“Way up there. It's not the last settlement, but it's the last city going up through the Territories.” Without living many other places---Edmonton for school, Porcupine River most recently, Montreal for a few weeks---Sam had had the time to get used to 'what, really?' and its spiritual siblings. The uncertainty that came off Will a moment after (though it barely lasted a moment more) caught her eye, but she didn't show she'd noticed, glad to answer his question about the castle instead. “Yes and yes. They build it bigger every year, and it's big enough that we use it for concerts and plays and things. Takes about two months to build, and the same guy's been in charge---at least, of its construction---since it started. Claims he came to be when someone stuck a magic potato onto a snowman's face instead of a carrot. Bit iffy, that, but the Snow King's someone you roll with... literally. Castle's gotta have guards, right? Imagine a snowman with a base it takes two or three people to push, and a middle it takes two more to lift.”

She probably wouldn't've said as much, if not for the kid's obvious interest. The snow castle was months and hundreds of miles away from California and the air-conditioned airport they stood in, but it would at least be something to daydream about.

“Not bad, just boring?” Since she wasn't mean enough to let her disbelief touch her tone, Sam kept the question casual. “Can I ask what has you so far from home?”

She could guess, though it wasn't much of a guess, which Will had to know; hopefully, he'd figure from her phrasing 'no,' as an answer, was alright.