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Chapter Text

The ornate wheels of lavish carriages crunch over the freshly fallen snow, horses pulling them down a large drive, where guests can see the large mansion coming closer and closer. Joyous music exudes from the doors, and dancing and laughter greets them as they walk inside.

There are people in dresses and suits of all kinds, the large chandeliers shining over the dancers. A small boy dances with a big, childish grin. His mother laughs with him as she twirls him, and the small eleven year old laughs with glee. Bartholomew's eyes are drawn to his father, who makes his way across the ballroom to his wife and child.

Bartholomew giggles and follows his parents when they enthusiastically draw him across the room to the thrones. His eyes widen childishly when his father brings out a beautiful music box. Along with it comes a necklace.

"This is for you, Bear. I know you're going to miss me when I leave to Paris, so I got you this to remind you of me." Barry's smile drops a bit at the mention of his father leaving to Paris for business reasons. But when Henry winds up the box, it opens and plays a melody Bartholomew has heard before.

The three of them hum along to the tune, and Bartholomew's small voice sings the last line: "One upon a December..." He grins when his father gives him the closes box. Bartholomew squints childishly at the little necklace. "Together.. in Paris? Oh! Thank you father!" Bartholomew squeals, hugging his father around the neck.

Bartholomew's eyes are then drawn to a servant boy who is down the side hallway. He's munching on an apple, and the two make eye contact. Bartholomew blushes a bit, turning away. But not before he sees the boy pulled back by a cook, scolding the boy for running away with food that isn't his.

Soon, Bartholomew forgets about the other boy when a chandelier smashes to the ground and the candles in the room all blow out at the same time. He hears screams and gasps, and suddenly the doors burst open, letting the cold winter air stream in. His mother holds Bartholomew close as his father takes a few steps in front of his family.

The man who enters the room is tall and gauntly, eyes a bright red. Bartholomew and his mother scream when a chandelier near them is hit with red lightning, and it crashes to the ground. A sharp piece of glass hit's the boy's cheek, and he cries out. His mother cradles him close.
"You have no right to be here, you monster!" His father yells, fists clenching. The man crackles with lightning, and he's suddenly in front of the King. Henry keeps his ground, although he flinches the slightest bit.

"But I do, Henry. You all ruined my life! You deserve to pay!" Henry stumbles back when the man crackles with strong energy. Henry still stays in front of his family, and the guests start screaming and running when lightning zooms about the room, and Bartholomew cries out when his mother is suddenly gone, pulled into the lightning storm.

Henry grabs Bartholomew and runs, his son sobbing and struggling when they hear Nora scream. Henry has silent tears running down his cheeks, but knows his wife would've wanted Bartholomew safe. They run for their lives, hearing people screaming in terror behind them.
They enter Bartholomew's play room, and they realize they ran themselves into a corner. But suddenly, the wall across from them opens, and a small boy stumbles out.
"This way! Go through the servant's quarters, hurry!" Yells the boy, and Henry grabs Bartholomew's hand tightly and drags him into the small door. Barry struggles backwards when he drops the music box.

"My music box!" The boy cries out in distress. But, they see red reflecting off the walls and Henry drags him in quickly. The boy looks between the door and the music box, and quickly grabs it.

The two royals exit a door on the side of the mansion, and Henry urges him on faster. The ice beneath them creaks, but holds steady. They are almost to the edge of the pond when suddenly lightning flashes behind them. Bartholomew screams when he is grabbed, and he kicks against the strong grip. Henry stumbles forward, but the ice creaks warningly.

The evil man suddenly yells, as the ice beneath him breaks. The man falls, still snarling and grabbing at Bartholomew's ankle. The young boy kicks at the hand, and he finally lets go. The two royals don't see the man in the lightning's twitching as he sinks into the icy depths.
They run, adrenaline spiking.

The two of them push through a crowd, running for a trolley that's moving forward. Bartholomew can barely keep up, panting and crying. Henry tries to reach for his son as he puts a foot on the back of the trolley, but Bartholomew was farther back than he thought. Bartholomew cries out for his father, tripping over someone's feet.

Henry frantically reaches for his son, crying when he's held back by some men on the trolley. They yell he'll hurt himself, but he still struggles when he sees his son trip onto the train tracks. Henry watches in tears as his son knocks his head on the hard ground and loses consciousness.

The necklace grasped tightly in the boy's hand shines in the moonlight as his father cries for his son.

Soon, the crowd blocked the sight of the King, and his son was lost forever.

Chapter Text

Petersburg bustled with people, shopkeepers yelling out prices and people talking. A man with a close-shaved head, icy blue eyes and a long trench coat pushes his way through the crowd. On his way past a newspaper stand, he easily nabs the paper, unfolding it as he walks.

He raises a sardonic eyebrow when he reads the top article.

10 Million Dollar Prize for the Return of the Lost Prince, Bartholomew Allen.

Leonard Snart smirks and folds it up neatly, pushing it into the pocket of his coat. As he makes his way past an alleyway, he spots his old friend beating on another man. The blue-eyed man pulls his angry friend away, guiding him away.

"Opportunity strikes, my old friend." Leonard says, raising his arm in a dramatic motion. His friend merely grunts, but he's listening. They quickly make their way up into their safe house, rugs and random bags everywhere.

"They're putting out a prize for who finds the dear prince, Bartholomew Allen." Leonard says with a mean grin, opening the window. He breathes in the city air, hearing the chatter below the window. He turns toward his friend with a smug grin, hurrying towards a safe in the back of the room. He takes out a small, beautiful music box, putting it safely in his bag.

"If we can doll up some pretty boy, make him act like the dear Prince, then, Mick, it'll be the greatest con in history! We'll be rich!" Mick lets a slow smile make it's way onto his face, and the two pack their bags. They head off to the abandoned Palace, where they'll find their Prince.

Barry waves with a grin to all the kids yelling goodbye in the orphanage, pulling the huge trench coat around him tighter. He turns back to Mr. Wells, with a disgusted look on his face.

"I've fed you, I've clothed you, given you shelter, but you still act like the King of Shiba!" Barry mouths sarcastically along with the words, moving his hand in a blabbing motion. "I even got you a job at the fishing market. And this is how you repay me!" Mr. Wells yells, gesturing at Barry mocking him. "You may think you're better than everyone else, with that necklace of yours. Together in Paris... bah!" Barry frowns angrily, putting his hands on his hips.

"But it's true!" Barry protests, fingering at the necklace. Wells stops and jabs at Barry's chest.
"You aren't better than anyone here, so you better be grateful for all that I've done for you. Take the road out of here, and when you reach the fork in the road, go left. Now get out of here!"

Barry's scarf is thrown in his face, and the gates promptly close with a loud bang.

"Good riddance!" Barry snaps, and stomps away. He mutters to himself, crossing his arms. His cheeks feel flushed in the cold, and he finally comes to the fork in the road. He stops, looking between the two signs.

"Do I really want to go and live the rest of my life in a boring job? I could always go right...." He mutters, looking at the sign to Petersburg. Barry glances down at the necklace. The necklace is the only thing he remembers from before going to the orphanage. It's always been a constant in his life, giving him motivation to go to Paris, and try to find his actual family.

He has to have at least some family, a mother, a father, a sister? Someone.

Barry leans back against a tree with a huff, green eyes flicking between the two forks of the
road. He yells exasperatedly. "C'mon, someone! Just give me a sign! Just one!"

The brunette startles when he hears a rustle next to him. He watches with surprise when a puppy wriggles out of the snow. Barry's about to look around for an owner of the dog when the end of the scarf is suddenly tugged by the dog. Barry yelps when the dog runs off with the scarf, and Barry chases after him. "Hey! Give that back, you rascal!" Barry can't help but laugh when the puppy growls playfully.

Somehow, Barry trips over his own scarf and lands in the soft snow. The puppy is running around in circles, then runs a few steps in the way to Petersburg.

Barry huffs with a smile, but dusts his back off before following the dog. He grabs his scarf, fastening it around his neck again.

"Hmmm... What should I call you? How does... Cisco sound?" Barry asked, looking down at his little companion. The dog barked happily, and Barry laughed.

He looked down the road, and saw large buildings in the distance. "Heart don't fail me now..." Barry muttered to himself, looking back one last time.

The boy and his dog companion disappeared into the snow, not knowing the adventure that would soon ensue.

Chapter Text

Pushing his way through the crowds of Petersburg was difficult, but Barry persevered. There were people yelling, people working, and everyone bustling. Eventually, Barry spotted the ticket booths. He made his way through the crowds, and got in line.

Barry fiddled with his necklace, staring down at the cursive words that he's known for so long. Paris here I come! Barry thought. He tilted his chin up eagerly when the man in the booth called the next person.

"Hi! Can I get tickets to Paris?" Barry asked with a smile. The man was unimpressed, a bored look on his face.

"Ya' got travel papers?" He asked. Barry cringed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Um... no?" The man nearly growled, and Barry flinched when he yelled:

"No papers, no ticket!" The man slammed the door shut, and Barry yelped at the loud noise. Barry turned around dejectedly, not sure what to do now. Suddenly, an old lady took a hold of his arm.

"If you want papers, go see Leonard, at the abandoned Palace. He'll help you out. But you never heard it from me!" The lady hissed, before disappearing into the crowd. Barry tilted his head after her, but turned and headed off into the streets.

Finally, after asking around, Barry found his way to the palace. It was a looming, dark mass in the snow, and Barry walked up the big set of stairs. Barry stage whispered after Cisco when he ran right up to the doors, and Barry chased after him.

"Hey, wait! Don't go in - there...." Barry sighed when Cisco pushed his way in through a small hole in the boards that blocked the entrance. Now Barry had to follow. Barry cringed when the boards made a loud cracking noise, as they dropped to the floor. The noise echoed through the entrance hall of the huge palace.

Little did Barry know that two thieves heard the sound, both of them looking at each other suspiciously, getting up to investigate.

Barry entered the large ball room, and he turned in circles, looking at the beautiful tapestries on the wall.

"Hello?" Barry called out, walking around the perimeter of the room. He trailed his fingers slowly over a dusty table, leaving a clean trail in the middle of the dust. He examined the surely expensive vases, with delicate fingers.

Barry suddenly felt a sort of déjà vu when he looked out into the sleek floor of the ballroom. He could swear he heard a child's laughter and music. Barry shook his head, quickly moving his hand from the table.

He couldn't help but walk out onto the dance floor, Cisco following. Barry twirled childishly, and imagined some long lost memory of dancing here. As he remembered this, he suddenly remembered a long lost melody.

"Once upon a December..." Barry whispered to himself. Barry startled out of his memories when he heard footsteps coming. The brunette turned in alarm when he saw two men come out of a doorway. One was burly, the other tall and fit.

"Who're ya'?" The burly one said, and Barry immediately ran for the other side of the room, and as he was climbing the stairs, the other one called out.

"Wait wait wait! We're not going to hurt you..." The man trailed off when Barry stopped in front of a painting, looking back at the two men.

-

Leonard stumbled from his sentence when the boy stopped in front of the painting of the Royal Family. The way the light streamed in hit the face of the Prince in the painting, showing off green eyes. Len basically stuttered when he saw nearly the same eyes in the boy who had somehow found his way in here. Len quickly composed himself, putting on a charming mask.

"Like I said, we're not going to hurt you. We just wanna know why you're here, of all places." The boy fiddled with a necklace around his neck, most likely a nervous habit. When the boy still didn't speak, Len introduced them. "I'm Len, this is Mick." The boy perked up at that, smiling a bit.

"I'm Barry. Oh, are you Leonard? Um, someone, I probably shouldn't name, told me to come here to get papers. You see, I want to go to Paris to find my family." The boy finally spoke, his voice stuttering slightly.

Both Len and Mick smirked at each other, Len forming a plan as he went.

"Hmm. Well, we do have three tickets and travel papers to Paris. But... that's reserved for the Prince Bartholomew Allen. It can't just be anyone." Len started, and the boy's eyes widened. "But, you do look an awful lot like him, you know." Len and Mick made their way up the stairs, towards the Prince lookalike. "And, it's likely that since it's been so long, the Prince could have possibly forgotten who he is."

The kid nods, naive eyes sparkling. "That is true... And, I don't remember anything from before I was eleven, so..."

"So, we can all go to Paris, and see if you are actually the crowned Prince. And, if it doesn't turn out, it's just an honest mistake. And, you get to go to Paris anyway! So it's a win win." Mick smirked at him, the plan working out perfectly.

The kid smiled, nodding. "Yeah. I could be the Prince, who knows?"

So, Len threw an arm over the kid's shoulders, and guided him back down the stairs. Len snorted when the dog accompanying the kid barked and followed after them, pawing at Mick's foot.

"We could always leave the dog here.." Len started, but the kid quickly ducked from under his arm and walked over to Mick to grab the dog.

"Um, no way! Cisco's coming with us, no matter what!" The kid cried, holding the dog close. Len rolled his eyes but pet the dog's head.

They bickered a bit more as they left the large, echoing ball room.

-

Far above, in the high ceiling, a red orb sat. It crackled with red lightning, mist seemingly shifting around it. In a bright flash of red light, it disappeared, only small slithering lines of electricity showing it was ever there.

A tall, gauntly man sat on a hard ledge of rock. His powers were stripped of him, and he was stuck to rot, to become skin and bone. His eyes snapped upward, as a crackle of electricity sounded. The man stood, fists clenched. He went to investigate, and his eyes bugged at the sight of the red orb.

His grin was manic, as he picked up the powerful object. He raised it over his head with glee, the power washing over him.

"The last of the Allen family will finally be mine!" The man cackled, eyes glowing a dark, evil red.