Tales of the Arctic ~ WWH shortstories

Bartholomeus x poor!reader - Snowfall

Tried to keep the reader gender neutral. Few abbreviations here; (Y/N) for Your Name, (M/N) for mother's name.

"Mom, look! It's snowing!" I smiled brightly, pointing outside at the white sky. My mother came up behind me and laughed; "Still as enchanted as always by snow, huh?"

I nodded enthusiastically. Ever since I saw it for the first time here in the kingdom of Castle Rock, I had loved the magical looking flakes. Mom didn't like them, since they meant cold and a poor family like the two of us couldn't protect their house against that. She enjoyed my enthusiasm, though.

"Hey, (Y/N)? Do you want to go fetch some items from the market for me?" Before she had ended her question, I'd nodded and grabbed our bag; "What do you need, mom?"

"Some carrots, potatoes and some rabbit meat." Knowing that this meant we were eating rabbit stew tonight, I agreed, picked up the bag and went on my merry way to the market.

Skipping along the road to Rockbury, I couldn't keep the smile off my face. Everything was coated in white and I loved it! The skipping easily kept me warm and I was happy to run errands for mom.

Arriving at the market square, I approached the vegetable stand first. Jacque, the bulky stall owner, laughed heartily as he noticed me approach; "Good day, (Y/N)! Helping out (M/N) again?" "As always, Jacque! Do you have some carrots and potatoes for me?" The strong man laughed and nodded. As he picked the best-looking ones out of his stock, he asked: "How's she doing?"

"Mom? She's doing well. The cold got her good at the start of the season, but she's recovering." "That's good to hear," Jacque answered, handing me the carrots; "here's your order, that'll be six guilders." I handed him the money with a nod and a thank you. "Polite as always. Now, off you go! Wouldn't want your mother receiving her order late!"

I laughed and skipped away, not noticing the commotion that had formed behind us. The King of Castle Rock, king Bartholomeus, had arrived at the square for some time among his people. He chatted with the owners of the leatherwork stall for a while, before he approached the butcher's stall.

I only noticed him as he was standing next to me, which was a surprise as he usually stood out like a sore thumb.

"Your Highness! What a pleasure to see you here. What can I do for you?" The stall owner smiled. Bartholomeus took a look at me and responded; "I believe the young adult next to me wanted to make a purchase. I merely want to talk."

"Oh, right! Sorry, (Y/N), what do you need?" "Some rabbit meat. Mom's making rabbit stew tonight." I responded with a smile, giving the king a shy glance. "Coming right up, my friend!" As the butcher went to work, I turned to the royal next to me.

"My apologies, my king. I was so caught up in my task I hadn't noticed you." He chuckled; "It's quite alright. There's no need for my people to always have their eyes on their king. A kingdom may flourish regardless."

"You are a very wise man, my liege. May I ask, what brings you to Rockbury today?" I asked, scratching my neck softly. "I'm merely on a stroll. I find enjoyment in the snowfall these days," he responded.

This surprised me. Never had I thought I had something like that in common with my king. "I like the snowflakes too. They're almost magical, falling from the sky like that." He agreed, as the butcher handed me my order and said: "That'll be four guilders."

Before I could take out the money, Bartholomeus stepped in: "I'll pay for that. Consider it a good deed once in a while." He flashed me a smile and the butcher nodded, taking the money.

"Well, I should be on my way, Your Highness. I hope you have a good day!" "As to you, young one," Bartholomeus nodded, after which I skipped home.

From that day forth, I began looking out to snowfall even more, thinking about just that one day at the Rockbury market.