Crown Of Midnight Snow

Costume For A Queen

❄️ CHAPTER 1 — A Costume for a Queen

Paris in December felt like a place where winter told stories through the air.

Snowflakes drifted down like small, white feathers, settling on rooftops and softening the city’s sound into a gentle hush. The Eiffel Tower shimmered gold across the night sky, while the River Seine reflected the lights like a mirror covered in diamonds.

Inside a cozy apartment on Rue de Rivoli, Jenny Moreau stood in front of the mirror, adjusting the silver-threaded collar of her costume.

She whispered to herself, “Okay… this is either genius or ridiculous.”

Her reflection stared back:

A long coat made of midnight-blue velvet.

Silver embroidery twisting into snowflake patterns.

A crown of translucent icicle-like pieces.

A pair of plastic fangs she could barely talk through.

Jenny Moreau, a quiet teenager who loved fantasy books, historical myths, and Christmas lights, had chosen to dress as the Vampire Snow Queen, a character she invented for fun.

“It’s just a costume,” she reassured herself.

“Just something funny for the festival.”

The door creaked and Leo Santoro, her cousin with curly brown hair and a camera always swinging around his neck, entered.

He gasped dramatically.

“You look like the ruler of winter planets.”

Jenny groaned. “You’re not helping.”

Leo grinned. “Jenny, I’m telling you, you look amazing. Like someone who stepped right out of a magical European legend.”

Their aunt’s voice floated down the hallway.

“Are you two ready? The Christmas Carnival of Lights starts in twenty minutes!”

Jenny took one last look at the mirror. Her costume wasn’t perfect, but it made her feel like she could be anyone, even someone brave.

She grabbed her lantern-shaped bag and stepped out into the cold December night.

---

The streets of Paris were alive.

Shops glowed with golden lights, Christmas wreaths hung from balconies, and the air smelled like cinnamon, roasted chestnuts, and sweet pastries. Children in red scarves laughed as they ran past. Street performers played violins. Couples skated on temporary ice rinks near Tuileries Garden.

Jenny felt her heart lift at the sight.

They walked toward the Champs-Élysées, where the famous Christmas parade floated down the wide avenue. Leo stopped every few seconds to take pictures: glowing decorations, musicians dressed as toy soldiers, and dancers twirling like snowflakes.

“This is incredible,” Leo said breathlessly.

But something else caught Jenny’s eye.

At the edge of the market stood a stall she didn’t recognize.

It was nothing like the bright, modern vendors around it. This one looked ancient — wooden boards darkened by time, edges carved with symbols she didn’t recognize.

A sign above the stall read:

“Midnight Gifts”

A soft blue flame glowed in the lantern beside it.

And behind the table sat an elderly woman with silver hair braided into a crown.

She lifted her pale eyes and stared directly at Jenny.

Not at anyone else.

Only Jenny.

“You came,” the woman whispered.

Jenny froze. “Pardon?”

The woman’s smile was slow and knowing.

“You wear the crown of winter’s heir.”

Jenny laughed awkwardly. “It’s just a Christmas costume.”

“In this world,” the woman murmured, “nothing is just anything.”

Leo tugged Jenny’s sleeve. “This is… a little creepy. Let’s go?”

But Jenny’s feet remained planted.

The woman reached beneath her table and pulled out a small frost-covered box.

“For the Queen,” she said.

Jenny hesitated, glancing at Leo.

“It might be part of the carnival,” Leo whispered. “Like a game.”

Jenny accepted the box.

The woman’s voice softened to a whisper only she could hear:

“Midnight, child.

Midnight is when your fate will awaken.”

Jenny shivered.

The snow around them fell a little faster, swirling like it was listening.

And somewhere deep beneath Paris — beneath cobblestones and catacombs — a metal bell rang softly, echoing like a forgotten promise.

---

❄️ CHAPTER 2 — The Frosted Box

The longer Jenny held the frost-covered box, the stranger it felt.

It was as small as her palm, made of pale wood that looked almost carved from ice. No snow melted on it. No warmth touched it. Even walking through the glow of the Christmas market didn't change the thin layer of frost clinging to its edges.

Jenny and Leo moved with the crowd toward the illuminated trees lining the Champs-Élysées. Music floated through the winter air—violins, sleigh bells, soft drums beating a festive rhythm. Children in wool coats rushed past, holding candy apples wrapped in shining red gloss.

But Jenny barely noticed any of it.

Her attention was trapped in the box.

Leo nudged her. “You’ve been staring at that thing for ten minutes. It’s going to stare back soon.”

Jenny swallowed. “It… feels wrong. Or maybe too right.”

Leo looked around. “Let’s find somewhere quieter. The parade’s about to get loud.”

They moved toward a quieter edge of the market, where a row of tall pine trees marked the border of the Tuileries Garden. A soft carpet of snow muffled their footsteps, and the glow of the festival lights seemed to fade into a warmer, quieter haze.

“Okay,” Leo said. “Open it.”

Jenny inhaled deeply.

The lid resisted at first—

like the box didn’t want to be opened.

Then it clicked softly.

The inside shimmered.

At the very center lay a silver snowflake pendant, more detailed than anything Jenny had ever seen. Each tiny branch of the snowflake was carved with swirling lines and ancient patterns that seemed to move when she blinked.

“It looks… alive,” she whispered.

Leo leaned closer. “That’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen at a Christmas festival.”

Jenny lifted it. The metal was ice-cold, but not painfully so—more like a touch that woke up nerves she didn’t know she had. A soft white glow pulsed from the center like a heartbeat.

Under the pendant was a folded piece of parchment.

Jenny’s breath fogged the air as she carefully opened it.

The ink shimmered like liquid silver.

“Wear this at midnight.”

“Midnight?” Leo repeated. “Jenny, that’s creepy.”

Jenny nodded slowly. “And the woman said the same thing.”

Leo took a step back. “Jenny… what if this is some old magic thing? Or something dangerous?”

Jenny looked at the pendant again.

“It feels like it already chose me.”

She pressed her fingers to her coat sleeve.

A soft wind brushed across her cheek—

but none of the trees moved.

None of the people around them felt it.

Only her.

Then the snowflake pendant pulsed again.

Soft. Gentle. Alive.

Jenny quickly placed it back into the box and shut the lid.

“Okay,” she whispered. “This is not normal.”

Leo nodded. “Let’s find your aunt. She’ll know what to do.”

But when they stepped back toward the crowd—

The lanterns lining the street flickered.

The Christmas lights dimmed for a moment.

And the snow paused mid-fall.

Just for a second.

Just for Jenny.

Then everything returned to normal.

Leo didn’t notice.

But Jenny did.

She clutched the box tighter.

Something was waiting for her.

And she would meet it at midnight.

---

❄️ CHAPTER 3 — The Midnight Parade

The parade burst onto the avenue with waves of color and sound.

Massive floats rolled by—one shaped like a gingerbread house, another like a towering Christmas tree. Dancers dressed as elves twirled glowing ribbons through the air. A choir of children sang “Silent Night” in soft harmony.

Jenny tried to enjoy it, she really tried.

But the box throbbed with a cold pulse every few seconds against her palm, like a heartbeat waiting for time to catch up.

The bells of St. Madeleine Church began tolling the hour.

11:45 PM.

Fifteen minutes left.

Leo snapped pictures and said, “This is going to be my new wallpaper. Jenny, look—”

Jenny wasn’t looking.

She was staring at the silver glow seeping through the edges of the frost box.

At 11:55 PM, lanterns were released into the sky. Hundreds of floating lights drifted upward like glowing snowflakes.

Jenny whispered, “This is it.”

Leo turned. “This is what?”

“Midnight.”

The pendant pulsed strong enough for Leo to hear the faint hum.

“Jenny… please don’t put that thing on.”

But her fingers were already moving.

11:59.

The crowd cheered as fireworks prepared to launch.

Jenny lifted the pendant.

Midnight.

The bells struck twelve.

Jenny pressed the pendant to her chest.

The world trembled.

Snow froze midair.

Lanterns hung suspended.

Voices muted into silence.

Leo gasped. “Jenny—what did you do!?”

A cold wind spiraled around her, lifting the ends of her coat. Her icicle crown glowed, filling with silver-white light.

And then—

Footsteps echoed from behind.

Jenny and Leo turned.

Four figures stepped out of a shimmering curtain of snow:

Gabriel Kessler — tall, armored, ancient as winter.

Inés Valderrama — holding a lantern glowing blue.

Sorin Drăghici — eyes like deep mountain forests.

Alya Farouqi — light of stars in her palms.

They bowed.

All four.

To Jenny.

“Your Majesty,” Gabriel said.

“The Snow Queen has returned.”

---

❄️ CHAPTER 4 — The Midnight Guardians

Jenny stumbled backward.

“No—no—no. I’m not a queen! I’m not anything like a queen! I’m just Jenny Moreau!”

Gabriel lifted his head. “You wear the pendant. You awakened the frost. And snow obeys you.”

Inés stepped forward, her lantern casting soft blue light. “Do not fear. You are not claimed by accident.”

Sorin knelt. “Every Snow Queen is born once in an age when winter magic weakens. It calls the one who can mend it.”

Jenny’s heart pounded. “What do you mean winter magic weakens?”

Alya raised her hand.

The frozen lanterns above flickered.

“Across Europe,” she said, “winter strengthens and weakens not by weather alone, but by balance. Christmas is warmth in cold seasons. Hope. Light. Joy. When that balance is disturbed…” She motioned upward. “Even the skies respond.”

The lantern lights dimmed.

Jenny whispered, “So… what do you want from me?”

Gabriel spoke gently. “To restore the winter balance before the season collapses into chaos. The world has chosen you.”

Leo stepped forward protectively. “You’re not taking her anywhere.”

Gabriel looked at him kindly. “Snow Queens do not travel alone. You are her Witness. Her companion. Her voice when she doubts.”

Leo blinked. “Wait… me?”

Inés nodded. “Every Queen has someone she trusts completely.”

Jenny felt heat rise to her face—not embarrassment but fear.

“What if I fail?” she whispered.

Alya stepped close and touched Jenny’s shoulder.

“You only fail,” she said softly, “if you walk away.”

Jenny looked at Leo.

He nodded. “If you have to do this… I’m coming with you.”

Jenny took a breath.

“Okay,” she whispered. “Where do we start?”

Gabriel lifted his staff.

“Spain. Winter is fading there faster than anywhere else.”

---

❄️ CHAPTER 5 — Through the Winter Gates

The Guardians stepped into a circle around Jenny and Leo.

Gabriel struck the ground with his staff.

A ring of ancient frost patterns spiraled outward, glowing brighter and brighter until the snow beneath them turned into a pool of swirling silver light.

Leo stared. “This is… insane.”

Jenny swallowed. “I think this is magic. Real magic.”

Sorin stepped forward. “The Winter Gate will lead you where the season needs you most. The world of magic lies behind the thin veil humans never see.”

Inés lifted her lantern. Its glow deepened to crystal blue.

Alya extended her hand. “Jenny Moreau, do you accept the calling laid upon you?”

Jenny stared at the frozen world around her—the suspended snowflakes, the silent lanterns, the paused moment in time.

She thought about Madame Van Doren at the stall.

The pendant glowing in the frost box.

The feeling that something had been waiting for her.

She took Alya’s hand.

“Yes,” she whispered. “I accept.”

The gate burst into light.

Wind rushed around them—cold, sharp, but full of promise. Jenny held her crown as the world bent and folded, turning into a tunnel of swirling ice and stars.

Leo grabbed her arm. “Don’t let go!”

She didn’t.

The gate pulled them through.

For a moment, Jenny felt weightless, like a snowflake drifting between worlds.

Then—

Light swallowed everything.

And they were gone.