Even after the carnage had been cleared away and Mahnya had been given a proper burial, her blood still stained the once-pristine snows of Silesia. It was only fitting that Silesia would have a dry spell when they needed fresh snow the most; it had been days and Levin still couldn't stop going out to stand at the very spot where she'd lost her life. It made him sick to see it, but he couldn't bring himself to turn away.

She got herself killed doing my job. Sir Sigurd had said that was going a bit far, but Levin knew that's what had happened. He should have been the one to protect his mother, but he'd been too busy traipsing around the continent, trying to pretend his responsibilities meant nothing to him.

"I ran away because I thought I'd be the worst King ever and ruin the country, but I ruined it anyway. Talk about your self-fulfilling prophecies," he sighed. "Mahyna, I'm sorry...if I hadn't been so stupid you'd still be here."

He heard soft footfalls behind him just then. He turned to see Fury standing a small distance away from him, eyes downcast.

"Prince Levin..." Even now, she still called him by his title; his chest tightened with frustration, but he suppressed it. Now wasn't the time to get upset over stupid things like that.

"I'm sorry, Fury." He closed the distance between them, taking one of her hands. "This whole thing was my fault..."

"What...? No, Prince Levin, your uncles were the ones-"

"I meant Mahnya." He sighed. "Listen, Fury, I..."

"I know, Prince Levin," she said quietly, looking away. "I always knew. You and my sister...I know you always liked her. Your mother even arranged a marriage between you two, didn't she." Levin almost smiled, that had been so many years ago. Fury would have been eleven years old, how could she remember that far back?

"Well...obviously it's not going to work out now," he muttered. Fury just shook her head; Levin could swear he saw tears gathering in her eyes as she finally faced him.

"I'm sorry, Prince Levin. I...I came out to check on you, I was worried, and all I can talk about is..." She shook her head again, closing her eyes tightly to fight back the tears. "I'm sorry. I'll go back inside now, I-"

"Fury." He wrapped his arms tightly around her and held her to him, burying his face in her hair. He hated seeing women cry in general, but Fury's tears threatening to spill over made his heart ache like nothing else. "She meant everything to us both. You know she did." He smiled bitterly. "We were a team back then, remember? We thought nothing would ever tear us apart."

"Mm." She leaned into his embrace, fingers pulling at the fabric of his cloak. "Even back then I was happy just to be by your side no matter what."

"I know." Levin held her closer. "But listen, Fury...I may have been in love with your sister back then, but that was then. Now it's different." He drew back, cupping her chin in his hand and making her look at him. Even filled with tears her eyes were the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. "Now it's you."

She blinked, as if having trouble processing what he was saying.

"Prince Levin...?"

"I love you, Fury," he said, and kissed her before she could respond. He felt her tense slightly in his arms before she kissed him back, timid but warm and eager. The bloody snow ceased to exist, all he felt and saw and tasted and knew was her, warm and alive against him. When he finally broke the contact, she was still staring at him, cheeks flushed and eyes hopeful.

"You love me," she said. "Levin, if only you knew how long I'd been hoping you'd say that! But my sister..."

"...is gone." A hollow sadness spread through his chest as it finally sank in. "And no, I'll never forget her or how I felt for her. But how I feel for you has nothing to do with her. Got it?" He prodded the tip of her nose with his index finger. "I wouldn't want you to be her anyway. You're cute enough just being Fury." Her blush deepened and she gave him a look that was somewhere between flattered and scandalized.

"Prince-"

"And don't call me that anymore," he cut her off. "I won't have my wife calling me by some formal title. That is...if you will marry me."

"Pr-" She corrected herself. "Levin...!" She flung her arms around his neck, squealing with joy. "Of course I will!" she cried, then cleared her throat, blushing slightly. "Ahem...I would be honored to be your wife." He chuckled, pressing a kiss to her hairline. Same old Fury.

"Let's go inside and tell Mother the good news," he said.

"And then Sylvia. She said she'd be mad at me forever if you and I got engaged and she wasn't among the first to know," Fury laughed. "She was mad enough at me for being afraid to admit my own feelings!"

"That's Sylv for ya," Levin said, reluctantly letting go of her and taking her hand, squeezing it tightly as they headed back to the castle. Sylvia would be happy, so would Lord Sigurd and the rest of the army.

And so would Mahnya, he thought. Fury would never forget her sister and Levin would never forget his first love, but they would do all they could to honor her memory and ensure she didn't die in vain.

Author's Ramble: This fic is my attempt to flesh out the conversation between Levin and Fury in chapter 4. A lot of inspiration was taken from the Oosawa Mitsuki manga adaptation as well (The arranged marriage between Levin and Mahnya, Fury's softer personality, the mention of Sylvia being annoyed that Fury wouldn't admit to having feelings for Levin). This pairing has actually grown on me a LOT thanks to that particular manga, it's become one of my favorites.