Lumi watched the snow fall.

It was cold.

She had slept awful last night. She tried to start the fire within her room, but it never managed to catch, and she did not have enough wood to maintain it. No one did come to her with food, but she chose to ignore that. She had not been expecting a welcoming treatment. She laughed at some points, out loud and alone, when she thought of the bewilderment the King might be feeling.

To suddenly be in possession of a person!

Lumi shook her head, something close to the sorrow she had been pushing off, now creeping in.

She was no longer a princess.

She had cast that title off.

She was just a girl now. Just Lumi. She held no power, no title, no land, and no support.

She was alone.

Lumi rose to her feet, going back to her usual post of staring out the window. There was a large possibility that the King had quite honestly forgotten about her.

She wondered if she could escape and find the kitchen. Her eyes traveled to her skin and clothes.

Her appearance stood out so much here.

Everyone within this land seemed to match the snow. They were pure and white and seemed almost like angels. Lumi felt like darkness. She seemed like a shadow now, unseen unless you looked closely and took the time to notice. Even the traditional dress of the summer lands looked odd, in its bright colors and large adornments that she wore. The metal against her skin did not help in providing warmth.

"Food isn't coming..." she glanced at the door that led to the hallway.

"Daddy isn't coming..."

There was a long sigh before Lumi stepped forward and grabbed the door handle. "You can do this..." she smiled at her lack of confidence.

"Just...maybe find some bread...and a blanket...and some wood...." she laughed at her growing list.

Quietly she opened the door, peering out.

She should have felt insulted that there had been no guard posted. But at the same time, instant relief washed over her.

"Oh!" she turned back and took her pillow, stuffing it under the only blanket she had, and inspecting her work.

She shrugged and turned back to exit the room.

The hallway was silent. Lumi closed her eyes and envisioned the route the guard had taken. She had marked each corner carefully, taking note of all the lefts and rights. He had been too distracted by her to even try and make the path more complicated.

With silent steps, she retraced the ones from yesterday.

She had observed it then, but she still noted now how eerily quiet the castle seemed to be. The chill spread to this area, where there were no sounds of life. Within the summer palace, it seemed that every place, every hall, was filled with warmth and acceptance.

Every time Lumi heard voices, she quickly hid around the corner. She had no idea where the kitchen could be, but wondered if all castles were structured in the same way. With the summer palace, the kitchen was usually on the far end near the bottom, out of sight, but at a surface where workers could come easily in and out.

She tried her theory, going to the lowest floors.

It was unhelpful to sniff the air and scent it out. Usually, one could do that in her own palace, and trace the kitchen just by the smell of bread alone, but everything within the winter kingdom seemed void of warmth.

After what seemed like hours of walking, Lumi finally had the thoughts of giving up. Her feet were stiff and cold- they hurt so much, she wondered if they were about to fall off, and the metal bands that encircled her ankles hurt every time they made contact with her skin. Until she saw a servant carrying a basket of carrots.

Lumi quickly followed her, keeping as silent as she could behind. The servant was completely focused on her task and did not take note of anything else in her surroundings, missing the obvious sound of Lumi's jangling footsteps (In truth, she was not the stealthiest).

Lumi felt a wide grin spread across her face as she watched the girl descend, and heard the familiar bustle of the kitchen below. Even if they were different kingdoms, there were just some things that never changed.

Lumi did not feel the need to sneak in. After all, trying to steal the food would make her a thief.

So instead, she proudly walked in.

No one stopped in their task to stare at her. Lumi felt some small disappointment, her flair for the dramatic dying down quickly when she realized these people would most likely only stop for their King alone.

One person, however, did look at her with a curious gaze.

"You must be that summer girl."

Lumi started at the name in recognition.

"Hello...I'm Lumi...I just came for something...to eat?" She didn't know why it came out as a question. The woman in front of her had an air of authority around her that made Lumi automatically stand straighter.

The woman eyed her skeptically, putting her hands on her hips.

"You think you-,"

Lumi quickly interrupted, realizing where the conversation may go if she didn't interfere, "Of course, I'll work for it! I'm good in the kitchen. I love to cook. I often worked in my kitchen at home."

The woman abruptly smiled, "A princess in the kitchen?"

"It's not such a rare sight," Lumi argued, feeling her own smile come to her face.

"Well Princess Lumi, I think I would like to see a princess struggle her way through my kitchen..."

Lumi knew that it was only because of her status of being sold and disposed of that the cook had so much confidence to talk to her. If she was home and had been addressed in such a way, she would have shown some backbone in defiance.

But the situation was different here.

Lumi only stepped forward looking around to see where she could fit in between the bustle and busyness of the kitchen.

"Here, you can station next to me," the woman obviously was the head cook. She had been observing her kitchen before addressing Lumi and had been the only one to stop and talk to her.

Lumi obeyed her command, looking up in time to see a flash of a challenge rising in her eyes.

Lumi felt her own competitiveness take hold. She had been raised in a family of four brothers. She knew the word competitive.

"Right, little princess, let's see how you fare."

* * *

The King sat silently on his throne, looking at a document that had been handed to him. The side doors to the room had been opened, allowing for snow to edge its way and slowly creep into the room.

Even the guards who stood as silent sentries shivered against the cold.

The King only continued reading, his figure unmoving except for when a page was turned or a small comment was made about the contents of the document.

Because of the silence in the room, the whispers that occurred outside the door could be heard.

"You tell him."

"No! You're the one who was supposed to go last night and forgot!"

"But you were the one who went this morning!"

"He'll kill me!" a low sob could be heard, and then another sob.

The King gave a long sigh and looked up, making eye contact with one of the guards who stood by the door.

The guard nodded and opened the door, revealing the two crying women.

They both shrieked at the sudden exposure, standing and brushing themselves off.

"My King," each bowed low to the irritated man.

"What is it?" He barked out his words, causing a shiver to come over them. His eyes were still trained on the document in his hand, not looking up to the women.

"Um...my King....the um..." the woman's voice was thick with tears and trembling. The King felt his eyes close in frustration.

"Speak."

The guards stayed silent but noted with painful observation that each word the king seemed to speak had the exact opposite effect of what he desired.

The other woman spoke, her voice only a thin whisper, "the girl...the summer girl is um...not in her room...King Theros..."

The head of the King snapped up. Both women flinched at the sudden movement.

"What?"

They looked away from his piercing gaze as he bore into them.

"She.....she....we didn't realize, her um...her pillow...."

"Enough talk," He suddenly stood, ignoring their incoherent words. He leaned in close, a burning rage flashing through his eyes as he hissed, "Find her. Search the palace and find her."

When no one moved he yelled into the open space, "Now!"

The woman quickly ran away, their sobs echoing against the walls.

One guard cleared his throat, grabbing the attention of the King.

"My King she could be...she could be outside..."

"Outside?" He stared blankly at the man.

Marcos quickly regretted speaking at all, "she ...expressed some interest in the snow." His sentence fell lamely off even his own ears. The other guards around him seemed to look at him with pity as the King advanced and said each word deliberately and slowly, "Then go look outside."

Several guards quickly left, willing volunteers in order to leave the presence of the King.

"I thought I told you to order her to stay in the room?"

"I did, My King," Marcos mumbled. He felt somewhat betrayed that the girl had disobeyed his words less than 24 hours after speaking them.

"When you find her, put her downstairs."

No one voiced any words against his orders. Many of the men shivered at the thought and silently wondered if it would be a good or bad thing at locating the lost princess.

The King sat back on his throne, his eyes gleaming against the cool reflection that had been cast by the snow.

"Before that....bring her to me."

* * *

Lumi felt triumphant at the shocked expressions upon the kitchen workers' faces. She was a hard worker and knew that about herself. She had all the reasons to sit back and enjoy the luxuries of life, but her brothers had taught her that hard work was rewarding.

She was athletically built, strong enough to work in the kitchen for hours and keep up with the workers.

Some even commented on this, wondering where she even got all of her energy from.

"I'm not a fast runner," she noted, "my brothers are all very fast, but I'm not. But I can outrun anyone when it comes to length. I can run for miles and miles."

"Who would want to run for miles," Jodi snorted. Jodi, the head cook, and Lumi were fast becoming friends. Lumi had always been able to easily make friends with adults who were older than her. Those who were her own age were a struggle, but she loved talking to people who were more mature- who had more life experience.

Jodi was a prime example. The woman was in her late 40s and had been a worker in the kitchen for as long as she could remember.

"Even with the King's father- I worked in this kitchen. I saw the King's coronation, I was even there to watch his first cleansing after he was born. Both occasions were an honor to witness."

"He must not be very old then?" Lumi had mistaken the King to be in his 30s, but based on what Jodi was saying, he had to be younger.

"You're right...I would say he is young to be ruling alone. He's 24 now, but he's been sitting there for almost 6 years."

Lumi's eyes widened in astonishment, "by himself?"

Jodi nodded. She eyed the girl, evaluating her. "You don't look old enough to marry, little summer....I bet you hardly are even in your teens."

Lumi laughed, "I get that all the time! But I'm twenty!"

Jodi dropped the carrot she had been holding, whirling around to face Lumi.

"Great Ravens! Twenty? You look as if you're..." she stopped halfway and suddenly examined Lumi. She had the face of someone who was young. It was unclouded, and smooth. Her eyes were still bright and clear. But Jodi suddenly noted the curves that she had failed to miss and the chest that belonged to the girl....not girl...woman. She certainly was curvier than the average north female....and very much shorter...maybe it was the height that had originally thrown her off. That and the babyface seemed to be the first and only thing someone noticed.

"I have four brothers," Lumi seemed to move past the conversation. The other kitchen workers were still staring in awe of her, trying to put the age to her face, and silently wondering if she was lying.

"And let me guess, you're the baby," a kitchen worker had joined in the conversation. They were all standing in a circle around the table, peeling away vegetables.

"No," Lumi smiled, something sad and far away suddenly exposing itself onto her features. "I have a younger sister...she's four years younger than me."

"I come from a large family also," Jodi quickly said, realizing that by talking about her family, the girl was remembering the life she had left behind. Even she had forgotten at this moment that in all reality, the princess was now a slave to their King.

It had seemed as if she was nothing more but a guest.

The reality seemed to set in for the other workers as well, and a look of deep caring and concern washed over all of their faces.

"How many siblings do you have?" Lumi questioned.

Jodi laughed, as did the table of servants around her. "Just look around you, the majority of these workers are my cousins, nephews or nieces. These two right here are my sisters."

The two workers that had been peeling vegetables with them smiled and nodded.

Lumi's eyes widened, "Really? That's so nice!"

Jodi felt the infectious smile spread across her face. Many people would not have considered the situation nice. But somehow the girl's words made it seem like it was a treat to be working in a kitchen all day with your family.

"Old families work in the palace. Deep and trusted ones. It's not a job that is taken lightly. New help isn't hired so easily....it's passed down generation to generation. We all are honored to serve the King and his family."

Lumi smiled at the idea, pushing down her desire to explain what it was like in the summer palace. She could read the uncomfortable looks on their faces every time she mentioned her home and knew it was better to say nothing about the topic.

Suddenly a voice came barreling down the steps, a woman with a tear-stained face as she wailed into the kitchen space, "Jodi I'm going to be killed, I lost the princess and can't find her and the King-," The woman stopped suddenly on the spot, her eyes freezing on Lumi.

The kitchen had grown silent with her sudden announcement, everyone else's focus suddenly going to the princess as well.

"You...you...what are you doing here!" The woman's face filled red in anger and astonishment.

Jodi spoke in a calm voice, "Stephanie, what's the matter- what's this about the King killing you?" She tsked in a demeaning manner but Stephanie burst out in a fit of anger, pointing to Lumi.

"She was ordered to stay in her room! And now the King-," she wailed at the memory of the angry King.

The kitchen staff nervously shuffled on their feet unsure of what to do. Even Jodi seemed taken aback. The last thing she wanted was to throw this girl into the wolf's teeth.

But to her shock, Lumi calmly set down the vegetable that she had been peeling and smiled, "Oops, sorry about that. I didn't mean to get anyone in trouble...I can go see him so that he doesn't do anything against you."

Stephanie stared blankly at the girl, before numbly nodding.

Lumi stepped away from the group, stopped suddenly by Jodi's grasping hand.

"Wait, princess...the King..." she swallowed thickly, unsure how to tell this girl of what their king was like without the threat of treason.

Lumi gently pushed her hand away, a smile still on her face.

"I'm just Lumi now. No princess."

The kitchen staff watched in sad disbelief as the girl approached Stephanie and kindly smiled up at her, "Please lead the way."