Winter’s Solstice
Chapter P/?
By Baine
Email: ladybaine at gmail dot com
Written: February 6th, 2008
Posted: February 12, 2008
Whew, AU fics are scarce around here, no? And this will be a time period legend-type fic, no less, so it’s AU to the extreme. It’ll still feature Pete and Tazusa and frozen ice, but for the sake of this story, the story we all know and love doesn’t exist—at ALL. Just an FYI.
If this prologue doesn’t whet your whistle, come back for Chapter One when the story actually begins…please?
Also, for anyone interested in reading the Ginban Kaleidoscope novels, I have very exciting news for you, so please check the AN at the end of this chapter!
Finally, I’ve started writing “And the World Fell Down Again,” but almost nobody read it. So I wonder if it’s because my summary was sucky and the first chapter mostly paralleled the anime? I tried adding onto the summary a little, and the next chapter will be up soon, so please read it! It’s not all the same old story you thought you knew, and the idea was spawned by something that actually happens in the anime if you pay attention, and I’ll talk about that more once I type up the next chapter! Please read it and tell me what you think!
Ah, sorry for the long notes! Without further ado, I bring you...
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Winter’s Solstice
Prologue: Legend of the Phantom Skater
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The ice glittered dangerously beneath the light of the full moon. The otherwise quiet night was disrupted by the crackle of snow and smothered giggles as a small group of teenagers slowly made their way down a hill. One of the girls threw back her head as she stumbled, reaching out to grab hold of the boy beside her for support. Her hood fell backwards and her dark hair bumbled out like spilled ink.
Holding his friend upright, the boy grumbled, “Watch where you’re going, idiot! You almost knocked me over.”
“Would you rather I’d fallen face-first?”
He shrugged, laughing and jumping backwards as she aimed a well-packed snowball his way, causing his navy parka to sport glittering white polka dots.
“H-Hey! I’ll get you for that!” He reached down and began gathering together his own ammunition.
Loud squeals and screeches erupted as the four friends engaged in an all-out snowball fight, not stopping until they were at the edge of the frozen lake.
Pulling her hood back up, the dark-haired girl turned and asked, “Isn’t this the haunted lake?”
The other female in the group gasped, he amber-flecked eyes growing large and round. “H-Haunted? What do you mean?”
“You mean you haven’t heard the legend?” A boy wearing a red parka slung his arm across her shoulder. “They say that every year at midnight on the eve of the Winter’s Solstice, a phantom skater will appear. If it’s snowing, she’ll be reunited with her lover.”
“The Winter’s Solstice? Isn’t that tonight?”
“Yep.”
She swallowed and glanced uneasily at the lake. “What if it doesn’t snow?”
He wriggled his fingers at her and lowered his voice. “She’ll haunt the lake alone and eat the souls of anyone who dares to disrupt her mourning.”
“Oh, she does not,” tsked the dark-haired girl, smacking the boy on his shoulder. “Stop trying to scare us.”
“It must be terribly lonely,” mused the other girl, cutting off hr friends’ playful banter.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, it never snows during the Winter’s Solstice. The day’s always unusually warm, allowing us to hold our annual festival.”
“Well, that’s because there’s a curse,” stated the other boy, brushing snow off his blue parka.
“A curse?”
“Yeah, you see, as punishment for her former sins, a powerful sorceress made it so that on this day, it’s never cold enough to snow...”
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Dun-dun-dun! And so our story begins...
What do you think about the legend aspect of this story? Are you intrigued, or will you know more once you’ve read more? I’m interested to know, so please tell me! I had the idea back in October, but got caught up with Nano and the holidays. The idea stewed on the back burner until this week and now it’s going in a new direction. I finished the first chapter and wrote the second today, and not only are they longish, imo, the story is going to be one of my better ones, so I REALLY hope you like it!!!
And now, the news that you’ve all been waiting for! I know some of you are dying to read the Ginban novels and find out what happens as much as I am. As some of you know, I’m currently living in Japan (via JET). In December, I went to a nearby bookstore and treated myself to a special Christmas present. Because I’m sad that no one has translated any of the Ginban Kaleidoscope novels and that the tale goes beyond the Pete arc, I decided to buy all nine of the books! I also bought both volumes of the manga, even though they only cover the anime arc. Now, my Japanese isn’t very good (I’m somewhere between the 4th and 3rd Level on the national exam, with 4 being the worst and 1 being the best), but I’m going to try to translate the stories for you alongside my trusty denshi jisho (Best kind of dictionary EVER if you want to truly study Japanese). It will be hard, grueling work, especially because the nine volumes are actually (light) *novels* rather than manga [Which means, 1) No pictures, and 2) Not all of the kanji has furigana], but I’m going to try my best!
If any of you are good at Japanese—or know someone who is—and want to help, please get in touch with me by commenting here or via my profile. I’d really appreciate the help!
Are you even interested in reading the rest of Tazusa’s story? Please tell me so I know if I should put in the effort or not!!
Like it? Hate it? I’m the one to talk to! Hit the little review button or e-mail ladybaine at gmail dot com today! Please send this story—and me—a little love if you’re enjoying it (It IS the week of LOVE after all!)! Onegaishimasu!
«•´`•.(*•.¸(`•.¸ ¸.•´)¸.•*).•´`•»
«•´¨*•.¸¸. *Baine*.¸¸.•*¨`•»
«•´`•.(¸.•´(¸.•* *•.¸)`•.¸).•´`•»
