The shimmering mounds of snow cast a hush over the oft-bustling city of Baron. As the days grew shorter and colder, many of the citizens retired from their daily efforts to spend time with their families indoors. Thus, few footprints spoiled the beautiful piles of snow.
That is, until the children came. Most poured from the town's houses, all equally excited to romp in the snow. A few of the children, dressed better than the rest, came from the castle. Two such boys entered the gate and ran to the house near the now-frozen waterway. A young girl, bundled up so that she quite resembled a turtle, tumbled out the door to join the boys in the chill.
"What do you want to do first? Ice skating? Sledding? Snow forts? Snowmen?" Cecil asked excitedly.
"Oh, Kain, is that the sled you told me about?" Rosa smiled at the wooden sled Kain had just received for his fourteenth birthday- a sled large enough to fit the tall, bulky blonde and at least one small passenger.
"Isn't it great? How about we go down to the hills and take it for a ride?" Kain looked only at Rosa, who shuffled her feet.
"My parents said I'm not allowed to leave town today. All the roads except the castle's are covered in deep snow…"
"I've got an idea!" Cecil cut in.
The pair stared at Cecil wide-eyed as he explained his scheme. It was crazy, but that described most of their adventures. Still…
"Are you sure about this, Cecil?" Kain's friends had learned to ignore the embarrassing rise and fall of the boy's changing voice.
"It's going to be great!" The white-haired child assured. "You're not afraid, are you?"
Cecil knew exactly what to say to make his older friend committed to the idea. "Don't be absurd. Let's get going."
With that, the friends headed out. At least, until a group of similarly turtle-clad girls joined them.
"Rosa!" One of the girls exclaimed, "We've been looking all over for you!"
"Have you?" Rosa looked confused.
"Don't you remember?" Another girl added, "You promised us last week you come play with us, but instead you spent all your time with these boys…"
At the girls examined her friends, one noticed Cecil, and made a hasty apology, followed by curtsies from all of the children. Cecil only looked embarrassed.
"Oh! You're completely right! I'm so sorry!" Rosa glanced at Kain, who was glaring at some indiscernible spot near his left foot. He didn't even answer as she said, "I'll try out the sled next week, okay? Have fun you two!"
With that, Rosa was gone, and Kain seemed to have lost all motivation to continue their sledding adventure.
Cecil was extremely disappointed in his friend. "Kain, you know we wouldn't have all fit in this sled anyway!" When that didn't work, Cecil added, "Next week, you and Rosa can go by yourselves, okay?"
"Who says I care that much if Rosa goes sledding with us?" Kain grumbled.
Cecil blinked, then decided against saying more on the subject. He continued up the icy steps to their destination, glad to see Kain reluctantly following.
"Ready?" As his friend nodded his assent, they pushed off the snow-covered frozen lake and down into the passageway. Kain ducked as they passed through the overhang. Then, they were half-falling half-zooming down a nearly vertical drop. With the waterway cleared, the boys soared across the snow, following the outline of the icy river.
Then one of them screamed. The hole in the city wall, their destination from the beginning, was blocked with snow. The sled was already off course, barreling at top speed towards the brick.
"I think we should jump!" Kain screamed.
No one argued. After a countdown, they leapt from the sled. Kain landed on his feet and took off running for the sled, which nevertheless collided with the brick wall. Cecil hurtled headfirst into the snowbank as the snow from a tree fell on top of him as well.
Then, a snowball suddenly whacked Cecil in the chest, sending him sprawling.
"Hey, who threw that?" Kain growled. He had come to adopt the opinion that no one was allowed to hurt Cecil other than himself. And, between his ruined birthday present and Rosa's departure, he was already in a bad mood.
Cecil sat back up, scowling. "Kain, you truly are a terrible liar."
Kain looked flabbergasted. "I swear, I never-" But he was cut off by a snowball connecting with his face . "Okay, someone's going to pay for-"
This time Kain cut himself off as he noticed giggling from somewhere behind him. There stood Rosa with the other village girls, armed with snowballs. He should have known. Rosa always had a superior throwing arm.
"This is war!" Kain shouted.
"Tag every member of the team, and you win?" Rosa called. This was a familiar game with them, whether via snowballs or other artillery. As the boys agreed to the terms, Kain watched a girl on the periphery of the group ready her assault.
"Duck!" Kain screamed, yanking the dazed Cecil to his feet and pulling him behind a snowdrift.
"What a bunch of sissies." A girl called.
Kain stiffened, about to rise up and challenge the girl, but Cecil grabbed his arm. "Wait. You can't go out there unarmed!" Kain agreed, and the boys began rolling out weapons as fast as they could.
They could hear the girls moving about, probably selecting hiding places, but no one stopped Kain and Cecil from their task.
"So, what's the plan?" Cecil asked between snowball formations.
Kain paused. "There's five of them, and two of us, so the odds are against us…We need an advantage. I've never been the best at throwing, but I can surprise them if I hit from above. Cecil, I want you to find another snowbank and hide. You blend in pretty well the snow, so you should be able to get in a few good hits without being found. I'll duck into those trees behind us and strike from the tree tops. Got all that?"
"Yes, Commander Kain." Cecil laughed. Knowing the family history, Cecil instantly regretted the comparison, but Kain looked pleased.
"Go." Kain whispered, giving Cecil slight shove.
Cecil bounded away, noticing a convenient pile of snow near the wall. He ran as fast as he could keeping his eye out for any girls. They were well-concealed.
Then he heard a shriek and Kain's shout, "Hey, I got one!" He sighed. So much for cover. Cecil shrank back into the snowbank, thanking his pale features for artic camouflage.
He noticed a flash of orange peeking around a crate in a nearby alleyway. His weapon hit the target. Two girls were out. Now for the other- Then a snowball embedded itself in the snow near Cecil's face. Had he been spotted? Or was that just a misplaced ball? Then he saw the girl heading straight for him. He leapt from the drift, trying to outrun the girl who was hot on his heels.
He couldn't help but laugh as he raced through the snow. Sure, he may lose, but this was getting fun! And this girl did NOT have the aim of Rosa, and Cecil easily dodged her. Where WAS Rosa anyway? Cecil thought as he ran along the wall of the city. Struck with inspiration, Cecil ducked into the trees, with the girl following. He zigzagged through the wood, then swung around a tree and tossed a snowball at the surprised girl. It missed, and Cecil dashed out of the grove, reaching the other side of the village.
A snowball finally whacked the back of his leg, and Cecil settled for melodramatically falling to the ground in defeat. He smiled as the girl helped him back up. With only Kain remaining against three more girls, this girl wasn't too worried about the outcome of the game, so the two laughed and talked all the way back to the frontline. When they returned however, they realized the city was in chaos. Other children had joined the fight, and what had been a simple "girls-vs-boys" fight had descended into an anarchic battle.
Flying snowballs were as numerous as giggling children, and no one cared any more who was in or out, or what team one belonged to. Cecil joined the battle with his new friend, while still keeping an eye out for Kain. Finally he spotted him teaming up with Rosa. The large boy was acting as her shield, as Rosa struck with deadly accuracy. Cecil bid farewell to the girl and tried to join them, but could barely get through the barrage of snowballs.
"This is insanity!" Cecil laughed as he reached his friends.
"Isn't it great?" Kain grinned. Rosa said nothing, as she was concentrating fiercely on the snowball fight.
Suddenly, the crowd of children began to fall back. Snowballs halted, as the current weapons dropped harmlessly to the ground. The clopping of a beast-drawn sleigh was heard as two castle officials rode through the front gate. To their surprise, the sleigh stopped in the midst of the confused children, who shrank back guiltily as if the presence of an adult automatically meant one must have done something wrong.
One of the men stood on the sleigh's bench and began reading off a list. "Elena Rockdolis?"
The girl whom Cecil had befriended during the game stepped timidly towards the man. He whispered something briefly to her, and she waited rigidly as he continued calling names. Soon, a gaggle of seven children surrounded the man, while the rest of the town's youth watched in curious silence.
Kain frowned. "Those are all the kids of my father's men." As soon as these words left his lips, Kain's own name was called, and he marched forward, stiffly trying to appear mature.
Cecil crept up as well, worried about his friend. The man stared at the children with the eyes of someone who had lost his patience with this day six hours ago. He called their names once more, quietly addressing each of them. "There has been an accident. Your fathers were among those unable to escape. Your fathers are dead."
