Lumi paced her room.

In the time between the King's dismissal, she had been thinking. In the time she had been thinking, Lumi's thoughts grew heavier and heavier.

And she was angry.

It was one thing to dismiss her.

Lumi had grown used to the stares of disgust from those around her and words of mocking at her clothes and appearance.

She could understand that. People were ignorant. That was a fact that she had accepted in the short time she had been here at the palace.

But it was another thing to insult her culture.

She could have been the leader of that savage tribe if she had chosen it.

Lumi managed to convince herself that if it really came down to it, she could probably even beat the King in a sword fight - even though her grandfather's tribe didn't actually use swords and Lumi had never held one in her life.

All he did was sit! He just sat on that chair!

Did he actually go out and see his people? Did he really know their faces or names, what they looked like and how they acted. Did he know what they needed. Did the people even know what their King looked like?

He had just locked himself away in this ice fortress, alone with an abnormal amount of guards.

By the time Lumi was done with her thoughts, she was mad.

Really mad.

She looked out her door, confirming her suspicion when she saw two guards standing sentry at a door down the hall.

Well.

There was more than one way to yell at a King.

Later, Lumi would realize a bitter truth that she never really had admitted to herself- she was a creature that often acted before thinking things through.

She stared out her balcony, judging the distance and feeling her grin grow wider as a plan formed in her mind.

What better way to show the King up then by demonstrating just how much her grandfather had taught her?

Lumi stared at the small jutting edge that encircled the whole castle- a thing more for looks than actual use.

She judged the distance down and determined that if she were to fall, she would be able to do so with minimal damage.

Maybe just a broken arm or leg.

With that last thought in mind, Lumi slowly extended her leg out, landing lightly on the thin edge. She gripped her nails into the small outlines of the stones, using it as the only way to hold herself to the wall.

A feral grin of triumph surfaced to her face.

See? She wasn't a savage.

Slowly Lumi shuffled closer to the King's balcony, her excitement growing with each step.

She planned many scenarios in her head of leaping onto the railing, yelling her arrival, and watching him scream in terror.

Lumi had not planned past that part. She was to fixated on what sort of entrance she was going to make to startle the King.

The jump to the balcony was not the most graceful.

The snow made it slippery, causing her to lose her balance and hang onto the railings instead.

Slowly she raised herself, gritting her teeth and hoping the King had not heard her scuffle to ruin the surprise of her arrival.

As she landed on the balcony and opened the doors cautiously. All the flare inside her quickly disappeared when she looked to the bed and saw that he was sleeping.

Lumi felt a little irritated that her entrance had been missed because he was asleep.

She turned back to look at her balcony, wondering if she should just go back. But the open door and sudden blast of the cold wind caused the King to open his eyes.

There was definitely alarm.

But to his credit, he did not scream like how Lumi predicted.

Instead, as her back still faced him, he silently rose from the bed, taking his sword and prowling to where she stood.

Lumi had no chance to react.

The sword was at her throat before she could move.

She felt his hot breath on her ear, whispering in it as his arms wrapped firmly around her in a vice-like grip, "Did you come to kill me?."

* * *

At first, Lumi was confused by the King's words.

Kill him?

And then the realization hit her, too late, as it often did.

Oh.

He thought this was an assassination attempt?

Lumi looked up to meet his eyes.

He was glaring down at her, his expression hard and full of anger.

The sword was still on her throat. It had scratched lightly against it when she had raised her head to look at him.

"Uh..." Lumi thought of what she could say in response to that.

His grip on her only tightened.

She felt the air from her body slowly being squeezed out. But she restrained herself from making any violent move against him.

"No," she managed to speak, "I'm sorry, I just....wanted to talk."

He did not let her go.

Instead, he dragged her inside, his head moving back and forth before he closed the balcony door.

She let him continue to maneuver her until she was shoved into a nearby chair.

The back of the chair was pressed to the wall, nothing surrounding it.

He had moved the table away from her and was still glaring in her direction.

Finally he took a step back, his sword still pointing in her direction.

Lumi rubbed her neck, sighing in relief that the sword had not accidentally nicked her.

"What is it," he hissed. He was definitely angry. His eyes flickered to the door, and Lumi could tell that he was debating if he should alert the guards or not. But to her relief, he put his focus back to her.

"I obviously didn't think that through..." her words died away at the venom on his face. Lumi took a deep inhale, trying to ignore the way he towered over her now.

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to see you-,"

"And you thought climbing on my balcony in the middle of the night-," his voice was a deep whisper as blue eyes flashed in the dark, "was the best solution to accomplish that?"

"Ah...yes....In the moment I did...."

He reminded her of a storm that was being viewed from a distance. You could see the clouds and lightning that rolled within. It wasn't until you were actually standing above it though, that you could realize the true force.

That's what he reminded her of now.

He still had his sword in hand as he pulled up a chair and sat down across from her.

"What?"

He was demanding to know why she was here.

Lumi thought about what she would say, but in the end, blunt words were better than dancing around her thoughts.

"I didn't like what you said today. About calling my people savages."

He cursed.

Lumi blinked in surprise at his sudden burst of anger as he stood and glared down at her.

"Why? Because it's the truth? You just climbed onto the balcony- who knows how- to tell me you're not a savage?"

"I don't see how balcony climbing equals savagery," Lumi countered.

He swore again and abruptly sat down, his hands going into his hair.

Lumi became lost for the second time that day, in the golden color.

"One of my brothers has long hair," she noted.

King Theros looked sharply up at her. He didn't seem to appreciate the sudden change in topic. Lumi felt her cheeks heating in embarrassment, glad he wasn't able to see.

To her surprise though, he only sighed and mumbled to the floor, "he has long hair?"

Lumi tilted her head curiously, wondering why he was going along with her in this conversation.

He should be throwing her out of his room. Maybe tossing her back into the prison. But here he was sitting across from her and continuing the conversation.

Lumi repressed her smile, trying to tell herself not to push her limits.

"Yes. The fourth son. I have an older brother, then there are the twins and then the fourth. Then it's me and last is my sister."

King Theros seemed overwhelmed at the onslaught of information.

"You said your brothers had...strange names like you?"

At his words, Lumi could not stop her smile. It only rose further when she saw him grit his teeth at the sight. "You were listening?"

"It's hard to not listen when you practically shout every word," he said, his words meant as an insult but Lumi only brushed them off.

"Yes...their names are strange....again, my mother's fault...but my brother- the one with the long hair- he didn't like the custom of cutting hair and kept his long instead. I actually like it sh-" here she quickly cut herself off.

The King raised an eyebrow, "You like it short?"

Lumi looked away guiltily, "well, some people look nice with it long. Like you for example."

Her words had obviously taken him by surprise. He had not been expecting the conversation to take this turn.

He cleared his throat, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. Lumi noted that the sword was still at an easy distance for him to grab.

"Do you want to know my full name?"

The uninterested look on his face was ignored by Lumi as she proudly pronounced, "Lumikki Idalia Oxalis."

She stared at him expectantly.

With a reluctant sigh he answered, "Theros Erebus Hellebore...King of the Winter Lands and guardian of the North."

"I didn't ask for your titles," Lumi grumbled.

His eyes narrowed.

Lumi sat up straighter. She tried to ignore the way his hand twitched towards his sword at her movement.

"Fine then. Lumikki Idalia Oxalis, former Princess of the Summer lands, granddaughter to high chief Ikigai of the Utara and," Lumi leveled her stare at the King, finishing in a whisper, "Property of Theros Erebus Hellebore, who is King of the Winter lands, guardian of the north and protector of me."

There was a silence that followed her.

King Theros said nothing. He only looked at her. Lumi did the same, her face suddenly serious for once.

"I am not your protector," he finally said.

"You are. You haven't done a good job of it, but you are."

He scoffed and looked away, staring at the balcony before glancing in her direction.

"You did hit me after all," Lumi pointed out, "I don't think I'll ever forget that."

"I thought you said you forgave me?"

Lumi sat up straighter in her chair, "What?! I never said that!"

King Theros gave a deep sigh, sitting back in his chair and letting his guard down by putting a hand over his eyes in silent surrender.

He opened them, startled to find that she had risen from her chair.

Quickly he grabbed the sword by his side, facing it towards her.

"Don't move," he warned.

Lumi frowned as she watched him.

"Is this why you came here tonight?" He gave a grim laugh, shaking his head, "You're trying to seduce me? Trying to make me favor you in some way?"

Lumi put her hands on her hips, shaking her head down at the King.

"You should already know that I'm yours. I thought my father made it very clear to you that I'm not here for your title or to put any claim on you."

"Then why are you here?"

He meant here as in his room. The now. The present.

"I don't know," Lumi answered honestly, staring down at him.

He folded his hands together, examining her, "You should be afraid of me."

"Sometimes I am," she admitted.

"You shouldn't want anything to do with me."

"Trust me, there are days when I wish I didn't have to see your face."

They continued to stare at each other. He finally whispered, "You shouldn't be here."

"I know," she whispered back. She had taken a step closer. He had not made a move against it. His eyes were still watching her.

"I guess it's because..." she was able to reach him now. To touch him. She cautiously pulled out her hand, waiting to see if he would suddenly lash out at her. He seemed to be holding his breath. He didn't move. He didn't blink. In Lumi's mind, he had become like a statue.

"I guess it's because you look so lonely."

With those last words she felt her skin connect to his.

His eyes closed at her contact. She resisted taking a step closer. She was holding her breath also, not daring to believe she had been allowed to be so close to him.

Her fingers continued to move, and feel the pattern of his face.

Her legs felt weak, and Lumi realized standing was not going to be an option for long.

Slowly, she sank to her knees.

His eyes came open then, watching her as she pressed one hand onto his knee, the other still tracing his face. His hands fell to his lap, loose and open as his eyes locked onto her own.

Her fingers went to his cheeks. There was a light graze of stubble there. A beard that was not yet forming.

Then she pressed her fingers to his forehead, filtering down his nose before landing on his lips.

He parted them and she felt his warm breath wash over her hand.

She was between his legs now.

Her hand suddenly dropped, both now on his knees. And she used that movement to raise herself, to push herself up, to meet him.

He still did not move.

It was all her. All her initiating and planning.

Her lips met his.

And just as soon as they touched, his body seemed to come to life.

His hands reached for her, pulling her up to be seated on his lap. Lumi gasped at the sudden movement and position she was now in, but her gasp was cut off by his lips.

They were hungry. Lumi had kissed other men before. Or....boys....they felt like boys as he kissed her now, with a greedy, almost angry hunger that made her whole body heat. It was the same as the time in the prison, when his finger had traced hers for the split second. That had been a warning of what it would be like to have his body touch hers.

So cold to the touch, it felt like she was burning.

His hands traced the dress up her legs, feeling her thighs and stroking them as they continued up to splay across her back. He broke off the kiss suddenly, his mouth continuing down her neck, hardly letting her catch her breath as she felt her arms wrap around him, bringing him closer to her.

And just as soon as it happened- it stopped.

Lumi was pushed away. One second she was on his lap, the next she found herself sprawled on the floor, blinking up at him in surprise.

He was breathing heavy, his eyes so full of rage.

There was so much rage and anger in them that Lumi felt her heart go faster suddenly from fear- not excitement.

"Do you think you can manipulate me?" He suddenly pushed out of his chair, grabbing his sword and diving down to pin her to the floor.

Lumi stayed still. She knew a wounded animal when she saw one. No sudden movements. Nothing to provoke them.

"You...." he still had yet to catch his breath. He pulled her up from the floor, dragging her with him as he opened the balcony door.

He dropped her there, leaving her in the snow as he walked further out and bent over the railing.

He grabbed the snow, burying his hands in it.

Lumi sat still, waiting for him to calm down.

He moved slowly back to her, but that anger was still in his eyes.

There was something in Lumi's face that made him suddenly snap.

"You think you can control me?" He quickly rushed towards her.

Lumi yelled in surprise as he pinned her to the floor of the balcony, taking her breath away from the suddenness. He had grabbed her wrist, pinning them above her head.

"I am a king!"

There was an echoing silence, his words lost in the howling wind.

His grip on her hands had loosened. Enough that Lumi was able to free one slowly. He was still staring at her. She slowly took her free hand, and wrapped it around his neck, bringing him down to lay himself close to her.

"I know," she whispered.

His whole body stiffened. Lumi waited for it to relax, but it never did. For several minutes they laid there. Until he raised himself, grabbing her and lifting her to sit back in his lap. She was facing him, and obediently she wrapped her legs around him.

His arms came around her, and without question, she molded her shape to his body.

The cold bit into her. It chilled her, but the heat that came from him was enough to make her stay in place.

Lumi would never say it out loud, but he reminded her of a lost child in that moment. She had never seen herself as a motherly figure. But the way he clung to her now- how he had buried his head into her neck- and the tightness of his arms, made her think that maybe this was what a mother should have done for her child.

Just as suddenly as the moment happened, it ended.

He stood and grabbed her by the waist, lifting her from it and carrying her with one arm to the door.

"What are-,"

He opened the door abruptly, throwing her out and into the hallway.

"Put her back in her room," and with a resolute slam, he shut the door.

Lumi looked up to find the two stunned guards staring down at her.

With as much dignity as she could gather, she stood, dusted herself off, and left.

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Thank you for reading ♥