To be overwhelmed by a flower was humbling, but in a way that had ceased in her life.  Wars, long incessant winters, and the chilling illness had left some part of her without hope.

     When he handed her the flower, she took it awkwardly, like holding a newborn for the first time.  Infused with color, its petals curved down layered one on top of the other, gradually becoming smaller, then ending with a flourish in the center.  She had never known a flower could look like this. They had blues, and whites, browns, greens but never this. “It is called red,” the doctor said. “Its name?” she asked, with a soft lift to her voice. “No,” he laughed, “its color.”

     “Oh,” she sighed, “if I had this I would never want to leave home.” And she placed the flower next to her pale complexion. For all their contrast, the two beauties shone as a singularity. The young doctor took a deep breath before speaking his idea, one close to his heart.  “I thought perhaps a warmer climate might improve your health.” With the slightest of hesitations, he pushed forward. "You could visit our world and at the same time introduce us to yours.  “We could know the octagonal snow flower a pale yellow on a blanket of white, the blue Peoria, the Lattice with veins of white swirled on its petals. In Galadia, colors are vibrant and strong to attract butterflies and insects that dust their bodies with pollen.  Passed on to another flower of the same species, new flowers begin.”

     His offer was tempting. To leave the coldness, the winds with storms, but could she survive without the cold that had made itself a part of her, or would she wither away like a flower, plucked. He was prepared for the hesitation even for a complete refusal.  It is safe. You will not die, though in time, we all do.  And he smiled at her.  I have been working on a device that keeps a room cold by removing the heat.  It can increase to your liking, and then maintain that temperature.  He took her hand so delicate and fragile and engulfed it in his warm fur covered mittens. I believe your cure lies in warming the body, not in keeping it cold, but you will feel safer with a cold environment nearby.

     In the end she agreed.   

     This is how both planets came to have more than one season. Snow flowers and winter found their way into Galadia.  With each place the princess visited she grew stronger.  Shedding off some of the cold that was freezing her body, it remained behind. The heat she gathered, she took home.  In time, flowers of red, and purple, yellow, and orange arranged themselves in fields of green until the cold crept back blanketing the land and bringing winter’s pale flowers.  When the princess passed from this life to the next, she was remembered as the Queen of Flowers.