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Winter of 1765

The boy curled up into a tiny ball as he began to rise from his deep slumber. It seemed to have gotten colder overnight and no matter how tight William wrapped his covers it didn’t make him any warmer.

As his eyes peeked over the covers, he could see the sun slowly rising out of his window, which meant in a couple of hours the festivities would begin.

William loved Christmas; it was his favorite time of the year. It was the day that his family would actually act like one…in a way. His father usually worked both days, which left him and his mother to do whatever they pleased. They could laugh and yell at the top of their lungs if they wanted to. They would run rampant through out their mansion, playing games to their hearts content or until they collapsed on to the floor in exhaustion.

However, since the Summers family was here for the holidays that meant that Ethan would be home and would be watching every move William made. The older man had made that point very clear during their last ‘session’ together.

Reaching over to his bedside table, William grasped the mirror tightly in his hands and brought it over to his face. A slight smile caught the boy’s lips as he stared back at his reflection. The bruise that had marred his face had now disappeared completely, leaving nothing but the memory of it.

A swift rap on his door startled William and he immediately dove underneath his covers.

"William? You up?" Abigail called as she slowly opened the door. It was almost time for breakfast and she wanted to get him ready. A smirk caught her lips as she saw him wrapped in his covers pretending to sleep. "Come now boy, no time for silly games." She chuckled as she poked him playfully in the ribs. His pretense was over as his forehead scrunched up and a joyful giggle spilled from his mouth. "You know not to play games with me William Matthew Rayne."

"Sorry Abby." He giggled once again as he sat up in bed and watched as she went about the room, gathering up his clothes and prepared his water basin. He ducked his head as he stared intensely at his covers. "I feel better today." He whispered.

The nanny briefly took her eyes off of the water basin to look at the boy. Although his face was hidden from view, Abigail could hear the relieved tone in his voice. "That is good William. Your mother will be glad to hear it. And I do believe that your friends will be glad to hear it as well. They have been fretting about you for the last couple of days."

"Naturally." The boy smirked as he threw the covers off of his small frame and let his nanny start the process of getting him ready. As she was washing his face, William asked, "Do you think I will be here forever Abby?"

Closing her eyes and letting out a deep sigh, Abigail responded. "I don’t know, but I hope not. Such bad things should not happen to good people. My mum taught me that."

William grinned happily at his nanny. "Mum told me that eventually I could go live with Xander on his farm in the country! Mum always tells the most wonderful stories about the farm. She said I could ride horses as much as I wanted to and that my Uncle Henry could take me out hunting and fishing!" His voice was full of excitement and future wonder.

"I’m sure you’ll be happy, William." The nanny told him honesty. Carefully, Abigail removed his current clothing and proceeded to dress him in one of his finest suits. This time it was black. Mrs. Rayne had always said how wonderful the color complimented him. Taking him by the shoulders, Abigail directed him in front of the mirror to see him. "Do you like it?"

The boy’s face beamed as he tugged at the lapels of his dress coat. "Yes, I do."

It was then that William’s front door flew open to reveal a smiling Elizabeth. "You healthy now?" She asked; her voice filled with hope. William nodded with enthusiasm, which lead the girl to come running over to him and throw her arms around his neck in a large hug. "You missed a lot of games."

"I know."

Abigail shook her head as she took Elizabeth by the hand and began to tug her out of the room. "Run along now Elizabeth, your mum will wantin’ to get you prepared for breakfast."

Elizabeth waved goodbye to the boy as she and Abigail made their way back to her and Willow’s room.

~*~

Ethan huffed as he swung the silk bed covers off of his form. With confidence he strode over towards his closet and took out his clothes for the day. He normally didn’t spend Christmas with Jennifer and William but this year he had to make an exception considering Rupert and Joyce were with him for the holidays. Ethan didn’t know how he would survive for the next two days.

"I see that you are still here." Jenny’s voice spoke out from the doorway. She hadn’t been watching him for very long.

"Yes," Ethan replied with a tone of his disdain in his voice. "How unfortunate for me." He sneered as he threw his coat over his shoulders and began to search for his cufflinks that he had worn the other day.

Jenny ducked her head and clasped her hands in front of her nervously. "William is better."

With a short yet annoyed growl, Ethan turned back to look at his wife. His blue eyes were bright and his hands were balled up into fists. His whole body radiated aggravation. "Why are you here Jennifer?"

"I just came to tell you how our son was!" She shouted at him. Her tone was sharp and her words were curt. Jenny didn’t mean to speak to him that way and because she did, she would get into trouble. "I thought you would want to know, considering you are the one who did that to him!"

Ethan growled as he immediately stalked over towards his wife and raised his hand at her. Jenny ducked down with fear and quickly shielded her face with her arms. When she felt no blow come to her, she gently pried her arms away from her face and looked up at her raging husband, whose hand was still raised steadily above his head. "Don’t test me Jennifer. Do not! You ever speak to me in that tone ever again, I will be forced to strike you."

Tears began to fill Jenny’s eyes as Ethan let his hand float back down to his side. Without giving her a second glance he stalked back over to his armoire and began rooting through the doors for his cufflinks.

"Leave now." He told her with a wave of his hand. "Go entertain our guests while I get ready."

Jenny’s body shook as she left her husband’s room. The picture of his raising his hand at her flashed over and over in her mind. It wouldn’t stop. It scared her half to death that William knew such fright and such sorrow.

As she approached the living room, Jenny could hear sweet laughter. She could hear the sound of her son and her nephew talking excitedly about what Santa would bring them tonight for being good. When William mentioned about Santa bringing him a horse, Mr. Giles asked him with a chuckle in his voice if he had been a good boy throughout the year. William only snorted at him with an ‘of course.’

Jenny stopped a couple of feet before the entrance to the living room. Quickly, she wiped her tears from her cheeks and easily slapped a wide smile across her lips. With a long intake of breath, she confidently marched into the room. "Merry Christmas all." She greeted joyfully.

"Mum!" William bolted up from his seat on the floor next to Xander and Willow and ran into his mother’s waiting embrace. "Happy Christmas, mum."

"Merry Christmas, my son." She replied gently, running her hands lightly through his tousled locks.

The day had seemed to pass by quickly for both families. Breakfast was served at exactly a quarter till eight. They sat and drank and ate to their hearts content. Then while the children went outside to play in the snow, the adults curled up next to the fire as they discussed business and gossiped about people in town. It wasn’t until later that night, after dinner, that both families joined once again in the living room.

It was tradition with the Rayne’s that William be allowed to open two presents before Christmas day. And this year, the Summers were able to participate.

Xander’s hands nervously twitched as he stared at the mounds and mounds of presents before him. With shyness he leaned over towards his cousin and whispered, "which one are you going to take first?"

"I don’t know." William’s eyes carefully scanned the high stack of presents, eagerly searching for his name. "I am going to take the biggest one though."

"You should wait for the biggest ones until tomorrow." Willow piped in while looking over at the two boys.

William quirked an eyebrow at the now blushing redhead, "and why is that?"

"I j-just think that…" The redhead ducked her head shyly and then shook her head. " I do not know. It seems like the better thing to do."

Elizabeth grinned as she snatched a present from the pile and began to shake it eagerly next to her head. "I wonder what it is?" She beamed, continuing to shake it.

"Probably a lump of coal!" William snickered at the girl. He got such joy from teasing and annoying her.

"You lie!" She scolded him with a show of her tongue before setting the present in between her legs and began to tear at the paper. Her face only brightened when she got a look of what was inside the box. "Oh, mother, it is pretty!" The girl brought the dress out of its box and held it out in front of her to show everyone. "Isn’t it pretty?"

"Yes dear, it is lovely." Rupert grinned at his daughter as she began to dance with it across the room. "You will look like a princess in it."

William shook his head at the dancing girl before looking for his own present from the pile. A package from Rupert had caught his eye and he eagerly took it.

"Is it alright if I open your gift, Mr. Summers?" He asked, his voice full of hope. The older man couldn’t help but grin at him. He was a special boy and Rupert could tell that he had wonderful potential to do something great. If only he would be given the support and love to do so.

"I do not see any reason why not?" Rupert chuckled as the boy eagerly tore into the paper.

A look of excited glee passed over William’s face when he finally got a first look at his gift. It was a red hardback novel, covered with golden swirls and drawings of golden coins but surprisingly had no title.

The boy’s eyebrows furrowed as he looked over his shoulder at Mr. Summers. "What is it?"

"Well, ‘tis a book William."

William slightly rolled his eyes with a smirk on his lips. "I know that, but what is it about. It has no title."

Rupert crouched down beside the boy and gently took the book from his hands. Slowly he leaned in close with a wicked grin on his face. "It’s about pirates." He whispered quite dramatically as if it were a big secret between only to the two of them even though everyone else in the room could hear them.

"Really?" William gasped with excitement as he snatched the book from the older man’s grasp and hugged it tightly against his small chest. "Pirates!" His eyes were wide and he was looking at Rupert with such fascination. At the sight of this, Ethan sent a sharp glare at the two.

Worthless child, he snarled inwardly as Rupert continued to discuss the book with William. See how he can be easily corrupted. Pirates! How can he be fascinated by such ideas?

Ethan cleared his throat as he began to rise from his seat next to Jenny. "Will you all excuse me for a minute?" He the turned his attention towards his wife and extended his hand towards her. "Jennifer, may I speak with you for a moment?"

Jenny took his hand and let herself to be lead towards Ethan’s study. William watched this with confusion. His father seemed bothered by something. Why did he need to talk to his mother? Was it something that William did?

"Do you like it?" The sound of Rupert’s voice snapped his attention away from his parents and back towards the older man.

"I love it!" He replied with glee as he hugged his book tighter against his chest. "I am going to put it in my room!"

William jumped up from his spot on the floor and began to run towards the stairs when he heard the sounds of his mother and father in an argument. Quietly as possible, William crept towards the door, the sounds of their argument growing louder and louder.

"…it’s not right at all." His father whispered harshly as he continued to pace in his office. Jenny stood to the side with her arms crossed over her chest and an almost frightened look on her face.

"It’s just a book Ethan." She shook her head while he continued to pace up and down. "Nothing to fret about."

"I can fret if I want to Jennifer!" He roared, marching up to her face and stuck his finger in her face. The dark haired woman flinched and began to back away slowly with fear. "This is why he is the way he is Jennifer. You treat him as if he is a child! How is he supposed to be a man!"

"He is a child Ethan, if you have not realized it!" She barked at him. Inside she was shaking to death. "You try and make him into something he isn’t. He is only nine Ethan, not nineteen."

"And I bet by the time that boy is nineteen he will be as useless and worthless as he is now!" Ethan snapped at her before he began to pace the study once again.

Tears began to well up in William’s eyes. With a quiet sob the boy tore himself away from the study and quickly dashed up to his room without anyone seeing or noticing him.

No more.

He could feel the tears caress his cheeks now as he began to pull clothes out of their drawers and throwing them across the room at the foot of his bed. Wiping them away, he gathered the clothes and placed them in his blanket and made a pouch out of it.

I could go to the coast. He thought, wrapping a scarf around his neck to keep it away from the cold harsh winds of winter. Sneak on to a ship and become a pirate…like in my book that Mr. Summers gave me. He placed his mittens on his hands and then snatched his book from the bed and clutched it protectively to his chest. I will come back for mother and Xander eventually and bring them with me. We can all sail the seas together. I might even bring that Elizabeth girl as well. I will show father that I am not useless or worthless.

Letting a few more tears fall from his face, William quickly ducked out of his room and down the hall towards another staircase that the servants used the majority of the time. William was glad that most of them were either busy in the kitchen or had been given the day off by his mother earlier this morning.

With soft steps William quickly made his way down and into the servants living quarters and out their back door into the harsh winds of outside. The chilly air nipped at his nose as he began to trudge through the thick snow. Rubbing his nose, William hadn’t fully realized how cold it truly was. The snow was 5 inches thick and as he continued to drag through it, the colder his ankles and feet became.

After two hours of walking, William had no idea how close he was to the coast. All he had seen so far was the back end of several mansions and buildings. He wondered how long it would take him to reach the coast. He had never seen the ocean before and just the excitement of sailing and living there was nothing short of spectacular.

The frigid temperature of both the snow and the atmosphere was now staring to get to him. His ankles and feet felt stiff. He could barely move his toes…he could barely even feel them. And the mittens he had put on earlier did no use. His fingers were now ice cold and it felt like his entire body was being stabbed by a thousand knives. This had to be the worst pain he had ever been in. It was excruciating.

He felt tired. He felt weak. Time seemed to move in slow motion. Every step seemed to take an hour and every breath he let out seemed to take a lifetime.

Suddenly, his eyes began to droop and his knees began to shake.

No. Cannot…stop. He began to chant over and over. He was trying to encourage himself to keep on going but his body was slowing down. His breathing became shallow and his heart rate began to decrease.

His body finally gave into the cold as his knees buckled and he fell to the ground. His face was buried in the snow and William did not have the strength or the will to get up. It was then that his eyes shut.

To be continued…





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