King Ivan was already gone, away from the castle. Yao sat by the wide glass window, staring out into the snowy landscape. Little round snowflakes were falling from the gray skies, silently landing on the ground and upon the tall trees, coating everything with a sugary white. Queen Yao felt lonely without her Ivan, her little Vanya. She thought about him for a moment as she gazed outside and brushed a loose strand of black hair behind her ear. She missed his childish smile. She missed his winter amethyst eyes. And she missed his warm embrace most of all. The Queen let out a long, forlorn sigh, knowing that her husband was away at a crucial battle. And even though he had conquered many lands and succeeded in great ways, his newest enemy was a tough one to defeat. Despite not wanting to admit it, Yao knew that there were high risks and Ivan may not be able to get out of this one with a victory.
***
Ivan could not believe it. Had he really failed? He dropped to his knees on the battlefield, the winter-covered land stained red with warm blood. His army suffered a terrible defeat, and even though it was not the worst defeat in history, it was still quite shameful. Many men lost their precious lives in this strenuous fight. Dead bodies were strewn across the area, crimson blood mixing with torn flesh and broken bone and agonizing screams and a raw filthy stench. "No... this can't be happening, da?" he whispered to no one in particular. But he knew the answer already.
A pair of vibrant green eyes stared at him from a spot mounted on a noble horse's back. "You are now my prisoner," the smooth voice stated simply. Enemy soldiers rushed in to chain and lock up Ivan before he could try to fight back. Ivan tried to do something about it, trying to stand up in a rush, but the soldiers were too strong. He lashed out with a strong punch, but soon found that he could not even move his arms; his hands were chained tightly together. And then he felt something hard hit him painfully across the head. Everything went black.
***
A few days later, Queen Yao received news from a loyal messenger: King Ivan had lost the battle against King Arthur. Yao did not gasp, but a sad look passed over her face. She had a strong feeling that something like this would happen. Yao continued to listen as the messenger blurted out, "And ... his Majesty has been captured! He is a prisoner now... And..." Yao held up her hand and nodded, saying gently, "I understand, Toris; no need to explain any further, aru." The messenger nodded and scuttled out from the room, wondering what would happen to the kingdom now. Yao leaned back in her chair, thinking. The battle had been lost, and Ivan was now locked up in King Arthur's prison. Yao knew that it was her place to take over the ruling of the kingdom now that her husband was captured, but she knew there was no way she could do this. "I have to save Ivan, aru..." Yao murmured with a determined glint in her eyes. There was no going back; she made her final decision. She would go and rescue Ivan, bring him back home, and they would continue to rule their beautiful kingdom together like they did ever since they got married those years ago.
Yao stood up and walked to the tall mirror in her bedroom. She stared at her reflection. She had a lovely feminine face, almond-shaped amber-chocolate eyes, and long dark tresses down to her hips. "This won't do, aru..." she said to herself, reaching into a nearby drawer and retrieving a red ribbon she tied her long hair back into a ponytail and then found a dagger from a polished box, cutting off her hair to a shoulder length. Her hair was still long enough to be in a good-sized ponytail, but it was still a lot shorter than it was before.
Yao surveyed her reflection in the mirror, and decided she looked manly enough. She just had to get out of this red gown she was in and put on male clothing. She ran to Ivan's closet, rummaging through it and trying on various pieces. However, all of his clothes were too big. "Aiyaah..." Yao decided to sneak into Toris's room and see if anything there would fit her. She cautiously opened the door and tiptoed in, looking around. The messenger boy was already out on duty; he was nowhere in sight. She opened his closet and pulled out a simple tunic top and black slacks. She went back to her own room to change and debated whether or not to bind her breasts, and decided against it; she hardly had any breasts to bind anyways. She put on Toris's clothes and looked at her transformation in the mirror. Her hair was tied back in a neat ponytail, some wispy side bangs framing the sides of her face. The tunic and pants fit her well, and her female figure was hidden nicely. She could definitely pass a man, just a rather pretty one.
Yao went over to a side table in her room and gingerly picked up her pipa, also known as a Chinese lute. It was an elegant instrument whose strings made beautiful sounds. Yao decided that she would pretend to be a traveling musician and make her way to King Arthur's kingdom. Once there, she would try to figure out a clever way to rescue her beloved King.
Yao was soon already out of the castle walls without even telling a soul. She was lucky that she had no body guards. After all, she knew martial arts so she really did not need any protection anyways.
