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

Chapter 2: Kai

"Who could possess the power to do such an amazing thing? Living art...? Lord Von Gyllenhaal would truly love to meet this artist who has enough skill to accomplish such a feat," Gunter smiled in awe. Gunter could stare at that painting for hours on end, which he probably would whenever the real Yuri went back to Earth.

They hung the painting in one of the main halls near Yuri's room, at Yuri's request. But they were a little nervous about the flower that came out of it. It was actually alive. An honest-to-goodness flower. And it wasn't too long after it was given to Yuri that they discovered another note hidden in the bottom of the envelope. It told them what breed the flower was and how to tend to it, just in case something like this happened.

The note red as follows:

The flower in the painting is known in my lands as a Winter Lily. It is a rare flower that only blooms in winter once a year under the shadow of a new moon. It prefers cold water or at least water mixed with powdered moonstone. And it does best kept away from direct sunlight.

Also in the summer the bloom falls out, turns gold, and it can be ground into tea. Where legend tells that if you drink it on the night of the Summer Solstice, your first dream after drinking it will be a fore-dream. Showing you the best path to take that year.

"Wow! It's just one amazing thing after another," Yuri smiled widely after setting the note aside. "In any case," he pulled up his sleeves, "Let's get to work!"

Yuri still had a mountain of papers to sign, but the arrival of the painting put him in a great mood. Besides, there was a million other things that Yuri had to get done today to get ready for their big trip...

It was going to be his first Christmas with everyone so Yuri wanted to prepare gifts for all his friends as soon as all his work was done properly. And with Gunter's help, he'd also send gifts to his allies in the human lands before they left. The best part was that they were planning on spending Christmas on Earth with his family. So Christmas was going to be amazing this year and Yuri had a very good feeling about it.

The only thing he dreaded was his mom putting up mistletoe above the doorway. He would either have to avoid the door the entire time, or Wolfram. Either way, Yuri was sure that Wolfram would find some sneaky way to get them both under it once he learned what it was for. Yuri noticed lately that Wolfram was getting even more restless with all his bold attempts to seduce Yuri. All of which failed when he lost his temper and called Yuri the usual names. At this point Yuri just ignored those harsh words. They weren't going to change the fact that Yuri didn't like Wolfram that way. And he never would.

After a few hours of nothing but paperwork Yuri finally signed the last paper for that day. "Ah, finally," Yuri sighed, "All done!" Then he stretched gratefully and stood up.

"Well done Your Highness! I've never seen you so focused on your work," Gunter praised happily.

Yuri just shrugged and smiled, "What can I say? I'm in a good mood. Besides I..." but then suddenly he felt a wave of dizziness and swooned. Gripping his chair for support.

Gunter rushed to his side, "Your Majesty! What's wrong?"

"I'm fine Gunter, don't panic. I think I just forgot to eat lunch. I wanted to finish as soon as possible so that I could get everything ready in time," Yuri comforted his panic-stricken tutor. "I'll be fine once I eat something."

And sure enough, Yuri was just fine after a meal with his friends. Talking about his plans for showing them one of Yuri's favorite Earth holidays. And it wasn't getting the presents that made him so happy. It was the warm feeling that they shared despite the cold weather and the charity they showed to each other. Everyone was grateful for what they had. It brought people together. And they could reflect on everything that happened the year before, as well as consider the future.

Little did Yuri know, that that change was already upon him…


Kai stood at the gates of Covenant Castle, disguised as a brown-haired, gray-eyed delivery boy. Holding a large cage under one arm he knocked on the gates as loudly as he could because there was a roaring blizzard outside, which Kai cleverly used to cover up his method of transport further up the road.

A guard opened the gate and asked him who he was. "Who goes there?"

Of course, Kai wasn't obligated to use his real name so he answered, "Alex Harth Sir. I have come here with a gift for His Highness! Please, I've traveled a long way from the north, so won't you open the gates and allow me to come in from this terrible blizzard? It's getting late and the Inns are already full. I would have waited for tomorrow but I must return home soon since I have nowhere else to stay for the night."

Kai was lying of course, the cold didn't bother him at all. Although it was true he had to return quickly. But first Kai wanted to meet this boy face-to-face before he returned, the one his Queen had fallen for and see what manner of man he really was…

"Alright, come on in," the guard then opened the gates and the blizzard was quickly muffled behind their thick doors.

Once inside, Kai had to go through the formalities of security but he was allowed in with little trouble. He examined the place as they led him to the throne-room. Compared to the Snow Queen's castle this one seemed rather dull. Still, Kai immediately felt the warmth that she spoke of. He felt welcomed there, which seemed to be a good sign so far.

As he was escorted to the throne-room, Kai passed the painting that Her Highness made of this boy. It was actually made with her very own magic, a rare honor indeed. They had no idea that fairy tears were used in the paint, which was how it came alive. But the magic only worked during the winter and a little in fall when a deep frost still clings to the air. Even so, since they were unaware of this they could not appreciate the true value of it.

The doors creaked open and there he sat. The one whom his Queen had chosen. Kai did see a kindness in him, but he knew there had to be more to him than that to make Her Highness love him so. Kneeling before the Demon King with the covered cage set next to him, Kai bowed, "It's an honor Your Highness to be able to deliver this personally."

The boy waved his arms and smiled rather bashfully, "You don't have to be so formal. What's your name?"

Kai smiled in turn, getting into his act, "Alex Harth. I'm a simple delivery boy but I was given a valuable gift to present to you. They figured that someone less flashy traveling alone would attract less attention. I guess they were right, " he grinned.

Kai was an excellent actor. He could act very human and disguise himself quite well. It proved useful, especially when he had to mingle with humans back in their own world. But Kai could tell right away that these people weren't humans, not completely anyway. Two of them bore human blood; the King himself, and the brown-haired soldier standing on his left. The rest almost felt like his own kind...

How strange.

"So what's that," the young King asked Kai, glancing curiously at the cage beside him.

Kai recomposed himself and smiled, patting the cage which then let out a soft sound. It sounded like a high pitched 'Nuu' sound. "It's a rare creature from my Lieges homeland. Here, let me show you."

Carefully, Kai lifted the cage and offered it to the King. Then he rose from his throne and walked over to Kai, of course, with his protectors nearby in case the creature was dangerous. Then as the young King moved to lift the veil, his eyes questioned Kai.

Smiling at him with amusement at his uncertainty, Kai assured him, "Don't worry, this little one is quite tame."

There was a note of genuine laughter in his voice which startled Kai. It had been such a long time...since he ever laughed. Just who was this person, this naive young boy who could make him feel so warm inside in a matter of seconds even after all his long and lonely years of feeling nothing but cold in his heart?

"Aw, how cute!" The boy exclaimed happily as he unveiled the strange little creature.

It looked like a miniature fox and its fur was a soft shade of silver with a pearl-like sheen to it. The small foxlike had a small head, long thin ears and an equally thin tail. And the tail was about three-times longer than its body with a crystal at the end of it. Then lastly, its almond-shaped eyes were gold with a blue pupil, making it look positively alien.

The blonde soldier on the Kings right side bent over to get a closer look and commented, "What the heck is it?" And after that Kai opened the cage and the creature climbed onto his shoulder, wrapping its unnaturally long tail around his chest; staring at the blonde boy with a knowing gaze.

"It's called a Fayox. A sort of spirit animal that lives in the mountains where my Master comes from. Here," Kai took the young Kings hand and placed a bunch of blueberries in it. "This little guy eats berries and nuts, he even eats honey too on occasion. So far, these are its favorite."

Immediately catching a whiff of the delicious blueberries the Fayox jumped off of Kai's shoulder and perched itself on the young King's shoulder instead. It then sniffed at the berries he offered and with another soft 'Nuu' it then happily began eating the berries out of the palm of his hand. Then it proceeded to licking the boy's nose affectionately.

And as it did so Kai smiled with mock relief, "I think he likes you, that's good. I was concerned that if he didn't take to you he'd die."

"Die? Why would he die?!" Yuri asked in alarm.

Kai explained calmly, "I don't know much about it myself really. But from what my Master told me, Fayox's live in spiritual places where they feed off the natural energy there to survive in the material world. So, if someone takes one of them as a pet they have to have something to sustain its earthly form, such as an object or inborn powers. This one is a rare breed, even among them. Therefore it needs someone with a strong spirit to keep its physical body in the real world. If not, their body dies and they go back to being just a spirit beast. I had this to keep him stable until we got here." Kai showed them a Moonstone that was indeed used to stabilize these creatures. His own power was enough but they couldn't know that.

"Wow, that is so cool..." the young King sighed in awe.

"By the way, who is this creature from?" Conrad asked politely.

"That's right, you said your Master gave this to you to deliver. Who is this person exactly?" Gunter asked him as well.

Smiling inwardly to himself Kai replied, "They asked me not to tell you until the final gift is sent. But you've already received one gift from them. From 'The Snow which Dances.'"

The group gasped in unison.

"You mean this is from the same person who sent the painting?!" Yuri exclaimed in surprise.

"Wow, Your Highness. You must have a secret-admirer," Conrad laughed.

"You Cheater," Wolfram snarled. About to reach out and scold his fiancé for being unfaithful as usual when he suddenly flinched back as the Fayox hissed at him and bore its blue needle-sharp fangs. Its fur raised in hackles that almost looked like icicles with how they stood strait up.

Kai laughed in amusement, "Looks like he's made his choice, so the pact is sealed and he's yours to keep Your Highness. I hope you will take good care of him." Then Kai bowed respectfully, "Now that I know he's in good hands I'm afraid I have to get going. Oh, and before I forget, you'll need this just in case you forget what I just told you about taking care of this little one," he reached into his cloak and took out a thin book.

"Must you go so soon? The weather is awful out there, and you came so far..." one of them noted. After that the young King insisted that he stay. Kai was touched by the offer but had to refuse. He had stayed too long already.

"Forgi-I mean-I'm sorry, but if I don't go now I'll miss my ride back home," Kai said sadly.

"I see..." the boy slumped with disappointment and the Fayox licked his cheek to cheer him up. "In any case, give my regards to your Master and tell them thank you for everything. Oh, and give this to them too." After rummaging around in his pockets he plucked a letter and offered it to Kai, explaining, "It's a thank you note. We had no way of contacting this person so..." he chuckled.

Kai graciously took the letter, "I'll deliver it. You can count on me!" he grinned. Before leaving he patted the small creatures head, "You be good now," it Nuued in response and licked his hand affectionately.

After bidding the rest of them farewell too, Kai left the castle, smiling. He's a good person. I can see now what she meant. He looked back one last time at the snow covered castle before dropping his disguise, "I hope he can make her happy. But she may have some trouble with those two men..."

Kai had noticed the protective stance the brown clad soldier displayed when the Fayox snarled at the other boy from on top the Kings shoulder. Not for that boys sake, but for his King's. There was defiantly something special between them that probably explained the feeling of helpless devotion that he had seen glittered behind that soldiers clear brown eyes. Proof of some unseen bond the two shared from a long time together.

It almost made him feel guilty that they were planning to take their King as their own someday. Even if it meant forcing that boy to live an extra lifetime with the Snow Queen.


"You're back," came a familiar voice from the archway.

"Edur, how have you been? I haven't seen much of you lately. Troubles with your sister again?" Kai asked in a friendly tone as he walked past him.

Edur laughed as he began following beside Kai and shrugged, "Yeah, she still wants me to go back to the Unseelie Court and serve the Shadow King. Says she misses me. But I really hate that guy. He has absolutely no class. With all his obsession about eternal darkness and what not. So yeah, the usual..."

Edur was Kai's best friend. A Wisp. Almost like the kind you see in marshes only he was a winter one. Humans can't see their true form but they can see what they think is a lantern. But unlike other Wisps Edur's kind appeared like the bright lights of a city and clustered more closely together for the most part, leading people astray for their amusement while also diverting them from the Snow Queen's castle further up the mountain at the same time. It was all in good fun, but sometimes Edur went too far and people ended up getting hurt. Although Edur usually made up for that when he helped someone find them before they froze to death.

His hair, unlike Kai's was more like liquid light. It shimmered as if it were the Aurora itself. And his clothes were more like scales made of ice forming on his icy skin then actual clothing. Lastly his eyes were like neon lights, which usually changed color with his moods. Right now, they were yellow. Meaning his was in a playful mood…

Edur was also the one who helped Kai when he first became a Glacier. Explaining what happened to him and helping Kai get used to his new life as a Fay. Because in this world, fairies were not as you may think them in the stories. Many of them used to be humans, like Kai. But their spirits were taken by fairies and they became Fay.

Fairies had a bad habit of stealing humans away from the human world and keeping them forever. They mainly did this because humans have the mortality they lack, so therefore, the Fay enjoyed watching them as they change, age, and eventually die. That's all the Fay really were. Beautiful flawless creatures cursed with immortality, no true knowledge of what was good or evil, and eternal youth.

You may think, what's wrong with immortality? Well, it was more like a curse to most of them because their very souls were put on the line when those who were once human became Fay. Nothing mortal-made can kill them-save for a few rare artifacts or certain knowledge about their kind-but for the most part only a Fay can kill another Fay. And when that happens, sadly they don't just die, their entire existence ends. They just vanish. Not even a memory of them remains and that is a fate worse than any mortal death. To be forgotten by all who ever loved you. Trapped in a diamond body that never aged. Watching the world change around you. But being unable to experience the changes themselves.

"So, how was it?" Edur probed as they continued on.

Kai sighed, "He's really something Edur. I...found myself actually laughing. I haven't done that in centuries. Not since Gerda died of old age," he added sadly. "She was the only one remained my friend even after I was no longer human. And stayed with me to the bitter end."

Edur smirked, "Now that's something indeed my friend! You hardly even laugh with me around. And I'm hilarious!"

Kai blanched, "Sure, that's what you say but I have yet to see the humor in your jokes. Sometimes you go too far with your pranks. The Fall Fay still haven't forgiven you for what you did with your last prank."

Edur just shrugged, "Yeah well...that's their problem. I paid my dues. They're just jealous they didn't think of it first." And then with a sheepish grin he pulled his friend into a headlock, "Come one, after you report to Her Highness lets go have a drink. I've missed just talking to you."

Smiling lightly Kai consented, "Alright. You win Edur. But we're not drinking any wine. I have to keep a clear head if the Shadow King makes a move."

"Yeah yeah..." Edur rolled his eyes sarcastically.

Little did he know that Kai was right. The Shadow King was about to make a move. And it was Yuri who would suffer its effects the most.