Heavy silence stretched over the single unbroken spire of the castle that sat, half-hidden by mountain peaks. Most of the structure had crumbled and worn away over the centuries, but one spire stood whole and completely alone. A sharp snap broke the stillness and it seemed to echo endlessly through the ice and stone. At the top of the spire, something stirred inside a small chamber that had not been opened in over three hundred years. Inside of the chamber was a long box that looked like the bottom half of a coffin, though a little wider and draped in silk sheets. Achingly slow, a dark foot lifted itself over one side of the lacquered box and hung there, the knee crooked over the edge. The limb gleamed and cracked as it moved, shards of ice falling to the floor. A frozen hand gripped the edge of the box further up and pulled a body up behind it. More snapping and crackling as more ice hit the floor and a dark woman peered out at the room, blinking sleep out of her eyes and trying to adjust to the weak light streaming through the window.
She took a moment to steady herself and catch her breath.
The cold didn't bother her so much as the wretched stiffness in her muscles. They had atrophied after so many years of disuse and even sitting up was difficult. Her pale eyes swept over the room and she felt her face set itself into a sad frown. The realization that everyone she had ever known was now dead hit her at the same time that the memories of their smiles and love did and for a moment she wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep. She raised a trembling hand to her face and sighed. There was no turning back, no more sleep for her. She had made her decision three centuries ago and would have to face an unimaginable future by herself. There was no way to go except forward, she had ensured that. There was nothing left to do except live now. She placed both hands on the edge of the coffin and began lifting herself out of it.
She would live. There was no other choice.
