Let it Snow!

❄️Fifty-Three❄️

Soon, they stood in front of Martin's flat, and Nora, now almost shaking with anxiety, leaned her back against the cold stone wall while Martin found the keys in his pocket. She needed to see the boy and make sure that he was safe and happy.

"Would he even be able to get inside without you?" she asked.

"Yes, I gave him the key for this evening, should he want go to bed and couldn't find me among the people," Martin replied, pushing the door open and entering.

However, the flat was empty.

"He's not here," Martin confirmed as he briskly descended the stairs from his bedroom, divested of his musketeer cloak and hat, where he had ran after they checked Daniel's room, the bathrooms, and everywhere else.

"The stables," Nora muttered, realisation dawning suddenly. "If I were him, I'd want to free Snow White tonight to get you from Victoria..."

"Oh, Nora," Martin whispered, kissing her deeply, making her feel yet more unsure on her already shaky legs, the painful sprained ankle drawing more of her attention as the time passed and her adrenaline level ebbed and flowed.

Martin grabbed another set of keys and his coat before they exited the flat again. He led her back towards the hotel instead of straight downstairs and out, insisting that she needed to change her shoes and wear her coat before they would venture into the freezing night.

They pushed their way through the merry confusion still reigning in the other tower, Martin curtly dismissing anyone who tried to engage him in a conversation, and walked outside, into the cold courtyard after Nora had put her boots and coat on, then half ran across the deserted Entry Hall and the drawbridge.

The wrought iron gate of the stables stood ajar, making Nora feel hopeful...

"Daniel!" she and Martin called in unison.

Their voices still echoed through the night when a couple of bright lights exploded, sputtering, in the air above the roof of the stables, preceded by a sudden exclamation of fear coming from several different animals hiding in the near perfect darkness, the commotion startling Nora, and making her draw closer to Martin gladly when he pulled her nearer.

Fireworks illuminated the black sky like a flash of lightning, there and then gone, then some more followed in their wake like falling stars. A plume of dark grey smoke, a few shades brighter than the sky, rose from a pile of hay covered by a large plastic sheet lying in a distant corner, the tendrils multiplying, floating upwards even as they grew thicker, intertwining, the dull grey bleeding into bright orange, the flames coaxing more uncertain, fearful calls from the animals.

"Daniel!" Nora called again knowing she should run for help but unable to leave without the boy, while Martin ran towards the small fire, producing a large bucket of water from somewhere in the dark, then several more, dousing the flames before the fire could spread and cause disaster.

Finally, after what felt to Nora like an eternity, a small silhouette ran at him from one of the enclosures, and Nora rushed to them even as Martin lifted the boy in his arms.

Martin's arms shook as he pressed Daniel to himself for a few moments, then wrapped one arm around Nora's shoulders for seconds she would never forget, before he stormed across the yard and through the gate without a word, making Nora trail after him, not knowing where he was off to.

They caught up with the group of teenagers a few minutes later, as they crept up the meadow hidden in the shadows cast by the first line of trees of the forest.

"Stop!" Martin called, his voice carrying through the night, freezing the culprits in their tracks. "I know who you are as well as you know me. I thought I spoke to you clearly the other day, Ivan," Martin addressed the invisible leader of the group. "You know that there are animals down there; my son was there tonight. This could have ended in tragedy!"

Nora had never seen Martin angry, and she hoped she would never see him like this again. His anger, even though perfectly justified-- she couldn't even begin to imagine what he was feeling now; he had already almost lost his son in a fire once! -- was scary.

"I spoke to you about the fireworks last night, yet again, didn't I? And you promised you'd be more careful, right? So, seeing that you can't keep your side of the bargain, let's do this. If I ever catch you again doing anything I consider dangerous, I'll forbid you to hang around the castle grounds entirely, and no, I don't care it's Christmas and the New Year coming! No more fireworks anywhere close to the buildings, in the park and the forest, full stop. If you have to do it, and I'll ask your parents about this to see whether you have their permission, find a place where you won't set anything on fire, understood?"

Several moans and grunts reached them from the group of teens hidden under the trees. That was the clearest answer they would get, whatever it meant; Nora was sure about that. Apparently, so was Martin, as he turned his back on them, took Nora by the hand once more, and they retraced their steps towards the stables' gate, which Martin locked. All was peaceful inside; the animals scared by the previous commotion had gone back to sleep.

Daniel, who had kept perfectly still and silent in Martin's arms until now, his forehead resting against his father's neck, reached out to Nora, who stood close at Martin's side.

Her breath caught as she understood the simple gesture being the boy's question, one he couldn't properly word. Who was she in his life now, what would this night change between them? Was she really what he wanted her to be for his father?

She closed her eyes for the briefest moment; he probably didn't mean it this way. She was probably attributing her own feelings and uncertainties to him... However, she responded to his gesture, taking the boy from Martin, sighing contentedly as she felt his weight settle in her arms, his cool cheek resting against the side of her neck. He had lost his musketeer hat somewhere, and she caressed his golden curls reverently before she wrapped her unbuttoned coat around his small, cold body, the cloak of his mask was too light for the cold night.

"Let us go home," Martin's voice claimed her attention, and they started walking towards the brightly lit castle.

"Shall I carry him? He is heavier than he looks," Martin proposed after a while.

It was true; the six-year-old boy wasn't light. However, Nora shook her head, ignoring her protesting ankle. "I can do this."

Martin kissed her on top of her head and wrapped a supportive arm around her waist as they continued on their way towards the castle, across the drawbridge and the Entry Hall, through the dark courtyard, avoiding the hotel and entering Martin's tower by the entrance Nora normally used.

Only there, under the steep spiral staircase, Daniel agreed to walk the rest of the way on his own feet, his hands closed around both Martin's and Nora's as he pulled them up behind him.