"If it gets any colder, it'll be like living back in the North Pole," Granny said, pulling her shawl tighter around her shoulders as she made breakfast.

"All we'd need was heavy snowfall and a lot of hills," Grandpa said, chuckling slightly. Even with his hands covered by the thick wool of his gloves, he rubbed them together to keep them warm. Or he was simply putting on a show.

"Well Dartmoor has a lot of hills and the snow is getting heavier. We could be well on our way to having a North Pole here in England before we know it," I said.

The cold weather had spiked drastically over just a few days and it looked as though it was only going to get worse as the weeks passed. Every morning I would wake up to complete darkness, something that didn't come as much of a surprise seeing as it was Winter, but as the day progressed, the darkness remained. The walk to school meant walking through darkened streets where the streetlights still lit up the pavement with a warm glow. It got to the point when Grandpa decided he would drive myself, Niska and Joel, to school in the morning so we didn't have to walk in the dark. We didn't mind too much, but as it got colder, the car was definitely better than walking.

Since Grandpa drove us to the gates every morning, it meant waking up later and even managing to sit in the kitchen long enough to eat breakfast before having to make the mad dash out the door to meet Niska on the corner. We often picked Joel up along the way, he had woken up in time. More often then not, he would catch us up just as we arrive at the school gates, looking as though he had just woken up. Most of the time he had. Having Grandpa pick him up meant he got more time in bed and there wasn't the risk of him being late to school. If he wasn't waiting for us by the time we arrived at his house, Niska would jump out the car and bang on his front door until he opened it. He learnt that the hard way and hadn't been late to meeting us since.

"Cold front is supposed to get worse according to the Met office. Several inches of snow are to fall within the next few days, I've never seen anything like it," Granny said. As she spoke, she fished out the boiled eggs from the pan and transferred them into egg cups. There was something remarkably satisfying about having something warm for breakfast rather than cereal.

"I heard that British winters were cold but never this cold," I said, taking a sip of my orange juice.

"Snow is a rare occurrence for us. Now, eat your breakfast before it gets cold."

With a small smile in her direction, I dove, almost head first into my breakfast, devouring the egg and toast at a speed unknown to man. First thing in the morning I was always staring, half the time it felt as though my stomach had started to eat itself from the inside out. By the time I had finished, only five minutes had passed, and Grandpa was only just getting stuck into his.

"You eat any faster, Kenz, and you'll throw it back up again. I've never seen someone eat their breakfast so quickly," Grandpa said, not looking up from his newspaper.

"Sorry, sometimes I feel as though I could eat a horse first thing in the morning."

"You'd better hurry up, Nicky. You don't want to be late picking the others up, especially if Joel has yet to leave his bed," Granny said, shaking her head.

"Alrighty. Any word on him Kenz?"

"He sent a message to the chat about ten minutes ago, but that doesn't mean anything. Knowing him he sent it and then went back to bed."

"That kid needs an alarm clock, or an uncomfortable bed," Grandpa said, brushing the crumbs out of his beard. "Grab your stuff kid, time to go."

"Okay."

Brushing my hands off, I reached down beside me and snatched the pair of gloves I had stashed in there earlier. Even with the car ride cutting out our travel time, it didn't exactly cut out the cold air. Everyone went to school prepared for a worst-case scenario -the power cutting out- which meant Winter clothes were in abundance. The school had even given permission for students to wear outside jackets around the school since not even the central heating was enough to keep people warm. Even our PE lessons had been moved inside, to our delight and Miss Ryan's hatred. The cold weather had turned everything up on its head, at least for us.

Slipping on the gloves, I made sure my scarf was wrapped around as tightly as possible before swinging my back onto my back. Despite saying it was time to leave, Grandpa was taking his sweet time in getting ready, not that that was a rare occasion. He brushed out his beard, brushed off his jump and even wiped his hands on a napkin before finally standing up. He snatched the jacket up from the back of his chair and swung it on, rubbing his gloved hands together. "Right, let's go!"

"Drive safely, Nicky, the roads are said to be really icy out," Granny said, standing up and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Have a good day, Kenz, don't pick any more fights with your Maths teacher."

"I won't. I should be getting the results of my Maths test today so who knows what sort of mood she'll be in," I said, laughing.

"Try not to aggravate her more, she already dislikes you as much as it is, don't aggravate the situation more than necessary."

"I don't do it on purpose, she just has it out for me. I'll try and reign my frustration in, though, for the sake of it. Don't expect a good report come December if anything it'll be one of the worst."

"We'll just have to wait and see, maybe she'll surprise you. Now get going, go on!"

Shooting a smile in Granny's direction, Grandpa and I exited the kitchen through the back door and negated our way through the garden and into the garage. Sitting in the semi-warmth of the car, we set off to pick Niska and Joel up along the way, though the difficulty, for once, came from the snow rather than Joel's refusal to get up. Granny had warned us that the ground was icy, she said nothing about the snow that was beginning to fall in small clumps. It started as a simply flurry, small pieces of snow fluttering down from the sky and melting the instant they touch the ground. Eventually, it grew into something that resembled more of a blizzard.

In the end, Grandpa decided the struggle in getting the car to school and back was not worth the hassle it was causing. Instead, he pulled over, just a short distance away from the school and told us it would have been better to run the rest of the way rather than having the car skid off the road and into a ditch. The car would remain on the side of the road and Grandpa would use his own means of making it home rather than risk walking around in the storm. I wanted nothing more than to use my Magic to either calm the storm, if that was a possibility, or go from the car to the school building within a matter of seconds. Only I couldn't. I was with Niska and Joel, and besides, I said I wouldn't use Magic for stupid reasons, though that's what Grandpa was doing.

"If we run, I'm going to slip over," Niska said, pulling her coat tightly around her.

"Better slippin' over then freezin' half to death. This storm is getting' worse by the second," Joel added.

"We'd better go. If the snow gets any worse we might end up walking backwards," I said, trying to make a joke, though I failed miserably.

With the three of us wrapped up like little children, we continued our way to school at a brisker pace than a normal person. The snow continued to fall at a rapid rate, limiting our vision to the point the only markings we had were the street lights. By the time we arrived at school, the three of us were wet through, freezing and wanted nothing more than to sit by a warm fire with a hot drink and dry off. I had lived my entire life through snowstorms, but none as violent and aggressive as this. It was as though the storm wasn't so much a natural storm, but a storm that had manipulated into construction to unsettle the normal life we lived. To turn everything up on its head in order to create mass-confusion to everyone.

It was a Magical storm.

Magical storms were often considered to be rare occurrences, seeing as the only person capable of producing such a storm was Jack Frost, but since his fight with Papa, he didn't have the Magical capability to create it. At least that's what I thought was the case. The fight had happened when I was a baby, almost fourteen years prior, but what I knew of Jacks Magical capabilities was limited. What I did know, is that after that conversation with Granny and Grandpa in the café, Jack was the only one powerful enough to create a storm as big as this one, especially as it only got worse as the day progressed.

By the afternoon, and the dreaded Maths lesson with Mrs Reynolds had rolled around, I was no warmer then I had been since arriving. I had kept my gloves on throughout the day, but my scarf had been abandoned in my bag because it could be rinsed out in the sink if I tried it. Joel and Niska were no better, but we didn't exactly have any other option. Instead, we struggled through the day, for me, I was dreading finding out the results of the Maths test, especially as Mrs Reynolds was likely to read it out in front of everyone. It was bad enough when my entrance exam was read out, this was a whole other level of stress. If I hadn't improved, then all that revision with Joel would have been for nothing.

"I know the storm is exciting since it is the heaviest snow we're likely to receive, but please sit down! All of you! I have an important notice to give you all," Mrs Reynolds said.

"Here we go," I muttered to Niska.

"First order of business, Miss Claus, if you would stand for me a moment. I do not make a habit of reading students results in front of everyone, but I feel I must given the circumstances. As you know, when you took your entrance exam several weeks ago, your result was a C grade. This time, having had no warning of the exam in question, you received a mid-B grade. Although it might pain me to say it, but well done. It shows some kind of improvement in your abilities."

"Well, thanks, I think," I said, though I'm not entirely sure if I meant it or not.

"Keep it up. You can sit down now," Mrs Reynolds said.

As I sat down, I looked over to Niska who had one of the biggest grins on her face I had ever seen. Both her and Joel had worked tirelessly to try and improve my lax Maths skills and, despite never showing any promise in it, neither of them gave up. I wouldn't have received that B grade if it hadn't been for the two of them struggling to get me to understand the simplest of Maths problems. Not only had I beaten my entrance exam grade, I did so without the aid of Magic. Without having to cheat my way through it. It was the first time, other than my artwork, where I felt I had achieved something without having to use Magic. For once I had done something right.

Knowing that I had managed to succeed in my Maths test put everything else from my mind, the wet clothes, the snow, the chance that Jack Frost might have been up to something. It all just vanished as though it never existed, at least for a short while. Doing well in that test was more important to me then what was going on outside the school gates. It meant that no matter how bad I thought I was at something if I worked at it, I could do it. All I needed to do was put that to use whenever I faced a challenge that was too difficult for me. It might have been a lame, or perhaps even Cliché way of thinking, but it worked so I wasn't going to put it to shame. At least not yet.

"Well done," Niska muttered as Mrs Reynolds began to explain the work to us in her usual drawl manor.

"Thanks. Wouldn't have happened if you and Joel weren't so determined to help me since the entrance exam," I said, laughing slightly.

"I said we were miracle workers. Besides, we both know what she's like to anyone who doesn't show any sort of promise in her subject. She already thinks you're a witch, no point making it worse by showing how much you suck at Maths."

"Yeah, well. The witch thing will blow over. There is no way she thinks I conjured that storm," I said, gesturing to the window.

Outside, the storm continued to rage on, having gotten progressively worse as the school day had gone on. The blizzard was raging so badly it impossible to see, even looking out of the window we were met with a swirling white cloud of nothing. It was impossible to make anything out, even if you were standing right next to it. A couple of rumours circulated just before lunch that they were going to close the school for the afternoon, just in case people couldn't make it home. However, since everyone made it in, the idea of not being to make it home came across as a stupid one, though the decision to keep the school open was stupid to the rest of us. The snow was getting worse and roads were becoming impassable, at least from where we were standing. Either that or we just wanted to go home earlier.

Personally, I wanted nothing more than to get out of the wet clothes I had been forced to sit in all day. There was also a small inkling at the back of my mind that I needed to talk to Papa, at least regarding the storm. The only problem being my last attempt to use the Bubble hadn't ended very well and the conversation had cut out long before it had even finished, I didn't want to risk it happening again. Yet I felt as though I needed to run my suspicion by Papa, just to make sure. There was nothing worse than thinking something but having no way to confirm it. If he could confirm that Jack Frost was no longer a threat, then the storm would have been a freak weather incident. Then again, a freak weather incident on that scale didn't seem likely. Checking in with Papa was the only thing I could think of that might have eased my mind, albeit only slightly but it was whether he took me seriously, something he rarely did if he could help it.

By the time school let out that afternoon, snow covered a lot of the ground and it was still falling from the sky. Many parents had decided not to risk driving through the snow just in case so many of us were subjected to walking through the bitter cold winds and the icy ground which was a slipping hazard. Not even my snow boots were good enough. Niska suffered more than anyone. She wasn't capable of walking on ice at the best of times, let alone during a storm that meant ice and snow were everywhere you stepped. Every step she took, she always went over and, whilst it was funny to me, it wasn't funny for her. Not that I could laugh too much at her misfortune, my snow boots weren't doing too great when it came to crossing the snow.

Arriving home, I was wet, cold and wanted nothing more than to curl up in my duvet and refuse to move for days at a time. Changing out of my wet clothes was all that I managed to do before I summoned to the living room by Granny. Slipping on my dressing gown, I slid across the landing and down the stairs in my socks, greeting her in the hallway just outside the living room. "How did the maths test go?" she asked.

"I got a B, I don't even think Mrs Reynolds believed it," I said.

"See, I knew you could do it! Who knows, maybe you'll get a most improved on your report."

"I doubt that. She still thinks I'm a witch and probably reckons I managed to hoodwink the test, so I got all the answers right. I promise that I didn't use any of my Magic to answer the test and did it all on my own back, well, with the help of Niska and Joel that is."

"We'll have to find a way to thank them for that. You've got some good friends there, Kenzie, and you'd better hold onto them."

"That sounds weird, Granny, but sure, I'll try. I don't think they're going anywhere anytime soon. I have some homework to do so I'm going to go and do it, so I don't end up in some kind of detention for not doing it," I lied.

"Off you go then I'll call you when dinner's ready."

With a smile in her direction, I threw myself back up the stairs and skated out onto the hallway, running through the plan in my head. The Bubble was kept in Grandpa's study to stop Nick or I trying to use it and breaking it, not that that was possible. We were supposed to use it with permission and help from an adult, but seeing as the topic was a little peculiar, I figured it would be better if I tried to use it on my own. It wasn't as if I didn't know how to use it, it was knowing whether there would be someone on the other side to answer the call. Normally, the time had been arranged at the previous meeting rather than used without any knowledge of the next meeting. At this point, it was a hoping kind of situation.

Creeping across the hallway, I rapped my knuckles against the door to Grandpa's study, listening out for the reply. After several seconds I silence, I slowly pushed the door open and let myself in. I glanced around to make sure Grandpa wasn't hiding from me, not that there were many places to hide in his study, but with him, you never knew. With the study clear, I stepped into the room and shut the door behind me, so I couldn't be caught too easily, I then began to rummage around in the drawers to find the Bubble. With no luck in the drawers, I moved on to the cupboards, pushing stacks of paper out the way before I finally came across the device at the very back of the cupboard.

Grabbing it, I briefly listened outside of the door to make sure no one was coming before opening the door and sneaking back to my room with the Bubble safely stashed away. Placing the Bubble on my desk, I spun around in the chair to face it, looking at its shining face as I began to wonder whether the plan would be a good idea. The Bubble stared back at me, the smooth surface of the sphere glinting against the light from the bedroom. I stared into the reflective surface, debating going through the plan, or if it was just a stupid idea that wasn't going to amount to anything, at least not in the long run.

Eventually, after about ten minutes of staring blankly at the Bubble, I decided it was best if I just went for it. There was no point going through all that hassle to retrieve the Bubble if I was just going to give up and refuse to try and figure out what was causing the storm. As someone who grew up with snow storms every few months, I knew what was normal and what wasn't. The storm outside was beyond normal, at least from a Magical perspective. Everything about it echoed the type of Magic Jack Frost was capable of, yet he was supposed to trapped and stripped of all possible Magical ability. Only what if he hadn't been? I needed to know.

"Nicholas Claus, North Pole," I said to the Bubble. Holding my breath, I watched as the once smooth surface melted away as a grey fog filled the sphere. Slowly, the fog began to clear, and the image of my father took centre stage.

"Mackenzie? I thought your Grandfather was trying to contact me. What are you doing on the Bubble?" Papa said, glaring down at me over the top of his glasses. Whenever he looked over his glasses, it was a sure sign he was angry. I wasn't going to keep him any longer than necessary, especially if he intended to glare at me for so long.

"I needed to ask you a question. Don't worry, it won't take very long, I've got homework I should be doing," I said.

"Very well. Ask away."

"Is it possible for Jack Frost to create superstorms despite his imprisonment?"

"Why do you ask?"

"A storm kicked off earlier today, seemingly out of nowhere. I've seen snowstorms, and this one is far from normal. Even Granny admitted at this storm is rare, I was just curious as to whether he could have made it," I said, trying to act casually.

"From my recollection, it's not possible for Jack Frost to be able to create a storm, especially a superstorm from his current location. Even if it were possible, he doesn't have the Magical capability to create a storm, we made sure of that when he was imprisoned in the first place. It's probably a normal storm and your imagination has gotten the best of you, it wouldn't be the first time."

"But what if-" I began.

"Enough, Mackenzie. There is no way the storm was created by Jack Frost. Whatever is happening with the weather has nothing to do with him, unless you are doubting my abilities. You seem, if memory serves me correctly, to have a fascination with Jack. Were you not dressed as Jack for Halloween this year? Maybe that has gone to your head a little bit and you're imagining things that aren't possible."

"Yeah, maybe," I muttered, not convinced.

"Can I get back to my work now? As you know, we are reaching the busiest time of the year and work is piling up."

"Of course, sorry to bother you. Bye."

With that, the image of Papa was gone, the fog came back, and the Bubble fell still. He didn't even say goodbye. Despite what Papa may have said, the flippant comment regarding my Halloween costume and the idea of me being obsessed with Jack Frost, I still believed my theory. Papa hadn't seen the storm, he didn't know what it was like to be in something that didn't feel normal, that felt off. He was making an assumption on what I had done in the past and used that against me. In all honesty, I thought my time away may have made him softer towards, but it hadn't. He remained as arrogant towards me as he always had. It was as though nothing was going to change, at least not in the long run.

If it was Jack Frost causing the storm, if it was more supernatural then natural, I was going to be the one to sort it. Papa didn't believe me and there was no way I was telling Granny and Grandpa about my theory in case they went running to Mama and Papa. Whatever was going on, I was going to have to deal with it. The only problem being, I didn't know where to begin. 

 ~~~

A/N - First chapter of 2018! I'm sorry for it coming as late as it is, obviously Wattpad had problems that limited my chance to post last night so I apologise for that immensely!

We are burning through the book at the moment guys! There are ten planned chapters left before Last Christmas joins Dear Theodosia in the official list of books I've completed! Which is a terrifying prospect to be honest. 

Anyway, this was an interesting chapter... We got to see more of Kenzie's dad, and that didn't go too well. What do you think about the storm? Is it Magical? Natural? Is Jack Frost doing it, or someone else entirely? I want to know your thoughts!

Don't forget to comment below if you enjoyed, vote and add to your reading list so you never miss an update!

Dedication - This chapter is dedicated to treblehearts who has an amazing completed book called 'A Thousand Words' that you should all check out, it's seriously amazing!

First Published - January 5th, 2018