I was cold and tired. Felt like I was about to collapse into the snow. I was extremely tempted to just let sleep take hold of me and let my life just freeze away. Sure would save me a lot of trouble. But the castle became visible right in front of the distant mountains, and, keeping my eye on it, I trudged forward.

I tried to keep my mind off whether or not I would even make it there, what with my legs starting to wobble and becoming difficult to move. I thought about what I would say to the king, how I could tell him that his daughter was dead. There is no polite way to share that kind of news. Should I accept the blame for it myself? Tell him his daughter felt no pain? Both would be lies, but the truth would sting worse than the invisible shards of icy air that were stinging my lungs.

I remained clueless as to what to say as I approached the castle doors hours later. When I saw a guard take notice of me and make his way towards me, I let myself collapse.