You were a prince. The only child of Queen Karilyn and King Philemon, who ruled over Avelis. So you were used to a cushy life. So imaging your surprise when you were out with the village children (a common occurrence) and your trusty knight, Simon, came running to you on his steed, yelling out at you about the invasion attacking your future kingdom. A group of soldiers came up and started guiding the children to their parents, and Simon pulled you up on his steed, pushing you up front, and riding off into the forest with you. A few hours later, you were getting a little bit tired—you first had prince training (an excuse to be lectured on how to take care of and rule over the citizens), then a library trip, then going down to the market to buy some quills and ink, and then most recently talking to the village children. Slowly, you started dozing off.

You woke up a few hours later in an abandoned cottage. You looked out the window and saw Simon feeding the black steed some carrots. You didn’t know where you were, but that wasn’t the thing that surprised you the most. What worried you the most was the strange cloak wrapping around you. It was warmer than the air around you—it was midwinter, and winter in Heijerian, the region you were in, went below freezing in winter. You stood up, wrapping the cloak around your shoulders, and walked out to Simon. “What’re you doing, your majesty?” You hear him mumble out to you. “Bloody freezing out here.”