Time passed rather uneventfully for Felix after he returned from the main house. Fortunately, the duchess hadn’t gone out of her way to cause trouble for either Isabella or Felix, so the following 2 months were relatively peaceful, despite the regular encounters with his mother’s guests.

Felix had a niggling feeling, however, that Isadora was simply biding her time before she made a move, and with that feeling came an anxious desire to get stronger, but there wasn’t much he could do in the meantime.

All Felix could do in the months leading up to his birthday was to devote himself to push-ups, sit-ups, and squats whenever he could. These seemed like the only realistic options to strengthen himself in the short term, and even if he hadn’t done them in years, he still remembered the form.

Initially, the exercises were quite cumbersome as he had just learnt to walk, never mind control his body enough to successfully pull off these exercises. There were more than a few falls as he tried to maintain his balance, but eventually, he was able to get the hang of them with his developing body and make it into a regular routine.

The volume he could pull off each day was limited considering his circumstances, however, the steadily increasing volume coupled with his regular activities with Isabella gave him the impression they were having a positive impact. Not to mention the euphoria he felt at being able to push his body without breaking down into a coughing fit.

He began to eat a lot more to compensate for the energy burned during the exercise otherwise he would stunt his own growth, which was far from desirable. Isabella was shocked at the amount of food he was consuming, but he didn’t seem to be at an unhealthy weight for a child, so she let it be.

If anything, Felix seemed to be losing some of his baby fat, which probably came as a shock to Isabella, but Felix assumed she was aware of the exercises he was doing and just didn’t think much of it. Like this, 2 months passed following the encounter with Isadora, and Felix was celebrating his 2nd full year on this planet.

*

This year his birthday was held outside for a change, as it was a snow day. Despite being born in the middle of winter, the previous year on his birthday there was no snow to be seen, and the chilly breeze provided little incentive to spend the day outside. This year, however, was different.

Isabella helped Felix dress into thick, snug clothes to the point where he almost looked like a small mound of fur, before donning a thick cloak of her own. With Felix in one gloved hand and Sebastian in the other, Isabella made her way outside with an apparent spring in her step, as the two children followed her closely.

Stepping through the door leading out into the garden, Felix was greeted by a rich canvas of white. Fresh white snow was falling steadily onto established sediments, which gave the picture an endless quality. Felix let out a soft gasp as a cold gust of wind hit his face, and watched his breath slowly condense in the air.

Novel experiences like these really made Felix feel grateful for his new life. Snow wasn’t alien to him, but it was ill-advised for a sick person to spend much time out in freezing cold weather. Felix discreetly wiped away a solitary tear, before breaking out into a beaming smile. Turning to look at Isabella, she had a smug smile as if she had been expecting his reaction, and she gestured for him to go and have fun, which he gladly accepted.

The crunch of fresh snow underfoot was one of the most satisfying sounds one could hear, and the chilling feel of snow on exposed skin really let you know that you were alive. That chilling feeling rapidly intensified as Felix was subjected to a large snowball in the face!

Wiping off his face he caught sight of the obvious culprit Sebastian smiling victoriously as if he’d found a nice opportunity to blow off some steam. Felix laughed a bright, refreshing laugh as he reveled in a sensation that he hadn’t been able to experience in a long, long time.

Felix quickly bent down and collected as much snow as his tiny mitts could carry, before running after the mischievous brat. Felix had gotten stronger but if he wanted a satisfying impact, he would need to get up close and personal.

The next few minutes consisted of the duo running each other ragged trying to get a clean hit in. It ended up being a fairly even contest, despite Sebastian’s apparent physical superiority. The snowball fight also offered Felix the opportunity to vent some of the grievances he had with the older boy over the past year, and the boy’s sign of surrender was a welcome sight.

Felix ‘coincidentally’ didn’t register his surrender before unleashing a final belter, but he couldn’t go too far after Sebastian’s forfeit, unfortunately, as he was a lot more mature (mentally) and had to be the bigger person.

Over the following hour Felix, Sebastian, and even Isabella had fun in the snow, as the trio went about making snowmen to represent each of them. Sticks for arms and stones for eyes were easy to find, but the manor’s head cook wasn’t too pleased she had to part with some of her carrots for the nose.

Both the snowball fight and the snowman building were incredibly enjoyable, but Felix’s favourite experience was making snow angels. Felix particularly enjoyed the cold sensation that enveloped him, as it was definitely something ill-advised back when he was of poor health, and the feeling of snow falling directly onto his exposed face was refreshing, to say the least.

Eventually, Isabella called their time outside to an end, probably fearing that the two youngsters would be adversely affected by their prolonged exposure to the elements. Felix causally ceded to her request, but Sebastian was a bit more stubborn, as it appeared he hadn’t had enough fun outside yet.

Isabella easily coaxed him, however, as Felix’s ears pricked up at the mention of hot chocolate. Sebastian looked at Felix smirkingly, gesturing to the side door of the manor as if he were challenging the younger boy to a race back indoors, to which Felix happily accepted.

Felix relished the opportunity to teach the brat a lesson in humility. As if they’d agreed on a time beforehand, the duo immediately broke out into a sprint, or that’s what it should’ve been, but the combination of thick snow and thicker layers made it feel more like an aggressive toddle for Felix.

By virtue of his status, Sebastian’s thinner layers gave him an unfair(?) advantage, coupled with his relatively more coordinated limbs, and this was reflected in his steadily increasing lead as the race continued.

Felix hardly registered Isabella’s cry of caution as he focused on Sebastian’s fleeting back, but unfortunately despite his best efforts he just couldn’t recover the distance. Unlike Felix, however, it seemed as if Sebastian was too preoccupied with maintaining his lead that he failed to notice Emerson appear at the entrance to watch them until it was too late.

Felix winced as he watched Sebastian collide headfirst into Emerson’s legs. As a tired Felix caught up to Sebastian, he noticed the boy rubbing his head with tears in his eyes as Emerson looked down on him with a bemused expression.

Emerson then turned his attention to Felix, giving him the affable smile that Felix was used to seeing as if the grave expression he held at their last encounter was a lie.

“Happy birthday, young master. It pleases me to see you in such good health.”

“Fank yu!” Felix replied with a bright smile.

At this moment Isabella managed to catch up to the duo and gave Emerson a formal curtsey, to which Emerson turned to address her, saying “Hello Isabella, please make sure your son is more observant of his surroundings. Very few servants would take kindly to a small child bumping into them as they go about their duties.”

Isabella bowed deeply, saying “I sincerely apologise sir, it won’t happen again.”

“Make sure that it doesn’t.”

As Isabella helped Sebastian to his feet and checked him quickly for any bumps and bruises, Emerson spoke again but this time to all three. “Let’s get you all inside before anyone catches a cold.”

Complying with his request, the trio followed behind Emerson’s professional gait as they made their way into the parlour. Fortunately, the room had a fire stoked so it was already considerably warm, and the trio could do away with their damp outer garments.

Felix noticed that funnily enough, Emerson had not been wearing a cloak of any sort despite presumably traveling from the main house, and he wondered what kind of strong constitution the man had to not be affected by the freezing cold.

As the group made themselves comfortable by the warm fireplace, they were served four piping hot cups of hot chocolate and whipped cream for the children, as well as what Felix assumed to be black tea for the adults.

The drinks were accompanied by a tantalising strawberry cream cake, which Felix had enthusiastically conveyed to Isabella (as best as he could) was his choice again for this year. After singing Felix happy birthday, the quartet sat in silence enjoying the various treats available.

Felix looked up from his plate of treats to see the picturesque snowy landscape in all its glory outside the large parlour windows. Thinking about the day so far, he was immensely grateful for the second chance he had to experience all these novelties once again, without being impeded or distracted by any nerve-wracking pain.

Felix was interrupted from his musings by the abrupt clearing of Emerson’s throat, who began to speak after Felix gave him his attention.

“Young master, your father was pleased with your progress at your last meeting, and would like to know if you desire anything.”

Felix was momentarily surprised by this, which didn’t go unnoticed by Emerson, but Emerson simply looked to Felix silently as he waited for a response. Felix then turned his head to Isabella, who gave him a warm yet quizzical smile as if wondering why he looked to her.

It didn’t take long for Felix to know what his request was, as it was something he had been considering for a while, and it was Emerson’s turn to be surprised as he noticed the resolve in Felix’s eyes.

“I wan tu be stwong.”

“…Strong, young master?”

“Yesh.”

Emerson seemed even more taken aback by Felix’s request, as his face registered a similar level of surprise to Isabella’s. He probably assumed that the idea of becoming strong was a bit too mature for a (newly turned) 2-year-old, despite his apparent intelligence, and he would be correct, but Felix’s circumstances were determinedly different to the average 2-year-old.

Felix shuffled slightly in his seat as he struggled to hold Emerson’s gaze, before an understanding light seemed to flash in Emerson’s eyes as he gave Felix an impressed smile, saying “Very well, young master, I will relay your request to the Lord.”

“Fank you.”

“It’s my pleasure, young master.”

The rest of the gathering passed rather pleasantly for the quartet before Emerson excused himself to head back to his duties and Isabella left with Sebastian to escort him back to his aunt’s house.

*

“You’re telling me the boys one request was ‘to become strong?”

“I was just as surprised as you are, my Lord.”

Lord Nicholas leaned back in his chair as he rubbed his beard with a surprised expression, before turning his attention back to the dutifully standing Emerson. “You’re sure this isn’t a ploy for my attention?”

After some thought, Emerson replied “the firm will I noticed in his eyes dissuaded me from following that line of thinking. It’s clear now that he has a high level of intelligence for his age. I’m assuming his feelings of protection are dedicated towards that maid of his, considering the previous debacle, and so his thought process is rather naïve in that he can get strong quick enough to protect her.”

“A naïve mentality for sure, but a good one for one so young in this world. That woman could prove herself useful in any future plans. I’ll allow his request but only after another year, after Isadora gives birth, as it might lead to some interesting developments.”

“Yes, my lord, if I may add I believe Richard would be a good option to train him. The man is a strong warrior but not vital to the main house. You can strengthen the boy’s allegiance to this house through his bond to that family, and thus use them as you see fit.”

A knowing smile crossed Lord Nicholas’ face as he considered Emerson’s proposal, before saying “Well put, Emerson. At the same time look into a teacher for the boy starting next year so he can be of some use as soon as possible.”

“Yes, my lord, as you command.”