Snowy Traveller

The new year had begun and it was now mid January as Maya traversed through the Emerald Forest in her fur-lined woollen coat. It was beginning to get quite cold with ice and frost covering the trees and undergrowth and there was even snow that had settled in the north and north east part of the forest. It was one of the busiest seasons for the water fairy, checking the different water sources nearby to understand if they were  too cold, flowing, or iced over. It was an important job as good water helped the forest to thrive. Without it, creatures could become dehydrated and the plants could struggle to survive. One of the bigger places she had to check often during the cold winters was a small lake found in a clearing near the most northern side of the forest.

Maya had finished checking the lake that afternoon and had begun her long journey back to her home near Kiki Lane. It was already getting dark as she fluttered through the trees almost at top speed, trying to get as far as possible before the light disappeared completely and she would have to stop for the night. Hopefully, she thought, she could get past the settled snow before having to find shelter; at least it would be less cold then!

Unlike Ruby, Maya did not have a magical purse that could store anything she needed and it was too much of a hassle to bring a lantern with her when she went out on days like this as it only weighed her down and made the journey a lot slower. Instead, she wrapped up warm and hoped to get to a checkpoint she knew. After a couple of years doing these checks, she had learnt where there were places to get cover or homes which had now been abandoned she could use for the night. She just needed to get to one of them, and quickly.

With years of travelling through the forest to do her checks, Maya had begun to recognise many of the creatures who lived in it. She was never one to stop and say hello, especially if they hadn’t met before, so she did not know many of them personally, but she had an understanding of most of the animals who lived in the forest and in which area she could find them.

Looking at the ground beneath her, she was shocked by what she saw. Below her was a creature she had never met before - a penguin. Slowing down, she hovered above the black and white creature to observe. The penguin was slowly waddling through the snow below holding a small bronze lantern which illuminated the snow beneath with a golden glow. It was looking around a lot and seemed very out of place. At first it looked like the penguin was scared, waiting for something to jump out, but after Maya spent a little longer observing, she realised the penguin seemed unsure of its surroundings, lost. Gathering up her courage, Maya slowly fluttered down onto the snow a couple of paces behind the penguin. “Hello? Are you lost? Can I help you?” she called out as the penguin turned towards her, its icy blue eyes looking back at her in surprise.

Yukiko was a penguin from Crystal Slopes, a small town cocooned on the other of the Snowy Mountains to the east of the Emerald Forest. The town was nestled within the arc of the mountains, at a much higher altitude than most, making it cold almost all year round. For seven months of the year, the town was covered in snow and with the slopes of the mountains nearby, it was aptly named Crystal Slopes. Only two of the remaining months were considered warm.

To live in Crystal slopes, it was paramount you loved the snow, or could at least tolerate it for a long period of time and so its residents were often snow-loving creatures like bears, reindeers and penguins. The town was more of a tourist destination than anything, with creatures from the city and other towns often visiting to escape the hustle and bustle to try their hand at skiing.

Yukiko, however, was not very fond of the cold and had found it hard living in Crystal Slopes, despite growing up there with her family. With a little bit of planning, she had decided to leave and find somewhere to live which wasn’t so cold all year round.

The simplest way to leave Crystal Slopes was the same way tourists entered - by using the train. The train from Crystal Slopes took passengers round the southern base of the mountain to the closest town, the seaside town of Pearly Shores, and from there you could continue to Claymont City. It was a simple route but also had its issues. The area of line which ran closest to Crystal Slopes was prone to being blocked by small avalanches after large snow fall and this often led to small delays. When Yukiko had left the town a couple of weeks ago, the tracks had been blocked and the train was out of order for repairs making it an unfeasible option for her. Thankfully, she had other plans anyway.

There was only one other route out of Crystal Slopes - through the mountains. It was a trail written down on maps but had hardly ever been used, and for multiple reasons. One of the most obvious reasons was how gruelling the journey would be for most. It was a hard trek up and down the snow mountains and would take a normal creature many weeks to traverse, even on skis. For most, however, the second reason was more important. On the other side of the mountains was the Emerald Forest. With tales passed down of people going missing and large terrifying creatures living there, no-one dared venture into the forest or take this route. It was an overlooked trail, forgotten by many. Yukiko, however was not scared, she had decided this was the perfect route.

As an avid reader, Yukiko had been looking through the small town library for ideas about where she should go when she had come across an old map which had intrigued her greatly. Right in the middle of the forest was what looked to be a village with the name Elmthrop. It was a very old map, many decades old and didn’t even have the train line on it. It was covered in a thick layer of dust, obviously not looked at in a long time. The name Elmthrop stuck in the little penguin’s head for days, prompting her to search through all the other maps for some indication of what this place was and if it was still lived in. Unfortunately it seemed to be the only map which indicated any settlement within the forest and she could not find any more information about it. With no idea if it still even existed, Yukiko decided that would be her first destination; she just had to know if anyone actually lived in the forest.

Yukiko had packed her bags the day after Christmas once all the celebrations were over. She didn’t take much with her as she had a long journey ahead of her. In a small cloth bag she packed the map, a lantern and some food for her journey, only the pure essentials. Luckily for her, Yukiko’s densely packed feathers would protect her from the cold and she wouldn’t need any warm clothes for her travels.

As Crystal Slopes was a cold wintery town, it relied heavily on a large store of lightweight dry food, fish and produce from the train. The dry food had a long shelf life, perfect for instances where the tracks were blocked and the townspeople needed to survive without deliveries. Yukiko made sure to pack plenty of these snack and lightweight meals for her journey as they were perfect to carry and eat on the go. More importantly, they wouldn’t go off.

After saying her goodbyes, Yukiko had begun her journey just before the new year. She knew that the snowfall would become worse in the coming days with blizzards more likely, and had made it her goal to get to the top of the final mountain before the worst came. Luckily for the little penguin, she had a little extra help getting up the first and tallest mountain than anyone would have had when the map was drawn. With mountains perfect for skiing, the town had constructed ski lifts with varying heights so tourists could easily come to learn and enjoy skiing . There were three lifts on the nearest mountain at different heights for different ability levels.

She paid her fare and took the ski lift to the highest point, waving goodbye to her family who stood by the gate to see her off. It was sad to say goodbye, but she was more excited by the adventure ahead and she knew she could go back any time - maybe by the train instead.

Reaching the top, Yukiko hopped off the ski lift and watched as creatures started skiing back towards the town. It was a route she had taken so many times before, but not where she was headed on this day. Turning around she headed to the other side of the mountain.

Growing up, many young penguins, including herself, did not learn to ski, but instead learned how to toboggan down the slopes on their bellies. Even though she did not like the constant cold and snow, her thick feathers kept her belly warm, so she enjoyed learning and having fun on the slopes and had become quite the pro. Reaching the other side, the little penguin leant forward onto her belly and began her descent.

The journey was not too hard for the penguin, but it still took her time to slowly climb up each peak. Each time she reached the top she was very glad the climb was over and enjoyed the slide down even more as it gave her little legs a rest.

A week or so later she found herself at the final tall peak. Looking down she saw the Emerald Forest spreading out below. The trees were so densely packed it was impossible to tell if there was a settlement nestled inside but the forest seemed to call her in and her excitement rose once more. The only issue the little penguin noticed was the the snow didn’t fully cover the rest of her journey she would have to walk some of it. It was at this moment the little penguin became even more pleased she had chosen this time of year for her journey. If she had chosen later in the year there would have been even less snow and it would have been a lot harder to travel this final descent. As evening approached that day, she finally made it to the edge of the Emerald Forest.

When she set off, Yukiko had assumed the hardest part of the journey would be crossing the mountains but once she reached the forest, she realised she was wrong, or at least in some ways. Yes, it was much more physically demanding climbing the mountains, but she had understood exactly where to go, each peak evident on the map guiding her straight to where she needed to be. However, under the canopy of the trees, every direction seemed the same. Even if by the end of the day she thought she knew where to go, by the time she woke up, she was lost again. There was no clear pathway in the forest like she had expected and the trees were so densely packed she couldn’t see far enough ahead of her to know where to go.

The map she had proved useless after the first day. With no other clear landmarks or guidance apart from the village Elmthrop, it gave her no help or guidance and she had firmly left it in her bag since. It had been almost another whole week of wandering through the forest lost and the candle in the lantern was beginning to run out, along with her food. She needed help, and fast. She didn’t even know if where she wanted to go still existed; perhaps this was a bad idea she thought looking around. It was quickly becoming too dark to see, she would have to find somewhere for the night.

She heard a soft crunch of snow behind her. It was probably some snow falling off a tree. Then suddenly she heard something.”Hello? Are you lost? Can I help you?” a voice called out. Turning around in shock she looked to see who was there.

It took a while for her to respond as she stood staring at the creature in front of her in amazement. There were no fairies in Crystal Slopes and none of them even visited so she had only ever heard of them from the tourists. The fairy’s pale blue wings shimmered, even with not much light, reminding Yukiko of how the beautiful ice sculptures in Crystal Slopes shimmered in the moonlight.

Quickly snapping out of her amazed state, she placed the lantern on the ground and rummaged in her very empty bag for the old map. Pointing to the village on the map she finally answered “I’m looking for Elmthrop? Do you know where that is?” she squeaked, her voice struggling from not talking for so long.

Hearing the name Elmthrop made Maya’s wings tingle. It had been so long since anyone had mentioned the name. How did this penguin know about the village. Elmthrop had been the name of the fairy village but for decades nobody had used that name, people simply called it the fairy village. She quickly rushed over to the map the penguin was holding, the cold snow tingling on the bare skin her shoes didn’t cover. Looking down at the map she was amazed to see that right there in the forest was the name Elmthrop. This was an old map, she thought. A very special old map.

“I have some good news and some bad news” said Maya stepping back and looking at the cute penguin before her. “Elmthrop doesn’t exist anymore. Well, the buildings do and there are still a few villagers but it’s called Kiki Lane now. I hope that isn’t too disappointing” she continued with a nervous giggle. Expecting the penguin to no longer be very interested, she was pleasantly surprised as the penguin’s eyes sparkled. “Oh no, that’s brilliant news!” exclaimed Yukiko clutching the map to her chest.

Looking down at the lantern on the floor, Maya noticed the candle still had a little longer to burn. They would make it back with this light if they started now. “Shall I take you there?” she enquired hopefully. Yukiko nodded enthusiastically in response, stuffing the map in her bag and picking up the lantern. If she could visit for a few days she could see what it was like and plan her next move from there.

Maya and Yukiko made their way through the forest with the lantern light to guide them. The fairy was secretly very pleased to have met the penguin as it meant she wouldn’t have to camp overnight. Yukiko, on the other hand, was visibly excited to have met Maya but for many different reasons. Still struggling slightly to talk, Yukiko had fun asking questions and listening to Maya talk about Kiki Lane and what happened to Elmthrop.

A few hours later, with night fully setting in, they finally arrived outside the Kiki Lane inn just as Yukikio’s lantern ran out. Maya pushed open the door to the inn and the bell above the door rang as they entered. A few moments later, Hattie arrived at the reception desk and enthusiastically greeted them both. “Good evening! Welcome!” she exclaimed noticing a new guest. “We’ve just started dinner, would you both like to join us? We can book you in later if you’d like” she continued pointing towards the dining area. Cold and hungry the pair quickly accepted, following Hattie to the dining area where everyone was gathered.