Inbetween the path to the town of ice and the palace of crystal, the blizzard forced an emergency stop. Six inches of snow dropped in merely an hour, and the path was lost beneath. They had to stop, or fear growing lost.

            Jim just wasn't equipped to handle the cold. He was extremely sensitive to cold, and it wouldn't be long before his body was wracked with violent, uncontrollable shivers. He kept his piercing dark eyes forward and calm, though. He knew if he were to crack, then his brother would too. Then all would be lost. He shook more snow out of his pale red hair, and let his eyes roam the white terrain. He was nowhere near as courageous or persistent as his precious brother, but he had made a vow long ago to protect the boy. His brother was highly unwell. Jim had become a protector long before his current status changed in the nation, and it was a burden he bore with pride. He'd nearly lost his brother once, and he would be damned if he lost him again.

            Surprisingly, Daniel didn't seem to be trembling as bad. The younger boy's green eyes were directed up into the gray clouds, looking for a break in the snow. His messy, dirty blonde hair was blowing softly about in the gusts. From a first guess, no one would ever imagine this child to be so damned. Since his childhood, his life was riddled with curses and evil. So much that the boy went insane. His brain permanently froze at eight years old, then seemed to unlock at fifteen, when he renamed himself to forget his past. His past, however, was not so quick to let him go. His anger or his sadness would consume him, causing him to snap back into his "frozen age." This was why Jim had to stay close. Daniel nearly died of self-neglect at ten.

            "Daniel, we're going to freeze out here." Jim muttered after a moment.

            "We'll be fine," the younger brother replied confidently. Jim smiled and believed him. Daniel knew no obstacle he couldn't overcome. "We'll find a cave, and we'll be fine."

            "I hope so."

            The brothers traced a path in the whiteout, trying to leave a trail that was immediately covered when they moved. Jim was shuddering profusely, eyes at the ground. He'd lost all feeling in his limbs, and the tingling of the numbness pained him when he walked. But he ignored it, not willing to let Daniel move on alone. They had come together on this mission, and a little chill and pain would not stop them from succeeding. People depended on them. His brother depended on him. This was his drive, and he managed to look up and pick up speed.

            Daniel had started to shiver too. He'd long since abandoned his jacket to give to his brother, knowing of his sensitivity. The poor, cursed boy was so damn selfless. He pointed up ahead, finding a refuge. They ran within the small cavern and sat down. Eventually a fire was made. Daniel tended to it while Jim eventually fell asleep. Shortly after, a conversation ensued.

            "How'd you know there was a cave out here, Daniel?" Jim asked quietly.

            Daniel smiled, albeit sadly. "I learned when I was nine. I had to learn. If I didn't, Kelly would have died."

            "Oh." Jim looked down, remembering his own tragic mistakes. "Right."

            "Jim, you couldn't help it," Daniel explained upon seeing the pain in his brother's eyes. "You were a kid, Jim. You didn't know any better."

            That mistake from so many years ago was Jim's darkest secret. How he had abandoned Daniel and Kelly after their older sister was kidnapped by the evil people. When Daniel had needed him the most, he had fled. It was by the purest shot of luck that they were all reunited years later. Jim had never let his mistake die, and it was most of the reason he stayed so close to the younger boy now.

            "You keep saying that," Jim sighed, "but even a ten-year-old knows what hurts another."

            Daniel curled up tight and shivered softly, his eyes closed tight. Jim became alarmed.

            "Daniel? Are you becoming eight again? Please don't do this now..." He saw an episode approaching. The color was draining from Daniel's already pale face.

            Jim grasped the boy by both shoulders and shook him. "Don't you do this to me now, damnit. Don't turn eight on me. I need you to stay with me..."

            Daniel's eyes opened again, and were distant and hurting. He was silent, bearing that horridly timid expression of his childhood. Jim kicked himself quietly, realizing that he'd triggered the sadness, causing his brother to go into his spells. Not knowing what else to do, he held Daniel close and tried to talk him back.

            "I didn't mean to upset you," he said. "You just... you know how I get."

            Daniel's soft voice whispered, "Even a nine-year-old knows pain."

            Jim looked taken aback and ashamed. "Daniel..."

            "A child knows how to hurt and a child knows pain." His green eyes went to the wall. "Some children know forgiveness. Others don't."

            Jim let Daniel go and felt sick in his stomach. He wanted to talk, but words suddenly eluded him. His sick brother was staring him in the eyes now with anger.

            "Why don't you just go on and abandon me now, huh?" Daniel accused. "You had no trouble doing it years ago."

            "You know better!" Jim shot back in defense. "You know that it wasn't that way!"

            Daniel was up on his feet now, pointing angrily. "You want to call yourself my brother? After you ran away from the family? After you left me and Kelly to handle two losses instead of one?"

            "Stop it," Jim snapped, feeling a strange anger beginning to brew.

            "That's being a good brother?" Daniel pressed.

            "Daniel, stop-" Jim's voice was raising.

            He cut him off. "That's not being anything but selfish!"

            "What the hell are—"

            "You're a selfish man, Jameson! It won't be long before you do it again!"

            Jim shook his head. "No! Damn you, why the hell do you think I came searching for you?" He yelled.

            Daniel pushed Jim up on the wall. "You'll do it again. What kind of brother are you?"

            Jim pushed back, and violently. Daniel's pathetic body seemed to crash into the wall and crumble. Jim stepped up slightly, snatching the unprepared boy off the ground. "One who won't tolerate someone else's insensitivity, that's what."

            "You can't tolerate insensitivity, yet you dole it out so willingly?" Daniel seemed to smile.

            "You think you know everything!" Jim cried angrily, thrusting the boy against the wall again. The cavern echoed with the sound, some snow falling from the roof.

            Daniel seemed to persist, despite seeming unable to get himself up off the floor. "And now you're going to what? Going to tell me how I should appreciate all you've done? Like abandoning me, lying about your reasons, and now this?"

            Jim gave a violent kick to his brother's side. "You don't know!"

            The beaten boy uttered one more statement. "I know what death sounds like."

 

            A slight sound stirred Jim back into reality. He wobbled on his feet, realizing he had been dreaming. He felt sick all over again, fearing to look at the ground by his feet. He managed to look down, his dear brother lying on the floor. His skin was an awful bluish color, and he was shivering.

            Jim threw off the jackets and wrapped his brother in them. Daniel was so cold to the touch, and Jim panicked.

            "Damnit, Daniel... why didn't you take one of these jackets?" Jim asked him.

            "Be...cause," Daniel stammered nearly inaudibly. "I... I wanted to pay you... back for... everything you've done for me."

            "Don't you die on me, Daniel..." Jim was unaware he was crying fearfully and in guilt of his dream.

            "We'll...be just...fine." Daniel's voice was fading, and his gentle eyes weren't staying open. His persistence was finally starting to die, and with it was him.

            "Damn... please don't die on me. What the hell am I supposed to do if you die?"

            Daniel's face lit up in smile. "Know... that... we're even. And that... you don't have to... spend your... life chasing... after me."

            Jim picked up his brother and sprinted through the snowfall, luckily finding civilization. But by the time he'd arrived, he already knew. He took him to a clinic, where the boy lay in a bed covered in heavy quilts.

            "Sir, you are aware..." The doctor tilted a head at the redhead, who had stayed by the bedside for several hours.

            "I know," the boy replied gently. He knew that once he left here, he'd be completely lost. He would never be able to forgive himself. He'd vowed he would never let harm befall Daniel; vowed he'd never lose him again. Yet, he knew that a troubled soul had found its safety. All he could do was cry quietly, his heart broken.

            "Then maybe you should go get some rest." The doctor suggested. "He'll be taken care of."

            Jim nodded his head, wiping the continuous stream of tears from his face. "But... I have to be sure... he's warm and comfortable while he sleeps..."