Fate I

XXIV

"Kouen!" she turned back around with a bright, radiant smile that lit up the world itself.

He stared at her before taking a step forward, towards that light. His cloak and robes dragged along the snowy ground and with each step he took, his feet felt like heavy concrete, weighing and pulling him down and away from that light. But, no matter how much weight clung onto him, he continued walking towards her no matter how hard and difficult it was. Even if these emotions and feelings of his clung to him for eternity, he still wouldn't leave her side. He had already fallen much too deep to turn around.

Standing by her side, Lucy took his hand and he softened his eyes, holding hers back.

"Let's hope it snows a lot," Kouen said.

"Mn!" Lucy nodded her head in excitement. "That way, we can invite everyone out to play!"

She smiled happily as she thought about all the fun they could have in the snow, ranging from building snowmen to having snowball fights. The two walked back to the Phoenix Palace hand in hand and a gentle, fond smile settled upon Kouen's lips as he listened to her soothing, spring-like voice.

"Yeah," he said. "Whatever makes you happy."

Though no one saw the expression he wore at the time, it was an expression filled with infatuation and deep affection that no one could ever fathom to imagine on the cruel, cold-blooded First Imperial Prince. His love for the girl before him was the sole emotion he carried and the fire that lit itself in his heart continued to flicker without perishing, its flames burning and blazing. No one could understand just how much he cared for this girl and no one could ever compare with his emotions.

Not a single person.

A month later~

Sitting next to the window, Lucy gazed out with a blank face. With everything having been dealt with at the beginning of winter, the Kou Empire finally settled down and for once, there was peace during the harsh winter weather. A sigh escaped her lips as she rested her face into her arms, nestling against the warmth of her winter cloak as she sat in her kotatsu. The Lotus Hall was empty with the exception of a few maidservants and Shadow Guards on the watch for they had all gone to attend their lessons. Even though it was winter, their classes were still being held for being royals of the Imperial family, they couldn't afford to skip any lessons. Though Lucy, too, was a member of the Imperial family, everyone could agree more or less that attending these lessons would simply be a waste of time for her. After all, there was no child in the entirety of the Kou Empire brighter than her.

"I'm bored," Lucy plopped her face on the table.

Just as she said those words, her surroundings changed and instead of the Lotus Hall, she was now in the Celestial Archive which was still as vibrant and grand as she had remembered it. If anything, she felt it grew even more spacious. Laying there against Byakko among the numerous stuffed animals, she held a large stuffed bear close to her and snuggled against it.

"There's nothing to do," she rolled around.

"Well, if you hadn't played around for so long, maybe you could've been able to do something," Kaede appeared next to her. "It's obvious that you would catch a cold after playing in the snow for three hours."

"Indeed," Byakko nodded his head.

"But..." Lucy rolled around.

"Think of this as a lesson," Kaede remained adamant for when he had seen her collapsed on the floor, panting for breath and her face flushed and hot, he was sent into panic. It was the first time he thought about how fragile human life was and how easy it was to lose her.