A Tale of Two Children

"Don't worry! I promise we won't get caught. It'll just be a few minutes and then we can sneak back in before lunchtime!"

Though curious eyes glowed brightly at Ali, Snow pressed his bows together as his lips curled into a pout. He was still worried, even a little suspicious. "Really? Won't we get in trouble? Mom will be mad at us if she finds out!"

"We'll be fine! Just a few minutes and then we'll come back! Would you rather go practice horseback riding, or go on an adventure?!" Ali took the other boy's hand and began tugging him along through the castle corridors. Their footsteps patted on the rug each time until they came to a halt at each corner for Ali to stretch his head around. He was taking every care to avoid anyone on patrol. The closer they got to the garden the more excited he was.

"Lucky us! They left the gate open, and no guards are around," he said when they entered the castle garden. "Just follow my lead and it'll be fine! I do this all the time back home!"

"Yeah, but your home is much bigger and easier to hide in! And the market is a lot crazier! I don't think this is a good idea, Ali!" Still, he followed him across the courtyard, and watched, concerned as he began climbing the vine-covered wooden frame along the stone walls. The young prince bit his lip. "We're going to get in trouble!"

"Well, you can either come with me, or I'll just go alone and you'll get in trouble for not stopping me!" A cheeky, scheming grin stretched from ear to ear on Ali as he looked down. Immediately there was a look of nervous fear plastered on Snow. He knew that would have convinced him. He swung his arm down for the other to take. "Come on. Trust me! We'll be back before long. Promise!"

Each second Snow hesitated felt like entire minutes were passing, but when he took hold of the other's hand, Ali hoisted him up, guiding him as they climbed the vines. Before they knew it they were both over the castle walls.

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Stone Roll was particularly lively that day. Ali and Snow became entangled among the village paths and streets. Though half of the time they were dodging patrol guards. The market was a maze of shops and stands selling anything from fruits and baked goods, to fine leathers and silver luxuries. Oddly enough, Snow had now become the more curious of the two, quickly dashing to anything that caught his eye.

"Hey! Watch out!" Ali shouted as he grabbed Snow by his collar and tugged him back from the street, just barely dodging an oncoming horse. "Weren't you the one who said we'd get in trouble?" he teased.

Snow stuck his tongue out at the older boy. "I would have been fine," he spat back. "I just wanted to look at the jewelry over there," he said as he pointed across the walkway. "Aren't they pretty! Those earrings would look lovely on Mother, maybe Pari, too!"

"Hmm, it certainly would, but it's not like you brought any money, did you?" Ali smirked at him when Snow shook his head. He leaned in close, cupping his hand in front of their mouths as he whispered. "Okay just go up and talk to him. Act like you're interested in something else! I'll show you a fun little trick that me and Pari pull all the time back home!" There it was: a scheming twinkle in his eye Snow had come to be cautious, but also excited about. Ali gave Snow a little shove when the streets were safe to cross.

Snow, confused, but optimistic as ever, approached the stand cautiously. His head barely came up over the shop's display table. "Um, excuse me, mister?" he called, waving his hand high to get the keeper's attention.

"Well, who do we have here? A lost child? Where's your parents?" they said kindly with a smile, as he leaned over to get a better look at the young prince. "Quite the cute kid, you are. Need some help?"

"Um, I-I wanted to look at that shiny bracelet," Snow answered, pointing directly in front of him on the table.

"Is that so? Who's it for? Got a girlfriend you want to impress, hmm?"

Snow nodded his head innocently as ever. "Ah-huh! She's very pretty!"

"Hmmm," he rubbed his face and scratched his beard, pretending to ponder. "Well, I don't think you can afford it, but I'll let you look so you can start saving up!" The keeper extended a fat hand out with the bracelet in question for Snow to hold and stood back, watching him closely.

Snow may have been only doing as Ali asked him, but he was immediately mesmerized. He kept turning the bracelet over in his hand, hypnotized by his own foggy, warped reflection in the polished ivory. Carving and engravings had given it the delightful shape of entangled vines, and even tiny flowers. The child kept admiring the craftsmanship until finally, the keeper's voice perked up with his hand outstretched once again. "Alright, that's enough looking!" The bracelet was returned to its spot on the table. "You better scamper along and get back to your mother. I'm sure she's worried about you."

"There you are! I've been looking all over for you!" Ali appeared suddenly right beside Snow, taking his hand in his own. "You shouldn't wander off like that. What if you got lost!" He winked, using the eye not facing the shopkeeper, and immediately Snow understood he was acting.

"Sorry- Sorry! It's not like I went far."

Ali turned to the keep and bowed his head. "Thank you for keeping my friend out of trouble."

"It's no bother. Why he was just wanting to look for something nice to give his dear sweet girlfriend," he said with a hearty laugh coming from his belly. "Now I mean it, you two better get home safe!"

"We will, Sir. I promise!" Quickly, Ali tugged Snow along. "Let's get going. Don't want to get in trouble!"

"H-hey, slow down!" Snow asked as he tried to keep on. They raced through the marketplace and around a corner into an alleyway before they finally stopped to catch their breath. Ali was snickering the whole time, hands over his belly as he leaned against the side of a building.

"That was perfect! Man, Snow! You did great back there."

"But I didn't do anything. What are you- uh- HEY!" He barely had a moment to react as Ali tossed him something. He caught it in both hands, realizing it was a pair of silver earrings- the ones he had lured him to the stand at the start. "How did you- Ali, did you-- this is stealing!"

"I like to think of it as 'borrowing with a little risk.'" He said as he bit into an apple he pulled out of his pocket. Another one was in hand which he tossed to Snow as well. "Here's a snack!"

Snow caught the apple. "But stealing is wrong! Ali- this is serious! And you do this in your home country?!"

"Whahhhht? It's just a few apples and some earrings. They make them a lot easier than you think. It's not a big deal. Besides, you wanted them for your mother right?" A few more chomps and Ali had already chewed his apple to the core.

He looked at the earrings and the fruit in his hands. He could explain it, but all Snow wanted to do was shout, to cry. His face grew hot while holding his breath. There was no way he could give these to his mother. How would he explain how he'd obtained them? Even if she believed whatever lie he came up with, Snow would always know that they were stolen, that she'd be wearing something that hadn't been earned honestly. Though the white jewels were as pure as the first winter snow, such would only taint Queen Scarlett's beautiful face with black spots of lies and trickery.

Snow thought back to the bracelet he had held, the level of detail in the ivory, the linework, and the carvings that had made it into such a delicate, and striking work of art. The way the flower looked as if they were blooming from the ivory itself. What Ali had said couldn't be true. There was no way any of that man's jewelry had been obtained easily. Someone had to farm the metals, the ivory, and the pearls. Someone had to polish it, clean it, carve and craft, and do it all with the utmost care just as when Snow practiced fencing or singing, or Ali when he danced. He wouldn't have wanted anything he did to be dismissed as trivial or simple and asked to perform for free so why was this any different? What's more, this was still a crime! If anyone else had done this they would have been jailed but Snow could get away with it just because he was a prince! The only difference between him and a common thief was that he lived in a castle and wore a crown while a thief lived in a hut and wore a hood.

Snow burst into tears.

"Th-that man wah-was so n-nice- WAHHH!" Snow was gasping, hands sweating. "H-he showed me that br-ce-l-let and we jus- mmmm! WAHHHH!" He was huffing, eyes squinted shut, and mouth hanging open as his nose began to drool.

Ali, lost for words at first, held his hands up to try to ease the other. "Hey, wow! Snow, listen- hey! J-just calm down for a second."

There was no response. Snow just kept sobbing as he shoved the apple into Ali's chest, knocking him flat on his rear. He sniffled and sucked in a deep breath, and stared down at him, face scrunched together as if he was about to explode. "I'm g-gonna give them back and apologize! I don't want 'em anymore!" With the earrings clenched in his tiny fist, Snow turned on his heels and bolted before Ali could say anything.

"Wait. WAIT! SNOW!" Ali chased after him, not getting far. Just as they turned the corner, a patrol guard stood blocking their path. Both of the two children ran right into him, knocking themselves back.

"Hey there! Are you both okay? What seems to be the trouble? We heard a commotion coming from this area." He stepped forward slowly, armor crunching into the dirt. He knelt and extended a hand to help each of them to their feet.

"What do we have here?" he asked with a raised brow as they stayed silent. "Two children without their parents?" He paused, eyeing Ali's sun-kissed face suspiciously. "And one of you is from the Waning Sands, aren't you? You must be with King Arthur's royal guest, aren't you? What are you doing out here? Where are your parents? It's dangerous, you know. And..." His eyes widened when he saw clearly who the other boy was. "...Prince Snow? You should be at the castle!"

It was then he took note of the troubling state he appeared in. "Are you hurt? Why have you been crying? What's happened here?!" The guard's eyes were aimed directly at Ali, almost sneering at him.

"Run!" Ali yelled as he kicked up a small cloud of dirt into the guard's eyes. He grabbed Snow by the hand and pulled him along, racing through the marketplace once again. It didn't matter which way they went, so long as they were moving, getting far away, but how could they escape when Snow was screaming the entire time? Neither of them had to look behind them to know there was more than a single guard hot on their tail by that point. It was now known, at least amongst the town patrol guards, that Snow and Ali had somehow snuck out of the palace.

The two had given chase for some time until finally taking refuge in a large mound of old hay near a town horse's stable. The sun was setting over the surrounding mountaintops. The crowds had begun to disperse and return to their homes. Shops were closing up their doors and windows.

Snow coughed and griped as he crawled out from their hiding place, wiping phlegm and tears from his face on the sleeve of his garb. He opened his palm, seeing that the earrings were still safe in his palm, though stained with sweat and dirt. "I hate this!" he whimpered while looking at Ali who was pulling himself to his feet. "Y-your adventures stink."

"Would you just calm down," he huffed, hunched over with his hands on his knees. "Look, we'll just lay low until the guards give up and then head back to the palace."

"No! We still have to return the earrings!"

"Just forget about it. We're going to be in even bigger trouble if they find out about those!"

"You're the one who stole them in the first place!" Snow snapped, hands balling so tight that the point of earrings poked at his flesh. "You said we were going to do something fun- go on an adventure! And we just stole food and jewelry and now we're lost. None of this would have happened if we had just stayed in the castle, to begin with. It's all your fault!"

"SHUT UP!" Ali's anger exploded. He stomped his foot into the hay, steam rising from the sole of his boots. "If you had just played it cool then maybe we could get outta here!" With a wave of his hand, sparks ignited, making Snow flinch and step back. "Stop blaming me! You're such a crybaby I swear I could just-- ARGHH!" Ali rammed his fist against the wooden building beside them and was immediately flung back. The impact had erupted in smoke, a loud crack, and then sizzled. The market stand, the haystack, everything: it was all going up in smoke. A fire had broken out, but how?

Snow jumped back, confused, and frightened. "What did you do?!" he screamed.

"Nothing! I just punched the wall- aGH-UGH-HHH!" he coughed, inhaling a bit of smoke.

"Well, hit it again! Make it stop!"

Ali was squinting through the smoke. Frustrated and annoyed, he punched through the flames into the wall again, and...it exploded, sending both him and Snow flying back into the street. A few sparks had erupted into a roaring fire, threatening to take the entire shop, and possibly even neighboring buildings if it wasn't extinguished soon.

People had already begun to notice, several rushing over beside the two boys to make sure they were okay, while others had gone to alert the guards or even rush into the stable to set the horses loose. The entire time, the two boys watched in horror and confusion. Snow began crying again. The sky clouded with ash. Heat washed over the air and beat against their faces.

Flames licked across the air, tasting the next structure, and then steadily, the roar of the inferno began to simmer. Sparks flickered and floated through the air into a stream of flame and light, wafting away into the thick clouds of smoke. It was dispersing through some unseen force. The air softened, and the smoke slowly continued to rise and thin out. Townsfolk chatter was all there was, save steady, heavy footsteps approaching through the remaining fog.

"Well, it looks like we got ourselves into a bit of trouble, haven't we?" A robust, thunderous voice rang out. Silver eyes pierced through with a cheeky, wide grin on his face. It was the King.

"Would look that way, yes," said Sultan Huran, following right behind him. "Do you suppose they thought we wouldn't eventually notice them missing from afternoon practice and go searching for them?"

The two boys stared at their parents in disbelief, shaking, and too stunted to speak.

"Skipped their studies. Snuck out. Ran from the guards, and now it would seem my son chose the right time to grow into his fire magic."

Arthur was the first to step close to the two boys, brows pinched together. He sternly looked down at them both, then to the house that had caught fire, back to the children, and then he nodded. "Good citizens," he roared, addressing the townsfolk, "Forgive two old kings misdeed in letting their children go unsupervised. Should any of you have suffered damages please, make your claim with Sultan Huran's vizier this evening and you shall be provided for until you can carry on in normalcy."

There were a few minutes of either king addressing the townsfolk, taking names, getting testimonies of what happened, and so on when Snow and Ali both stood petrified beside a set of guards. Snow was still sobbing as he watched his father at work. Ali held onto his hand and stroked his thumb over the backside of the other's wrist.

"...I'm sorry," he muttered.

Snow was silent until he had stopped himself from crying. "W-why?"

"I guess I did sorta cause a lot of trouble...and now we're going to get it! Look, just stop crying already!" He was irritated, refusing to look at Snow directly. Ali glanced up at the guards and saw them both staring down with the eyes of hawks. He motioned his hand slowly, digging his finger under Snow's thumb as if to force his grip open. "You don't deserve to get in trouble so let me take the blame," he cursed.

Still, Snow kept his hand shut tight around the earrings and shook his head. He wasn't speaking. Whether it was because he didn't understand Ali's intentions or not remained unclear.

Upon returning to the castle, Snow and Ali were immediately sent to their rooms without supper. As he washed his face and readied himself for bed, his mother entered his room. "My little flake? You're finally home, it seems!" Queen Scarlett had always projected a soft atmosphere around her. The way her crimson night dress bounced across the floor gave the impression that she floated as she walked. "Thank goodness you're safe," he sighed as she gazed upon her child.

Scarlett made her way to sit on the child's bed and outstretched her arms to embrace him, which she did. "Your father told me what happened. You know, we had thought someone might have kidnapped you and were about to begin a witch hunt until the guards found you. What do you have to say for yourself?!"

"Mother I- " he paused and then gulped. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snuck out."

"Yes. You shouldn't have. But, you know what else I heard?"

Immediately, Snow's eyes widened, and his throat became dry. His eyes darted to the side, aimed at his pillow. The earrings were tucked away underneath it. "Um..no?"

Scarlett only smiled as he poked Snow on his nose. "I heard that Prince Ali was the one who convinced you to go with him and that you shouldn't get in trouble."

"W-what?!"

She nodded her head. "Yes. You told him that sneaking out would be bad and to stay for your lessons, did you?"

"Well, yes, but- "

"Snow, what you did today was nice wanting to make sure Ali didn't do anything bad on his own, but next time it would be better to leave it for someone who can do the job best," she said softly as he ran her fingers through her son's hair. "I'm still very proud of you for trying."

He was silent, looking down at his mother's knees as she spoke. The way she praised him, even seemed to be saying he had done nothing wrong...none of it sat well in Snow's gut. His insides were twisting, knowing that there had still been bad things that he hadn't prevented. The young prince still felt guilty. He reached under his pillow and showed his mother the earrings.

A look of confusion and surprise sparked on Queen Scarlett's face as she blinked. "Why...Snow? Where did you get these?" she hushed as she took them gently in her hand. "They're very beautiful, but are they for me?"

Snow began to choke, holding back tears as he shook his head. It all came out, how he had wanted to find something nice for her, that Ali had put him up to stealing them, and that he had been trying to return them when the guards found him. Although Ali had done the damage, Snow couldn't help but still feel guilty. If he hadn't gone with Ali then he wouldn't have seen the earrings that lead to them fighting and burning half the village, right? The only reason they had been fleeing was because Snow had been caught while trying to return them! Yet his mother just listened and kept glancing between Snow and the earrings in her palm. When her son was finished, and an anxious, fragile mess before her, she simply reached her empty hand out and patted his head.

"Snow, you've done nothing that can't be undone," she began as she closed her fingers around the jewelry. "I'll tell you a little something… Wanting to give a gift is nice, but the greatest gift you could ever give me simply doing what's right! And that's exactly what you did today."

"But I didn't finish it! We still set fire to that building a-and that shop- I didn't return them an-and-"

"Shhhhh. Snow, it's alright. There are many times in which good intentions have resulted in a terrible outcome, but this is still nothing that can't be undone. No one was hurt and you still have the earrings, don't you?"

He was silent for a moment, really trying to take in what he was being told. "Y-yeah, but still-"

"Hush now! You've already answered your troubles," Scarlett remained as ever calm and sweet as he placed a swift kiss on her child's forehead. "We'll go into the market tomorrow so you can return them and apologize. You can show me what a big responsible young man you are!"

There was another pause as Snow gazed into his mother's eyes and then back at the earrings as she placed them in his hand. He turned them over, rubbing his finger across their smooth, polished surface. He sighed as he set them on his bedside table. "Did I do the right thing?"

"You wanted to keep Ali safe. That was the right thing, but that doesn't mean you went about it the right way. You'll understand when you're older, my sweet Snowflake." Scarlett tucked the young prince into bed and they said their goodnights. From the door, she flicked her wrist, and with a wave of her hand, all but a single lantern was extinguished.