At the palace JiYong stared in shock at the girl he had spent his childhood with.  Dara was trembling as she stood before him but neither noticed the sheen of ice spreading over the walls around them.

“Something very important indeed must have happened to call you all the way to Soulician after so long a silence from your majesty.”  Stated the king.

“JiYong, please… surely you must know how difficult it would be to just, visit you as if I had no husband and…”  Dara stopped.  And what? And I didn’t love you for years only to have you decide that ruling a kingdom was more important?  She started violently as the warmth from JiYong’s fingers met her cheek.

JiYong watched her shrink from his touch and felt his eyes narrow.  Dara had never been frightened of him before.  His gaze shifted to the snowflakes on her skin and dropped his hand.  “What’s wrong Dara? Why did you come?”

His voice had become toneless but Dara somehow got the feeling that the old caring JiYong was beneath the apathy.

“Your brother wants to take over Seoulician.  He told me.  He said…”  Suddenly Dara looked up at JiYong, unconsciously clasping her hands before her.  “He said you can burn with your lands, JiYong you have to do something before he comes and kills you.  You have to do something quickly, he’ll know I’m here, when I came away from the palace…”  She stopped and gestured to JiYong’s window as she had to Bom’s.  Like Bom, JiYong flicked his gaze towards the window then stopped and stared.  He had a better view from the palace window than Bom had from her house and the snowstorm had broken over the neighbouring land.

“How did that happen?”  He asked blankly turning back to Dara.  Dara looked at him for a moment in silence.  She was trying to gauge him, see who had was and how he had changed but all she could see was flickering disinterest and brooding cynicism in his eyes, even towards her.

“It was my fault.”  She said resignedly.  “He… things happened and we had an argument and during that he told me about you and Seoulician and a war.  So I had to come and tell you but…”  Dara’s monotone disappeared as her words spilled over to her best friend.  “JiYong I can’t control my ice anymore! Everything I touch turns to ice, look at the room!”  She gestured and JiYong looked around for the first time.  All the walls were covered in a transparent coating of ice and hanging from the ceiling were great chandeliers of ice.  It was snowing lightly. 

“Why can you not control it?”  He asked gentling his voice as he would to a small child.

“I don’t know.  Bom said that if I was not afraid, I would be able to control it again.”

“What made you afraid?” 

Dara glanced up in surprise at the quick sharpness in JiYong’s voice.  Her gaze slid away hastily as she remained silent and JiYong’s eyes narrowed.

“He made you afraid?”  JiYong’s tone was hard and unrelenting now.  Shrugging slightly, she looked down then jerked away with a reactionary exclamation of pain as JiYong’s hand placed heavily on the raw burn mark that her husband had left on her shoulder.

JiYong stared at her, his hand still suspended in mid-air.  “He… hurt you?”  Again his voice was hard and frighteningly calm.

“Dara, answer me, what has he done to you?”  Lifting her chin up to make her look at him, JiYong felt her flinch and saw the harsh red marks left by his brother’s fingers around .  Swallowing and clenching his fist JiYong stepped back.  “Where else has he burnt you Dara?  Tell me!” 

Slowly Dara showed him the burns and bruising around her wrist, the hand print on her shoulder that JiYong had first touched and the various other injuries, mostly burns that the fire king had given her.  JiYong touched her wrist gently then sighed.  “Dara, why did you marry him?”

“Ilindria needed a king.”

“I could have been its king.”

“I waited for you to ask.  I thought… you were going too, that night on my birthday but you started talking about your parents and I thought… you were only interested in ruling your own land or you were too worried about your parents.  What else could I do?”

JiYong could think of quite a few things she could have done but he did not speak any of them out loud.  “You cannot go home now, obviously.”

“No.  He would kill me as soon as he caught sight of me.”

JiYong lost his next sentence at the instant agreement and following statement from Dara’s lips.  There was silence while he looked at Dara thoughtfully.  Suddenly JiYong laughed.  “I don’t know why you have come to me.  It is of little matter whether I die by the hand of my brother or of old age.  My kingdom is crumbling, my people hate me and my life is bitter.  I would rather be dead anyway.”

Dara looked up.  She did not realise that the fear had left her and no more ice had decorated the room. 

“Your kingdom is only crumbling because your people hate you.  JiYong, if you would only rule fairly with mercy and love then your people would love you and your lands would prosper once more.”

“Mercy and love are poor instruments to aid any man.”

“No.  They are the strongest instruments any man can use.”  Dara said softly.

“That sounds very touching.  Does this scintillating statement of yours have any truth beneath its sparkle, Oh princess?”

“You obviously have not troubled yourself much to find out, oh King.”

JiYong’s face softened.  “Which of those instruments brought you here tonight Dara?  It must have been one or the other.”