In a shady corner of a scorched room, walls seared black to match a thin carpet of ash blanketing the creaky floors, sat a lonely figure, her tattered black dress molding with the shadows as it masked her from the entire world.

Slightly rocking back in forth, she hugs her knees in search of comfort, long dark hair draping down to hide the solemn beauty lurking beneath as she cried into her arms.

“Not here…”, a small whisper escapes her lips.

“He’s not here…”, the mantra continues, echoing audibly though going mostly unheard as another being suddenly joins her company.

“I see you’re back to your destructive ways. How many did you kill this time?”, a dangerously mellow voice suddenly cuts the thick suffocating air with its playful sweetness.

Temperature rapidly dropping, the walls and floors turns glossy as ice slowly crawls in sync with a pair of footsteps.

Scorched to the point of ambiguity, a doll is picked up from the dusty floors before immediately crumbling at the gentle touch.

“You even incinerated a poor child…what do you think Seo will say if he sees you like this?”

Yoona immediately snaps her eyes up at the mere mention of her love. Her eyes, though naturally crimson were even redder from the tears she had shed. She glares up at the brunette dangerously in defense, protecting her rights of being the only woman worthy enough to utter his name.

”Oh…my apologies. I forgot how sensitive you get when it comes to Seo”, Jessica attempts to stifle a chuckle when she feigns an apologetic tone.

With feather-light steps, she glides her way around the room, running her pale fingers over what’s left of the dilapidated furniture as Yoona follows her petite figure with predatory eyes.

“Wait until I tell the demons who had religiously looked up to you like a god what’s become of the legendary Yoona. The dark princess, now reduced to nothing but a lost and domesticated hellpup looking for her fallen holy master”

As Jessica feels the crisp texture of scorched wood between her fingers, she permits a sideway glance towards the fuming devil, a smirk plastering her bright red lips at the successful instigation.

Yoona staggers up in silence, eyes spelling inevitable death as Jessica continues to sneer, not the least bit fazed by the wordless threat.

“At this rate, you’ll burn this whole realm down…along with Seo in it. Not that you’d care; you seem to have a knack for killing the poor man”

“Leave me, pest! Lest you want to join them”, Yoona growls, fatal spite coating every word as she eagerly prepares for combat, skin glowing a bright orange hue when her temperature begins to soar in rage.

Her tears immediately evaporate into thin air, only to be replaced by steam so hot even the ice demon winced in slight discomfort. But at the sight of such fiery reaction, Jessica cracks a smile in pleasure.

“Now, now. Is that anyway to address your Queen?”, Jessica coolly banters in mirth, continually toying with the aggravated princess.




“LEAVE”, Yoona explodes, unconsciously sending a blast of ember as the force sends everything but Jessica hurling to the opposite wall in a heap of burning debris.




But nonchalantly flipping her long wavy locks, Jessica only chuckles in amusement, “Now that’s better. That’s the Yoona I remember; not this pathetic damsel before me who continually cries over a dead man. But I must say your temper has gotten significantly worse over the millennia; I’d say it even rivals your brother’s now. You used to last longer despite my obvious teasing”

“Had my brother not taken you as his bride, you would already be long dead. Banished, I’m now free to do as I please so it’s in your best interest to watch your tongue in my presence”, Yoona commanded with another growl, her entire being still ablaze along with the walls of the room as it prepared to engulf the sole surviving piece of ice into nonexistence.

But Yoona finds that ice doesn’t melt quite as easily as it used to; at least not this one, “Oh, how I’ve missed that ego of yours; as if you could really kill me. I was once a dark princess like you too, you know. I’m sure you remember them; my glory days before your clan cowardly conquered my lands and forcibly wed me to a temperamental beast”, Jessica spoke light-heartedly though a subtle solemn tone of bitterness coated her every word.

Suddenly, her features become dead serious, “Come home. Your brother is driving me insane”.

A plea.

Because she knows that Jessica is just as prideful as she is, if not more.

Yuri must be using her as an emotional punching bag, more so than before as she is pushed to the point of actually seeking Yoona out of desperation.

Trapped in a loveless union by force, she measures Jessica’s misery against hers. Was Jessica’s pain worse than hers?

It can’t be.

But unlike Jessica, she fought for her love. Though she ultimately lost, the effort assuages the pain along with the thought of one day reuniting with her love…unlike the hopeless Queen who is cursed to live an immortal existence with a devil she never truly loved.

“Just get out of my sight”, Yoona dismisses the Queen who rules a realm that also serves as her own personal prison, uncharacteristic sympathy slowly dousing the fire within.

Yoona cursed Seo for leaving her but she also cursed him for ultimately making her this weak.

She shouldn’t care about Jessica. And she never did until Seo’s death…until she experienced what it feels like to feel pain.

Not the kind derived from battle, no, she can handle that just fine; as if her perfect condition isn't proof enough. Aside from a permanently missing wing, she's as she was a millennium ago.

It’s the internal wounds that never heal. To feel what the ice demon feels every night when she finds herself sharing a bed with a demon that isn't her soul mate, though Jessica tries to hide her agony with sarcasm and spite.

“Go back to the netherworlds and beg your brother to let you back in. He will allow it. Enough time has passed that he will forgive you for your foolishness”, Jessica cuts in, her tone resuming the iciness that usually laced her demands.




“Not until I find Seo”




“Hardheaded woman. A millennium has passed. Undoubtedly, you have already missed his reincarnation. Besides the gods, who’s to know when someone is reincarnated—or if ever at all? You may be immortal like a god, but unlike one, you are not omniscient. Your chances of finding him are close to nonexistent”

“And you feel it, don’t you? Earth; she’s slowly sipping away at your immortality. She doesn’t like demons frolicking about in her lands so leisurely. A demon of your caliber was never meant to set foot let alone live in this realm though that’s the only reason you’re still alive. Had you been the common demon, you wouldn’t have survived the first century on Earth. But you’re on your way; just look at you. You even look like a human now.”

The queen feasts her icy stare at the former demon princess; wavy hair that once shined in dark splendor now descends past her chest like tangled weeds as if suddenly weighted down by the insignificant laws of nature this realm subjected its dwellers. Canines that had torn through the toughest flesh were grinded down to dullness and skin that used to glow like the full moon now lost its sheen, repeatedly violated by the rays of Helios over the millennia.

Only her eyes remain unchanged.

They were still as and unyielding as she remembers.

But the feeling of fear she so freely basks in that crawls up her spine whenever she drowns herself in Yoona’s pool of rouge are now long gone, only to be replaced by pity for the creature she once looked upon as her rival.

“…Have you even thought about what might happen if you do find him? In his second life, he may be cursed to live as an angel once again, doomed to repeat the same history. A tree perhaps? With no means to see, hear, let alone remember you? Or worse, he may even be a human already betrothed to another woman. Can you will yourself to crush his ignorant yet blissful happiness for the sake of your own despite his sacrifice?”

“Stop it…”

“Since when did mere words deal damage to your thick skin? You’ve truly weakened in both body and mind. You’ll eventually deteriorate if you stay in this realm any longer. It’s time for you to go home. You’re running out of time”

“I don’t care. I promised him…”

“Your brother may not admit it, but he misses you”, Jessica confesses, though it is met by a spiteful glare.

“This is all his doing. I lost everything because of Yuri; my home, my love...even my child…---”

“No, it’s yours. He warned you not to fall for an angel. Though it sickens me to defend him, everything he’s done has been for your well-being. So give up and come home to open arms. Your kingdom awaits, my princess”

Jessica offers an outstretched hand, waiting for Yoona to take her subjective benevolence though she only stares back defiantly in unwavering conviction.




“Tell me Jessica; have you given up on your soul mate?”




Slightly taken aback by the unexpected question, the ice queen permits a shocked expression though short-lived.

Her recovery is fast and graceful, opening up a portal to the underworld with a swift wave of her hand, whispering her last words of farewell to the equally unyielding princess,




“When hell freezes over”


--


A lone child sits in a small table, filling the blank world of whiteness before her with color as she unconsciously swings her legs back in forth out of boredom. Head bowed in concentration, her long brown hair cascades down to shield the face of innocence, rewarding the world a glimpse of the youthful beauty only when she tucks the loose strands behind an ear with precocious grace.

She holds the paper up in the air to inspect the fruit of her labors before frowning in displeasure as she realizes that something is missing. Digging through the box of crayons nearby, she searches for what would perfect her fabricated world.

Finally finding it, she begins to scribble with sudden vigor at the thought of completing her flawless creation though the new color no doubt dominated the rest with its bold shade.



But that’s why Seohyun loves red.



**

“Thank you for coming here today and especially on such short notice”, the teacher slightly bows in greeting towards a woman in front of her as she motions her to take a seat.

“Is everything okay?”, the mother asks nervously when she complies hesitantly at her offering.

“What did Hyoyeon do this time?”, she shakes her head sternly at the thought of her problematic daughter causing more ruckus at school.

“Actually, this concerns your younger child”

“Seohyun?”

“You see, she’s very intelligent for her age; quite the patience too…but she never speaks”

“She can be rather timid…”

“Even with her withdrawn nature, she stands out. Seohyun is…different”

“If this is about her birth marks—“

“It’s not. It’s just that other kids don’t understand her---and quite frankly, most of the teachers don’t either---and that makes her prone to bullying…”

**

“Hey, what are you drawing?”, a little boy curiously peers from behind and over her shoulders to inspect Seohyun’s art.

Equally protective and bashful of her creation, she immediately covers it with her arms.

But mistaking her gesture of introversion as snobby, he immediately retracts with huff.

“Fine. I don’t want to catch your ugly skin germs anyway”, he fires back while eyeing the tiny but discolored arms that shielded her work as she shamefully pulls down the sleeves in shame until it hid even her fingers.

Suddenly, he snatches the paper from underneath her arms.

“Ew what is this?”, he turns the paper upside down as he tries to figure out what it is.

“Hey, give it back!”, Seohyun immediately stands up, trying to snatch the paper from the taller boy’s grasp.

“Please!”, she continually jumps to make up for her lack of height as the boy continues to sneer teasingly.

It didn’t take long until the tears flowed freely down her rosy cheeks.

"Ha, can’t reach it!”, he waves the paper over his head, dancing around like he’s conquered the world…until he accidently backs into an even taller figure.

Looking up behind him, he cowers as her shadow engulfed his shrinking form.

“Give it back to her…unless you want a fistful of sandwich for lunch”, Hyoyeon threatened.

**

“Mainly, that’s why Hyoyeon gets into so many fights”

“Her sister can’t always be there to protect her…and she shouldn’t be. Hyoyeon was a star student prior to Seo’s transfer”

The mother could only sigh as she massaged her aching temples in stress, “So what do you propose?”

“With Hyoyeon’s own well-being in mind, have you thought about other educational alternatives for Seohyun? Home-school perhaps? At least until she gains some confidence…”

“I’ll have to talk to my husband about it…”

“Good…But that’s not what I called you here today…”

“It’s not…?”

Getting up to fetch a set of keys, the teacher unlocks a drawer to pull out a stack of papers. Reluctantly, she gives them over with shaky hands.

“We’ve recently asked the class to draw their dreams; to envision their future and paint out their aspirations. Most drew hospitals, those wishing to become nurses and doctors, while our future lawyers drew courtrooms and a gavel. But Seohyun…”, the teacher trails off.

The mother scans the stack in her hands, eyes slowly widening in a mixture of shock, awe and fear alike.

**

“Thanks unnie”, the shorter girl attempts to stifle her whimpers as she clutched a crumpled piece of paper protectively in her embrace.

“No problem. I didn’t like that kid either”, Hyoyeon ruffles her little sister’s hair out of habit, offering comfort to the crying girl as they walked home hand-in-hand.

After a while, Hyoyeon breaks the comfortable silence.

“What’s that drawing, anyway?”

Though reluctant at first, Seohyun allows her sister a glimpse, knowing no ill judgments will come out of the person she trusts the most.

The little girl watches apprehensively as Hyoyeon furrows her eyebrows at the sight.

“Who’s that?”, the older sibling asks, tilting her head to the side in confusion at the sight of what seems to be a tornado of fiery colors.

But amongst the flames, she sees it; a shadowy figure right in the eye of the storm with daunting red eyes that seems to pierce the core of her very soul.




“I don’t know. But she wants to find me”