FSE

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Desolate, desolate was the word to describe the countryside during winter. The relentless snowstorms from several weeks ago have blanketed the whole of the lands in an eerie white. The barren skeletons of trees once filled with their glorious greenery now serve as testaments to the lifelessness of winter. The silence of the village brought about the image of a ghost town, with everyone hunkering in and trying their best to keep the cold out. Outside, there was no indication of life, the noise of the winter winds was the only tone that broke the relentless silence.

"Papa," a young voice cried out.

An older mouse sitting on a worn-out chair, musing as he stared out of the window of his small creaky house immediately noticed the cries of the boy and got up to tend to him at his bedside.

"Yes Everen, is there something you need," he said with a concerned tone as he rubbed his hands together to generate what little warmth was there.

The smaller mouse bundled in many layers of clothing and blankets shifted uncomfortably on the hay-stuffed bed, "I'm so cold, when will the cold go away?"

"Soon," he said optimistically, "it will just take a few more weeks and the worst of it would be over."

"But I wish it's over now," he said wearily.

"I know, I know, but we just need to hang on a little while longer," he said with an equally tired tone. "When Spring comes, everything will be warm and beautiful again, and there will be a great feast waiting for all of us to enjoy come that time," he said with a big smile.

The smile and gentle warmth of his father's words set the young boy at ease and returned the smile back.

The older mouse tousled the fur on his head, "and you know what," he said happily, "it will be your birthday when that day comes, you'll be four years old."

"Does that mean I get to drive the wagon into town," the young boy said excitedly.

The older mouse gave out a soft laugh, "not old enough I'm afraid, but someday you will."

The relaxed atmosphere was suddenly broken by the sounds of violent knocking at the door of the closest neighboring farmhouse besides them.

The young mouse retreated into his sheets and turned his face inwards towards his pillow.

The sounds of the knocking grew in their intensity until a sound of a door being kicked down blared out across the village.

The older mouse moved immediately to the front window of his house, noticing others in the other farmhouses curiously but fearfully looking outside.

As he looked to the farmhouse to his right, he saw three canine soldiers dressed in faded sky-blue uniforms with red facings, two of which are huskies and one a wolf. There was also a vulpine church official clad in a heavy dark cloak standing outside the humble dwelling.

The old mouse immediately donned his thickest coat and put on the thickest and warmest pairs of shoes that he owned and then rushed towards the door.

"Papa, where are you going?!" Cried the deeply concerned boy.

"I just need to see what is happening," he said worryingly.

"But papa!" Everen said as his gradually moved to leave his bed.

"Everen!" The older mouse yelled, "please stay in bed and stay put in this house, don't leave or let anyone in until I return," he said as he moved to unlatch the wooden door. He looked back at the frightened boy, "don't worry, I'll be back soon," he said as he opened the door and then closed it as he left the house.

As the mouse walked towards the neighboring farmhouse, he saw that the two canine soldiers kicked the door down and rushed into the dwelling, hearing signs of struggles and muted cries as they stormed it. He looked around and noticed that many others were also coming out of their homes to get a closer look at what was happening.

As he and others got closer, the canine wolf soldier raised her smoothbore musket at the gathering crowd.

"Get back!" She snarled threateningly, her ears and tail standing erect, her hackles raised, and her muzzle wrinkled in such a way that he revealed a menacing set of canine teeth.

The mouse immediately lifted his hands up, his palms facing outwards, "look, no need to be aggressive here, I just want to know what is happening?"

The vulpine church official perked his ears and walked closer to the mouse as his bare footpads crunched against the snow, "Your neighbor has been accused of a grievous crime," he said calmly, the twitch in his bushy tail indicated an underlying sense of annoyance in his otherwise composed posture.

"What crime . . ." The mouse said until suddenly the two husky soldiers dragged out a light-tannish looking human man with dark hair, with one of the huskies striking him with the butt of his musket to his stomach as the human struggled and then fell to the ground.

"Your human friend over there is convicted for the crime of heresy," he calmly said.

"Father Ingstrom," said one of the husky soldiers restraining the human, "look what I've got here," he said while lifting a rather thick book in the air.

The fox moved closer to the husky and took the book out of his hands, briefly opening it and scanning its contents. He then looked at the battered man kneeling on the snow-covered ground, his face drooped downwards with blood from his nose and the cut on his head dripping out and coating the snow red.

The fox then moved away from the human and moved back towards where the young adult mouse was standing. "Following my last inspection of this human's house, I suspected that he was harboring something banned both by the crown and the church, and here it is," he said as he lifted the text.

"I am guilty of nothing!" The human yelled before one of the huskies kicked him to the ground with his digitigrade foot.

"I beg to differ," said the fox nonchalantly, "you do know that having a copy of the encyclopedia is a crime against the crown and the church, and on top of that, there are others in the church that suspect you of having heretical thoughts."

"Joseph has never done anything wrong!" Said the mouse as more people from the village gathered around to witness the spectacle. "He and his son have lived with us for a long time and has been nothing but a good man to all of us," he asserted, a sentiment that caused a murmur of agreement among everyone else present.

"Nonetheless," the fox said as placed the book on the ground and ordered one of the soldiers to gather some kindling, "he is wanted at the Holy Office for further investigation of his crimes, and will be sent there immediately."

The mouse and the others in the village have now began to notice the hopelessness of the situation, deep in his mind the mouse wanted so badly to intervene, but knew that doing so would bring the wrath of the authorities upon the village.

One of the soldiers placed the kindling around the book and set it alight, the dark smoke of the burning book rising into the sky.

The fox signaled the two other soldiers to place irons on the human's wrists, and to carry him off to a closed horse-drawn carriage in the distance.

As they dragged the human away from the village, he desperately yelled, "Eton, Eton, my son, please look after and take care of my son when I'm gone!" His cries eventually faded out as they took him into the carriage and rode off.

As the carriage moved onto the main road that led out of the village, the adult mouse ran into the ransacked dwelling. As he searched around, he heard faint cries coming from the bed in the corner. After lifting the sheets, he saw a small one year old baby boy, his cries stopped as he looked with his big brown eyes to the exasperated mouse. The mouse then lifted the bundled baby boy close to the warmth of his chest smiling down at him.

The bundled baby then reached out to play his muzzle and giggled happily, bringing a sense of sadness to the young adult mouse.

Eton gently took and held the baby boy's small hand and quietly whispered to him, "Nathan, I'm so sorry, I swear to you and your father that you will have a happy life with us and that I will do everything I can to protect you."

***

A little while later after informing the gathered village on what had happened, Eton returned to his humble home.

"Papa you're back!" Said the small mouse happily as Eton closed and latched the door behind him. "What happened outside and what do you have in your arms."

"Maybe when you're a little bit older, I'll tell you what happened," his father said softly while trying to hide the growing anger and depression of his voice from the previous events as he sat down and swaddled the bundle in his arms.

The younger mouse came out of bed and stood at his father's side, "is that Nathan?"

"Yes, it is indeed Nathan," he said as he looked down and noticed the small baby fell to sleep. "He will be living with us for now on."

"Will Joseph be back to play with him," Everen asked curiously.

Eton slowly shook his head, "No, I don't think he will ever come back from where he is going."

"If Nathan is staying with us then, then does that make him my brother, a part of our family?"

Eton smiled at his young son, "yes, he is now a part of our family and we will do all we can to make him feel at home, can you promise me that?"

"Yes!" Everen said happily as he leaned over to look at the sleeping baby. "Hi Nathan, looks like you are now my younger brother."