Technically she was still a Damiwon court lady, but being…whatever it is that she was, ‘king’s woman’ was as good a phrase as any she supposed, this meant that there was no actual work required of her. Hae Soo often chafed at having nothing to do, but she was glad of it one morning when she looked out the window of her room and saw that it had snowed the night before. It covered the ground in a blanket of pure white, sparkling in the sunshine. This was nothing new; in her years in Goryeo she’d seen it snow many times, but for some reason this morning Soo found herself feeling homesick for her modern world, something she tried not to think about anymore. This time of year she would be ice skating with her friends, having snowball fights with her younger brother and inevitably coming down with a cold.  Things she didn’t get to do here, either because she had work to do or because she had to act properly (she still managed to get a cold though).

One thing Goryeo did have over Seoul, is the beautiful winters. Looking outside was like seeing a postcard. Icicles sparkled on the trees and the edges of the palace roof, and given the lack of pollution the snow was cleaner than she’d ever seen it back home. It sparked a desire inside of her, and after breakfast she bundled up in her warmest clothes and went out into the garden, a couple of attendants following her. There were usually more, and Hae Soo usually failed to reduce that number, but today it was cold enough that it didn’t take much to convince the majority of them to stay inside where it was warm.

Outside, her boots crunched through the snow; it was up to her ankles, and Soo scuffed her feet, amusing herself at the clouds of white that exploded around her as she walked. It wasn’t too dry and wasn’t too moist. It clumped around her boots and she knew she’d probably have cold, damp feet later, but right now she didn’t care. It was too pretty a day, and there was a lightness in her heart that was just too rare these days to ignore.  So was busy with court and meetings with officials, like he was so often now that he’d been crowned King, so she probably wouldn’t see him until tonight, and not until late. Soo had all day to herself, and today she wanted to play in the snow.

She led her court ladies through the gardens, a little trail of brightly colored flowers moving through winter landscape, stopping when she reached one particular corner. The rosebushes were draped in snow, the color of the blooms showing in patches. The rest of the space was an empty expanse of white; too empty to Soo’s mind. It was like a blank canvas, calling to her to fill it, and she knew what she wanted to do.

Her hand coverings were rather thin, more decorative than functional, and simply not made for what she intended, but she didn’t care. She scooped up armfuls of snow and started packing it together in the center of the area she’d chosen. The consistency of the snow meant that it clumped together nicely, and she smiled as the base of her snowman began to form.

“Umm…what are you doing?” one of her court ladies asked hesitantly.

Oh. Soo had forgotten they were there. She turned to glance at them, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. This caused a piece of snow to fall off of her hand and it started melting as it ran down her cheek.

Her attendants stood off to the side, one of them looking confused, the other trying to keep in her amusement. Okay so they probably thought she was insane. Who cared?

“I’m making a snowman.” Hae Soo proclaimed, as if there was absolutely nothing wrong or weird about a grown woman, the King’s woman even, building a snowman in the palace garden.  “Didn’t you ever do that when you were younger?”

One shook her head, but the other was a little bolder. “My brother did, my Lady.” She offered.

“See? Nothing wrong with it. In fact, you can help me out.” Hae Soo decided. “Go get me a hat, and a couple of sticks to use for arms.” She told the second one. The court lady nodded and headed back towards the palace.

Soo then looked at the remaining girl. “As for you, you’ve been deprived. Come help me.” She said.

“Me? I’ve never done this…” the court lady started to protest, but Soo was having none of it.

“It’s never too late to start. Come on, grab some snow and start packing it together like this.” Soo turned back to her work in progress and started showing the woman how it was done.

Hesitantly the court maid scooped up some snow, only to drop it again. “It’s so cold.”

“That’s okay. We’ll have hot tea later.” She would have preferred a nice hot chocolate, but that was one of the things she couldn’t get here; it was too early in history. Which was a shame; her ladies would probably love it.

Giving in to the inevitable, her attendant scooped up some more snow and the two began working quietly. Despite the bright sunshine it was still cold, but Soo wasn’t bothered by it for some reason. She was dressed warmly and the crisp bite of the winter air was clearing out the fog of depression that overcame her sometimes.

The snowman’s bottom half was finished by the time the other court lady returned. In her arms she carried a few sticks and a peasant’s hat. Soo took the hat and examined it.

“Where’d you get this?”

“There were some men making deliveries. I bought it from one of them.” The court maid responded. She set the sticks down on the ground and started helping with the top half of the snowman.

Soo was glad to see that the girl had no qualms about getting her hands dirty…or cold, in this case.

“Good. This will work fine.” She said, and not wanting to get the hat soggy before it was time to use it, she placed it on her own head.

When they were finished, Soo stuck a stick on either side for the arms and placed the hat on top. The more adventurous court maid took a small bag out from a pocket in her robe.

“Here, use these for the face.” She said, and handed Soo some dried fruit.

Soo grinned. “Perfect.”

A couple of minutes later, her snowman had a face. It was a little lopsided, but she thought it was cute.

“Welcome to the palace, Mr. Snowman.” She said, giving it a little bow. “I’m sorry His Majesty can’t meet you right now, but he’s busy with the affairs of our country. I’m sure you understand.”

“What’s this?”

Surprised, Hae Soo spun around to see King Gwangjong standing behind them, looking at them with his characteristic poker face. The court ladies fell for it, bowing as they left the royal presence, but Soo wasn’t fooled. She bit back a smile.

“Your Majesty.” She greeted him, bowing deeper than what she had to the snowman.

“Does Court Lady Hae Soo presume to speak for the Crown now? And sneaking strange men into the palace while my back is turned….” He admonished her, giving a cluck of disapproval as he approached.

“I didn’t want to believe it when my guards told me the court ladies were helping you plot behind my back, but now I see the proof before me.”

“Forgive me Your Majesty!” she exclaimed, and would have thrown herself down at his feet if he didn’t stop her. Catching her in his arms, So pulled her up against his chest, wrapping himself around her

 “Clearly this is my own error.” He murmured. “I must be neglecting you greatly, to drive you into the arms of other men.” Soo felt his cold nose nuzzle against her neck, and giggled.

“Your nose is cold.”

“Your fault, for driving me out here in this weather.”

“What weather? It’s a beautiful sunny day!” Soo exclaimed, wrapping her arms around So.

“It’s freezing!”

He was right of course, but snuggled in his strong arms like this, she didn’t care.

“I’ll warm you, Your Majesty.” Soo promised, laying her head against his chest.

“Yes. Yes you will.”

Soo didn’t know what he meant by this until she felt one cold hand slip down the back of her robe.

“HEY!” she cried out, pulling away from him.

So let her go at first, but then came after her again. Soo wasn’t ready to give in though and backed away from him. Bending down quickly, she came back again and threw a handful of snow in his face. She laughed and stepped away as quickly as she could manage while So spluttered.

“Oh you dare assault the King…” he threatened, but the grin on his face was wicked as he came after her, scooping up some snow of his own and arming himself.

Soo squealed and dodged as he threw the snowball at her. Ducking behind trees and bushes, they were not King Gwangjong and Court Lady Hae, just So and Soo, pelting each other with clumps of snow and laughing when one or the other of them hit their target. The playful glee on So’s face was something she’d not seen in a long time, and her heart melted for him all over again as they chased each other around the garden in the snow.

At one point Soo looked up from forming her next weapon and saw that her target had disappeared. She glanced around, but was suddenly caught from behind and whirled around. So pinned her against the nearby tree, trapping her with his body. Soo gasped, partially from surprise, partially from his closeness. He brought his face in until he was all that she could see.

“Surrender.” So whispered, so close that his lips nearly brushed hers.

Soo wanted to resist, not wanting him to win so easily. But she was tired and cold, her knees were starting to ache, and the warmth of him around her was too delicious.

“What’s in it for me?” she whispered back.

She got her answer a bare second later. The heat of his mouth in this bitter cold was too lovely, and she kissed him back, the softness of her fur-lined robe trapped between them, brushing the sides of their faces. Soo wrapped her arms around him, wanting to just burrow into him and lose herself in So’s warmth. She missed him so much these days; being so busy running the country that she could only get bits and pieces of his time. This moment alone together wouldn’t change that, which only made it more precious that she could have it.

Finally So broke the kiss, barely catching a breath of air before kissing her again, his mouth moving lovingly over the chilled skin of her face.

“You’re cold.” He whispered.

“Your fault. I was lonely and had to come out here to meet my friend.”

“Forgive me.” The words were playfully said, but there was a note in his voice that told Soo that he truly was seeking forgiveness.

“Forgiven.”

“I don’t believe you.” So’s lips tickled as he nibbled along her jaw.

Was that a sigh that just escaped ? Soo wasn’t sure. “How do I make you believe me?”

“Be with me.” He whispered between kisses. “Stay with me. Don’t leave me in the night. I’m lonely too.” The kisses stopped and Soo could see his heart in his eyes as he looked at her. “Marry me.”

Truly, how could she deny So anything when he looked at her like that? So many times he’d offered his heart, and so many times she’d turned him down, and now she couldn’t understand why. Fear, probably, but it was pointless. She was already his as much as he was hers, and there was no sense in denying it anymore, or in denying him what he wanted so badly.

“Yes.” Soo whispered finally.

So blinked, and just looked at her for a moment. “What?”

A smile peeked out at the corners of her lips. “Yes.”

“Yes…what?” as if he wasn’t sure what she was saying.

“Yes, I’ll marry you.”

“…say it again.”

“I’ll marry you.”

“Really?”

“YES.” Soo laughed, rolling her eyes.

So grinned so hard she thought his face might explode. “You heard her, right?” he asked, turning to look at the snowman. He then looked back at her.

“I’ve got a witness now.” He proclaimed proudly, and Soo squealed as he picked her up and started carrying her back towards the palace.

The snowman just sat on the ground and grinned.

0-o-o-o-0

The next morning Soo woke up sneezing, and she groaned.

So cracked open one eye, and looked at his fiancé rubbing her red nose.

“I told you it was cold out yesterday.”

“Oh hush. I regret nothing.” Soo sniffled, then sneezed again.

The King snickered, then went back to sleep.

Soo sighed.

It figures I’d get a cold.