We could have reached the village in under an hour, but since we planned on buying a few things which then would need to be transported back, James decided to show us around before that. We rode past the path that would have led to the village and followed a small stream down the slope of a hill.

In spring there would be thousands of flowers along the stream bed, enough for the girls of the village to pick and weave them into crowns or bring back a bouquet for their parents to place on the dining table. Sometimes the maids in the inn would do the same and decorate the whole place with flowers. Not that most customers cared for such things but it made Hannah happy so James knew better than to complain.

The stream flowed past the inn and was mainly used as a water supply or for doing the laundry. I wondered if right now Hannah was doing the laundry together with the maid Sophie. In this time of the year the laundry took extra long to dry and since we would be going soon, hopefully, we had only added the sheets and towels that didn't belong to us anyway to the pile of dirty washing.

We continued along the stream, over fields of sickly yellow grass that crouched on the ground, depraved of the sunlight it needed to green once more. The sun was a pale disc in the distance, weak tendrils of warmth were reaching out but their force was not strong enough to be lasting. A few lonely birds soared through the sky, chasing after the few clouds that had prevailed. It was eerie, the sight of the wintery wasteland, but strangely beautiful.

The cold was biting though, I had pulled up the hood of my coat and wrapped a scarf around my lower face; the heat from my earlier imaginations had left, along with the thoughts that had given birth to it. My hands were clasped tightly around the reins, I was wearing gloves like everyone else but still the cold was seeping in.

The breath came in big white puffs out of Ariadne's nose, but else she didn't seem much affected by the temperature. She was as eager as ever, and tried more than once to sneak up on her brother to startle him. I had given up on stopping here, besides Faro ignored her most of the time.

At one point Emil slowed down a bit to fall back so he was next to Mathias and I, Ariadne for once behaved and only poked her brother lightly with her nose, a gesture that almost counted as affectionate. Those two truly were siblings.

Emil and Mathias exchanged a glance and the latter nodded with a look of understanding before he sped up to take Emil's place next to Francis, who immediately started to chat him up. I had the slightest hunch that I indeed knew what they were talking about, and I didn't like him one bit. I could only hope that Francis didn't give any weird ideas to Mathias. Or maybe I should hope that he gave Mathias ideas; that could be really interesting after all.

But right now there were more important things I had to attend to, namely my little brother. We fell back a little to gain assured privacy this time, but it took a while until Emil started speaking. "I envy you sometimes Lukas." His voice was solemn and he looked at me with an almost sad expression. "Seeing you with Mathias has shown me how much I want something like this myself. But there is no one there; all I have is bird that acts like he's the boss most of the time. And who will ever like me? I'm as cold as this weather from the ouside." Despite the gravity of his words, Emil's voice stayed calm, almost indifferent but I knew him, I knew how hard it really was for him to talk to me like that.

He was like me, he preferred hiding his emotions from the people around him, because… I didn't know. Maybe because he, no I didn't want to get hurt or maybe because I had never before truly cared for someone outside my family, there had never been a reason to lower my façade. I couldn't remember why I had created that mask to begin with. And Emil, poor Emil, had just copied me, because I was the only role model he ever had.

Mathias had broken through my shell, with his good natured personality and a carefree attitude, still I had turned him away because I was hurt and blamed him. But he had forgiven me. No, he had never blamed me for that, he had just accepted me. I got lucky.

What if Emil didn't get that lucky? What if he was unable to shake that shell off by himself and no one else was able to see through it? And it was my fault, wasn't it? I had never thought of it like that, I had never realized how much impact my actions had on my little brother. I sighed heavily; somehow the sun seemed dimmer now, as if shadowing veil had been pulled before it.

"Emil…" I started but I didn't really know what to say. It had seemed so easy before, when we were on our way to the inn and I had shared my brotherly advice with Emil. Truth was, I was as clueless as I could be, I was not fit for being a role model. And now it was the same, Emil came to me for help and I was sulking.

"It's not your fault." Emil said, his hands fidgeting with the reins. "I'm happy for you, really. I just wonder when I will ever find someone for myself." I had to smile lightly at his words and I shook off the feelings of insecurities. My brother and I were similar, not only in behavior but also in perception but that meant that I was the one who understood him best. And I had found someone, hadn't I? So he would find someone too. He was still young after all.

"Love comes in many ways Emil. We will be in the capital soon and there are so many people. I bet one of them will look at you and decide you're his one and only, just like Mathias did with me. Look at that giant oaf, he can be pretty stupid at times and yet he managed to look past all the defenses I built. And you, you are warm underneath, warm and kind. And I know this is not much consolidation but look at Peter, he already likes you, so there are people for you too that can see the real you."

I absentmindedly patted Ariadne's neck; it seemed that riding on horseback was not only soothing but also helpful in finding solutions to the problems of life. Maybe I should get myself a horse, things looked so much easier from so high up. All those time wasted with wondering and thinking on foot while I could have just climbed on a horse and solved my problems.

Or maybe not.

"Besides, you have a puffin that should be the best ice breaker ever." Maybe I should look out for every person that wanted 'to pet the puffin' from now on, who knew who used innuendo and who not. Emil looked at me with a critical expression at first but then he lighted up and finally smiled. "And you wouldn't mind if I found anyone and we, you know, do things?" Emil asked, a faint blush spreading on his cheeks.

Yeah, I was definitely going to watch out for possible puffin petters from now on. The thought of Emil being intimate with someone was a bit unsettling but then again after hearing me and Mathias, and probably Berwald and Tino too, getting it on for countless times he was bound to pick something up and most likely wanted to try it himself. It was a miracle that he didn't get entirely disgusted by it.

I definitely sucked at parenting.

"I trust you Emil. You have proved more than once how reliable you are and I am sure that you wouldn't let anyone get close to you when you aren't sure that they are worth it. And you can always come to me when you have doubts or are insecure and I bet that Mathias would kick anyone's ass who dared to hurt you, as would I. So yes I am okay with it."

And it was true, Emil was two years younger than me but he had proven more than once that he was capable and deserved to be trusted. And even if he made a mistake and ended up with the wrong person, that was what life was for, to learn and to experience and Mathias and I were there to make sure that he didn't get hurt too bad.

Emil smiled at me and nodded, "Thank you Lukas." And I felt as if I actually had done a good job not only with advising him but also with raising him. And what more is there to ask for a big brother? I was sure that he could handle whatever life threw at him and for everything else he had me.

After that we rode on in comfortable silence, I was not the only one who had discovered the serenity of a horse's back and so everyone used the time to sort out their thoughts. At least that's what I interpreted into the ensuing silence. For all I knew they could have been singing bawdy songs in their heads, or counting clouds or whatever.

James led us in a wide circle around the village to get us a good view at the surrounding scenery before he finally changed directions towards the settlement. My butt was sore by then, my legs numb from the cold and I wasn't so sure if I would be able to stand upright again since my back felt like it was stuck in a crooked shape. Maybe I just needed some ironing.

We reached the village around mid-afternoon. It was a small village, only a few houses strewn around an empty round space in the middle where a well was situated. But there were many people up and about and when they saw us the greeted us with smiles on their faces. Or rather they watched us with wary eyes approach until they recognized James, but then their faces lighted up and they hurried around to prepare a proper greeting.

It was a rather unique view, all the humans seemed so small from the back of Ariadne and I felt more like a king than a peasant. We were guided to a building that seemed to function as a gathering place for the villagers, it was the biggest house and it had a wooden post installed where horses and other mounts could be tied to.

It was when we reached the building that I realized that I was facing a rather embarrassing problem. I was literally stuck on Ariadne's back. The cold and the lack of movement for hours had caused my muscles to go stiff and now I wasn't able to move my legs at all. The others didn't seem to have that problem, James even jumped down from his horse in an almost artistic fashion. And his horse was much bigger than mine.

Mathias, Francis and Arthur slid down from theirs with comparable ease, only Emil half fell half jumped from his mount, but at least he was landing on his feet. And he got down on his own. I fidgeted with the reins in my hand, causing Ariadne to toss her head in impatience as her rider refused to relieve her. She needed to remind Faro who was the sassiest horse in town before he dared to forget that. God dammit that horse was busy.

"Lukas are you planning to come down there soon?" Mathias asked and looked at me and tilted his head questioningly. I grimaced and tried to get my legs moving but all I achieved was some awkward twitching. Fortunately that was enough for Mathias to understand my situation and I was even luckier that the others had already entered the building so there was no one else to witness my shame.

"I'll help you." Mathias smiled at me warmly and stepped forward to place his hands on my leg and hip. I slung the reins around the saddle head before I rested my hands on Mathias shoulder and let him gently help me down. It was difficult to stand at first, my legs were all wobbly and wanted to bend into the shape they had been forced into most of the day but with a little more help from Mathias who used the opportunity to hug me and nuzzle my hair, I got finally used to the ground again. I seriously dreaded the way back.

Ariadne went ahead and bullied her brother a bit more but after he ignored her she gave in and instead dug her head into the sac of oat the villagers had provided for each horse. My fingers were stiff from the cold and the tight grip on the reins so I let Mathias tie her to the post before I followed him inside.

There was a big round table inside where the others already had taken place and an elderly woman was busy with pouring tea for everyone. Another unfamiliar face, an elderly man this time, was sitting next to James and talking to him. I found it a bit strange to be greeted like this, but it seemed that it was customary in this village to greet visitors in this manner. Or maybe the villagers were just bored out of their minds here in the middle of nowhere so they made a big deal of every new face they encountered.

It didn't take long for the room to fill with more and more people who took up the empty seats at the table and began eagerly chatting with whoever was in their range. It was kind of funny to watch how enthusiastic they were over a simple thing such as asking Arthur if his eyebrows were real (yes they were, thank you), if Francis' hair required much grooming (yes it does) and if we had gotten our lucky wish from the well yet. Didn't those people want to know normal things, like where we came from, our names and such things?

But no, apparently Francis' hair was more interesting than that.

Not to forget the group of people who clustered around me and started a heated debate about the nature of my curl. "No way is that thing real, look at it, it floats!" A rather young looking one gestured wildly with his hands in the air and almost knocked over his companion who seemed to be transfixed by the innocent strand that poked defiantly out of my otherwise tame hair. That was exactly what I needed, a willing slave who would readily sacrifice his virgin daughter on the altar of my demon curl.

Not even his gesticulating comrade could wake him from his trance; I shook my head a bit and was not the least bit surprised to see that his eyes, no his whole head followed the movement. "But it moves." A third, this time a woman, said after I head shook my head and she poked the nonbeliever in the side as if the excessive use of one's index finger had ever helped to spread religious beliefs. "If it's not real what is it then?" A fourth asked and even dared to raise his hand as if to touch it but my glare stopped him last minute.

How dared he acting like I wasn't there. This was my damn hair you were talking about. Have some respect. This was your god you were addressing so rudely, imbecile!

Oh okay, maybe I should tone down on the religious fanaticism a bit. But what could I do when they were looking at it like it was the Holy Grail or something. It was just hair, dammit.

It was not helping the least that Mathias was literally rolling on the floor, holding his stomach and laughing uncontrollably. "Can I touch it?" Asked the second one who finally had broken out of his trance like state and now was looking at me with probably the most reverent expression I had ever seen. What was this, Crazy Town?

"Noooo you'll pull it off." The woman exclaimed, seeming seriously distressed. "If its real how can you pull it off?" The first one, the doubter demanded to know, waving his index finger in the face of the woman. Mathias exploded into another fit of giggles on the floor and was pounding his fist on the floor now. The rest of the table had at this point switched their attention to the conversation that had erupted about my hair and watched the exchange with interest. Well at least the villagers did, Arthur, Emil and Francis were looking on with rather confused expression.

I fought the continuously rising urge to bury my face in my hands with all this nonsense going on. I was too sore and tired for that. And why did no one take offense at the laughing male on the floor?

In the meantime the two believers who insisted on the curl being real were struggling to find a counter for the argument the other had brought forth and judging by their mimic they were losing. "It is hair god dammit, of course it will come off if you pull it. That doesn't prove a thing." The last one, the one who had retained some sort of rationality groaned with a more than annoyed tone of voice.

"I want to touch it!"

"Come on guys, that's enough." James interjected and pulled the men away from me. "I told you not to do that every time I bring someone new here." He tried to sound annoyed but I could hear the good natured tone in his voice. "Okay, we're sorry." The first one who started all this said and raised his arms in an apologetic manner. He slapped me on my back and grinned at me. "We were just messing with you kiddo."

I frowned and looked at the other three; all had dropped their act and were now smiling at me. Well too bad, now religious cult for me, but maybe that was for the best. I wasn't too fond of the taste of virgin blood, or blood at all. "You got me there." I decided to not make a big deal out of it and grinned back, signaling that no offense was taken or anything.

Arthur had taken it upon himself to rescue Mathias from his fetal position on the floor and explain to him that it all had been a joke. "That was brilliant." He slapped on of the men on the back once he had regained his composure well enough to speak again. "The look on Lukas' face was priceless." I ignored that comment and took a sip of my tea; at least the ruckus had given it enough time to cool down to drinking temperature.

I had to admit though the whole thing was rather amusing and I found that I was in rather high spirit despite the many aching of my body.

Everyone sat down after that and introductions began, but I forgot most of the names again soon after I had heard them. James would often come and visit the village with his guests as a way to entertain them and at the same time give the villagers the opportunity to meet new people and apparently mess with them.

Life there must have really been boring.

...