Lea felt awful. Sun's hand on her arm made it throb, and as soon as they teleported inside Sun's palace it became even more agonizing. It felt like she was stuffed in an oven. Lea could feel the water droplets form on her snowy skin. She was sweating and she was in the body of the goddess Winter! That definitely wasn't good.
"What are you planning to do with me?" Lea asked Sun, who dragged her through the blindingly gold and bright palace. Lea had no idea where they were going.
"I'm going to make you sweat."
[That sounds quite ambiguous, don't you think, Dwyl?]
[Dwyl: I don't think so. Considering the context, it sounds more like she wants you to bleed to death.]
Lea bit her lips. Dwyl was right. She was hurting real bad, how could she even think for one second that Sun meant it in a sexy way? Sun was a married woman, and Lea had in an unfortunate turn of events become her enemy.
"I'm already sweating!" Lea exclaimed. "Any more and I'll evaporate."
Sun stopped walking to look at Winter. She hadn't done that since she teleported them here. Sun had just wanted to immediately bring Winter to a special 'guestroom' so that she wasn't able to run away. She hadn't considered Winter's physique. This is why she never liked this goddess; it's way too troublesome to constantly worry about accidently melting someone!
Sun sighed. "You're too frail."
"I'm not frail! Heat is the only thing I can't deal with."
This made a smirk appear on Sun's lips. When Winter put it that way, Sun was quite happy being this goddesses only weakness. It meant Sun was the only one who could decide about Winter's fate. The thought gave her a sudden thrill.
"I'll put you in one of the cooler rooms," Sun spoke.
"You can't be meaning for me to stay here? Even a cool room would be to warm!"
[I have been kidnapped, right? Just like in the original plot.]
[Dwyl: You only figured this out now?]
[No… I was hoping Sun only wanted to talk.]
[Dwyl: How naïve are you?]
[I'm not naïve, I'm optimistic. There is a huge difference.]
[Dwyl: …]
[Anyway, Autumn, Summer and Spring will come save me! Just like in the plot.]
[Dwyl: If you say so.]
Sun narrowed her eyes. "Of course, you'll stay here. It's you're punishment for treating Moon like crap."
"But…" Lea protested.
"But what? Don't you want to make up for your mistakes?"
"I… I do, but isn't this to harsh? It's not like I had an affair with your husband!"
Sun was getting irritated with Winter. "I thought you realized your crime was far greater than that. You embarrassed Moon in such an ungodly way."
"I know that it was wrong, but shouldn't you also be angry at Moon for flirting with me?"
"Don't tell me what to feel," Sun shouted, her voice echoing through the wide halls.
Lea flinched. She should really keep her mouth shut, Sun might kill her if she kept this on.
"My husband shall be punished for his immoral conduct, but I'm the one who'll reprimand him. You had no business in insulting him. You should have just refused him, nothing more." Sun had lowered her voice dangerously after her outburst, as if controlling herself so she wouldn't set Winter on fire.
Lea wanted to talk back. If she would have just said no to Moon without giving a reason, he would've never accepted her rejection. Still, Lea knew better than to incite Sun further and nodded obediently at Sun's words.
Sun calmed down after seeing Winter's submissive attitude. It was a satisfying sight, especially knowing how coldhearted and cruel Winter was to most people.
"From now on I don't want to hear you talk about my husband. You will forget about him completely, understand?"
"Alright," Lea said softly, not daring to argue.
"Good." Sun was content and without further ado started pulling Winter towards her new room.
***
The room Sun had put Lea in was as golden and bright as the rest of the palace. Luckily it was indeed somewhat cooler. It gave Lea a little bit respite, but not enough. The unpleasantness of the heat was spreading through her body like a wildfire and she was still sweating a lot.
Sun had left her alone without telling when she'd come back. Lea was incredibly bored. She'd thought worldhopping would be more exciting, but not even a day had passed in her first world and she already had nothing to do. Why did she have to get locked up? She tried teleporting out of here, but for some reason it didn't seem to work. When Lea asked Dwyl it told her that Gods and Goddesses always made sure to have a couple of places in their home that they had complete control over, so that they could decide who entered and left.
[I don't know why you insist on staying in this world. It can't be that interesting to see me pacing the room up and down.]
[Dwyl: … Well, seeing you suffer has its own charm.]
[Do you hate me or are you just a sadist?]
[Dwyl: I don't think I hate you, it's more like… envy?]
Lea stopped walking. She hadn't expected this.
[You're jealous of me? Why?]
[Dwyl: Forget I said anything.]
How could Lea forget? This seemed way to important and she was to bored to let this go!
[No, I want to know. Tell me, please ~]
[Dwyl: You are so annoying. Go lay down on the shiny bed and sleep. It's best for you to stop moving around so you can preserve your powers.]
Lea wanted to argue with Dwyl, but her body was indeed exhausted. She felt depleted. Sleeping was probably a good idea.
[Fine, but don't think you're off the hook.]
***
"Sun, please think about this," Spring begged.
She was sitting on her knees in front of Sun together with Summer and Autumn. They had come to Sun's palace after noticing Winter had disappeared after her talk with Sun.
Sun was sitting on a throne looking down upon the siblings. "I've already made up my mind."
"Don't be unreasonable," Autumn implored. "She didn't even have an affair with Moon."
Sun glared at them. "I already explained my reasons to you, so you know I'm everything but unreasonable."
Summer was troubled with Sun's attitude. He came along very well with her and he considered Sun his friend, thinking about this he tried to reason with her one more time. She'll listen to him.
"Winter is essential for the survival of many gods and goddesses. You can't let her stay in this environment, she'll melt into oblivion."
Sun's attention was drawn by this statement. It was true she hadn't thought about the social consequences of Winter's extinction. If Sun really let Winter die, the other gods of Earth will crumble little by little, until none were left. But was this really so bad? It would happen sooner or later. It's not like the gods and goddesses were really immortal, not even her. There will come a day that she'll literally explode and when that day comes it will automatically be the end of this realm.
"Winter's death won't influence my life source. Yes, maybe other gods and goddesses will die, but that doesn't mean much to me."
The siblings shared a look of hopelessness. Was there really no way they could convince Sun to let their sister go?
"I've been asking around," Sun said suddenly. "It seems that Moon has been having affairs ever since we first got married. Nobody thought it fit to tell me about it. Even you, Summer. I thought we were friends, but you never told me that my husband was betraying me. Why should I care about people who don't care about me?"
Summer tried to defend himself. "I never told you because, I didn't want to hurt your feelings! What kind of friend would I be if I brought you unnecessary harm?"
Sun slammed her fist on the arm of her throne. "I would've known that there was no hope of Moon ever loving me! Your so called friendship doesn't mean anything."
Summer stayed silent. There was nothing he could say to that. He had misjudged the situation badly.
"We know we wronged you by staying silent," Spring tried again. "But please, let Winter go. Nothing good will come out of her staying with you."
"No," Sun said resolute. "Winter will stay here and there is nothing you can do to change my mind."
Sun stood up from her throne and left the hall, leaving her visitors to find their own way out.