Chapter 205: OMAKE#18

"Haha!"

Hastra giggles, a high pitched, excited sound you can't really hate when you hear it. I'm getting used to hearing it now, this being the second morning my ears have rang with it."

Aren stands beside me, his hands stuffed under his armpits just for that extra warmth as he watches Hastra play.

He sighs, sniffling he asks, "What do you think this means?" He's nervous, a lot of people are.

Hell, even I am pretty nervous.

Before our very eyes everything we used to know was changing and there's plainly nothing we can do about it.

The sudden change has caused mother to ramp up her plans, she'll be leaving at first light tomorrow, that is of course, if the sun can shine through the soft yet heavy haze of this cold.

Again, Hastra giggles, she packs some of it in her hands and brings it over with a grin wide spread across her face, "Don't worry, it's a little cold but its harmless!"

"I know its harmless," Aren answers, "What I don't know is what it means, this has never happened in the Kingdom, not since I was born anyway." He breathes in shivers.

I tug on his arm but he shakes his head. 

Fine, don't go back in then and spare yourself worsening health. It's been a day since we visited at the lodge, he woke up from his catatonia soon after we left apparently.

But rather than take what happened as a sign to lay low and rest, he wants to tag along instead, 'work' with me.

It's nice having him around, but its distracting. I can't help wondering what's running through his mind, as a result, I haven't paid any attention to the rising complaints that run throughout the city.

Especially with the Nobles. It's always the Nobles.

"Actually, that isn't true." Hastra chimes, drawing me back in, "This actually happens all over the world, this continent is actually the odd one out for the fact that it doesn't have this beautiful season."

"Season?" Aren groans.

"Yes. Oh! But actually, there is one place that has this," she says, referring to the melting pile in her hand, "And they're just a few days away, the city called Frozia is plagued with endless snow!" she squeals with excitement and buries her face into her palm, splashing it with the snow and the melted water.

At word of this Aren and I both share a frightened look. We both know it; this is the work of Asher.

I step out of the shade, of my cover at the porch of the Palace and let myself feel and see it all.

It's dreadfully cold, but like Hastra said, it is beautiful.

Squatting and scouping up a bit of it into my hand I marvel, of all the places I'd been to with Mother, we never step foot in a place with this…clean white, cold powder.

"Ha." I hear myself chuckle; the sound almost feels foreign. I let it out some more and slowly start spilling about in the snow. "You're right Hastra! This is beautiful!"

"Yes! You see it now!"

I do. 

"Why has this never happened on this continent? Why does it always happen in that city and not here?"

The thought intrigues me; a city of snow? What could it be like? Would everyone be dressed up in furs?

It's likely.

Hastra, quite unlike her, pauses at my question. I turn, leaving the cold brace of the snow to look.

She stands there with her hand on her chin and a concerned look on her face. She almost seems…stunned.

"Hastra?"

"I…don't know." She blurts out instantly, "I don't know. I don't know why it never snows here. I've read about snow, winter and its effects on the land in books provided by the Kingdom and even written by authors native to the Kingdom…but they're all dated to when…I think when snow used to fall."

She begins to mutter incoherently to herself, beginning a spiral. I let out a sigh and look to Aren.

He still stands on the porch, though now that I've experienced snow, I doubt where he stands is any warmer than out here with all the white.

"It doesn't look very…good." He starts, surprisingly dragging back Hastra's attention to him, "I mean, it looks good, beautiful I guess…but," He punctuated his sentence by pointing to the several hedges of topiary.

I stare at the snow-covered topiary bird for a bit until I can't anymore, "I don't see it, what's the problem?"

He looks deadpan at me and says, "Its dying."

"He's right!" Hastra suddenly jumps in, "Winter brings on a cold that many plants will never recover from. Trees will survive but they and many others who are durable enough to do so have to go dormant for the period that winter prevails."

Aren steps forward as if drawn by her words, "You mean they'll stop growing?"

Hastra nods eagerly. I realize that with Hastra's background as a know it all and Aren's as an aspiring farmer, I'm left in the dark.

"What are you two talking about, ha, it sounds a bit frightening." Try as I might they won't laugh or smile sheepishly with me, their faces strung into a tight visage of grim.

Sternly and abruptly, Aren grabs me by the arm and pulls me back onto the porch and a bit farther.

"Problem?" I demand, shrugging off his rather weak grip, he really needs rest.

"Yes, major problem," He hisses in a whisper, "We need to talk to Asher about this now, I don't know how but he's brought on this snow. And we aren't prepared for it."

Confused I ask, "What would we need to prepare for? It's just a bit of cold?"

"You've never had to grow your own meals I see." He shakes his head, disappointed, "The crops will die out, they'll fall asleep and there won't be any harvests for as long as this thing lasts."

"And how long is that?" I find myself dreading to ask the question, if it turns out that not just Hastra and Aren recognize the significance of these beautiful flakes falling then the city will be out for my head.

Inwardly I curse for not asking her earlier, this is the second morning it's been falling and I'm just learning that this could possibly cripple the entire city with starvation?

Heck if the Nobles know about this, they're probably headed over to poke eyes with Maylin and her elves beyond the wall.

Aren shrugs, "I'm not sure, but if its anything like she said, with the city that's apparently just days away, the city that Asher went to…then it could be forever."

At the word of eternity, I feel an overwhelming urge to burst out in a scream. Rather than that my hands slap on my hand, pressing against it as I grit my teeth.

"Fuck!"

"What's the matter?" Hastra strides back in, concern written over her face. Then it clicks, "Oh…Well, there is a solu-"

BOOOMMM!

We're nearly rocked off our feet at the resounding blast that comes out of nowhere.

"What was that?" Aren yells, panicking already.

"It's not the Palace," I start, slowly gaining back my composure, "It's the gate."

Dead ahead of us is a plume of white rising in the air. "We're being attacked." I announce with a bitter taste in my mouth.

Before either of them can react, I catch a glimpse of a man desperately running up our way; he's dressed in the guard's uniform so I start off running at him as well.

I hear Aren call after me and Hastra make chase, I don't stop until I meet the man in the middle.

At my feet he collapses into the snow, breathing heavily and coughing, "T-he..they..ach!"

"Take it easy, catch your breath and tell me exactly what's happening."

Hastra has caught up now, I look behind me and find the guards within the Palace have begun to file out, weapons primed and ready for combat.

Combat…fuck!

"The Nobles, they've rallied…so many Hunters, they hired them all…an army."

Army?

"How many of them are there?" No way there's an army worth.

"I couldn't count, there are hunters and there are the people…people from all the stratas…"

Fuck, well I guess there's an army of idiots out there then.

Yes, idiots. As much as I hate that it's come to this, I won't be pulling back any punches, if they wish to rebel against the law, against me, against Asher. Then they'll just simply have to be removed.

We have a food problem anyway, this should help solve that, less mouths to feed.

"Alright champ, get off the floor, get some water and prepare for combat. Those Nobles are going to get staked, see how they like it."

I won't be lie and say this doesn't help relieve some of my pent-up hatred from humans, especially Aste's humans.

Killing the lot of them really ought to help me realign.