I get awoken to being shaken and Maggie crying.

I hear the Queen's sleepy voice as she asks, "What's going on? Everything okay, Maggie?"

"Sammy is all cold! Something's happening to him."

"Don't worry, she is half winter elemental, it's normal for her-"

"Hmm, what's going on? Do we need to leave?" I ask, still a bit groggy.

"Samuel! You're alright! I thought…I thought you died again!"

"Why? Is something wrong? How long was I out?"

"You weren't out for long. I woke up because you were starting to get really cold, I thought you were dying. Are you okay?"

"Yeah…I'm good. Sometimes, when I'm really happy, I get cold and make it snow by accident."

The king in a groggy voice himself says, "Hohoho, just like your old man."

Tears flowing down her face, she replies, "Thank God…I thought…I thought you were…"

I give her a hug, "It's okay, Maggie. I'm still alive. And hey! If you woke up, that means everything wasn't a dream, so that's good right?"

She hugs me tightly and starts crying. The queen stands up from her bed and sits down on mine, petting Maggie's back and laying down next to her.

The king then walks to the other side of the bed and lies down next to me while brushing through my hair, "Let's sleep together tonight. I don't mind you being cold after all my little snowflake, hohoho."

It's kinda weird. I'm not sure if it's because Maggie is here or not but I kind of…Like this? It feels a bit like my heart is itchy but…In a good way?

After some time, Maggie calms down and we all fall asleep together.

When I wake up again, I'm in a different bed.

Maggie says cheerfully, "Look who's awake! I'd offer you breakfast but I was told you can't digest it yet."

Looking around, I seem to be in a dining hall. There are many servants surrounding us and a huge decked table in the middle, full of different foods. Enough to feed a football team twice over. I seem to be next to the king and queen with Hildi right behind me, while Maggie sits opposite of me.

Hildi then pets my cheek and says, "Good morning your Highness, did you sleep well?"

"Yeah. You guys didn't have to bring a whole bed here though, you could have just gone for breakfast on your own."

"Hohoho and leave you all alone in our bedroom? No way."

Maggie cheekily adds, "You better get used to it, soon you'll be in a stroller most of the time but don't worry, I'll make sure you get around."

"Oh yeah…When are we going to do the ritual for that?"

The queen answers, "When we think you have recovered enough. So, most likely tomorrow or the day after, provided nothing else happens. You are also going to need bed rest during that time."

"Hmm…Okay. Can I get some blood to eat? I'm getting a bit hungry myself."

"Unfortunately not my little snowflake. We need to naturally deplete your mana as much as possible before we start the ritual, to increase our chances of it going well. Also, once you're freed, we will give you multiple small meals each day rather than one big one that will last you for a week. The eating habits you have developed, while necessary in the short term, are also unhealthy in the long term."

"Okay...Did Dalan tell you what we talked about yesterday?"

"He hasn't said anything to me. How about you darling?"

"Nope."

Pulling up my blanket some more, I answer, "Okay…That's good, I'll tell you myself then. The truth is…I'm really scared. Both about the ritual and about how things are going to be afterwards. I won't be able to run away or defend myself if something happens. To put my trust in other people to keep me safe for like fifty years or something before I can even walk on my own just seems…So very hard to do."

Both the king and queen then lay down their cutlery and nod to each other before giving me a hug and saying in unison, "We swear to you that we will do anything in our power to make sure you will be safe from outside forces until you become an adult."

Light comes out of both of them, mixing in the air and building a knot. An oath has been made.

"Are you sure about this!? You're rulers of this country! What will happen if you break your oath!?"

The queen answers, "If we break this oath, we never deserved you in the first place."

"We would have done so either way my little snowflake, this oath is just to make you know how serious we are about it. Also, in case something ever happens to us, we made sure that your Nanny will take good care of you." The king adds.

The queen then smiles and says, "The only thing you have to do is be yourself. We will take care of the rest…"

"...And spoil you rotten, hohoho. Is there anything you want from us right now?"

"Uhm…Right now there are two things. One weird request and a tough request for you."

"Oh? What's the tough request?" The king asks.

"I would like AbBEE to be my maid again. I've been told it's kind of a hard political decision to do so but I really like her. I also understand that you might not be able to make her head maid because the people here worked really hard for that position but…I just miss her."

"Ah yes…Clara did mention something like that. What do you think, dear? You're better at those sorta things than me."

"I'm okay with it. But we can't give her the title of head maid, that would undermine the wonderful staff we have cultivated over the years. As for the implications…I don't think that either her Majesty ElBEEzabeth nor this maid wish anything but the best for our daughter. So, even if it is quite…The peculiar happenstance, building positive relationships with the spring court is a good thing."

"It's decided then, Jessica?"

A butler walks up to the King. She looks young but has gray hair styled in a ponytail that makes her look a bit older. "Yes, your majesty?"

"Send an official invite to this AbBEE of Hive One as an apprentice maid to our daughter."

"As you wish, your majesty."

"Also, while you're at it, prepare some ink and paper for us, I'm going to invite her Majesty, Queen ElBEEzabeth and the king and queen of the spring court to the banquet celebrating our daughters freedom. Make sure to prepare a castle in the first and second ring for them."

"I'm assuming the castle in the second ring will be for her Majesty Queen ElBEEzabeth?"

"Correct."

A bit apprehensive, the butler asks, "Your Highness, isn't that a bit much for a provincial noble of a foreign court?"

"Under normal circumstances, yes. But her majesty did help our daughter and even gave her the title of Duchess, so I believe until she does anything to suggest otherwise, she is a friend of this family."

"Understood. I shall follow your command your Highness."

The butler leaves and the king looks at me, "So, what is that weird request you had?"

"Before I answer, what are the king and queen from the spring court like?"

Looking a bit...Constipated? He answers, "How do I explain this…I'd say they're quite…Passionate. Help me out here dear."

"Well…They are certainly quite…Happy about being in each other's presence. Let's just say that they do not have to fear not having an heir anytime soon…How many kids do they have now, darling?"

"Uhm…Dalan, do you remember?"

"I believe your highness sent a congratulatory letter about their thirtieth child a few years ago, so chances are they're in their forties now…"

"Yeah…So, let's just say they're aggressively in love with each other."

"So their entire personality is that they love each other?"

The king answers, "I…Well…To be honest we haven't talked much with them outside of diplomatic talks so…That's the only thing I know about them. Do you know anything else dear?"

"Well…They are quite competent leaders. The economy especially has thrived upon their rule but as for their personality…Oh! They really like children, so that's good."

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Maggie speaks up, "So, basically they're the sort of couple that ever since they found each other, just spend all their time making out and completely lose both their personality and their contact to those close to them?"

The queen answers, "That seems like an apt comparison."

"So, they're not bad people?" I ask.

"Correct, they're good people. Otherwise your father would not invite them here," the queen answers.

"Okay that's good…"

"So? What was your weird request?"

"Oh…Uhm. If you don't mind…I…I actually quite liked how we were all cuddling yesterday and wanted to ask if we can do that again."

The King then bursts out into laughter and picks me up from the bed I'm lying in, "But of course!"

The queen, with a bright smile on her face, asks Maggie, "Would you like to join us?"

"Oh…No it's okay. I don't want to get in between your family time."

The queen takes her hand, "Nonsense! You're part of this family as well. Now let's go before your father freezes the bedroom due to his excitement."

"A-Alright…"

"Hohoho, let's make this a challenge! Whoever gets there first, is allowed to hold Sammy first after the ritual!"

"Oh? Are you sure you have even the resemblance of a chance against me, darling?" The queen scoffs.

"I sure do. Because I control one element you don't know about!"

"Oh? And what is that?"

"The Element of surprise!" He then throws a snowball at her face, creates a slide made of ice in front of us and starts dashing down the ice while giving me a wink.

I can see the queen smile as she looks at Maggie and says, "Are you ready to catch up to that fool?"

"I sure am but I'm going to participate myself so you go ahead without me, you'll need all the distance you can, haha."

"Oh~? Well then, see you there!"

The queen then transforms into her Shadow Lady form and starts flying at us like a black moth of doom, gaining on us rapidly. She is clearly much faster than dad.

"She's about to get you dad!"

"Don't worry, I have a few tricks up my sleeve!"

He then whistles and creates a wall of snow behind him, covering the entire corridor, and behind it creates a bunch of living snowmen. The queen effortlessly breaks through the snow wall but gets ambushed by the snowmen behind it which throw themselves at her all at once, pinning her to the ground while we slide around the corner, creating some more walls behind us.

"See? Told you I had a few tricks up my sleeve, hohoho."

We then get closer to the corridor where our bedroom is, when the shadow lady suddenly bursts through a window in front of us and picks me up.

"Did you really think petty tricks like that would work on me, darling? You need to learn to think ahead a bit more if you even want a chance at beating me, hahaha."

As the door to the bedroom comes in sight, the shadow lady wraps her wing around me and crashes through, yelling, "Hah! I told you I'd be fir…"

Before staring wide eyed at Maggie, who is already sitting on the bed with a wide smile, "Looks like I won."

"But how? I didn't see you pass me."

She smiles even brighter than before and answers, "I asked Dalan to get me here while you guys were showing off."

The King then arrives in the bedroom as well, looking at us wide eyed, "How did Maggie get here before us!?"

"She asked Dalan," the queen answers.

"Oh. What a genius move, I'm proud of you! Hohoho."

"I have to agree, that was very smart of you!" the queen says, proudly petting Maggies' head.

Maggie looks a bit confused as she answers, "I kind of thought you'd see it as cheating."

"Not at all, hohoho. You were just thinking more level headed than us, hohoho."

"I'll have to agree, you quickly realized how to exploit the situation to your advantage, seized the opportunity and won fair and square! You'll make a fine tactician someday."

She blushes a little from all the praise but before she can say anything else, the king jumps into the bed right next to her and the queen follows suit by gently laying me down next to Maggie and cuddling up from behind me. For a bit, I feel transported back to before everything went downhill in my past life. Where both Maggie and I were just kids having fun. But before I can ruminate about those times, my exhausted body takes over again and I fall asleep.

When I wake up again, I'm in a surprisingly not snow covered garden. The king, queen and Maggie seem to be drinking tea, while Hildi stands next to me.

Hildi notices me waking up and whispers, "Good morning your Highness. Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah but something is wrong. I shouldn't be this exhausted and Pavel hasn't been here for a while now. What's happening to me mo-Nanny?"

"It's a mix of things. You're hungry, you're mentally exhausted and the White Queen has enforced your soul to a point that it starts to reject the flesh prison."

"Is that why I felt that heavy pain after I visited her?"

"Yes, it's apparently a very effective method to help the chances of the ritual succeeding but it is immensely painful and taxing. Your parents didn't know before she did it though. They only found out after."

"Hey Hildi? Can I spend the rest of my time in this body with you?"

"Of course you can, Sammy."

"Okay good…Because I think I'm about to fall asleep again soon."

Hildi then takes me into her arms and soon after, I fall asleep again. I periodically wake up for small amounts of time and quickly pass out again. Each time, I find myself in Hildi's arms. I'm not sure how much time has passed since it started but this time when I wake up, things are different.

"Hildi?"

"Yes, Sammy?"

"I can't move anymore."

"That means it's time then. Try to stay awake now if you can, Sammy."

"Okay…"

It's hard to tell where we're going because I can barely move my head. It all feels a bit dream-like as we wander through hallways and then go outside.

I then hear the king ask, "Is she ready?"

"Yes she is."

I feel myself being put on a cold stone table. I can also hear Maggie trying to hold back tears while the queen is consoling her, "It's okay. It looks scary but that's a good sign."

The king speaks up, "Get ready dear, we need to be quick and precise."

"Of course. Maggie go and stay with Dalan for the time being."

I can see the king pull out a dagger, "Ready, dear?"

"Yes, darling."

I then feel the blade pierce my body but there is no pain. The queen holds out a black gem so dark it looks like the light around is being absorbed by it and puts it into the wound the king opened. It is then that I lose all sensation. I can not feel, I can not see, I can not hear, I can not smell and I can not taste. I feel nothing, not even my own breath. I must be dead…I guess there was always the risk of it. I wonder if it will be like this for two hundred years or if I will just suddenly wake up. Wait…There is something. A mumbling noise. I wonder what that could- I suddenly feel overwhelmed as all sensation comes back to me at once and I take a deep breath. I still have trouble controlling my body again but I can breathe.

I then hear Maggie squeal in a high pitched voice, "Oh my gosh is that Samuel!?"

I can't understand the answers to her questions though. They seem to all be in fey speak.

I then feel a warm sensation around my body. I still don't have much control over my movements but I can slowly open my eyes.

"Look, look! She's opening her eyes!"

As I open my eyes, I can see Maggie's face in front of me. It's really big.

I try to call out to her but all that comes out is a squeak-like sound.

"Oh my god she's so fucking cute!"

Putting her giant finger toward me, I can feel her gently pet my belly. It feels weird, everything feels so different now. She then moves her finger to my hand and I reflexively grab it.

"Oh my gosh...That's so insanely precious! That's still you, right Samuel?"

I hear some more Fey speak and Maggie answers with "Sure, here you go."

I can feel myself being moved and the queen picks me up. She's crying. She says a lot of things I do not understand while hugging me. I then feel myself being moved again as the king picks me up. He has a wide smile on his face but he's also crying at the same time. He starts carrying me around and turns toward something. I can then see myself for the first time in the reflection of a giant mirror. Things are a bit blurry. I have trouble seeing things that are far away but I'm most definitely a baby tugged in some very expensive looking cloth. As the king brings me closer, I can make out more features. I look a lot like the queen, I'm of a translucent black. But unlike the queen, I don't seem to have many stars within me, rather it looks more like a starry sky with slow falling snow is trapped within me. Though I do have the translucent blue eyes of the king with the white snowflake shaped iris. I also seem to have lost my teeth. Even the special ones. I have no hair yet and I can't see most of my body because it's covered in cloth. I can then feel the translating necklace being put around my neck. It's a lot bigger now, kind of like one of those Hawaiian flower necklaces.

Maggie excitedly asks me, "So what do you think!? You're super cute!"

"I look like a creepy lava lamp…"

"No you don't! You look insanely cute!!! Right?"

Hildi brushes over my cheek and says, "I think you look very pretty too."

"Hohoho, she looks just like you, dear."

"But she has your eyes, darling."

"Almost like she's our daughter, ey? Hohohoho."

The queen asks, "Now, are you hungry, my little snowflake?"

"Yes."

"Then open your mouth nice and wide," she says, as she holds a bottle filled with some strange black liquid to my mouth. I'm not sure what it is but when I drink it, it tastes amazing. Drinking quickly, I suddenly feel the bottle being taken away from me before I could finish.

"Can I have more?"

"Later, remember what I told you? We are going to change your eating habits to be more healthy."

"But I'm hungry!"

"I know, my little snowflake. Try to bear with it until lunch."

"But I...I'm... Waaaaaaaaaaggh, I'm so hungry, sob."

Dad quickly cradles me in his arm to console me, "Shhh...It's alright...You'll get food again later. You'll have a lot more food here than you got before." Feeling his giant mouth give me a kiss on the forehead, I continue crying even though I'm not even sure why anymore. Feeling him hold me feels nice though...It makes me feel...Sleepy.

Waking up in the Queen's arms, I ask, "Can I have some food..."

She smiles at me and holds the black bottle to my mouth again. She takes it away again before I finish eating but this time I only feel slightly annoyed by it.

Hugging me tightly, she asks, "Do you feel ready for a parade now, my little snowflake?"

"A parade? Sure, what is it about?"

"You will see, haha."

The queen then turns me around and hugs me close to her, so I can see where we're going. We step through a portal and come to what looks like the top of giant stairs with a massive army of soldiers at the bottom. The king, Hildi and Maggie are already waiting there for us together with Jessica the butler. The butler is holding some sort of orb. The orb then lights up and multiple projections are being sent down to the soldiers. I have a hard time seeing what they show though because they're so far away.

The queen then holds me up in front of the orb and says, "Behold, your crown princess."

The crowd erupts in cheers. There are so many people cheering that it feels like the crowd is endless. Next, I'm being carried into a winged carriage in front of us, where both the king and queen sit down on big thrones while Maggie looks at the giant screens broadcasting the partying outside to us. When we take flight, music starts playing as we first go over the soldiers, then over citizens having a full on festival beneath us. The crowd is so big, it takes us a full week to pass over all of them. Thankfully, the carriage is like its own castle on the inside so we never get bored or uncomfortable. In a way it's a lot like watching TV with hundreds of shows going on at the same time for us to watch whenever we want. Then, at the end, we all come together to have a family portrait made of us, with Hildi, the king and queen, Maggie and me present. It takes a few hours of us sitting there for it to be finished, which gives me a lot of time to think. Will Maggie be fine when she becomes Fey? Are we going to be safe? When can I start training with Dalan, Pavel and Thunderbird? Will I still learn under the Silent Leaf in 150 years? What can we do about King Denever? How will I be able to kill him? There are so many questions circling around in my mind but the moment the painting of us is done and I see the happy family in front of me all I can think is, 'We'll find out in the future…Together'.

To be continued?

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