Skipper’s beak seemed to fall into the snow. Eve…was Alastair’s daughter? Why didn’t she say anything? How could she not tell him? The snow picked up again, blocking the view of Alastair and the chicks, rising high above the ground and swirling around them in another vortex of white. Once it settled again, Skipper and the owl were in a hut with a floor of snow. Alastair was sitting on a divano with a female pinguino successivo to him; his flipper was around her in an affectionate, loving way. The two chicks were playing in the middle of the room; they now looked about a anno old, and Skipper could now see Eve in one of them. The other small chick, presumably Heather, chased young Eve around and Eve hopped into the divano with a laugh. “Dada! Heather chase me!” She cried. Skipper was curious to what happened to her British accent.

“You such a scardey, Evelyn!” Heather called after her. Alastair and the female laughed and Eve and Heather climbed into their laps. Skipper couldn’t believe what he was witnessing. Alastair was Eve’s father and she didn’t tell him for some reason. He was speechless. The snow lifted and swirled once again, and now they were in a large clearing of snow. Alastair was talking to another penguin.

“This time our target is that nosy pinguino who can’t keep his beak shut. He’s getting too close to figuring us out.” The other pinguino was saying.

“There’d be nothing to figure out if te didn’t do what te did, Damian.” Alastair detto under his breath.

“Hey, we give te a job, te do it. No domande asked. Unless te want to see your family suffer.” Damian threatened.

“Please, why can’t te just leave my family out of this?” Alastair pleaded. “They have nothing to do with this!”

“Your family has nothing to do with this. And it will stay that way until te decide to go against what we ask.”

“I didn’t sign up for this.”

“Oh, but te did. You’d think you’d be sure to read contracts a little più carefully before te signed them.”

“No one ever told me I’d have to commit murder on several occasions! What if my family found out about this? They’d never look at me the same!”

“Well, that’s not my problem. Do your job. End of discussion.” With that, Damian left Alastair standing in the snow, defeated.

The snow lifted and swirled about them again, this time settling in another hut. Alastair stood over another pinguino with a dagger pointed at his throat. “No! Please! I won’t tell anyone! Spare me!” The pinguino pleaded.

“I’m sorry, but if te live, my family pays the price.”

“What about my family?! Please! I-I’ll disappear! No one has to know!”

“And if my boss finds out?”

“He won’t! I’ll leave town! I’ll pack up and leave and never return! Please!”

Alastair looked into the eyes of his victim, and a moment later, he said: “Fine. But I’d better never see nor hear from te again. Be gone da morning.”

“Thank you! te will never regret this!” The pinguino said.

Alastair stopped at the door and looked back at him out of the corner of his eye. “You’d better hope I don’t.” He then left.

The snow took Skipper and the owl back to Alastair’s home. Alastair was being held back da two other penguins as one penguin, off in the corner, held Eve and Heather. Skipper watched in horror as he watched Alastair’s wife being beaten da Damian. The sound of Alastair’s yelling barely cut through the sound of Eve and Heather’s deafening cry. Finally, they stopped pounding her into paste and they let Alastair go to her. Eve and Heather were placed on the ground and they ran to their mother. Alastair was at her side, crying, and holding her in his flippers. Just before he left, the pinguino that gave Alastair his last mission said: “And that was just a warning. successivo time, finish the job.” And he left.

Eve and Heather held their mother’s flipper, weeping and calling for her softly. Alastair held his bleeding and bruised wife close, saying: “Lisa, oh, Lisa! Can te hear me?! Please don’t leave me! I never meant for this to happen!”

Lisa gently touched Alastair’s face and said: “Don’t let them make te do this. Run. Find somewhere to live where te don’t have to take their orders. And take care of our children.” She took a deep breath as a small drop of blood trickled out of the corner of her beak.

“No, Lisa…you’re gonna be fine. te can’t leave me.”

Now Lisa’s voice only came in whispers. “You’re gonna be fine. I’ll…I’ll always be with you. I…I Amore you.” She pulled Alastair closer until her beak met his. Alastair felt the life drain out of her, and when he pulled away, she was gone.

Alastair held her closer and wept fiercely. “No, no, no, no, no…I Amore you, too, Lisa! I’m so sorry!”

“Daddy?” Alastair picked up his head and turned to see Eve and Heather looking at him with tears in their eyes. “Is mommy dead?” Alastair looked from Eve, to Lisa, then he closed his eyes.

A moment later he said: “Yes. She’s dead.” He choked on his own words. Even Skipper felt sorry for him. The snow once again carried Skipper and the owl away, but this time, when it settled it melted into the soil that lay upon the ground. Skipper looked up at the abandoned building that Eve had led Skipper to. Alastair stood in the doorway holding Eve and Heather’s flippers. “Daddy, what are we doing here?” Eve asked.

“We’re going to live here, darling.”

“For how long?”

Alastair waited a moment before replying. “Forever.” He led his daughters in and Skipper followed. When they entered, Alastair called: “Temp! Templeton! te in there?!”

A moment later a pinguino appeared at the end of the long hallway and approached them. “Brother! So good to see te again. What brings te here after all these years?”

“I need you, brother. Lisa was murdered.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry. And what would te like me to do about it?”

“I want te to make the ones responsible pay. Can te do that for me, brother?”

“That I can. Anything else?”

“Yes, um…if te don’t mind…we need a place to stay.”

“Of course, brother. Stay as long as te need to. Mi casa es tu casa.”

“Thank you, Templeton. I owe you.” He looked down at Eve and Heather. “Say hello to your Uncle Temp.”

“Hi…” Eve detto shyly. Heather just waved.

Templeton bent down to have a look at his niece’s. “Well, ciao there.” He detto with a smile. “How come this one won’t say anything?”

“She hasn’t spoken since her mother died. I’m hoping it’ll pass soon.”

“I’m sure it will.”

The wind picked up and the snow reappeared through the floors and circled around them again. When it resettled, it once again disappeared into the floors. They were still at the same abandoned building. Alastair stood before about thirty guards; Eve and Heather were at his side. They seemed to be in their teens now. “As te all know,” Alastair was saying. “Templeton did not survive after two long weeks of fighting pneumonia. He has left his fortunes, and his responsibilities to me. te will all continue your normal duties as te were previously instructed. Carry on.” The guards dispersed and Alastair was left alone with his daughters.

“Dad, we need to talk.” Eve said. Now Skipper could hear the British accent he was familiar with.

“About what, darling?”

“Dad, you’ve changed. te used to spend every moment with us. Now, te spend as much time as te can abusing the power te yield. Can’t te just give it up? We need a father!”

“Evelyn, te know I can’t. It’s the only way I can take care of te and your sister.”

“No Dad, that’s just an excuse. te took care of us just fine before we moved here. Has it even dawned on te that I have a British accent and te don’t? It’s because that Nanny has been the only one to raise me for the past fourteen years. Dad, if te don’t give it up, then…then I’m going to take Heather and leave!” Eve threatened, standing taller.

“Excuse me, young lady? te are to stay here! te are not to leave the confines of this building without my say so!”

“Watch me!” Eve took Heather da the flipper and started for the exit.

“Guards! Guards!” Two guards came into the room. “Take them to their room and put them behind lock and key!”

“Yes, sir!” The two guards did as told and grabbed Eve and Heather and started dragging them back. Eve went kicking and screaming.

“Dad! No! te can’t do this! Dad!!” The heavy doors shut behind them with a resounding thud; Eve’s last scream echoed through the room.

The snow reappeared, lifted, swirled, and settled once again, disappearing into the hard-wood floors. Skipper’s cuore melted when he turned his attention to the young weeping Eve in the small letto successivo to him. Heather sat successivo to the weeping Eve, who had her face buried in her pillow. Heather gently stroked her back, trying to calm her. “How could he be so heartless!? I thought…I thought he loved us…” Heather looked at her sympathetically and leaned over her, wrapping her flipper around her, trying to ease her pain. Eve pushed herself into a sitting position and the two sisters embraced. “I’m so sorry, Heather.” Eve detto over her shoulder. She pushed away and looked Heather in the eye, lowering her voice. “I’m going to get us out of this, no matter what. Whether it takes weeks, o months, o even years, I will get us away from him. I can promise te that much.”

Skipper couldn’t believe any of this. Why didn’t Eve tell him any of this? His feelings for her would still have been the same… The snow reappeared and repeated its pattern, this time disappearing to mostra Alastair talking to one of his guards. Oh, how Skipper wished he could strangle him on the spot. He couldn’t believe anyone could be so heartless. What he was about to find out is that it didn’t stop there. “Sir, I have some news. Damian has come out of hiding. He was last seen north of the island heading inland.” The guard reported.

“I knew he wasn’t dead…” Alastair muttered to himself. “Do te know his motives?”

“No, sir. But our suspicion is that he’s seeking his revenge. After Templeton sent us to wipe out his men fourteen years ago, who knows what he’ll try to do.”

Alastair thought for a moment. “He’ll go after my greatest vulnerability.” He concluded.

“Your daughters, sir? Would te like us to increase security on their quarters, sir?” The guard asked.

Alastair went deep in thought, and a moment later his face fell in a way that suggested that he’d thought of something ingenious. “No. When he gets close, he’ll go after my daughters. Guards will be on standby. When he’s in sight, take him out. But use a silencer so my daughters won’t hear. This way I’ll be able to gain my daughters’ trust back and have my revenge on Damian.”

“Aye, sir. But…what if we spot him too late and he…does get his revenge?”

“Well, you’ll just have to be sure that he doesn’t. Because if he does,” He took a step closer to him intimidatingly. “the last thing you’ll ever see is the barrel of my 9mm aimed between your eyes. Understood?”

The guard gulped and said: “Y-Yes sir…”

“Good. Dismissed.” Alastair ordered. The guard nodded, turned, and left. Alastair pushed the button on his walkie-talkie. “Bring me my daughters.”

A voice answered back through. “Yes, sir.” About five minuti later, two guards came in holding a struggling Eve da her flippers. Heather showed discomfort in being brought in against her will, but showed no resistance.

“Let me go! Let me go, damn it!” Eve cried. “What do te want!?” Eve screamed at Alastair.

“Evelyn, please. I want to talk, darling.” Eve winced upon being called ‘darling’ da a man whom she thought was her father. She glared hard at him.

“What?” She asked sternly, no longer struggling. Her eyes seemed to bore into Alastair’s soul, burning with hatred. Alastair looked…hurt. Though Skipper questioned whether he was faking it o not.

Alastair turned to the guards restraining her. “Let them be. Go wait outside. I’d like to speak to my daughters privately.” The guards nodded silently, gently released Eve and Heather, turned, and left. “Evelyn, I know you’re angry with me, but-”

“Just spit it out, Alastair.” Eve snapped.

Alastair was taken aback. “You…called me ‘Alastair’…” He said, his cuore sinking.

“Yes, what of it?” Eve snapped back, mostrare no remorse. Alastair was about to say something, but Eve interrupted him before he got the chance. “I’m not calling te ‘Dad’ because a real father would have spent più time with his daughters. He would’ve been there when she’d broken her flipper falling down the steps to dry her tears and let her know that everything was going to be alright. He would’ve been there when she’d learned how to cook her first meal. He would’ve been there to tell her that there were no monsters under the bed. He would’ve been there instead of hunting down the man responsible for their mothers’ death.” Eve was now on the verge of tears. Alastair remained silent. Heather hung her head in the memory of her mother. Eve continued. “You don’t think it still hurts? Do te know how many nights Heather and I spent thinking about her smile? The way she held us when we were upset? Do te know how many nights we spent in tears because of the fact that we were never going to see her again? No, te don’t, because you’re too busy seeking vengeance than to share your pain with us. The only reason Heather and I got through this is we believed in the fact that our mother would always be in our hearts. That’s what drove us on. Maybe if te would’ve figured that out a long time ago, te wouldn’t be in this mess right now. Maybe te would’ve been our father like Mom would’ve wanted.”

A tear trickled down Eve’s cheek. Heather stood a little straighter, sticking da Eve’s side. For about the successivo minuto there was silence, a dead, dead silence that burrowed deep into your soul and chewed its way out of your heart. Even Skipper could feel his eyes welling up with tears, as if he could feel Eve’s pain. Finally, Alastair broke the silence.

“You’re right. I haven’t been a father. Maybe I don’t even know the meaning of the word anymore. That’s…what I wanted to talk to te about. I’ve missed so much of your lives in the past fourteen years. I remember when te were a hatchling; te were so happy. You’re a lot like your mother te know. So confident and full of life. I wish I’d been there more. You’re turning sixteen in two months and it seems as though you’re turning twenty-one. te and Heather have grown so fast. And…I know I don’t have much time left, but I want to spend what I can with the both of you. I know I can’t make up for what I’ve missed, but what te detto to me last week about leaving me, and the way you’re looking at me now has opened my eyes. If te could just give me the chance that I know I don’t deserve, I would try my best to be the father I never was. Even though I haven’t done a good job of mostrare it, I really do Amore te both with all my heart.”

Eve looked down at the floor, taking in what Alastair told them. She turned to Heather, who too was contemplating the situation. She then turned back to Alastair. “How do we know te really mean what you’re saying?” She asked. But Skipper could see it in her eyes. She already believed Alastair, o at least wanted to so much that she eluded herself into believing Alastair’s apology. And maybe he did mean it, but even Skipper knew Alastair wasn’t one to keep his promises.

“If you’d give me the chance…I’d prove it to you.” Alastair detto softly.

Eve looked again at Heather, who nodded slowly. She turned back to Alastair with a sigh. “Fine. But te have to be there. te can’t hurt us again. Because you’re not getting a third chance.”

Alastair smiled and nodded. “Thank you.”

It was obvious that this was something Heather had been wanting to hear for a long time. She smiled and ran crying into her fathers’ embrace. Alastair hugged her tightly; he too was on the verge of tears. Eve stayed put, flippers crossed. Alastair and Heather turned to look at her. “Come on, Heather. Nanny wanted us to help her with her hatchling.” She turned, opened the door, and left.

Heather looked at Alastair sympathetically. Alastair smiled. “Don’t worry. She’ll come around. Now run along. I’ll see te at dinner.” Heather smiled and left to follow her sister.

Next, the snow took them to the backyard of the building. Alastair was seen walking with Eve and Heather. The girls seemed to be having a good time, but Skipper sensed that something was wrong. Alastair had a smile on his face, but his eyes detto otherwise. He was worried about something. He looked around constantly, but the girls didn’t seem to notice.

“You know, I have to say, te really have changed.” Eve was saying. “I’m sorry I was so discouraged, but-”

“I know, baby. te had every right to be discouraged. But I’m glad now to see that we’re finally a family again.” Alastair detto smiling.

Eve smiled back. “Me too…Dad.” Alastair smiled even more, filling with joy. He picked up his daughters and spun them through the air. Suddenly a guard ran up to them.

“Sir! He’s closing in! But he’s too fast! te need to get inside!”

Eve looked at the guard in confusion, then asked her father: “Dad, what’s he talking about?”

“Nothing, darling. We need to get inside. Now-”

Gunfire was heard, and a spot of ground shot into the air just inches from Eve’s side. “Dad! What’s going on?!” Eve cried. Alastair didn’t answer; he just took his daughters da the flipper and ran toward the building. più gunfire was heard and Alastair hid behind the stone walls of the abandoned building with his daughters. Eve looked out of the window and watched as a pinguino bounded into the yard. “Dad…is that who I think it is?”

“Now, Evelyn, I-”

“It is! That’s the man responsible for my mothers’ death! te haven’t changed at all! How could you! No! Scratch that! How could I have been so stupid as to believe you’d actually changed?!”

“Evelyn, it’s not what te think-”

“Wait a minute…you knew he was coming! te were using us as bait! te son of a leopard seal! We could have died! Do te understand that?! How could you!!” Eve charged at Alastair and punched him in the stomach, though she wasn’t strong enough to do any damage. A pair of guards showed up and started pulling Eve and Heather away. At that moment, Eve saw a bullet go through Damian’s skull through the window and she cringed. She wanted to avenge her mothers’ death, but not this way. She yelled at Alastair as the guards dragged her away. “We could have died! Do te hear me!? WE COULD HAVE DIED!!!” Finally she was taken far enough up the stairs to where her screams were mere echoes. Alastair hit the bacheca in frustration and cursed under his breath.

The guard that had warned them came inside and stood before Alastair nervously. “S-Sir…um…Damian is dead. We have accomplished our task.” He detto with a clear of his throat.

Alastair stared daggers into him. “Accomplished?” He growled. “My daughters were this close-” He pinched the end of his flipper together. “-to trusting me again. And te ruined everything.” He snatched the pistol from the guard and pointed it at his head. “I warned you.”

He started to tighten on the trigger when Eve came bounding back down the stairs. When she saw them she screamed: “STOP IT!!” Alastair looked at her, though the gun was still pointed at the guard. Eve was now crying. “Haven’t te taken enough lives?! Hasn’t there been enough bloodshed?! It wasn’t his fault te Lost us for good! It’s your own! te couldn’t just learn your lesson! Just let him go!” The guards came down the steps and took her again da the flippers and brought her back upstairs. “Just let him go, Alastair! Let him go!” Eve screamed.

Alastair looked at the pinguino on the other side of the pistol, who was looking at him with pleading eyes. A moment later, he lowered the gun and muttered: “Get out.” The guard stood where he was for a moment, afraid to move. “Get out!” Alastair screamed. The guard stumbled his way to the door and out. Alastair stood idle in the doorway, then his infuriation got the better of him. He turned and shot the guard through the door. Eve, who was now about in the middle of the stairs, cringed at the dreadful, piercing sound. She cried harder, her cuore breaking into a million pieces.

The snow seemed to take to the air slower this time, as if to exaggerate the tragic scene. It took them to the middle of the woods, where Eve and Heather were walking with an older female who was carrying a very small pinguino in a bundle of blankets. A feeling of recognition immediately hit Skipper like a ton of bricks. He knew this place, and he knew he knew this female. But where would he know her from? Eve and Heather were each carrying small baskets, which were about half full with berries and herbs. “Why can’t we just run away, Nanny?” Eve asked. She and Heather were definitely a little older now.

“Because, Evelyn, he’d find us. And who knows what he’d do then.” The Nanny answered in her British accent. Skipper racked his brain. He knew that face, and he knew that voice.

“I suppose you’re right.” Eve detto with a sigh, picking up più berries. The three of them turned their heads at a low growling sound. A lupo began creeping out of a bush, stalking the penguins.

“Evelyn…take your sister and run…” Nanny ordered.

“But Nan-”

“Go, Eve!” Eve grabbed Heather da the flipper, both of them dropping their baskets, and ran into the woods. The lupo charged forward, but Nanny kicked up with her foot into its chest, sending it back a couple of feet. She then turned and ran with all of her might. The lupo chased after and Skipper followed. After a couple of minutes, Nanny tripped. The hatchling she was holding was crying now, and he o she rolled inoltrare, avanti successivo to a bush. The lupo crept up on Nanny, who was holding her ankle in pain, staring in horror at the beast. The lupo raised its paw; his sharp claws extended out, and slashed her stomach, leaving a gaping wound. Skipper watched in horror as the lupo got ready to pounce on her, but before it got the chance, a gunshot resounded through the air and the lupo was thrown to its side, a bullet hole through its head.

Nanny looked at the beast in confusion, but then turned her attention to her crying hatchling. She half-limped, half-crawled over to him. Skipper now knew who she was…and who the hatchling was. His eyes widened in shock and realization as he watched himself emerge from the woods. “Hey, are te alright?”

Skipper had been here when he was in the army a long time fa on a mission. He’d heard the growling and went to investigate. He watched himself crouch over the wounded pinguino holding the hatchling. Nanny spoke to him in gasps. “Please, take…my son.”

“No, ma’am. You’re going to be alright. We just need to get te to the doctor.”

“No. Please, I don’t have much time. He’ll be better off with you.”

Skipper watched himself take the hatchling from Nanny’s flippers. “But…I don’t know if I’d be able to care for him. I know nothing about being a father.”

“That’s fine. You’d certainly be a better…father than some people I know. Promise me you’ll take care of him.” She gasped, barely hanging on to life. Skipper began crying at the memory, especially now knowing the deep connection.

“I promise.”

“Than…Thank you.” Nanny smiled, and passed on.

The young Skipper got to his feet and looked at the pinguino in his arms. “Hey there, little fella. I’m gonna good care of you, don’t te worry.” The hatchling started to cry. “Oh no…no, don’t cry! It’s okay! Sh…” He started bouncing the young hatchling. Slowly, he stopped crying. The young Skipper smiled and turned when he heard a voice behind him.

“I think he likes you.” Skipper watched as Hans came up successivo to the young him. “What happened here?”

“A lupo killed his mother. She asked me to take care of him…but I don’t know if I can.”

“I’m sure you’ll do fine. It’s a sad giorno when such a young thing loses its mother. What will te name him?”

The young Skipper looked down into the hatchlings’ eyes. “Private. Young Private.”