friend, Doctor Kai Murray.

  Everything Elyse thought she knows about her feelings for her old friend is flipped upside down when an enchanting ship captain turns her attention to Kai.

  If Elyse hopes to escape the Thames with her heart intact, she must discover the truth about the captain, Kai, John, and her own feelings—before it’s too late.

  The River Thames Frost Fair Handbill

  London, 1814

  Behold, the frozen Thames

  River transformed into an icy wonderland

  Come one and all to taste her delights

  Under the faerie globes and starry nights

  O’er the banks, rejoice in frozen sweets

  From beef to cream to bawdy treats

  Tamesis calls London’s children

  To her mirrored surface frozen o’er again

  Where winter’s kiss trapped faerie revels in her cold embrace

  And where man and fish drink as if in a race

  Upon the surface of the Thames, gather ’round

  Here, where Frostiana will be crowned

  You who come here are destined to tell

  Of what upon a midwinter night befell

  The Ice House Theatre Proudly Presents

  Dramatis Personae

  Morning Showings

  Persephone and Hades Commedia

  Elyse – Persephone/Columbine

  Hobbs – Hades/Pantalone

  Glass Slipper Girl

  James – Prince Charming

  Lizzie – Cinderella

  Amy – Wicked Stepsister 2

  Hannah – Wicked Stepsister 1

  Marion – Wicked Stepmother

  Robert – Cinderella’s Father

  Elyse – Faerie Godmother

  Hobbs – Prince Charming’s Father

  Josiah – Coachman

  Evening Event:

  A Midwinter Night’s Dream

  Anderson – Puck

  Josiah – A faerie

  James – Demetrius

  Charlie – Lysander

  Lizzie – Hermia

  Amy – Helena

  Hannah – A faerie in Titania’s court

  Marion – Hippolyta

  Robert – Oberon

  Elyse – Titania

  Hobbs – Theseus/Hades-Pantalone

  Stage Hands

  Harold & Skippy

  Chapter 1: A Midwinter Night’s Dream

  I exhaled deeply. My breath, heated by the passion of the kiss, slipped from between my lips and turned into a hazy cloud in the freezing winter air.

  “Elyse,” John whispered, taking the pale blonde hair at the back of my neck into a gentle handful. He pulled me toward him again. His other hand, located on my lower back, gently pressed my hips toward his. I fell into the crush of his body and felt his warmth and want. I didn’t pull away. This was everything I’d ever dreamed of. The idea that a man of his station could fall in love with a girl like me was impossible. But still, here I was.

  “Elyse, five minutes,” Marve, the manager of our acting troupe, shouted. When he spotted us, however, a blush crept up on his cheeks, and he disappeared backstage once more.

  “I believe you’re needed, Titania,” John said. He stepped back and looked me over then straightened the collar on my costume. “Your makeup will need to be touched up. I’m afraid I smeared it a bit.”

  “I need to start carrying a hand mirror,” I said with a soft smile.

  “Lovely faerie queen,” John whispered in my ear, pausing to kiss my earlobe. “Don’t let Oberon have the better of you.”

  “Never. Are you staying to watch?”

  He nodded. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

  I reached out to touch his face. The cold air had made the hollows of his cheeks red. “There are braziers near the front benches where your peers will be sitting. You’ll be warm there.”

  He gently took my hand and kissed my wrist. He stroked his finger across the blue veins below my pale skin. Lifting his eyebrows in a mischievous arch, he asked, “Do you think there is anywhere on this frozen river that’s warm?”

  “In my arms?” I replied, mirroring his playful expression.

  He laughed. “That’s the best, and most correct, answer.”

  I grinned playfully. “If you wanted to be warm, then coming to the Frost Fair was a wretched idea.”

  “But if I hadn’t come, I wouldn’t have seen my faerie queen.”

  I smiled and looked deeply into his honey-colored eyes. My heart beat so hard I felt like it was going to burst. If I wasn’t careful, my passion for John was going to make me swoon. Kai would say I was being ridiculous, that swooning was a fashion, not a physical malady.

  At the front of the theatre, I heard the sounds of flutes and horns. The play was starting.

  Marve appeared once more. Too stressed to remain courteous, he huffed at me. “Elyse…Lord Waldegrave, I’m sorry, but we really do need our faerie queen.”

  “I need to go,” I whispered.

  “My apologies,” John called to Marve then turned to me. “See you soon, Titania,” he said, kissing the back of my hand. He then turned and headed toward the front of the house, such as it was, situated on the frozen Thames.

  I sighed heavily, gathered up the long skirts of my costume, and headed for the stairs.

  Forgetting myself, my head lost in love, I nearly slipped on the ice.

  “Fool,” I cursed myself, giggling. I steadied myself against the side of the makeshift theatre. When I reached the top of the steps, I paused and looked out at the ice. For the first time in many years, the Thames had frozen solid. The Frost Fair had popped up on the ice practically overnight. Thus far, our company from the Struthers Theatre, which we’d renamed the Ice House Theatre in homage to our temporary venue, was the only one to take advantage of the limited opportunity. I looked out across the frozen Thames. Glimmering hues of amber, pomegranate red, and deep purple streaked the sky as the sun dipped below the horizon. The colors cast an opalescent hue on the frozen river.

  I exhaled happily. I had fallen in love with a fine gentleman and he with me. Our amour was not without complications, but it wasn’t uncommon for a man of good station to fall in love with an actress. Other lords had taken singers or ladies of the stage as wives. Our relationship would need to be discreet until he got his family’s approval. I wouldn’t want to sully his reputation in any way. But I was a skilled ballerina and actress, had good manners, and was attractive. That counted for something, didn’t it? Even if I didn’t have good breeding, that didn’t mean I couldn’t become Lady Waldegrave.

&nb
sp; “Elyse,” Marve whispered, his voice a sharp hiss. Master Shakespeare called. I smiled, wondering what the Bard would think of our frozen rendition of his work, which we’d playfully titled A Midwinter Night’s Dream.

  Chapter 2: Frozen Roses

  As I stood stage left, my eyes closed, I listened to the banter of Anderson, who played Puck, and Josiah, who played a faerie. I laced my fingers together and breathed in the frozen air. I made myself into Titania. My husband—well, Titania’s husband—whom I’d once loved deeply, would stop at nothing to hurt me. From his many affairs to his ridiculous request that I give him the orphaned boy I watched over, he always sought to pain me. I loved my husband, and I hated him.

  I felt tears—Titania’s tears—well up in my eyes.

  “And here is my mistress,” Josiah called, cueing Oberon’s and Titania’s entrance on stage.

  I opened my eyes and nodded to Hannah, who was dressed as a faerie. She held the train of my dress. She wore a blue and white dress and silver wings to appear the part of a frost faerie. I took a deep breath and stepped on stage.

  The Ice House Theatre had been hastily constructed. There was a small, wooden stage that stood just a few feet above the audience and supporting beams for a curtain. Rows of rough cut timber benches sat before the stage. Braziers burned brightly, illuminating the crowd and warming the attendees. Behind the benches was standing room. Tenting had been used to enclose the space save the entryway, through which I had a view of the Frost Fair outside. I looked out at the festivities. My eyes skimmed the scene. On the frozen Thames, a small city of tents had been erected practically overnight. Intermixed with the makeshift stalls were ships trapped in the frozen river. I heard rowdy voices coming from the temporary taverns, smelled the scent of roasted pecans on the bitterly cold breeze, and caught a glimpse of the masts of ships frozen in their ports. Revelers ice-skated down Freezeland Lane just outside the theatre. The Frost Fair was in full swing.