[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason was ready to get to work around the farm. He had 39 starting actions]

[Tess’s Almanac: 91st day of Winter! It’s the day of the Winter Festival! It’s a lovely day for a festival, folks! Not too cold, but still chilly enough to be called winter! We’ll be getting a light dusting of snow later this evening that will turn into rain as soon as midnight hits, so come with both snowshoes and umbrellas!]

Jason’s eyes flickered open, and he found himself again staring into the soft, warm face of Chance. The dog began to eagerly lick his face, and he coughed and rolled out of bed, waving the canine away lovingly.

“Bleh! You’re getting more and more slobber, you know that?” He climbed to his feet as Chance lay across the bed, panting. He had grown several inches since arriving at Jason’s farm, and Jason whistled softly. “You’re part Dane, I’d bet a great deal of money on it.”

Chance just gave a soft bark, and Jason quickly changed and started making his way downstairs. Chance bolted past him, then sat down next to the kitchen table and began eagerly awaiting his breakfast. Jason smiled and poured it out for the dog, then sat down and ordered a plate of pancakes. It was the day of the festival, after all, and he had little desire to eat healthy.

He sighed deeply as he sat there. Killian and Nathanial had made no further appearance after slipping out of town, but Lacy had stuck around to plague Constable Hank like a… Well… A plague. Every day or so, she barged into his office with some sort of a technicality that she planed on bringing against him, to the point where Jason thought that Hank might have wound up pulling a sword on the woman. He just couldn’t understand what was driving her that way. She had never been cruel or bitter up until the moment he had left. Tess was convinced that something must have happened during Jason’s absence, but Jason didn’t have the faintest idea what it might have been.

Suddenly, as he sat there, an idea struck him. Hank. Somewhere, buried deep within the clutter of Hank’s office, was a large pile of letters that Lacy had sent to him. He needed to find those letters, that was for sure. He rose eagerly, then jogged to the front door. Chance padded after him, but Jason sighed.

“I’m sorry, boy, but you’ll have to stay here today. Lots of people and lots of food that probably wouldn’t be the best for you to eat.”

Chance whimpered and lay down, putting a paw over his eyes. Jason groaned, then scowled at him. “Tess taught you how to do that, didn’t she?”

Chance gave no answer, but at Tess’s name, he sat bolt upright. Jason rolled his eyes, then shrugged.

“Alright, fine, but you’re going to have to stay in the Guild Hall once the party starts.”

Chance began running in circles, and Jason opened the door and let the dog shoot off into the cold air. Sure enough, a light snow was falling down from the sky, and Jason stuck out his tongue as he made his way to Lady’s stable. A few of the flakes lighted upon his warm flesh, he smiled, and soon mounted up on Lady and was riding steadily for town. The miles flew by quickly beneath Lady’s hooves, and he took a deep breath. He didn’t have a clue what he would find, but he knew that he had to check.

Along the road, he saw a few of the other farmers of the area making their way up toward Summer Shandy, but most seemed to still be working on chores and that sort of thing. Jeremiah was certainly nowhere to be seen, though that wasn’t the most surprising thing in the world. When he came up into the town square, townsfolk rushed back and forth, beaming to one another and carrying dishes heaped with enormous piles of food. Smells of cooking and warmth already floated through the air amidst the snow, and Jason sighed. There truly was nothing quite like the festivals; they were easily the best thing about living in Summer Shandy.

That day, though, he was forced to ignore most of it, and came riding up to Hank’s office. As he swung down, he caught sight of someone already inside, and felt a stab of fear. Was it his mother? What would she say this time? As he knocked on the door and peeked inside, though, he simply found a young couple preparing what looked like a marriage registration. Hank looked up from the desk and smiled nervously.

“Jason! Good to see you here. What… Ahh… What can I do for you today?”

“I…” Jason glanced at the young couple. “I’ll wait.”

Hank looked worried, but inclined his head. Jason stepped back into the cold and closed the door, leaning against the stone wall. Paulina and Theresa swept through the square and waved at him, and he did his best to wave back, but he knew that he was too distracted for a proper conversation. Lacy poked her head out of the inn and stared at him for a few seconds before ducking back inside, and Jason groaned.

Nearly five minutes passed before the couple came walking out, smiles on their faces. Jason pushed the door aside and walked in, where he was given the rather annoying view of Hank simply tossing all the carefully-prepared documents into a large filing cabinet without a second look. He slammed the door shut and spun to face Jason, and Jason raised an eyebrow.

“Do I need to be concerned about the marriage paperwork that Tess and I filed with you?”

“Oh, no.” Hank snorted and waved his hand dismissively. “You two aren’t going to file for divorce anytime soon, and there’s not really any good reason for needing to look at the paperwork, and the marriage becomes common-law after five years anyway, so-”

“Hank.” Jason took a step closer to the desk. He took a deep breath and placed a hand on the hilt of his sword. “I am only going to say this once. Figure out how to organize your paperwork. I don’t care how long it takes you, or if I have to come up here and organize it myself.”

“Ooh, I’m afraid I can’t allow that.” Hank winced. “Half of this stuff is classified and can only be viewed by a certified individual, so…”

“Then figure it out.” Jason snapped, then forced himself to calm down once again. It was far from the easiest job, and Hank shifted uneasily in his chair. “Anyway, the reason I came in here is because I need the letters that my mother sent me.”

Hank laughed and dismissed Jason with a wave. “Those wouldn’t come through me!”

“She didn’t know my address, so she just addressed them to Jason of Summer Shandy.”

Hank bit his lip for a moment, then nodded slowly. “Those might have come through me.”

“You think?” Jason raised an eyebrow. “Now where’s your mail pile from the last two years?”

Hank blinked, then winced. “You know, that’s technically classified too, and-”

“Hank, I don’t think you understand.” Jason laughed softly. “I need those letters, and if you don’t give them to me right now, I will tear this place apart until I find them.”

Both of them knew that it was likely an empty threat, but Jason’s heart was beginning to thump quite loudly within his chest, and he felt a pure and utter frustration with the aging constable building up. “Hank? Most of the time, your antics are funny. Not right now.”

Hank sighed, then slowly rose and walked to a cabinet near the back of the room. “You’re welcome to look through here, I guess, and-”

Jason bolted to the cabinet and pulled it open. His jaw dropped as he took in the sight of hundreds of parcels, packages, letters, and envelopes stuffed inside the small cabinet with hardly enough room to squeeze in a nail file. He blinked, and Hank rubbed the back of his neck.

“It just sorta piles up on you.”

Jason sighed, then started sorting through the cabinet. His fingers skittered across hundreds of items, and it didn’t take him long to start seeing his name appearing among the letters. Most of them were indeed from his mother, but as he dug deeper, he began finding letters from some of his aunts and uncles as well. His curiosity grew, though, at the same time, his anger abated. Hank, for whatever reason, just wasn’t wired quite the same way as everyone else. It was frustrating, but getting angry wasn’t going to accomplish anything. He forced himself to calm down enough at least to talk, then glanced over his shoulder. Hank was standing by his desk, a nervous sort of look on his face.

“So tell me, Hank.” Jason spoke up as he worked. “How do you decide what to care about and what not to care about. When I bought that new piece of land last year, you had the paperwork whipped up within just a few seconds. I mean, I suppose it’s possible that your copy of the deed is floating around one of these filing cabinets, too, but it seems odd to me, you know?”

Hank just shrugged. “I mean… There are some things that…” He puffed out his cheeks. “I don’t know. People ask about some things. Other things, they don’t ask about. You know how stressful it is being a constable?”

“Any day that it’s warm enough, you’re sitting at the town well chatting with anyone who walks past.” Jason countered. “Seems like a real tough position.”

“Yeah, and I’m sure that farming is easy. You just wave a hand and everything gets planted and harvested.” Hank snapped. “You have prompts and actions, just like anyone else. I have to log so many hours on the streets of town every day. Well, there’s only one street in town, so that’s where I stay. By the time it’s done, since I don’t have a secretary, I don’t really have time to process all of this stuff. I do the best I can.”

Jason sighed and allowed the last of his anger to flow away. “I suppose… I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere without the help of Jeremiah… And Tess… And Paulina… And-”

“You can stop now, you know.” Hank crossed his arms and snorted, then sighed. “I really am sorry. I do my best to stay on top of things, but some things I just don’t have the time for.”

“Then why not ask for help?” Jason raised an eyebrow.

“Because… Oh, I don’t know.” Hank snapped. “You know what? Finish your search and get out of here.”

He sat down on the desk, but even as he did so, a flicker of a smile returned. Jason sighed and turned back to sorting the mail. He didn’t exactly feel as though Hank was let off the hook by the confession, but it did make a bit more sense why he was so scattered. He hadn’t even considered what limitations he might have been given as a constable. For that matter, he really didn’t know what limitations Paulina had as a shopkeeper, or what Tess’s prompts looked like. He mused over it for a few minutes, then finally got to the back of the mail pile. It wasn’t everything, but it would give him a starting place.

“Thanks, Hank.” He scooped up the mail, then turned around and started to walk toward the door. As he reached it, though, he paused. “You mind if I ask you one more question?”

“Are you sure you want my scatterbrained help?”

“Well, you’re good with maps.” Jason flashed a small smile. “Out in the woods by the place I just bought, I found the ruins of an old town. I was wondering if you could tell me anything about it.”

Hank just shrugged and snorted. “Maybe. I’ll have to check my terrible records.”

Jason rolled his eyes. He felt more than a little ashamed for his outburst, but he also thought that Hank was taking it a little personally given that his records were so terrible. Jason sighed, then shrugged and stepped out through the door and into the hustle and bustle of the Winter Festival.

By that time, things were rapidly whirling into full swing. A cold lunch was brought out for those helping set up, as tables were placed across the town square and small tents were erected over top of them. Jason pitched in where he could, but he found himself so distracted that it proved difficult. Eventually, Tess found him and pulled him aside, and they embraced.

“How’s it going?” Tess asked softly. “I heard what happened with Hank.”

Jason felt another flash of annoyance, but forced it down as best he could. “Yeah. I just… I don’t know.” He sighed deeply. “I don’t know! That’s really it. I’m angry, and I’m frustrated, but also Hank is my friend and I hate to pick at him when I’m sure his life is hard too, and…”

Tess flashed a small smile at him. “Let me talk to him. I’ll see if I can smooth things over, and work on getting a solution to his filing problem together. I’m sure one of the villagers could be enticed into getting his paperwork in order.”

Jason puffed out his cheeks, then nodded. “Thanks. I appreciate that.”

Tess nodded at the Guild Hall. “Do you want to go read the letters now?”

Jason stared longingly at the buildings, then shook his head. “I don’t know what I’m going to find in them, and my mother doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Today is a celebration, and that’s what it’s going to be. The rest of this, I can deal with tomorrow. Or, realistically, in a few days from now once I finish planting and all of that.”

Tess put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “We’ll get through this.”

With that, she turned and walked away, vanishing into Hank’s office. She came out again a few minutes later with a somewhat pacified Hank, and they both set into getting the party ready without another word.

Still distracted, but feeling a tiny bit better, Jason threw himself into the work with more than a little more gusto. They soon had everything ready, and as the snow spiraled down and the sky began to grow dark, torches were lit and hung around the edge of the square, and the party began.

Jason soon lost himself amidst the feast. He sat next to Tess, of course, though this time, Jeremiah and his hired men all came walking over to join them. It was a wonderful, warm sort of a meal, and when the tables were cleared away and the bank struck up a tune, the townsfolk skipped across the cobbles as if the world was ending and they were trying to get in one last bit of joy. Tess tugged him out onto the dance floor, where they stayed for nearly the rest of the night. Jason suspected that she was just trying to distract him, but as it was mostly working, he didn’t mind too much.

Night soon fell, but the festivities continued. Suddenly, in the flickering firelight, Jason caught sight of Lacy standing on the edge of the square, watching him with an odd look on her face. Jason stared back at her for a moment, until he registered the dark shape of a carriage just behind her. In a moment, he was struck with horror as a single thought flashed through his mind.

His mother was going somewhere… And he didn’t know when she would be back.

He broke from the dance floor and raced toward her, but by then, she’d already swung up into the carriage. The vehicle rumbled off into the night, and Jason soon found himself simply gazing out into the darkness. He sighed and stared after the wagon, wishing that he had taken up Tess’s offer after all.

A moment later, a bell rang out through the air, and the snow, just as predicted, turned to a pouring rain. Townsfolk yelped in excitement and raced back inside, but Jason couldn’t move. Water flowed across the cobbles, soaking his boots and tunic, but still, he didn’t budge.

Why hadn’t he thought about the letters earlier? Why hadn’t he gone ahead and opened them? What could possibly be inside that would reveal why his mother was so angry?

And, most importantly… Would there be a thing he could do about it once the answer was revealed?