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Seven men stood in the deep snow. They were gathered around something that to Zhenya looked like a casket made of glass. Their heads were bowed and some had silent tears running down their faces. Zhenya reigned in his trusty steed. What in all world had he stumbled upon in these godforsaken woods? He dropped to the ground gracefully and stepped closer, taking care to have his hands in sight and nowhere near his sword.
The man at the head of the strange display looked up and noticed his tentative approach. He was clearly mourning. Still, with a small gesture and a sad smile he waved Zhenya nearer. What he found under the crystalline glass turned his world on its head.
There lay a young man, almost still a boy, with skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood and hair as dark as ebony. It was the fairest and most beautiful thing Zhenya had ever laid eyes on. He lay like the dead but his beauty touched something in Zhenya's heart. He suddenly felt lightheaded and like falling and when he got back to his senses he felt like a different man and a big affection towards the young man consumed all his thoughts.
When his friend and mentor, who had faithfully traveled with him all along, asked: "You do know who this is, right?", Zhenya nodded.
"Yes." he said and a heartbeat later: "We have to do something."
The tallest of the seven, who had the saddest brown eyes of them all, told Zhenya and Sergej the tale of how an evil counselor overthrew King Mario, chased the king's beloved god-son Sidney into the woods and when that was still not enough to satisfy him he came after Sid and poisoned him. When he had finished the tale, Zhenya asked the men to let him have the glass coffin. He would take Snow-Sid back home and if a cure for his state couldn't be found (he would do everything humanly possible, though, and leave no stone unturned in his search), at least every woman and man in his country could come and admire his beauty.
He asked so nicely and the men could see that he was at least as much in love with their Sid as they were that they agreed. Just, they decided to accompany him. (Which was fortunate because he had no idea how to move the heavy casket with only Sergej to help.)
So they travelled through the woods and they all helped carrying the casket but after three days even the last of them was tired and their arms grew heavy. And it happened that Flower, who was carrying the right bottom corner, stumbled. The glass slipped from his weary hands and a split second it looked as if the casket would fall and break into a million pieces. But with the fastest of reflexes he made the save and caught the edge of the casket just before it hit the ground.
The slipping and catching, though, had rattled the casket so that a piece of poisoned apple that was stuck in Snow-Sids throat all the time was dislodged. And with this, Prince Sidney took a huge gulp of air and opened his eyes. They hurried to set the glass casket down and Zhenya removed the lid with haste, took Sid's hand and helped him out of its confines. He took the surprised Sid into his arms.
"You're alive!" he cried, and the seven men and Sergej joined in.
After some time, when he had hugged all his friends, Prince Sidney looked at Zhenya and said: "I know you." And for some inexplicable reason his snowy-white cheeks grew rosy-red. "You're Prince Evgeni. You used to visit with your parents and your brother when my father was still... and King Mario..."
Zhenya nodded. "Played on ice, chasing шайба."
He grinned.
Flower cackled.
"Come home with me." Zhenya proposed, "All of you. We're going to figure out how to get rid of that nasty counselor who overthrew King Mario and maybe... after a while..." He looked deep into Sid's hazel eyes and blushed the same sweet rosy-red colour like Sid did before. (Sergej rolled his eyes behind Zhenyas back.) Sid stared up to Zhenya, then lowered his lashes and took his hand. "I would like that a lot." he said gently.
And so it all happened.
After they got rid of the evil counselor and King Mario was back on the throne, Sid and Zhenya married and moved to Sid's home permanently. The seven men and Sergej stayed around and they all lived long and happily and...
...and during winter time when the pond froze over they all chased the шайба on skates and it soon became the favourite sport of the whole country. And Zhenya would kiss Sid for every goal he made and Sid would kiss Zhenya for every goal. So there was a lot of kissing going on until Flower complained. Then kissing was banned from play and left for the time before games and after games and during breaks, of course.
--- The End ---