There it was again.

That damn snow.

Lumi rubbed at her wrist, the red marks hidden by her golden bracelets, but she knew now the consequences of her actions if she took a wrong step.

She still felt the sting in her cheek. An action he had not apologized for, but then again, Lumi had not been expecting one.

She was subdued now.

She may have been in denial or just not have grasped the real situation.

This was not the summer kingdom. This was not the place of her birth where her mistakes were indulged and spirit let free.

This was her prison. She had to accept that now.

She had not. And she realized that now. She had almost treated it like a great holiday, and she worried about daddy and how much he might be panicking for her. He probably knew she had not realized what all she was agreeing to when she volunteered to give herself away to the winter Kingdom.

In all truthfulness, Lumi had not really lived a hard life. Her life was not hard. Or at least...it had not been hard...

She did not know that a royal would mistreat other royals. But then...she wasn't a royal anymore.

She wasn't a princess.

Lumi stared at the snow.

It was so pure.

The King sat on his throne, looking over a document of some kind.

A man stood diligently next to him, someone Lumi had failed to identify the first two times she had stood before the throne.

It was like he was a part of the shadows in the way he moved and talked, but Lumi could identify him immediately as being the King's head of council. He had a stack of documents at the ready on a table next to him, multiple bottles of ink and pens, and other assorted items that the King might need.

This time, a table had been drawn up for the King in front of his throne.

Lumi wondered why he didn't just have a study like what her father had.

He never looked her way as she entered.

That was fine.

Since her release from the prison yesterday, Lumi had a strange feeling that she didn't really want his attention anyway.

She silently walked to the snow that had been allowed to come into the room.

After going through the clothes that she had brought, Lumi had realized that she really was not dressed for the weather. The clothes for the southern lands were generally bright and...less. Lumi had not realized this until she saw the thick clothes and bundled layers of the north.

She owned many scarfs, but those were generally for her head- not her neck.

Lumi sat down in front of the snow, feeling the coldness leak into her body from the stone below her. She ignored it and began to examine the snow before her.

It was like ice. Shaved ice?

Lumi had a hard time describing what it was. After a while, it burned her hands, but soon her hands felt numb enough that she did not feel anything at all.

She realized halfway through that if you pressed the snow hard enough, you could mold it into a shape, almost like what you could do with the sand on beaches.

She tried to make a castle, but that failed miserably. Soon Lumi just ended up rolling a lot into a ball, her end goal trying to be how large she could make it before it fell apart.

"It's time."

Lumi stopped and looked up. It was instinct somehow that she knew these words had been directed at her.

The King stared at her before looking away and back down to the paper that was in front of him.

Lumi knew better than to argue with him. She stood and brushed off the lingering snow, realizing that the majority had melted on her, making her clothes see-through and clingy to her skin.

She laughed at this. Summer lands generally did not care about such things, and unlike the other countries, they had no modesty or shame by hiding their bodies.

Her laughter made the King look back up. She expected him to look down immediately, but to her surprise, his eyes lingered.

There was a heat in them that traveled to her as they took in her appearance. Something hungry and almost... feral.

In the north, they had many wolves. Lumi had never seen one in person, only pictures, but the image of the animal came immediately to her head as she stared back at the King.

"Leave."

He said the words while still looking at her. Lumi didn't even realize her feet were automatically moving to the double doors, away from the throne.

She only knew that his eyes had not left her the whole time.

* * *

This continued for several more days. Lumi was more aware of her clothing now. The incident of the first day was never repeated. She never seemed to grow bored with the snow. A part of her wondered if the King expected her to, but he ignored her throughout the hours that he allowed her to be out.

One day she stepped out the doors of the throne room, into the small courtyard outside.

He had immediately snapped into attention, a guard hurriedly pulling her back inside.

Lumi evaluated the situation, realizing she had moved too fast.

If she was going to win more freedom from the King, as painful as it was, she was going to have to do it step by step.

Within that week, she only made it to the arches of the door. Anything further would be pushing her luck.

That night of the first week, there was a knock on Lumi's door. She opened it cautiously. Somehow in the back of her mind, it had become a worry to her that one of the guards would try to approach her. She didn't know where this thought came from, but she knew if the moment really did come, she could defend herself.

Jodi stood in the doorway, a look of relief washing over her as she took in Lumi.

"I was worried about you," the woman sighed.

"About me?" Lumi smiled at the woman, feeling her own relief come to her as she opened the door wider to let her in.

Jodi shook her head though.

"No one is allowed in your room. King's order."

Lumi felt both shock and relief that this had been an actual order.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay," Jodi continued, "I heard you had been put....downstairs....and then there's a rumor you're made to stand in front of him every day in the cold."

"Well...that's not really true, but..."

Jodi shrugged away whatever Lumi was going to say.

"I brought you this." She presented Lumi a...blanket?

Lumi took it hesitantly, looking at the clothing with confusion before looking back up at Jodi.

The woman laughed.

"It's a cloak. Don't you summer lands have one?" Without warning Jodi took the material from Lumi, spreading it and wrapping it around her shoulders. It was red, lined with white fur-like material.

"I asked one of the guards, who then asked the King for me if I would have permission to give you warmer clothes."

"This is yours?" Lumi asked in astonishment, looking at the vibrant color and pure whiteness of the lining both on the edges and inside.

Jodi hesitated before nodding.

Lumi did not notice it. She was too fascinated with the cloak.

"It's so warm!" Lumi wrapped it more securely around her body, "I love it! Thank you Jodi!" Without warning Lumi hugged her. Jodi hmped at the sudden squeeze and pressure to her stomach from the forceful impact.

"You're welcome," she said, her voice sounding strained.

Jodi smiled as she watched Lumi twirl in delight. "I need to go, but I'm glad you like it."

"Yaaayyy," Lumi continued to twirl. Jodi felt her lips press together, wondering how this girl was actually twenty. But then she saw Lumi's smile and felt her own grin come to her face.

Jodi turned to walk away, but before she could completely leave, Lumi shouted down the hall, "Goodnight Jodi!"

Jodi sighed at the sight of the grinning girl, waving her hand and urging her to go back inside.

She saw the head disappear and heard the door close. Jodi felt her chest tighten at the sound, and turned to walk away.

* * *

The rotation of the guards made it to where Marcos and his friend Felix were now the ones positioned closest to the Princess.

She was wearing a bright red cloak as she walked in. Marcos' eyes immediately went to the King who sat on his throne. The man did not move at all, or even look up as she walked in. Marcos turned back to look at Lumi, a small wonder in his eyes at how she managed to secure a cloak so fine within a week of living here.

Even Felix had let out a small noise of surprise.

As usual, Lumi went straight to the snow.

Marcos and none of the guards would ever discuss this out loud, but it was very unusual for the King to keep the doors open every day.

Marcos felt uneasy at the subtle shift that was occurring. He felt almost like this princess had everyone wrapped around her fingers, and they were not even aware of it yet.

Both Marcos and Fexlix found themselves watching her as she played within the snow.

For god's sake it was just snow.

She was able to be fascinated with it every day now, and it irritated Marcos that she didn't seem bored at all with the hours spent sitting next to it in silence.

She broke her usual routine today though, by speaking out loud.

"Good morning Marcos...how are you today?"

Marcos' eyes went to the King, but he still had not looked up.

He cleared his throat, "I'm well Princess....and you?"

Lumi looked up and smiled. It was that same breathtaking smile that Marcos had witnessed the first day. He saw Felix from the corner of his eye and felt pity at the sucker punch look he now wore.

"I'm doing well." She looked at Felix curiously. "What is your name?"

Felix, true to his nature, gave a small bow, "Felix."

Lumi waved away his bow, shaking her head, "No need for that. I'm not a royal here. Let's toss aside that protocol."

Both men stiffened at how easily she spoke of her situation, but the princess only went back to playing with the snow, "You can call me Lumi. It's actually Lumikki but everyone calls me Lumi."

Good grief. Did she say this to everyone she met? Marcos wondered.

Felix though was smiling with the princess.

"That's an interesting name."

Lumi raised her eyebrows at him, "My mother is from a very traditional culture. My brother's names are worse than mine. Only my sister got off nice."

Marcos found himself turning back to look at the King. His eyes were not moving as he held the paper, and Marcos had a strange feeling that the man was listening into the conversation.

This, of course, would have been the perfect time for Lumi to enlighten them about the names of her siblings. But in true fashion to her, as the others were beginning to realize, the princess suddenly jumped to a different topic.

"Have you ever made something from the snow?"

Felix looked nervously at the King. The tension was rising in the room, and the princess seemed completely unaware of it.

"When I was a child..." Felix spoke slow and deliberate, maybe trying to stop the conversation, or allow time for the King to interrupt.

Lumi continued on though, prattling about what she wished she could make and how she had tried to build a house but it failed.

Suddenly the voice of the King rose up, "Enough."

Marcos watched the princess closely.

A triumphant smile flashed across her face before she turned to Felix and Marcos with an apologetic look.

She remained quiet the rest of the day, but Marcos caught the King looking at the princess once during that time. Not the princess but...her cloak...and to Marcos' shock, the King had given a deep satisfied nod before returning back to his work.

My connection is really bad. I waited, but the photos never uploaded. Maybe I'll come back and try again later. Happy reading you all! STAY SAFE AND WELL! TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!