The dangerous encounter
The Snow Prince"Umika~ Umika!" she woke up over the voice of her classmate Hikaru Yaotome.
"where am I ?!" Umika asked.
"duh~the classroom. you came so early to school today" Hikaru asked. He began to feel worried for her friend as she continued to bombard him with questions that have no answers.
"how did I get here?! I should be in the forest? what about Miku and Suzuka, where are they?!"
Hikaru gave a blank face and then pulled Umika into his embrace.
"what's wrong with you? you're worrying me... who is Miku and Suzuka?" Hikaru's questions send chills down her spine. How could he not know who they are??? we have been classmates for 2 years!
"lend me your phone! quick!" Umika snatched his phone and punched in a chain of numbers. No one picked up. not the first call, not the second call.
"who are you calling?" Hikaru asked worriedly, but Umika continued to punch in the 3rd chain of numbers and the line got through.
"Hi. Can I speak to Miku please?" Umika asked the lady on the other line, which she recognized her voice as Miku's mum.
"you got the wrong number. there's no one here by the name of Miku" the lady answered calmly, only to receive the frustrated response from Umika.
"how could you of all people say this?! she's your daughter!"
"you're absolutely crazy." the lady hanged up the phone.
the same thing happened when Umika dialed Suzuka's household.
one fact she realised - no one in Aoihoshi knew the existence of Miku and Suzuka. it's like as though they have vanished into the thin air and from the memories of everyone who knew them.
this revelation left her in extreme shock that she could not absorb. how could something so bizarre happen on her. she realised the bite mark by the rabbit on her fingers were no longer there. all these are real though it makes no sense. she's almost sure that the whole thing is not a dream; she did encounter the snow queen and her evil sorcery that froze her friends, and the rabbit which she saved, turned out to be the snow queen's pet and it morphed into a young boy her age!!
she didnt know how to tell Hikaru, but she don't want to implicate him in this whole mess since she isn't sure what kind of danger it entails.
Hikaru, who has a huge crush on Umika, was so worried about her that he just stayed with her from school to her way home.
"Umika, sleep well. tomorrow will be better. see you!" Hikaru bidded farewell to the soulless girl.
she stood before the door to her house and suddenly, she was striked by a sudden determination to get to the bottom of this. I have to get my friends back!
she left a note to her grandma and ran towards the direction of the forbidden forest, hoping to reunite with her beloved friends.
she ran and ran, the cold cuts through her skin. she was trembling in the blizzard since she has forgotten to wear her thick clothes. eventually she returned to the lake where all the action happened.
"ahhhh" she tripped over a stone and fell on the snowy white ground. blood stained the snow and her tears wet the ground. She crouched in a corner and cried in desperation for her friends. There were no response, except the cold that came strongly at her. The freezing weather, the wound from her knees were all unbearably painful. She wondered why she was the only one who escaped unharm. According to legend, no one has seen the snow queen and remained alive.
She may not have died in the hands of the snow queen, but she knew that she will die this time under natural circumstances. It didn't take long for her body to finally give in. She collapsed, and her cold body gradually got covered in the snow.
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Umika POV
I opened my eyes slightly, and let my eyes wander around. I'm not where I recalled I was. I was not near the lake. Instead, I was lying on what seemed like an ice bed and my surroundings look mystically beautiful. The dew drops are held on the tree leaves and they blinked like stars in the skies. The whole area is filled with white, soft snow, but unlike what I recalled from the forest, the surroundings here seem much more peaceful. I expected the area to be cold, especially with my body exposed to the ice bed, but it wasn't. It's cozy and the temperature is comforting.
I sat up and realised that I was covered by a thick, fur blanket. It is really soft and huggable. Who put this on me? who brought me to this heavenly-like place.
I looked at my knee, and again, the wound is no longer there. I am completely healed again. How is it possible I escaped death TWICE?
My guardian angel? How absurb is that, but there are no other better explanations I could think of.
Within view there was a pond, and I could see a familiar back view of a boy. He is holding something in his hands and is deeply engrossed with it.
"the rabbit!" i said to myself as I remembered his back view and my handkerchief in his hand.
"that's awfully rude" he responded with his back facing me. How could he have heard what I said. We are not that close in proximity and I wasn't projecting my voice.
"Who are you and What do you want from me?!" I shouted this time.
"Who do you think I am?" he turned and walked towards me. I couldn't make up his features from a distance, but as he approached closer, my heart throbs faster and faster.
It's those same beady eyes I saw on the rabbit. His watery eyes are mesmerising, his nose is perfectly shaped, his lips is pinkish, moist and thin, and his jawline is well defined. He looks so gorgeous that I am totally captivated by him. He pinned me to the ice bed and looked intensely into my eyes. Every move of intimidation sends electric currents through my body, and I hoped that he could back off a little of I could possibly die of heart attack.
"Are you sure you want to know who I am? Curiosity can kill. Do you want that, my lady?" he whispered in my ears. His cold words send chills down my spine. I trembled in fear as he stared intensely at me.
"What's your name?" he asked with barely inches away from my face as he continued to press me against the bed.
Somehow I felt obliged to tell him who I am... it is like as though my mind is under his control. Have I lost myself to his charm?
"U-Umika Kawashima" I stammered. He smirked in response and finally, pulled himself away from me and turned his back against me. Only then, did I let out a sigh of relief.
"I swore you were much braver than this. Stammering and trembling before me is nothing like the girl I knew who bust into the forest which most people feared, TWICE.
"Please let me and my friends go... P-please I beg you" I unknowingly grabbed his arm. The instant where I touched him, a feeling of warmth overwhelmed me, and I didn't want to let go.
"Don't touch me!" he shook my hand off violently and stood up, giving me an intense look.
"Let me make myself clear Once and for all... I owe you a favour because you saved me once. I returned the favour by getting you out of what should have caused your life along with your friends. You could have stayed out of trouble, but yet you returned. In case you have mistaken, I am not a saint. Rather, I am nearly the opposite. So I would suggest you to fear for your own life than to think about your friends." he sternly warned. He may be a heart-throb but he is extremely scary and cold.
Tears ran down my cheek as I continued to beg. "I'll do anything. P-Please let us go." I was completely helpless in this situation. I understood his stern warnings, I knew that begging is of no use, but there's really nothing else I could do.
A cold breeze suddenly blew through the what-seeemed-like his fortress and immediately he snapped out of his sincere look at me and returned to his hostile behaviour.
"I have something to attend to. Stay within this fortress or I can assure you that you'll die within seconds the moment you try to escape," he warned and turned his back against me and walked towards the gate.
He hesitated and stopped his motion. "There's nothing I could do to save your friends because the Queen has them. As for you, you are under my per view so no one else can touch you except me. As long as you obey my orders, I can assure you that you will be well taken care of until I decide to end your life.... which I doubt it's anytime soon." he said with his back against me and finally disappered behind the gates.
The Snow Prince? He fits the description that Miku and Suzuku mentioned. Whoever he is, whatever he has in plans for me, I have no other choice but to obey his orders. I don't stand a chance against any of these socerers.
Something tells me that he meant what he said, and that I feel safe in his hands. Besides, if he were to kill me, he could have done it already, instead he saved me twice.
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