Chapter 1 – Harsh Memories
A flicker of light almost struggling to exist, in a room where not just your breath wheezed out clouds of mist. The long white candle dripped its wax down the elaborate silver holding, producing a hiss of heat meeting cold metal, in a room where everything seemed so dark, so cold, so lost.

Perched awkwardly on the bed, fingers brushing the floor, Alexander breathed heavily with a slight snore. Alexander was a tall, pale boy, looking like he was in his late teens. The only thing to brake a sea of pale skin was his frosted over, shimmering blue and white hair folding over his face, matched with pale stubble on his chin. Strangely his unblemished skin held two peculiar dark scars down each side of his spine.

The silence was broken by a loud, deafening, bang somewhere outside the room, as if something had been struck by lightning. With a deep groan Alexander rolled out of his bed and landing on the floor, arching his back as if he was a very large cat. Standing up he seemed even taller, the tip of a large chandelier brushing the top of his head, his white wavy hair still covering most of his face. Yawning, Alexander grasped hold of a silver laced black jacket, wrapping it around himself without putting his arms though.

Flicking the door open, the room flooded with light from the hallway, large chandeliers and candelabras illuminated a royal hallway, with dark ruby damask wallpaper meeting skirting boards seemingly made out of solid gold. Sliding round the corner and down the hallway was a short, fiery haired boy, bouncing of the floor with each step in glee, each jump caused his feet to narrowly avoid a thin streak of purple light, tearing up the hard wood floor with a loud crack each time. The boy was running straight towards Alexander, his bright red eyes screamed as shock covered the boy’s face, skidding to a halt inches away from Alexander.
Shortly after another boy flung himself around the corner, he was older than Alexander and had a head of short messy black hair, which seemed to shine purple under the candle light. The older boy came to a halt, puffing deeply and bent over double. He said with a wheezy voice “Roru! Get her now you little s-“the elder boy looked up and saw Alexander, cutting his sentence short “oh hey Alex, morning” he said still panting. Alexander replied with a deep yet pleasant voice, addressing the man elder than he.
“Lucas” Moments later Alexander’s pale hand curled around the red haired boys shoulder, a piercing blue eye penetrated his pale hair “Roru giving you trouble again?” Roru was shivering under Alexander’s grasp, as if frost was forming on his shoulder, as Lucas replied cautiously “he was in my lab again” The air around them grew colder, frosty like the room Alexander had just come from, the pleasantness from his voice vanished “and that is why the floors are ruined…” he paused and looked down to Roru “again?” both the boys where frozen like statues, only shivering from the cold, watching Alexander extensively. He turned his head to an iron cast window “have you been to breakfast yet? Mother will be waiting” both the boys where surprised, expected to get yelled at by a brother they saw little of.
Alexander didn’t leave his room much, like his brother Lucifer, he liked to bolt himself in his room and research for weeks on end with no sight of him, and it had been this way for years. Because of this his two brothers and sister began to speculate about the rarely seen brother, It had begun with how cold and emotionless Alexander was whenever they saw him, and how he seemed to be surrounded in a vale of frost, then it quickly developed into stories like he was mentally disturbed or dangerous, and that he did in human experiments in his room, the only one to put a stop to this gossip was there mother.
Alexander followed his two brothers, the youngest already feeling more cheery since the frosty grip was released from his shoulder. Walking down an elaborately decorated hallway, all of the house seemed to be tastefully and wealthily decorated. Alexander lead the trio, taller than them all, with the eldest brother deliberately keeping his distance, the youngest Roru however seemed happy to walk next to Alexander, a smile across his face as if it was his birthday.
Along there route along more and more hallways and corridors, they came across the fourth and final sibling, her personality the polar opposite Alexander’s. There sister Amarantha was the third eldest, Dressed in a poison green skirt, black and green leggings, a leather jacket and again a bright venom green shirt advertising her favourite band.
Unlike her brothers, she did not show any sign of fear towards alexander, turning up her nose as if alexander where a walking corpse, her deep hatred for her brother slipped out from her lips “now the gits came out his room” snarling violently “hear I hoped you had dropped dead in that room” everything about Amarantha was aggressive, her condescending voice was no different. For a second time Roru and Lucifer wore a look of horror on their face.
Oddly even Alexander had widened his eyes, he was use to Amarantha’s insults and felt they were well deserved. But behind his sister stood another woman, her skin just as pale as Alexander’s and her hair flowing like liquid silver down her extraordinary plane white kimono, giving her a ghost like, sickly appearance, but where alexander gave an aura of coldness this woman took the breath out of everyone and radiated a light and comforting warmth.
Amarantha looked at her brothers quizzically, not realising the woman behind her till she followed her brothers eyes, slowly round her shoulder, all colour draining from her face along with any aggressiveness as she stuttered guiltily “m-m-mother!?” squeaking slightly. The Silver haired woman pulled her face to show a sulking disappointment, yet even then she gave an air unquestionable respect and power, a power most fearful as it held no ferocity or rage.
“Amarantha, what a horrible thing to say about your brother” even without any aggression in her voice, it still caused Amarantha to wince and begin to shake. It was Roru who spoke first “its ok mama, it’s just a joke. You know” he paused thinking of something to say to help his sister “like break a leg” anybody could so through this feeble lie, yet with Amarantha’s excessive nodding in agreement, at which Alexander was sure if she nodded any harder her head would fall off, yet there mother turned her gaze to Alexander, to see if it was true as he nodded slowly. Their mother smiled and beamed happily “ooh the full family is here for breakfast, wonderful!”
As she turned round and entered the doors behind Amarantha, Alexander’s sibling gave out a sigh of relief, Lucas wiping his forehead. Amarantha turned to her brother, her courage rebuilding as she gave a rather poor attempt of gratitude “thanks… but this doesn’t mean I like you now!” a growl returning to her voice, causing a soft smile to pull across Alexander’s face as he was the first to enter the dining hall. Bright white marble filled the double ceiling height room, a large extravagant chandelier seemed to drip from the roof like a stalagmite casting a warm orange glow filling the entire room.
The table was dressed in silver platters of food varying from toast to a full roast beef, right below the chandelier stood a bowl large enough to fit in with a large, blood red trifle pudding. All the others had passed Alexander as he stood facing the back of a chair, fighting in his mind whether to leave or not before he took a few more steps, trying to ignore the chair before a voice echoed making alexander’s hair stand on its end.
“hello my boy” the man in the chair had said, but Alexander wretched, his face pulled taunt as if he was going to be sick. It was clear he had ignored the man in the chair as all his siblings had turned to look at him, he was unsure of whether her mother was watching or not as he had begun walking deliberately to the other end of the table.
As he turned the corner of the table the man in the chair was still looking at alexander, his slicked hair looked as if it had been coated in blood through its black locks, twisting around his head the man’s snide grin and violent green eyes accompanied a long pointed nose hanging above a bushy Gotie and elongated chin. No hatred was set deeper, not even that of Amarantha towards her brother, than this hatred Alexander had for his father. None of the siblings knew why the room had gotten deadly cold again as the two tallest men sat lock eyed across the table, his mother took seat next to her husband, although seeming oblivious to what was happening, a shifting gaze towards her husband broke Alexander’s and his father’s lock.
Alexander had never told a soul of why he despised his own father, yet everyone knew of his hatred, some had made some link to the fact that 10 years ago, Alexander was much like Roru in his lively spirit. But upon returning from a journey he had set of with his father, at which his father returned several days later as pale as his son as if the blood had ran from his body, Alexander’s personality had changed to what it is now. Some wondered how he had survived for 2 years later as he had never been seen, yet as his mother was sat on the hospital bed again, he cast his father out of the room as he assisted the doctor in the birth giving of his youngest brother.
Since then he had rarely been seen, other than on his family member’s birthdays, taking careful consideration to always miss his fathers, and a few glimpses on family celebrations before he vanished again. But were as people wondered were Alexander always went and did, every second of his younger brothers life was known, pranks, messes, cakes missing, general chaos, always pointed towards Roru as the culprit.
First to finish his breakfast Alexander quickly left the table, a few seconds later Roru came running to his side, panting heavily as asked “were you going brother? Can I come? Please?” Alexander again pulled a strenuous, unused smile as he nodded. Heading out of the building and into the open spring air.
The two boys stood alone in a godly garden, roses rising above their head in the archway and a maze of hedges. The gardens where a maze of flowerbeds, trees and stone sculpting’s, including a large centrepiece made of magnificent marble, a tiger was made of white marble locked in combat with a hot to the touch black marble dragon, water spotting from both of their mouths and into the pond below. But for all the grandeur of the garden, not one gardener could be seen as the boys walked towards the fountain.

“Uncle is coming again today” Alexander said with regret riddling his voice “he wants me back on the battle field I presume” meanwhile his brother looked as if he had just been slapped as he stuttered “b-but you c-c-can’t go back! What about your arm?” he protested, Alexander lifted his right arm no higher than his shoulder, his jacket had slipped of revealing the coiling scar around his shoulder joint, and his muscles taught with effort, But no matter how he tried he could not lift his arm higher.
Although he was young Alexander had already been at war, a war that seemed to stretch to the beginning of time, he was a commander and lead many people into battle and to their own deaths. Alexander winced as memories came flashing back, bodies, an arm soaked in blood, and a strange silhouetted figure standing in front of hot flames, he could taste the ash and rotting flesh in his mouth, making his stomach tense and heave.

Regardless of the fact Alexander could not raise a weapon, his uncle would find a way to bring him back onto the battle field, Alexander was after all ‘the blood red blizzard’ a title he took no joy in owning, but with his worthless father snaking out of any situation to do with the war, it was left to the next in line to the family, although he had an older brother Alexander did not know why he and his youngest sibling were heir to their family, not singularly but in unison, it is simply what old man Jikan-shaku had told, and no family questioned his knowledge as he was never wrong.

Standing by the fountain Alexander watched the coy fish, not really paying attention as his mind was racing, and once again he collapse to the ground, face scraped by the stones. He found strength to press his hand on the ground and try to lift himself up, it was surprisingly easy, had he starved himself? No, he though, I eat plenty. His head swung to the side to see a horror shocked brother with fiery red hair hoisting him up with his head under Alexander’s arm. Sweat was dripping from his forehead but he felt even more heat from his brother, feeling as if he was boiling alive he stood on his wobbly legs and pulled his arm away, gruffly snorting “sorry” with no tone of apology.

He brother barged him with worried questions, but alexander ignored him as he walked back into the house, his brother still ranting “are you ok?”, “Are you sick?”, “Should I get mother?” Alexander kept ignoring him, it was a short walk that seemed for a lifetime before he could slam his bedroom door on his brother, collapsing into his bed causing a hissing steam as if his body was just on fire and had been doused.

He felt like a git for ignoring his brother, but every day it got worse, Alexander couldn’t even cope with sitting by his frosted over window too long without the heat making him collapse, but he couldn’t concern his family, he muttered “I’m already a crap enough son, I won’t make them work more to make me better” Alexander could not remember when this started happening, but year by year his room got colder, then month by month, now it was week by week it had to get colder. What was wrong with him?

Alexander had drifted off, it was warm, fruit and salt filled his nostrils ass grains sank around his bare feet, he couldn’t see because of a blinding light popping shadows in his vision. After a short time his eyes adjusted and with realisation he saw he was at a beach and there was a family, a toddler in a green one piece was kicking her brother in the shin, the boys glasses sliding off as he fumbled in the sand, a few feet away was a woman with liquid silver hair holding a fiery haired baby in her arms. Down by the water there was a man with short blood black hair, kicking up a large splash of water over the toddlers, stopping there squabbling. It took a while for Alexander to see the boy sitting next to his mother, poking the baby with curious interest, his white hair short and spikey.

And Alexander just stood there, watching the scene of when his family had last gone to the beach, or at least the last time he was with them at the beach. Then the man by the water looked at alexander standing on the sandy bank a few metres from his family, a cloud hid the sun as the air got colder, the kids and mother ran off to the side as the man came running, yelling, brandishing his fists at Alexander. Then he woke with a scream.

Soaked his sweat a scream filled his room, but it wasn’t his own, it came from outside his room. For a moment his heart stopped as time slowed down, then time came speeding back as he flung the door open so hard it almost fell off its hinges, he ran to god knows were, following the screams, then they stopped. The screaming had happed just around the corner, grabbing hold of the wall he twisted around and felt like he slammed into a brick wall.

He stood frozen, afraid for the first time in a long time, as tears trickled down his pale face, his hand still clutching the corner of the wall as he couldn’t take his eyes away. No it couldn’t be really, it was just another dream, but he could smell the fresh blood, he could feel his body protesting to give on living, it was too real. For the second time that day his legs shook as he walked just a few steps then fell to the floor.
This time it was his scream that filled the corridors and echoed through the gardens, he lifted up his bloody hands holding onto a ball of blood covered silver threading. He continued to scream, feeling like that little boy on the beach, as tears burned down his cheeks, he pulled the ball of hair up and held onto the shoulders of a woman, stroking aside her silver hair, all he wanted to believe it wasn’t her, all he wanted was to proven wrong, but no sooner had he parted the woman’s hair had he regretted his decision, horror struck on her face, Alexander curled over the body of his mother.