"I feel the wind's cool embrace

As I stand on the mountain which was once your home

'Come to me,' I pleaded to the falling gray snow

But they no longer reach your ears.

I wanted to see you

All for the wrong reasons

That has always felt right.

Only you can tell my story

But your voice has dried up long ago

Along with the withered flowers on your altar.

Even as your blazing feathers scorch my skin

It can only remind me of your loss

But it's not enough to melt

The frost that's spreading in my chest.

This curse eats me up from the inside out

Still nothing can quench the thirst inside my heart."

The words danced in front of her eyes and she felt a surge of longing crash into her heart. She could feel a tear forming in the corner of her eye.

She placed a hand over her chest, disoriented as to the sudden emotions that she had just felt.

"Don't let it confuse you."

Saki looked up from the scroll she was studying to see the unnerving sight of those fiery red hair and purple eyes standing in front of her.

"Oh. It's just you," Saki only replied.

"Were you expecting someone else?"

A pair of slanted eyes flashed on Saki's mind. "No," she quickly replied.

There was a slight teasing smile on her face before she reached out to place a hand over Saki's shoulder. Immediately, Saki felt her world spin again before becoming dark.

"Sister," a voice pierced the silence of the darkness.

Saki opened her eyes to a dimly lit room. Judging by the lamps' illumination, the room is of eastern architecture, probably Chinese going by the items and decors she could see.

"Sister," the voice called out again. Somehow it sounded familiar, yet Saki was certain this was the first time she heard it.

------

"Sister."

She turned towards the voice, feeling a bit dizzy.

"Brother," she heard herself say.

"Are you feeling alright?" There was unmasked concern in his features. He has always been like this, always caring for her.

"I'm fine."

It's mortifying. She's obviously the older one but she always ends up the one being cared for. What good is this weak body of hers?

"You need to take better care of yourself. You'll be married soon and I won't be able to look after you then."

"En," she mumbled.

He came closer, taking her hand and placing something on her palm.

She pulled her hand back and saw it was a golden hairpin with a white chrysanthemum design. She looked at him quizzically.

"Keep this with you at all times. It is a token of protection. The palace is a treacherous place and I won't be there all the time to protect you."

Another blur and the surroundings have changed. This time, she was lying in an ornate bed inside an extravagantly decorated room.

"Your highness," a young maid stood by the bed. "You are awake. You have been asleep for three days."

She felt dizzy and weak. Her hand found itself feeling her stomach. It was flat. Strange. She couldn't recall anything that happened before she was unconscious.

She turned to the maid.

"Where is my baby?"

The young maid knelt to the floor. "Your highness," she said in a frightened voice. "The baby was stillborn. His Majesty and your father had the baby buried in the royal graveyard while you were still asleep."

Speechless, she could only bury her face in her hands and cry.

A blur of images flashed in Saki's eyes one after another. After she lost her child, her status in the inner palace steeply fell. She had lost favor in the King's eye and was neglected. In turn, the other concubines began to treat her badly.

The barrage of scenes stopped and Saki finds herself in the throne room staring at the horrific scene playing out in front of her.

Her brother was standing at the foot of the throne, a blade protruding from his back. Crimson red blood was pooling at his feet.

Standing beside him, holding the hilt of the sword in his hand, was her husband, the King, grunting as he pulled the entire length of the blade out of her brother's body.

Stunned, she took a moment before stammering out her words.

"B-brother.. Y-yo-your M-m-majesty.. W-what is g-going on?"

With great effort, her brother slowly walked towards her. He stumbled in the middle of the way, falling to the floor, his knees unable to support his body anymore. Still, he crawled to where she was, his right arm outstretched, reaching out to her.

"Sister."

He spoke with every ounce of his strength. Gone was the proud and handsome warrior. What was left for his sister to see was a shell of what he once was.

"My dear sister. We have been betrayed," he said, haltingly, as his hand gripped the hem of her robe.

She fell to her knees. The stench of blood that made its way to her nose was sickening, making her nauseous. Wide-eyed and in shock, she could barely understand the garbled words that were coming from his brother's blood-filled mouth.

With great effort, he pushed himself up and looked into her eyes, a bloody hand touching her cheek.

"You bore twins," he said, smiling sadly. "A boy and a girl."

Those words snapped her into consciousness. She turned to look at her brother in the eye.

"I tried to save them," he said as his tears began to flow, mixing with his blood and the sweat that bore witness to his pain. "But I couldn't. I was too powerless."

His voice was becoming softer and softer as she felt him start to slowly lean his body into her arms. She could feel his life force draining as he said his final words. "They are gone. Father has forsaken us."

With that, he slowly let out his breath and closed his eyes, never to open again.

Saki could feel the world crashing down around her as a very powerful and oppressive aura filled the throne room.

A scream pierced the air, one of unspeakable anguish and despair and loss, followed by a burst of raging hot hellfire. And in the blink of an eye, throne room, the palace, the entire kingdom was obliterated.

The explosion was over as soon as it began. She was sitting, unharmed, in the midst of the vast expanse of rubble and debris. In her arms was the hollow shell of her brother, which quickly turned to ashes and was blown away by the wind.

As she sat there, crying, she realized that the golden hairpin her brother had given her was in her hand. And without hesitation, she aimed the sharp tip onto her neck and pierced it in one swift motion.

Saki woke up with a start and immediately sat up. She was drenched in sweat and was shivering.

She looked around and saw that she was in her room, and in fact, had been lying on her bed. However, she couldn't remember how she got there. She turned to the window and saw that it was still dark outside. The clock on the bedside table read 2:00.

She was about to get up to get a glass of water when her hand felt something cool by her thigh. She took it in her hand and opened her lamp to see. It was the golden hairpin she saw in her dream. Surprised, she tossed the item in front of her and watched it land a few inches away, the tip of the hairpin pointing straight at her.

Suddenly, she no longer felt like getting up anymore. She couldn't shake the prickling sensation that crept on the side of her neck where the jugular artery is.

She hugged her knees towards her chest and buried her head in her arms as she waited for daylight to wash her fears away.