Madara:

It made me ravenous.

The white hills.

The light blue sky.

The crisp air.

I felt the snow pass underneath my skis, faster and faster as I sped down the black hill. I hadn't tied my hair today, so it cascaded out behind me underneath my helmet. I bent forwards, curled up into a ball as I zig-zagged down, imagining how my red thermal trousers and marine blue jacket created a blurred line as I came down.

This was everything to me.

Everything.

Everything wrong about being a nineteen-year-old university student coming home to his parents for Christmas in a tiny Alp town in Switzerland was worth it, just for this.

I didn't exactly dislike it at home. My mother and father were good people, but stern. Stern, and with high expectations of me when it came to education and helping out at the ginormous hotel they were running. They had high expectations of me, and of my little brother Izuna, but Izuna always excelled so it didn't really bother him that much.

I smiled just thinking about him. He was fourteen, and everything to me. He was my parents absolute favourite, and I honestly didn't blame them, because he was such an angel. I felt no remorse regarding how our parents treated him; only pride.

I loved him.

I loved him with all my heart.

And I saw him at the end of the hill, clad in lime green trousers and a black snowboard jacket, hugging his snowboard to his chest. Seeing him made me speed up further; I loved teasing him and I knew he was more than a bit bitter that I was better at skiing than him. Which was probably why he switched to snowboarding last year.

"Better at skiing" was an understatement, really. I knew I was talented. Like, very talented, and that I could go very, very far if I got more time to train. I always caught the eyes of girls on holiday, and they flirted endlessly with me. Unluckily for them, though...

I smirked, thinking about the groups of boys that came to ski every year.

It was a secret dream of mine, to take a year off university just to train to be able to stand up against the world elite, and then make a living out of skiing, but my parents wouldn't hear of it. And since they payed my tuition fee, I had no choice in the matter. And I did want an education. But I also wanted this...

"Whooooo!" I screamed as I came downhill, my voice cracking. As the hill flattened out, I made a huge bend, splashing snow all over Izuna as I made a harsh break while turning.

"Oyy!" he complained, but I just laughed.

"Did you see that? Did you see that?!" I screamed, beside myself, coming up beside him.

He looked away, blushing when he realised he couldn't stay mad at me. God, he was adorable. I loved him so, so much. "You are amazing", he said. "I wish I were like you."

"Oh, God, Izuna, no!" I exclaimed, horrified, releasing my staffs so they fell to the ground with a soft "thud" and grabbed him by the shoulders. "I wish I were like you! You're smart, talented, hard-working..."

"Pshhhh..." he complained, but I could tell he loved it.

"You're the academic. I wish I had half of what you have. Besides." I tapped his nose. "You're not so bad yourself. Have you seen how the shes, hes and theys look at you when you snowboard?"

He blushed even more. "I don't care."

"Oh, you just wait until your hormones kick in!"

We walked slowly back to our home. We were both hyper-aware that our living situation was very unusual. The skiing resort held one ginormous hotel, that was bright yellow and located on top of an enormous hill with a splendid view. It was five-star and luxurious, and had hosted several film stars and politicians. Our parents owned the hotel, and our living areas were at the far end of the vast building. It was amazing having access to the spas, the outdoor pools, the jacuzzis and the bars, but it also meant our parents expected us to help. Izuna didn't mind it really, being happy and chatty and friendly.

Me however...

I became very uncomfortable in the presence of anyone who wasn't Izuna or a boy I wanted to sleep with, and could be snappy as a defense mechanism. More than once, our parents had told me off for "scaring customers away" with my "attitude". I told them it was their fault for trusting me, which caused them to ban me from skiing for a week before I turned eighteen.

Our parents weren't our biological parents, really. Me and my brother were both adopted. But we knew we were lucky; our parents were kind, could easily provide for us and obviously loved us. They were just a bit peculiar about how they loved us sometimes.

"Mum! Dad!" Izuna shouted as we came to our two-story living area. It was high in ceiling, with oak floors and expensive rugs and glass tables and cabinets. "We're home!"

"Welcome!" Mum came out, arms stretched out, and pulled Izuna into an embrace, and then me. "How did skiing go?" she asked me with a wink, planting a kiss on my cheek.

I smiled. She was a kind woman.

"It was amazing", I said, removing my blue mirrored goggles, and I could feel my eyes sparkle. "The snow that fell last night was powder. I was fast!"

"He was fast", Izuna chimed in, bless him.

"How is studying going? You both have exams after Christmas, right?"

Immediately, my heart sank. I had studied, I really had, but it wasn't going very well.

"Splendidly, mom", Izuna said happily, planting a kiss on her cheek after having removed his snowboard boots. I envied him those boots; they were so much lighter than the ginormous and stuff skiing boots. "I'll go continue now."

"There's tea in the kitchen!" mum called after him. Then, she turned to me.

"Madara..."

"It's coming along", I said hurriedly. "Really, it does."

She smiled warmly at me. "Any change of heart? You know, studying English literature... Is it going to get you a job?"

"I don't want a regular job, mum. You know I want to ski."

"Me and your father won't allow it."

"But I could do it! I know I'm good enough to live on it!"

"What about academia, Madara? Using your brain?"

"I am using my brain!!" I was getting flustered, and could feel tears burn behind my eyes. "You and dad aren't in academia! You're happy!"

"Me and your dad want something better for you and your brother. And what if you injure yourself and can never ski again?"

"It's not that hard figuring something out. I would be happy teaching skiing! By then people would form a queue for me to train them!"

My mother put her hand on my chin and kissed my cheek. "There are strawberry cookies beside the tea. Bring them up to study.

In the evening, I was sitting in my dark, ginormous room. I loved my room so much; it was my safe space, with dark walnut wooden floors and dark blue walls, and it was all decorated with oriental mats and golden antique mirrors and tables and several different small lamps. I liked to keep it dark and only have my electric lanterns and desk lamps turned on while studying, which I did now while munching strawberry biscuits and drinking cream-flavoured red tea.

I sighed. I did enjoy English literature. But I would be lying if I said to myself if I told myself I wouldn't rather spend the evening watching skiing clips on YouTube, or reading about new techniques in skiing magazines. I sighed and took a bite of my biscuit.

There was a soft knock on my door then.

"Yes?"

My mother opened the door carefully, came in and stood behind me, looked at my laptop screen with her hands on my shoulders.

"How are you doing sweetheart?" she asked.

I took her hand. "Good, mum. These cookies are good, did you make them?"

"Sonia made them", she said warmly. Sonia was our maid, and she'd been a part of the family since I was a child. She was the person closest to me, except for Izuna, of course.

"Madara, tomorrow..."

"Yes?"

"We will have a very, very special guest. I need you and Izuna to help." She was speaking softly, matching the mood in my room. "He's important."

"Sure, mum. As long as I can ski in the morning."

She kissed the top of my poofy, black hair. "Of course. I'm proud of you. We both are. Me and your dad."

I didn't even ask who the special guest was.