Chapter 4 - change of plans

"Warm enough?" Frida stressed, keeping close to Sophie as the snow-laden streets crunched beneath her feet. Her concern was visible on the air as the words slipped past her slightly chapped lips. "I can hear your teeth chattering!"

A small huff of air was forced out of Sophie's rose-colored nose. "Y-Yeah. For the hundredth time, I'm good." she nodded, keeping her arms tightly crossed to ensure that her answer remained true. "I just get cold really easily."

"I'll bet!" Frida whined, reaching underneath Sophie's heavy coat. "You're nothing but skin and bones!"

Already tinted red from the cold, the brown-haired girl's face burned as Frida ran her soft, mitten-clad hands up and down Sophie's ribcage. Both girls couldn't help but cringe every time Frida's fingers fell into the depression between any two of the starved girl's ribs, albeit for completely different reasons.

"It's no wonder you stuffed your face so much last night." Frida sighed, pulling her hand back into her own personal space. Looking down at Sophie's thin, defined jawline, Frida let a guilty frown spread across her face. "I kinda feel bad for teasing you so much now. I mean, you really couldn't help yourself, could you? And here I am, comparing you to an animal!"

"It's fine. I kind of deserve it after what I did." said the shorter girl. She rubbed her own sides to make up for the frigid air that had snuck in along with Frida's intrusive hand. "I should be the one saying sorry to you. You've been so nice to me, a-and..."

Sophie took a step forward to match Frida's stride. A paper-thin sheet of ice, hugging the bumpy surface of the old city's cobblestone streets, shattered underneath even her slight weight. "...Well, I've been kind of a brat."

"Yeah, you had some very colorful words for Mia and I...I didn't even know what half of them meant!". Frida's muted blue eyes wandered off aimlessly as she tapped her chin. "What was the one you called me a bunch? I think it started with the letter 'C'?"

Sophie chewed her lip. "How about we just pretend I never said that?"

"If you say so!" Frida laughed. "Still. I apologize for all the name-calling. This all happened so suddenly. I think we've both had a bit of a rocky start."

"I'm sorry for everything, too." Sophie agreed. "Water under the bridge?"

"Yeah?" Frida said, stopping to peer down at the frozen river beneath the huge stone bridge they were about to cross over. "That's the Elbe. What about it?"

"What? No, I mean..." Sophie said, unable to keep down a hearty laugh. "Like the saying! As in, can we just forget about it?"

"Ohhh!" Frida nodded, letting out an earnest laugh of her own. "Wow, don't I look stupid!"

At that, the blonde-haired baker stepped in front of Sophie. "Let's start over," she declared, holding out her hand. "My name is Frida von Becker. I like reading and bird watching. Nice to make your acquaintance!"

Sophie looked down at Frida's outstretched hand. "A-Acquaintance?" she fretted.

"It means 'friend'."

"Oh!" Sophie stuttered. "Now I look stupid..."

A shy smile snuck onto her face as she reached out to reciprocate the gesture. "I'm...Sophie. I like...good food and...looking at stars. Nice to make your...um...uuh-kwayn-tinse."

"No last name?"

"Um..." Sophie hesitated again, breaking eye contact with Frida. Despite the weather, her forehead began to glisten ever so slightly. "I'm, uhh..."

"It's alright. You don't have to-"

"S-Seidel." The skinny girl finally replied, "I'm Sophie Seidel."

"Ooh! Alliteration! So fancy!" Frida laughed, still holding on to Sophie's gloved hand. Rather than let go, she merely readjusted her grip, lowered both arms to hip-level, and marched forward.

Sophie stumbled slightly, forced to keep pace with Frida as she led her across the bridge, "What's that?"

"You don't know what alliteration is?"

"I dunno! I can't even read that good."

"Oh, Frau Seidel! I've got so much to teach you!"

* * *

"...As I said before, that river underneath us is called the Elbe. It goes all the way from the North Sea to Bohemia!"

"Golly." Sophie nodded slowly, pretending to have any inkling of where in the world Bohemia was supposed to be. "That's, uh, something."

"Yeah! It's one of the most important waterways in all of Europe! In the days of the Roman Empire, they called it the 'Albis'. N-Not the HOLY Roman Empire, mind you, that's today. I'm talking about the old Roman Empire. You know, from the bible?"

Frida's next step sent her stumbling forward. "Sophie...?" She sputtered, looking behind herself to see her new friend staring ahead, still as a statue.

Frida blinked. "Hellooo?"

Standing on the apex of the long, curved bridge, the view of Dresden's central district peeked over the horizon. Among the sea of slanted roofs and tall steeples was a vast town square, filled with countless stands and flag-topped tents. Their vibrant colors clashed pleasingly with the frosted-over wooden buildings that surrounded them.

Almost drooling, Sophie took a hungry step forward. Before she could even begin to locate its source, the intoxicating scent of butter, sugar, and fried dough snuck into her nostrils.

"Frida!" Sophie beamed, "Is THAT where we're going?"

Frida stuck out her bottom lip. "N-no! I was gonna take you somewhere else. It's kind of like a pub? But it's run by this French couple. You tell them what you want to eat, and they cook it for you, and bring it to you! I didn't even know there was a fair in town!"

Looking at Sophie's enchanted expression, Frida couldn't stop herself from smiling. A warm glow surrounded her whole body, and for a moment, the girl could have sworn it was summer.

"You wanna go anyway?"

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(Sorry for teasing you all for so long! If you stick around, I promise the next chapter will have plenty of food involved!)