“Ugh. It’s so damn cold”

  Soren’s body shivered slightly, causing him to pull his blanket tighter around him. He hated this time of year, even with the heating his home provided, the cold seemed to always be present. He didn’t mind the snow of course, what kid didn’t love playing in the snow? Though, he was getting a bit old for stuff like that. Sinking deeper back into his bed, Soren’s mind drifted off. His birthday was tomorrow, he would be turning thirteen. A lazy smile appeared on his face.

  ‘Father said he would have Seline teach me spell weaving when I got old enough… who knows if I’m good enough maybe he’ll send me to the academy.’

  Outside his room the sound of loud footsteps running up a flight of stairs broke the peaceful silence he was basking in. His face quickly soured, as he pulled the blanket over his head.

  ‘Gods does he always have to be so loud?’

  The door to his room quickly swung open, as a young boy with blonde curly hair came running in. His bright blue eyes were full of excitement. He quickly ran to the side of Soren’s bed.

  “Soren! Soren! Look outside, it’s snowing.”

  The young boy began to pull the blanket off of Soren. Letting out a grumble he yelled back at the boy.

  “Can’t you see I’m trying to sleep Silas? Go bother Alicia or Vincent… Let me sleep in peace.”

  Silas’ energetic grin quickly turned into a pout.

  “But Alicia is busy with father. And I did ask Vincent, and he said you would play with me!”

  Letting out a deep sigh Soren sat up, pulling the blanket off himself. His annoyed gaze drifted to the pleading eyes of Silas. Soren took a deep breath in.

  “Fine!”

  Throwing his legs over the side of the bed, Soren let out a deep sigh. He pointed his tired eyes at the boy.

  Go get your coat, oh, and get Cele.

  The boy gave him a quick and energetic nod, before running out of the room. Soren was left alone once again, shaking off the morning grogginess he stood up from the bed and walked over to the curtains. Pulling the dark blue curtains aside, he was briefly blinded by the morning light. Once his eyes adjusted he was greeted by the familiar sight of the estate yard. However it had now been covered in a layer of pristine white snow. The large oak tree that sat a few yards from his home had also been caked in snow.

  Retreating away from the window Soren pulled his arms above his head, stretching, attempting to chase away the desire to return to his warm bed.

  ‘Even though I was annoyed at Silas waking me up, I can’t lie, playing in the snow did seem fun.’

  Walking around the bed Soren rummaged through his closet, looking for anything warm. Eventually he put on a heavyweight jacket and draped a velvet scarf around his neck. After he found himself adequately warm, he left the confines of his room. Walking the halls he passed by various portraits, some were of his brothers and sisters, others of their father, but most were paintings of places his father visited on expeditions. They had been gifts from one of his colleagues. Passing by a particularly large painting, he couldn’t help but stop and admire it. This one was definitely his favorite.

  The painting depicted a large tree standing in the center of a large field, but what drew him to this painting were the vibrant colors. The bark of the tree was a deep grey color, the leaves in contrast were a bright blue. The field too was an abnormal color. The tall grass was painted a crimson color. He had once asked his father about this place. His father had said that he encountered it on an expedition across the sea. It had been close to a set of ruins he was meant to study. Apparently the painting did it no justice. His father had said that “The leaves of that tree seemed to be made of frozen moonlight, as if they were shimmering gems, always emitting a faint blue light.

  ‘I don’t know what father is talking about. I really like the painting…’

  Soren stared at the painting for a moment, taking in the beautiful brush strokes of the painting.

  ‘I wonder if I’ll get to see the real thing one day.’

  His focus was suddenly broken by the call of his two younger siblings. The loud voice of Silas calling from downstairs echoed through the once quiet halls.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “Hurry up Soren!”

  Letting out a sigh he turned his attention away from the painting and descended towards the two. Waiting by the door, his brother was bouncing energetically. Next to him was a girl about the same age as him. In stark contrast to Silas, Celeste was far more reserved, her short brown hair was obscured mostly by the hood of her winter coat. Clutching close to her chest was a small stuffed animal, Soren believed it to be a bear, but for some odd reason it had the ears of a rabbit sown onto it.

  ‘She’s still carrying around that old thing…’

  Looking past the two, his eyes focused on the closed door of his fathers laboratory. At the bottom of the door’s frame, flashes of red and white light could barely be seen. Worry quickly filled Soren’s heart.

  ‘This is the third time this week. She’s gonna burn out at this rate.’

  …

  Feeling a tug at the bottom of his sleeve, he refocused on his young siblings. Deep orange eyes were currently staring into his own, and the soft timid voice of his younger sister came out.

  “Outside.”

  Letting out a deep sigh, he quickly hid his growing worry. Forcing a smile, he nodded and led the two to the front door. Unlocking all the various locks father had installed would take a moment, now that he was getting older he no longer needed Alicia or Vincent to unlock it for him. The downside of being able to reach the locks was that he was now stuck having to open the door every time the two wanted to play.

  Undoing the final lock he pushed the door open. Even though he had initially been annoyed by Silas, a grin couldn’t help but form on his face. Seeing the pristine blanket of snow that had formed overnight did make him excited. The two children quickly ran down the large set of stairs leading to the estate grounds.

  “Hey! Careful you two, Alice will kill me if you two end up getting yourselves hurt…”

  His siblings called back with a dismissive reply. He couldn’t blame them of course, he did the same when it was Vincent watching him.

  …

  ‘Oh, what the hell! I’m still a kid, I can play in the snow for one more day.’

  Just as he prepared to descend the staircase, a hand quickly found his shoulder.

  Letting out an annoyed sigh, he already knew what was going on. Looking behind him was a boy, he was much bigger than Soren, not just in height but in… well, width.

  “Where do you think you’re going, huh?”

  His voice was playful, but his words seemed to destroy Soren’s previous excitement. His older brother had appeared out of nowhere, seemingly to spoil his fun as always.

  “Uhm… I was just going to make sure that Silas and Cele didn’t get themselves hurt.”

  Vincent's pale blue eyes narrowed. Removing the hand from his shoulder, Vincent ran his hand through his black hair.

  “Well, since I'm feeling like a caring, compassionate, and handsome older brother I’ll take over watching them for you.”

  “But-”

  Before Soren could finish his sentence, Vincent cut him off, and patted him on the back.

  “Besides… Father wants to see you in the lab.”

  Disappointment was almost instantly replaced with dread. He could feel his throat tighten up, and his heart beat quickened. Replying quickly, his voice came out almost panicked.

  “Are you sure? I mean, I was just there yesterday!”

  Vincent’s playful smile quickly vanished.

  “Yeah… Father has been acting strange lately. Just do it ok, Alicia needs a break.”

  Vincent’s words sat heavy, and with a defeated sigh, Soren nodded at Vincent. He made slow strides back inside his home, leaving Vincent and the other two behind.

  Walking towards the closed door off the laboratory, Vincent’s words rattled around in his mind.

  ‘I know Alice takes the duty for us a lot, and I know I should repay the favor… But still, I'm scared too.’

  Each step he took was shorter than the last, until he eventually stopped outside the door. Raising his hand, he reluctantly knocked against the hard wooden door. After a moment, the door creaked open. Looking down at him with a weak smile, his older sister greeted him softly.

  “Hey… I know it’s scary, but I promise it will only be a bit, ok.”

  Her golden eyes seemed more tired than usual, and her red hair was frizzy and clinging to her sweat drenched head. There were noticeable dark circles under her eyes.

  He didn’t speak, instead, he simply nodded and entered the room.

  His father’s laboratory was normally very clean and organized, but lately it looked as though it had been ransacked. The room had various books and papers scattered across his father’s desk, even spreading to the floor. Tables with mechanical devices that Soren had no idea what even did, had been pushed to the corners of the room. His father stood in front of a large pattern on the floor. It seemed to be a large array of sequences painted on the floor.

  Stopping just short of reaching the runic array, Soren felt the gentle hands of his sister rest on his shoulders. Even through her calm demeanor, he could feel a sight tremble in her hands. Confusion plagued his mind.

  ‘Why is she still here? And why is she so scared?’

  The loud footsteps of his father drew his attention. Walking closer to him, Soren could see that his father looked far more tattered than the last time he saw him. His long grey hair was tied up lazily, and there were dark circles under his crimson eyes. His clothes were wrinkled, and his tie hung loosely around his neck. There were no pleasantries, no greetings, not even the usual smile his father wore. He only opened his mouth, and spoke simply and calmly.

  “Let’s begin.”