Ciel lazily scratched his nether regions as he slumped onto the fur couch in front of the fireplace. His father, a skilled carpenter had created the fur couch by imitating those he observed at the house of a noble, during one of his commissions. It was quite comfortable, to the degree where Ciel would get drowsy by simply sitting on it. cThe flames flickered softly, threatening to go out soon as Ciel rested his tired eyes on them. Groaning, he drawled,

“Mother, the fire ran out of wood again~”

“Then get off the couch and go get some more. Your father chopped some and left a pile in the shed outside before he went to the town.”

The mother didn’t even bother glancing at Ciel as he grumbled, dragging his feet behind him as he went to fetch the large fur overcoat meant for such cold weather. He was just finishing putting it on when a sudden gale struck the house, howling as it put out the fire and swept through the house. The mother snapped,

“Get on with it you clumsy ass, before we freeze to death! And make sure you smash the ice in the well before you come back in!”

“Yes mother~” Ciel groused as he braced himself for the cold.

He opened the door and was immediately struck by the cold, it paled his face, giving the tip of his nose a blue tinge as he furiously shut the door behind him, rushing to fetch the wood. The dark woods around the house as well as the ground was caked in snow, thickening as the storm piled more and more of the whited substance around Ciel.

Ciel ran into the small shed in the side of the house, cursing furiously as he massaged his frozen face and hands. The youth grabbed the small bundle of logs, but he fumbled around due to the cold, and almost dropped several logs as he ran back into the house.

As soon as he entered his mother shouted,

“Did you break the ice?”

Ciel swore, granting him an immediate pounding as his mother punted him out the door. He ran as well as he could through the thick snow, and grasped the heavy wooden stake used for breaking the iced well.

“Fuck me, fuck this ice and overall fuck this storm.” He feverishly mumbled as he pounded and pounded on the ice. However, as he did so the storm grew stronger around him, freezing his limbs and he swore more as the ice seemed to grow thicker. Ciel grew angrier with each stroke, and ended up panting as he leaned against the frozen well. Tired, as well as annoyed, he glared towards the center of the storm, towards the northern mountain range as he heaved and panted.

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It was then that he saw something moving in the shadows.

“Who’s there?” Ciel shouted hoarsely. He nervously gripped the wooden stake, lifting it up like his father had taught him should a Wilderbeast come close.

“Answer me!” He shouted again. Ciel slowly walked backwards, aiming to protect his back by putting it against the walls of his home.

The wind grew fiercer each second, blowing snow directly into Ciel’s eyes, causing him to stutter and blink furiously as he prepared himself for the worst.

The bushes shook and whipped around furiously in the wind, until finally the figure in the shadows emerged, showing itself for what it truly was.

A small frozen child with icy blue eyes, slowly walking towards him with grim determination. The child’s face was scarred and tattered, bleeding slowly as the child gripped tightly at his ragged tatters.

“Wha…” Ciel murmured, the sight of such a child bringing him to a halt as he wondered how the child could even be living as the snow and wind whipped furiously around him. Ciel walked slowly towards the child as he did the same, and he reached towards him saying,

“Kid, what are you doing? Come here, tell me your na-“

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Several days later, Ciels father came back from the city, exhausted and shivering, and called for his son. Surprisingly his son didn’t respond, leaving him shocked. Ciel always had responded, especially when his father returned from the city.

Pertutrbed, Ciel’s father rounded the corner of his house for firewood, where he saw his son.

A frozen statue with its hand extended, wearing an expression of shock.