Snowfall

\"Come with me, and be quiet about it.\" I whispered. \"Quickly.\" I started leading them out into the night and only then began to wonder just what I would do with them. I took them back to a warehouse that I had bought for a safe sleeping place and told them that I would not keep them hostage but if they cared to stay the night I would see that they were fed. I then went back out and found enough food for them and some blankets. Not very easy at this hour but I was used to finding supplies and stealing had become one of my skills as well. What? All night grocery stores wouldn\'t be around for a very long time and people just didn\'t trust someone asking to buy things in the middle of the night.

I got back to the children and supplied them with blankets and food and then began to ask them what they knew of why they were there.

\"He was selling us to rich people.\" A sullen brown eyed boy, who I later learned was named Edmund, stated. \" They\'d come to look around at us and then pick which one they wanted.\"

Edmund was one of the older children, being about 12 and he had been there the longest of the ones I found. He said that their captor tried to teach them dances and etiquette. He promised to see them to good homes. That was fine until some wanted to leave, it was then the children realized that they were captives.

\"We still learned. If what he said was true then it would be far better than the streets and that\'s where we all came from.\" He shrugged. \"Besides those that didn\'t learn weren\'t treated as well and they were sold to some rough looking men.\" Edmund explained that ended much of the rebellion besides they were warm and dry with food for a change. For most it was a better bargain, some still wanted their freedom. They were all used to being wild and free and preferred living on their own to being at the mercy of someone else.

I now had a new delima, what to do with a bunch of children ranging from the ages of 5 to 12? Luckily this was not the only place I had to sleep but I still did not think it was a good idea for the kids to be out on the street, they were captured once and no doubt the noble would be looking for them. It was time to move on. I suggested a new plan to the children. Over the next few nights I prepared for our departure. Those that did not want to go were free to stay in the city but I warned them that the noble might be looking for them.

\"What are you?\" It was a quiet voice by my side. I looked down into a set of watery blue eyes that reflected red by the light of the fire. He looked up at me with a lack of fear. They had all more or less became comfortable around me but no one had mentioned what they saw. I was under the hope that many had not seen the attack on the men in the room clearly but this one was right there.

\"Well I guess that depends on who you ask. Let me see if there is a good way to explain it.\" I looked around at the curious faces in the room. \" I\'m different. We\'re all different somehow aren\'t we?\" I pointed to one girl who was a red head. \" You\'re the only one here with red hair.\" pointing to another \"You\'ve got blue eyes but he has brown eyes.\" They all looked at each other and then back at me and the kid sitting next to me. \"I am not a demon. Nor is anyone else here in this room.\"

\"An Abomination?\" The kid next to me asked.

I looked down at him and shook my head no. \" Why would God make abominations? He made all of you and me. What is your name?\"

\"Fintan, the priest that spoke to my mother named me that.\" He looked away. Fintan, fair-haired and a saint. No doubt the priest hoped that naming him after a saint it would save him or change him. I could not fully guess the thoughts of the man. Perhaps his intentions were good, had Fintan been born earlier he might have been strangled at birth... he might have still, perhaps it was the priest that advocated saving him. Controversy, I was reminded again that priests were just men, some did good deeds and others sought to kill children who had the misfortune of looking different than the rest.

\"Well, can I call you Fin?\" I asked mildly.

\"Most people call me Fin.\" He shrugged.

\"Fionn was an Irish legend. Would you all like me to tell you the story of Fionn?\" There were eager nods amongst the group. So I told them of the legendary leader of the Fianna and their valiant deeds. How they were stronger and faster than most and very honorable. The tales took up much of the night.

\"I want to be a Fianna.\" The little red haired girl spoke up when I finished one tale.

\"Rebecka, you\'re a girl.\" One of the boys complained. \"You can\'t be a Fianna.\"

I smiled as she glared at him. \" Perhaps you can be something else. Nihtfyrd, you can all be a part of the Night Army. You must be loyal to each other, quick, smart and able to keep a secret. What say you?\"

She nodded enthusiastically. \"I want to be a Nihtfyrd instead.\" Several others agreed. And so the Night Army was born. Eventually they learned more about me, as time went on. However by that point, they had come to see me as a friend and a protector. My plan for getting out of the city and for traveling more or less unnoticed was to get several theatre wagons. Like the carriage Amar had so long ago, I eventually had one built with a false bottom and just enough space for me to sleep in during the day. Some of the older children learned to drive the carts and we moved in shifts. I began to teach them to read. Though Fin had difficulty with this, his eyesight was not good and the ill lit carts didn\'t help things. For Fin, I filled a large glass jug with water to magnify the pages. He took it as a challange and soon became better at reading than all the rest. I began to have difficulty keeping books stocked for him to read. He found this amusing. I soon found that I had a pale shadow, Fin was my constant companion save for the times I left the group to hunt. He was every bit as intelligent as I had been though He told me once that the teachers claimed that he was stupid. It was the way he peered at things. They used to tell him to stop staring. I told him to go ahead, stare at whatever he liked. It was the best way to learn. Many times I found him staring at me. Well, I can\'t say I didn\'t ask for it. I found to my surprise that I did not mind overly much.

I also taught the Night Army various circus tricks such acrobatics and juggling. They were kids and street urchins at that, these things came naturally to most of them. I let them read plays to each other from all kinds of sources. Eventually I started teaching them various languages. This was helped as we took our little troupe to other countries. To make things appear as they should I booked acts in various towns and many of the Night Army took to performing very well. Edmund, who was a natural leader and one of the oldest among them became the stage manager and director. He was young but I made it clear to the theater owners that he was in charge when I was absent. There were not many girls and being children the stigma against girls in the theatre was over looked for the most part. Fin was one of the only ones not to perform, other than Edmund who was far too busy to act as well. Surprisingly, Rebecka did not want to act either. She turned out to be handy with a needle and had an excellent ,if expensive, eye for fabrics. I had told her to buy whatever would please her. She sought about to make that the undoing of my coin pouch. Still they became rather good and were soon able to afford much of the things they needed on their own. Finn turned his focus to writing and several of the plays the troupe performed were written by the young man. He also saw to the animals and worked backstage with Rebecka.
I knew he was tired of people staring at him and being able to work backstage where no one saw him at all was a blessed change. The Night Army treated him just like any other and it was very soothing to him. He soon became less quiet and withdrawn and started telling stories around the fire with the rest of them. He became a favorite for his daring quirky characters. They eventually found their way into some of his plays and the kids fought to be their favorites.

My life became rich again, I had my little Night Army and as the years went by I feared for them less and less. A traveling troupe of children stood out but soon they became a traveling troupe of young adults. They began to pair off and it was not long by my standards that we were having additions to the company. Sometimes we picked up new members as the group traveled amongst the various towns. The Night Army was always very careful. I was glad to see that they watched the potential new members carefully before they ever saw either Fin or I. Managing that was difficult but they were quite clever, watch duties, the other carriage and so on so that the new recruits were evaluated before they got a chance to join the full group.
It was Edmund\'s idea from what I heard. Edmund had become very good friends with Fin, though in the beginning he did not seem to like the albino much at all. Fin told me Edmund\'s story one night when we were alone while the group performed. Edmund had been one of first taken captive but he was never picked. He didn\'t look outstanding, brown eyes and brown hair. He looked ordinary and some of the people who came to look at the children said as much. He was jealous of those like Rebecka who were noticed immediatly for their distinct appearance. Fin chuckled and said that Edmund had even been jealous of him. Fin had told Edmund that he would have swapped places with him in a heartbeat before they came to the Night Army. I asked him why not now? He said that he had grown comfortable with who he was. He no longer wanted to be Edmund. Edmund had told all this to Fin when he realized that Fin had his own troubles. They had both laughed when they understood they had been envious of each other and so they soon became the best of friends. Fin told Edmund that he admired his easy command of the others, his patient, yet firm control of the group. Edmund was a natural leader with calm confidence. In truth he reminded me a great deal of Amar.