Hello everyone! Welcome to As the Snow Falls! This is my first fanfiction ever, and I hope everyone who reads it likes it. :D
Please leave a review, comment... thingy! I would love seeing people's reactions to each chapter and what they think!
Also, a special thanks to .Twins12 for editing this chapter for me! Please check their stories out, they are really great!
Oh! Just to let you know, I will be changing the rating to M eventually for future chapters, so be warned!
Anyway, without further a due, here is chapter one of As the Snow Falls!
CHAPTER 1
Winter. The season known for the joys of ice-skating, hot chocolate, and snowball fights. You loved winter. But today was different. The beautiful, dancing snow seemed to mock you as it fell on your shoulders during your trek through the dark woods. The howling wind whipped snow across your tracks and beat at your tired, weak body. The deep snow combined with the numbing wind caused to stumble to your knees several times. But you got back up every time and continued your escape as quickly as you could.
You had been fleeing from Russia's house for a week now, and you didn't dare go back. At least, that's what had told yourself the first two days. By the third day, you were exhausted and cold. The thought of turning back had crossed your mind several times. But you knew you couldn't. It was too dangerous. Ivan would be furious with you.
After a week of trekking through the snow, you estimated you were somewhere in the middle of the Siberian taiga. Hopefully. You weren't always the best at navigating when you didn't have a map. Especially outside your own territory. You knew the lands of Yukon like the back of your hand.
A harsh wind scattered snow across the frozen land. Any other day you would have probably found it beautiful.
Any other day you would have been smiling up at Ivan as he held you hand and shared his scarf with you. Maybe he would have even offered to ice skate with you on one of the many frozen lakes. You would both laugh and joy would light up Ivan's face as nothing else could.
But this wasn't 'any other day'.
This was today. Without Ivan by your side, the taiga was Hell frozen over. Ivan was not there beside you to comfort and protect you from the dangers of the wild taiga. There was no laughter or joy. Only pain.
Your thoughts were disrupted by your present situation. You were stuck in the taiga. Alone. Without protection. And it looked like the sun was going down.
Increasing your pace, you made your way toward a snow you had seen ten minutes ago. It was another twenty minutes of trekking, but you finally made it.
Once you found a decent sized ledge, you began to throw the snow into a good sized pile against the side of a rock. You made sure to pack it down every once in a while. It would be horrible if you had a cave-in when Ivan told you to stay safe.
After deeming the snow pile large enough, you fell to your knees and began to dig a hole into the side of it. With enough digging you made yourself a small cave. The entrance was just large enough for you to shimmy your way in and drag your backpack in after yourself. The inside of the 'cave' was warm, thanks to the snow's natural insulation.
Crawling back out, you stood and examined your work. The shelter would at least block the wind and keep you a bit warmer, not to mention safer, than if you slept outside. The only thing left to do was to find something to block the entrance. Looking around, you found a fallen pine tree branch nearby that looked like it would cover the hole nicely.
You dragged the branch back to your shelter. After shimmying back into the snow cave, you pulled the branch over the hole. The shelter was as good as it could be now. The harsh elements' attacks were blocked. You were as safe as you could be at the moment.
You had picked a good tree branch for a 'door'. It was large enough to block the snow and wind, but thin enough so you could see through it. There was no way anyone could sneak up on you from the east. It might not deter humans, but at least it could trick the animals.
For one night, you could be relatively safe.
Digging in your backpack, you found your last granola bar. In the beginning you'd had at least thirty granola bars. Now that you think back, you probably should have rationed the food. This was your last granola bar. There was no telling how far you had to go. Deciding to stay on the safe side, you only ate half the granola bar and stored the rest of it in your backpack for tomorrow. You were going to need it if you wanted to continue your trek.
You shifted around to find a spot that was relatively comfortable. The small rocks poking into your back were uncomfortable, but you would bear with it. Sighing contentedly, you let your eyes drift shut. You thoughts wandered to Ivan, remembering the good times the two of you had had before everything had happened.
Ivan . . .