COLD SNOW. BOTH FALLING and underneath me where I laid. Cold but not making me shiver. I wondered if this was death.

My eyes were either closed or there was nothing but darkness around me, though it didn't really matter which. I was dead. I slowly began twitching my fingers that seemed to ache with even the slightest movement, and touched the powdery snow. It felt so strange, considering I'd never felt it before, but maybe it was supposed to be that way in whatever place I was in.

I moved one foot, and then the other, one arm and repeated the same. Every orifice of me pained. I slowly began to open my eyes. I expected to either see a heaven where it apparently snowed or a hell that must've frozen over, or even something completely unknown.

But instead I was greeted to a man's face in very close proximity to mine; and our lips about to make contact.

"Whoa, what the hell are you doing?" I gave a little shriek, pulling myself back away from the stranger.

The man simply looked at me like my startled outburst didn't phase him at all. "I was going to transfer some of my power to you," he said. "You're clearly hurt, if you're unaware."

Slightly confused I gave a glance down at my shoulder, my shirt wripped at the sleeve and exposing its entirety. A large burn covered my skin from my collar bone to the end of my shoulder, welps and bloody sores on the surface. I gulped down a lump in my throat and looked away before I was sick.

"Let me help you," the man spoke once more and came closer to me, but I pushed back further.

"No, you stay away from me," I gritted, holding up a hand in defense. I tried to shove down the awful pain rippling through me.

The man sighed, sitting down on a snow covered rock across from me. "I suppose this is not going to be as easy as I hoped."

"Who are you? Where am I?" I interrogated, getting straight to the point. ". . .Am I dead?"

The man gave a slightly bitter laugh, but I didn't find the matter so comical.

"If you were dead, I certainly wouldn't have to be doing such an execrated task."

"You didn't answer my question," I spat back at him. "Who. Are you?"

As I got a better look at this stranger I realized it was in fact the man I'd seen in my dream, and standing over me after the knights attacked. He was dressed in a white sleeved button up shirt, with black pants and leather boots. A dark blue cloak the color of the sky after sunset clasped over his shoulders, a grey fur lined at the top as if to keep his neck warm.

More visible now I noticed his black hair had highlights of blue in certain movements of light, and a clear look at the frozen lake of his irises. His pointed ears drew my attention even more than before, and I still wanted to laugh at them if the situation weren't so serious. His face was a cold expression, his eyes still distant, and I couldn't help but let my curiosity wonder why.

"You were the man at my house. You attacked those knights, you. . .you kidnapped me!" I accused, leaving the part of the dream out.

"I did not kidnap you, Your Highness," he tried to defend, "I rescued you. I-"

"Wait, hold up," I quickly interrupted him, wanting to make sure I heard correctly. "Your Highness? What the hell is that supposed to mean? Who do you even think you are? You come into my house after it's attacked by these. . .evil knight creatures and take me, bringing me God knows where thinking I'm some kind of royalty or something? Because by all that I think I'd clarify you as insane."

"You just don't understand right now, but you will, trust me," he assured.

"Trust you? How am I supposed to trust a stranger who took me from my home, unconscious, and brought me here? How do I know you weren't involved with those beasts and you're just waiting to kill me like they did my parents?"

Bringing the flashes back of watching the knights murder my mom and dad, I bit the inside of my cheek to keep away the tears.

"I believe if I had wanted to kill you Princess I would have done it while you were unconcious."

I scoffed, turning my gaze away from him. ""Princess". You've got the wrong girl."

"No, I don't," the man corrected, standing from the rock and crouching down in front of me. I tried to move back further but behind me was a rock wall, and I was as close to it as I could get.

"I saved you from being killed by those iron guards and took you away to protect you, which were my orders. Now if you would allow me, I'd like to secure your wounds. The iron got through your first layer of skin, it needs to be healed before there's permanent damage."

I was hesitant with a response, but shook my head.

The man sighed once more, but changed his tone of voice to a calmer one that actually sounded more sincere. "I'm not trying to hurt you."

I bit my lip nervously. "Well, If transfering your. . .power or whatever is only through lip contact I think I'll pass. I've had enough kissing for an entire lifetime."

"Alright, then we'll have to do it the old fashioned way. But I warn you it will be painful," he informed.

Only knowing this man for the span of five minutes I knew I certainly didn't want him kissing me. What if he was lying and his lips would do something to me like mine did to Blane? Or if it ended up the other way around and I killed him too, no matter what kind of creature he was. . .

"I'll be fine."

Giving a nod, the stranger gently placed a cool palm on my burned area, and I cringed in pain and bit my tongue to hold back the tears.

You can take this, Eerika, don't be weak, I told myself.

Feeling a cold sensation bubble under the skin of the wound, it felt as though a thousand icy knifes were uprooting from my flesh. I couldn't stop myself from letting a cry escape my mouth, and without realizing it grabbed onto the man's arm for support. I turned my gaze to watch as the sores closed up and the welps disappeared. When he was finished though the raw skin was still there, but with a gentle swipe across it a layer of frost concealed it.

"There," the man said, "The frost will keep it protected. It will take it some time and rest to fully heal. The cut on your cheek isn't severe, so that should be fine. I've got to get you back to the palace."

He then stood up and turned to grab his sword that appeared to be made of ice, and the white stallion tied up to the tree across the way neighed at his master's approach.

"You. . .You have ice powers. You have. . .magic," I pointed out, in disbelief at even beginning to comprehend what I was saying. My mother's words resurfaced in my head.

"Magic, Eerika, which you have. You've just got to trust us on this, I promise soon everything will make sense."

"Like me," I mumbled more for myself to hear than for his ears.

"We need to get going, the palace is a day's ride from here, and it's nearly nightfall. You'll ride on top of the steed as I'll guide him," the man told me, as if my words hadn't been spoken at all.

I got up from the ground in slight alarm, trying to steady myself as my legs shook. "I've never ridden a horse before!"

"You'll be alright. It's the only way we can get to where we need to go, and you certainly can't walk."

"I'm not a child, I'll be fi-" I tried to argue as I took a few steps forward before quickly stumbling. The man caught me in one arm and steadied me back up, and I felt the embarrassment flush to my face.

"Would you like to take that back now?" he rather mocked, and I threw him an icy blue glare as I mounted the horse.

The animal whinnied rather happily at the action, which startled me for a second before my nerves were eased as he nuzzled my hand.

I turned my attention back to the man as he pulled another cloak out of one of the horse's packs. This one was a deep fusia color, close to a purple but with no fur lining. "You know you still haven't told me where I am. I'd like to know, if you're going to keep me here."

"You're in the Vinter realm, Princess," he replied, clasping the cloak around me. We were then all set for the journey, and he grabbed the reins of the horse and clicked his tongue for it to follow him forward.

"Vinter? Is that supposed to be significant?"

"It's Norwegian for 'Winter', from old Norse language."

I still wasn't quite sure what that meant, but I let it sink in with the silence as well as the hooves and boots crunching in the snow. "And your name?" I asked.

"What about it?" he pushed back, and a new expression formed over his face that was colder than his normal one.

"You haven't told me what it was yet."

There was a pause from him, and I was confused. Why was giving a name so hard to do?

"Names aren't important," he replied, simply shrugging the interrogation off.

"Uh, I actually think they are," I threw back. "We're born given names, stuck with them our whole lives. What is it, a really embarassing one or something?"

The man kept his stone cold eyes fixated in front of us, silence looming. I decided to give up and just keep quiet.

After continuing a while through the trees and icy mountains, snow starting to flurry through the air, his voice spoke up and startled me.

"Calder."

I turned my gaze to him, my face contorted in confusion. "What?"

"My name," he said. He locked his eyes with mine, and in them I could tell there was something behind them that he was keeping hidden with the confession.

"My born name is Calder Hansen."