Farewell And Adieu [2016] [P/UP]

1

I tugged down the hood of my parka as I trudged through the snow of whatever island I had landed on.

It had been three years since I watched my beautiful kingdom be destroyed and in that time I had learned how to cover up the painful white blotches as best as I could. If I didn't, then the World Government would be called and I would have to change islands sooner than expected.

Makeup, unfortunately, could not completely cover the blotches on my face and my once dark brown hair was begining to form white streaks; another side effect of Amber Lead poisoning.

I was freezing.

The gloves covering my hands and the snow boots on my feet did nothing to stop the cold. It passed right through me and made the constant pain of the white blotches even worse.

The darkness did nothing to help me either. Not even the moon had decided to shed its light upon me.

The wind whipped painfully against my body and my foot fell through a snow bank. I shuddered as the frozen white powder entered my shoes.

If I didn't find shelter soon, I was sure I would freeze to death.

True, it would be a much less painful way to die, but I still had four more years to go. I would try and make them count...

A small flicker of light in the distance caught my attention.

I peered through the darkness to find that it had come from a small shack.

My disposition brightened at the prospect of warmth and I made sure to pull the collar of my sweater up over my nose before dashing as fast as I could to that flicker of light.

The closer I got to the shack, the clearer it became.

It was run-down and broken looking, probably shelter to a homeless man. But there was a fire inside and that was all that mattered to me.

Running up to the door, I banged on it with all my might.

"E-Excuse me!" I called, hoping that someone was indeed inside. "I s-saw your f-f-fire and I was wondering if I co-could come inside! The storm out here is t-terrible!"

For a moment all I could hear was a bunch of shuffling and whispering, but after a minute or so the door opened, revealing a large man in a black feather coat.

"M-May I p-p-please come in and w-warm up?" I asked, my teeth chattering from the cold.

After a moment, the man nodded and pulled out a pad of paper, scribbling on it quickly. 'Yeah, you must be freezing.'

"Th-Thank you!" I breathed in relief, then brushed past the man to get inside. He must be a mute...

To be perfectly blunt, it was a hovel he was living in. The interior was rather filthy and there was a mound of boxes and tarps all piled up into one corner, but the fire was going and it kept the wind out, so it could have been a castle for all I cared.

Plopping down in front of the fire, I sighed through the cloth of my sweater as I felt its warmth hit my eyes; the only part of my skin exposed.

The tall man sat down on the opposite side of the fire and stared at me.

And stared at me.

And stared at me.

Finally, I grew annoyed.

"Yes?" I asked. "Is something wrong?"

The man pointed to his face- which I only just then noticed was made up with gaudy blue and maroon paint around his lips and under one of his eyes- and scribbled on the pad again.