Willow awoke to Metz stirring in his sleep, mumbling about his family. "NO! You will not touch them!" He seemed strong in his attempt to protect them, despite the fact he was dreaming. He shot up from his place of rest as Willow put a consoling hand on his arm.

"Are you alright? It looked like you were having a nightmare."

Metz nodded as he wiped some tears that leaked out from under his mask. "Yes. It was an unpleasant experience."

"Does it have to do with your village?" she asked with concern.

"Yes…"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No… I could show you though," Metz explained as he got up, his naked form arousing Willow to the point where she had to play with herself to become focused. The two of them clothed and set out to visit Metz's village. As they walked Willow decided it would be best to mention her children to him.

"I have three children, you know." she said in a very matter-of-fact way.

"What are their names?" Metz asked.

"Winter, Weiss, and Whitley. Two daughters and a son. I cherish them dearly, even if they don't realize it," Willow said with a warm smile. "I'd kill for them to be safe. I'd beat a man to death with my bare hands if that's what it took."

"They must be blessed to have such a wonderful mother!" Metz exclaimed with a rare sight of excitement.

"Well the thing is… I haven't been that good of a mother to them. I've been neglectful, I wasn't paying attention to them at all…" Willow began to cry. "I don't deserve them, but I must do what I can to protect them!" Willow fought through the tears. "I… I just wish they could see the demons I've been fighting."

Metz nodded, giving her a warm hug. "I'm sure they'd be able to be reasonable. Now let's keep moving." The two of them climbed a steep, snow-covered slope, finding the gate to the village. One of the doors had fell off its hinges and the other was rotting away.

"Does anyone live here?" Willow inquired. Metz shook his head as he took the lead, passing through the gate. They walked a bit more, and found burnt, damp houses. There were strange indents in the snow that looked like people. We then arrived at the largest building. Metz carefully opened the door, waving Willow inside and the two took refuge from the weather.

"What happened here?" Willow asked as Metz took off his mask, revealing his scarred face.

"Allow me to tell you the whole story…" Metz took a deep breath, some tears growing under his eyes.

Winter awoke in a bed, covered with soft blankets and even softer pillows. "See, it wasn't that bad, Winter," Pandorus said with a smile. "And since you've been so cooperative with me, I'll let you see your siblings."

"Really?" Winter asked in disbelief.

"Yes, and it seems that another one of your family members has arrived here and intends to take you three back."

'Oh by Oum, please let it not be my father,' Winter thought. "Who is it?"

"Your father. Although I intend to keep you here with me, as you aren't so bad in bed."

"Please, let me keep my brother and sister with me!" she begged, looking up at Pandorus who looked to be pondering the offer.

"Deal, but only if you marry me. Become my wife and I'll save your siblings."

Winter's stomach dropped as she took his hand. "Ok, I'll do it." Pandorus cupped her cheek as she began to cry.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you any more, my dear Winter," he said with a smile. He rose from the bed and walked out, but not before making sure Winter's pillows were fluffed. "You can sleep in today."

Winter buried her head in her pillows as she began to weep. 'Is this what mother felt like on Weiss' sixth birthday? When he said he never loved her?'

Sorry about the length of this chapter! The next one is gonna tie the two plot lines together and then we'll have been heading to the end of the story. Or at the very least the end of this part. I hope you enjoyed it! Check out my other fic I started called Strange Old Lands. It's about basically the same thing but with Trifa.