Zelgadis gazed down at the frozen river in disgust. The days had been growing shorter, and the temperatures much lower, but he hadn't planned on the river freezing already. With their main source of food gone, he and Amelia would be in dire straits. Zelgadis clawed at the ice, trying to crack it.

The ice would not yield.

"No!" Zelgadis smashed his tail onto the ice, bashing it again and again. Aside from battering his tail, all he did was cause the top layer to slough off. With a shout of frustration, Zelgadis leapt onto the ice, jumping up and down, hoping that his weight would be enough to crack the stubborn ice.

When he heard a wet crackling sound, Zelgadis suddenly realized what a stupid move he had made. Then the ice broke, and he fell through.

If the ice above hadn't been cold enough, now the water below was absolutely frigid! He was caught up in the current, but fought against it, knowing if he couldn't reach the hole in the ice, he would not be able to escape and would drown. Amelia would be left to fend for herself.

"No!" Adrenaline pumping through his veins, Zelgadis surged forward and grabbed onto the edge of the hole, using his burst of strength to haul himself up out of the water. He collapsed onto the frozen surface, sucking in the air like there was no tomorrow. He then forced himself back to solid ground, not risking another chance with the river.

"I've got to get back. I've got to..." Zelgadis was too cold to attempt flight, instead slowly making his way through the sleeping forest back to the cave. As he walked, he could feel the water on him freezing. Soon he was unable to move his wings at all, and he could feel the forming ice on his back. If this kept up, he would freeze to death. Zelgadis shook his head and tried not to think about it. "I didn't escape drowning only to die now!"

Finally he could proceed no further, and slowly collapsed to the ground. "Amelia!" He called out, but even his voice was failing him. He cried out all the same, hoping that he had made it close enough to the cave that she would hear him.

Time seemed to crawl to a stop, and still he waited. He became aware of white flecks falling all about him. One rather large one came directly to him, but it wasn't cold like the rest. It warmed him with its presence, and he could feel some strength returning to him, enabling him to get back up on his feet. It urged him on, and after a while his body stopped resisting his need to move, until finally he was allowed to stop.

Zelgadis was aware of even more life-sustaining heat, until he finally fell to sleep.

(Silent Night, Deadly Night...)

Amelia gazed down at her slumbering companion, glad to feel that he had finally warmed up some. She wasn't sure what had happened, but was thankful she had found him in time to help. She shifted a bit, making sure her wing was still covering him as she snuggled in closer to him.

Zelgadis shivered, and unconsciously moved closer to her warmth.

Amelia felt embarrassed to find him snuggling in so close, when he wasn't aware of it. She was glad she could offer him comfort at the same time, so she tried not to worry about how he'd react when he woke up. Instead she focused on hearing what was going on outside. It had started to snow earlier, and even now she could still hear the snow falling.

If this kept up, they might find themselves trapped inside. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she had not had anything to eat. Zelgadis had volunteered to go fishing for breakfast earlier, but had obviously come back empty-handed. Amelia pondered going out into the snow to look for food, but was interrupted by Zelgadis shivering again.

"No, I can't leave yet. Not until I know he's not in danger." Amelia lay her head alongside Zelgadis' and began to purr, hoping the vibration would at least speed up warming him. If anything, it would make him feel safe.

After a while Amelia became aware of the utter silence. She sat up and saw that Zelgadis was still sleeping soundly. Curiosity got the better of her, so she went to the mouth of the cave to investigate. A world of white lay before her. Even in the darkness it was very bright. Now would be a good opportunity to go search for food, before they got caught in another storm.

Amelia went back to Zelgadis, noticing he was shivering again even in the short time she had been away. She couldn't stay here and find food at the same time. She spied her long-forgotten cape laying in the corner, and went to pick it up. She draped it over Zelgadis. Even if it was small, it would provide some warmth. She recalled that Zelgadis' cloak had been in the cave when she first came, and after searching about for a moment, found it and draped it over Zelgadis as well.

"I'll be back soon, Mister Zelgadis."

Amelia then silently left the cave, gradually making her way to the river. It was hard to spot since everything was covered with snow, but eventually she found a spot where ice hadn't formed over the river. She gazed into the water, dismayed when she couldn't see anything in the dark water. She knew better than to venture further in the dark, so the river was out. She would have to find food elsewhere.

She followed her tracks back to the cave, all the while looking for anything not covered by the snow, all the while knowing it would be a miracle if she found anything edible. There was only one other option. She would have to go back to the village, to scavenge for food.

She entered back into the cave, just to make sure nothing had changed with Zelgadis. Content to see him doing well, she left again, making her way through the snow to the village. She was very thankful that it was dark out. The villagers would be sleeping, and so long as she didn't make any noise, she could get in and out with ease.

She snuck as quietly as possible into the village, searching for any place she might find food, even in the garbage bins. Anything was better than starving. She crept up to a pile of garbage and sniffed about. She must have bumped it, because a bag of trash suddenly crashed into the snow, causing a small commotion.

Before she even had a chance to duck into the shadows, Amelia heard a window open. She heard a small gasp and glanced up, seeing a small girl looking at her. No, not a small girl, the young girl she had found injured in the forest.

"Kitty, you're okay!" The small girl whispered. "What are you doing out here? Are you hungry?"

Amelia nodded and whimpered a little. She was getting rather ravenous. She could only imagine how hungry Zelgadis must be.

"Stay right there." The girl closed the window and disappeared from sight. Amelia lay low while she waited. After a matter of minutes, the window opened again, and the girl stuck her head out. She smiled at Amelia, then disappeared again, to be replaced by a large bundle. She pushed it out the window, and it landed in the snow.

Amelia glanced about to make sure no one else came out, then investigated the bundle. Her mouth watered at the smells coming from it.

"Go on, take it. Just don't tell my dad!"

Amelia felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude and hefted herself up to the window's ledge so she could nuzzle the girl in thanks. The girl giggled and pet her on the head. Amelia gave her one last look, then dropped back down to the ground. She picked up the bundle in her mouth, purred at her little friend, then disappeared into the darkness.

Amelia dashed back to the cave, overjoyed that due to the kindness of one person, she and Zelgadis would be able to survive somewhat better for a while longer. As she undid the bundle, she noticed the bundle itself was a large quilt. "Oh dear, I can't take this..."

Amelia spread it out, realizing it was big enough to cover Zelgadis much better than their capes ever could. She wrestled over what the right thing was to do. The days were bound to get colder, and while she herself was somewhat protected because of her fur coat (which had been getting thicker, Amelia noticed), Zelgadis had no such protection.

"I can just borrow it! I'll return it as soon as we don't need it anymore." She smiled at Zelgadis, who was still off in dreamland. Taking her cape from him, she spread the quilt over him, then placed all of the foodstuffs in her cape, then she tucked it away in the small gap in the cavern.

As she was moving about, Amelia upset something, which jingled in protest. She glanced down to see she had knocked into the remains of her belt, which her money pouch was still attached to. She studied it for a moment, before a smile spread on her face. Picking it up in her teeth, Amelia made one last trek into the cold...

To Be Continued...

Author's Notes: Leave it to Zelgadis' desperation to make a foolish mistake... I've not had much real experience with dealing with icy rivers myself, but I've seen and heard enough stories to know it can be very dangerous. (A professor told my class about how his dog fell through the ice one winter, but because it's cold in Idaho so long, they didn't recover the dog's body from the river for 6 weeks. That would have been tragic!) So be smart kids, and steer clear of seemingly frozen bodies of water...

Oh, many people have reviewed and pointed out that since it's been a while since Amelia left home that Prince Phil must be beside himself with worry. For the sake of the story, Amelia's only been gone from home for about a month or so. I'm betting her adventures with Lina took her away for much longer, and she has gone questing on her own before, so I don't know if he would be completely concerned yet. Although he would always have to have some worry since she's his daughter and all... Anyway, yes I do realize that she's not written home, but right now she has no way to. It won't be touched on for a while in this fic, but I'm sure it will come up at a later time.

Next time: "What are you thinking about?" Amelia too watched the falling snow.