When Prussia finally made it, a pair of skates slung over one shoulder by the straps, she was already half an hour late. Different excuses were on her mind, but the real reason--the fear of falling flat on her face--was the one she wasn't about to confess.

The pair was an ivory colored and high shafted, the sort Prussia was used to from her time whenever winter had graced the lakes with ice. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, a change from her usual, careless style.

"Lost track of time," she said eventually, with a sheepish smile.