Snow Clothes

Felt it in my fist, in my feet, in the hollows of my eyelids
And all my bones began to shake, my eyes flew open

Kimby woke with a start with the feeling that she had to leave now. Why or what for, she could not say - only that it was urgent. She rubbed her eyes before she kissed Till's cheek and scooted out of their large bed.

"Where do you go little one?" Till inquired his voice raspy from sleep as he blearily gazed at her.

"To seek the Fay." She answered making him give a low pleasant chuckle that she never tired of hearing.

"Take the church bell anklets and Olive will have fresh bread for you."

Kimby nodded and gathered the skirt of her ankle length nightgown as she slipped out of their bedchamber, and glided down the stone steps, her bare feet freezing.

Ever since Till had rescued her from her slumber, encountering magical creatures along the way, Till had asked that she indulge him by carrying protection against the Fay whenever she left the manor. She complied without protest for this was the only thing he asked of her, and his worry was justified after his journey to wake her.

"Good morning Mistress, is the Master awake?" The blond servant girl asked bowing when she saw Kimby had entered the kitchen.

"Good morning Olive, fetch me my anklets and fresh bread if you would."

"Yes of course Mistress, but if you don't mind my asking where are you wandering off to so early?" Olive inquired as she knelt and tied the miniature church bells strung on a leather string around her Mistress's ankles.

"And since when does the servant inquire to her Mistress about anything but the food list?" Kimby responded, elegant eyebrow arched. Olive bowed her head, efficiently scolded for forgetting her place. "Till will be down soon enough, you'll want to start making his breakfast." she said in a softer tone, showing that she meant no true reprove against her. Olive nodded, still chastised, before she fetched Till's cloak, a dove white beauty of a thing with lining as soft as kittens fur. She tied it securely and wrapped a piece of bread in a handkerchief before putting it in the pocket of the cloak. After that Olive again knelt down; this time to help Kimby put on her boots, seeing as it was still too cold to go barefoot.

"Return safely Mistress." Olive murmured as she bowed when Kimby stood. The young woman nodded as she drew up her hood and swept out of the kitchen into the cold winter morning.

Immediately she drew Till's cloak closer, her warm breath a white mist in the frigid air. She closed her eyes and stood stock still so as to better focus upon this sense of urgency. The feeling would gather, and when fully formed, guide Kimby to the person who called out for her. It was not just anyone who beckoned her though; but those who had been caught in the crosshairs of Brier Rose's envious heart.

It was how she had come to find Olive in fact. Kimby had found the poor wretch of a girl half sunk into a tree. It was clearly Brier Rose's doing for only she would think up such imprisonment. Olive's waist had melted seamlessly with the tree trunk, with the tree branches encircling her wrists and twining into her hair. She too had been in an enchanted slumber but had awoken soon after Kimby's spell had broken. Olive had whimpered and cried pitifully to be saved, and one prisoner's touch to another had freed Olive from the tree. From that day onwards the blond girl had been loyal to Kimby alone, following her as a pup does its mother.

Warn your warmth to turn away

The young lady opened her chocolate brown eyes and set off in search of yet another Lost One.

The snow crunched beneath her boots, the chilly breeze nipping at her face and slipping inside her cloak as she went, but this did not deter Kimby who continued on, determined to find the one who called so desperately for her.

She walked all morning with only the chiming of her bells to keep her company, and it was afternoon when she sensed that the Lost One was close - very close. The only problem was that the man's pleas were so frantic that his exact location was hard to pinpoint.

"Hush Lost One, I am near, I won't leave without you." She stated as she gazed at the snow frosted forest all around her, trying to see if he would be somewhere obvious. She doubted it would be so simple as that but knew she must not overlook any hiding place.

Here it's December, everyday

A turn to her left brought her face to face with a large oak tree, frost creeping up it's roots and trunks.

"Have you found another Lost One yet?"

Kimby glanced at Till as she nodded and walked around the oak; but what she saw made her gasp and Till hurry after her. "Are you alright?" He asked, laying a large hand on her shoulder before he looked where Kimby was. "Lieber Gott." He whispered, shock etched upon his face.

A young man stood only a few feet from them in cased in snow and what was shocking was how the snow had been molded. Magic once again was at work here, having enabled the snow to be molded into that of a large fluffy coat with the hood pulled up, thick pants and boots. The detail to the young man's clothes was amazing, a true piece of art.

The only thing that ruined the beauty was the tears frozen to the young man's face, and the way his teeth chattered from the frightful cold that had begun to seep into him.

Immediately Kimby was at his side, digging into the snow and pulling it away; Till tried to help, but the magic prevented him from touching it which left the man's freedom dependent upon Kimby alone. As soon as Kimby had freed the young man's torso, she took off Till's cloak and draped it over him, hoping the warmth that the cloak still held would keep him from death.

When at last even the snow around his ankles and feet had been pushed away it was then that Till could come close to the two. First and foremost he wrapped his little one up in the cloak he was wearing before he swept the young man up into his arms; carrying him on his hip as he would a toddler.

The walk home was filled with the sound of crunching snow and the jingling of the anklets,  a merry sound that clashed with the seriousness of the situation.

The two preserved and made it home by nightfall. Kimby rushed ahead and called for Olive to fetch blankets, warm up the guest chamber and bring something to eat and drink that wasn't hot. Olive immediately set to doing this, surprised at her Mistress's flushed cheeks, wild hair - and the half-frozen-to-death young man the Master was carrying. At once Kimby was shooed away to be looked over by Olive while Till handled the young man.

"Who is that Mistress? I've never seen someone with so much color on their arms but sailors."

"A Lost One." She responded quietly, too worried to reprove Olive for her questions.

"Another?! The way you keep finding them, we'll have a houseful soon enough!" Olive bubbled happily not quite getting that it meant more people had been imprisoned by Brier Rose's black heart. But for this moment Kimby decided not to prickle her naive joy and instead called for Olive to brush her hair. The girl did so, happily wondering aloud what position the young man would hold at the manor.

Kimby on the other hand was brooding over whether the young man would survive the hypothermia or not. He had such a petite and thin body and not having enough flesh to protect his organs would to make it a hard struggle.

"Mistress! You yourself are frozen! I'm sure the Master is no better - why I let you two go out in this weather is beyond me." Olive clucked despite that she was two years Kimby's junior (with Till being thirty two years her senior) and had no business with delaying them, though she never actually did so.

A knock came upon the door before Till entered their bedchamber.

"How is he? Is he awake? Olive did you get him food?"

"Hush Kimby," Till gently stated holding out his hands and when Kimby grasped them found herself held against him, cheek pillowed on his broad chest. "The Lost One is fine, he lays sleeping and will want to talk to you when he awakes; but for now let us have breakfast by the fire, I won't have you taken by the chill." Till answered as he lead Kimby to the fireplace that had been prodded to life. He settled her on his lap and when she gave him puzzled look at his hug and kiss murmured "I just wanted to hold you close."

She gave a small smile and hugged him back, a warm quiet joy brought to her heart at his tenderness. It was moments like these that made Kimby happy that she had waited so long for her savior and in the end received this gentle giant of a man she now called her beloved.