The Lady of Snow and Sorrow - 2. The Breakdown

A modern dark fantasy version of "Snow Queen" fairytale featuring my beloved metal band Wintersun. As we know, the Snow Queen is Hel, the Scandinavian goddess of winter and death. She plans to take Wintersun's lead guitarist Jari to her hall, but abducts the drummer Kai Hahto instead. The rest of the band takes great pains to find him in the severe world of the Norse magic. I own nobody, neither do I own the picture.

Fandom: Wintersun
Characters: Jari Mäenpää,Jukka Koskinen,Kai Hahto,Teemu Mäntysaari
Genre: Gen,Het,Slash
Rating: Adult  

May was sunny and glorious, but the band would not enjoy much of it, as they were preparing a series of big concerts in Finland and beyond. And there was definitely nothing worse than the frontman's sudden nervous breakdown just before the show. 

Backstage, having already tuned his guitar, disguised for the show, Jari was walking in rounds, like a captured animal in cage, and shivering hard. He felt no control over his own hands and asked his colleagues to cancel the concert, telling them he wouldn't be able to play.

The guys were thunderstruck. Usually, it was Jari who energized the band before the show and helped them to overcome fear.

"Jari, what will we say to all those people out there?" protested Jukka, the bass guitarist. 

"That I have a heart attack... - Jari sad hoarsely. - In fact, I'm very closed to it."

The band members clearly saw tears in his eyes.

"What the hell is going on, man? - Kai Hahto, the drummer, put his broad palm onto the lead guitarist's sharp shoulder. - Please, have some whiskey and put yourself together, at last." 

The drummer handed a bulky metallic flask to his friend. The lead guitarist made some big gulps and sat down heavily on the floor. Teemu sat next to Jari and put the older man's head on his lap. The stage manager entered, urging the band to quit fooling around and start playing at last, but Jukka fiercely told him to scram.

"Please, tell us what's happened," he said calmly. "Each problem has a solution."

"You'll never believe me. You will laugh."

"I don't think that such big guys as you really fear things like this."

"You'll drive me to a madhouse..."

"Only after the show."

"I saw Her in the crowd. The Snow Queen. Do you remember the night when we wrote this song?"

"Yes. You looked so sad and anxious. I thought you were just owerwhelmed by emotion..."

"I was. Because I saw Her while you were still sleeping. I trust all of you, guys, so listen..."

And Jari told Wintersun a detailed story on everything he saw and felt that gloomy night. He informed them as well that the Lady was present in the concert hall: he'd recognize her divine face everywhere. Ordinary people would take him for a schizophrenic, but not his band. They knew Jari was much of a visionary, and carefully listened to their leader. Suddenly Kai laughed. 

"Man! As long as we are together, the Snow Bitch will do us no harm. I'll make Her seat upon my long old dick, and she will surely melt down!"

A faint smile touched Jari's lips. Though the joke was evil, it brought the head of Wintersun back to confidence. 

"I know nothing about your dick, Kai, but our playing will melt Her for sure," Teemu joked more elegantly. 

The air in the concert hall was full of tension, as if a thunderstorm was about to strike. But Wintersun took the time they didn't really have. Jari drank half of Kai's whiskey, but still was able to play perfectly, thanks to his extraordinary skills and permanent practice. 

"Perhaps we'll exclude the song about that creature from today's list?" Jukka proposed. 

"We'd better not piss Her off," the leader sighed. "Come on, guys, we're being late. And sorry for this hysteria of mine."

Kai was the first to appear on the stage, he put himself at the drums and produced a long fierce beat. Then followed Jukka, waving his big hand in the air. Teemu, slight and graceful, greeted the audience by raising his dark-green Ibanez over his head. Finally, the tall Jari came with his silver-coloured guitar on the shoulder, his light hair falling down to the waist. He approached the microphone and gave a long fierce cry. The human ocean before him roared and waved in reply, giving the band a long-awaited moment of pure bliss. 

He didn't look at the crowd any more, his voice was strong, and his fingers were as rapid as usual. The leader immersed into the shamanic extazy, summoning the hidden energies of the Space and forwarding them to the people around. As long as his playing was immaculate and his melodies were majestic, he had nothing to fear. The love of his audience was his best shield against Evil. 

The last song was "The Snow Queen", and it was really one of Wintersun's darkest pieces, heavy and heart-piercing, though Jari only used clear vocals here, without screaming or growling. The audience kept silence all the way, and now one dared to move. Despite the great number of people, it was getting colder in the hall with every second. Jari felt his fingers become stiff and disobedient. What the fuck?

He looked at Teemu, who experienced the same trouble. The younger guitarist bit his lip but was not going to surrender. Suddenly Jari heard Kai screw up his party and saw him shudder, as if he was in pain. The drummer regained himself at once, the awkward pause was quite short, but everyone heard it, of course.

Still, the public was well-disposed and asked for more. Jari brought his excuses and told the listeners that both he and the drummer were not feeling quite well. That was not really a brilliant thing to do, but the leader understood: it was dangerous to go on. 

"How are you, Kai?" he asked the drummer, when they were backstage again. The man's right eye was all red, and the tears were streaming down hihs cheek.

"I feel like shit," Kai replied. "As if some faggot plunged a screwdriver both in my heart and in my chest."

"You need to see a doctor, right now" Jukka said.

"Fuck the doctors," Kai grunted, badly upset with his performance. And when Teemu approached to stroke him on the shoulder, the drummer said in a husky voice:

"Never, never do that again!.." 

(to be continued)