More Romantic Bleach Drabbles

Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite, not to me.

Author's Note: Well, it's only a week late... but right now with the holidays, it's crazy at work. And I've been having issues with my ankle again on top of that. On the bright side, from the 19th to the 24th, I will be working midnights. Like the last two years I worked nights, I may be able to sneak some writing time in when no one's looking. Which means I should be able to write a few more drabbles! They may make little sense, but they will be written! As for this drabble, I tried something a little different. Hopefully it goes over well. Anyone who can guess who the Lord of Spring represents gets extra love from me!

Dedicated to StarPrincess999!

Many thanks to all my readers and reviewers PunkRockHolly, capslock-nanao (I will try not to disappoint when I finally find a suitable theme for LuppiNao!), rainy-lullaby (Ran-chan is my hero. I hate seeing her sad, so I try not to portray it too often!), darklover, Mochilicious (I wrote a SoiBya drabble in my first 100 drabbles, but I will add KyouSoi to my list for this current project!), Sweet and Deadly (Starrk is one of my favourite Espada! Probably because he reminds me of one of my favourite geezers!), Nicky Eira, mrsbieber (Robert Pattinson is the devil! He's gross!), ZareenBlack, Ayase Reincarnated (Starrk is just that awesome! He works with everyone! And Rose/Lisa is not weird to me!)


44. Snow

There was once a beautiful but lonely Snow Maiden. The Snow Maiden spent much of her time alone, quietly weeping. There was no one in the entire realm in which she lived who could console her. The Snow Maiden had fallen in love with an Earthly prince, a man she could never be with for the Snow Maiden was forbidden to leave the realm in which she lived.

However, the Snow Maiden could no longer stop herself. Her loneliness became too much and on the first night of winter, she stole away to the world of the prince she had fallen for to be with him just once. When the Snow Maiden first appeared before the prince, he was stunned and even a little frightened despite her beauty. Soon, though, the prince forgot about his worries and found himself smitten with the ethereal beauty before him. The young lovers spent the evening contentedly together.

But the Snow Maiden's actions had dire consequences. Her brother, the Lord of Spring, had found out she had abandoned her duties as the Lady of Winter for the sake of a mere human. The Lord of Spring was furious. He sought out his irresponsible sister and the prince. He knew if the Snow Maiden remained in the mortal world she would lose her dominion over the winter and throw the world out of balance. The Snow Maiden, however, would not listen to reason. She refused to part with her lover and the prince challenged the Lord of Spring.

The Lord of Spring accepted the challenge, knowing there was no way a mortal prince could stand against him. The battle was short, with the Lord of Spring leaving the prince's face scared. The Lord of Spring went to deliver the final blow to his opponent by the Snow Maiden threw herself in front of the prince. She would not allow her brother to claim the life of the only man she had ever loved.

The Lord of Spring was moved by his sister's selfless action and turned the prince into a being that could live alongside the Snow Maiden in their magical realm – an ice dragon. However, the Lord of Spring would not tolerate his sister abandoning her duties again for the prince. For the winter months, the prince would take on his human form once more and be forced to remain apart from the Snow Maiden while she performed her duties as the Lady of Winter. And the Snow Maiden would forever be unable to cross between the worlds again. The Snow Maiden agreed tearfully to the conditions imposed upon her by her brother and the prince agreed to the curse as well. Losing three months with the Snow Maiden was a small price to pay for being able to live eternally in her realm for the rest of his life.