Nadia could see the snow was growing much deeper than the day before as it had not even stopped falling for a second. She watched out the window after finishing the breakfast dishes and sighed, wondering if Garin was staying warm enough. While thinking of Garin being warm enough, she went to the corner and gathered a couple of logs for the fire, just to make sure it would stay warm enough inside the house. Although one minute Nadia was too hot, and the next she was too cold. There would be random moments when she’d be outside and would feel like the sun was beating on her back as though it were summer.
It was about the moment that she closed the stove that she remembered Lea mentioning coming over, but with the way the weather was looking, Nadia wasn’t so sure she’d be coming at all. With the snow being so deep, and her children so small, she couldn’t be certain if they’d even manage.
About an hour later, Lea actually showed up carrying Kida on her back and her son, William, underneath her arm. He was laughing hysterically until his mother put him on the floor and made him take his boots off.
“You actually came in this weather?” Nadia asked in shock.
“Yeah, I didn’t want you to be alone today! I see Garin hasn’t returned.”
“I’m concerned about him, if a storm starts up and he’s still out there...” Nadia trailed off, rushing over to the stove to make some tea for Lea and herself.
“Don’t worry, he and Javik will be alright. I’m sure they have been through a lot worse.” Lea assured her as she retrieved Kida from the pouch on her back and began to cradle her.
Nadia smiled at the reassurance, “I was sort of hoping Garin would be back today, like he promised... it’s my birthday.”
“Oh, happy birthday!” Lea giggled, glancing down at William as he started to play with a toy they had brought along for his amusement. “So I was reminded of an incredible story on the way over here!”
Nadia had her back turned and was watching the tea kettle, “Really? What is it about?”
“You haven’t been here very long, but there is a story about an assassin. Well, I’m not exactly sure it can be called a simple story…”
“What, is it a legend, or something?”
“Hmm… I’m not sure. Sort of like a ghost story, or an old wive’s tale…” Lea seemed lost in thought for a moment, then gasped when she realized she’d been staring at a wall for a good amount of time. “Anyway, it goes like this…”
A very long time ago, when The Order was in its infancy, and the people were filled with terror, unknowing of whether or not they would be the next ones to find themselves, or their loved ones hunted by the mysterious assassins of the order, there came about a white assassin. He first appeared in the deep of winter wearing a pure white cape, and his clothes beneath were also a lovely bright white. It was a time when The Order was having trouble controlling their assassins, so there were very many deaths that were not caused by written bounties. The assassins had found they rather loved the taste of death-of killing. In such a winter, the white assassin didn’t blend in with the color of the snow, for the snow had been tainted by the blood of those killed by The Order.
