Word limit: 150 word story (10-word leeway) based on the photo prompt below and Dragon’s required bidding: ‘patience’.

Nuclear Winter Recon. CC photo by Paul Hocksenar.

I’m not very good at apocalyptic fiction, but I’ve given it a try, adding some fantasy elements to lighten the load. What do you think? Does it work?

The Snow Age. 2094.

Princess Stella was born with golden hair, and the sun in her amber eyes. In fact, the sun had shone relentlessly every 27th of June since 2064. Considering it a lucky omen, the King and Queen threw legendary parties annually for all the children, in the city square, to mark the anniversary.

At midnight all the lights were turned off for the firework display. The little girl must have fallen into the fountain, or perhaps she was pushed in by a jealous guest. Later, they discovered her body floating in the water.

The Queen yelled. The sun shut down. Within minutes, the square was covered with heavy snow, and all the children turned into ice statues. The emergency services, who had been warned of an approaching ice-age, supplied protective clothing, and weapons.

Nobody knew how long the snow age would last. When they asked, the Queen replied, ‘Patience, the snow will melt when Stella returns.’

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