Nick: A Winter's Tale

Chapter One: 'Twas the Night Before

Cold. It was all he could feel. The frosty claws of winter picking at every exposed part of flesh it could find. But soon, the feeling of cold extended beyond his body and penetrated his spirit within. All sense of being and physicality began to leave him as the cold surrounded even his mind. It had to be the end. He had tried, in vain, to protect an innocent life, and now he lay in darkness and ice, his breath failing him and his mind becoming free of its vessel.

Around him was a dark, weightless void. He felt devoid of sense, like floating in water but without the crushing pressure squeezing his body tight, nor the suffocation of drowning. Breath itself, it seemed, was no longer something he was able to do. He was without voice, without movement. He could do nothing but think; let his subconscious flow freely in a blend of memory and fantasy.

As his mind wandered, the memories flooded to him. He thought of those he would leave behind, and all the things he would never be able to do, to finish. He thought of the night before, of how he got here in the first place, and the memory once again became reality as he sunk to witness his final night on Earth once more. It had been cold, just as cold as it was now, so it wasn't hard to imagine himself back there again. The images began to solidify, and once more he was back, reliving the memory as if for the first time.

He had been out in a blizzard, the winter wind kicking up a mighty gale of snow, pushing and howling against him, doing its best to deter him, yet still he had trudged on, lantern swinging and sleigh creaking through the cold. Through the sheets of falling snow he could just make out the windows of the houses, glowing with the cosy warmth inside each dwelling. He pushed onwards, giving an encouraging shout ahead, to the pair of magnificent reindeer that pulled him along.

He was Nicholas, the son of Christopher and soon-to-be inheritor of the Cringle family business, who ran a coal mine and provided the town with much needed warmth. Most people called him Nick for short, and despite his background of nobility and proper etiquette, he preferred it. Nick had never been capable of seeing himself as above anyone else; a trait his father admired but was sometimes worried by, fearing for his son's future as a business owner. Right now, Nick lived in a small wooden cabin not far from his father's mine, where he bred and tended to a herd of reindeer that the mine workers would use to haul heavy sleighs of coal up and down the shafts, as well is into town to sell. It was a cold, harsh town, far removed from civilisation, and coal was its lifeblood in both trade and in the everlasting fight against the snow.

Nick had with him his oldest and proudest reindeer, Donner, the buck and alpha male of the herd, along with his mate; a healthy and strong female Nick had named Cupid. The pair of them, despite the snow, marched on confidently. Donner had never been beaten by the snow, and Nick believed he never would either.

He knew he shouldn't be out right now, and knew his father would scorn him later for his actions, but he didn't care. Behind him were several thick canvas sacks tied up tightly with rope. The rope itself was aided in its security by the flecks of frost that were forming within its twine.

Through the swirling white flakes, Nick could see the outline of his destination; a small cottage on the edge of a forest. With one last burst of enthusiasm he urged the deer to pull through to the end, where he disembarked.

He was wearing a thick green fur coat trimmed with white fluffy cuffs at the sleeves and front, the hem of which fluttered around him as he jumped down from his sleigh. As he went to unhook the cargo from the back, the door of the cottage opened and flooded the area with a warm, yet dwindling orange light.

From within, a woman emerged, who looked concerned at the sight of him, tightening her gown in the howling wind.

"Nicholas," she shouted over the wind, worry in her voice, "What are you doing out in this?"