Summer Dawn and Winter Morn
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twispiteficTitle: Summer Dawn and Winter Morn
Author: Sasha Honeypalm
Unfandom: Feminist Fairy Tales
Rating: PG
Word Count: ~1250
Inspiration: Walker's inability to write in general, and her woeful attempts on domestic abuse, body image, and loving relationships in particular.
Warnings: Mostly off-screen domestic abuse
Summary: A fairy tale of sisterly love.
Once there were two sisters. The eldest was named Summer Dawn, for she was as beautiful and lively as a summer morning. Her hair was the rose-gold of the just-risen sun, and her smile was as warm as sunlight. The younger was named Winter Morn; she was pale and wan and quiet.
The young men of the village (and a few young women) would sigh over Summer Dawn, watching as she passed, saying, “Oh, how beautiful Summer Dawn is. If only I could hold her. If only I could kiss her.” But when Winter Morn came by, they would dismiss her, saying, “Who would ever take notice of such a plain girl when her sister is so beautiful?”
Winter Morn heard this, and cried to her sister, “Am I so ugly?” Summer Dawn was furious at the villagers, and told Winter Morn, “They do not deserve you, as either a wife or a friend. Come, let us leave these unkind people. There are surely better places afar.”
So they walked down the Road to Adventure together. There are many stories told of their journeys and great deeds; today I will tell you the story of the Ice Fairy prince.
It came to pass that Summer Dawn and Winter Morn spent a time in the land of the Ice Fairies. The prince of the Ice Fairies fell in love with Winter Morn. He would come to her every day and say, “Your skin is as white as snow, your eyes are the grey of stormy skies, your hair is the color of leafless trees. You are the fairest creature in all of Winter.”
One day, Summer Dawn said to Winter Morn, “I am tired of the ice and cold. Let us move on to a new place. The Road to Adventure will take us to the realm of the Lava-Dancers, or to the beach of the Abalone People. Anywhere with warmth and sunshine.”
Winter Morn said, “I cannot come with you, because I am marrying the prince of the Ice Fairies.”
“Then let him come with us.”
“He is a prince, and must stay with his people. And I will stay with him.”
Summer Dawn was uneasy, and said, “Are you sure you want to do this?”
Winter Morn said, “I am sure. He loves me.”
Summer Dawn said, “If that is your choice, I will respect it. But I will come back to visit you in a few years.” The sisters hugged each other, and then Summer Dawn departed.
So Summer Dawn walked the Road to Adventure. She learned the fire-lore of the Lava-Dancers, and helped broker a peace between the Abalone People and the Pearl Hunters, but that is a story for another day. She missed her sister more and more, and after two years had passed, she found herself back in the land of the Ice Fairies.
The prince’s city was decked out as if for a festival; delicate ice bunting was strung along the walls, and the streets were filled with merry revelers. Summer Dawn approached one of the laughing Ice Fairies. “What is going on? What are you celebrating?”
The Ice Fairy said, “Did you not hear? Our prince is getting married, and we are all invited to the wedding feast.”
“Married?” said Summer Dawn. “I thought he had already married a few years ago.”
“Oh, yes, a few years ago he wed some human woman. But she wasn’t a very good wife. She wouldn’t obey him when he told her what to do, and she even tried to run away once. So he locked her away, and now he is marrying a proper fairy woman as his second wife.”
“I see,” said Summer Dawn, trying to conceal her horror.
Summer Dawn went and packed a small bag with flint, kindling, and a dried fire-pepper she had brought back from the Lava-Dancers. She rolled up the bag and hid it under her coat, and covered her distinctive hair under a kerchief.
She went and knocked on the door of the prince’s ice palace. “Who are you, human, and what do you want?” asked the prince.
“Your fame has spread to the human lands, great prince, and so we have heard you are getting married. I am a cook of some renown in my country, and I wish to serve you by helping prepare your wedding feast.” And Summer Dawn went down to the prince’s kitchens, and prepared seven types of sweet pastries, using recipes she had come across on the Road to Adventure.
The prince waited until the pastries went cool, and then tasted them. “These are very good,” he said. “I will accept your offer. Cook me desserts for my wedding.”
As the day approached, she cooked treats for all the prince’s household. They came and took their share, but there was one sweet left over.
“I heard you have another wife, great prince,” explained Summer Dawn, “So I made one for her, too. Tell me where she is, and I will serve it to her.”
“I do have another wife,” said the prince. “But you cannot bring her food. She is in the lowest dungeon of my palace, locked with a lock of ice. As a human, you couldn’t control the ice to open and close the lock by yourself.”
“I see,” said Summer Dawn, her eyes cast downward so that the prince couldn’t see the rage in them.
On the day of the wedding, Summer Dawn crushed the fire-pepper and mixed in into her dough. And the Ice Fairies feasted, and finished off the main course, and the servants brought in dessert. The prince took the first pastry, and bit into it.
"Oh, oh, oh!" cried the prince, "I am burning!". He called upon his powers of ice to cool down his dining hall. It went cold enough that his breath fogged in the air (and Ice Fairies already have cool breath). But his tongue was still on fire.
"Oh, oh, oh, I think I will melt!" He drew upon the ice again, and his drink froze in his glass. But his tongue was still burned.
"Oh, oh, oh! Oooh!" And he iced the dining hall so hard that the table and all fairies at it were frozen in a huge block of ice.
While the Ice Fairies were so trapped, Summer Dawn descended to the lowest dungeon. She took out her flint and kindling, and lit a fire under the lock of ice
When the lock melted away, Summer Dawn flung open the door and ran to her sister. Winter Morn was even paler and thinner than usual, but otherwise unharmed.
“Come, quickly, before they thaw!” said Summer Dawn. So the sisters ran up the stairs and out of the palace and away from the city. They did not slow down until they had left the land of the Ice Fairies far behind.
Now that they were out of danger, the sisters embraced. “You are safe,” said Summer Dawn. “You are safe, and I am here. I will not let you be hurt again.”
“I am sorry I left you!” sobbed Winter Morn. “The prince told me I was beautiful, and I thought that was love. I-I-I don’t care if all the princes and kings and emperors of the world tell me I am lovely, I will not go with them unless I know that they are kind and true. I do not want a man who loves my face, but not my soul.” And she cried onto Summer Dawn’s shoulder, while her sister held and comforted her.
And as the sun rose, Summer Dawn looked towards the Road to Adventure, and said, “Do you wish to go back to the Road? Or have you had enough of the wider world?”
Winter Morn sat still in thought, and finally said, “The world is cruel and kind, great-hearted and petty. In the past two years I have seen much of its ugliness; now I will go seek out its beauty.”
And the sisters set out, hand-in-hand, towards their next adventure.
Author: Sasha Honeypalm
Unfandom: Feminist Fairy Tales
Rating: PG
Word Count: ~1250
Inspiration: Walker's inability to write in general, and her woeful attempts on domestic abuse, body image, and loving relationships in particular.
Warnings: Mostly off-screen domestic abuse
Summary: A fairy tale of sisterly love.
Once there were two sisters. The eldest was named Summer Dawn, for she was as beautiful and lively as a summer morning. Her hair was the rose-gold of the just-risen sun, and her smile was as warm as sunlight. The younger was named Winter Morn; she was pale and wan and quiet.
The young men of the village (and a few young women) would sigh over Summer Dawn, watching as she passed, saying, “Oh, how beautiful Summer Dawn is. If only I could hold her. If only I could kiss her.” But when Winter Morn came by, they would dismiss her, saying, “Who would ever take notice of such a plain girl when her sister is so beautiful?”
Winter Morn heard this, and cried to her sister, “Am I so ugly?” Summer Dawn was furious at the villagers, and told Winter Morn, “They do not deserve you, as either a wife or a friend. Come, let us leave these unkind people. There are surely better places afar.”
So they walked down the Road to Adventure together. There are many stories told of their journeys and great deeds; today I will tell you the story of the Ice Fairy prince.
It came to pass that Summer Dawn and Winter Morn spent a time in the land of the Ice Fairies. The prince of the Ice Fairies fell in love with Winter Morn. He would come to her every day and say, “Your skin is as white as snow, your eyes are the grey of stormy skies, your hair is the color of leafless trees. You are the fairest creature in all of Winter.”
One day, Summer Dawn said to Winter Morn, “I am tired of the ice and cold. Let us move on to a new place. The Road to Adventure will take us to the realm of the Lava-Dancers, or to the beach of the Abalone People. Anywhere with warmth and sunshine.”
Winter Morn said, “I cannot come with you, because I am marrying the prince of the Ice Fairies.”
“Then let him come with us.”
“He is a prince, and must stay with his people. And I will stay with him.”
Summer Dawn was uneasy, and said, “Are you sure you want to do this?”
Winter Morn said, “I am sure. He loves me.”
Summer Dawn said, “If that is your choice, I will respect it. But I will come back to visit you in a few years.” The sisters hugged each other, and then Summer Dawn departed.
So Summer Dawn walked the Road to Adventure. She learned the fire-lore of the Lava-Dancers, and helped broker a peace between the Abalone People and the Pearl Hunters, but that is a story for another day. She missed her sister more and more, and after two years had passed, she found herself back in the land of the Ice Fairies.
The prince’s city was decked out as if for a festival; delicate ice bunting was strung along the walls, and the streets were filled with merry revelers. Summer Dawn approached one of the laughing Ice Fairies. “What is going on? What are you celebrating?”
The Ice Fairy said, “Did you not hear? Our prince is getting married, and we are all invited to the wedding feast.”
“Married?” said Summer Dawn. “I thought he had already married a few years ago.”
“Oh, yes, a few years ago he wed some human woman. But she wasn’t a very good wife. She wouldn’t obey him when he told her what to do, and she even tried to run away once. So he locked her away, and now he is marrying a proper fairy woman as his second wife.”
“I see,” said Summer Dawn, trying to conceal her horror.
Summer Dawn went and packed a small bag with flint, kindling, and a dried fire-pepper she had brought back from the Lava-Dancers. She rolled up the bag and hid it under her coat, and covered her distinctive hair under a kerchief.
She went and knocked on the door of the prince’s ice palace. “Who are you, human, and what do you want?” asked the prince.
“Your fame has spread to the human lands, great prince, and so we have heard you are getting married. I am a cook of some renown in my country, and I wish to serve you by helping prepare your wedding feast.” And Summer Dawn went down to the prince’s kitchens, and prepared seven types of sweet pastries, using recipes she had come across on the Road to Adventure.
The prince waited until the pastries went cool, and then tasted them. “These are very good,” he said. “I will accept your offer. Cook me desserts for my wedding.”
As the day approached, she cooked treats for all the prince’s household. They came and took their share, but there was one sweet left over.
“I heard you have another wife, great prince,” explained Summer Dawn, “So I made one for her, too. Tell me where she is, and I will serve it to her.”
“I do have another wife,” said the prince. “But you cannot bring her food. She is in the lowest dungeon of my palace, locked with a lock of ice. As a human, you couldn’t control the ice to open and close the lock by yourself.”
“I see,” said Summer Dawn, her eyes cast downward so that the prince couldn’t see the rage in them.
On the day of the wedding, Summer Dawn crushed the fire-pepper and mixed in into her dough. And the Ice Fairies feasted, and finished off the main course, and the servants brought in dessert. The prince took the first pastry, and bit into it.
"Oh, oh, oh!" cried the prince, "I am burning!". He called upon his powers of ice to cool down his dining hall. It went cold enough that his breath fogged in the air (and Ice Fairies already have cool breath). But his tongue was still on fire.
"Oh, oh, oh, I think I will melt!" He drew upon the ice again, and his drink froze in his glass. But his tongue was still burned.
"Oh, oh, oh! Oooh!" And he iced the dining hall so hard that the table and all fairies at it were frozen in a huge block of ice.
While the Ice Fairies were so trapped, Summer Dawn descended to the lowest dungeon. She took out her flint and kindling, and lit a fire under the lock of ice
When the lock melted away, Summer Dawn flung open the door and ran to her sister. Winter Morn was even paler and thinner than usual, but otherwise unharmed.
“Come, quickly, before they thaw!” said Summer Dawn. So the sisters ran up the stairs and out of the palace and away from the city. They did not slow down until they had left the land of the Ice Fairies far behind.
Now that they were out of danger, the sisters embraced. “You are safe,” said Summer Dawn. “You are safe, and I am here. I will not let you be hurt again.”
“I am sorry I left you!” sobbed Winter Morn. “The prince told me I was beautiful, and I thought that was love. I-I-I don’t care if all the princes and kings and emperors of the world tell me I am lovely, I will not go with them unless I know that they are kind and true. I do not want a man who loves my face, but not my soul.” And she cried onto Summer Dawn’s shoulder, while her sister held and comforted her.
And as the sun rose, Summer Dawn looked towards the Road to Adventure, and said, “Do you wish to go back to the Road? Or have you had enough of the wider world?”
Winter Morn sat still in thought, and finally said, “The world is cruel and kind, great-hearted and petty. In the past two years I have seen much of its ugliness; now I will go seek out its beauty.”
And the sisters set out, hand-in-hand, towards their next adventure.
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Date: 2017-02-28 01:57 pm (UTC)This is lovely.