In silence, in cold, she made her way through ice and snow.
Higher and higher she went,
Higher and higher until
She fell to one knee and could walk no further.


With a bitter cough into gloves as pure as the snow beneath her,
She saw the cost of her trek,
Her heart's blood,
A shock of crimson in her hands.


Chest aflame,
Cheeks burning with loss and regret,
She forgot why she had come.


The wind fell to a low whisper,
And she heard snatches of words she remembered,
Words from a world away,
Long-etched into the trappings of her soul.


She bit back the cries in her throat
As she looked down at the blood on her hands,
Warm and bright against the sullen snow,
Cost and comfort of her dying heart.


Chest aflame,
Cheeks burning with loss and regret,
She remembered the will of her mother,
The courage of her brothers and sisters,
All fallen.
All sleeping in silence as cold as the ice at her feet.