Author's Note:
Hey, it's Setsuna here with another fic! This one is actually a, I wouldn't say rewrite but, alternate version of Frozen Cherry Blossoms. I read over the fic the other day and wasn't really happy with it all that much so I decided to write another version of it. So, if this fic becomes a success then I'll probably delete Frozen Cherry Blossoms and work on this instead. This fic has roughly the same plot, ie: no Hisana. :) Hope you enjoy this story!

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LIGHT OF WINTER

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Summary: They were two separate souls, living in two completely different worlds. He was a noble and the captain of a squad, while she was a commoner, who lived a harsh and terrible life. Yet, somehow, in the snowy depths of the cold afterlife, they managed to find trust within each other.

Pairing: ByaRuki

Genre: Drama / Romance

Speech:

"Talking"

Thoughts

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Prologue
-Silent Storm-

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He hated this.

This gloomy weather filled with cold and misery, the eternally falling droplets from the crying heavens, the empty greyness of the clouds, shielding the only source of light on this freezing winter day.

Everything – he hated it all because it reminded him so much of himself – shining with life and warmth but concealed behind a cloud of the overshadowing rules and regulations. The flame in his heart had begun to glow weaker and weaker under the pressure of nobility; the lively flame of his life was starting to become extinguished by the cold demeanour of the family.

Although his soul was still in the first stage of spring, winter was approaching at a fast pace. Soon, the last cherry blossom would be completely frozen under the cloud-filled skies as would the remaining embers within his heart.

But then, along came the light. The blinding brightness immediately lit up the fire in his soul, bringing it back to life from the hands of death itself, just from its sole appearance. The warmth of her hands helped guided him out of the tunnel, of which he was trapped in, and towards the door of the exit, where he would find the light that had once burned within his heart.

He yearned for her – drawn towards her like a moth to a flame. Without the light, he would cease to exist. He would once again return to the swallowing pits of darkness in the never-ending tunnel, with no one to rely on, no one to call for help.

Trust was something not to be given but to be earned and she had earned every bit of it. He gave her everything – his time, his life, his love, his soul. Absolutely everything.

And she returned it equally with everything the light could have offered. She lit up the darkness lurking in his soul, brightened up his life and showed him how to see everything from a different perspective.

She promised him that she would never leave his side and he wholly believed her…

…But she lied.

On that fateful night, she had left him. Left him for the dead; for it was because a blooming flower cannot survive without the light. Without it, the petals would wither away into eternal darkness.

But he never lost hope – hope of seeing her smile once again.

And so, he waited. Waited to, once again, find the light at the end of the dark tunnel, yet falling once again deeper and deeper into the pits of despair.

All on this silent, stormy night, he continued waiting…

Still waiting…as the storm continued raging on…

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Author's Note:
So…how was it? Sorry for the shortness of this chapter but it was only the prologue. I promise that the next chapter will be a lot longer. So this prologue gives you a rough idea of what the story is going to be like without giving away too much spoilers. Hope you enjoyed it. Please review! Flames are not accepted but constructive criticism is. See ya in the next chapter! :)

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-Setsuna