Frostbitten Fairy Tales

by Melanie Karsak

  I looked inside to find the loft was entirely dark and freezing cold.

  “Kai?” I whispered into the darkness.

  There was no answer.

  Frowning, I closed the window then sat down on the roof between our garrets. The flower pots between the windows sat empty, the dead plants clinging lifelessly to the sides. I looked up at the sky. The moon was shining. How many summer nights had Kai and I spread out a blanket on the roof and lay looking at the stars? And before it was just the two of us, our grandmothers sat with us, giving us lemonade and sweets as we watched the moon drift across the night’s sky. And now, where was Kai?

  I stared at the moon. And then I remembered the baron’s gift.

  I pulled the mirror from my pocket. I looked into it, seeing a look on my face that I didn’t recognize. I looked very sad. “Why so sad, Elyse? You’ll be Lady Waldegrave by tomorrow night.”

  As the moonlight shimmered down onto the mirror, the sparkling silver took on a strange hue. The looking glass glowed with a blue light.

  “Isn’t that what you want, Lady Waldegrave?” I whispered to myself then looked back at Kai’s dark window.

  I looked once more into the mirror. The image therein surprised me. I saw myself, smiling as if the sun shone down on me. For a moment, the image fogged and a hand appeared on my shoulder, another face coming into frame behind me. Kai set a sweet kiss on my bare neck before he looked up at me through the mirror and smiled.

  Yelping, I dropped the mirror into my lap.

  My hands trembled.

  I squeezed my eyes closed and drowned out the voice inside me that yelled things that did not make sense. I loved John. Surely I did. I loved him, didn’t I? But if I did, if I truly did, then why could I not shake the sense that my affection for John was nothing more than a whim, no stronger than Kai’s attraction to the captain? If I truly loved him, why couldn’t I shake the sense that marrying John would cost me the one thing I valued the most? Kai.

  Moving carefully, I picked up the mirror and slipped it back into my pocket. I didn’t dare look at again. I went back inside my garret apartment and locked the window behind me. I lay down on my bed, sliding the mirror under my pillow. I could hear Granny nagging at me to remove my coat and boots, but I couldn’t get up. I closed my eyes, feeling the tears prick at the corners. The hot tears slid down my cheeks, and sobs followed. I wept so hard my body shook.

  I groaned then clutched the blankets with my hands, squeezing them into fists.

  “Kai, where are you?”

  Chapter 23: Lord John Waldegrave

  I woke the next morning in the hope that Kai had returned during the night, but still, his window was dark. Had John failed to retrieve him? Was he ill? Hurt? Had Kai sent John away, preferring to stay with the captain? A dark mood fell over me as I considered that the captain’s jealousness might cause her to do something rash. Surely, I was being paranoid.

  In a wretched mood, I dressed and headed back to the river. My stomach felt like someone had tied it into knots. I needed to do something. Things couldn’t drag on like this with me not knowing what had befallen Kai, even if it was just a lusty interlude.

  When I arrived at the Ice House Theatre, I found that the backstage tent had been stripped down to her bare bones. The wagon waited outside so it could be loaded at the first warning that the Frost Fair was done. Inside the tent, I heard the voices of my fellow players as they prepared for the morning show.

  I went to my section and began preparing for the morning pantomime. I slipped on Persephone’s costume then worked on fixing my hair.

  I knew I should feel excited, but I could not. Instead, I felt frightened. I was supposed to get married tonight, to elope with a man I loved. It was everything a girl like me should have wanted. But if so, why did I feel so sad?

  I picked up the makeup brush to line my eyes when Marve called me.

  “Elyse? Are you in yet?”

  “Yes, I’m here.”

  A moment later, Marve arrived at my partition. I could see his shadow on the other side of the dressing screen as he hesitated.

  “I’m dressed.”

  Marve chuckled then turned the corner. “Ah, yes. Here is Persephone. You were so quiet this morning that I thought you were running late.”

  I gave him a half-smile.

  “What’s the matter?” Marve asked, his forehead furrowing.

  I shook my head. “It’s nothing.”

  “My dear, you have been in my company for five years. Don’t tell me it’s nothing.”

  “I’m all right, just distracted.”

  Marve nodded then began rocking back and forth on his heels. “Well, perhaps this will cheer you. A gentleman in the audience asked me to send you this before the performance,” he said then handed me a box.

  “A gentleman?”

  Marve nodded. “He said there is a note inside.”

  “What’s in it?” I asked.

  “I have no idea,” Marve replied then pulled out his pocket watch. “But I do know we are on in ten,” he said with a smile then turned and headed to the stage.

  I slid open the box. Gently, I lifted a pair of new ballerina slippers from the box. The shocking red of the silk thereon was unlike anything I had ever seen. It was the red of a brand new rose, a heady, luxurious color.

  At the bottom of the box was a folded note:

  For Miss McKenna,

  A small token of my gratitude and esteem.

  Lord John Waldegrave.

  I chuckled. A light in the darkness, here was an unexpected gift from John. Why hadn’t Marve just told me it was from him? Perhaps he didn’t want to ruin the surprise.

  I slid off my boots and slipped on the red slippers. They were perfect. I tied the long red ribbons around my ankles.

  “Oh, Elyse,” Lizzie said in an excited gasp.

  I turned to find her standing at the entrance of my section.

  “They’re so beautiful. Who are they from?” she asked.

  “John.” But I hadn’t told him about what had happened to my old slippers, had I? I couldn’t remember. Perhaps he just wanted to surprise me. I tied the other red silk ribbon into a neat bow then admired my feet.

  “Such a fine gift. They’re so lovely,” she said with a smile. “So tonight is the night,” she whispered in a low voice.

  I nodded, feeling that terrible sense of dread once more.

  Lizzie eyed me curiously, then her forehead furrowed. “Here, let me do your makeup,” she said, lifting the blush brush.

  I turned and faced her.

  “Are you nervous?” Lizzie asked lightly, but there was an odd catch in her voice.

  “I…I don’t know what I am feeling today.”

  “And Doctor Murray? What has he to say on this matter?”

  “He…he doesn’t know.”

  At that, Lizzie stopped. “Elyse, are you very sure this is what you want?”

  I looked down at the red slippers.

  “Not the title, not the red slippers, is he the man you want? Do you love him?” Lizzie asked.

  “I…it’s what any of us dream of, isn’t it? A fine title? A man of station? An estate and life of ease?”

  “Maybe,” Lizzie said. “Maybe, but if this is what you really want, why do you look so sad? Is it the elopement? We are actresses. An attachment with women of our station is always undesirable. Has he made you feel embarrassed?”

  “No. He told me he was prepared for some gossip but that it would pass. No. It’s not that, it’s just…”

  Lizzie looked at me. “Doctor Murray?”

  I nodded. I felt my tears threaten.

  “Don’t cry. You’ll ruin your makeup,” Lizzie said with a soft smile.

  I took a deep breath and steadied myself.

  “Ah, my dear, what can we ladies do? I do not envy you this trouble, but if I can help you, you must tell me,” Lizzie said.

  “Thank you.”

  “Five minutes,” Marve called.


  Lizzie picked up the eye makeup brush. “Close your eyes, Persephone. It’s almost time to be dragged to hell.”

  Once Lizzie and I were done, I hurried backstage where the others waited. Upon seeing me, Marve signaled to Skippy and a flutter of chimes sounded indicating that the show was about to begin.

  I slipped off my coat, pulled my red slipper-covered feet from inside my boots, which I’d worn to protect the slippers from the snow, then straightened my costume.

  “In a sunny meadow outside Athens, the Goddess Persephone brings forth spring’s delights,” Hannah, speaking as the chorus, announced. With a tinkle of chimes, the curtain opened.

  I closed my eyes and tried to shut all my worries away. I was Persephone, the Goddess of spring. It was a sunny morning, and I was out picking flowers for my mother. Taking a deep breath, I took my first step in the red slippers. The shoes molded to my feet, the soft silk covering the stiff bones of the slipper keeping the foot in shape. I spun onto the stage, bending with graceful shapes, trying to echo the beauty of flowers growing in the meadow.

  Dancing in the pantomimes was one of my favorite things to do on stage. Save the chorus, it was up to the actors to make the scenes work since there was little to no dialogue. All expression came from the face and movements of the actors. Bending gracefully, I pretended to pick flowers as Josiah played a light tune on a harp. I bent and danced, twirling on my new slippers which held my feet perfectly. How had John even known my size?

  The movement of the scene was such that I hardly had a moment to pause. Only when the faux wind started to blow after I’d followed a random line of narcissus blossoms, leading me to the section of the stage where Hobbs as Hades waited for me, did I have a chance to scan the audience.

  I looked quickly and in earnest for John but did not spy his familiar green jacket. The audience was mostly full, the rough benches lined with people, but it was not overflowing. It was not nearly as cold as it had been on prior days. I glanced out over the ice. Many more tents were gone.

  The harp chimed a menacing tone, and I turned to see Hades, dressed in the mask of a plague doctor, emerge from his underground lair. He had come for me.

  Slipping back into character, I was, once more, lost to Persephone.

  Hades and I then raced about the stage, a commedia in truth, until I was taken to hell where I moped unhappily while the world above me froze. Only when my mother Demeter, as played by Agnes, came for me did I shine once more. Add in a scene with the juggling of pomegranates, a slapstick battle between Hades and Demeter, and the commedia was over.

  There was only a fifteen-minute intermission until the showing of Glass Slipper Girl. I rushed to our backstage to slip into the costume of the faerie godmother. By the time I had finally changed, it was nearly time for the second performance to begin. When I returned to the backstage area, Lizzie had taken up my spot by the gap in the wooden slat and was looking out.

  “Lizzie,” I whispered. “Do you see John anywhere?”

  She held up a finger then looked in earnest. “No,” she whispered back to me, “but look just outside the tent.” She leaned back so I could see.

  Standing just outside was Marve and the Frost Fair marshall. The marshall was motioning to the stage while Marve listened, rocking back and forth on his feet.

  “A large section of the ice below London Bridge cracked open. I overheard some people talking in line when I stopped for a bun this morning,” Lizzie whispered.

  “Looks like we’re being closed down,” I said then leaned back.

  Lizzie sighed. It was then that I noticed she was still wearing her snowflake pendant. It shimmered in the morning sunlight. A prism of rainbows cast all around the stage near us. I lifted my hand, letting the light refract on my palm.

  Lizzie smiled. “You’ve caught a rainbow. And what about your mirror? Do you have it with you?”

  “In my coat pocket.”

  “I didn’t see your Frost Fair Prince this morning. He usually attends the shows.”

  I nodded.

  Where had John gone? Was he planning to come back after the show? We needed to talk about what had happened with Kai and the plan for the evening. I still had no notion of when and where to meet him. Did he presume I would just get dolled up as a bride and sit and wait for him at the theatre? No. That was not his way. It was wrong of me to think so ill of him. But once more I remembered the man at the chocolate stand with the girl with the red bonnet. I was so certain it had been John.

  “Elyse?” Lizzie said then, and I could tell by the sound of her voice it was not the first time she’d called my name.

  I looked at my outstretched hand which still held the blob of rainbow-colored hues.

  Lizzie slipped the pendant back inside her gown. The rainbows disappeared.

  Marve was standing there. I realized then that I had missed the first part of the conversation.

  “…so tonight will be the last performance. They’re moving everyone off after ten. They expect the ice to start flowing in earnest by midday tomorrow if the warm weather persists.”

  The other actors moaned softly in protest.

  A terrible thought gripped my heart. If the ice began to flow and Kai was still aboard Captain Behra’s ship, then what? Would he leave with her? I bit my lip so hard it hurt.

  “…nevertheless, the show must go on, but the Frost Fair is done after tonight’s performance,” Marve said.

  At that, the company got busy preparing for our final performance of Glass Slipper Girl. I took the spot by the gap in the slat as the play began. Lizzie took center stage and prepared to be mistreated by Agnes, who now played the role of the wicked stepmother in Marion’s absence.

  I watched the commotion outside the Ice House Theatre. Wagons moved to and fro on the ice as everyone began to leave. The crowd, I noted, had thinned out for the second performance.

  In no time, the poor cinder girl’s wicked family had reduced her to tears and despair just hours before the ball was set to begin. Picking up my wand and readying myself in my red slippers, I once more took to the stage to give my faerie goddaughter a healthy dose of friendly faerie advice and a new pair of shoes. Before I knew it, the performance was done. I hurried backstage to change, leaving my Titania costume in Hannah’s section before I headed back out onto the ice.

  “Elyse,” Skippy said, running up to me as I exited the tent. “A message.”

  I took the paper from him.

  “Miss McKenna, may I request a few moments of your time? With my sincere thanks, Lord John Waldegrave.”

  “Where is he?” I asked Skippy, my brows furrowing. Was John trying to be funny?

  “The gentleman? He’s still inside,” he said, motioning to the theatre.

  Nodding, I put the note in my pocket and headed back into the theatre. When I arrived, the theatre was empty save Josiah clearing the last of the props from the stage. Tonight’s performance would certainly be bare. Aside from Josiah, a gentleman stood in the middle of the theatre, his hands behind his back in the most proper of stances, as he watched Josiah work. He wore a fine top hat and a black coat cut from expensive-looking material. He had a fine cut and dark, curly hair, but he was not John.

  “See you later, Elyse,” Josiah called from the stage as he pushed one of the props, a snowy tree from the Forest of Arden, backstage.

  At that, the gentleman turned.

  Surprising me, the man smiled then removed his top hat. He bowed nicely then looked up at me. After a moment, he chuckled.

  “Miss McKenna, I do believe you don’t recognize me,” he said.

  “I’m…I’m sorry. I was looking for someone. My apologies. Do I…do I know you?”

  He nodded and moved toward me. “Yes, indeed. Perhaps you’d recognize me better if I had a cloud of onion soup perfume hanging around me.”

  I gasped, realizing then that the gentleman was, in fact, the man who’d fallen into the ice. It was an exciting discovery, but where was John?

  “Oh
my goodness,” I said. “It is so good to see you about, sir. I had inquired yesterday at the Hawkings’ workshop but you were not in. I was relieved to hear you’d recovered yourself.”

  “Indeed, I have. And just in time, from what I have learned. Let me properly introduce myself, Miss McKenna. I am Lord John Waldegrave.”

  I felt my knees go soft. “Sorry?”

  “Miss McKenna?” the man said, taking a step toward me. “Are you…are you all right?”

  “What…what did you say your name is?”

  “John Waldegrave,” he said then moved forward to take my arm. “You look very pale. Please sit,” he said. Leading me gently by the arm, he sat me down on a bench.

  “That’s not possible. Lord Waldegrave…I…”

  Not understanding my confusion, the gentleman began. “Ah, yes. Well, the long story short of it was that I was on commission in France as a member of the twelfth light Dragoons, but our mission ended so I’ve returned to England. I was in London to look after my family’s investments in a mercantile venture which is, apparently, how I understood the fabric of your slipper so well. Unfortunately, someone used my absence to make use of my name and bank account. Apparently, some rogue has been running up debts in my name. I was here at the Frost Fair making inquiries into the matter. The last things I recall are stopping here to see your show. Thereafter, I went to the City of Moscow for a drink, where some rowdy chaps rewarded my service to the crown with more Scotch than was fitting. The next thing I knew, I woke up in a barrel of onion soup with your pretty face looking at me in a fit of concern. As near as we can tell, my counterfeit saw fit to put me underwater when he discovered I’d returned from abroad and was inquiring behind him. The rogue wearing my name and title has racked up a fortune in gambling debts and other expenses, and from what the constables have been able to tell, a few broken hearts have been left in his wake. My mother had a pretty young lass turn up at her doorstep looking for her husband, Lord Waldegrave, only to find out the truth. Poor girl. I say, Miss McKenna, are you quite all right?”