Before entering the house, Joss went around the woman and asked “Do you two know each other?”. Jaqueline looked to Vanessa and shyly replied “You could say that… Joss, right? You must be her son. And if that is the case then I’m one of your aunts”. Joss became wide eyed and looked to his mother, seeking clarity.

Vanessa added “Yes. She is one of your mother’s sisters… As you know, I come from another village far east of here… There I had a family that gifted away their daughters here and there. I was married to your father who had his own property and was a promising knight back then… As for Jaqueline. She suited the taste of the lord better and was gifted to him as a ‘close’ servant”.

Having come to that point, both women secretly agreed to talk privately. Before they went behind closed doors, the children managed to hear Vanessa ask “I thought you were given to lord Blaise as one of his mistresses. How come you were selected as a give away servant? Did you offend the lord somehow?”...

****

Halfway through december, while the lords enjoyed events, such as the Winter Weddings. The peasants had their own rituals and pastimes. One of them was Ice Dipping.

William and Joss were getting ready to join the flock of children. They would travel together, down to the frozen north side of the lake.

Joss had already flung any piece of clothing he had on his body, onto the floor. He then flipped a ‘towel’ onto his shoulder and took a glance at his sister. Said sister, William, meant that he was ready as well and draped something like a towel over himself.

But Joss wasn’t pleased with this getup and said “Mirabelle! You can’t keep your undergarment on! Mother says it’ll take forever to dry and we don’t have that many spares… So take it off”. William stared at Joss then down at his lower part…

To be honest, it wasn’t because he was too shy to show off his naked body to other children. Heck, he had only recently become ‘clean’, not needing adults to help him do his business. It was just that he himself, hadn’t really accepted those parts that had replaced the old ones… At least not yet! They felt wrong and he didn’t dare touch nor look at them. So how could he let others gawk between his legs!?

All in all, It felt really wrong…

Joss rolled his eyes and said “Don’t worry. I’m sure there’ll be tons of other girls this year!”. William thought of the possibility of mingling between his fellow sex and could relax a bit more. He thought that as long as he wasn’t the only girl there, then it might not be so bad. So William grabbed reluctantly his undergarment and threw it to the side. Comforting himself that he was only nearing 2 years old. And so there wasn’t much to look at, besides baby fat...

As they came out the entrance Joss and William got a view of this year’s participants. There were around 50 kids from the age of 2-10.

This was William’s first time Ice Dipping. He’d heard that it got implemented, because a famous doctor meant it would strengthen the body against the cold. Two strong male adults were selected to guide the children, make the hole in the ice and rescue the kids if something should go wrong.

William had to hold a few tears back from regret. He didn’t see a single soul that resembled a girl. Why!? He lamented.

Joss who saw this reaction could only giggle at how miserable William was. The rascal explained “Oh well… I don’t know why, but the past 5 years no girls have shown up. Those fairies have all grown up and none have been born since. But hey? Maybe next year there’ll only be girls?”.

William gave Joss a scornful look, as he tried to ignore all the kids who stared at him. “Wawever!” William spat as he took a step back to hide behind his brother.

When most of the kids had gathered, the adults started leading them away. William and Joss made up the back of the young trail. With each step they got further and further behind. Distancing themselves from the group. William clutched the towel so it got tighter around his body. Both because it was insanely cold and because he didn’t want the mischievous wind to flash his privates more than necessary...

The view was stunning at this time of the year. Although the mainland was bare and filled with gnarly trees, the lake stretched far and wide in a pearly, shimmering white. If you were lucky, you could see the camellias break through the snow and show themselves. They were a deep red and pink, often sprouting in full bloom amongst glossy bottle-green leaves.

Amidst the amazing sight, William could hear wood being knocked against the stone paved road. He turned his head, to include another being in this winter scenery… It was Harvick.

The poor sucker could finally walk again with the help from a crutch. However, his bone couldn’t grow back like it should and so his right leg became permanently shorter than his left. Resulting in the young boy limping along the others who walked. Harvick seemed still a bit pained. Of course it wasn’t only his leg that he hurt in the fall.

The bruises and scrapes were just not anything new.

Harvick used his left hand to support himself to the crutch. The other was holding onto a lining sack that rested on his spine. William couldn’t help but smile, seeing that Harvick seemed to have gained some colour back in his face. He didn’t know that Harvick’s limping was permanent…

Harvick closed his eyes while he showed them a pleasing smile. Then he asked “Where are you going?”. Joss looked Harvick up and down and said “Can’t you see? We’re on our way for the Ice Dipping…”. This sentence made Harvick confused.

He closed the distance between them and asked “Ah… Is it that thing where you jump in the lake to better withstand the cold?.. Sorry… I never really got to participate before, so I didn’t know…”.

Joss eyed the sack and asked “Oh, why?.. And do you need help carrying that?”. Harvick shook his head and replied “Nah… I’ll handle it myself… And the reason. I don’t really know why. But my m-... Grettel said it was a waste of hours meant for work and a fool’s pastime…”. Joss simply nodded and clapped Harvick on the back “Well that’s that!.. By the way, it’s really good to see you up again. I can’t wait for us to finish that race! I hate that mother had to interrupt us the last time before we could find the winner. So... As soon as your leg is healed, we’ll race again, okay!?”.

Harvick laughed at this. Letting Joss himself interpret whether or not that was a yes or no.

William felt it was painful to hear that laugh. Although he couldn’t point out exactly the reason why…

His mind was constantly replaying the first time he met Harvick. What his mother had threatened the child with…

In this time where boys and men were treasured as potential military securement and means to gain honor, they were meant to be treated with respect and good will. Yet Grettel had whipped and tormented her son…

Maybe the reason he wasn’t allowed to attend these Ice Dippings, was because his body would reveal the mistreatment that Grettel put Harvick through?..