"Remind me again why we're out here, Deryn," Alek said, pulling his scarf down in order to be heard. Cold bit fiercely at his freshly exposed skin and he frowned, glancing around the empty field. It was free of trees and bushes and any other source of life. He wondered exactly why it was bare, when London seemed to be constantly expanding, but that wasn't important right now.

Deryn turned around and sighed. Her nose and cheeks were rosy, and Alek wondered how she seemed unaffected by the temperature with so little clothing on. She waved her bare hands around to emphasize the point she was about to make. "Because we finally have a day off and the next time we have one this place will probably be filled."

Alek simply shook his head and repositioned his scarf over the lower half of his face. He wouldn't mind be out here as much, especially because he was with Deryn, but it was freezing outside. He glanced up at the darkened sky, squinting against the snow raining down.

"Alek, heads up!" Deryn cried.

The former Prince whipped around, expecting some one to be attempting to attack him, or kill him. Instead, he was met by a face full of snow. It froze his face immediately, sucking the warmth from it. "What was that?" He demanded, wiping the slightly melted element off his face.

"What was what?" Deryn asked, feigning innocence. Alek could tell it was taking all her might not to laugh.

"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about." Alek said, wiping away some of the melted snow with his sleeve. Improper of course, but being around Deryn hadn't exactly sharpened his diplomatic skills.

Alek waited for an answer. Instead, Deryn turned away and leaned over with her hands on her knees. He took a step foreword, afraid she might be sick, but stopped as soon as he heard her laughing. "Two can play at the game," Alek muttered.

He reached down and gathered a handful of snow, ignoring how childish he felt, and pressed it tightly together. When he was satisfied with its shape he took aim at the former Midshipman and launched the snow ball.

It hit Deryn on the back of the head as she was straightening, catching her by surprise. She quickly recovered and snapped around. Alek smiled, though it was lost and turned his attention elsewhere as if he hadn't noticed.

"So that's how it's gonna be, eh?" Deryn said turning a fistful a snow into a near perfect circle. "You realize this means war, your princeliness."

Alek held up his hands. "I was only finishing what you started, Mr. Sharp. It was by no means an invitation to go all out with these childish antics."

Deryn smiled slightly, a sort of knowing smile that instantly made Alek wary. She casually tossed the snow ball up into the air. It spiraled a bit, but remained in tact, falling in into her hands with a light thump. She repeated the process a few more times, the smile never fading. "Aye, I see. Figured you'd give some clart-filled excuse to keep you from getting your bum whipped."

Alek narrowed his eyes at the girl. So this was what she was getting at? He wouldn't be easily lured. "I'm not making excuses. I'm explaining, Deryn." He said.

"Whatever makes you sleep better at night," She replied in a nonchalant voice. Alek easily picked up the challenge behind the simple words.

Alek clenched his hands, taking a deep breath. If it was a war she wanted, then it was a war she'd get. And one she'd be hardpressed to forget. "Fine. If you insist on being stubborn, then I will play your game. But I'm going to play it my way."

"Your way being...?"

Alek fell to his knees, feeling the cold soak through his trousers and leaned over, gathering an armful of snow into a little pile and packing it down as best he could. He reached for another armful then another, slowly building up a tiny wall.

Deryn chuckled. "Your really going to build a fort? That takes all the fun out of it, Alek!"

"I told you we are playing it my way, and unless you want to be exposed on the front line, then I suggest you dig in also."

Deryn shook her head but followed suit, forming her own fort to hunker down in. "Daft princes," she muttered as she worked. "I'm a barking airman. I fight in the sky, not behind some lousy defense line!" Alek ignored her ramblings and strived to make his fort long enough and tall enough to protect him from the soon to begin air assault.

Needless to say, when he was finished, his looked terrible compared to Deryn's. Hers was like a rectangle without a back and it was half as tall as she was. She looked pretty smug when she was sizing up Alek's fort, which was nothing more than a lumpy wall slightly curved inward at the top to offer more protection.

"Ready, your princliness?" Deryn called from behind her walls.

"Ready to parade victoriously through the streets of London, you mean?"

"We'll see about that." And without warning the war began. Deryn launched first, an average sized snowball that landed behind Alek. He retaliated with two shots, one sailing over Deryn's head, the other slamming into the front wall of her fort.

As Alek readied another attack, a snowball caught him in the mouth and he dropped down beneath the protection of his crudely made wall before another could find his head. He ignored the steady sting it brought and focused on his counter attack, peering over his fort.

He waited until Deryn was unprotected, ready to start her assault again, before he launched his attack. It didn't land where he planned, instead hitting her hand and knocking the snowball out of it. Nonetheless, this left her open to Alek's quick followup, which consisted of another snowball that hit her in the stomach.

It went on in a similar fashion, with no one quite gaining the upper hand, and both of them landing some pretty good shots in every now and then, for the better part of an hour. Alek's fingers were numb and frozen, and he was positive they might snap off at any moment. His arms ached and his breathing heavy.

All was quiet, save for the wind whistling against his frostbitten ears, and it unnerved him. Alek shook his head. The cold was addling his brain. This wasn't war. It was just some childish game that Deryn had managed to drag him into.

He looked over the edge of his fort, wondering why the barrage had stopped. Nothing moved on Deryn's side. Alek wondered if something was wrong, or if she was simply catching her breath. He sat back down after a moment and leaned against his fort.

Alek waited for a minute before rising and deciding to see what was going on. He approached Deryn's silent fort, hand raised above his head. He felt very childish, even though no one could see him, but it was the only way he could think of to show he came in peace. He didn't want to be smacked in the face with another glob of snow.

When Alek reached her fort, he found it abandoned. He dropped his hands, eyebrows knit together and looked around, wondering where she went, and how she managed to go anywhere without him noticing it. As he turned on his heels, back toward his fort, ready to call out to her, something barreled into his back, knocking him off his feet.

"What the-" Alek landed face first in a snowdrift and received a mouthful of frozen water. Whatever has tackled him fell with him, landing on top of him and quickly pushing itself up. Coughing and spluttering, Alek twisted around, his eyes falling on the grinning face of Deryn.

Her face was a whole new shade of red and her hair was matted with clumps of snow, sticking up as if she had been struck by lightning. Still, she was grinning from ear to ear, azure eyes alight with silent laughter as she looked down at him, sitting on his stomach. "I win."

"Win?" Alek echoed. "You didn't win. You cheated!"

If Deryn's grin grew any more, it would split her face. "How could I cheat? We set no rules. your princeliness."

"It was a snowball fight. Snowball. That's rule enough. There is no tackling allowed."

"So? You came to me with your hands raised in surrender, so technically, I won and the fight had ended before I tackled you."

"I did not surrender. I thought you'd gone off and turned yourself into an icicle and wanted to make sure you were still alive."

Deryn shook her head and stood, offering her hand. She pulled Alek up and onto his feet, and the former prince brushed some snow off his trousers. Anything to avoid looking at Deryn's smug, gloating face.

"How about we go get some hot chocolate?" Deryn suggested, crunching footfalls alerting Alek to the fact that she was walking away. "You look like a snowman."

Alek dropped to his knees, gathering a fist full of snow and packing it together as tightly as possible. "Maybe later," he said as he straightened, eyes trained on her. Deryn turned around, one eyebrow raised, but was met with a direct hit to the face. "I want a fair rematch."

X X X

Author's Notes: Well, this little piece is almost a year old. I wrote it last winter and never had much drive to finish it. I suppose it is better suited to be posted in a month or two, when snow it actually on the ground, but I figured that the weather is getting there, and it has been pretty cold, so why not.

Also, Deryn would totally get Alek to do stupid things, like have a snowball fight in the middle of a snowstorm.