" Outside, the sky was clear, stars gleaming in its ebony vastness like celestial fireflies. It was bitterly cold, and Hywel's every breath trailed after him in pale puffs of smoke. The glazed snow crackled underfoot as he started towards the great hall. "

― Sharon Kay Penman , Time and Chance (Plantagenets #2; Henry II & Eleanor of Aquitaine #2)