Flames of Betrayal

Staying at an Inn after a long journey was like being on the clouds, but Kurt's inner mechanism always wakes him up before the cawing of a town rooster.

He quietly walked out of the Inn and followed behind the early-rising merchants into the market district. A few folks were setting up their tents and best-selling items ranging from fresh produce to clothing.

Kurt tapped a man over the shoulder who was unloading his crates and asked if he could take a few of the empty ones next to him.

"Help yourself, my friend!"

Kurt walked back with a stack of crates and organized them in an open area to set up his knitted tablecloths. The sun began to rise higher and higher with the merchants restless to make a sale.

"Oh my goodness, these are so elegant! How much?"

A lady with a laced umbrella and rose pink dress asked Kurt as she kept on examining the stitching

"5 debbles."

She scoffed at him. "5?! These are worth more than that. Do me a favor and skip town." Her hand lets go of a pouch filled with debbles that scatter onto the crate. "I'm sure this is enough for all of them."

Dumbfounded by the interaction he hesitantly takes the pouch and stands up from his seat, looking at the direction of the lady who walked away contently with his knits.

That went better than I had expected...

Kurt loads up his backpack and leaves behind his stand of crates as he begins his way out of the district. After reaching the edge of the town, he looks back and takes in the busy scene.

"Hey, my friend!" A man running in between the crowds waves his arms around for him to notice and huffs out in relief for catching up.

It's that guy from earlier.

"I'm amazed, you sold out so quickly!"

"Ah, well that surprised me too."

"I sell winter clothes to the hunters who are going out north, please take it."

"But I'm not a-"

"No matter! The weather is getting colder anyways, so please take it."

The man's determination moved Kurt to take out his money pouch, but he took his arm and gently placed the clothes.

"It's a gift." A moment of silence strings out until he runs off again into the street of people, leaving Kurt behind speechless once more.

Nice to know there are still some good folks in the world.

The rhythmic clinks of his backpack began again at every step he took for miles and miles ahead...

It felt like months had passed since leaving Stonevalley and the pleasant air began to pierce the breath. Kurt started to wear the thick fleeced coat the merchant had gifted him and felt a tickle on the nose.

It's snowing.

After a while, his boots began to crunch as he had reached snowier terrain. A common folk would've froze by now, but this dense weather strangely brought Kurt comfort. By nightfall, he set up camp near the pine trees and managed to light a small fire, but something about it kept hypnotizing him.

Over the next few days, Kurt didn't leave the campsite and started to build around it. It was as if the wind was telling him he belonged here.

The log cabin was adorned with knitted charms that fluttered at the slight wind, and as Kurt kept on hanging them, crunching sounds caught his attention to look out at the snowy field.

A shivering man with a lanky silhouette had a dark brown cloak covering him and a lit cigarette in his mouth. He stops and draws his head slowly back and forth admiring the knits, not minding Kurt at all.

"Can I help you?"

The man shook his head embarrassed spitting out his cigarette onto the snow.

"Sorry, my name is Charles Shay. I don't usually come around these parts, so it's surprising to see a home out here in the cold."

Kurt nodded and went on again to hang the knits hoping the guy would leave, but he kept on talking...

"Do you own these lands?"

"No..."

"Can you teach me to do that?" Charles pointed at the knits.

"Pardon?"

"I won't bother you, promise! I-I'll build my own home."

Just as Kurt was about to retort, the man kneeled his head on the snow begging him to teach.

What in the world...

"Please stand up...fine I'll teach you." Kurt sighed at the thought he had lost his peace, but the man was beyond thrilled and stood up quickly as he began to look around for wood.

The deal was that Charles needed to finish his home first before Kurt could teach him hoping to salvage some quiet time, but he finished his cabin in 3 days!

Kurt was sitting at the table in front of the window with Charles' newly built home in view, dreading the knock on his door. 

A dry "Come in" was all that Kurt managed to breathe out for him to open the door. Charles took in the view of his home and noted how simple it was: one bed, fireplace, a single cabinet, and a square table with two chairs.

He sat across from Kurt attentively listening to his instructions. The needles and yarn were laid out on the table and they began to knit together. 

It became part of the daily routine now, between late morning, Charles would come by, knit for a couple of hours, and leave in the late afternoon. After a few days, Charles' knitting was less ugly than before.

After a lesson, Kurt took a light nap on his bed but was woken up by the sound of voices coming from outside his cabin. A bit distorted by his sleepiness, he manages to open his door slowly only to be taken aback at the line of people with none other than Charles with a table in welcoming chatter. 

In confusion at what was going on, Kurt approached Charles from behind in stingy whispers about what were these people doing. He happily explained that one night a family had approached him and asked for shelter during their travels. After they parted ways to reach the next town, the family shared their story about a man who lives in the snow and their knitting apprentice. 

"I didn't think much of it, but isn't that great! We won't be by ourselves anymore and you can be the leader of a new town!"

Kurt was beyond annoyed as he had no intention of being a town leader, but as he was about to say something, a man with his wife and 3 little girls interrupted. 

"My daughter loves your knits, sir Kurt, it would mean so much to my daughters to be their teacher." 

The girls had their arms interlocked tightly and smiled at Kurt reminding him of Lilly. He turns his back on the line of people and blatantly tells Charles that he'll teach them with the same conditions he had with him and instead, he should be town leader.

The family bowed and yelled out a  "Thank you!" as Kurt walked back inside his cabin. Charles looks down at the paper with a light smirk as the next person prints out their name. 

By the next few days, the men had started to build their cabins as the women and children (both girls and boys) crowded around Kurt's home. Some had promising techniques more than others, but overall better than his first student, who began to turn up absent since he assumed the role of leader.

There were about 20 homes by now and Kurt began to adjust. He found out by one of the settlers that Charles had named the town Snowbell.

"He named it after you Mister Kurt!" The ladies chimed in on the conversation, but Kurt could care less. After the lecture was over, everyone bid goodbye to him for the day. 

Kurt began to clean up and sit on the bed to read through some letters from his backpack. There was a knock on the door and without looking up, Kurt gestured a "Come in."

Charles makes his way inside and places a basket of fruit on Kurt's table. He sits, takes an apple, and bites it down asking him how he's been doing. Kurt's concentration was still on his letters as he grunted an answer, but the chair thuds, and the letters fly around. 

Charles tackled Kurt, hands around his neck as he struggled to push him off by gripping his wrists.

His voice rasps at the lack of air but gets knocked down as Charles flings an arm away from his grip and punches the side of his head. 

Why is he trying to kill me?...

Kurt unconsciously lets go of his remaining wrist and Charles moves away from his body as he takes out a blade, but just as he is about to stab him, the flames from the chimney begin to violently engulf the cabin as if it were a serpent slithering in between the two men.

A frightening yell wakes up the residents; they're terrified at the sight of Kurt's home on fire. The men began to scurry around and fiercely shovel lumps of snow to sizzle it out. Around the back of the house, a young man felt something warm trickle down his hand. 

"What is that-..." He fell to the ground startling the other men next to him and they looked up to what he was seeing.

"Who would do such a thing!? Get him down!" 

The young man stumbled back on his feet with the others to pull down the lifeless body of Charles Shay. The log cabin hissed as the fire was put out, emitting dense smoke marking the tragedy. 

It was declared that Kurt died in the fire and as much as everyone was riled up to know who did it, no one stood up to take the task of investigating.

Instead, after properly burying Charles, little by little, the settlers began to leave behind their home and Snowbell was left bare with two tombstones of Kurt and Charles.