The next time my consciousness emerged from the depths of a completely black slumber, my eyes slowly opened. I was much warmer now and staring up an ice-covered roof made of stone. I blinked slowly and turned my head to the side, hoping to see the face of my beloved queen nearby, thinking she was the one who saved me from my brush of death.

I was half disappointed, half surprised to see another woman sitting in front of the fire that was warming me up. Her eyes were set on the orange, dancing flames and I could see a look of worry on her face. Her long, black locks rested calmly on her shoulders and her black bangs were brushed neatly to either side of her face.

I moved slowly and carefully as not to startle her and proceeded to pull myself up. “Hello.” I spoke softly.

She turned to me, her eyes focusing on me somewhat curiously.

“I greatly appreciate you saving my life from the merciless blizzard outside, but I’m afraid I can only thank you with my words.”

She continued to stare at me blankly, seemingly confused by my statement.

“You see, my heart belongs to another, and I must find her before she dies like I almost did. Please try to understand.”

“…you know I’m a guy, right?” The woman said after a pause.

My eyes widened and my mouth dropped. Her voice was indeed masculine, if a little higher than mine.

“I-I…” I quickly cleared my throat. “P-Please forgive me, my misunderstanding!” My upper body dropped to the ground in a deeply ashamed bow.

“Whatever, don’t worry about it. Get up.” The boy mumbled. He sounded embarrassed.

I sat back up but my head remained lowered in shame. “…y-you must understand my misunderstanding…your face is so…”

“My face is what?” He spat.

“U-Um…c-confident.” I swallowed, wishing I could crawl into a hole and die.

I heard him sigh. “Look I just saved your life. Can you just thank me for that?”

“Of course!” I said quickly and lowered myself back to the ground to bow. “Thank you sincerely, stranger. If there’s anything I can do to repay you, I will do it willingly.”

“…sure, you can stop talking like you’re a knight living in a fantasy book.” The boy mumbled.

I looked up at him confused. “What’s wrong with my speech?”

“It’s weird and a little annoying. Nobody else talks like that.” He replied.

“Well that’s awfully rude…” I slowly rose back up to sit straight.

“Are you mentally ill or something?” He asked.

My eyes widened and my mouth dropped. “How dare you insult me like that! If you don’t want to hear me ramble in my ‘weird’ dialogue, then I’ll just let myself out!” I stood up quickly, ignoring the slight vertigo in my ears and turned for the cave exit.

“No, wait!” The boy shouted.

I stopped but remained facing the exit.

“…okay, I’m sorry I insulted you, but I need help.”

“…what kind of help?” I asked slowly. I had my own quest to fulfill but hearing the sudden drop in his voice made me a little curious.

He didn’t respond immediately. “…I need to find my friend. He left me really suddenly and he seemed to act like a zombie. He didn’t even look at me or say anything. This blizzard happened and he just…” He trailed off.

I slowly turned toward him. He was standing up as well with his head lowered.

“…I want to find him and bring him back to his senses…can you please help me?” He slowly met my eyes.

I didn’t want to admit it, but his show of helplessness was slowly starting to win me over.

“…why did your friend leave you?” I asked.

“I don’t know!” The boy snapped. “We were together just joking around and then he suddenly just…left.”

My brow furrowed in thought. “…it sounds like he was pulled under some kind of witchcraft.”

“You mean a spell?” The boy gave me a tired look. “You can just say ‘spell’.”

“Yes, that’s what I meant.” I sighed. “Now I’m not an expert on the subject, but if your friend seemed to act like a zombie and just leave, then we should approach his kidnapper with caution.”

“Makes sense.” The boy shrugged.

“But if I’m going to help you, then you should return the favor.” I added, putting one hand on my side.

He was quiet for a moment, then nodded softly. “Okay, fine.”

“And if you should betray your word or call out my speech once more, I shall leave you to fend for yourself.” I added once more harshly.

“Okay, fine.” He responded with a twinge of annoyance in his voice. “What do you need help with? Finding your girlfriend?”

My heart swelled and softened as I thought of my beloved queen. How her soft, brown hair would float in the wind whenever she turned around to face me and how her light, brown eyes would stare at me full of trust and respect…

“…my queen… has fallen prisoner into the merciless blizzard outside.” My head turned toward the cave exit. “I must find her and be her savior before she…” The thought of her lying somewhere dead buried in the sow made me sick to my stomach.

“So you’re some kind of knight?” The boy asked.

“Not ‘some kind’.” I narrowed my eyes. “I am an official knight.”

“Huh. I didn’t know there was a castle around here.” He blinked.

I bit my tongue, forcing myself not to snap at him and told myself he must be an outsider.

“Anyway.” I sighed softly. “How may I call you?”

“My name is Choi Minki.” He said.

I nodded and bent forward, bowing with my arm across my chest. “You may call me Sir Knight Hwang Minhyun.”

“…how about just Minhyun?”

“…if that’s most comfortable with you.”

“It is.”

“Very well then.” I sighed again but my hopes were high. Soon I would be I the presence of my beloved queen once again…