The woman refused to let her children be caught by her insane husband. She searched the woods until she found a spot where the trees grew so close together, where Winter could not get in. Though it took many days, she chopped some wood and built a house there. She then packed as much food and clothing as possible and brought her children to the house. She told them that that were to live there from then on, so that their father would never find them. She was sure that with as little interest as he showed in his daughters, Winter would not care much for the fate that befell them. He would never stop looking for their son however, so she warned the boy to never stray into daylight while in human form, lest his father find and spirit him away.
She hugged and kissed her children, and then returned to her own house. The next day, Winter's season began. With it came the worst storm that there had ever been. The wind smashed in her windows. Snow and sleet extinguished any fire she tried to build. Her food froze to the plates, keeping her from eating.
The storm finally died down. When three days passed without seeing her, several people in the village left to check on the woman. They found her standing in her doorway, frozen solid. There was a smile on her face of such warmth and love, which not even the frost on her skin could mar.
Matthew was running, running, running, fighting to keep upright on the slippery floor. He could hear the sound of the ice soldiers somewhere behind him. So, some had slipped past the the fight in the banquet hall. He didn't know how soon they would catch up, but it did not matter. He had to hurry
He rounded a corner and nearly collided with Natalia. She was being followed by a tall man with strangely familiar white hair...
"Vanya?" asked Matthew.
"Close enough," said the man. "You are Alfred's twin, correct? Come this way!"
"You're the first person who hasn't confused me for Alfred," commented Matthew, panting and jogging to keep in step with the siblings.
"You were far too quiet," Vanya said. "And I know that Alfred will not be out of his room. He is...well, you may see for yourself."
They came to a halt in front of a door. The knob was frozen shut, but Vanya easily twisted it open. Matthew went inside and gasped.
It was a beautiful bedroom, not unlike the one Winter kept him in before dinner. It was cold, of course, with snow and ice piled everywhere. There was one thing that certainly was not in Matthew's bedroom.
Alfred stood in the center of the room. He was poised to leap forward, his arm reaching out. His face was set into a determined mask, and Matthew could imagine him giving a battle cry as he leaped forward to fight whatever injustice was in his way.
He was frozen solid. His golden hair was frosted, and his eyes were still and glassy. Upon touching his brother's skin, Matthew was startled by how cold and smooth it was. Alfred was ice.
"What happened to him?" whispered Matthew.
"My father caught him," said Vanya, his voice unusually soft. "That is what he does to any who visit his home. He gives them a room, invites them to a meal, and then keeps them forever, or for as long as they last like this."
"How -" Matthew's throat squeezed, and he tried again. "How do we fix this."
"I do not know." Out of the corner of his eye, Matthew saw Vanya's hands curl into fists. "I wish I did, but never before...I never...Bozhe moi..."
"Brother," whispered Natalia, taking his hand in hers.
Something tickled Matthew's cheeks, and he realized that he was crying. He reached up to brush them away, and something soft hit his face. Something made of cloth. He stared at his wrist. The handkerchief the Monk gave him was still there. What had he been told, so very long ago? Giving and receiving, not only for the material?
And suddenly, he knew what to do.
Matthew stepped forward, until he was right in front of his brother. "Alfred," he whispered. This was all there was. There was no fighting outside, no ice soldiers searching for him. Vanya and Natalia were not in the room. The General did not exist.
"Alfred, it's me, Matthew. I've come for you."
He fumbled for the cloth with one hand, and managed to untie it.
"This handkerchief has the blessing of protection on it."
He tied the handkerchief around Alfred's own outstretched wrist. It was not easy. His fingers fumbled, and he was shaking slightly. He couldn't seem to stop it.
"By the laws of karma, if one gives, one receives."
There it was. The handkerchief was securely tied around Alfred. Matthew took a deep breath. This had to work. It had to.
"I give the handkerchief and its blessing to you. All I want is your return. You are all that I want Alfred...so come back to me."
His brother was cold and silent, but Matthew clung to hope. He would reach for this happy ending, like Katsuya and Natalia and Feliks did.
Gently - very gently - he put his arms around Alfred. He felt rivulets of water running down his sleeves and the front of his shirt, but he paid it no heed.
He would not let go.
The water was now running in tiny streams, growing warmer and warmer. Matthew felt water very warm running down his cheeks and neck. He drew back and smiled but said nothing, for he knew that his brother would deny crying.
(Matthew did not see why. There was nothing un-heroic about it.)
Alfred collapsed and Matthew was at his side, holding him up. A statue has no need for muscles or will to stand, and his brother only just regained his. He was learning to see, to speak, to hear, as he gazed around the room.
"Good dream," Alfred finally murmured.
"It is not a dream," said Matthew, holding his brother tightly. "Alfred, I've come to save you!"
Alfred shook his head. "No Matthew, I know that you're still with mother and father. How can you know where I am? Don't argue with me, just let me enjoy before the dream becomes a nightmare."
"There will be no more nightmares," said Vanya, speaking for the first time since Alfred was freed. "It is all over, Alfred."
Alfred noticed Vanya and seemed unable to speak. The white-haired man moved towards him, Natalia still clinging possessively to his arm, and reached for Alfred.
Alfred shrank back. "I won't take it," he said. "I will have my real Matthew, my real Ivan. I won't settle for something my restless mind made up."
"Alfred!" cried Matthew. "We are real! I have seen the four wisemen outside of our town, who told me where you were, and when to find you! I have met the sisters in the forest of gold and silver and jewels, who lead me here! I have tricked the General and escaped his soldiers and won you back! And now, my brother, you think that is all made-up? Would a dream of a brother manage all of that? Could any fantasy be as unbelievable as all of that?"
Alfred said nothing, but wove his arms around Matthew's neck. He buried his face into his brother's shoulder, not believing, but not giving up.
A crash outside ended the moment.
"Oh God," breathed Toris, looking into the hallway. "The battle has move from the banquet hall. We have to leave now, before we are completely cut off from the exit."
"Will you escape with us?" Ivan asked Alfred.
Alfred still said nothing, but did not resist as Matthew helped him out of the room and into the battle outside.
Toris immediately set off, shouting for those he loved. "Feliks! Where are you? Eduard, start blowing the guards in the southern corridor out of the way! We need to go in that direction to escape. Raivis, if you shake that much you won't be able to aim properly! Try to calm yourself!"
"S-s-sorry!" little Raivis whimpered, as he pointed a shaking hand at the nearest ice soldier. A thick layer of frost crept over its knees, wrists, and shoulders. A moment later, the frost solidified, leaving the soldier unable to move properly.
"Gotcha!" crowed Feliks, knocking the soldier over as it stood in surprise at what Raivis did. He then turned and smacked another soldier with the flat of his blade, toppling it to the floor and making it shatter. "This isn't too bad, huh?"
"Your friend seems to be enjoying himself," Katsyua commented to Toris, as she fought off a soldier with what appeared to be the broken-off leg of a chair.
Hearing her voice, Ivan gave a start and tried to get a good look through all of the forms running about. "Big sister is here?" he wondered aloud.
And as he heard her, she heard him. "Vanya!" she shrieked, running to him. "Vanya, Vanya, it is you!"
"'Vanya'?" asked Alfred, his eyebrows knitted in confusion. "I thought his name was Ivan..."
"It is a nickname, da?" answered Ivan, as he fought one-handedly to his older sister (Natalia still refusing to release his other arm, though she did stab any ice soldiers that came too close).
"I don't get it," said Alfred. "How do you take 'Ivan' and get -"
"We must go now!" shouted Toris. "There are getting to be too many!"
He was right. The corridor was almost completely packed with ice soldiers, with some crawling over others to catch them
"Where is the General?" asked Matthew, as the group began to run in the direction Toris pointed them at.
"He vanished in a cloud of snow and ice," said Eduard. His eyes were glazed over as he knocked all obstacles in front of them away with a powerful wind.
"I-I don't think he was very happy with us," Raivis added.
"Was there a plan on how to get far enough away from Father?" asked Ivan. "Even if we escape the castle, his reach is far. He will continue to look for us."
Matthew swore. Of course, they had forgotten that vital part of the plan!
"Hey," said Alfred.
"What is it?" Matthew asked.
"Not you, Wind. Wind! Eduard! Can you whip something up strong enough to get us out of Winter's reach?"
"I could," said Eduard. "But outside of the castle, my powers are granted through the General's will. Once I leave his service, my powers shall vanish when I set foot outside of his immediate domain."
"And that is?"
"Roughly at the base of the mountain."
"And that's not far from that forest," Alfred pointed out.
"Of course!" cried Katsuya. "Father could not find Vanya when he hid in the middle of the forest, because his wind and snow could not get in! We can hide there as well!"
"Like, all of us? Sounds a bit crowded," Feliks pointed out.
"It doesn't have to be forever," said Alfred. "Just long enough to lose the General. We'll figure out how to get away for good after that."
Everyone agreed with this plan, except for Natalia, who asked "Why are Sister and Brother calling the General 'Father'?"
Katsuya looked to be about to cry, while apologizing over and over. Ivan began a stammered explanation of why they were the only three in the land to have hair as white as snow.
"You can talk this over later!" shouted Feliks, shoving everyone down the hall. "Right now we have to, like, MOVE!"
The soldiers of ice chased after them, but were held off by Ravis, Eduard, and Feliks. The corridors twisted this way and that, but Toris led the way and they were not lost. The hallways began to fill with shrieks and moans from an unseen source, but they continued onward. The entrance was not far, and they could not give in to the General. Not now. Not ever.
"Here it is!" called Toris, as they reached the end of the passage they were running down, which lead into the cavernous entrance room that they all had come through once upon a time. The door stood invitingly before them, with neither lock nor guard to hinder their escape. The group entered the room, and -
"Oh God," murmured Matthew, as the room temperature began to drop.
A harsh wind blew into the room, stirring a cloud of snow that blinded them all. When their vision returned, the General stood before them. Behind him was the door to their freedom. They had but to find a way around the master of the castle, with all of his wrath and coldness.
Fate, clearly, was not through toying with them.
The General ran his gaze over his children, his prisoners, his servants. "YOU CAN NOT LEAVE. YOU ARE MINE, MINE, MINE!"
"Like, I am so tired of this," said Feliks, drawing his sword.
"Feliks no!" cried Toris, grabbing his friend's arm. "He is lord and master here! You'll be killed!"
"And if you all escape, I, like, so don't care. Let go, Toris!"
"YES, COME AT ME," snarled the General. "I WILL FREEZE EVERY INCH OF YOU. I WILL LEAVE YOU TO MELT. YOU WILL SPEND MONTH UPON MONTH FEELING YOURSELF DISAPPEARING WITH NO HOPE OF ESCAPE, UNTIL YOUR SPIRIT IS CONFINED TO YOUR WATERY REMAINS."
"I escaped," said Alfred. Carefully, he pushed himself away from his brother, so that he was standing tall. He took his old gun, still hanging on his shoulder, and held it in his hands. Feeling the weight of it steadied his mind and his body, though he was forced to lean heavily on it to keep from falling. "You will not keep me, and you will not keep any of the others."
The General grinned like a wild animal. "YOU HAVE LEARNED NOTHING."
"That may or may not be true, but that does not matter. Move, or I will fire and melt your ice-ridden heart."
"FOOL," laughed the General. "DO YOU THINK I KNOW SO LITTLE OF THE WAYS OF HUMANS? AFTER BEING SHEATHED IN ICE, HOW WELL CAN YOU AIM? CAN YOU EVEN HOLD IT PROPERLY?
"We shall see," said Alfred. His voice did not shake, even as he was forced to kneel to conserve strength.
The only response was a terrible laugh. "MY DEAR VISITOR," Winter said, stretching out his hand towards the soldier, "IT IS BACK TO THE GUEST ROOM WITH YOU."
But two hands clasped around his outstretched wrist, keeping him from Alfred. It was not enough to completely stop the General, and he could have broken the grip if he had wanted to. But the sheer audacity of the act stunned him. After everything that had happened through the evening, for one to dare to touch him! To keep his prize from him!
"Nyet," said a deep voice, the hint of a growl behind the cheer. "I am afraid, Father, that I will not be allowing that."
The General narrowed his eyes. "VANYA YOU NAUGHTY BOY, KEEP OUT OF THIS!"
"I can not, Father. And do not call me by that name. Only those I love may do that."
"VANYA...IVAN..." said Winter, his voice dropping to a deadly whisper, "STEP BACK AND LET ME HAVE WHAT IS MINE, OR I WILL PUNISH YOU."
Ivan smiled and tightened his grip. "You did that already, Father. Or was turning me into a bear meant to be a reward? And I do believe that Alfred is not yours, any more than I or Katsuya or Natalia are."
"BE SILENT!"
"You say Alfred does not learn, but it is strange. You never learned people were not your toys to lock up, though Mother tried her hardest to teach you!"
General Winter screamed. "UNGRATEFUL CHILD! I GAVE YOU YOUR STRENGTH! I GAVE YOU YOUR LIFE!"
"That you did, Father. Now, you will stand aside. Stand aside now, or I will turn all of my strength and life against you!
Winter roared like the fiercest storm. He grabbed his son by the shoulder and pulled Ivan towards him.
Ivan did not attempt to break away. With the power of a great bear, he threw himself forward and struck his father in the chest. The General stumbled backwards, but did not fall. He brought up his scepter and swung it toward Ivan's head -
just as a deafening shot rent the air -
followed almost immediately by another.
The General stumbled backwards, startled by the unexpected impacts. On the floor, Alfred's limbs were shaking from the effort of lifting the gun, yet there was a spark in his eyes that no amount of imprisonment or ice could quench. He was the soldier and he was the hero. He took aim once more and fired.
His aim was off. The shot fired past the General's head and struck the lock of the door. The frozen wood began to splinter and crack, and Alfred fired once more, before he could fully realize the plan that sprang in his head.
The next shot missed Winter entirely, but that did not matter. It hit the target, where the door was already damaged. The wood shattered from the impact, destroying the lock. The door swung open.
Ivan, meanwhile, had seized the chance and attacked again, throwing the General farther back. Seeing the door now open, he did not waste a moment. Ivan turned and shouted "Wind, take us from here!"
Eduard had been trying to calm a hysterical Ravis. Upon hearing those words, however, he closed his eyes and murmured unheard spells through clenched teeth.
The wind began to tug at their sleeves and hair. It became stronger, pushing them forward as it hurried out of the door. Faster and wilder it ran, until it lost all patience and snatched the group up in their arms.
There was a cry from General Winter, but it was too late. They were thrown out of the door and down the mountain, spirited away by the gale that would take them to safety.
The wind bit their skin, but they were not harmed. The snow flew around them, but they were not blinded. The frost crept over their skin, but it only shielded them from anything that might hinder their escape.
Past them flew the mountain. Eduard could not keep them high, and their toes nearly scraped some of the higher rocks. He struggled to keep his focus, while all around him clung to one another and tried to not scream. He knew he would need all of the control he possibly had, if he were to get them into the forest in one piece. As they neared the shimmering trees, he tried to slow them the slightest bit. There was no need to run when they were safe from Winter, and they would need all possible help for a comfortable landing.
They still hit the ground much harder than expected. Caught by the dirt and grass, everyone found themselves torn from their friends and family and thrown this way and that on the ground. There were groans curses as they collected their wits, followed by cries and concerns that their sisters and brothers and comrades were safe. When it became clear that the only damage was a few scraped limbs and dirtied clothes, then came the relief.
Ravis sobbed and clung to Eduard, his legs shaking so badly that it was a wonder he could stand. Toris tried to run to his brothers, but his movement was slowed. Feliks had decided to wrap his arms around his old friend and not let go. Katsuya was crying and running from one person to another, unsure of whether to hug her sister or her brother or both or thank Matthew or see if Alfred felt better. Ivan did not seem to want his sisters out of his sight, though he did appear unnerved as to how intently Natalia was staring at him.
And in the midst of it all, Alfred sat on the ground, staring heavenwards. If any sky were visible through the trees, he might have been admiring the stars. He wore a wide smile, but was so quiet that Matthew was worried.
"Alfred," he asked, "are you hurt?"
"No, Matthew."
"Are you ill?"
"Not at all."
"Does something of the General's curse remain?"
"It does not."
"Then why," asked Matthew, "are you so silent? I would expect you of all people to join in on the cheering!"
"It is relief, da?" asked Ivan. He had broken away from hugs and kisses from his sisters, and noticed his friend on the ground. He held out his hand to the man. "Freedom is a beautiful feeling, is it not?"
Alfred took Ivan's hand. "It is," he said, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. He did not let go when he was standing. "And I believe you now."
"Believe us?" asked Matthew.
"That this is real. It's not a dream."
"What convinced you?"
Alfred looked at Ivan, who raised his eyebrows in agreement with Matthew's question. "I dreamed of rescue often," said Alfred. "You were in every one of them, Ivan. We ran the corridors and fought the General, but never once did we escape from the castle."
Ivan laughed. "So, you do believe us now?"
"I have made up my mind, and a hero is never wrong," said Alfred.
"This is, like, totally moving" called Feliks, who still had Toris in his grasp. "But where are we going now? I know General Icy can't find us here, but we're going to have to leave at some point."
"We need to go somewhere that is beyond Father's reach," said Katsuya.
"Then we should go south, where winter never touches," said Matthew. "As far as we can reach."
"Are we...all going together?" asked Ravis.
"We all should," said Ivan. "Father will be after us all. We at least should all go in the same direction."
"I'm not afraid of any stupid winter, but what the hey?" said Feliks. "I don't mind traveling a little. Do you, Toris?"
Toris glanced at Eduard and Ravis, who smiled and nodded. "It sounds like a fine idea."
"And what of you two?" asked Ivan, to Matthew and Alfred. "You will come with us, will you not?"
"If Alfred goes, I will," said Matthew. After all, he had sworn to see his brother to a safe fate. If he had to travel south for that, even to the end of the world, then so be it.
"I certainly am going," said Alfred. "I am a hero, and south seems as good a way as any to look for more adventures!"
"I am glad," said Ivan.
Alfred gave a wide smile. "You will not get rid of me so easily, Ivan. Vanya." He paused. "Vanya sounds better."
"Then by all means, call me that."
"So hey, we're all decided, so we should, like, get going," Feliks said. "We can save this until we get south, right? Better move before the General comes to find us."
And so they did, and so saved was the brother, banished was the bear, and defied was winter. And while one could say what adventures they had on the journey, what people they met, or what challenges they faced, such tales will not be uttered here. They, as it is said, are stories for another time.
Notes of interest: The chapter titles are all lines from Alexander Pushkin's fairy tale-poem The Tale of Tsar Saltan, of His Son, the Glorious and Mighty Knight Prince Guidon Saltonovich, and of the Fair Swan-Princess. Yes.
I do not own Axis Powers Hetalia, nor do I own the fairy tales this fic was based off of.
Thank you to everyone who read this through! Hope you all enjoyed, and see you all on the dark side of the moon! :)