"Blast it all," Hester muttered as she rushed to the weather globe.

The large, brass-plated orb should have been filled with flower buds and green grass bathed in warm sunlight and perhaps just a drizzle of rain.

It should not have been the scene of a snow squall.

Turning the knobs and adjusting the gears, Hester tried to force the snow back. "It's Spring's turn," she mumbled. "Your time is over, Winter. Please accept this. You'll be back in a year's time. Although, with your impatience it will likely be earlier."

After a few more adjustments to the various gears, the snow began to recede. Releasing a sigh of relief, Hester smiled at the flowers in the globe. A little frostbitten, but nothing too damaging. The folks of Gaffindale city would be surprised to have experienced such unexpected weather, surely, but it wasn't entirely unusual.

Out of all the seasons, Winter was the most difficult one to control. Autumn was quiet and graceful in its arrival and departure, and Spring was gentle and patient. Summer occasionally gave her a hassle, but it was so lazy that it relented quickly. But Winter was ruthless. Always trying to barge in early and never wanting to leave on time.

"So impatient," she said as she collapsed into the chair set before the controls.

Something popped behind her, and she spun around to see snow streaming through a break in one of the pipes.

"Oh, blast," she said as she ran to fetch her welder.

Another pop. She turned to find a break in a second pipe. A third pop caught her attention, and a fourth. Heart pounding, she made a dash for her toolbox when there was a sickening crack. Stopping mid-stride, she turned to the weather globe.

Her stomach sank.

The weather globe had turned into more of a giant snow globe. The squall was pressing against the glass, causing a long fissure to form. She watched in horror as the snow forced itself against the crack, weakening it until—

"No!"

But it was too late. The glass shattered, and the snow was now enveloping the room. Hester shielded herself against the attack as she blindly reached for the controls. However, the cold bit at her fingers, numbing them until she could no longer feel them.

Tremors overtook her body, and she collapsed to her knees. She rubbed her arms in a desperate attempt to stave off the cold, but she could already feel the ice forming on her eyelashes and around her nose.

With a trembling breath, she tried one last time to reach for the controls. A gust of wind knocked her over, and she fell face-first into the snow that had already accumulated on the floor. Forcing herself to turn onto her back, she gazed up at the domed glass ceiling nearly rendered invisible by the flurries.

As her eyes fluttered closed, she took one final breath and uttered into the frigid air three words:

"Blast you, Winter."