»Taeyeon«

“Hey. Annoying girl. Get up. You're suffocating me... Go back to your village already. Eish." Who was being so loud and bothering in the morning? Just let me sleep a little longer. There's no need for the chief's daughter to wake up so early. 

"Don't say I didn't warn you." There it was again. Whose voice was that? They must have a good reason to come into my private room to disturb my slumber. I opened my eyes slightly as I realised that it was rather cold. Did father put out the firewood?

"Hupp!" Someone yelled out loudly. Before I even had time to react, I found myself on the laying down sideways against a cold rock floor. It was cold and painful, but mostly cold. It was odd though, before I fell over on the rock floor, my left side was warmer than the other. Odd. 

"Do you plan to continue sleeping even on the floor?"

Now that voice was starting to get on my nerves. I was pretty sure that it wasn't my mind talking to me, so who was it? I pried my eyes open to see the culprit of this cold and hard morning. 

"Are you awake now?" the voice sounded annoyed now. I blinked a few times to regain my vision from the blurry mist I saw. My eyes automatically reacted with a frown from the bright surroundings. I then gave a yawn and scanned around. I stopped scanning when my eyes ran past a body of a woman standing before me with and annoyed expression and folded arms.

Hang on. What was she doing in my room? This isn't even my room... It was... a cave? Where was I?

"I see that you survived the night." the girl chuckled slightly. I held my head for a while as I started to understand my surroundings. It was the fifth winter again. The ceremony, the name draw, everything finally came back to me. I was picked and sent to the cave by myself where I almost fell off the cliff and met Jung Jessica, also known as the ice princess.

"You. Get up already. The floor isn't exactly doing you any good" the princess threw me my bag of the remaining food that I had brought with me. I caught it quickly and stared up at her curiously. I then slowly used my hands to hold up my body and stand up again. My legs were a little weak but it was enough to keep me steady. 

I should probably thank her properly for yesterday. I brushed off the snow from my clothes and stood up straight before I stared straight into her eyes. 

"Thank you, Princess Jung Jessica… for helping me off the cliff yesterday and for sleeping next to me during the night." I said proudly as I reached my hand out. I saw father doing this to the other men of the village after discussing a few matters. I think that's how people thanked each other. Though I don’t think that was how Jessica thanked people. She stood there and stared at my hand as though she was expecting something to happen.

“Here” I chuckled slightly as I grabbed onto her hand and placed it my own. I then gave a quick shake of the hand and gave her a warm smile. She quickly pulled her hand back and stared at me accusingly as though I had committed a crime.

“It’s how my father thanks the others in the villages. I think that’s how you do it.” I explained briefly. She held onto her hand and blinked confusingly. I think it’s been a while since she had contact with anyone. Maybe that’s the reason why she was so surprised.

“You should start heading off now. There’s a road outside. I would suggest that you go as quickly as you can before you get caught in the cold” the princess turned her back towards me and walked away a few steps. When she noticed that I still wasn’t moving she let out a long sigh.
Where was I to go anyway? If I were to go back to my village, the people would fear for their lives about the coming winter. They would quickly redraw a name and send them up in my place. I would at least be recognised by those in the streets, but they would probably as a failure. They would all assume that the princess did not think I was worthy enough for a sacrifice.

“I have nowhere to go” I whispered with a pitying smiled. She lowered the hand that I had recently taken to shake to her side and turned around to face the cave entrance.

“There’s an alternate road not too far from here, leading away from your village. All the women before you took that road. I suggest you take it too.” Jessica murmured to me in a low voice. I followed her gaze to the outside of the entrance and took a few steps forward until the village was in my view. The people of the village were starting to wake up and they all seemed rather cheerful. They would not have to fear anything for the next five years.

“Where does that road lead to?” I turned my attention back to the princess. Was there really another village on that road? The guards had told me that they would take me to the nearest village but I don’t know exactly how far that is.

“I do not know. You will not survive long here though. You might as well spend the last of your days trying to find some hope. Staying here won’t do you any good and certainly won’t do me any good either” she answered coldly. It was a nice change to have someone who talks to you without being scared of what might happen to them if they offend me. Talking to the princess was refreshing in a few ways.

“I see…” I answered vaguely as I stared back into the cave. It seems that the princess really didn’t like the company of others. I then noticed the lack of food inside the cave. There was barely anything at all. Certainly not enough to sustain even one person for a few days.

“You don’t have food…” I whispered to myself. Jessica turned around and scanned the cave before shrugging it off.

“I didn’t feel like gathering food this year.” She said arrogantly. What type of person doesn’t gather food just because they don’t want to? It’s a daily essential that everyone needs. I stared at the princess and saw that she was still staring out in a daze.

“I guess I should be going now then…” I called out slowly. Jessica then nodded and moved to the side to allow me to walk out. She seemed rather glad that I was going away. I purposely walked past the bag of the left over bread and did not bother to pick it up. I was going to find the village nearby anyway so I wouldn’t need it. If there was a village that was.
I had long prepared myself to leave this world anyway. It didn’t matter to me how I did.

“Be careful.” The princess uttered as I walked past her. Jung Jessica, the ‘Demon ice Princess’ and the saviour of my life. So many mysteries I wanted to be answered, yet I was being driven out by her. I guess it’s not my place to find out about the truth behind the legends. Hopefully someone else down the line might.

As I was walking out, I could see that Jessica was going about her business back in the cave. The cold winter breeze was blowing and the clouds were looming overhead intimidatingly. I should probably start moving before I get caught in a storm. So with that thought in my mind, I made my way down the road I was brought up.
The guards had said there was a village nearby but that was by horse. It would take me three times longer to reach the village. For all I know, there is a village somewhere. I don’t know exactly where, but it’s somewhere.

That’s reassuring. I walk mindlessly in the shallow snow that fell the night before with no idea of where I’m going. I just know where I am not going. Back to the village and that cave. I am to be alone from here on. No direction, no food, no help and no hope.

As I was walking down, I noticed that there were a few bushes on the side that had few fruits and berries on it. Although the season for harvesting was over, there were still some late blooming fruits that provided for the last minute harvesting. As I saw the bright red berries, I stopped in my tracks with a thought. Jessica.
Although I had left my bread there for her, I doubt she will last on that for long. She had forgotten to harvest and store food this coming winter. A princess should not have to suffer through the perils of being hungry. She was a princess after all.

I slowly bent down to the bushes and started picking the berries. I took a bite out of one of them and was certain they were safe. I had seen these berries in the books that father had told me to read and sometimes, the servant would bring me some to ‘entertain’ myself. One of the only things I looked forward to, seeing someone else in the same room as me.
The more I picked, the more my pockets filled. I worked my way, from bush to bush. When I had one pocket full, I decided that it would be enough and stopped. I would leave the rest for next time; I didn’t want the berries to spoil in my pockets. I then turned back to the road which led back to Jessica. If I were to return now, Jessica would push me away again. I should probably just wait for the nightfall when I can just place the berries in her cave before I walk off without being noticed.

Nightfall was going to be quite a long way away since the sun had just risen. Giving a deep and long sigh, I decided to find that mysterious rumoured village. According to what Jessica had told me, it was down this road and eventually there will be a split in the road. I am to take the one which does not lead to my own village… Simple enough, I guess.

I continued to walk on as I began to take in the scenery around me. A lot of things entertained me since I was not allowed to leave my room often. The air was not stuffy with the wood fires clogging up the air that I breathe. There were few animals scampering about with their last minute preparations for the winter whilst the trees were slowly shedding their leaves with the weight of the snow pushing the leaves off the branches. There were only two words that could come to mind for me. Winter Wonderland.

I read books about sceneries similar to these. A blanket of snow covered the floor; the air was still and silent whilst the sky was still reasonably clear. The male would be holding onto the female’s hand and walking happily through the snow. They would be sharing clothing between them to keep themselves warm whilst staring into each other’s eyes lovingly. I knew these stories were fabricated from an imaginative person’s mind, but I couldn’t help but wish that I could experience it. I wanted to experience many things that were in books. I never thought I’d even be out in the open of my village let alone on the mountain. It was exciting.

As I continue on admiring the scene and thinking about the winter love romances, I came to a split in the road. One led to my village, the other to an unknown place. I had two choices, take the road to an unknown area and possibly die, or take the road back to my village and be ostracized by my own people and live a lonesome life of being unknown again.

They were two equally depressing paths. I could not decide which was worse. But to me, the road to the unknown was appealing. I can’t help but remember that there was still a chance that if I were to return, someone else were to take my place. So, I took a deep breath and started heading down the unknown road. It looked like any other road except the bushes on the side did not seem to bear anything but leaves. As I continued, I could see that the bushes and greenery was slowly disappearing. Did this mean that a village was nearby? They might have taken what was left of the berries back to their village.

The cold wind blew against the front of my body. I could feel a few bits of snow whip up and sting my face before it melted away. There was something wrong with this. I just knew it. My stomach began to churn uncomfortably as the wind blew onto the melted snow causing it to feel colder than what it actually was. Something is definitely not right.

I could see paw prints in the snow. There wasn’t just one trail, there were around six. They overlapped each other so I could not determine how many trails there were. This wasn’t a good sign. They were too small to be that of a bear and they definitely were not human tracks. As I went through my list of possible predators that the trails could belong to, I finally reached the ‘w’ on my list.

“Wolves…” I uttered quietly as I stopped in my tracks. Wolves. They travel in packs, hunt in packs, eat in packs. They were not something you ever wanted to meet up with in the wild, especially if you were alone. It wasn’t a good idea to find a village on my own.

Realising that it was too dangerous to be going any further, I turned around slowly and walked cautiously back to the way I came from. My foot prints in the snow were barely visible as the snow slowly began to erase my tracks. It would be best if I were to stay close to Jessica’s cave. At least there I could probably shield away from the wolves if they did come up to cave. Jessica managed to survive up there, I’m sure the wolves would not come up.

Before I knew it, I was hurrying back to the cave where the Ice Princess resides. My heart began beating faster as my stomach churned even more. The foreboding feeling was growing. It made me feel sick. The faster I ran, the more it began to grow.

Was I going the wrong way? Was I making the wrong decision? What can I do to get rid of this uncomfortable feeling? I’m so used to being protected from everything. I never felt threatened. I never was scared. All these feelings were new to me. My walking turned into running. Suddenly, there was a snapping noise behind me.

I turned around to look behind me to make sure that I wasn’t followed. There was nothing. Not a soul nor being but I noticed that on the side of my tracks there were new prints. Exactly like the ones that I had seen before. Before I even had time to panic I heard a howl.

What happened after the howl…? I don’t remember.

A force pushed me down to the ground. That was the only thing I could recall.                                           

»Jessica«

I’m alone in my cave again. Secluded from the rest of the population, worshipped and fears by the neighbouring village and forced to spend each day overlooking the fearful village again. I should be used to this now. I’ve been doing this for over a hundred years. Waiting for the day in which a female would be forced to come up here and free her from the ropes before waiting for the nest one to arrive.

I was accustomed to the routine. It was all I knew. But why… why was there a girl willing to come up and ‘sacrifice’ her own life? Why did she not have ropes restraining her like the others? Why did she have extra clothing? Why did she bring food?

That was all I could ask. ‘Why?’

She knew I was the rumoured ‘Ice Princess’ yet she did not cower in fear. She laughed when I said I would hurt her and smiled carelessly.
Kim Taeyeon… Who are you?

You seem to bear no grudges against your own village yet you were not happy there. You murmured in your sleep about being hidden from the eyes of her villagers. You whispered ever so slightly “If I were to die, no one would care or notice”. What thoughts do you have against the village and why do you try so hard to protect them, even if it is just one life?

I was going about my normal routine… I was expecting a tied up frightened girl… yet instead, I got a bright, cheerful and brave girl, untied and free to roam. Yet at the same time, I got a lonely and depressed girl tied down by her pride and kindness.

My whole routine is now ruined. By now I would have forgotten about the girl and went on about my life, but here I am, questioning everything about the girl.

Whilst she was asleep, her arms unconsciously wrapped around my waist. For once, my body was at a warm temperature. I would always make sure that my body was at a colder temperature than my heart. The heart was to always remain warmer than the body. As the saying goes, ‘Cold hands hide the warm heart’. That was probably the only thing I believed in. I knew there was no point in hiding my warm heart. I wasn’t even sure if my heart was warm in the first place. Even if it is warm, what use is it if I do not use it?

Unconsciously, my hand went up to my waist where Taeyeon’s hands were before. It was still warm. Now that I think about it… Why did I push her out of the cave so quickly? There was that question again. ‘Why?’

I remember that once she was awake, my waist was warm. I was trying to cool my body down again and having someone in the same cave was causing anxieties to grow around the warmer areas. What was most memorable was when she grabbed my hand. How long had it been since I held onto someone’s hand. Even if it was in the past, it was always held lightly. I was a princess, no one was to even make contact with me let alone grab my hand. If they did touch my hand, it would only be ever so lightly.

When Taeyeon grabbed my hand, it was not something that I had experienced before. She grabbed it firmly and shook it once. She told me it was a way people thanked each other in her village but it didn’t explain one thing. It did not explain the electric shock that ran from her hand through to my chest. Was that supposed to have happened?

I gave a deep sigh and sat on the edge of the cliff face. Snow was falling slowly now. I wonder if that Taeyeon girl had reached the village yet, if there was any to begin with. I unconsciously let out a long sigh when I realised that I would probably not see her again. The action caught me by surprise. For some reason, my heart was clenching uncomfortably. I felt empty. I longed for the presence of somebody, anybody.
Was this what they called loneliness? Why did I not experience any of this before? Why and am I asking so many questions?

How long has it been since Taeyeon left? It would be getting dark soon. I hope she’s safe at least. With the unpredictable weather from yesterday, who knows when a storm might hit again? I hope she brought her extra clothing with her to keep warm… and that she doesn’t trip over a rock and start tumbling down the mountain… and she had better stay away from those fluffy animals she might find cute. Nothing is cute in the wild.

“Oh no!” I suddenly yelled as I stood up quickly. What is with these thoughts? She is just another girl, set her free and move on. That was what I was supposed to be doing… yet… I can’t stop thinking about her.

She was so different from the rest. She offered food even though she already had a limited amount. She thanked me gratefully and even dared to make contact with me.

Who are you Kim Taeyeon? What are you doing to me? You came into my routine and ruined it completely. Tore it apart and threw it out for the wind to carry and now I have all these unfamiliar feelings flooding me.

“Kim Taeyeon!” I yelled in frustration as I rustled my hair. My voice echoed through the empty mountain. I then took a deep breath having used all of the air in my lungs to scream out that girl’s name. Just as I was about to sit back down there was a sound that echoed the mountains again. It wasn’t mine. In fact, it wasn’t that of a human’s. I knew instantly what the echo belonged to.

Wolves.

The wolves of the mountains. I would hear them in the mountains every once in a while. It was a way that they tell their pack members they found their prey. I would usually dismiss those cries as wolves would never approach my cave where it held no potential prey except for maybe me.

But there was something that followed the echo of the howl that I could not shake off. It was a high pitched scream. One that would usually be emitted from surprise or shock.

Why would a voice echo off the mountains? I was the only one who occupied this pile of rock… unless…

“Taeyeon!” My eyes opened quickly. That village girl…

A howl followed by a scream… That was not a good sign.

Without even thinking, I started scrambling to run down the icy road to the split road. I followed so many girls down this road to make sure they were okay but I never really knew if they made it out alive. How do I even know if Taeyeon even took the right road in the first place?

For now that didn’t matter. I just had to follow the road. Maybe I was just desperate. Desperate to get rid of the loneliness that was eating me on the inside. I couldn’t just allow someone to come and mess me up and leave in less than twenty-four hours. I had to get her to fix everything. A princess is not to be toyed around for a few moments before she is thrown aside. It is just unacceptable.

As I came into the split of the road, I could see faint foot prints. They were covered by the snow that fell recently but they were still clear enough to track. I began to follow the steps down the split in the road. I stopped a few moments after to catch my breath, but most importantly because of something else in the snow.

Paw prints, specifically wolf prints.

I felt my heart stop for a moment as I slowly began tracing the two trails. The two trails then turned into three with another trail of paw prints following the human prints. I continued following the prints, speeding up with each step I took. Soon there were too many foot prints, but I noticed something with the human prints. There was a second trail heading in the opposite direction to where I was heading. They were the exactly same as the one I was tracking.

She turned back? Why did she turn back?

I then decided to follow the returning footprints. They headed off the road and into the snow. They were also more spaced out. She was running. I saw the paw prints also follow the human prints. I could already see what was happening. Taeyeon had turned back and started running from the wolves. That was the only logical explanation.

That’s why her steps were so spaced…out…

The tracks stopped… They stopped but something else replaced the footsteps. There was a large dent in the snow with an evident handprint on the side of the dent. Not only was the dent the same size as a petite girl’s body… but there was red snow amongst the snow. Since when did red snow exist… and why was it all in one area.

My heart started beating faster as I scanned the area. To my surprise… there was another trail coming from the red snow. There were also uneven drops of red snow beside the trail.

“Taeyeon!” I called out. For that moment, I didn’t care. I just wanted to return my body back to the way it was before… and the only way I could do it was to find that village girl.

“Taeyeon!” I called out again as I continued to follow the trail of red snow. The wind was blowing harder now that it was starting to get dark and the storm was approaching again. Honestly what was with this weather this year?

“Princess?” a faint voice called out. My heart leapt out of my chest when I heard the faint voice. I then started picking up my pace and ended up running along with the trail of red snow. It wasn’t long before I found a large pool of red snow… but there were no tracks leading anywhere, only a tree stood at the end of the tracks.

“Taeyeon?!” I called out again, turning my head from side to side to find the petite girl. I then felt something cold drop onto my hand. I looked down at my hand to see a red droplet on the side of my knuckle.

“Up here.” The soft voice called out again. Instantaneously, I looked up above me. There, on the branch of the bare tree was a girl shivering and holding onto the bark of the tree as though her life depended on it. It probably did too.

“Are you okay?” I called out. She responded with a weak nod and continued to clutch onto the tree. How did she get up there in the first place?

“How did you get up there?” I called out but I received no answer. The girl was shivering. The branch she was sitting on was also shivering along with her.

“Get down from there. You’ll freeze” I waved my hands for her to calm down. She shook her head firmly against the branch.

“W-W-Wolves…” She stuttered. I had completely forgotten about the other paw trails. I looked back down and saw that the floor was covered in paw prints. But slowly, the trails began to disperse as they moved away from the tree. Animals are not as dumb as people think. When a storm comes, they take cover.

“They’re gone. Hurry up and come down before the storm hits.” I said even more sternly. She continued to be stubborn and shook her head again. What is with this girl?

“I… I can’t…” Taeyeon stuttered. I felt another drop fall onto my hands again.

“Are you hurt?” I asked a little gentler. She shook her head. That was odd…

“It’s too high.” Taeyeon called out in an unstable voice. I looked up at her and narrowed my eyes to see that her lips were slowly turning blue.

“Just come down!” I commanded this time. Taeyeon shook her head even more stubbornly this time. This girl is just… She just… I can’t even find the right words to describe her. One moment she’s as strong as an ox, and now she’s as weak as a lily. Giving a defeated sigh, I opened my arms up at her… I really cannot believe I would ever be doing this.

“Jump!  I’ll catch you!” I really could not believe I was doing this. I don’t think she could believe it either as she just stared down at me with a lost expression. The wind was blowing even harder now. That branch didn’t look any more stable with each passing second either.

“Hurry!” I yelled as I gestured to my arms again. Taeyeon hesitated on the branch. She swivelled her body around slightly and stared down at me. Would this girl just hurry up?

“I’ll catch you. Don’t worry.” I said a little softer. I felt my body warm up after the words escaped my mouth. It was uplifting… It also boosted my pride as well. Who knew words could do such things.

“But I…” Taeyeon hesitated. Whilst she was hesitating, a harsh wind blew against the both of us. The tree was leaning dangerously to one side and that branch didn’t look like it could stand it for any longer.

“Ah!” a shriek echoed the mountains followed by a snapping sound. Right on cue.

The branch snapped with the strong wind as the village girl came falling down. I quickly moved my body and broke her fall, resulting in my ending up flat on my backside with a girl sitting on my lap. Once again, her light weight didn’t fail to amaze me. But this time, I felt some pain from my backside. No matter how soft the snow looks, it is definitely not soft despite what anyone tells you.

Giving off a small groan, I looked back at the body in my hands. It fitted perfectly in my arms. My arms were just long enough to wrap around her structure without having awkward bits hanging off. Her body just moulded into my own.

I then looked up to the face of the body. Her eyes were closed tight, lips pursed tightly together as her face was scrunched up with anticipation. She was probably waiting to feel the cold hard floor against her body.

“Relax… breathe…” I couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle at her expression. Taeyeon slowly opened one of her eyes and when she saw my face so close to hers, she stood up quickly and stared back at me with wide eyes.

“Ah… Princess… I…” She stuttered. I then waved my hand to silence her before I pulled myself off the ‘comforting’ snow floor. I felt a cold pair of hands grab onto mine to help me as I stood up straight again. Taeyeon’s hands were freezing compared to what they felt like this morning but it still managed to send a warm tingling sensation through me as it did before.

“Wh-Why are you here?” Taeyeon stuttered. Her lips were turning an even darker shade of blue as she tried to form words with them. I quickly scanned her body to see where the red droplets were coming from. To my surprise, they were dripping out of her… pocket?

Instead of answering her, I pointed towards her pockets with curiosity. She followed where my finger was pointing at and returned my gaze with an innocent one.

“You weren’t… bleeding?” I asked slowly. Taeyeon tilted her head to the side to question my own question. She then looked down at the red snow she was creating from the red liquid that was dripping out of her pockets and probably understood what I was asking.

“I p-picked b-berries along the way here since you d-didn’t have any f-f-food in your cave” Her voice was unstable each time her lips touched together. She looked like she was in pain each time she moved her lips. How long had she been staying up in that tree for?

“I f-fell onto them when th-the wolves t-tackled me over.” She continued. That was all that that I needed. As long as she wasn’t hurt that was all that mattered. Right now though, my mind couldn’t think of anything but to bring Taeyeon to the safety of my cave again.

Another odd thought from me today. I thought I’d rather be alone in my cave than have company in it… and yet here I was, thinking about bring Taeyeon back to my cave.

“Come on back to the cave. You can stay with me for a little while longer… it’s safer there…” I mumbled as I bent down in front of her. I waited for her to climb onto my back so that I could carry her but instead, Taeyeon walked past me. I rolled my eyes at the stubborn and naïve girl as I walked in front of her again to stop her before crouching down again.

“Get on. We’ll get there faster if you weren’t using your half frozen legs.” I told her. I waited again and this time, I felt a reluctant body press against my back. Once the whole weight was on top of me, I grabbed onto the freezing legs and stood up. Two arms instantly wrapped around my neck as I began walking in the snow.

“Th-Thank you a-a-ag ag-g” She struggled to say the word ‘again’ so I silenced her by shifting her weight.

“Thank you for saving me again… yeah, yeah” I said sarcastically as I continued to walk. I felt the arms around my neck tighten slightly as her head rested against my shoulders. I noticed that no matter how she was pressed against my body, it fitted perfectly. She was able to sit comfortably on my back without slipping or experiencing discomfort. It was lucky because I wouldn’t have needed to shift her weight so many times on our way back, maybe even giving her a chance to rest. Throughout the whole way back to the cave, though, I felt my heart receive shock after shock from the body pressed up against my back. I wasn’t even sure if my heart was healthy anymore.

Without her, it was almost dead, now that she was on my back, it would not stop beating.

Kim Taeyeon… What are you doing to me?

____________________________________________________

Suppp >D

It's been a while since i updated this huh?

The other fics got in the way and my studies too :3

I'm nto quite sure how long this is going to be but i do know that it's not going to be long ^^

15 chapters max??? Idk it depends :D

Anywho~ I found it more interesting to write from jessica's POV in the ending half of this chapter.

See what goes on in the ice princess' mysterious mind XDDD

Taeyeon = le bias wrecker in real life.

Taeyeon = le life wrecker for Jessica (HAHA)

Anywho~ I spent wayyy too much energy on this chapter. POV is harder than Third person for some reason. Takes so much longer to write x_x

So~ that's all from me :D

Wait one question though.

Who do you think will wear the 'pants' in this fic?

Taeyeon? Or Jessica? Kekekek >D

To me, Tae and Sica never really have a pernament 'pants' so -shrug-

I wanna know what you guys think ^^

Bubbles out

--