Only Winter Knows

Once Upon a Time

"Mom come onnn! You promised to tell me a bedtime story." A little boy whines loudly from his bed.

"Yes sweetie, I'm coming! Just hold on a second," The picture perfect woman walks in, sitting down next to her youngest son, tucking him in.

"What would you like to hear today, Jimmy?"

"Tell me of Astraea again!" The little boy smiles brightly, and his mother looks at him fondly before nodding.

"A long time ago, there was a planet much like ours. One with pretty fields extending further than your eyes could see, tall mountains standing against the skies and old forests for all kinds of creatures to call home.
If you stood at the lonely fields of Astraea at the right time, you could see planets along the stars. So many of them! Some of those shone with bright colours, while others struggled to find their place on the picture. Astraea was nothing extraordinary among the others. What made it special, though, were the three kingdoms ruled by creatures very different from each other.
Now tell me Jimmy, do you believe in magic?"

.

"Kata. Stop with this madness!" An old, angered elf growls at his son.

"What could you possibly be implying here, father?" Asks a young man with an innocent smile.

"Quit using your magic tricks. Everyone is already fed up with you and these ridiculous shows you put up."

Kata sighs with a roll of his grey eyes. It isn't his fault that the other elves lack the skill for magic. Or the fact that he causes quite a commotion with just his appearance. Being so average as these people around him should be considered a crime.
You see, elves are meant to be the most beautiful creatures roaming Aestraea. With almost white hair, blue eyes, tall figure and the fighting skills feared by all others.

So Kata understands why he may receive a little bit more attention than others. First off, his black hair reaching past his ears that Kata absolutely refused to shorten. He's not as tall as the elves his age, nor does he know how to use a bow and arrows. Kata has magic. He's always had it. That's another thing he gains unwanted attention from. It isn't very manly to do magic instead of fistfighting, now is it?
His mother had been one of the few who knew that form of art and hence had taught Kata tricks at a young age.

The young elf looks around the market. People had, indeed, started gathering around the pair of royals.

"Couldn't you, for once, act like the prince you are?" Asks the older man, gesturing his guards to assist Kata back to their horses.

"All of you are no fun at all", Kata sighs and whips away one guards arm when they try to grab him.

Heading for his white horse, Kata does a wave with his hand and the little fireworks coming from the small child's hair stop.
The elf climbs on his ride and turns his upper body around to see the commoners bowing and greeting their king. His father. Unfortunately if you ask Kata. No one asks him, though.

Without a second glance, he hits his heels against the horse's sides and lowers himself against the animal. Speeding through Aestraea's fields is one of the few things that give him the peace of mind.

The young man feels his hair blowing around in the wind as he pushes his horse to go faster and faster. Forests pass by as a blur. Small lakes shimmer in the sunlight, bright blue. Kata takes a deep breath and focuses on his surroundings. Riding through a huge field of flowers he can feel their sweet scent with every breath.

Kata bends down as much as he dares without falling and snatches a tall sun flower. He mouths silent words and the large horse smoothly comes to a stop. Kata tightens his hold on the plant and slowly it turns into dust, floating up towards the open sky. His eyes follow the blue mist until it dissapears between the many moons and planets, dancing above the boy and his horse. Sun flowers were Kata's mom's favorite. Now she can have one more.
The elf lowers himself to the ground and pats the animal next to him. He smiles and steps aside.

"Go!" Kata yells and gestures with his hands for the horse to start running.

Said being doesn't hesitate to take off with full speed towards the glowing, colden castle in the distance.
Kata watches it go with the amazement that never seems to leave him when it comes to that specific horse. It's truly breathtaking.

Standing alone on the field of flowers, Kata sighs and let's his magic flow to his fingers, feeling the sparks it causes. The young magician raises his arms and a blue transparent bridge starts forming into existence. It passes rivers and fields, reaching all the way to the castle. Who wouldn't like a grand entrance?
Of course it is all an illusion. A very realistic one if Kata has a say in the matter.
He lowers his hands and steps on his new bridge, taking his time to admire the little rivers and forests on his way.

.

Finally stepping a foot inside the castle, Kata has many pissed off guards shoving him to walk faster and muttering something Kata would rather not hear.
They head towards the main doors. Great. So there goes the plan of sneaking away to his room and not socialising any more than necessary. Fantastic.
Kata prepares himself as the huge, grey, metal doors open and a very angry woman comes stomping from the dining room.

"Kata, your father told me of your doings."

"It was merely a bit of fun, Miss. Nothing serious."

The woman curses lightly under her breath and massages her forehead.
"This was the third time in the last five days."

Kata shrugs and makes a move to get to the stairs straight ahead of him. A sudden stop. He glances back to see one of the guards' gloved hands around his elbow. The prince rolls his eyes and yanks the arm free. The woman from before, a house keeper, nods to him and starts leading the way to the dining hall.

.

"You know what, Kata?"

"I have a feeling you're about to tell me, father", answers Kata while playing around with his meal.

"Fix your attitude. That's no way to speak to your king."

How about to my dad?

"Yeah yeah, what was it you wanted to talk about? I have things to do."

"See this is exactly what I mean. We are supposed to be the most powerful, respected and well behaved creatures on this planet. And there you are, bothering regular citicens with your tricks and acting like a street kid with no raising. So do tell me. What went wrong in your case?" The old man snarls with his fist on the table.

Well that stings.

Kata's careful to not let his mask slip as he raises an eyebrow and gives a sarcastic smile.

"I don't know, your honor. Could it have something to do with the lack of good parenting?"

A hand slams on the table and Kata gets escorted out of the room.