A/N : Hi everyone, please check chapter 3 before you read this chapter, just in case you missed it (AFF had some errors 2 weeks ago when i posted it) have a fun weekend! :)

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Release

Let go

Be free

Standing in the middle of the snowed courtyard against a counterfeit army of hundred metal scarecrows, Irene rose her right hand, reaching for the high sky and pulling its unbridled Winter cold to condense into her palm as a compact shard of ice.

From her fingertips, burst out an ice blue magic wrapping the concentrated mass already growing in her hand, shaping it larger and sharper until a full-length longsword made entirely of ice manifested in her grip.

The blade of the blue sword sang against the Winter wind and hummed with powerful magic, as Irene brought it closer to herself and closed both of her hands around its handle.

And then, she danced.

Launching on her feet, she stomped the snowy ground and froze it over completely with frigid ice, gliding on it with inhumane speed no one born powerless could quite match.

She slid past a target and slashed down the sword, magic making the supposedly brittle ice so rigid and strong, it cut through metals like butter.

The scarecrow’s iron head thudded onto the iced ground and gave a loud crack, as Irene launched onto her next target without heeding it her attention.

Ice conforming and shifting under her boots to aid her tearing through the courtyard, she sped up like a blizzard, blasting and slashing and cutting through an army of metals as if they were no harder than human flesh.

When half of the yard was decapitated, she raised her hand and summoned the strong Winter wind to propel herself forward with its blow, finishing the other half of the courtyard.

By the time she was done, her breath remained remarkably steady, while 150 heads of the scarecrows all lay severed on the icy ground behind her.

All in less than two minutes.

A slow clap emerged behind her.

“Impressive, my child. Impressive. A stunning execution of an entire army in just a blink of eyes.” King Agnar appeared behind her and looked adequately satisfied, save for the small glint in his dark eyes that told Irene that he was not, in fact, fully satisfied.

Having lived in the palace for ten years, Irene had learned her mentor’s expression well enough to tell.

“Is there anything I could improve, your majesty?” She bowed her head slightly, making only the smallest of bows because the King had taught her to always hold her head high and her pride higher.

“You surely know me well, Irene.” King Agnar let out a small laugh, which pulled slightly at his thin, aging face. “Well, I suppose, if I were someone with your level of powers and in front of me were 150 armed men ready to maim my soldiers, I would not have spent time trying to cut through them with a sword like a regular person.”

Irene lifted her eyes to stare at him, confusion filling them. “I apologize, your majesty. I’m afraid that I don’t follow –”

“I mean that you could have summoned a snowstorm, created a hurricane of ice, or rained down massive hailstones on your attackers. It would have saved a lot more time and a lot more blood from our side.”

Irene swallowed slightly and lowered her gaze. “I – I don’t think that’s possible, your majesty. I feel like snowstorms and hurricanes are too ambitious even for my powers.”

“Your limits are only there because you place them on yourself.” King Agnar chided her gently. “Tell me, my child, aren’t you still afraid, deep down in your heart, of your own abilities? Aren’t you trying to fight with a sword like any other person because you don’t want to be different from them?”

Irene’s grip on her ice sword clenched firmer without her knowing, and it shattered quietly into windblown snow dust as her taught, prideful mask fell away with it.

All over again, she felt like she was the timid nine-year-old she was 10 years ago.

“Lieutenant Mattias reported to me that you are only ever training with swords in the camp and never with your real powers. I am surprised you have somehow managed to feel proud using your ice sword at least. Your powers are not something to be ashamed of, Irene. They are something to be proud of. They are incredibly superior. You are superior to the rest of us. Remember that.”

Irene did not quite feel – or believe – that she was superior to anyone, but she nodded anyway because she knew that the King meant well. “I will, your majesty.”

“Good. Now lift your head high, stare straight ahead and lose that slump in your shoulders. It is unbefitting of someone as powerful as you.”

Irene was responding obediently when a familiar, carefree voice interrupted both her and the King’s seriousness.

“You shouldn’t turn her into more of a wood log than she already is, Papa. The girl could barely breathe freely like a person nowadays.”

Seulgi.

At the sight of the smiling Princess, all the tension in Irene’s shoulders left instantly. Seulgi ambled over to them with the same brightness on her face that she had always carried from ten years ago.

The only difference the 16-year-old Princess now had was her slightly taller height.

Irene would never forget the day when Seulgi found out that she had outgrown her two years prior. The younger girl had looked so extremely proud, the memory always put a chuckle on Irene’s face.

“Ah, yes. My very own, ever so free-spirited daughter. Whatever brings you here to our training today?” King Agnar broke into a warm smile and let Seulgi latch on to him with her arms wrapped tightly around his middle.

Seulgi squeezed him and laughed, head only coming to the level of his shoulder. “I missed you, Papa. That’s why I’m here. I can’t believe you headed straight for training instead of seeing me after your trip to Weselton. Are you sure I’m still your daughter?”

Irene let out a small chortle at her banter, and she easily joined in with a bigger one because Goddess forbid her to ever remember laughing in royal volume. “Or have I been disowned because I broke those salad plates one week ago? I swore that was an accident. I was reaching for the dessert when I knocked them off the table. Chocolate pudding makes me too excited sometimes.”

“You are not disowned, my dear daughter, no matter how appalling your table manner is.” A soundful laughter left King Agnar as he stared down at his daughter who was still clinging to him tightly, “and I see that you have already brought some more sweets with you. Aren’t you ever afraid of too much sugar?”

Seulgi grinned up at him widely. “These chocolates and candies aren’t just for me. This little fella right here is going to help me finish them.”

Irene pretended to roll her eyes slightly as she smiled. “I am but five centimeters shorter than you, but I am a ‘little fella’ now?”

“I can still grow, but you can’t because you are already 19.”

“I am afraid to say, people stop growing at 16, Seulgi.”

King Agnar laughed at their back and forth banter and so did they.

Irene savored lighthearted moments like this more than anything she could find on earth.

“In that case, I should leave you two to your own things. Try to come back to the castle before it is too late though, will you? The Winter chill is quite frigid this year.”

“Oh, the cold never really bothers us, strangely.” Seulgi quipped as she let go of her dad. “I mean, I understand Irene not getting bothered by cold because she is Winter and Winter is her, but me? Strange. Not that I’m complaining though. I love being able to play outside even on Winter. It’s so pretty.”

King Agnar lifted a curious eyebrow at her, but before he could ask anything, Irene had offered him politely to go inside because he looked very tired. “Your majesty, I think you should go inside and get some rest. You still have a long day at court tomorrow.”

“I do.” He agreed, turning to smile at her slowly. “Please take care of Seulgi, Irene. Make sure she comes back to the castle before curfew. Only you can manage to handle her, I am afraid.”

Seulgi let out a soundful laugh as her father bid them goodbye.

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“Don’t you think reading a book right after a training session is a bit too tiring?” Seulgi hung upside down on a big oak tree, located at a serene place beyond the palace border but not quite near to the heart of the bustling city yet to hear all the noises.

It was a spot Irene had taken a special liking to, because it felt more open and freer than the confinement of the palace’s walls but also not at all crowded like the city center.

Only a few townsfolks passed by every now and then, tipping their hats when they noticed their Princess no matter what odd position she was in.

“Don’t you think that hanging upside down on an old tree branch may result in you falling and breaking several bones?” Sitting on the snowed ground and leaning against the tree trunk, Irene curled a small smile, letting Seulgi snatch up the book she was reading. “I am concerned.”

“For me or for the tree branch?” Seulgi grinned, and then tried to read the book she had stolen from her while still hanging upside down.

It was a skill, Irene noted.

“All these foreign and ancient languages you are learning are giving me a headache. How many are you capable of speaking now?”

“Twenty-nine.” Irene joked, and it made Seulgi’s eyes widen with so much shock, her legs slipped from the tree branch and sent her tumbling onto the snow with a graceless shriek.

Irene laughed and swirled her hand at the snow below Seulgi to turn it into a fluffier pile just before the younger girl crashed onto it. “I mean nine,” she had the audacity to still laugh with poise after making Seulgi sprawl like an idiot on the snow, face down.

Seulgi spat out a mouthful of snow and sent her a mild glare. “You got me there, you little brat.”

“I would like to remind you that I’m three years older than you. Hence, not a brat.”

“The being older part is true, but you are clearly still a brat at heart.”

Irene crooked a lazy grin and let the younger girl crawl over to lay her head on her lap.

Her book was handed back to her as Seulgi closed her eyes and drew in a sigh, enjoying her lap as a cushion for her head and the powdery snow as a bed for her back.

Irene’s free hand played with Seulgi’s brown hair mindlessly while her other hand held up her book to continue reading.

Her control for magic had gotten so much better these past few years, she was able to abandon her restricting gloves at last.

It felt…liberating, although a trickle of worry about accidentally hurting someone still lingered at the back of her mind every now and then.

It was an old, residual fear she was still trying to diminish.

“I have been learning how to fight.” Seulgi said suddenly, pulling Irene out of her focused reading. “Joy has been teaching me. She is pretty good with sword, what with her father training her constantly since she was young and all.”

Irene’s eyes left the writings on her book to stare down at the blinking chocolate eyes on her lap. “You have been asking Joy to teach you?”

At Seulgi’s nod, she put down her book. “Why didn’t you ask me? I could teach you too.”

“You are always too busy.” Seulgi laughed. “Ever since you joined the army training one year ago, you barely have time to rest. Joy still has three free years before she joins, so I can bother her all I want.”

“I see.” Irene thought back on it, only now realizing how occupied she was. She didn’t really realize it, but she did feel tired more often these days.

“I’ve been training because I’m worried about Papa.” Seulgi added with a more subdued tone. “He is…growing weak fast. I’m sure you notice too. I have been hearing about our citizens mysteriously disappearing every now and then too. I know something isn’t right within the kingdom.”

Irene’s hand stopped her hair and her back tensed.

Seulgi’s smile was uncharacteristically somber. “I don’t go to the library often to read all of the kingdom affairs, but I do go out and talk to people a lot, Irene. I know. No matter how sheltered you and Papa think I am, I know something isn’t r