Axis had been fourteen when the world by its original name ended. He remembered it better than Lexia, being a year older than her, but he couldn’t recall much about the apocalyptic event itself. He only knew that every year he had to hear about how it was saved and made into Winter.

The Founding Season.

Thousands celebrated on the streets and hundreds celebrated at the Copper Cathedral, but only dozens were invited into its interior for the ball. The spacious room was immaculate in its decor and arrangement with every diner dressed in their best fashion for the year.

Axis among them, especially since Lexia would attend this year. With her eyes in mind, he’d dressed in a black double-breasted tuxedo with a butterfly pinned to his breast pocket. He ensured the sleeves of his button down and jacket combined were loose enough to slide over his timepiece when the time came. He could only imagine the look on her face when he finally asked her in front of all these people.

Unfortunately, it was a rather packed room.

Gauge had sat Axis with his father and the other higher ups among Flicker’s Factories. He’d rather be seated with Dr. Tempest across the way. The kind man toasted his champagne at Axis, and he returned the gesture.

Where was Lexia?

As far as Axis could tell, there were no other seats available at Leon’s table—

The entire room stood, and Axis joined them with a roll of his eyes.

Their host and Winter’s Founder strode into the ballroom. His tux and tails were black with copper piping sewn throughout to emphasize his long legs and the breadth of his shoulders. Neither of which were as impressive as Axis’s features, but the boxer’s build suited the Count at six foot, two inches. However, Axis noted, the older bachelor wore his signature gloves and spectacles per usual.

“Welcome. Welcome, friends, to another Founding Season.”

People cheered. Axis faked his clapping. Where was Lexia?

Gauge continued with his speech. “This year marks our decennial anniversary into our quaint way of life, uncomplicated by our dependency on electronics. While, yes, Winter still endures an ice age, it no longer keeps us prisoner.”

Sometimes Axis wondered how Gauge, a budding scientist all of nineteen years old, had predicted the electromagnetic pulse from their star to begin with. Axis had asked once as a teenager and suffered greatly for the inquiry. He’d never asked again.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Gauge twirled his jewel-topped cane, implying excitement, with a hint of mischief in his smile. “And this is no ordinary Founding Season. I’m proud to announce, thanks to the talent and dedication of our engineering team, we are opening our fourth city in sector twelve!”

Axis blinked. Sector twelve was a tundra…

“Through the power of steam, we shielded the site and thawed the ice until it became habitable once again. As we grow our communities, it is essential we make room for all this progress. It couldn’t be done without each of you. Give yourselves a round of applause.”

Thunder erupted from outside the Cathedral as people in the streets burst into applause.

Even Axis clapped sincerely this time. Gauge always planned for the future, but to Axis, it was almost like the man was running from the past.

Gauge waited for his audience to quiet down before saying, “We break ground once the Season is over. Until then, enjoy yourselves. We have much to celebrate.”

Guests took their seats, and musicians played their instruments in a soft ambiance to the dinner.

Before Valve took his seat beside Axis, he muttered with a half-cough, “Let’s get to him before Leon does.”

Axis was busy looking at the doors. He said, “You go. I intend to enjoy my time off.”

“Oh, like you enjoyed breaking Walker’s jaw yesterday afternoon?”

That brought Axis back around and glaring at his father. “He deserved worse.” There was an implied, “So do you.”

Valve humphed and went to intercept Gauge, already swarming with guests. The second the old man stepped into Gauge’s line of sight, the Count handed him a fresh box of cigars, saying, “You’ll need these for all of our planning meetings.”

Axis shook his head. It was enough to make him nauseous—

A hush fell over the crowd again, but this quiet was more natural, less forced. All the guests stared at the door, including Gauge, who lowered his glasses to peer over the lenses without their filter. When Axis turned and saw why, his heart jumped in his throat, forcing him to swallow it back down with an audible gulp.

Lexia.

Her gown was black matte velvet with accents of glittering gold interlaced throughout her skirts, bustle, and bodice. Gold lace stretched across her sweetheart neckline to wrap around her biceps delicately. Her signature timepiece stood out on her wrist and black gloves covered her skin to the off-the-shoulder sleeves. What made her stand out even more amongst the ladies in the room was that the front of her skirt only consisted of a tufted apron, revealing her long legs wrapped in thick black tights. Her stiletto-heeled boots went over her knees with gold strands lacing up the length of them.

As if nervous from the sudden silence, Lexia brushed aside some of the loose strands of her white wavy hair. The rest was braided back and knotted from her face, interlaced with strands of gold. She wore a strip of gold around her neck and that was all, letting the dress decorate her enough for the entrance.

When Lexia met Axis’ eyes across the ballroom, hers lit up with a smile far more beautiful than any gown.

“What happens behind closed doors, stays behind closed doors, Axis.”

The memory of Valve’s breath, hot on Axis’ neck, never faded, and he was shamed into looking away from the love of his life. Yes, everyone in the room knew they were in a relationship together. No, Axis couldn’t handle all of their eyes on the couple.

Even though this was the perfect public venue and Lexia had never looked more beautiful outside of his bedroom, Axis couldn’t do it.

He just couldn’t…