Sorry for not updating for over a month, school is busy (as per usual) so I don't have much time to write. On top of that, I really wasn't feeling the story. At all. it was unofficially dead to me for a while, until this morning, when I decided that I should probably give it another shot. I'm going to try to write something at least every two weeks.
.oOo.
It had been several weeks since Matthew had been brought to Ivan's cabin. Though his first few days with the angry Russian had been awkward, their relationship had progressed quickly and soon Matthew found could call Ivan a friend. The feeling of having a friend was new to Matthew. The word felt almost foreign on his tongue. All his life he had been trapped in a cold cellar at the mercy of his twisted brother. More often than not, any signs of affection directed toward him led to cruel punishment. That wasn't to say Ivan was the epitome of kindness, no he was far from it. But he no longer glowered at Matthew as he spoke with Katyusha, and he treated Matthew almost as an equal, though the latter was mainly because Katyusha would protest if she saw any signs of Ivan reverting back to his 'torture first think later' mindset. The change from prisoner to friend had been gradual and painful for both of them, namely Matthew as Ivan still had the tendency to become suspicious of the Canadian should the conversation become too personal, but Matthew knew that for all the pain their friendship had caused him, it had been worth it.
Matthew glanced out the cabin window, watching as the snow softly fell in the clearing. He loved the winter, the feeling of peace and tranquillity that fell upon the forest as it was covered in a thick blanket of snow. Sure, there weren't any flowers or bright bird songs to wake him in the morning, and no strong sunshine to light up the cabin, but the quiet beauty of the falling snow more than made up for these details. Of course, Ivan was of a different opinion.
Matthew flinched as the door to his room was flung open. Ivan stood in the door frame, holding two shovels and a toolbox. "Hurry up. We have much to do, da? Come outside in 5 minutes, you will not like what happens if you are late." With that, he shut the door, his heavy footsteps echoing down the hall. Sighing, Matthew pulled on a thick pair of boots, throwing off the tee-shirt that he had borrowed in favour of a thick sweater. Ivan must have been in a bad mood if he was working at this hour. It was barely eight in the morning and he was already in a horrible mood. Knowing Ivan, he had spent the previous night drinking and now Matthew was going to have to entertain the Russian during his hangover. Grabbing his coat and a pair of durable work gloves, he headed out the front door in search of Ivan and today's task.
Ivan stood in the middle of the clearing, surrounded by long, thick logs and a large plastic tarp. Wooden stakes littered the clearing, marking out a large rectangle in the frozen dirt. Matthew vaguely wondered how Ivan had managed to drive the stakes into the frozen ground, but decided not to comment. Ivan began to speak, breaking Matthew out of his reverie. "Comrade Matvey, you are on time. This is good, as you will have the most important job in today's project." Ivan grinned childishly at Matthew's frown before continuing, "You get to carry the water from the river to the clearing! Thankfully, the rapids have not yet frozen, so you should be able to get the water without having to cut a hole in the ice. Aren't you lucky?" Matthew groaned. Whatever they were building, it had better not involve a lot of water. The river was quite a ways away and his back still hurt from the previous day's task, in which Ivan had forced him to shovel the entire clearing without providing a reason for doing so. "Don't worry Matvey, you don't have to start yet! You must first help me make the frame!" Ivan exclaimed gleefully, enjoying Matthew's obvious discomfort.
"If you don't mind me asking, what are we building?" Matthew asked, glancing at the tarp and ignoring the fact that Ivan gave no indication of helping.
"You'll soon find out." Ivan cackled, his eyes darkening considerably. Matthew visibly shuddered, a fact that did not go unnoticed by the Russian. He watched Matthew's eyes widen in fear for a few moments before turning toward the pile of supplies. "Come Matvey," he called. "Help me join these logs."
They managed to construct the wooden frame in less than an hour, an impressive feat given the fact that it covered most of the clearing. The frame was about 60 feet wide and about 100 feet long, and it extended from the front steps of the cabin to about 20 feet into the woods. Ivan instructed Matthew to begin carrying the water as he nailed the tarp to the edges, as small smile playing briefly across his lips. Trudging through the woods, Matthew speculated on what Ivan was building. The Russian seemed unusually happy, a fact that had unnerved Matthew for most of the morning. Although the large man continued to berate and abuse his new lackey, gruffly calling out orders and mocking the lithe Canadian as he struggled to obey Ivan's commands as quickly as possible. However, he had tormented Matthew with more vigour than usual, and every once in a while he would glance longingly at the wooden frame before fixing his hungry gaze on the Canadian. Whenever this happened Matthew would look away quickly and try to convince himself that nothing had happened.
Reaching the river, Matthew leaned over the thin layer of ice that had formed along the banks, filling the sizeable bucket with water before beginning the trek back to the clearing. The cold metal of the bucket's crude handle bit into his hand, and the freezing water sloshed out of the bucket each time he attempted to drag himself over one of the larger snowdrifts, splashing onto his clothes and soaking through the legs of his pants. Upon reaching the clearing, he passed the bucket to Ivan, who scathingly remarked, "Matvey is slow at getting the water, Da? Perhaps he is afraid of getting wet? Can Matvey not handle a little water? Clearly not, as he has spilled half of it on himself." Pouring the remainder of the freezing water into the frame, Ivan instructed Matthew to grab four more buckets from the small work shed nestled amongst the trees. When the Canadian returned with the buckets, Ivan snapped a branch from a nearby tree, (Matthew cringed), positioning the four empty buckets along the branch and slinging the contraption across his shoulders. Striding through the woods, he motioned for Matthew to follow him.
Soon, Matthew realized what the branch across Ivan's back was for. When Ivan got to the river, he filled all four buckets before sliding them back on the branch by the handles. Then, he began to trudge back toward the cabin, balancing the branch and buckets on his broad shoulders. Matthew followed behind him, still struggling to carry the one bucket of water. Ivans steps were surprisingly steady, and the water rarely splashed outside the buckets. Upon reaching the frame, Ivan dumped the water in again, watching as it spread out across the tarp in small rivers. Matthew wondered if they were trying to fill the frame completely-he hoped not. They had put in five buckets already-soon to be six, once Matthew managed to drag the bucket to the edge- and many areas of the tarp were still dry. "Hurry up Matvey!" Ivan called to the struggling Canadian, "We must fill the frame before nightfall, da?" Matthew groaned.
Several hours later, the frame was finally filled. The sky had darkened and Matthew could make out the faint lights of the stars. Soon, it would be pitch black outside. Dragging his bucket back to the shed, Matthew looked at the frame. The water was already beginning to freeze in the cold night air. They had filled the frame until the water was six inches deep, leaving another six inches of wood around the pool as a border. Matthew stared at the odd set up again. What was Ivan building? With a sigh, he found that he didn't care anymore. He dragged his aching body through into the cabin, kicking off his boots before trudging to his room. Shrugging off his coat, Matthew flopped onto his bed, still in his clothes. He gathered just enough strength to drag himself under the covers, relaxing into the soft warmth. In a few moments, he was fast asleep.
Ivan crept towards Matthew's room, his hulking form surprisingly graceful as he silently pried the door open, revealing the sleeping Canadian. The covers had been pulled up to his nose, his entire frame hidden underneath mounds of blankets, his face peaceful and relaxed in his slumber. Ivan crept over to the bed, brushing the sleeping boy's hair back from his face, smiling softly. The boy was actually very useful to have around, and Ivan found himself enjoying his company more and more. His soft smile, the way he would try to hide his feelings of annoyance or pain when Ivan worked him too hard, and his gentle mannerisms were all very amusing to the Russian, who's smile continued to grow as he thought of all the time he spent with his Matvey today. Stroking the sleeping Canadian's hair again, Ivan backed out of the room, listening to the calm breathing of his sleeping comrade. His smile soon grew to an evil grin as he thought about the new addition to the clearing, and the surprise that awaited his young companion in the morning.
.oOo.
So there you go. I didnt really know how to end it, but I'll work on that later. I'm pretty sure most of you know what Ivan and Mattie built. If not, I'll give you a hint: The world juniors are on, and Canada beat Russia a few nights ago. Being the hockey nut I am, I had to incorporate it into the story. Plus, hockey will give them a common interest/something to bond over, provided they aren't too rough/nobody dies.
-Meg
