The room is bright. The snow blue walls are plastered with paintings of kings. A shimmering white carpet rolls under my feet and deep into the endless hallway. I stand to my feet. Walking down the endless hallway, I stumble upon a singular door. Full of curiosity and fear, I open it.
The room is dim. The lack of lighting accentuates the only illuminated object in the room. A throne covered in ice. With an increase in interest, I head to the throne examining it carefully. A wave of chilly air blows past me causing me to shield my eyes only to open them in another room.
The room is large. Shelves of books line the walls and are evenly spaced out on the floor. I wander around the corner and find an open space containing plenty of tables. A tall man with snowy white hair around the age of twenty sits at one of the tables closest to the window. He appears distraught at the book he is reading. The man abruptly leaves, still visibly upset from his book. I step forward towards the table to see what the man was reading.
The King in the Shadow
I flip through the pages to find that it is actually a hand written book instead of print. It recounts the tales of a real king who lives in the shadow of a fake king. It tells how the fake king manipulated the real king to give up his spot for the throne and to support him from behind. As I continue to scan the book, I find a sentence that paralyzes my mind: "The Winter Vessel is the true king." I drop the book and dash out of the room through a nearby door.
The room is loud. Noble-looking men and women applaud as the man I saw earlier strides down a long shimmering white carpet. He stands at the end then kneels in front of an older man who holds a scepter and crown.
"Do you, Crown Prince Danze, vow to uphold the laws of the Kingdom of Schnee with righteousness and clarity?" the older man asks.
"Yes, Your Highness," answers the man who kneels.
Passing the scepter to the kneeling man, the older man continues. "Do you, Crown Prince Danze, vow to use your blessing to keep the skies and lands of the Kingdom of Schnee clear of snow and ice until Winter arrives?"
"Yes, Your Highness," the kneeling man hesitates.
The older man peers down at the one kneeling. He hears the hesitation in the kneeling man's voice, but to avoid a scene, the old man allows it to slide for now. The old man places the crown on the kneeling man's head and motions for him to stand back up. "I, Jakobe Schnee, the former king, officially crown your eighth king of Schnee: King Danze."
"Glory to King Danze!"
A shower of confetti rains down as the new king takes his final walk down the shimmering white carpet. When the confetti dies down, I find myself somewhere else.
The room is somber. The dark walls deafen any and all sound from outside. Dimly lit with a singular candle, the room practically eats away at the new king who sits behind the lonely candle. Eyes blank as paper. Mind tied like knots. Heart shattered like glass. The epitome of someone going through an unspeakable challenge with no one to help him. The King in the Shadow rests on the edge of the desk. The man whispers something, but it is too soft to hear. I slide in closer to get a better understanding.
"I shouldn't be here," whispers the man. "I shouldn't be the king. Everything is a lie."
The man suddenly shoots up, knocking me over and heads out the door.
"Ouch!" I shout as I hit my head on the floor. When I open my eyes, I notice that I'm in my room.
"Am I awake, or is this still a dream?"
'Xander, can you hear me?' I call thinking that he won't answer.
'Mmm? Master? Why are you calling for me in the middle of the night?' Xander groggily asks.
'Can you come to my room for a minute?' I request as I make my way back onto my bed.
'Sure. I don't mind.' Using his Shadow Movement, Xander pops up from my bed's shadow. "Did you need something?" he yawns.
"Stand in front of me," I command, pointing to where I want Xander to stand.
I have to figure out if I'm still dreaming or not. My dream had me entering through several rooms, so it's not out of the question if I could possibly be dreaming right now. If this is a dream, I'm pretty sure that Xander won't stop me. If this isn't a dream, he will.
Xander stands on the spot I pointed at and gazes at me with his sleepy eyes. I slip my finger into his shirt and drag him down to bring his face closer to mine. Flabbergasted, Xander stares at me with wide eyes and starts rambling some incoherent sentences. I pull him in for a kiss to see if he will resist. Resisting means I'm awake and vice versa.
He resists at first trying to convince me to stop, but seeing as I wasn't stopping, Xander ceases to resist. Right before our lips touch, I pause and glance up at Xander. His face is beet red and submissive.
"Why aren't you going to stop me?" I ask him.
"I was trying to, but you kept pulling me closer. It didn't seem like you were going to stop, and since I am just a servant, I obeyed the wish of my master. I also love you very much, so I was going to take the opportunity if you were presenting it." Xander looks right into my eyes and innocently smiles.
Can't really get mad at a guy who obeys the girl he likes? I guess I'm not dreaming, but I did play with his feelings a bit, and I do feel bad about it. Why not humor him?
I swiftly close the gap and give Xander a small kiss on the cheek. I release his shirt and lay back on my headboard.
"I'm sorry for waking you up in the middle of the night. I just had a really weird dream, and I didn't know if I was still dreaming or not. You can return to your room now," I explain sliding back into my covers.
Xander stands motionless, skimming his fingers over the cheek I kissed. Unsure of what to say, he turns around and leaves the room quietly closing the door behind him.
What in the world was that dream about? It felt too real to just be some random dream of a prince charming. It seemed like something important for me to see if that guy was reading a book that contained the Winter Vessel in it. Regardless, I should probably go back to sleep. My head still hurts from falling off the bed, though.
"Lady Viola? It's time to get out of the car."
I look up to see Isaac holding out his hand to help me out of the car. He appears a bit concerned but tries to smile through it. I take the offered hand and step out of the car. The five of us enter the school's main building while Delic goes ahead to park the car.
"Good morning to the snow's descendent," some of the students greet as I walk down the grand hall.
"Good morning Student Council President," says the other members of the student council.
"You are very popular, Lady Viola," Michael teases, poking my shoulder.
"Hey, of course she's popular. Lady Viola is the perfect image of grace and beauty. Who wouldn't want to be near such an amazing presence," Isaac retorts pointing a finger over my head at Michael.
"Quiet down, you two," the twins behind me demand as they each take an aide and lower their heads.
"You're attracting too much attention," Xander states while Isaac attempts to escape his hold.
I shake my head at how close these four have gotten over the short period of time.
"What's this? Are you trying to cling onto the most powerful woman in the city?" A student about as tall as Michael approaches us. He has the purest of white wings and a small entourage behind him. "Do they even know what you did? Surely your wings give away what a pathetic excuse for an angel you are."
"Nakir," Michael grumbles under his breath. He swipes Alex's hand off of his head and stands in front of me.
"Miss Viola, you shouldn't be hanging around bad guys like him. He will only end up abandoning you when it's most convenient for him," the student suggests peeking over Michael's shoulder. "Why not accept my proposal and be around real angels?"
"Nakir Raphtale. A student shouldn't bully another student especially in front of the Student Council President," I declare tapping on Michael's arm to motion for him to stand down. "In regards to your proposal, we can speak on it in six days time. I can be assured that your father has received my dinner meeting invitation. Correct?"
"Ah! So that invitation was from you? I just assumed that my eyes were deceiving me," Nakir responds, sliding a hand under my chin. "I can't wait to meet you then."
Nakir walks off waving a hand in the air as he leaves. I wipe his disgusting touch from under my chin with a tissue and hurriedly discard it. Michael stands in front of me with a mixture of anger and confusion.
"What does he mean by his proposal? He already has a fiancée!!" Michael yells as Isaac drags him into a walk.
"Due to its limited population, Eshea allows for polygamous marriages as having a mistress also makes a leader seem untrustworthy," I explain as we head to the split of the hallway. "Don't think that I'm insane enough to actually agree to that man's proposal. I just need him to think that he is safe. I don't need another guy in my life when I already have five that serve me just fine."
The guys behind me break into a fit of silent laughter as they try to hold back their joy of being 'one of the chosen'. They really want to hug me but understand that we are in school, and public displays of affection aren't tolerated. They are smart enough to not do that with eyes on them.
I glance over at Michael. He may be smiling and laughing with the others, but his scent tells me that he is absolutely furious. He does a great job at hiding it behind his smile. I just want to know if he is faking his happiness or if he really is happy to be with us.
What's this? He has another scent coming off of him.
I notice that Michael is staring at me with the brightest smile on his face.
How could that possibly be a fake smile? But this scent... it's the scent of kindling love. A love that is not confirmed yet budding. Almost similar to puppy love or infatuation. Could Michael be having feelings for me? Oh no... not again... why me? Why can't I just have an aide that doesn't end up falling in love with me??? One! Just one! Please??
"I'm really going to be the center of a love war. Aren't I?" I whisper to myself as I shuffle my way to class.
"Did you say something, Master?" Xander asks, bending over in front of me.
Too close! Way too close!
The memory of last night emerges as Xander's face sits right next to mine.
Does he not remember what happened last night? No, of course he does. He was wide awake when I kissed his cheek. Is he going to forget what happened then? No, no, no. This is Xander I'm talking about. He told me last night that he loved me very much and was willing to be kissed, so he would never let such a moment slip from his mind. So is he going to pretend like last night never happened? That's the more likely solution, but it is still very much unlikely.
"My Lady, your face is turning red. Are you feeling okay?" Alex questions putting his hand on my forehead to see if it's warm.
"I'm fine!" I suddenly blurt out. I cover my mouth, shocked by how loud I was. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you two."
Xander sets a hand on my head. "It's in our job description to be worried about you, Master."
I look up at Xander, but he doesn't look back down. He just faces forward as we continue down to the second-year building. After another minute of walking, he links his pinky with mine while still maintaining a calm composure. Surprised, I peek up at Xander whose ears are reddening.
He remembers!!!! And he made a move!!!
Embarrassed by Xander's bold move, I hide my face in my bangs to keep anyone from seeing my blushing cheeks.
'What do you think you're doing?' I ask Xander through the mind link.
'You kissed me on the cheek last night. It really surprised me,' Xander replies as the redness spreads to his cheeks. 'I know that I can't do much since I'm just your aide, but I wanted to surprise you too. This was all that I could think of that wouldn't breach our master-servant relationship too far.'
This dude here!!! Could he be any more romantically polite???
'I-I'm the Student Council President, you know. I could reprimand you for public display of affection,' I threaten.
'I was willing to take this chance since we aren't surrounded by others. I await any punishment you give me,' Xander says looking down at me with such a childish smile.
Oi, oi! Are you a closet masochist or something? I let out a sigh. I really can't deny someone as straightforward as him, can I?
"Hey, Xander! No fair!" Alex yells as he stands in front of our classroom. "I thought we made a truce not to pursue the Young Lady without the others knowing? If you think you can pull a fast one and hold Lady Viola's hand, you've got another thing coming!"
"I wasn't trying to go against the truce!" Xander shouts letting go of my pinky. "I was just trying to get revenge on Master!"
"And what did Lady Viola do that you needed to secretly hold her hand to get back at her?"
"Well... um... you see..."
I clap my hands together as I walk between the twins to enter the classroom. "You two are being discourteous to the classes around you. How about you lower your voice and come inside?" I suggest with an irritated expression.
"Okay," the two say as they enter the room glaring daggers at each other.
It's too early in the day to be worn out from so much love being directed at me. Can class start already so that I can have some peace and quiet for the next hour and a half?