Waking up, I feel someone holding my hand. Turning my head, it looks like Santa…Or the King I guess. I think he fell asleep at my bedside. Neither the Queen nor Hildi seem to be in the room right now and the doctors are absent as well. Pavel also hasn't returned since disappearing when I rode the carriage. That probably means my mana hasn't fully recovered yet.

Sitting myself up in bed, I accidentally wake Santa who, with a bright smile on his face, hugs me, "I'm so glad you're okay my little snowflake!" before quickly letting go of me and saying, "I shouldn't have done that. It's probably best if I go now."

I can practically feel the sorrow emanating from him as he walks towards the door.

"Wait. It's fine, you can stay. It saddens me that me being here makes you guys so sad. I…I know I'm being selfish. I know that you love me and that you are hurting and what do I do!? I… sniff I ask for you to help me with getting my family from my past life here…I'm so sorry…I'm a horrible person."

Unable to control myself I just start sobbing. I can't even stop myself when Santa runs to my bedside and hugs me. What makes it even worse is that I do feel comforted by his hug. Despite him being clearly cold to the touch he still makes me feel warm, hugging him and crying on his shoulder.

Gently petting my back, he whispers, "It's okay. Let it all out my little snowflake, I'm here."

"Sob Why…Why do you not hate me!? I sniff I'm taking advantage of you!"

"How could I ever hate my own daughter? There is nothing more precious than you, if you want for it, I shall bring you a sister. If you ask for a house I'll build you a castle, if you wish for a flower I will make you a garden. As long as it makes you happy, there is nothing I wouldn't do for you, because there is nothing I own that is more precious than you."

"I don't understand you…Even Hildi said something similar…Why would you love me if I'm not useful to you!?"

"Because you're my child. It's as simple as that."

"I just don't understand…"

Tightening his hug, he answers, "That's okay. I just hope that one day you will come to understand…"

I lay in his arms for a few minutes until I stop crying again.

His hug...It feels nice...

Wiping away my tears, he say, "Now that you seem to have calmed down a bit, may I ask you a question?"

"Sniff Sure…"

"Can you share some of the memories you have of your sister and your previous life? She is obviously very important to you."

"Sure…Sniff Her name is Maggie. She's thirteen or I guess by now she would be fourteen already. She's only a year younger than me. We've been together pretty much ever since we were little. We used to play together all the time until my dad caught my big sister Beth kissing her first girlfriend. I think I was eight at the time, so she must have been either fifteen or sixteen. I'm not sure what exactly went down that day but I do remember that Dad was so angry he left the home for a week. When he came back... things were different. The first thing he did when he came home, was tell Maggie and me that we were no longer allowed to play with each other because he could see the seed of sin in me. He then went to Beth and told her that she is dead to him now. Those were the last words he ever spoke to her. Dad then started to beat me every time he caught me and Maggie playing together. It wasn't too bad yet back then, so we just started playing with each other in secret. If we were found, I would get a light beating but Maggie would always comfort me after. She even asked mom to buy some of the toys I wasn't allowed to have under the pretense of her wanting to play with them. I think my happiest memories are from that time… Things only really went bad two years later. That was when my dad caught me dressed in Maggie's clothes. That was the first time he beat me until I started bleeding. He also made sure to try and separate my sister and I as much as possible by giving me meaningless tasks whenever he wasn't home. Like restacking the firewood or filling his bathtub with river water because it was cheaper than using the water at home. Basically just time wasting activities involving manual labor. If I didn't finish them in time or did it wrong, he would beat me when he came home. The only one to defend me from some of the beatings, when I couldn't do them because I was too hurt or sick or had to study for school, was Beth but she left the house the day she turned eighteen so she didn't defend me for long. Maggie and I begged her to stay but she just said 'I'm not wanted here' and abandoned us. Maggie and I grew a bit more distant after that. The only times we would talk was when she was taking care of my wounds. That was basically my life until reincarnating here."

"I see, so your little sister was the only true family you had…What was your mother like? You didn't mention her much."

"That's because she wasn't really doing much of anything. She bought groceries, cleaned and made food but she never really talked much to me. The only bad thing she did was tell on me if she saw me getting help for Dad's tasks. I think she had a good relationship with Maggie though."

He takes a few seconds before he asks, "And…How did you die?"

"Ah…Well, now that I think about it it's actually kind of silly," I let out a chuckle, "I bought a cupcake with a unicorn on it. I think Dad had a particularly bad day, so he went extra heavy on the beatings. He strung me up and wrapped his hands in chains to beat me with. Maggie insisted I go to the hospital after seeing the wounds, even gave me some of her money so I could get a taxi, which is basically like a carriage rental service, but I declined because I didn't want her to use money on me. I think I ended up dying on my way to the doctor from the wounds of Dad's beating."

"Why did he beat you over a unicorn cupcake?"

"Well, unicorns and rainbows were kind of seen as symbols of lgbt people. So, my dad punished me for it."

"I see…I think I understand you better now. I'm glad you told me."

"I didn't really say much though."

"You said enough for me to understand why you think the way you do," Putting his cold yet gentle hand on my face, he adds, "Eleanor, I want you to know something. Neither I nor your mother will reprimand you for being true to yourself or force you into being some way you don't wish to be. We are also not going to hurt you when you do something wrong. I want you to know that our only priority for your life is that you're happy, safe and healthy."

"I…I guess I'm glad I met you then."

He gives me a kind smile, "And I'm glad that you are my daughter."

The door then bursts open as a panicked looking Shadow Lady enters the room, "Is everything okay!? Did something happen!?"

"Don't worry Dear, nothing happened. Everything is okay, our little snowflake woke up too, hohohoho."

"Then why is there a blizzard outside? That only happens when you are extremely furious."

"Oh…Well…Our little snowflake just told me about her past life, I guess it must have made me a little angry hearing how she was treated, hohohoho."

"Why? How bad was it!?"

"I'll tell you later, Dear. How is the portal progressing?"

"We should be able to connect to it now. So in a few days when Sammy is feeling better we-"

"I want to go now," I say jumping out of bed, nearly falling over as I'm still exhausted.

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to go out in this sta-"

Santa interrupts her and says, "I think we should go. She's not going to get better if she's worrying all day in bed. If she passes out, I'll just carry her and we finish the job while she's asleep."

"Hmm…If you say so, Darling…I'll go wake her Nanny then. Our little snowflake probably wants her there with her."

She then leaves the room while Santa offers his arm for support so I don't fall over.

"I…I really appreciate you standing up for me."

He winks at me and answers, "Both your mother and I are just looking for what's best. If she heard what I did just now, she probably would have suggested it as well. Shall I call the maids to help you get dressed? Or do you want to do it by yourself?"

"I'll do it myself…Although, do you think I should maybe dress like a guy?"

"Why?"

"So my sister actually recognizes me."

He chuckles and says, "Sure, it will definitely help your sister see the personality behind the exterior if you do that. What kind of attire do you think would work best?"

"Hmm, probably something that I used to wear…Though my old clothes won't fit me anymore… Maybe we could go to a store and buy some stuff similar to the things I used to wear when we get there?"

"Of course but what will you wear until then? Are you going in your nightgown?"

"Hmm…I guess I don't really own any clothes that wouldn't make us stand out. I guess the red dress I wore before I got here is the most normal. I'll probably wear that."

"I'll have the maids bring it to you then."

"Okay…Do you think I should prepare anything else to meet with her?"

"Hmm…I believe if she really was that close with you, she will recognize you as long as you stay true to yourself."

"Okay good…I'll see you when I'm done dressing then…I…I'm glad we talked."

"Me too my little snowflake…" He says with another gentle smile before leaving my room.

Shortly after, a maid with black hair styled in a bun enters my room. She has sharp eyes and wears small rectangular glasses.

"Your Highness, I have prepared your dress for you. Would you like me to help you get dressed?"

"No, I'll do it myself."

She pushes up her glasses, "Your Highness, may I ask why you wish to dress yourself?"

"I just don't like to undress in front of people I don't know."

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"Then perhaps it'd be best if you got to know me and some other maids then, no?"

"I dunno…I already have a maid I trust."

I can see her eyes twitch and narrow for a second before she asks, "And who is that?"

"Her name is AbBEE."

"I don't believe we employ any maids under that name in the castle, where is she from and what qualifications does she have?"

"I'm not too sure but she was appointed to me by Queen ElBEEzabeth of the Grand Hive in the spring court."

She seems a bit stumped by that answer before asking, "And why was she appointed to you, your Highness? The Grand Hive and Winter court have historically had many rivalries due to our oppositional natures."

"Eh…It's kind of complicated but long stories short I was appointed with the name BEEatrice and the title of Duchess to Hive One by Queen ElBEEzabeth. As for why…I guess she just kind of thinks of me as her future daughter."

Confused, she asks, "Why would her excellency, Queen ElBEEzabeth think of your Highness as her future daughter?"

"Well that's because my momm- Nanny who raised me so far has an on and off sort of love relationship with Queen ElBEEzabeth, so because my Nanny thinks of me as her daughter and ELBEEzabeth loves Hildi she sees me as her future daughter. Like I said, it's pretty confusing."

"Do-Does her Excellency Queen ElBEEzabeth know that you are the princess of the Winter Court and the Unseelie?"

"I dunno. You'll have to ask Hildi about that."

"I…I…If your highness will allow it I will do so now."

"Sure, I wanted to get dressed anyways."

I then watch her quickly but politely step out of my room before I can hear the click clacking of her shoes grow faster outside as she seemingly starts to run.

I then quickly get dressed and walk up to the door. My steps feel heavy and my legs are a little wobbly. I'm definitely not fully recovered but every second I waste could make a difference if Maggie is in danger.

I leave through the door and-

"Greetings your Highness!"

"Eeek!"

Surrounding my door, are six guards. Three on each side of the door.

"Where would you like us to accompany you?"

"Uhm…I would like to meet up with the Queen and my Nanny."

"Certainly your Highness! Please follow me."

One of the guards walks ahead of me, while two of them walk by my side and the other four behind me. It feels very weird to be surrounded like this. It's like I'm a celebrity trying to get to their limo or something. The castle is very well decorated. It's hard to find any spots not covered with art, rugs, flowers or other decorations. It is also immaculately clean. It feels kind of weird though that every time we move past someone working, they would stop, bow and greet me, not moving until I passed them. They do however seem very happy when I greet them back so that's nice I guess. If I'm going to start living here it will be really hard to learn all their names…

After some time, we go down three flights of stairs and leave the castle. It's snowing outside and quite cold. It's a little uncomfortable. We then walk through a giant garden before I notice a huge wall and the castle in sight.

"Did we move around in a circle?"

The guard leading me, a man that looks like an elf in his mid twenties with short blonde hair and a kind face, answers, "No your Highness, this castle is built in a way where multiple castles surround the main castle in the middle, in which your Highness and the King and Queen reside. Enveloping each castle, is the Worker's Wall, which is a wall filled with servants quarters, supply rooms and guard stations. Overall, there are ten layers of castles surrounding the main castle. If you were to look at it from the sky, it would create a snowflake pattern."

"And what is the purpose of the other castles if the royal family only lives in the middle one?"

"They're there for guests. Each guest is allotted their private castle for the duration of their stay. The closer the castle is to the center castle, the more respected they are in the eyes of your family. There are entire political games being played just around how close someone was allowed to stay to the center during their visit."

"Wow…So do the castles just stay empty when they're not in use?"

"No castle is ever truly empty. The only ones that rarely have guests in them are the ones directly surrounding the inner walls of the center castle. But castles without guests in them aren't empty either, they still have thousands of workers in them making sure they are ready to be moved into at any moment."

"That must cost an immense amount of money, where does it all come from?"

He chuckles, "Taxes, everyone pays them. But if your Highness is concerned about overspending, let me assure you, the amount of money spent on the castle is about the amount of a drop of water within a lake."

"So…How rich is the royal family?"

"Hmm…I don't think it would make sense to say that your Highness is rich. More like you are beyond money. It is an immeasurable amount, I have heard of accountants going insane centuries after claiming they would be the first to count it all."

"So…Are there still poor people living in the Winter Court then?"

"Yes there are."

"Do the King and Queen not use their money on the people then?"

He looks at me surprised for a second, "Ahahaha, to know that your Highness is so concerned with her subjects in her young age fills me with joy. To answer your Highness' question, you can not prevent poverty from happening. You can only mitigate it and give them ways to get themselves out of it. No matter how much money you throw at a gambling addict, they will always lose it all. There is also the chance for anyone to have a personal chain of events happen to them that will make them poor without fault of their own. All your Highness can do, is offer shelter, food and drink to them as well as counseling or education for those that want it."

"Hmm…I see. So, what are the major problems of this country?"

"Your Highness, I believe it is best you ask that to your teachers in statecraft once you're older. For now, you should focus on healing and enjoying your life."

"But shouldn't I try to help people if I can?"

The guard smiles and kneels down on one knee in front of me, "Your Highness. While I do admire your will to care for your people, that doesn't mean you should value your health and wellbeing over us. A kingdom can not stay healthy on the back of a sick ruler. If you can not take care of yourself you can not take care of the country either."

"Hmm…I think I understand."

Looking ahead, we're still not even close to getting to the Worker's Wall and I don't think my legs can go on much longer.

"Could we maybe take a break? I don't think I can walk for much longer."

"Would you like me to carry you instead, your Highness? We can move quicker that way and you can recover while we do so."

"Uhm…Sure, as long as I'm not too heavy for you."

He bursts out into laughter, "Ahahaha, your Highness, if I ever get to the point where I can't carry you with ease, please retire me."

He then puts his cape around me like a blanket and briskly picks me up in a princess carry position, before running so fast it almost feels like we teleported to the Worker's Wall.

"Woah! How did you do that!?"

"Ahahaha, I just used my bloodline ability, your Highness, I'm a Quickling."

"So you can just run so fast it feels like we're teleporting whenever you want!?"

"Ahahaha, I'm going to let you in on a little secret, your Highness. Technically we Quicklings can't run any faster than the average person from the Humanoid tribe, what our bloodline ability does is, create a field around us that slows down time for anyone we don't exclude from it. So, while we may move at normal speed, everything around us is slowed down so much it appears as if we're insanely fast."

"Huh, so in terms of time passed, it just feels faster to be with a Quickling but it would be faster to just ride a carriage instead?"

"You catch on very quickly, your Highness! While that is technically true, most of us Quicklings are also masters of Chronic magic. Using Chronic magic, we accelerate our bodies to immense speeds to build on the advantage our bloodline ability gives us. This makes us masters of both combat and speed. Especially, since we can also ride other races or animals faster than us and accelerate them as well. It also helps that because we are quite secretive about how our powers function, many people misunderstand our powers."

"Hmm I see, so it's a trade secret."

"Ahaha, that is one way to describe it, yes. Because of that, I would be happy if you didn't let people know about it."

"I'll try to make sure your secret doesn't get out then, haha."

"It makes me happy that you said that, ahahaha. Now, are you ready to get to our goal? I'm going full speed."

"Sure that sounds-" Suddenly we stand in a well lit room with Hildi and the king and queen waiting there for me. Behind them, are a lot of servants surrounding a giant portal.

"Woah…That was insanely cool!"

"Ahahaha, I'm glad I was able to entertain you, your Highness!"

"Hey, by the way, what can I call you?"

"You can call me by my title of Captain of the Royal Guard or just Dalan if you want."

"Alright Dalan, I'm glad I met you!"

"Me too, your Highness ahahaha."

Hildi walks up to me, pets my head and picks me up, "I'm glad you already made a friend."

"Yeah, Dalan is really nice!"

The King then walks up to Dalan and slaps him on the back, "So, what do you think of my daughter? Hohoho."

"She's a delight to be around, I believe she will become a great ruler one day. I'll make sure to enroll my daughter in the same year as her Highness for the academy. I'd be pleased if they could grow close that way."

"Oh yeah that's right, how is the little one? She's about to turn five soon, right?"

"She's almost eight actually and she's quite the runner! She started walking last year, if she keeps on going like this she might even become faster than me one day, ahahaha."

"That must have been a wonderful feeling seeing your daughter's first steps, Hohoho."

"It sure was…It's truly one of the feelings you can't re- I mean…There probably are ones comparable to it I just haven't experienced yet so your Highness will surely feel that joy one day as well."

Suddenly getting gloomy, the king answers, "Yeah…Probably…Anyways, we should get going. Are you ready, Dear?"

"I'm ready Darling…But are you sure it's a good idea to do this now? Our little snowflake doesn't look so-"

"I'm fine! You can put me down mo- Nanny." Hildi then puts me down, it's a little hard to stand but I'm still doing okay, "See, just a little wobbly. It'll be fine."

The shadow lady sighs and says, "Fine…Just don't overexert yourself," She then puts a necklace with a seashell around my neck. "If you think there is any danger, pull on this sea shell and it will teleport you back to the castle. The same goes for if we somehow get separated."

"Okay. Can we go now?"

"Sure, let me just give one to Dalan as well. He is going to accompany us on our trip."

Hildi then takes my hand and whispers to me, "While I am quite excited to see the place you lived in, please make sure to tell me if things get overwhelming, okay Sammy?"

"I will…I love you mommy."

"I love you too Sammy."

The shadow lady walks up to the front and says, "Okay everybody. Let's link our hands together and enter the portal at the same time. There is already a platoon waiting for us on the other side so don't be surprised when we meet our soldiers on the other side."

We link up our hands and walk through the portal and instantly come out on the other side, where the scenery has changed dramatically. It looks kind of like we're in a desert but there is no heat. The ground also doesn't seem to be covered in sand, it seems more like dust. It looks like an absolute wasteland.

The king then goes to talk with some of the soldiers while I have a realization.

"We need to go back."

"Why? Are you not feeling up to it after all?" Hildi asks.

"No it's not that, I forgot to bring the gloves and other protective clothing. I'm going to burn to a crisp if we go to my home and the sun is out."

The queen confidently interjects, "There is no need to worry. I have the same weakness."

"Wait so you also burn in the sun?"

She lets out a chuckle, "Yep, who did you think you got that from? Certainly not from your father, hahaha. Your grandmother has it even worse, any part of her that is unprotected in the sunlight just disappears instantly until she can reform it in the darkness."

"So, how do I solve that problem?"

"You are too young to solve it on your own but I'll teach you in due time. Until then…" She exudes black mist from her that covers my body. It feels a bit like I'm being enveloped by a blanket. "...Let me take care of it."

After that, she snaps her fingers and the smoke becomes invisible but I can still feel it on my skin.

The king then comes back to our group and says, "It seems we're ready. It's afternoon where we're going, so it's best if you two take care of preparing for sun."

"Already did, Darling."

A bit sheepishly he asks, "Did you also remember to do it for our little Snowflake?"

She gives him an annoyed look, "Of course, Darling."

"Alright, good. So, as for our plan…First we go down to the city, we'll buy clothes similar to the one our little Snowflake would wear in her previous life. Afterwards, we go to where her sister is staying, bring her with us, then, if we have the time, go visit her old house and do a little bit of sightseeing. Any objections?"

No one says anything.

"Good, then let's go! Open the portal."

A few of the soldiers start chanting something and open a portal in front of us.

Once it is open, Hildi asks me, "Shall we do it together this time?"

"Do what?"

"You know…The thing you like to say."

"Oh, sure."

"Alright! To adventure, Huzzah!"

"To Adventure, Huzzah!"

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