by Sarah Sandridge

Created on: February 24, 2007   Last Updated: May 14, 2007

The snow fell hard that day, for it was David's will for it to be so. There was no shock from the People as they knew no schedule in weather or seasons. They knew only what happened with no imagination of what could or would.

Elizabeth, on the other hand, was not one of the People, and as an accidental stranger to this land she had not been prepared for anything. Walking turned out to be near impossible in the extreme conditions and so Elizabeth and her travel companion Jack, sought shelter wherever was nearest.

With chattering teeth, they huddled together in silence beside the trunk of a massive tree that helped to block some of the wind. Elizabeth didn't understand, she couldn't. The day before had been warm and sunny, like a day in summer. Now, they endured bitter wind and heavy snow.

"This is ridiculous!" She shouted over the wind, even though Jack was sitting right beside her.

"What?" He shouted back. There was really no point in trying to start a conversation and so Elizabeth just shook her head and bowed it to protect her face from the harsh wind.

Together they sat for awhile longer, a while that seemed like eternity to Elizabeth but in reality had only been a few minutes. Her fingers and toes were frozen and she feared what would happen if they had to stay out there much longer.

Feeling Jack give her a nudge, Elizabeth looked up to see him pointing through the trees. Through the thick snow that fell, she could hardly make it out but there it was - the faint glow of a lamp. They shared a look before both struggled to jump up, now fueled with energy at the thought of perhaps being warm again. The journey towards the light took a very long time as they were more stumbling than running through the now deep snow.

"Just past these few trees." Elizabeth muttered mostly to herself as she knew Jack couldn't hear her anyway. She wondered if they would find other travelers as well, maybe they had food and a fire and clothes and... directions and information! That thought sent her stumbling through the snow a little more quicker than before.

What they found was not a few lost travelers. Instead, they found the lamp was hanging beside a door to a small house. They had found a village, one that looked rather poor and gloomy but Elizabeth didn't care. Neither did Jack and they were soon both pounding on the door and shouting for help.

The door swung open and they were met face to face with an older man with a head of grey hair that matched the color of his eyes.

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