Tales get very strange and warped after centuries of isolation, anyway; probably a lot of their beliefs about Ded Moroz and Snegurochka don't match up with how they were on Earth in the first place. The idea that he's more than a millennium old makes sense but still startles him. Gregor feels as if he's gone perpetually wide-eyed with awe, when normally he is a reserved, almost unreadable face. But everything about this is incredible.

He tugs his sleeves down over his hands to have some insulation as he gingerly accepts the ice crown, as if scared of breaking it. He immediately wishes it were possible to preserve it, but in the crisp yet comfortable mid-fall weather, he suspects it will melt eventually. "It's okay," he says faintly, automatically, "Barrayaran Emperors don't actually wear crowns. It would be considered an affectation." Things about being Emperor he is slowly absorbing, already instinctive and innate. Things about acting his age... he gets in fits and spurts.

Then, suddenly, his real reaction catches up with him and he blurts out, "This is amazing. Do you do this all the time?" He's not even sure which this he's referring to. Make beautiful objects out of ice, talk to random people?