The kingdom of Dor was a very grey, cloudy place. Light was never hard to find but it had a way of showing itself in small fragments. The only thing more rare than light was warmth. The hottest day in Dor would likely be a cloudy day anywhere else in the world.
However most of the citizens of Dor never found the weather too depressing. They could, afterall, create their own light and warmth. Cloudy days were no different than any other day for them. And the citizens, man and animal, were happy with that.
All except for one.
In the castle that housed the King of Dor and his daughter, the Princess Pea, there lay a hot bowl of soup. The two animals drinking from it were a large rat and a very small mouse, both missing their tails from when a serving maid had cut them off.
The rat, whose name was Chiaroscuro, paid no mind to the mouse who was named Despereaux, even when he knew the small rodent kept glancing at him.
Do you by any chance know what the word "vendetta" means?
It means you have an ongoing quarrel with someone over something the other, or both of you, did to you in the past.
Despereaux described his relationship with Roscuro as a vendetta ever since their first encounter. Despereaux had gone to the dark, awful dungeon to save his owner the princess from the hands of Roscuro. The rat, in fact had a vendetta against the princess at the time. He intended to keep her locked in the dark so that she may know how it feels to be without the light they both desired. But Despereaux came to the rescue saving the princess who in turn redeemed the heart-broken rat.
Ever since then the small mouse never knew how to feel about Roscuro. Not only was he a rat, but he was also the rat that tried to imprison the love of his life. Part of him wanted so badly to spark a friendship with him, though he couldn't tell why. But another part of him knew he could never be friends with a rat. Even if he tried, Roscuro often came and went as he pleased. That was the pact the Princess and King had made with him. He and only he was allowed to venture from the dark of the dungeon and the light of the castle. Because he came and went so quickly, Despereaux never saw him for too long.
The two sat on opposite ends on the bowl watching the night sky. Roscuro had come in asking for some of his soup. "That smells delectable…may I have some?" asked Roscuro.
Despereaux was in no mood to object with a rat.
"Of course you may."
It was colder then ever that December night in Dor. Despereaux saw twice out the corner of his eye and once in the open air a beautiful, soft flake of white drifting down from the sky and into the courtyard. Soon it was followed by more.
"Oh! Snow!" Despereaux said. It was the first time either had said anything. "I thought I'd never see snow. Princess Pea says that it only happens every other year here in Dor. That's so odd. Here things are colder then ever but it so rarely snows it might as never happen. I hope it will be out tomorrow that way I can-"
"Shut up!" said Roscuro to the excited mouse. "Snow this and snow that, it's all cold and grizzly and dark. How can anyone anywhere like snow?"
Despereuax was frightened by the rat's quick approval but he was actually quite motivated to speak for his objection. "The books I read say snow it wonderful."
"Then they are just as idiotic as you," said Roscuro.
"Snow is cold, but just look at it. The rest of the night sky is pitch black but snow stands out. It gives off light."
Roscuro stared at the flakes of white falling down and yes they were very bright in the light of the window, especially against the pitch darkness. "It is still cold. And the light that you see is only the light that comes off the castle. Nothing cold can ever give off light. Only warmth gives light."
Despereaux however was not done with his peace. "That is not true. Yes, it is the light of the palace, yes, snow is cold but you can still take light from it. Too much snow can kill someone. It's not really something good. But when you are surrounded by coldness and grayness why can't you indulge once in awhile? You can make the best warmth you can with the coldness you have. The threadmaster said something like that to me. Only, it was more to the effect of celery than snow."
Despereaux had gone on for so long he had not once thought to check if that rat was still paying attention. He was sure to find Roscuro giving him a nasty look or ignoring him completely. Instead, he was simply looking at him with surprise.
"I never thought of snow that way," he admitted.
"No?"
"I have never thought of warmth that way."
Despereaux thought. The rat had a fixation with light, not only with actual light but the light within everyone. The light and darkness within him was always at ends. For all he knew Despereaux had said something offensive to him.
The rat said nothing and did nothing to the small mouse for at least one solid minute. He then scooped up a spoon that was resting at the base of the bowl. The soup that poured into the spoon was deliciously hot and full of union and watercress. The rat handed the spoon over to Despereaux kindly. "Go on, have a drink mouse."
Despereaux kindly took the spoon and drank from it. It was a friendly gesture and any opportunity to take it was foolish to pass up. "My name is Despereaux. Despereaux Tilling, sir."
"Ah, I forget. That means "desperate" am I right?"
"'Despair'," the mouse corrected, "my mother was French."
"I am not good at French, excuse me."
"Neither am I," admitted Despereaux causing Roscuro to snicker. "I don't blame you for thinking otherwise Mr. Chiaroscuro."
"I like the name "Roscuro", better."
And just like that, our mouse and rat had their first conversation. A friendly one at that. All because of snow.