Diamond Hearts, Frozen Souls

⋘5⋙ Pressure

"Your father was the top Ice God, a rigid and callous man, the epitome of ice. However, he had fallen for a woman who was sheltered from the world as she was promised to the Crown Prince. I believe he was the one who died about five thousand years ago. They met at her first festival - the first time she stepped into the outside world from Fushe Palace." Mo Sha heard a sharp intake of breath and asked if he should continue. The naturally pale goddess of snow lost even more colour. "Should I continue another day?"

Xue Hua shifted on the bed, gripping thin sheets. She had no memories of her parents yet Master Bai had told her they were wintry deities. Her father was indeed Ice God, but her mother was not from Snow Pavilion? Master Bai would not lie about such a trivial thing but the longer she looked at the god, she saw something in his eyes that frightened her. Her heart was heavy for the parents she could not remember and for a moment, she wanted to stop listening but urged Mo Sha to continue.

The knowledgeable god sighed and offered a second pillow for the goddess to embrace. Would dumping all this information affect her more than they could think? "The Crown Prince discovered their affair but he accepted their love and begged his father, the current Heavenly Emperor, to let them go live together. By this time, the majority of Tiantang opposed their union because this coupling was unheard of. How long would ice and sun be able to touch each other? Who would use all their energy first?"

Tiantang was a place full of judgement and corruption, any immortal would know this fact but many turn a blind eye or are too young to take notice. Xue Hua hated spending sleepless centuries diving into books and training to reach her current post and when she received Snow Pavilion's seal, she was cursed by older immortals for being too young and accusing her of influencing the goddess before her. The realm of immortals was not much different than the world of mortals. Full of pompous beings, men who only want to dominate and women who feign ignorance.

More often than not, marriage was a deal between two large institutions and not just the immediate family. Many gods and goddesses were sorted into pavilions, houses or palaces where specialized deities carry out their duties. Her father must have lived in Bing Palace, the place for icy deities. Bing Palace was at odds with Fushe Palace ever since the dawn of time and looking towards nature for reference, heat and ice do not work together. Of course, an Ice God courting a Sun Goddess would stir the order of Tiantang. Their relationship was doomed from the start but what exactly caused their demise?

"Are you alright?" Mo Sha rose from the bed to sit with his legs crossed. Lustrous hair flowed around his face as if the air was water and as fluid as silver strands, his hands grabbed the dark blanket to drape it over the shivering goddess. She should not be acting like the cold had seeped into her bones yet with her head lowered, she was frozen. Unfamiliar with emotions, the god figured it was best to drop the search for deciphering her emotion from the back. He tilted his head, placing his face under hers. Not even a flinch came when crystalline drops trickled onto his cheek.

Getting up from the bed with an obnoxious groan, the god of winter stretched and popped joints wherever he could. "It should be dusk right about now so how about you go back for dinner, sleep on it and come back whenever you want to hear more. I will go to North Academy to meet your master in person to break off the betrothal and give as many excuses required. Come, let me send you off through a port-"

Xue Hua grabbed his wrist, digging sharp nails into pearly flesh. Beneath the woman's tightly pressed lips were clenched teeth and something floating in the goddess' mind did not sit well with the rest of her body. There was a small tug and the shaking of a head. "I do not plan to return to this place after leaving so if you will allow it, may I at least spend the night here to hear everything? If my parents turned to you, they must have been desperate to protect me. Perhaps just speaking with you will fulfill their wishes."