On the first day that fall changes to winter, the winter prince would be awakened by his brother to trade places.

"Arise, Winter Prince, it is time for your season and time for my slumber," Prince Ember announced as he bid his season farewell.

The winter prince opened his eyes and was greeted by his awaiting subjects.

It is customary that each seasonal royal speaks their season into and out of existence. Without delay, the winter prince recited his lines, "I, Prince Wren of Winter, claim my season. Fall's time has passed, and winter is here."

As one season fades into another, one gains power as the other loses it. The more the winter prince felt his powers growing, the less he felt his brother's presence. Soon, the forest was covered in snow and ice, burying any trace of fall beneath it. The cold air was comforting to Wren. It reminded him that he was one with his nature, yet he did not feel whole. There was one thing missing in the prince's life, a companion to share his time with.

He was truly the prince of everything cold, not by choice, but by birthright. Prince Wren's heart was filled with love for this kingdom and his people. There was not one creature he loved more than another. To him, every creature was cared for equally, and thus, none made his heart flutter. As a benevolent ruler, he was a great protector to his people during his season. Humans were the only beings that the prince showed no mercy to.

As a child, his parents, the king and queen of all seasons, had told him and his siblings many stories of how monstrous humans have been throughout the centuries. As the prince grew of age to fulfill his duties, he witnessed what deeds humans would do to achieve their desires. It was at those moments that his father's words would ring true.

"They take what they want and destroy what they cannot have."

It is the prince's job to ensure that the creatures of his kingdom remain hidden and safe from the destructive humans. It is a rule that humans are to be killed on sight if they delved too deep into the forest. There was only one human that was an exception to this rule.

Normally, there would be no exceptions, but this human was different. She teetered between life and death in the eyes of the prince. The only reason he permitted her return to this part of the forest was because the king of seasons and the humans agreed on the border many moons ago. The big lake. As far as the prince knew, he was the only one that knew about this little human girl. None of his siblings claimed to see her, but it was understood that if they saw her during their season...she would perish. And for that, she was his secret.

The prince could kill her whenever he wanted. Each time she crossed over to their side of the lake, his muscles would tense up, waiting to see if she would stay. It became a game for him: kill the human or let her live, weaken the ice to drown the monster or thicken the ice under her feet.

The prince found her to be more and more intriguing as he looked on. He could not take his eyes off of her. She was a habitual human that came to the lake at sunrise and would leave before sunset. Curiosity always seemed to get the best of these monsters—but not her. She never went past the lake. All she cared about was dancing on ice.

Every winter, the lake would freeze over with thick layers of ice and, without fail, she would glide along its smooth surface. Eventually, Wren added a new rule his subjects were to follow during his season:

"No creature is to approach the borderland."

No one thought to question the prince, for they knew he valued their safety. There was no reason for them to go so close to the border anyway. Humans were not creatures to be near. The winter prince knew this to be true but still, he went to the lake and watched her skate.

At first, the winter prince would simply look onward, but as the years went by, he wanted to skate with her. He wanted to be near her. Having these feelings for a human was unheard of, but what Prince Wren didn't know is that love doesn't care about rationality. The first heartbeat of romantic love is something everyone experiences, and the prince was no different.

To separate himself from this unexplainable feeling, Wren decided that, at the lake, he was not a prince. At the lake, he would have no title. He would simply be Wren. This eased Wren's mind and allowed him to enjoy being in her presence. The lake became their spot.

The king of all seasons had three rules his four children must follow to be next in line for the throne:

Follow the duration of your respective seasons.Pick a companion that makes your heart skip a beat.Humans must not be trusted.

Wren could feel that his season was almost up. It frustrated him that he was nowhere closer to his goal. If only he had more time, if only winter could last a little longer. Maybe then he could skate with her. The prince's subjects began to worry. The time for winter to end was near and the season was not fading this year. Instead, it grew stronger, and the prince was nowhere to be found.

Panic filled the kingdom.

"The kingdom is without its winter prince!"

"Who will wake up Princess Nasima of Spring?"

"Someone find the king and queen, only they can fix this madness!"

Wren had grown too weak. His season was supposed to end today or was it supposed to end yesterday? The winter prince was losing track of time. With each passing day, his powers were leaving him and slumber became more inviting. It has been days since he returned to the kingdom. He knew that if he returned to the kingdom his season would end and spring would begin. Things would be the way it should be. Time would pass him by as he slumbered and he would awake again to another winter.

Time was not something the winter prince could afford to let pass him by. The life cycle of humans was different from the seasons. Every winter, Wren saw a change in the human girl. She would come back to the lake, skating better than she did the winter before. She also got older, her features became more defined. No longer was she this clumsy little thing that fell on the ice or screamed in frustration. She was now a confident woman that mastered the art of dancing on ice.

For the winter prince, he remained the same, only aging by a little each time he woke for his turn. Finally, it seemed like they were the same age in looks, not maturity. Wren was sure that he was younger than the human, for he lived only once a year while she lived through every season. He could approach her without fear of her running away. Knowing this, he could not let another winter pass him by.

Gathering the last of his strength, the winter prince stepped out of hiding. She still had not noticed him, for she was dancing with her eyes closed. This was the closest Wren has ever been near her. When he got on the ice, he stood and examined her beauty closely. She was even more breathtaking up close. His eyes watched her as she approached him, blind to the fact that he was standing a few feet in front of her. She twirled in one spot at such a speed her hair whirled around her.

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And then she disappeared into the lake.

"No!" the winter prince cried.

Everything was melting. His season was over by force.

This cannot be how things end. He could not lose her. As the ice shattered beneath him, the winter prince made his way to the hole in the lake. His only thoughts were of how to save his human. In fear that he would kill his human, he sent a cold wind to entrap her. The winter prince's feet were sinking as he pulled the wind bubble closer to the surface. His season was fading fast. Spring was fixing the imbalance Wren created out of his selfish desire.

Diving into the water, he commanded everything to freeze in place. He needed to get to her.

The winter prince made his way to where the wind bubble left a dip in the lake. She laid there shaking uncontrollably.

In a trembling whisper, she asked, "Who are you?"

Throwing his coat over her, he answered her question. "I am Wren, the winter prince."

"I know you," were the last words she uttered softly before going still.

Her words stunned him but there was no time to ponder on the where and how. He needed to get her somewhere safe. Princess Nasima was looking for him. The last thing he wanted was to face his sister's wrath for another rule violation. The safest place for the human in his arms was her side of the forest. Worrying about his health and safety can come later.

...

The princess of Spring had a lot of work to do thanks to her disobedient brother. A royal not willing to relinquish their season was unheard of. The spring princess demanded answers to this oddity. Something changed the prince of winter and she would find it and him. Nasima was eager to look for her brother but the kingdom came first.

"I, Princess Nasima of Spring, claim my season. Winter's time has passed and spring is here."

...

Her breathing was steady which was a good sign. The winter prince had successfully carried his human to the other side. Each step weighed on him more than the last. He no longer had the energy to move. Ignoring the call of sleep, he focused on his new goal. Buy the human enough time to wake up. Resting her down on the ground next to him, the winter prince began to chuckle to himself.

Such an interesting winter it had been for him. Here he was sitting on the ground, during a season that was not his, with a monster he took an oath he would kill. Oh, how laughable this situation was. The winter prince gave a light chuckle to himself and looked at the sleeping human next to him.

His coat hung on her loosely, showing how much bigger he was compared to her feminine frame. She was no longer shaking which the winter prince took as a sign that his coat's powers were working. Each royals' clothing was made from material befitting their season. It was made from special fibers that were infused with his being. Wren's clothes had saved him many times from fatal harm. He was happy to see that it did the same for the human.

Looking down at her, Wren spoke out loud, "Such a lucky little human you are. The coat you are bundled up in has absorbed enough of my powers to last me a few more hours to live outside of my season."

"Shouldn't you use it on yourself? You look pale," came a reply.

She was awake!

Wren examined her with his eyes.

Wren, although pleased that the human was fine, chose to keep his guard up in front of her. Weaken or not, he was still the winter prince and she was a human. Casting a glance at her, the winter prince began questioning his captive human.

"So, tell me what you are called, human."

"My name is Meara."

"How do you know me?"

Meara gazed into the winter prince's cold eyes. She knew he would not believe her because she could not believe that they were meeting again. It was clear to her that she had changed a great deal while the winter prince looked relatively the same. The best way to talk to the prince was by answering his questions with the truth.

"You saved me from harm in this very forest when I was five-years-old."

Meara's eyes told the winter prince that she was telling the truth. The more he listened to her account of the past, the more he recalled how their encounter transpired. It was during his fifth winter as being the winter royal. It was rumored that members of his court began a game called 'human picking' where they would venture into the humans' part of the forest and hunt them. The queen of seasons urged her children to put a stop to this as it violated their treaty with the humans. The punishment for this act of treason was death.

As that winter went on, it didn't take long for the prince to find the guilty servants. He followed their tracks into the humans' territory. As the winter prince moved closer there became no need to follow their footprints in the snow. Instead, he followed their laughter and their prey's screams. Wren could not be more disgusted when he learned that they were hunting a small human child. Angered by their disobedience and poor choice of fun, he froze them in place. They made interesting ice sculptures if he recalled correctly.

It was Meara's final words that reassured him that she was indeed the small human child of that winter. "And you told me that I was special. That there was no one like me, and that's why I kept coming back to this forest."

Wren let out a hearty chuckle that hurt his heart in more ways than one. From his point of view, he called her special because he knew the meaning behind his actions. If they were in the king's territory he would have killed his servants and her, but Meara saw it as a hero coming to the aid of someone in trouble. The same human he would have killed is the same human he adored. How much fun fate must be having watching the two of them all this time.

The prince felt himself slipping into unconsciousness. He was beyond his limit. Meara, though pleased that she could finally meet her savior, knew that the prince needed to return to his kingdom. She feared that if she did not convince him to go back that this would be their last winter together.

"You must go back," Meara pleaded.

"I...cannot...move," he said through heavy breaths.

Meara's concern heightened. She was going to lose him if she did not act quickly but what could she do? She did not have any powers or special clothing. All she had were her skates. It was then an idea struck her. It was perfect, but the outcome would not be to the winter prince's liking.

...

The spring princess did it. She brought order back to the kingdom and by extension the seasons. The only task left was to find her foolish brother. Nasima looked throughout the land for her brother but he was nowhere to be found. Where could he be hiding? As she questioned the whereabouts of the winter prince, a thought came to mind. What if he could not be found by his subjects but only by a fellow royal. Meditating on that thought, there was only one place left to check. The big lake.

There was nothing at the lake which was of no surprise to the spring princess. There was no human foolish enough to come all the way out here. Surveying the border, the spring princess saw something...unusual sticking out of one of the trees near the lake. It was her brother's coat pinned to the tree with a broken blade on the other side of the lake—on the human side of the lake.

Those sadistic creatures stripped her brother of his armor and dared to hang it up like a trophy on the other side. It made sense why his season blazed on like a storm. It was fueled by his anger and desire to live! The spring princess was enraged that humans took her brother but was relieved that he did not go willingly. Or so she assumed.

...

Meara's plan seemed to be working perfectly. She could feel sweat forming on her body. The little winter patch that the prince had made was melting. The princess of spring was close. Meara looked at Prince Wren with sadness in her eyes. The prince could tell through his haze that Meara was about to say something he would not like.

"I'm sorry things have to end this way. I've caused you so much trouble. I should have stopped coming to the forest the first time you warned me."

Wren raised his hand to caress her cheek. "I am solely to blame. I should have continued to watch you from afar, but my love for you drove me to become greedy."

Meara didn't know what to say. He admitted that he loved her. He loved her enough to risk everything to be with her. And she would do the same for him.

It was time to go. Their sweet whispers of nothing would be something Meara would think about for years to come. Placing her blood-stained left skate in his hand, she bid him farewell with a kiss. It was hard to walk away from him, but they would meet again. The winter prince could not stop her. No matter how many times he called for her, she did not answer. Soon, he could not even speak. The winter prince simply waited for whatever would happen to him next.

"I have found you, Brother."