The snow was piling on her without remorse. The winter had no restraint for anyone, and Shiori was experiencing that firsthand. It wasn't like she had never been in the snow before. She could remember past experiences with it clearly. Was that her life, someone else's memory, or was it a story she read? She didn't know.

She didn't know how long it had been since her friend had passed and given her the knowledge she had now. It was far too much knowledge for a human to possess. It overwhelmed her. The more she thought, the more this knowledge seeped into her, ruining her perception of life. The names that came to her, the events that came to her, and the mere concepts she now knew existed were all slowly taking her over.

So, here she was. On the ground, letting the snow cover her. The cold was taking her thoughts away from everything else. It was healthy. She was sure that it was.

"Are you trying to be a snowman? Or would it be a snowwoman? Either way, wouldn't you stand up straight for that?"

Someone had come to interrupt her. She wanted to ignore it. Talking to strangers made her uncomfortable.

"Hey, I see you turning! Are you mute? I know multiple sign languages. "

But it seemed like she met someone who couldn't take a hint. She turned to see who was interested in her.

He was wearing black boots with grey pants and a blue puffy jacket. He was dark-skinned with blazing red hair. He had eyes that felt whiter than the snow.

He was unusual.

She didn't know any regular human that looked like him. Granted, she also was quite peculiar in her looks, but still. She didn't know hair could be that vibrant and colorful. She also never knew eyes could be that white. She had seen blue and gray eyes before, but this was different.

He started to sign to her. Did he actually know sign language? Isn't that for deaf people? She supposed mute people could use it, too.

"I don't know any sign language." She said softly, sighing. "I just want to be left alone."

It would be any moment before the Gods would take her away. She knew they were coming. There was no running from the inevitable.

He held out his hand. "You'll get sick out here, come on."

She shook her head softly.

"I'll be fine. "

He frowned for a quick second before lifting her out of the snow pile. She yelped at the sudden movement as he carried her bridal style.

"What are you-"

"I don't have much time! Let's go!"

Go? Where did he want to take her? Fear slowly crept up in her. She wasn't afraid of him, but the situation reminded her of bad experiences. None of them were her own experiences. She was pretty sure of that, but she could never know. What knowledge did she have before that fateful day? She was slowly spiraling into her mind again as he continued towards his destination.

They had suddenly stopped. Where were they? Shiori looked and saw something immediately astonishing. They were in front of a golden gate. Behind such a gate was a mansion filled with Christmas decorations and ornaments. There were even two people in butler uniforms who were building snowmen. This guy must've been rich.

As he opened the gate doors and went in, he closed it immediately. He went to the butlers and waved to them, which caused him to start carrying her with one arm. She realized what this looked like, and a light blush appeared on her cheeks.

"Hey Mr. Tenrou!" The small butler waved back to him cheerfully. His hair was orange and in a cute ponytail. His eyes reminded her of the ocean. His skin was as white as snow. She couldn't help but think his face was a bit feminine.

The other butler looked directly at Shiori. "Taking home random women, I thought you were nothing like your brother." He didn't seem pleased with her presence. His green hair was short and curly. He seemed well-groomed. His viper-like eyes were yellow, and he was as tall as the man holding her was. His skin color was like hers.

"Don't be rude Hinata, she seemed cold, so I wanted to warm her up."

"If only you knew how weird you really were, " The butler, Hinata, sighed. "What's your name?" Was he talking to her? Oh.

"I'm Shiori, Shiori Novella. "

"Great thinking! I forgot to get her name." The man holding her gave Hinata a thumbs up. Hinata's frown deepened.

"The man holding you is Flame, Flame Tenrou. Mind your manners while you're here. " He had some grievances with her being here clearly. She nodded.
The small butler ran up to her and held out his hand. "I'm Jesse! Nice to meet you, Ms. Novella!"

She shook it. "Nice to meet you too, kid." She smiled at him before Flame took her inside the mansion.

Inside, the place was even more Christmas-themed. Was it really that close to Christmas? She wasn't keeping track of time. It felt festive. She had never been in a mansion before. The size was astounding. She wanted to look around a bit more to see how many rooms a place like this would have.

He carried her up the stairs. A maid who seemed to be hanging some stockings took notice of them. Pale skin, she had long blonde hair and gray eyes, like the moon. Her face was full of disgust.

"What commoner did you bring in here?"

"Be nice, Elizabeth. This is Shiori Novella, she needs a place to warm up." She didn't.

"To warm up?" Elizabeth was skeptical. "This is a high-maitenance manor, not a homeless hangout heaven. You can't just bring random people here."

Shiori felt uncomfortable. Two people didn't want her here, and this one was more aggressive than the last man.

"I don't mean to be a bother, I'll go."

"You're not bothering anybody!" Flame tried to reassure her, holding her a bit closer. She appreciated the effort.

"Let's just get you warm, I'll talk to her later."

He walked past the maid and went into one of the guest rooms. It still felt more spacious than most rooms she had been in. She had her own bathroom, mini fridge, queen bed, and many other electronics she could use. He put her into the bed and covered her with blankets.

"Alright, now that you're comfortable, I'll be around doing things! If you need anything, ask anyone. Enjoy your stay!"

"Wait!"

He didn't stop and left the room. What a strange man. She was now in a bed with a TV, drinks, snacks, and anything else she needed. She didn't want to be rude, so she decided to stay just for a bit.

She had been in bed for a while. It even had a blanket that could warm up. She needed to have one of these for herself. The TV had many apps and shows she could watch, and she felt like watching Spirited Away.
A knock on the door took her out of her coziness.

"Come in!"

The door opened immediately, and she saw another maid. She had pink hair, crudely cut with green eyes. Her skin color was just a touch darker than her own. She seemed younger than Elizabeth.

"So this is the new face the others have been talking about. I'm Kanae. "

She didn't waste time and jumped on the bed. "It's so boring here with these joy suckers. We're done with work anyway, so why not have fun? No, it's always, 'stay vigilant' and 'it's a privilege to be here' and it's all so annoying!" She screamed in frustration, getting in the covers with her.

It was all moving too fast for her to comprehend.

"Can I..."

"Not can I, con-ay."

"Not your name!" Shiori started to fluster, "Can you scoot a bit away from me? I hope you don't mind, I just like personal space."

Kanae shrugged and moved away from her.

"So what are we watching?"

Shiori didn't know how to kick her out. She decided to go with the flow. "Spirited Away. I know you've probably seen it but I wanted to watch it again. "

Kanae chuckled. "I don't even know what that is, but I'm excited!"

Shiori thought she would be talking throughout the movie, but Kanae was engrossed in the story. She was going through a whirlwind of emotions. It felt like one of the first times she'd seen anything like this. Shiori talked a lot as she explained tidbits and fun factoids she's learned about this movie and Studio Ghibli films. It wasn't how she expected it to go, but she felt more comfortable with her presence than she thought.

When the movie was over, Kanae had tears in her eyes as Chihiro reunited with her parents. Shiori had never really been in this situation either. She awkwardly patted her shoulder.

"There, there, it all went well. She went back to her parental guides."

Kanae sniffled. "It's just so lovely. I'm so happy for her. "

Laying next to each other as the credits played, Shiori wondered what she should do now. She could see out the window from the bed. It was dark out now, a snowstorm consuming the outdoors. Wait, a snowstorm?
She immediately got up and checked the windows. The snow was piling up in a way she'd never seen before. Even the front door ended up snowed in. There was her chance of leaving flying away from her.

It's not like she had anything better to do. Still, this hospitality from Flame felt wrong, especially for someone jailbound like her. She would be in jail sooner than later. Yet, here she was, using his guest room like they knew each other.

Kanae had noticed her at the window and went to see herself. She peeked over Shiori's shoulder and gasped.

"Are they still out there?"

Before Shiori could convince her they probably came in long ago, Kanae was out of the room and dashing downstairs.

Shiori was stuck here now. The holidays were upon her. It could even be fun as long as she kept busy. Hopefully, she could stay out of trouble. What she didn't know was that the trouble was coming to her.

A bit after Christmas ended for me, we have a multi-parter! I didn't forget about this at all, I have been busy. I actually have another chapter finished to post, which I'll do today actually. Hopefully, I can post each day until the new year! I have a lot of prompts I like! The two prison prompts, oh expect me to go wild on that one. The childhood friend Shiori coming back and leaving could be a nice one-shot. The horror one too! Let it be known, for this prompt, I put in an OC and right after I posted it I was like "well why didn't I make it about Advent?" Would've been a one-shot Christmas party. Nerissa and Shiori focused maybe, or maybe Bijou and Shiori to throw a curveball. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoyed reading it! Part two soon.