It was dark and snowing hard when Sebastian opened his eyes. He was in a strange place, filled with snow covered mountains and trees. It was deserted. The sky was dark and it snowed endlessly. Something caught his attention. A movement to the right. He looked and whatever it was that moved was gone. Curiosity got the better of him and he started walking towards his right, his eyes fixated on a spot. Just as he thought, something had been there. There were deep fresh footprints on the snow and it was gradually fading out as the snow poured down and covered it up. Sebastian raised his eyes and squinted through the heavy snow and he saw something in the distance. He couldn't make out the figure. He began to trudge through the snow, getting closer and closer and what he saw made his eyes widen in wonder.
It was an Angel. Or he thought it was an Angel. She was as bright as the sun, as pure as the snow around her. She was dressed in a white flowing dress that disappeared into the snow and behind her where two white enormous wings. It was so strange and yet intriguing.
"Who are you?",Sebastian asked. The wind drowned his voice but she heard it nonetheless.
"We are Angels",the girl said softly. "The Pure Ones".
"Angels are real?",Sebastian asked with awe in his eyes.
The girl smiled but didn't answer him. She turned away, casting her eyes towards the faraway mountains.
"You must know who you really are", the girl spoke as if she was addressing the distance.
Sebastian followed the direction of her eyes and looked towards the mountains, almost invisible with the heavy snow. There was nothing there. And what did this Angel mean?
"What do you mean?",he turned back and asked but she was gone.
Sebastian looked around him, squinting through the snow. The girl was gone. She literally disappeared. And then he wondered, what did she mean by what she said?
He took a step forward and suddenly sank through the snow. His legs began to sink, going deeper and deeper. It got to his waist, then his shoulders and the more he struggled to free himself, the more he sank. He shouted for help but the wind swallowed his voice. Just as his face disappeared into the sinking snow, he saw her again. The Angel. She was standing right above him, floating in the air, her wings flapping slowly behind her.
"Help!". He tried to shout but all that came out of his mouth was air. Nothingness. Her voice echoed in his head again as the snow swallowed him.
'You must know who you really are'.
❄❄❄
Sebastian jerked out of his sleep with a loud, "help". He was drenched with perspiration and was breathing hard. It was daylight already and the sun was shining brightly into his room. He fell back on his bed with a grunt, one hand lifting up to run through his hair. Even his hair was soaked with his sweat. The dream had been so real, so vivid. He could still feel the coldness of the snow on his body. And that girl. The Angel. What was it she said? He closed his eyes and tried to remember but he came up blank.
"That's strange",he said to himself. It was indeed strange. He couldn't remember what the Angel said to him. He knew it was something important but the words eluded him. The only thing he remembered was sinking through the cold snow and feeling the chilliness down to his bones. Must have been just a dream, he thought. He got off the bed, putting the strange dream out of his mind.
"Mother?",he called as he went through the little passage into his mothers room. She wasn't there. She must have gotten up earlier.
"Mother",he called again as he entered the tidied living room and made for the door. He stopped as he heard singing. It was his mother, and she had the sweetest voice ever. He let his feet carry him towards the sound of her voice and he stood beside the stable, watching his mother milk the only cow they had. Her movements were coordinated as she pushed a full pail of fresh milk away and drew another one closer. She looked so calm and peaceful and her voice rang out melodiously. Thunder came close to him and nudged his arm with his wet nose. He stroked the nose of the stallion absentmindedly, lost in the sonorous voice of his mother. If he ever found a girl that he would love, he would make sure she was a singer. Just like his mother.
"You sing so beautifully mother",he couldn't hold himself from commending her singing.
Evaleen turned back and smiled at him. "Hi honey. You're awake". She turned back to her chore and finished milking the cow. There were three pails filled with fresh milk and Sebastian quickly walked over to her and helped her carry two of the pails.
"Did you sleep fine?",she asked him as they walked back to the house. The cottage where they lived was built in the middle of a grassy slope with wild flowers all around them. The cottage was a bit separated from the rest houses and because of that, they didn't get much visitors.
"I did",Sebastian said and dropped the pails of milk beside the door. "I had the strangest dream".
"What dream?",Evaleen asked as she took the last pail into the kitchen and placed it on the counter. She planned to use a part of it to bake some bread.
"I'm not sure",Sebastian said. "I was in a strange land, covered with snow". He scrunched his eyebrows as he tried to remember. "I saw an Angel".
"An Angel?",Evaleen asked in surprise.
Sebastian looked up at her and wondered why she sounded so surprised.
"You believe me?",he asked. "I thought it could just be my imagination".
"Of course I believe you honey", Evaleen said. "Why, I use to have such dreams when I was about your age".
"Really? What did you see?", Sebastian asked.
Evaleen was deep in thought for a while. "I don't remember much",she said. "But I know I used to see the Angels. They called themselves the Pure Ones and they always appeared to me in my dreams, wanting to communicate with me".
"The Angel I saw called herself the Pure One",Sebastian said. "What does it mean?".
"I wish I knew honey",Evaleen said. "I had these scars once on my back". She dropped the carrots she was dicing for their breakfast and turned her back to Sebastian. She tugged down her dress and on either sides of her back, there were two white scars, faded with years. They were oval in shape and slanted outwards like something had broken through the skin.
"How did you get the scars?",Sebastian asked. "You've never told me about them".
"Well we've never discussed this, have we?",Evaleen asked and tugged her dress up. "Anyway, I don't know how the scars got there. I think I've always had them". And then she chuckled. "Someone once said maybe I was an Angel. A fallen Angel".
Sebastian laughed. "That's ridiculous",he said. "But if you're an Angel, then it would suit you mother".
Evaleen grinned at her son and blew him a kiss. "You always say the right things Sebastian".
There was a knock on the door and Nicklaus appeared.
"Morning Aunt Evaleen",he said.
"Morning Nicklaus",Evaleen said cheerfully. "You're just in time to have breakfast with us".
"Oh that's not necessary",Nicklaus said. "I had breakfast already before leaving".
"How's your mother?",Evaleen asked while she finished preparing the salad and oven baked potatoes and chicken. The sweet smell of baking bread began to waft through the house.
"She's doing fine",Nicklaus said and his mouth watered at the heavenly aroma of the chicken and bread. "You know, on second thoughts, I think I might just join you for breakfast".
Sebastian grinned at him and tried to ruffle his hair. "You always come with an extra stomach",he said.
"What can I say?",Nicklaus said as he sat himself at the dining room. "I can't miss a good opportunity".
Evaleen smiled as she watched the young men. Right from babies, both of them had just clicked and their friendship bond was amazing. She knew they would be friends forever.
They all sat at the table and had a quiet breakfast.
"Will you be going to old Gregory's house?",Evaleen asked as she cleared the table. "He wants assistance with chopping his woods. I heard there's a good pay".
"Of course we will",Sebastian said with a grin.
"We?",Nicklaus asked. "Thank you, but I don't do chores with a full stomach".
"You do now",Sebastian said and pulled him from his seat, propelling him towards the door and ignoring his protests.
"See you at noon mother",he called over his shoulder.
"Be home on time for lunch",Evaleen shouted from the kitchen where she was doing the dishes.
Outside Sebastian didn't saddle Thunder. He wanted to ride him free. He led the stallion out of the stable and Thunder tossed his head, itching for a run.
"You're not going to saddle him?", Nicklaus asked as he climbed up his horse.
"Nope",Sebastian said and leaped on Thunder's back. He patted the stallions head and grabbed fist fulls of his mane. "We're riding free today".
"I'll see how free you are when you..."
Before Nicklaus could finish his sentence, Sebastian had spurred Thunder and they took off, leaving a trail of dead leaves behind them.
"Why am I not surprised?",Nicklaus asked himself and spurred his own horse, and the animal broke into a gallop, trying to catch up with the stallion.
A few meters away from the house, behind the lush bushes, three figures stared at the receding horses and riders.
"He's alive",one said.
"The midwife lied to us then",another said in anger. "The child didn't die at birth. He's all bloody grown up now!".
"We must report back to the Masters immediately",the third said. "If he is discovered to be the King's son....". He didn't finish his sentence as his eyes fell on the woman who came out of the house.
"That's the mother of the boy",the first one said. "The one that was the King's mistress. Let's finish her off".
"No",the third one said. "We report back to the Masters first. Let's go before we're discovered".
They slipped away into the thick bushes, leaving no trail.