Snowbound Land | 1. Ashes

Resentment.

Hatred.

An urge to take revenge.

A burning red.

The girl who was once queen didn’t look around at the ashes that had been her land. She stood up and dusted herself off, striding away from the ruins and into an unknown forest–the closest thing to walk into.

“Wait for me,” she said to no one in particular, or maybe someone far away, “I’ll destroy you too someday, like you did me. I’ll destroy you, and everyone else who plays this game of deception. Watch your land burn. Watch yourself burn!”

2. Moon →

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Snowbound Land | 2. Moon

How much time had passed? There was no way to tell. In the dense forest, it was dark throughout her journey. Maybe days had passed, or maybe it had only been hours. For unknown reasons, she kept walking deeper into the forest, not caring for the bushes and thorns. It had been too long since the last time she had to plot a revenge.

After some more time, she stepped into a clearing. She found herself staring into the waters of a lake, where the reflection of a full moon was shining at her. She saw herself overlapping with the moon, for the last time.

“What is your name?” a voice echoed all around her.

She looked at the reflection of the moon. “I’m Phoebe now,” was her answer. It wasn’t a lie, she’d decided to change her identity.

“What have you come for?”

“?” She had stumbled into the place, but she answered automatically, “Revenge.”

“What do you see on the surface of these waters?”

“Myself, and you.” She was talking to the moon, she knew that now.

“I will assist you. Use your power wisely. As a price, you will vanish from the face of earth. Remember that power, will always make you alone.”

“Always,” Phoebe replied.

← 1. Ashes

3. Borderline →

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Snowbound Land | 3. Borderline

Vanish from the face of earth. Phoebe didn’t have long to wonder what that meant.

She wade through the trees and bushes now with ease, as if she had turned into a phantom. No thorns bothered her ankles. But this, it was the price, not the power. She would find out later, as she was finally out of the forest and into human civilization again. It was somebody else’s kingdom, she knew. But whose, she did not know. It was a busy place. From a distance, Phoebe saw people rushing past one another, bumping past one another. She strode straight through the crowd. Nobody noticed her, although her dress was a fiery red.

As if a ghost.

Closing her eyes now, she listened in to the conversations among villagers.

“A new line of dancing girls?”

“Into the palace, yes.”

“When?”

“Aren’t the candidates already there?”

Phoebe looked. There was indeed a string of peasant girls performing the same dance. She looked further. Immediately, she’d recognized the king of this land. Although he wasn’t dressed in royal attire, and though she had never seen him before, she knew.

Why wouldn’t a queen–even robbed of land–not be able to make out a king?

The King had long hair white as snow, whereas Phoebe’s was black as coal. The look in his eyes was bright as day, as if gifted by the sun, and hers was dark as night, as if cursed by the moon. However appealing he appeared, the smirk on his face confirmed that he was the exact type of man she had sworn not so long ago to destroy.

Look, look how he was picking out the line of girls. See how he was looking at them, like a wolf looking at a herd of sheep.

What she didn’t notice was, she was wearing the same smirk as she studied him.

← 2. Moon

4. Field of vision→

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Snowbound Land | 4. Field of vision

Just to experiment, Phoebe stepped unannounced into the line of dancers. She didn’t know their dance, but she knew her own–and she didn’t follow the line, she waded in and out of line, advancing to the front.

And she danced.

To be able to defend oneself against the art of deception, one must first master the art of deception. The King was among villagers, camouflaged, disguised. Phoebe knew, but she couldn’t expose her true identity too.

There was another thing she knew. She knew she was catching his eye. At first, she was surprised. While nobody seemed to see her, the King’s smirk grew ever so slightly as she passed by. She gave a small snicker, and moved on.

When the crowds had all scattered, the King approached her. “Hi,” he greeted.

“Hello.” She hid her glare with a smile.

“Are you a genius?” he asked all of a sudden.

“What?” Whatever she had been expecting, it was certainly not this. All her pretense dropped in a second before she even started using it. “What kind of person would approach someone just to ask if they’re a genius?”

At this, the King laughed. “I would,” he said. “So are you one? You haven’t answered.”

“Of course not. Why do you say so?”

“You made your way to me without being seen by anybody. If you’re not a genius then how would you do that?”

Her gaze shifted. “Who knows?” It’s not like I’ll say it was the moon, she thought.

“You do.” He peered at her a bit more closely. A corner of his lips tilted up. “Or maybe it’s because you were meant to be seen by just me.”

“Don’t romanticize it.” She rolled her eyes.

“Then, do you have a better explanation?”

“No.”

“We might have been made for each other!”

“No.”

“Why not? Maybe we will be compatible.”

“No.”

“See for yourself then, be my girlfriend.”

“Hell no.”

“Pfft.” If the King had been trying to appear cool and alluring before, it broke at this moment with an involuntary chuckle. “Say yes for once!”

“No!”…And, if she had been planning anything, it all went up in flames.

← 3. Borderline

5. Reflection →

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Snowbound Land | 5. Reflection

That was the only time she’d seen the King, until much later. After his first appearance, it was announced that a new group of dancers would be selected in three months. In the meantime, there was no news from anywhere. Phoebe lived near the lake where she could see the moon every night, where she could be secluded from the rest of the town. Every night, she gazed into the water, and every night, she saw no reflection. At times, she thought she was really disappearing, since her presence couldn’t be easily felt anyhow.

Every month, she moved to a new place. Life in this kingdom was freer than she’d anticipated. And while this land knew nothing of her, she was beginning to learn about it.

Once, she ran into the King himself.

She was walking barefoot on the damp grass that night when she spotted a figure glimmering in the moonlight, a few feet in front of her. From behind, she recognized the long white braid. Phoebe stepped up to him. “Hey,” she said. I’m going to keep my cool this time, she told herself.

“Hey.” was his instinctive reply, but when he turned around and saw who it was, he exclaimed, “Whoa!”

“?!” Startled–again–she jumped back.

“Am I really talking to you? It’s been so long!”

“Yes you are, don’t you see me?” She spun around once, as if showing that she existed. Like the first time, her pretense never even had the chance to be activated.

“I see you.” A grin spread across the King’s face when she spun. “Aren’t you like a ghost?”

“Maybe I am one,” she said, strolling to the lake. She lowered her eyes to the surface of the water. As expected, there was nothing looking back at her except the King’s widened eyes, which only remained widened for a moment. “Why did I show you that?” she shrugged and backed off again.

The King seemed satisfied. “You showed me because your heart knows you are meant for me.”

“No way.”

“How can you be so sure? You’ve never tried.”

“I’m sure. No.”

He sighed. “Do you ever say yes?”

“…No?”

The King laughed again. In her mind, he was always laughing, ever since the first day.

← 4. Field of vision

6. Hidden identity →

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