CHAPTER 11 — Frostpetal Street
Snow crunched beneath my boots as I stepped off the Frostroad and onto the outskirts of Winterreach.
The city wasn't loud, not the way I expected. It breathed — long, slow, steady — like an iceberg humming beneath the surface. Homes made of pale stone curved along the main roads, their rooftops dusted in thick white frost. Soft-blue lanterns glowed along the streets, casting gentle light across walking paths without breaking the nighttime calm.
It felt… beautiful.
Alive.
And absolutely freezing.
My robe fluttered behind me as a cold wind swept through, and I tightened the sash around my waist. The satchel bumped lightly against my hip.
Garron's words echoed in my mind.
"Follow the Frostroad. Winterreach rises like an ice crown."
He wasn't wrong. The main gates carved into the tall white wall resembled the tips of frozen spires. Guards in silver-blue armor stood watch, their cloaks heavy with fur. They barely glanced my way — just another traveler in a city that saw many.
I walked through the gate, the ring hiding my rabbit race, making me look more like a young elf than anything else.
The street signs confused me almost immediately.
FROSTBLOOM WAY
FROSTFALL COURT
FROSTPETAL STREET
Every damn name had the word frost in it.
"Garron definitely said Frostpetal Street... I think," I muttered.
Then immediately doubted myself.
I took a left. Walked a bit. Realized this was Frostfall Court.
Turned around. Walked right. Ended up on Frostflower Row.
"How many flower names can one city have—?"
I sighed, rubbing my temples.
People passed me in warm coats, ears poking through hats — some pointed, some human like, some long and animal ones. Beastfolk and humans mixed freely. Merchants shouted prices at bundled customers. A few kids threw snow at each other.
It was lively, but not chaotic.
I continued walking, hoping I'd find someone who looked approachable, who could give me directions to the Harewyn Estate.... But most pedestrians seemed busy or in a hurry.
That's when I saw her.
A flash of pale blue hair caught the corner of my vision. I turned — and froze.
She stood beneath a frost-lantern, speaking to two attendants who hovered a respectful half-step behind her. Her hair, a long, soft river of icy blue, framed a face too delicate to be anything but noble-born — she had smooth skin, doll-like features, and light-blue eyes that carried a sharpness beneath the innocence.
She wore a white dress layered beneath a pale grey cloak, fur trimming the edges. Two long rabbit ears sat atop her head, twitching once as she listened to her attendants. A pair of smaller elf-like ears peeked through her hair as well.
A Snowhare.
Just like me.
Well… sort of. She had the features I was supposed to have, but mine were hiddenmunder the illusion.
I slowed as my eyes locked on her. She was absolutely stunning, not to mention this was the first person I'd seen who looked remotely like the race I belonged to now.
And she wasn't surrounded by a crowd. No guards with spears. No the crowed seem to part around her.
If anyone could help me navigate the city — or find the Harewyn estate — it would be her.
Ok, Kyree, don't be weird. Just walk up and ask for directions. Nothing strange about that.
I inhaled, smoothed my robe, steadied my voice, and stepped forward.
"Excuse me," I said as I approached.
Both attendants stiffened instantly.
One, the taller of the two, stepped forward with narrowed eyes.
"Hold. Who do you think you're speaking to?"
The second one glared sharply. "Show respect when addressing nobility, outsider."
Ah.
So she was important.
I kept my posture calm and my tone smooth.
"My apologies. I only—"
"Kneel," the first guard snapped. "Immediately. Perhaps then Lady Isabelle will overlook your disrespect—"
"Enough." The girl spoke.
Her voice was soft, but it cut through their scolding like a blade of frost.
The attendants stepped back immediately, heads bowed.
She turned her gaze on me fully — and for the first time, I felt the weight of her presence. She has this calm air about her making her cool but looked at me with curious eyes. With an intelligence that flickered behind her eyes like moonlight on clear water.
"Not everyone in the world knows my face, Gale," she said to the attendant. "Or my title."
Then, to me:
"You wished to speak to me?"
Her tone wasn't hostile.
Just… interested.
I bowed my head slightly — not a kneel, but a respectful dip — and hoped my voice didn't crack.
"Yes. Forgive the intrusion. I arrived in Winterreach today and I'm looking for directions."
Her attendants exchanged looks, one scoffing quietly, but she merely raised an eyebrow.
"Directions? To where?"
I reached into my satchel and pulled out Garron's sealed letter, keeping it visible without revealing the crest on the seal.
"To the Harewyn estate," I said. "I was asked to deliver this to Lord Harewyn personally."
The moment I spoke, something shifted.
Her gaze snapped from my face to the letter, then back again — sharper now, evaluating.
The guards fell silent.
"I see," she said quietly. "And who sent you?"
"I come from Coldwood Forest," I answered. "This letter is from Lord, Garron Winterpelt. The Guardian of this grove... and uh... the Protector and Watcher of the Coldwood Forest.""
Her eyes widened — just barely — before she schooled her face back to neutrality. The attendants, however, visibly tensed.
"Garron… sent you?"
"Yes, my lady." I bowed a little, and looked down waiting her reply. I wasn't sure what was going, but the air had shifted once I mentioned the Harewyns and I couldn't tell what she was thinking of when I said this letter was from Garron.
She studied me with a new intensity — not suspicion, but real curiosity.
Then her lips curved.
Just a small smile.
"Very well," she said. "I will guide you to my father."
She stepped forward, her cloak fluttering softly behind her as she passed me.
Then she glanced back over her shoulder — eyes half-lidded, voice light.
"Try to keep up, elfboy."
My mouth opened.
"Elf—? I'm not—"
"Mm. Whatever you say." she smirked. And started walking again.
The attendants followed, shooting me a mix of irritation and reluctant acceptance.
I exhaled.
…Okay.
That actually went better than expected. Who would've guesses that she was Lord Harewyns daughter... that made things easier at least.
I secured my satchel and hurried after her, catching up as we turned down a main road flanked by pale lanterns.
She didn't slow.
"So," she said without looking at me, "a stranger bearing a message from a guardian beast? That's rare."
"I'm not a messenger by trade," I said. "Just someone who owed him… a great deal."
She glanced at me sidelong — the kind of glance that yields more information than a full stare.
"Hm. Interesting."
For a moment, silence settled between us, broken only by boots crunching over snow.
Then she added, tone airy and teasing:
"You walk well for someone lost."
I huffed a quiet, self-conscious laugh. "You'd be surprised how many wrong Frost-streets I took."
"Oh, I'm sure," she said, amused. "Winterreach is merciless to the directionally challenged."
We reached a gentle rise in the stone road, and beyond it…
A fucking castle.
Tall walls of pale marble, were built as if to defy the heavens. Banners fluttering with the sigil of a silver hare framed in frost.
The noble district, I had thought was elegant. But there was a goddam castle in front of me.
Isabelle finally stopped and turned to me — the moon catching in her pale-blue hair.
"Welcome to Frostpetal Street," she said elegantly. "Home of the Harewyn family."
My heart thudded once, hard.
This was it.
My first step toward discovering what being a Snowhare meant.
My first step toward a new future.
She tilted her head slightly, a small smile on her lips.
"Come along, elf boy. Father doesn't like to be kept waiting."
I tightened my grip on the satchel, swallowed the knot in my throat, and followed her through the gates of the Harewyn estate.