The Snow Maiden

Prejudice

Link drew his sword.

"I should have known," he growled.

The Snow Maiden flinched back, eyes wide. The column of snow thickened and lost its fantastical gleam.

"What the hell are you doing!" cried Shadow.

But right as he said that, Link lunged. The Snow Maiden leapt away. At the last moment he felt the tip of his sword snag onto something-and slip through. She yelped in pain.

"Liar!" she wailed. "All of you, liars!"

The snow filled the air. Link swung again but ended up coughing on snow as he tried to breathe. The sun was blocked out and the wind howled.

"Lie, lie!"

The snow died down, but the sky had filled with foreboding clouds. The angry gales swept waves of snow over the land. Link shaded his face-and heard the tall-tale sound of a sword being drawn.

"You bastard!"

Link only barely raised his sword in time. The strength of Shadow's blow sent painful vibrations all the way to his shoulder blades.

"You damn, stupid-what the hell was that for?! You were suppose to help her!"

As Shadow proceeded to wail on him, Link didn't have the breath to respond. He had could never remember it being this hard to keep his arms out. His sword shook painfully in his hand and his muscles protested.

"Shadow-"

"You were suppose to help her! You damn bastard, you hurt her! What kind of hero are you?!"

"Shadow, what-"

"If she dies because of you I swear I'll-"
His sword flew out of his hands, probably snapping his fingers in the process. He stumbled back, tripped over the rope tied about his waist, and fell into the snow. Shadow's blade came whistling around. He clenched his eyes shut.

Nothing came. Shadow stood above him, puffing, eyes ablaze with rage. Against his throat he could feel the sharp tip of the sword. He couldn't move. This was finally it. Shadow was going to kill him.

Shadow let out an angry shout. Link flinched.

"Dammit! I don't have time for the likes of you." He swung his sword behind him at the rope, sheathed it, and ran off into the storm.

"Wait! You'll freeze!"

But within moments the wind and snow had swallowed his dark form.

Link sat there, stunned. In the snow a foot or so away was a blotch of bright red blood, slowly turning pink in the building snow. Next to it was the severed end of a rope that served as Shadow's anchor back to the village.

An hour later he stumbled into the mayor's cabin. His face and hands had gone numb from cold. A ways away sat Nani in the living room in front of the fire. She looked up at him then went back to her book. From the other side of the wall in the kitchen came the muffled voices of the rest of the family.

He hung up his snow shoes and began the tedious process of peeling off his winter gear. She said nothing to him and he said nothing to her. The snakes in his stomach wouldn't let him. By the time his boots were off, though, the squirming in his gut had grown painful. He couldn't stop shaking. He couldn't get his mind to settle.

Not knowing what else to do, he ambled over like a lost child and sat next to her. She didn't bother to acknowledge his presence and her long hair hid her face.

"We didn't have time to clear off all the roofs," came the Mayor's voice from the kitchen.

"Did you see how fast that blizzard came in?" said Kane.