Disclaimer: I don't own anything from KKM or the Snow Queen. Yeah, you know the drill.

Note: Here's another updated chapter. I should have a few more done this week so be sure to keep an eye out for them!

Chapter 1

That morning, when Yuri noticed the falling white outside, his eyes opened wide with excitement. "Wow!" he exclaimed and then Yuri tossed his blankets off in a rush-completely forgetting about Wolfram sleeping next to him, who had snuck back into his room as usual-and dashed to the frost-laced window. "Wolfram look, it's snowing!" Then his eyes turned sentimental as he watched the snow fall ever so softly. "It's so pretty," Yuri sighed dreamily as he watched the wind whirl and churn the snow to make it appear as if it were dancing for him.

It's my second winter here in the Great Demon Kingdom. Man how time flies. Yuri smiled to himself.

But this year...there was something more magical about it. Something was bound to make this year special. Maybe it was just him but, the snow seemed to make him feel the fantastic changes about to unfold.

But then Wolfram just had to go and ruin his good mood by making a sneaky move to be romantic. He crept up behind Yuri and wrapped the blanket around them both, "You must be cold," Wolfram whispered in his ear. Using both hands to pin the blanket in place, and snuggling closer to Yuri from behind.

"Wolfram, don't do that!" Yuri yelped as he blushed furiously, struggling out of the embrace.

"I just thought you'd be cold," Wolfram pouted, quickly realizing his defeat. "Wouldn't want our Wimpy King to catch a cold."

"Don't call me a-!" Yuri began when the door opened and Conrad came to the rescue.

"Good morning Your Highness," he smiled in his usual soft way.

Yuri smiled back while edging away from Wolfram, "Good morning to you too Conrad. But honestly what am I going to do with you," he laughed.

"Huh?" Conrad blinked.

"It's 'Yuri'. Seriously Conrad, it's been about two years that we've known each other. You're my Godfather and you named me. So you should call me by that name. Or shall I start calling you Lord Weller," Yuri joked with a note of laughter in his voice.

Conrad laughed too, "Sorry Yuri. But you are my lord and liege. It's just a habit," then he shrugged his shoulders and added, "I came to tell you that we'll have to confine our morning jog to the halls. It's getting cold outside fairly quickly and Gunter would be frantic if His Majesty caught a cold."

Yuri sighed dejectedly, "I thought as much..."

"In any case, let's all have breakfast," Conrad smiled again.

"Yeah," Yuri replied absent-mindedly as he looked out at the snow again, smiling warmly. Unaware that it was that smile that was going to bring about some incredible journey. Not for himself. But for those who cherished him the most. A test that would truly show the lengths of their love for their King, friend, and most precious person.

It was on that day during breakfast that the first gift arrived...

"Your Highness, something has just arrived for you," a soldier reported briskly.

Yuri put down his spork and asked curiously, "What is it?"

"The note said it's a portrait of you. But we're not to unveil it until you come to see it yourself. It's a surprise," the soldier answered.

"Shall we go have a look?" Gunter asked.

"Sure," Yuri smiled uncertainly. I just hope it doesn't have me holding a lemon, or something creepy like that.

When they brought it to the throne room for them to see it, it was rather large, and covered in a blue satin cloth. Then once everyone was present the soldier said, "I'll read the letter that also came with it to you first Your Highness, before we uncover the painting," after which he cleared his throat and then read the short letter aloud:

To His Highness King Yuri,

Please accept this, the first of many gifts I wish to bestow upon you. Both to celebrate another splendid year, and simply for the sake of my own happiness.

Since the first time I saw your smile I was inspired to create far more beautiful art than ever before. And my only wish is to make you smile like that, always. I can only hope this does your smile justice.

You have a way of warming even the coldest places with that smile alone. It has saved me in so many ways. To see you smiling is my greatest joy! Never lose that kindness. Never stop smiling. For when you do, that warmth will be gone.

So please, let your smiling eyes be the first to see the smile I've captured in a piece of my finest art. A smile that has captured me in turn.

Signed,

The Snow Which Dances.

"'The Snow Which Dances?' The alias of that artist maybe? I've never heard of such a person," Gunter noted in bewilderment.

"Anyway, let's see what it is!" Yuri beamed with excitement.

"Yes sir," they nodded and then the soldiers pulled the veil off.

It was a beautiful portrait of Yuri hugging a bunch of strange flowers. The blooms had thick stems with a layer of white petals on top, and blue underneath, making its shape look almost like a snowflake. But it was Yuri himself-whose face was aglow with his most disarming smile-that was the most beautiful thing about it. A smile that was both gentle, warm, tender, joyous and loving. As if that smile alone could melt the stone around anyone's heart. And the Yuri in the painting smiled unconditionally at all who gazed upon his portrait. His eyes sparkling brightly, almost as if he were alive too, kindly watching over them.

The sheer beauty of it brought tears to Yuri's eyes. "Wow…" was all he managed to say.

"It's so detailed. It really does seem like it's alive..." Wolfram gaped in awe. Even his own art couldn't compare to something so breathtaking. Even he managed to admit that.

As if to answer that, the picture nodded with an amused smile.

They gaped at it.

"Did that picture just-?" Yuri pointed his finger just inches from it, "-did it just nod at us?"

The Yuri in the picture, as if in freeze-frames, plucked the loveliest of the flowers and offered it to him. Still smiling ever so softly.

Yuri then pointed at himself and asked, "Is that for me?"

His picture-self nodded sweetly. And then the flower seemed to flow directly out of the painting, but his hand never left the safety of the frame, it only brushed the thin barrier. Knowing full well that if he himself left the confines of the canvas, the magic would end.

Cautiously, Yuri took the flower he offered and said, "Um...thank you."

After that, Yuri's picture-self simply smiled on before mouthing, "You're welcome," and then he bent back to his original position and continued to smile at his shocked on-lookers. Perfectly still.

"That was…the strangest thing I've ever seen. Who could make art literally come alive?" Gunter asked the others.

No one answered him, for they were watching their King holding the flower with the same warm expression as the one in the painting. Gunter had never seen His Highness look so serene before. Yuri breathed in the scent of the flower. It was unlike anything he had ever seen or smelled before, even amongst Lady Celli's flowers. Yuri could hardly put it into words. It was almost like a cool mint that reminds you of winter. Yet it had a sweetness to it too, and a clean scent almost like lavender.

As Conrad watched Yuri he felt a pang of jealousy towards whoever did this for him. Still, Conrad let the feeling quickly slip away. His happiness was that his King was happy. Whether it was from him or others, just like that letter said, '...my only wish is to make you smile like that, always.' And that was exactly what he would do for Yuri, for as long as he lived…

The young Queen smiled with such happiness when she heard that Yuri had accepted the first of his gifts. "I'm so happy. He likes it!" She beamed happily as she twirled away from her icy throne, and the frost under her bare feet formed into swirls along with her. Dancing like a ballerina, her light footfall was as graceful and weightless as the snow being swept in the northern winds. Hauntingly beautiful to all, but loved by none.

"Your Highness, what makes you smile so?" her servant Kai asked.

Kai was a Glacier. A type of ice fay who during the spring and summer sleeps in a cocoon of ice deep underground. One that doesn't melt even in summer. And during those winters they only come out at night when it's the coldest. But Kai preferred to stay at his Queen's side. In this land of eternal winter where he never had to sleep. Not as he would have elsewhere in lands with four seasons. His hair was like thinly spun icicles, colored a clear crisp blue. And his skin was a pale shade of milky white with spidery veins that looked like frost across his skin, reflecting the icy blood flowing through them.

"Kai, my King has smiled at his gift. It makes me warm inside. And I don't care if I would melt like the snow which I spin with my magic, so long as this feeling would last." Sadness crept into her voice, "If only his winters were longer, then I could go to him myself. And not only on the solstice..." after that, a single tear fell from her eye and turned to ice as soon as it left her cheek. The young Queen looked at it thoughtfully then back up at Kai, "Take this. And with it cross over into that world again with my next gift. Oh and by the way," she glanced around, "Where is Edur?"

Kai shrugged, "He's probably just getting ready to begin polishing your mirror earlier than usual in order to please you Your Highness."

"Ah. I see," she replied simply, though she genuinely felt touched by Edur's thoughtfulness.

That mirror was her only means to see anything in the other world. Including her beloved. If something ever happened to it...It would spell disaster. And Her Highness could not help but feel a rare sense of dread. Edur was a loyal servant, yet he still had Unseelie blood in him, just like Kai. Fay who belonged to the Dark Court. She never held that against them. Yet someday, the Shadow King would surely use that blood against them, and against her.

It was no secret that the Shadow King, who ruled the night as she ruled the snow wished for an eternal winter. Where the sun would never shine and the world would remain dark, cold, silent, lonely and still. For Her Highness the Snow Queen, winter was another type of beauty. It too played its role. True, it was cold, but it did something that none of the other seasons could.

No matter what world it was, winter did a wonderful thing. Every winter, the earth is cleaned to a pure white state. Like that of a canvas. Perfectly still and silent the earth falls into slumber, waiting to heal while the flowers sleep. To be painted upon by all the hues of spring. Where the colors breathe new life and blend and come alive again. Winter allowed the earth to rest and heal from the year before. Winter was a time of reflection. When people come to realize what truly matters the most and appreciate the world more. That alone was enough for her, knowing that even though her role seemed like it was the worst of all seasons, it was one that was the most needed.

Kai bowed before his queen and kissed her hand, "I shall do as you bid My Lady, forever and always, I am your humble servant."

Then he rose to depart for that world. Of course he'd have to wear a disguise, for his looks were far too strange for people like them. Still, even with his heart, colder than his Queens, he was envious of the boy in the mirror. How he could make Her Highness happy like that when he could not. Even so, Kai would always serve her. Until even winter could not withstand the darkness at the end of all things.