Snow ✓

An Introduction

The day was still dewy when Mat and Snow left Gran lounging in her armchair after breakfast.

"You're hurting me," Snow grunted, shaking the hand Mat crushed as he pulled her toward the Burnt Forest.

Mat had checked the road from the hill to find celebrators sleeping in the dirt; through the forest they would go.

"Sorry," he muttered without slackening his grip.

When they got to the tree line, she pulled him to a stop, wriggled out of his grip with an accusatory glare, and stalked past him. He could practically hear her: I'm not a child anymore. I know the way.

Wasn't she afraid? He sure was and couldn't bring himself to utter a coherent thought the entire way. His heart somersaulted as they stepped out into the sun-dappled field that led to Elis' door and they didn't pause until they reached the stoop. At some point, while crossing the field, she had taken hold of his hand, he only now noticed, and when he hesitated with bated breath, she squeezed. Without knocking, Mat opened the door. The chime of the bell skipped up his spine as she slid past him into the shop.

"Elis," Mat called and shut the door.

The tinker peeked his bespeckled head around the last case on the right. His suspicion of visitors confirmed, the rest of his body followed.

"Mathew," he said as he approached, eyes on Snow.

"I brought a friend."

She lowered her hood by way of introduction and her white mane sprung free.

"So I see," Elis said as if Mat had told him the sky was blue.

Mat cleared his throat. "This is my cousin. The one I told you about."

"Ah, the one gifted my phonograph."

"That's right. She's visiting 'til New Moon."

The silence yawned and a discomforting smile played on Snow's lips.

As if remembering himself, Elis smiled, adjusted his spectacles and offered his hand. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

She shook his hand. "My name is Snow."

The tinker smiled politely and gave a slight bow before releasing her hand to gesture widely at the shelves. "Welcome to my humble home and shop. I'd wager," he said, turning to give Mat a knowing glance, "you're a bit old to care for such playthings?"

Mat opened his mouth but Snow was quicker: "I like to read."

"Ah, yes, I myself have quite the collection," he said much to Mat's surprise, as he could not recall a single bookshelf in all his orbits as the tinker's helper.

Elis gestured for them to follow as he grabbed a lantern from a nearby shelf. They took a sharp left down the last aisle toward a case against the wall stacked with thingymajigs and doodads and stopped beside a gap where the case T'd with the brick and mortar—an aperture Mat had never noticed. Elis sucked in his gut and slid through with Snow quick to follow and Mat close behind.

The nook the case created was more spacious than Mat would have thought possible standing on the other side. Elis raised the lantern, shedding light on shelves upon shelves stacked full of books that reached all the way to the ceiling, the top-most shelf obscured by darkness. Big, small, thick and old, some with titles in languages he didn't know.