The young boy blew into his red knitted mittens, seeing his breath appear briefly as a white cloud before dissipating. It was very cold, his mother had wrapped him in so many layers he looked much rounder than his actual four years, baby-fat and all. But there wasn't any snow even though all of the old men with four foot long gray beards had grumbled and mumbled of the snowdrifts that were to come this year. Something about the aches in their bones.
He didn't understand all of the talk that the grown-ups discussed, some big fuss about a tree. He couldn't see any tree, not even from the attic window. But his mother had taken to praying again. He hoped she didn't forget the presents for the White Solstice. Maybe she'll even let him have a pet! It would be nice to have a friend.
With that cheery thought, he began to skip through the barren trees who had long shed their red and yellow leaves.
"Itai!" he yelped, tripping his foot against something. "What was that?"
He crawled over to what appeared to be a beige mound. He poked it. It was hard but it felt like cloth. The little boy pulled at it and looked at the person who was wearing it.
"Hey mister, if you sleep outside like this, you'll freeze to death. That's what mommy said." The boy shook the strange man. "Mister?"
Zel no baka!!
Zelgadiss jumped up suddenly, but since he was previously in a horizontal position, the sudden flow of blood out of his head caused him to slump back down into the soft bed. Bed? Just how did he get into a bed? Did he survive then?
He looked around from where he lay, taking in the well-furnished room of what must be a cottage. The view from the window showed the dark outlines of a winter forest. There were no forests in the valley where Sairaag was. Where was this?
"Lina?"
No answer.
"Lina?" Zel tried again more loudly. "Gourry? Myria? Is anyone here?"
There was some foot pattering outside the door to his room. So someone was here but those steps...they were too small and lite to be any but a child's. A good samaritan then? But why would anyone rescue something like him?
Scowling, Zel reached for his face mask but found only a normal high collar. He was wearing an oversized pair of nightclothes with his own clothes nowhere in sight. Even his sword was missing. No wait, he left that in Loht.
"Ara, you're finally awake?"
Reflexively, Zel raised his arm to cover his face. The woman with the curled chestnut hair and green eyes who fairly skipped into the room didn't seem to notice as she laid a filled washbasin in the stand next to the dresser. Suddenly, Zel was finding it hard to breath with the exuberance she practically radiated.
"Lin was becoming frantic."
Zel raised an eyebrow. Lin?
"Come in now," she scolded, waving at someone still outside the door. Zel picked out the silhoutte of a child, probably the same one he heard earlier. "He's the one that found you unconscious in the forest. I've told him again and again not to bring back animals from the forest and just because most animals won't hurt him doesn't mean a monster won't and - "
"Where is this?" Zel asked shortly. This lady's son just brought him here and she was worried about a monster outside? What about the one right in front of her?
"You're at my plantation Tara," answered the woman smiling cheerfully. "My name is Scarlett Tara, and this little boy is my son Thalindar Tara."
A wide-eyed little boy, no more than a toddler really, shuffled into the light at the sound of his name. His black hair was messily parted on the side and his large violet eyes reminded Zel of his father. Zel shifted slightly under the boy's fixed staring.
"I've never heard of this place."
"I'd be surprise if you did," Scarlett laughed. "I suppose that may change with the rebuilding of Sairaag."
"What?!"
"You don't know? Suddenly several days ago, a huge tree grew into being in the Sairaag valley. People have been flocking there to build a city around its roots." Scarlett rambled on about increased numbers of travelers passing through despite the coming of winter but Zelgadiss ceased to actively listen
Instead, he stored it away. The why, wherefore, and whatnot could come later. What was more important was that everyone must have thought he died. He thought he was going to die. But he was alive right now and a short distance away from Sairaag. There was a chance everyone could still be in the vicinity. But did he want to find them? What were they to him anyway?
"What's your name?"
Zel looked down at the boy who was now leaning against the bed, looking earnestly up at him. There wasn't any fear or disgust reflected in those eyes, something that confused Zel. Why weren't these two afraid of him?
"It's Zelgadiss."
"Can I call you Nii-chan?"
Zelgadiss blinked.
"Ne, Nii-chan, why were you sleeping in the forest when it's this cold? It's cold enough to snow you know. That's what everyone keeps saying. But it hasn't snowed yet. I can't wait for it to snow. It's pretty. Will you make snowmen with me?" Lin smiled cutely up at him, his violet eyes shimmering with something Zel couldn't identify.
"..."
"Now, now, Lin. Mr. Zelgadiss has only just woken up and may not be feeling well yet." Scarlett laughed. "Why don't you wash up first while I bring some broth up? Lin, come along."
"Can't I stay? I promise to be really really quiet. Like a mouse." Lin pleaded. "I won't bother Nii-chan. I'll stay right here." As if to emphasize his point, Lin hopped onto the far edge of the bed, pulling his legs to his chest with his pudgy arms around them.
Scarlett gave him a mother's look which Lin countered with the never defeated puppy-dog eyes. Lin found himself suddenly caught in a mother bear hug as Scarlett squealed. "You're just too adorable!! Don't you agree?"
"..."
Scarlett glared daggers at Zelgadiss, taking the lack of response to be a denial of her darling boy's cuteness. Zel cringed internally, knowing from his own experience that a mother's fury is truly frightening when dealing with one of her children.
"...I suppose."
She smiled brightly. "Well, I'll leave him here. I'll be back soon. Mommy's little bundle of joy be good now." With one last cuddle, Scarlett departed the room and Zel breathed more easily. Then he took a look at Lin and finally recognized where he saw Lin's sparkling eyes before. They looked like Amelia when she was idolizing someone.
"What are you looking at?" Zel asked brusquely, getting out of bed and taking care not to trip on the long pants.
"But I've never seen anyone like you."
Nor would anyone else, Zel thought sourly as he bent over the washbasin to watch several days of sleep out of his eyes. Even so, he kept an ear on the boy.
"I think you look cool!"
Zelgadiss stared at the boy through the water dripping down his face. Was this kid out of his mind? A monster like him and this boy thinks he looks cool?
"I wonder if my daddy looked as cool as you," Lin sighed wistfully.
"Your father?" Zel studied the boy as he dried his face. Where was the father? Surely he would have had something to say about Zel being here.
"...he died a long time ago."
"Lin's father? He died while I was still carrying. But we had such a glorious courtship before that," Scarlett sighed dramatically as roses popped out of nowhere around her.
Zel resisted the urge to reach out and crush each and every bud. After several days at this 'plantation', he was becoming used to Scarlett's overflowing enthusiasm for certain subjects. So far, that included her son Lin and gardening. Oh, and he learned that Scarlett tended to exaggerate. For example, her 'plantation' consisted of a snug cottage surrounded by a small fenced rose garden.
The whole place was just too dream-like for Zelgadiss's taste, like a piece of the world that reality forgot. He was going to leave today but somehow, the topic of Lin's father came up. And now that Scarlett was on a roll, Zel couldn't escape.
"You perhaps don't know the politics of this region but the North is always picking fights with us, the South. It was during one of those skirmishes that I met my husband."
"A soldier?"
"Yes," Scarlett sighed dreamily, off in her dreamworld that enveloped Zel as well. "He was so dashing, burning down homes, carrying off livestock, salting the farmgrounds..."
"Just whose side was he on?" Zel choked.
"Hm? Oh, the North."
Zel was getting a disturbing feeling where this was going.
"We just stood there looking at each other and then fell into a passionate kiss. I was taken prisoner and he arranged to be the prison guard that night to be with me. Later he even yelled at his captain when he was brought to trial over consorting with the enemy."
Zelgadiss could feel the sweatdrop rolling down his hair. "Is that what really happened?" he asked, clearing his throat.
"No."
He figured.
"Actually, when I first saw him in the village, I grabbed him and demanded that he marry me. Then I kissed him."
Zel was finding the previous version more believable.
"And I followed him everywhere after that. Girls aren't the only ones who play hard to get."
Zel was feeling very sorry for Lin's late father.
"Even though I lost him, I've done everything for Lin. Gave him a good home, a devoted mother, and the best education possible."
And gobs of affection. But it was better than no parents at all as Zel knew quite well. After all, look at how he turned out. And to think Lin was actually idolizing him.
"Mommy! Nii-chan! Look what I found!" Lin chirped, bursting through the door with the frigid winter wind. From the layers of clothes Scarlett had wrapped him in was produced a ball of fur. "It's a puppy!"
"Actually," Zel corrected as the fur unrolled itself, a tail flopping out from one end and a yawning pink mouth on the other. "That's a wolf pup."
"Really? Wai!" Lin hugged the pup.
"You can't keep that," Zel said, picking up the pup by the scruff of its neck. "Its mother is going to come looking for it." He looked at the bleary-eyed gray pup and it looked at him. Then it licked him.
"Haha, Furball licked Nii-chan! That means he likes you!" squealed the toddler, hopping from foot to foot excitedly, waving his arms to reach the pup.
"Liking isn't the question. It belongs with its mother." Zel stood up and went outside where he put the pup down. "Now get going." The pup looked mournfully at the barren forest then back at Zelgadiss. It padded behind Zel's foot and began chasing its tail. "You're not staying." Usually wolves obeyed him though Zel really wasn't sure why.
"Come here, Furball," Lin coaxed at the doorway. With a yip, the wolf pup bounded into Lin's outstretched arms, licking him excitedly. "Hey, stop that! It tickles!"
"Lin. Take me to where you found that pup."
"Does he have to go?" Lin looked at Zelgadiss tearfully.
Unable to stand those eyes, Zel turned his eyes resolutely toward the forest. "Would you like it if someone took you away from your mother?" Somehow, that came out gentler than he wanted. He was getting soft and all over a kid.
Lin shook his head, mumbling something into the fur in his arms.
"Come along."
"Don't stay out too long now! Don't talk to strangers! Take care of each other!" Scarlett called cheerfully from inside as Zelgadiss disappeared into the forest with a quiet Lin holding a squirming wolf pup. Her bright demeanor fell away when she was sure the two were out of range. Winces of pain replaced the everpresent smile as pain and weariness clouded her vision. Collapsing against the table, she pulled out her good luck charm, clutching it tightly enough to cut into her skin.
"Please. Please just a little more time." Scarlett fell into a fit of coughing, drops of blood decorating the handkerchief she coughed into. "He may be the one...but I have to be sure. Lin needs someone to take care of him..."
Unseen, a cloaked figure pulled away from the window it was looking through. A bit more time? That wasn't something it could grant. Perhaps his associate could do it.
Zel frowned as they went deeper into the forest. "Lin, why were you in this far?"
The boy sniffled, trying to hide the fact he was crying. Zelgadiss pretended he didn't notice. Why did he care? This kid had everything he never had after...after his family died. Lin should be grateful. But something still bothered Zel about the little boy.
"Why does your mother let you wander this far on your own? You're only four years old."
"The forest is safe. No one hurts me in the forest."
"What do you mean by that?" Zelgadiss stopped and knelt down to look at the boy eye-to-eye. "From what your mother said, the town isn't that far. Don't you have any friends over there?"
Lin studied the ground.
"Lin."
"...won't tell."
"Hm?"
"You won't tell...mommy right?" Lin asked, still looking at the ground. Even the pup's licks weren't cheering up the normally bright boy. "Mommy will only be sad. I don't want mommy to be sad. Then she hurts more."
Zelgadiss studied Lin. "They tease you don't they? The kids in town."
Lin's grip on the pup tightened and it whined its protest. Gently, Zel pried loose the boy's arms to let the wolf slide loose. Still, it remained by Lin's leg, rubbing the boy to show its support.
"I...I used to be teased by the other kids as well," Zel admitted as unwanted memories of the taunts and beatings he got from his days in the orphanage. "I felt alone in the world, that there couldn't be anyone who cared for me. That's what you're afraid of isn't it. That once your mother learns that the other kids don't like you, than she won't like you either."
The little boy could only nod, his sobs muffled by the pudgy hands covering his face. Whining, the little wolf tried to lick the tears that escaped from Lin's hands. As much as Zel was feeling empathy with the boy, the thought that he had a crying kid on his hands was not a comfortable one.
"You don't need to worry about that. Your mother cares for you no matter what everyone else thinks. She'll always be there for you." Zel wondered why he was acting so out of character. He ruffled Lin's messy black hair. "So stop crying already."
Lin hiccuped, rubbing his red eyes one last time. "Nii-chan, you're very nice."
"Don't be silly," Zel said abruptly standing up. "I just don't like people worrying about the stupidest things."
"I want to be just like Nii-chan when I grow up," Lin smiled, picking up the wolf pup in his arms.
Zelgadiss almost tripped. "Why would you want to do that?" he asked as they continued to where Lin found the pup.
"Because you're really nice and really cool looking."
Just where did he get that idea?
"I wasn't born like this," Zel told him, tugging at a metallic strand of hair. "I'm not nice and I look like a monster."
Lin looked up at Zel. "Where?"
"Where? Just look at me!"
Lin tipped his head to one side, the wolf pup doing the same, both looking at Zel. Then they tipped their heads the other way. They looked at each other.
"You look like me," Lin pointed out. "Two eyes, two ears, a nose, a mouth, two arms, two legs, hair..."
"Okay, okay. I get your point," Zel sighed. "But have you ever seen a human with stone skin?"
Lin held up the wolf pup. "Furball has fur and a tail. That doesn't make him a monster." The little wolf panted, looking at Zel with a dopey cute expression.
Zel bowed his head in defeat. "Alright, alright. Let's just get going. And stop calling him Furball. Besides sounding silly, you aren't keeping him."
"But he's my friend."
"His mother is probably worried about him. You didn't want your mother to worry about you right?"
"Yes but..."
"There are no 'but's about it. Furball is going back...Oh great, now you've got me doing it."
Lin grinned briefly. "Nii-chan. You're not going to go away are you?"
"Where did you hear that?" Zel said in the most neutral voice he could manage.
"Mommy said you probably would. That you don't want to stay here."
"Well, I do have some - "
"Is it because you don't like us?"
Oh boy, Lin was back on this track again. But before Zel could try to think of something to say, the wolf pup suddenly yipped and squirmed out of Lin's arm. It immediately scampered off.
"Ah, Furball!" Lin cried, chasing after it.
Zel could have easily caught the boy and left. But Lin needed to see that the wolf pup was better off with his mother. Keeping easy pace with Lin, they broke through some bushes to hear the sorrowful howling of the furball. A normal sized wolf and several pups lay unmoving on the ground.
"Nii-chan, are they..." Lin couldn't finish his question, scooping his own wolf pup close to make sure it too didn't suddenly fall still.
Zelgadiss frowned as he studied the dead wolves. No physical injuries, no signs of poisonings or freezing to death. Creatures just don't die like this. There was something very wrong here.
"We're going back."
"Huh?"
Without any more words, Zel grabbed both Lin and the pup before casting the spell to give him flight. Flying was more noticeable but he didn't know these woods. A group of rising smoke and steam had to be the town and the solitary one was Lin's home.
"Wow! Look, Furball! We're flying!" Lin gasped, watching the treetops speed by below. "I'm a bird! We're both birds! Wheeeeee!"
As Zel entered the small clearing around the cottage and its rose garden, he thought he saw someone dressed in black slip into the shadows. But when he landed, the shadows held nothing but themselves. Frowning, he pushed Lin and the wolf into the house.
"Ah, oh you surprised me!" Scarlett stood up from the table suddenly, thrusting her hands and the guilty handkerchief behind her. "I thought it was going to take longer. Ara? You still have the little wolf?"
"Yes. It's mommy and brothers and sisters are all dead," Lin said sadly, hugging the fur that curled into a ball again. "Can he stay with us then? Pleeeeeease."
"You know I can't refuse you anything."
That would make for a very spoiled child, Zel thought privately. Did Scarlett look a bit paler? She didn't appear as full of life as she was usually. Or maybe he was being overanalytical after all of those dead wolves. What could have been the cause?
Zel's eyes drifted to the window and its view of the forest. He stiffened.
"Nii-chan?"
"Stay in here. I'll be back," Zel said shortly, closing the door firmly behind him. Outside, the coming of the winter solstice was showing itself in the air, the icy wind cutting like a knife through layers of clothing. However, Zel didn't think that coldness was anything compared that another person can bring.
"I already saw you so you can stop hiding. Death."
The tall black cloaked figure with a scythe equally as tall stepped forth from the shadows, drawing substance from those self-same shadows. Its deep hood hid its face just as it hid every other part of Death's body. Not that Death had a real body. When the time came, it always appeared as its next customer.
"Who are you here for? The mother or the boy?" Zel narrowly watched the natural apparition. "Or me?"
"Why does...it matter...to you?" Death's voice was hollow and halting, utterly void of emotion. "You can...see me."
"That doesn't mean it's my turn to die. I've seen you plenty of times." Popular old wives' tales said only those fated to die would see death. But as Zel said, this was not the first time Death has appeared but not taken him. There was his parents, Zolf and Rodimus, and countless other times when they just happened to be crossing paths. Zel had long learned to not tell anyone about this.
Death's hooded gaze turned toward the window, a picture of warmth and happiness. Inside, Lin was trying to get the adopted wolf to eat cookies over Scarlett's laughing protests.
"Not one of them."
Death turned back to face him. "That is...not for...me or...you to...decide..."
"You aren't taking either of them, not this close to the White Solstice. Aren't you satisfied with that wolf family already?" Zel growled, reaching for his sword even though it was useless against Death. But he had forgotten he didn't have a sword anymore. Mental note, get new sword.
"Wolf family...?" Death actually sounded puzzled.
"Yes, wolf family. I couldn't figure it out before but if you're around then that explains how they could all just suddenly die."
"They're getting impatient," Death muttered, letting the scythe settle in the crook of his folded arms. "That'll make it harder to convince him to give an extension."
Zel looked at Death weirdly. Death's voice had changed, sounding younger and vibrant without the halting between words. Even his current position, thinking aloud with his arms crossed, wasn't the typical image of the cold, efficient of the ender of life.
"Who are getting impatient? What do you mean by extension?"
"One question at a time, one question at a time. For one thing," Death shook a finger at Zel, "I'm not completely heartless. But the whole situation needs to be explained and I think you just might be the key."
"What?"
Death walked to the gate of the fence and stabbed his scythe into the ground. A buzz of unfamiliar power rose suddenly like a gust of wind, completely surrounding the garden and the cottage.
"That ought to hold them back while we're gone. Um, you'd better tell those two not to leave the vicinity of the garden because I can't guarantee their safety."
"Where are we going?" Zel asked, not moving.
"To the Land of the Dead of course. Can't do anything out here in the Land of the Living. Bureacratic red tape and such," Death shrugged. "Hurry up, time's a wasting."
"Why would I need to go?"
"So you can argue the case before the man of the records, the head honcho, the big cheese, the - "
"Alright already! I get the picture." Zel briefly stuck his head back inside the cottage to caution Scarlett and Lin to not leave the cottage until he came back before turning back to Death. "But wouldn't I have to be dead to go to the Land of Dead?"
"If you went with Death, yes." Death's voice sounded muffled because he was pulling off his heavy black hooded robe. "Which is why I, damn this knot, I'm changing."
Changing? Zel got a faceful of black cloth.
"Okay, this will be alright. Come along and don't bother removing that robe. Besides the fact you really shouldn't see the path to the Land of the Dead, it wouldn't do for me to lose it. Do you have any idea how much it costs to get a replacement?"
A hand grabbed Zel's arm and a strong blast of wind suddenly slammed into him. Then it was gone and the hand let go. The black robe slid off of Zel's head.
"Welcome to the Land of the Dead!" Death said cheerfully.
Zelgadiss turned to give some scathing retort but the words stuck in his throat as he got a good look at Death's other form. Death was still taller than him but only by a couple inches now. However, he had white hair that seemed to go in several directions, mainly up, and was dressed in a ceremonial type white robe with black trimmings with a large red cloth tied around his neck. Canines showed prominantly in his smile but not as distinctive as the long white tail with black tiger stripes that swished behind him.
"Wh-Wh-What..."
Death laughed nervously. "Actually, some time ago I picked up another job where I'm also known as White Tiger. But don't let that small detail bother you. It's bound to come up later. Let's go see Mr. E!"
"Mr. E?" Zel asked, being dragged along by the now very exuberant young Death.
"He's the one that's in charge of keeping track of the dead and making up lists of who should die and takes care of the Mansion of Dirge which everyone just calls MOD for short but it was really funny when it used to be the Mansion of Pyres because then it was MOP and - "
Zel figured Death could give Lina a run for her money in talktiveness. He had to admit that the Land of the Dead did not look as dismal as he imagined it would be. That was probably because there was mist everywhere. Death however seemed to know exactly where he was going as a gate soon appeared before them.
"Foolish mortals!" Zel looked up at the cackling skull with glowing red eyes situated in the cornerstone of the gate's arch. "I am Muerte the Demonic Skull! My name means death and you will all suffer that fate!"
Zel raised an eyebrow. "What is that?"
"That's Murry," Death said cheerfully. "Don't mind him. He's just sore that he's got to stay up there until his jaw falls off."
"My name is MUERTE!!"
"Come along, time waits for no man, woman, or child. He just wants attention." Death pushed Zel under the gate.
"Fools, I will curse you a thousand deaths! Hey, I'm talking to you. Get back here where I can see you!!"
Death and Zel left the screaming skull behind as they entered the large two story Mansion of Dirge which was actually brightly lit for such a dismal place. Deep in that place was the mysterious Mr. E.
"Hey Mister E!"
The Earl twitched a bit as he looked up from his cataloguing. That voice. It couldn't be him, he was supposed to be out dealing with an overdue retrieval.
"MISTER E!"
Sounds of crashing could be heard as Earl slowly turned to the door. Besides the reason of the overdue retrieval, the staff were waxing the floor today and after the last mishap, the Earl didn't want Death in the halls during that period.
"MIISSSTTEEERRR EEEEEEEEE!!!!"
The door to the chamber came crashing down as Death and someone else came sliding through, each holding an arm from a marble statue. They slid right toward the Earl.
"Hi Mister E!" Death waved with the pale arm.
And they slid right past the Earl.
"Bye Mister E!"
Straight into the wall.
Crash
Earl could feel a migraine coming. He sure missed his old life.
"I'm back Mister E..." Death laughed nervously, scratching his head with the marble arm.
Earl was man of refinery and patience, perfectly capable of handling stress. He covered his eyes and counted to a thousand.
"You idiot. I told you the floor was too slick. Why does this happen to me?" Zelgadiss groaned.
"Because you took a joyride with Death," Earl sighed standing before them.
Zel looked up from his undignified, upside down position to this Mr. E Death had brought him here to meet. There wasn't much to see. While Death was rather unusual in the appearance aspect, the Earl, well, he was a bit lacking. Correction, seriously lacking. There was nothing other than a pair of white tailored gloves and a ruby quarter mask consisting of the eye and part of the high cheek bone region.
"That's Mr. E? Where's the rest of him?" Zel muttered, untangling
"Somewhere else?" Death offered.
"A topic for another time perhaps. What brings you to my depressing Mansion of Dirge?" Earl asked as he held out a hand to Zelgadiss. He paused, looking at the chimera. He really looked at Zel. He really really looked at Zel. The mask was right in Zelgadiss's face and if this Mr. E had a body, Zel would have been feeling very uncomfortable right then. Luckily, Death stuck his face, literally, between the two.
"Yo, Mr. E. This guy wants to petition for an extension of the overdue case."
"...and he is?" asked the Earl, stepping back.
"He's..." Death leaned over to whisper to Zel. "What's your name?"
"You should have asked that in the first place!" Zel yelled.
"Wa, gomen nasai!" squeaked Death, running to hide behind the Earl which really didn't do much good.
"Zelgadiss isn't it?" asked the Earl.
"How did you - "
"I am a recorder of the dead. My name is Earl, not Mr. E."
"He's the one to bribe if you want an extension on collection," Death chirped up. "Though he's notoriously hard to bribe."
The Earl, if possible, gave Death a cold glare. He held out a white glove. Death meekly put the marble arm in it.
"I hope you didn't break anything else this time."
Death grinned sheepishly.
"Or knock down any candles."
Chuckling as he started to edge toward the door, Death laughed, "Well I'll be taking my leave right about...NOW!"
Usually, The Earl would have caught Death by the tail for some interrogation but his new guest was distracting. It's been a long time since The Earl saw him last.
"Well come along and bring that arm with you. We can talk as we go." The Earl beckoned, leaving his office and floating down the long corridor of candles. "You wanted to petition the case of Scarlett Tara then?"
"Yes. Why does she have to die?"
"Is she someone you care about?"
"No."
"Then why do you want to petition her case?"
Zel gritted his teeth. "If she dies, Lin will be left all alone."
"Lin?"
"Her son."
"Not yours?"
"NO!"
"Then why do you interfere with strangers?"
"Why do you want to create more orphans?" Zel countered.
"I don't name the time, I only note and record it," The Earl said calmly, stopping before a certain row of candles. "Do you see this one?"
Zel looked at the candle in question. Many of the candles burned brightly, a few not as brightly. The candle The Earl had pointed at was barely a glowing ember on the candle's wick that refused to go out. It looked sickly compared to its neighbors.
"This is the life that remains of Scarlett Tara. She should in fact be dead but her fierce focused will has kept her tied to her body."
"Her son."
The Earl nodded. "Even with that will, she can not live for much longer."
"So why don't you wait until then?"
"There are...complications. You see, the longer a dead spirit remains in the living realm the more it attracts other floating spirits. Especially the attentions of the Dark Ones."
"Dark Ones?"
"Yes." The Earl continued down the corridor. "The Dark Ones are the accumulations of despair, anger, violence, and a bunch of other nasty stuff. They like to devour stranded spirits but are just as likely to suck the life out of normal creatures as well."
Zelgadiss remembered the wolves. "They're after Scarlett Tara then."
"You were always a bright boy, Zelgadiss. And you always did like the White Solstice. The decorations of evergreen and holly, the presents, the singing."
Zel looked narrowly at The Earl. He hadn't celebrated Winter Solstice since he was six. Not that he had anyone to celebrate it with.
"Ah, here it is. My poor beautiful statue," The Earl sighed, replacing the two arms that had been broken off. Zel stared at the marble statue. Why did it look like his mother?
"Do you like it? I have lots more." The Earl pulled a thick braided tasseled cord from nowhere and a portion of the wall which was only a curtain fell away to reveal another hallway that was filled with statues instead of candles. All of them looked like Zel's mother.
"Anyway, what are you going to do about Scarlett Tara?" Zel returned to the reason he was here. The Earl's decorative taste wasn't his to question, even if it took him on a trip down memory lane.
"The correct thing to do would be to just have Death remove her spirit immediately," The Earl said, floating away with his gloves held behind his 'back'. "That way, we can make sure she isn't devoured by the Dark Ones."
"Death was able to shield her from them before we left."
"With his scythe I imagine. However, he can't leave his scythe there forever, it's necessary for work and Death is quite busy. Furthermore, she's unlikely to live out the year. Getting disgruntled spirits is quite a bother I tell you. If arrangements are made for son, she'll probably go more peacefully but that isn't something we can do."
"So Lin will have one last White Solstice. And after that, no one," Zel muttered.
"Unless there's someone to take care of him," The Earl reminded. It probably wasn't the most subtle hint in the world.
"Can I sleep in Nii-chan's room tonight?" asked Lin, jumping up and down in excitment as Scarlett tried to button the sleeper of her son.
"Haven't you spent the entire day with him already?" Scarlett asked amused.
"But it's the night before the White Solstice!!"
"You've already got your wolf." His mother pointed to the already sleeping wolf now officially named Joe Furball Maneater after a long discussion about names that Zelgadiss had with Lin.
"BUUUUUUUUUUUT!" Lin pleaded even as his eyelids drooped.
"To bed with you!" She tucked in her sleepy son, tracing his cherub face for the last time. Then she slipped quietly downstairs to the kitchen where Zelgadiss was nursing a hot cup of tea. "You wanted to talk with me?"
He nodded. "It's about Lin."
Scarlett poured her own cup of tea before sitting across of Zelgadiss. "Before that, I want to thank you for all you've done."
"Done? I haven't - "
"No, don't deny it. You've protected the both of us over the last several days. But more importantly, you've been Lin's friend ever since your talk with Death. Actually, you've been Lin's friend even before that," she said quietly, unusually subdued.
"You knew?"
"Yes. I know Death has been after me for some time. But I couldn't leave Lin by himself. I didn't think anyone else could take care of him and even if I did find someone, I wasn't sure Lin would accept that person. But my prayers have been answered." Scarlett smiled tiredly at Zel.
"Me??" Zel almost choked on his tea. Not that he hadn't considered the possibility, but there were plenty of logical reasons why he shouldn't. "You can't be serious!"
"I am very serious." Zel could believe her as in his mind's eye the barely glowing wick of her candle appeared. Even now, she seemed only a shadow of what she had been when they first met. "I know it must be troublesome to you, being a bachelor and young to have such a young boy to take care of. But do you know how it feels to lose a family? Before, Lin only had me. But now he has you as well. He won't be alone."
Zel closed his eyes.
"This White Solstice will be a happy one," Scarlett suddenly switched topics. "Lin was so excited. He even got a present for you. It is a time for family after all."
Echoes of laughter from a long time ago welled up from buried memories. "Yes," Zel agreed softly. "It is a time for family."
"NII-CHAN!!!"
OOF!
Zel tried to breath with the bundle of energy that was bouncing on his chest. A rough tongue licked his face. Not the kind of wake-up call Zelgadiss particularly liked.
"IT'S WHITE SOLSTICE!! COME ON, COME ON, WAKE UP!!" shrieked Lin.
"I'll get up after you get off of me," Zel grumbled. He had been having such a nice dream too.
Lin giggled and scrambled off. He barely let Zel have time to tie on a robe before pulling him downstairs. The little boy zoomed into the family room, squealing over the presents under the evergreen tree decorated as a sign of life through winter. Zelgadiss came a bit slower, not having the overflowing exuberance for the holiday to keep the cold at bay. He stirred the banked fire in the kitchen since no one had done it yet.
"Can I open the presents yet? Can I? Can I? The floor is cold!" Lin complained, quickly switching feet as he scampered in with his wolf. "Why hasn't mommy woken up yet? I'm going to wake her up! Come on, Furball!"
Something rapped on the window. Zel looked outside into the barren yard of dark budless and leaveless branches of the rose bushes. Standing outside was Scarlett in her nightdress but oblivious to the biting cold. Next to her was Death in his hooded robe. Lin's mother smiled apologetically and shrugged.
"Nii-chan! Mommy won't wake up!" came Lin's frantic cry from upstairs.
Zel put aside the poker he had been using and slowly made his way up stairs. Furball's howls were already echoing in the small cottage that seemed hollowly vacant. Death nudged Scarlett and they began walking away from the cottage where one orphan comforted another on a day that was to celebrate family.
"Are you sure about this?" Zel asked the kneeling and praying Lin.
"Nii-chan doesn't want to stay here right? So I don't want to stay here. Besides, this is mommy's place. And she isn't here anymore," Lin sniffled, rubbing his face with his sleeve.
Zel had buried Scarlett in the rose garden where Lin said she spent her entire day during the spring and summer months. The cottage had been closed but with the latch easily accessible for anyone seeking shelter. Zelgadiss picked up Lin's bag as well as his own. Even though it hadn't yet begun to snow, it was cold and Zel prefered to find a warmer and more defensible place.
"Let's get going then. This isn't the time of year to be caught outdoors when night comes," Zel said, pulling Lin's warm hood over his head. "And keep your hood on. I don't want to deal with a sick kid as well."
"Hai."
Lin scrambled onto his feet and grabbed a handful, as much of a handful as he could wearing thick mittens, of Zel's cloak. Furball padded ahead of them both as Zel took the path toward the town. They hadn't gone far when Zel felt a jerk on his cape. Annoyed, he looked back at Lin.
Lin was looking up, his fur-lined hood fallen back to reveal his tussle of black hair. His violet eyes were turned up toward the gray, cloudy sky. Cupping his red mittens together, Lin seemed to catch something.
"Snow..." he whispered, showing it to Zel.
The long awaited snow began to fall softly, covering the world with a dusting of pure white. It frosted houses and bare branches, it layered the ground with a soft white carpet. It brightened the barren landscape with its glitter. And it erased the footprints of three orphans, leaving only a new beginning for a new family.