Seungwan has never been outside Sproutland. She knows part of the south because there is where most companies run their factories and that’s exactly why places like Mist Valley are called like that, the air quality is horrible. Of course, Sproutland is more than just The Ruins, Ginger Gully, and Nordsleeves, it’s just that since she joined The Monolith, she left the factory work behind and started frequenting the closest places to her home. Sproutland used to be a place for crops, the soil was productive, but the change in weather became worse and it was very difficult to stop the crops from flooding, or dying.

They didn’t produce anything by themselves now, all the raw materials brought from Waterland and Winterland. It wasn’t easy to cultivate in those places, but it was at least possible. Except for Dimland, where everything always died. Well, everything but hallucinogens—fungus, in general. She has heard stories about how those mushrooms could make people stay up for days, even weeks, without feeling hunger. It didn’t sound healthy per se, but sometimes she would fantasize about getting her hands on them, so she could stop eating and start working harder, giving the real food she could buy or steal to her siblings.

She doesn’t regret anything she had done to feed them, but it doesn’t mean she doesn’t feel jealously seeping through her bones every time she imagines Joohyun, Winter, even Jimin, all of them living their best life. Working for the army is a great deal, even in Waterland, so Seungwan guesses she must have been at least middle class there. Why she hides now is still a mystery, but she’ll have time for that later.

Now, her head isn’t filled with thoughts of her siblings, and she feels bad because of that. She is trying not to think so hard about Joohyun, but it is rather difficult with her by her side looking at her like that. It is especially hard because even in her state, she is beautiful. Even if her heart feels like she should hate her, and her head yells at her that this is her worst idea yet, she can’t help but feel a little attached to her companionship. Warmth spreads in her chest every time they touch, every time Joohyun looks at her. Maybe it is a misplaced sense of intimacy after what happened, but still. It is there, and she can’t deny it anymore nor does she wants to. She looks at Joohyun, and their eyes meet. The princess looks away, tinted cheeks and a trembling smile grazing her face.

“How did you get in?” Winter is looking out the tinted window, so it doesn’t register at first that she’s talking.

Seungwan looks past Joohyun, tilting her head to see through the window. Winterland is the brightest place she has ever seen. There’s a lot of light. Buildings shine and sparkle like a Christmas tree and people are still working in sync, not even raising their heads to look anywhere else. There’s also no traffic, but a few cars are passing by. It’s like she’s watching a perfect city in front of her. It looks so different from Sproutland it amazes her. Maybe Winter hides the poverty somewhere else, but even King Bae Baekhyun (that good-for-nothing man), Joohyun’s father, couldn’t hide them that well in The Ruins. She still wonders why Kim Taeyeon let him reign in the first place when he was just a nobody before marrying her. But it’s too late to ask her now.

“I shape-shifted into you,” That earns a laugh from Winter. She then asks, still looking through the window. “Is this always like this?”

“Like what?”

“So… bright.”

The more she looks at it the creepier it gets. It’s like the perfect place, a utopia. The snowy mountains completing the landscape are just the cherry on top.

“That’s the beauty of my land,” she replies, smiling proudly.

“How long is your workday?”

“Twelve hours.”

Seungwan raises her eyebrows at that.

“That’s actually pretty great. I worked almost sixteen hours a day, from five to nine, and sometimes even slept at the factory.” She’s not sure why she feels the need to share so much about her, but she’s never really had anyone in her life besides Jongdae, and he knows all about her, so there has never been the need to tell him things when he can see them by himself. “Aren’t you like the most feared ruler of Quadlan?”

Winter laughs, pearly white teeth showing.

“That’s not how I would call myself, but yes, I’ve heard what they say about me in other lands. And no, it doesn’t mean I overwork my citizens. It just means that I’m very creative with my punishments.”

She’s not sure she wants to know what that means, but Winterland looks so in order that is scarier than Sproutland. And that says a lot about Winter’s power over them.

“How did you manage to shape-shift into me? I mean, did you know me that well?”

Seungwans laughs, distracted by Joohyun’s glistening eyes.

“I’ve seen a few pictures of you,” she shrugs. “I guessed that your guards didn’t look you in the eyes that often, and I was right. They didn’t even raise their head when they saw it was you. Your security .”

Winter laughs again, amused at Wendy’s fearless observations.

“Thank you for your security assessment. I will make sure that won’t happen again.” She’s clearly joking, that’s why she doesn’t expect Wendy to reply.

“You’re welcome.”

Joohyun laughs too, catching Seungwan’s eyes on her. Now it’s Seungwan who looks away, ashamed.

“How do you manage to keep them so… controlled?” She hears Karina ask.

“They just do.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“We have rules. If they break it, not just them but their entire family will be punished for it. It’s simple. Sproutland’s law enforcement workers are just very bad at their job if you ask me, and, no offense, but Baekhyun only used them as another layer to his army, not like they should have been used.”

Karina’s eyes open like she remembered something and she’s quick to hide it, but not quick enough for Seungwan not to see it. She doesn’t ask anything else after that, and Seungwan is glad about that. She’s curious about how Winter controls people too, but she’s clever. She will ask Joohyun instead when she gets her alone.

“How long will it take us to make it to the border?” She asks. Joohyun has fallen asleep on her shoulder, and she tries to focus her attention on anything else rather than her.

“I would say three or four days if everything goes as expected. We are far, and I can’t risk people seeing her. But we will have to go on foot when we get to the flooded part.”

Seungwan watches as they pass the last few skyscrapers of the city shining in a blue hallow, a big sign at the end on the road with “Come back soon to Castle Heights! The city of the future” written on it. She wonders if Joohyun’s reign would have looked anything alike.

•••

Huang Zitao scratches his scalp, the allergy getting worse because of his recently dyed hair from purple to black. It suits him better. The tattoos just make him scarier. It’s the character he has created for himself. The assassin, the killer, just to get rid of the adopted title. He’s a bad person, he knows. He made his mother Tiffany kill herself, just because of his greed. Unfortunately, he couldn’t reverse time, and it was too late to stop. He was going to end the job, even if it was the last thing he would ever do.

“How did you get in?” Minjeong VIII asks him, stopping her guards from attacking.

He stops a few centimeters away, bending down just to mock her.

“Please, you know what I am capable of.”

The queen just stares, still holding her hand in the air as a warning.

“I also know,” he continues, taking a step front. “That you can’t stop me.”

“How are you so sure about that?”

“I just know,” he shrugs. “Just tell me where she is, and I’ll let you live.”

Minjeon laughs, just half amused.

“What makes you think you stand a chance against me?”

He shrugs again. It irks Minjeong to the core.

“You know what? Don’t tell me anything, I just need to send a message.”

He doesn’t wait, he strikes her in the heart with a dagger. Minjeong VIII disappears in the air like smoke, and before her guards can react, Tao disappears in the air too.

•••

Winter whimpers, putting her hand on her heart, pain seeping into her. Karina immediately checks her pulse, looking for any anomaly.

“What’s wrong?” Joohyun wakes up, blinking to get rid of her sleepiness.

“Someone knows you are here.”

“How—?”

“Just trust me, I just know.”

“You just know a lot of things and expect us to trust you,” Karina says, letting her hand fall away from her.

“May I remind you that you were the one coming here looking for my help. You would be dead if it were up to me. I just let you live because Joohyun wanted it that way. Well, she only asked for her,” she points at Wendy. “Not you, so the possibility still stands. Don’t tempt me.”

Seungwan looks at Joohyun, and the princess looks away, embarrassed. Now it looks like she likes her or something, and Seungwan was clear when she told her she would never like her that way. Joohyun sighs, redirecting her head to look at Winter instead.

“Can we hide in the next city?” The princess asks. “You do have guards in that palace, right?”

“Yes, we can, but if it is who I think it is, it would be of no use. I still can defend myself just fine, but I’m worried about you,” Winter leans over Karina and takes Joohyun’s hand.

“I will make sure she’s safe,” Seungwan says, looking front since Joohyun is leaning on her.

“You won’t be able to. He’s… If he even gets his hands on her…”

Karina leans front, breaking Winter and Joohyun’s contact.

“Why would this man, whoever he may be, represent a threat to the princess?” She scratches her neck. “Aren’t you the most powerful being?”

Winter looks at Joohyun over Karina’s shoulder.

“He’s just a very dangerous person, that’s all,” but Jimin knows when she’s been lied to. She may act like she doesn’t know anything or like she can’t read the room, but it’s just that. An act. She has always prided herself in being very clever. It’s how she got there in the first place, and how she stayed out of trouble for more than a year now.

She chooses not to say anything, feigning ignorance.