Shadow in the Snow

Beauty in Ordinary Things

  "Up with ye now!" A deep yet quiet voice sounded next to Snow's ear.

    Snow blinked himself awake and found himself staring into the embers of a fire, still a bit warm, and wrapped in blankets so soft it felt like he was rolling in clouds. Of course. They were still at the farmhouse. Yawning, he sat up and looked over to see Otis gently shaking La awake as well, who awoke in time with a great deal more mumbling and grumbling and telling Crow to 'piss off and leave me alone'. A glance towards the window told him that it was not yet light. Good! That meant he could watch a sunrise – the first one he'd ever get to see. A thrill went through him at the thought. As La was still struggling to come to terms with the word 'awake', Snow leaped to his feet and folded up his blanket neatly. There was so much room in here to move around! He'd gotten so used to waking up in a small wood cart that the fact he could even stand up straight right now was exciting. True, this was his third day not waking up in that cart but he'd spent one night in the Master's tent and the next passed out in a barn, exhausted, with the excitement of being free ruined quickly by the arrival of circus guards. But this time... this time he really did feel free.

    As Otis moved away from La, Snow crouched down next to her. "Good morning," he said, grinning from ear to ear.

    She squinted at him, frowning. "I guess it is."

    Leah poked her head around the corner, four mugs skillfully balanced in her hands as she held them up for the small group to see. "It's a chilly morning. Let me make us some hot drinks and then we can talk before the kids get up."

    Some of the older girls hardly looked like kids to Snow, and in fact at least or two of them were probably older than he was, but Snow nodded anyway. He guessed this was about Crow and following him to the Wildlands, since Otis had said the night before that it wasn't a topic to talk about when little ones were around. That was one very dark thought to dampen his otherwise cheerful morning. Still, he was determined not to let it ruin everything, if only to help lift La's cranky spirits. He never saw her so early in the morning and had no idea she was like this when she woke up – it was a little funny, if he was being honest with himself, but he never would tell her that.

    They settled themselves outside in order to avoid waking anyone up, hot drinks in hand, and Otis lit a few lanterns so they could see one another in the dark. It was a little chilly but the first sip of the drink Leah had given him warmed him from the inside out and his eyes lit up as he stared with awe into the mug of hot liquid.

    "What is this?" he asked, not even trying to keep the amazement out of his voice.

    She smiled. "Melted and heated chocolate with milk. It's a treat, something we normally have for a dessert on a cold night, but I had a feeling that neither of you had ever had it before and that seemed a terrible pity. Besides, it's the perfect thing for a morning like this."

    And so it was. Next to him, La nodded her agreement and it seemed a little less likely that she'd rip of the head of the next person to talk to her. In fact, she was the next to speak.

    "As lovely as this is – truly, thank you for the drink and kindness – I'm guessing you didn't wake us up just to talk about the weather?"

     Snow leaned forward in his chair slightly, eyes widening. This was what he really wanted to hear. How to get to Crow, how to tell him that his impossible task was no longer necessary, how to right everything that was wrong. And despite his excitement to be free and to see a sunrise and all sorts of other amazing things, a great deal really did feel wrong right now. He'd never have made it so far without La but still, a piece of them felt missing when Crow wasn't with them.