Nick: A Winter's Tale

Chapter Three: A Cold Dawn

When the screaming of the relentless wind finally subsided, the sun was already beginning to creep over the horizon. At least 2 feet of snow covered the ground in Hilldale, but it was no fluke. Winters in this land were often this harsh, hence why the houses in Hilldale were built on tall foundations.

The creak of the wooden door rung out in the morning air as Alice exited her house, wrapped warm and in a pair of leather boots. She could hear the creaking if the pines and the gentle morning cooing of the doves; a far more welcome sound than the shrieking of the storm. She looked up her street and could already see the other townsfolk getting to work on clearing the snow from the road.

They had done quite a decent job already; the street was at least traversable, and so Alice was able to get to town centre fairly quickly, wishing her neighbours a good morning as she passed them. She planned to visit Nick again now that the storm had passed, and thank him properly for her gift, which currently sat in the pocket of her own thick winter coat.

The town of Hillsdale was not considered grand by any account, but it was charming in its wooden houses and cobbled streets, along with its friendly, community driven townsfolk. Horses draped in coats gently champed up the main roads, their riders greeting each other and the pedestrians cheerfully in the dewy morning. Above, the bell tower began to ring out, signalling 10 o'clock. Alice could already see the reindeer pulled sleighs making their way into the mines atop the mountain, and began to head up the road towards them.

"Good morning, Mr Cringle," she waved as she spotted the large, bearded frame of Nick's father. He waved and gave a deep but cheery hello back. Alice smiled and continued, and soon found herself beside the large pasture where eight large reindeer were grazing. She knew all of them by name, as these ones were Nick's personal ones he kept around for himself. The largest by far was Donner, the one who had pulled the coal to her house the night before.

Donner recognised her also, and came trotting over, giving her a very fond grunt and sniffing her hands. Though his head came roughly the same height as hers, his Antlers stood almost half her height on top of that. They were truly magnificent, and marked his place as the buck of the herd. Alice petted him fondly before making her way over to Nick's cabin, and knocking on the door.

There was no answer. Alice tried again, but still nothing. Perplexed, she tried to peer in through the window, but found it too heavily frosted to see through. She frowned, concern building in the back of her mind. Perhaps he was out tending to chores? She went around the back of the house to investigate.

She trudged through the snow toward the treeline toward the well, assuming Nick was perhaps trying to get water while the sky was clear. She noted Donner was also still following her and trotting his way over to the trees also. She could see the well, but her heart was already sinking at the lack of movement around it. Donner, too, seemed to share her concern, as he began to grunt loudly towards the well.

"How strange," she said softly, her breath fogging up in front of her. She glanced around the area, and did notice the bucket was lying on its side, seemingly having rolled somewhat given the trail in the snow behind it. Rationally thinking, she assumed an animal or possibly the storm had knocked it.

Donner began making a concerning noise. Watching him, Alice didn't notice anything immediately wrong with him. Yet he was bucking his head and kicking, seemingly upset by something. She followed his gaze, and what she saw chilled her more than the snow ever could.

It was Nick's scarf, snagged against a tree, the threads pulled bare and torn in some places. As she ran to pick it up, she noticed the frozen footprints on the ground which caused her heart to sink even further. She got to the branch and pulled the scarf free, and noticed the huge slope that fell deeper into the forest. He breath was sharp and panicked.