They talk until the sky burns with hues of the sunset, setting the trees ablaze with a hazy glow of oranges and yellows. Her heart feels featherlight and her sides ache from laughter and she can’t help but stare at how handsome Jaehwan looks in the low light, flushed with joy. He helps her to her feet and they walk along the riverside.

“I have a plan to keep the Queen from finding you,”

She turns to him with a look of surprise, hands clasped behind her back.

“Oh?” she says. Jaehwan nods.

“Her Highness has an enchanted mirror that she calls upon every night, I’ve seen her use it,” he informs her, “It shows her the face of whomever she asks. That’s how her huntsmen were able to find you, and more will if I don’t do something about it,”

She feels a shiver run down her spine at the idea of being spied on through a supernatural portal.

"What's your idea?"

He pauses to pick up a stone and turn it over in his hand in concentration.

"With your consent, of course, every night, I can use my magic to put you into a sleep so deep, it'll be like mimicking death itself. That way, her mirror won't be able to detect you,"

It's brilliant, really. The Queen will think her dead and Sanghyuk and his brothers won't have to suffer consequences for letting her free. It'll be hiding in plain sight, spending her nights with Jaehwan. She tries not to think of the last part.

"Fight fire with fire," Jaehwan smirks, "or in this case, magic. What do you think?"

"I think you're very clever," she replies with a breathless laugh and a shake of her head. He smiles, tossing the stone to see it skip across the still surface of the water in neat ripples. He tilts his head back as if to study the late evening sky and turns to her.

"Very well. She'll be calling upon it soon, we should be going," he muses with careful eyes, "come with me," 

The inside of the tower is very inviting despite the cold exterior. A single winding staircase leads to an open space comfortably and tastefully furnished with subtle accents of crimson, noticeable in the satin curtains draping the windows and the large bedspread. Glass lanterns framed by cast iron hang to form a chandelier in the center of the room, giving off a warm glow of candlelight that adds an aura of sophistication and allure.

A perfect hideaway for a sorcerer.

"Make yourself at home," Jaehwan laughs. Sensing her nervousness at her new surroundings, he leaves her side while she walks about the chambers.

She fancies his study the most. A large room that can only be accessed through a trapdoor in the ceiling. She runs her fingers over ancient leather bound tomes and spellbooks written in foreign tongues, her mind stumped at trying to decipher the symbols. The smell of dust is strangely comforting. Rolls of parchment sit on his desk beneath a worn map of the kingdom, folded so many times that the creases threaten to tear at the slightest touch.

"That's all I have left from my time in the castle," Jaehwan's soft voice sounds from over her shoulder as he comes to stand behind her. She traces mountain ranges and rolling plains, stopping when she sees the scale of the woods.

"I never realized how immense the kingdom was," she whispers in honest surprise. A sound of amusement leaves the sorcerer and he nods as well.

"Neither did I until I came here,"

"It must get lonely only having yourself for company," she frowns and touches the illustration of the castle grounds. The Citadel of Her Royal Highness, it reads in a careful hand. The feeling is mutual, of course. She couldn't deny that she craved that spark of connection and human contact one only got with family after the passing of both her parents.

"Yes," Jaehwan agrees, "but I won't be anymore,"

The pause makes her turn, back pressing flush against the wood to face him and she glances at the floor shyly. He laughs and takes her by the hand to lead her back down the trapdoor.

"Come to bed. It's nearly time"

She nervously lies down, heart fluttering like a caged bird and he immediately picks up on her anxiousness as he sits beside the bedside.

"The spell is gradual, but it will completely relax your body until you fall asleep," he says sincerely, "let me do all the work, Snow White. Just focus on your breathing,"

The word makes her pulse stutter and she wonders if she'll truly be able to relax enough to fall unconscious with him so near but she nods, turning on her side to face him.

Through the window, she can see that the sky has faded to a deep onyx. Moonlight seeps through the curtains, splashing the chambers and Jaehwan's hair with silver.

"Will you be here when I awake?" she asks softly with already drooping eyelids. A small smile flickers across his lips before he reluctantly shakes his head.

"I'm afraid not. I have to cast more protective charms around the borders," Jaehwan murmurs, "but I'll be here until you fall asleep. I'll be back by tomorrow evening,"

She nods sleepily against the pillow and he runs a finger over her cheek.

"Close your eyes," he whispers.

She does so and her world goes dark. Fingertips brush against her forehead, moving to her collarbones, her shoulders, tracing down her arms.

"At my touch, feel the strength leave your body,"

Her limbs start to feel weightless with each caress, like she's floating. A gentle warmth blooms in her chest and flows through the rest of her system, spreading all the way to her toes, hazy and quiet. She lets out a soft sigh.

"That's it, darling. Listen to my voice,"

It sounds from strangely far away, almost as if from underwater but she's too content to notice. She vaguely registers a touch to her temple and she feels another pull, another layer separate her from the cognitive world. Her breathing comes slow and steady until it becomes instinct, letting her chest rise and fall naturally.

"Follow the sound of my voice into the dream realm, into safety. Away from the prying eyes of the Queen,"

She's nearly there, something tells her from far back within her consciousness. She's never felt more comfortable, more relaxed, more good in her life.

"Come with me, Snow White. Where everything is still and tranquil. A realm belonging to only the two of us,"

The final layer and the all too familiar sensation of falling.

"Sleep."

A touch of lips and the spell is cast.

She dreams of rose breezes.