A Boy and His Reindeer [ON HOLD]

Chapter One

"No! Please! P-Please sir, I'm begging you!" I cried, clasping my shaking hands together. I looked down at them. They were raw, cracked and bleeding.

"You have to go home, kid. You can't survive out here in the mountains, all by yourself." The burly mountain man kneeled down to my height and took off his gloves. He took my hands in his. They were rough, and I could already start to feel them getting cold.

"Kid, mountain life is beautiful. But it is also very dangerous if you don't know the basics of it." I could barely feel his thumb tap my bloody palm before gently sliding the large glove over my hand, then doing the same to my other one. 

"Maybe when you're older," he continued, sitting down in the snow, "You can come find me. I'll teach you everything you need to know." His dark green eyes met mine. "But on one condition."

I gazed down at my new gloves for what seemed like an eternity. I knew what he was going to say. But in despite of that, I slowly nodded my head, and strands of my blonde hair escaped from the raggedy hat I was wearing. I sat down across from the man, my mind whirling. I can't tell him, I thought. I can't!

The mountain man reached his hand out and tilted my chin up so that I was looking at him. I looked at his noticeably unshaven face, the black beard that desperately needed to be chopped off, his pink cheeks- flushed from the cold. His crooked nose, probably not healed all the way, maybe from a fight, or a fall. But when I glanced at his eyes, the dark green eyes that reminded me of pine trees, how they seemed to glow with some sort of warmness, gentleness, I knew I could trust him. 

But I couldn't tell him. I was too afraid.

"Kid," he said gruffly, since I hadn't said anything. "The condition is this. You have to answer the question I'm about to ask truthfully, alright?"

I nodded, blinking away the tears that were starting to form in my eyes.

"Okay."

Here it comes.

"Why did you run away, and come up here?" He looked at me curiously as he asked that question. Like he genuinely wanted to know. Like he cared.

My head slowly shook, back and forth. I wanted to tell him so badly. I opened my mouth to speak, and the man leaned forward a little bit, nodding his head with a smile, to encourage me. But no words came out. I licked my chapped lips and tried again. Nothing. I shook my head once more, in disbelief.

I felt like my brain was telling my mouth not to let any words come out, even though my heart wanted it to.

"What was it? Argument with your folks or somethin'?"

"What's your name?" I asked quietly.

The mountain man looked at me quizically, furrowing his eyebrows. "My name's Erik. Yours?"

"Kristoff."

"How old are ya, kid?"

"How old are you?"

Erik slapped his knee, a loud and hearty chortle escaping from his lips. The outer corners of his eyes crinkled as he laughed. I liked Erik's laugh. It wasn't fake, or sinister. It was true. 

"Good one kid," he chuckled, winking at me. "But that doesn't matter. I'd tell ya I'm in my early twenties, but then I'd be lyin'."

I sighed. "I'm five."

Erik's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Five?"

"Yeah."

"How- how on earth did ya get up here?"

I shrugged. I guess motivation did that task for me.

 A/N

How did you guys like it?? Sorry that it was kind of short; for some reason I can never seem to write long chapters haha.

Please comment what you think, I would love to hear from you all :)