Know no more of Sorrow
by Keruseyu
Chapter 1
Snow
===
Prolouge
Lost Child
===
"Know no more of sorrow, and bringeth not pain upon your comrades. Remember thy past, and fear the unknown."
Neal blinked. That had to be the phoniest fortune he had ever heard. Laying coins on the table for the Fortune Teller, he made his way out of the inn, leaving his comrades to laugh in the warm common room.
The fortune made him nervous- true or not, it was still a bit scary. Not that he minded wasting his money- he had enough of it.
Wandering idly off to the stables, he stopped dead in his tracks.
No one had left the inn that day but him.
So why were there footprints in the snow?
Neal glared crossly at the prints. He had been having a relatively normal day till now.
Letting his curiosity get the better of him, he grudgingly followed the footsteps into the storm.
A light flashed before his eyes. Looking up, he found he was no longer at the inn.
He stared at the barren field before him.
Neal had been there before. His mind flashed back 5 years- to when Kira, also Kel, had accidentally dragged him into the Fairy world when seeking revenge on her people.
Where she had met her fate.
===
Neal walked slowly through the ruins of the fairy capital. She had spilled blood on this very spot.
He was brought to reality by soft cries coming from behind a stack of rubble.
His eyes widened. It was a baby, covered with soot, lying on the ground, wrapped in a thin blanket. Neal reached for the child. Picking it up slowly, he weighed his options. He was in Fairy world...
The baby cried out louder.
Neal glanced around, trying to find help of any kind.
His breath caught in his throat.
He was standing outside the inn.
"Dad, pleeaaasssseeee?" Whined *Shirahime-Snow (Snow for short), Neal's adopted daughter.
Neal sighed. She had been bugging him for the last hour, pleading with him to let her go outside into the falling white powder that was her namesake.
"No. Snow, you just recently got over that cold, and you know how partial you are to low temperatures!"
The shameless 14-year-old gazed at him like a begging dog. "But, Daddy..."
He smiled begrudgingly at her puppy dog eyes. "...Okay."
"Yes! Thank you, daddy!!!!" She pecked him on the cheek, skipping with happiness.
Neal watched as her black-and-gray hair fluttered through the air like wisps of clouds. No one had been able to explain her odd hair color, not even the most advanced mages.
Snow had hated her hair when she was little, but she had grown to like its peculiar coloring, as she had grown to like standing out from the crowd.
Her bangs were a deep, inky black, radiating into a lighter grayish color, and finally faded into white at the tips. Her eyes were a pale, whitish gray, and her skin was almost as bright a white as the snow outside, with only a tint of pinkish-peach touched into it.
Neal smiled warmly as he watched her small, 60-inch form trot cheerfully from the room. His little girl, who, though adopted, would always be loved like the child he could have had with Yukimi.
He knew he couldn't protect her much longer.
And that fact broke his heart.
===
Snow almost floated into her rooms, treading softly on the plush white carpet. Her maid, Rena, was currently cleaning up what little she could in Snow's spotless room. Rena, who was the exact same age as Snow, turned slowly. "Well?" She questioned quietly.
Snow rolled her eyes and slung an arm around Rena's shoulder. "Oh, Rena, come ON! You know the puppy-dog look-" "ALWAYS WORKS!!!" Squealed Rena, her calm composure evaporated in the thought of playing in the snow with her best friend.
Snow began to dress for the cold. Rena left for her own room to get her own clothes.
"Meet you by the fountain!" Snow called. "Fine!" Rena answered.
===
Snow ducked behind the fountain as Rena approached, grasping the snowball she had packed into a tight ball while Rena was getting ready.
Rena sat down on the iced-over fountains' edge, waiting patiently for her mistress.
She didn't know what hit her when Snow clobbered the back of her head, then ducked out of sight like a guerilla fighter.
Rena scooped up a handful, squeezing it into a sphere. She listened for a minute, then turned and threw a direct hit into Snow's hiding spot.
Snow stood, brushing snow from her queer hair.
Rena smiled, and Snow smiled back. "30 minutes to build a fort?" Snow asked nonchalantly. "*Hai."
===
Neal watched as his daughter and maid clobbered each other and their forts with the tight white spheres.
He sighed. "Her last free day should be spent in enjoyment." He whispered, eyes sad. "I'm going to lose her..."
===
Snow flopped down on the fluffy white powder that littered the ground. Her eyes closed. She reveled in the feel of the sugary flakes, rolling to get the best effect.
She was tired. Lying in the snow helped immensly. She felt so close to it. Her father had said it hadn't snowed since she was five.
Little did she know he had a weather mage stop all the snow storms since her incident.
The small, short girl sighed. She wasn't good at anything except snowball fights.
No magic, no abnormal fighting skills- servants joked she had to be the most ordinary girl ever to be born since Alanna the Lioness finished her page training.
Here she was, daughter of a famous knight, granddaughter to the realm's best healer, and no magic.
"Little do you know that you are the strangest, most talented of them all."
Snow shot off the ground, looking around in amazement.
No one was there.
===
Shirahime- Either "Snow goddess", or "Snow Princess." Very pretty, ne?
Hai- "Yes."
by Keruseyu
Chapter 1
Snow
===
Prolouge
Lost Child
===
"Know no more of sorrow, and bringeth not pain upon your comrades. Remember thy past, and fear the unknown."
Neal blinked. That had to be the phoniest fortune he had ever heard. Laying coins on the table for the Fortune Teller, he made his way out of the inn, leaving his comrades to laugh in the warm common room.
The fortune made him nervous- true or not, it was still a bit scary. Not that he minded wasting his money- he had enough of it.
Wandering idly off to the stables, he stopped dead in his tracks.
No one had left the inn that day but him.
So why were there footprints in the snow?
Neal glared crossly at the prints. He had been having a relatively normal day till now.
Letting his curiosity get the better of him, he grudgingly followed the footsteps into the storm.
A light flashed before his eyes. Looking up, he found he was no longer at the inn.
He stared at the barren field before him.
Neal had been there before. His mind flashed back 5 years- to when Kira, also Kel, had accidentally dragged him into the Fairy world when seeking revenge on her people.
Where she had met her fate.
===
Neal walked slowly through the ruins of the fairy capital. She had spilled blood on this very spot.
He was brought to reality by soft cries coming from behind a stack of rubble.
His eyes widened. It was a baby, covered with soot, lying on the ground, wrapped in a thin blanket. Neal reached for the child. Picking it up slowly, he weighed his options. He was in Fairy world...
The baby cried out louder.
Neal glanced around, trying to find help of any kind.
His breath caught in his throat.
He was standing outside the inn.
"Dad, pleeaaasssseeee?" Whined *Shirahime-Snow (Snow for short), Neal's adopted daughter.
Neal sighed. She had been bugging him for the last hour, pleading with him to let her go outside into the falling white powder that was her namesake.
"No. Snow, you just recently got over that cold, and you know how partial you are to low temperatures!"
The shameless 14-year-old gazed at him like a begging dog. "But, Daddy..."
He smiled begrudgingly at her puppy dog eyes. "...Okay."
"Yes! Thank you, daddy!!!!" She pecked him on the cheek, skipping with happiness.
Neal watched as her black-and-gray hair fluttered through the air like wisps of clouds. No one had been able to explain her odd hair color, not even the most advanced mages.
Snow had hated her hair when she was little, but she had grown to like its peculiar coloring, as she had grown to like standing out from the crowd.
Her bangs were a deep, inky black, radiating into a lighter grayish color, and finally faded into white at the tips. Her eyes were a pale, whitish gray, and her skin was almost as bright a white as the snow outside, with only a tint of pinkish-peach touched into it.
Neal smiled warmly as he watched her small, 60-inch form trot cheerfully from the room. His little girl, who, though adopted, would always be loved like the child he could have had with Yukimi.
He knew he couldn't protect her much longer.
And that fact broke his heart.
===
Snow almost floated into her rooms, treading softly on the plush white carpet. Her maid, Rena, was currently cleaning up what little she could in Snow's spotless room. Rena, who was the exact same age as Snow, turned slowly. "Well?" She questioned quietly.
Snow rolled her eyes and slung an arm around Rena's shoulder. "Oh, Rena, come ON! You know the puppy-dog look-" "ALWAYS WORKS!!!" Squealed Rena, her calm composure evaporated in the thought of playing in the snow with her best friend.
Snow began to dress for the cold. Rena left for her own room to get her own clothes.
"Meet you by the fountain!" Snow called. "Fine!" Rena answered.
===
Snow ducked behind the fountain as Rena approached, grasping the snowball she had packed into a tight ball while Rena was getting ready.
Rena sat down on the iced-over fountains' edge, waiting patiently for her mistress.
She didn't know what hit her when Snow clobbered the back of her head, then ducked out of sight like a guerilla fighter.
Rena scooped up a handful, squeezing it into a sphere. She listened for a minute, then turned and threw a direct hit into Snow's hiding spot.
Snow stood, brushing snow from her queer hair.
Rena smiled, and Snow smiled back. "30 minutes to build a fort?" Snow asked nonchalantly. "*Hai."
===
Neal watched as his daughter and maid clobbered each other and their forts with the tight white spheres.
He sighed. "Her last free day should be spent in enjoyment." He whispered, eyes sad. "I'm going to lose her..."
===
Snow flopped down on the fluffy white powder that littered the ground. Her eyes closed. She reveled in the feel of the sugary flakes, rolling to get the best effect.
She was tired. Lying in the snow helped immensly. She felt so close to it. Her father had said it hadn't snowed since she was five.
Little did she know he had a weather mage stop all the snow storms since her incident.
The small, short girl sighed. She wasn't good at anything except snowball fights.
No magic, no abnormal fighting skills- servants joked she had to be the most ordinary girl ever to be born since Alanna the Lioness finished her page training.
Here she was, daughter of a famous knight, granddaughter to the realm's best healer, and no magic.
"Little do you know that you are the strangest, most talented of them all."
Snow shot off the ground, looking around in amazement.
No one was there.
===
Shirahime- Either "Snow goddess", or "Snow Princess." Very pretty, ne?
Hai- "Yes."