Snowmancer

Chapter 8, Part 1: Ilyas

How did anyone stand to live in Lumi? Even walking from building to building required me to bundle up in a long coat, scarves, and a fur hat, all of which were a dull, lifeless beige. The scarf blocked out everything below eye-level and dragged damp wool against my skin, but whenever I lowered the scarf, the wind bit my cheeks and froze the inside of my nostrils. I yanked the scarf back up.

I glared at Jem's back. He wore a similar coat, his a light blue, but only added a scarf coiled around his neck. Even the villagers, almost as swaddled as I was, glared at him.

Well, not really at him. I slowed, taking a moment to observe them huddled against the snowbanks instead of doing something sane like going inside. Ahead of us, the peasants strolled through the streets, until they caught sight of Jem and me. Then they ducked their heads and drew to the side.

They looked, but they didn't look. Or rather, they were so aware of his presence they needn't look, as if Jem was the ridiculous obelisk in the middle of the square.

Jem stopped suddenly, and I nearly ploughed into his back, only avoiding the collision by a less than graceful hop to the side. I glared at him, but he didn't seem to notice as he pointed to the ice wall.

I bit my lower lip to keep from snapping, "Yes, it's a door." Well, a door through the ice, with the same black metal strengthening its walls that Lumi used everywhere else. A tunnel descended into blackness. At least it was a warm blackness, as warm air thawed my eyelashes. I yanked my scarf down. Several black iron scythes leaned against the tunnel wall.

"The entrance to our mine," Jem said.

Right, Dajana had mentioned something about how ore was the only worthwhile thing about Lumi. "You only have one mine?"

"Yes. The tunnels stretch for miles below, but we aren't producing much these days."

I sneered. "Your tunnel run dry?"

"Our warehouse is full," he said. "The Sentei haven't sent ships in months. There's no point making everyone work if there is no trade."

"Besides making money." I waved flippantly at him, then picked up one of the strange scythes. No, not a scythe, although it possessed roughly the same shape, but some kind of mining pick. I wrapped my gloved hands around the handle like I wielded a sword, and flexed. The gloves slid over the smoothed wood. "I'm sure your villagers appreciate starving to death because they haven't their wages."

Jem cocked his head, confused, but then seemed to grasp my point. He really was slow. "We don't pay anyone. The mines are operated by the crown."

"You don't even pay them?" I snorted. And Dajana would have me believe they didn't practice slavery in this godforsaken peninsula.

"Come with me." Without waiting, he started back up the street towards the castle. I rolled my eyes, and then followed, pickaxe on my shoulder, until we reached the market square. I felt like giving the obelisk a rude gesture, but Jem pulled me in front of the one squat black iron building in the square with its front door actually open. Four villagers lined up on the steps.

Well of course nothing was open if no one had money to pay for things.

"This is the storehouse," he said. "Prince Hemi wished for you to see this. The crown is responsible for trading with Sentei and other countries for necessities. Then each villager is given their ration. We don't pay the villagers because we give them everything they need."

I sputtered. Everything they needed? So they needed stale, tasteless breads and drab brown cloth? "But Sentei hasn't traded with you in months. The villagers should get their money back."

"Sentei had a poor harvest. The frosts came too early for them. They're uninterested in trade while their own people go hungry."

Jem sounded bitter, but I looked at the drab storehouse with a newfound appreciation.

All the city's food was located in this windowless and unlocked building? And they were not likely to receive more from Sentei?

Oh, this was too perfect. And so, so typical of the Lumians.

Instead of pressing, I turned back to the obelisk. A single stone that represented the bastard who was going to tear me to pieces.

I lowered the pickaxe, intending to drop it, but then settled it across both hands. How lucky I had picked up this thing. The gaunt-faced people in line stared at me, open mouths peeking out of their scarfs and their gloved hands shaking, as if they knew exactly what I planned to do.

I strode to the obelisk, Jem and everyone else's eyes glued to my back.

Well, let them watch this.

I raised the pickaxe, and the crowd stopped their chattering. With all my strength, I brought the sharp end of the pickaxe into the obelisk.

The tip bounced off. I growled. Behind me, people muttered and cried out. I raised the pickaxe again, and again, bashing the stupid, feckless obelisk as if it were the Dark God.

Each time the tip bounced, I snarled and pounded at it harder. I was going to destroy that thing.

An arm wrapped around my stomach, yanking me away. I whirled into Jem's chest, and even through the layers of heavy fabric, I felt his stomach against my back. My cheeks heated for the second it took to blink. I darted out of his grip, holding the pickaxe in front of me like a sword.

Jem's sapphire eyes flashed. "Why would you do such a thing?"

The snowbanks behind him shivered. The snow demons hadn't approached the obelisk before, but I hadn't defaced the obelisk then. No, no, do not let yourself be ruled by anger, I told myself. I shrugged, and dropped the pickaxe. "Why should I care? The Dark God will do worse to me, and you're delivering me into his hands."

Jem stopped, his eyes widening and shoulders dropping. His white hair shifted in the breeze. He grasped the back of his neck, and winced, as if in pain. He turned on his heels and started to walk away.

Was he really in pain? He must be, if he would leave me by his precious obelisk. I started to call out to him, then pressed my lips together. It didn't matter. It shouldn't matter. He was my enemy after all, and he'd confirmed Dajana's claim.

I waited in the shadow of the obelisk, like it was a metaphor for something, but Jem didn't turn back to drag me away. The sun dipped below the horizon, and I shivered as it grew colder. With one last glare at the obelisk, I ran after him.

To be continued...

A/N: Lumi is not a kingdom where everything is black and white, good or evil. It's not so simple as that.

I'm rewatching Silver Spoon on Crunchyroll, and the first season was like that. Is raising animals for meat wrong? Or is it okay because, as the characters keep saying, meat is so good? The conclusion was not to decide one way or the other to make it easy.

I recently decided to transition to vegetarianism (with dairy, fish and eggs) because as I was watching and reading about slaughtering chickens (as humanely as one can, I should add), I couldn't quite come to grips with me actually doing the slaughtering. If I can't do that, then what right do I have to eat meat? But again, it's not a simple, black and white decision. I'm not against it in general, if it's done humanely, and where the animals get to live life beforehand, rather than just exist in cages. And maybe one day I'll need to slaughter a chicken, and then we'll see.

Too gloomy? You just want an escape from everyday concerns? Or just the right amount of gloomy? Let me know in the comments :)

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Thanks and happy reading! ~Olivia