Author's Note: Singingsilent had some interesting Alamur questions that I'll bring up in this chapter.

The story is told from Milori's and Clarion's perspectives, so I tried to convey conversations of other fairies rather than thoughts being we can't see inside their heads. It was tricky, and I probably slipped in a couple places.


Clarion could feel it. She didn't have to look at Milori's face to know he felt like a caged bird who had been set free after giving up hope. Looking up at him over her shoulder, she saw his eyes sparkling with excitement and a smile—that was born from the depths of his heart—lighting up his face. Her heart sang for him, but at the same time it wept knowing that in only moments, he would be chained to the ground again.

"Soar," she said softly and held the edge of the canoe tighter, wanting him to savor every minute.

He smiled and his arm held her tighter. Then he let them nosedive toward the ground.

She couldn't help but scream even though she knew he wouldn't let them crash. "Faster!" she squealed and grabbed his arm around her when they reached incredible speeds. Clarion screamed with laughter, her heart racing in her breast with excitement. When he took them up, down and around wide curves, she laughed so hard that it was difficult to breathe.

Milori laughed from his soul upon hearing her having so much fun. Adrenaline pumped through him, thriving in the moment. He kept his hand around her fisted, ready to shoot out piles of snow to catch them if he faltered.

Neither one of them paid attention if the race was still going or who was winning—they were too busy laughing and screaming on their wild ride together.

Milori finally slowed them down and climbed out before helping her out.

"You're crazy," she laughed, stumbling into his arms because she was a bit dizzy.

He was still laughing. "You're wild. Faster?! How fast did you want me to go?" he grinned and held her steady until her sea legs faded.

"You won!" Sled called, cupping his hands around his mouth, from a bit away back near the party.

"Ah!" Clarion screamed in excitement and jumped into Milori's arms.

He stumbled back a step, not prepared for her weight. But his wing made him lose his balance, and they tumbled into the snow, sliding down a tiny hill. He feared she was hurt when they rolled apart, but he heard her laughing as he pushed himself up from landing on his face in the snow. And then he got a snowball in the face.

Clarion scrambled up and ran a bit away, scooping up snow with her mittens to make a snowball and saw Milori face down and laughed—only because her mark was still connected to his from their emotional sled ride and she knew he wasn't hurt. She let her snowball fly. "Oh!" she squeaked and threw her hand over her mouth when he suddenly raised himself up on his hands and knees, causing the snowball to hit him square in his face. "Sorry! I didn't know you were going to get up that fast! I meant to hit your shoulder-!" A snowball hit her leg. Her mouth fell open. "You hit me!"

He stood with a grin, brushing himself off without taking his eyes from her. "You can't throw a snowball at a winter fairy and expect no retaliation," he laughed.

She bent down, keeping an eye on him as she scooped up a large one.

He twirled a finger and a giant snowball formed at his feet.

"No! You're cheating!" she cried with a laugh and started running away.

"You wanted a snowball fight," he laughed and started chasing her.

The ground trembled and a wall of snow suddenly blocked her. She veered right but another wall formed and another until she was in a three-sided box. Spinning around, she saw him running toward her. "Cheater! You can't trap me!" She threw a snowball at him that he turned into a bunch of harmless snowflakes. "Noooo!" she screamed and laughed, frantically throwing snowballs to stop his approach.

He laughed and slowed to a walk, turning the balls into snow powder as fast as she could throw them. "You can't win this one, sweetheart," he grinned, her laughter music to his heart.

She suddenly pulled off her glove and held out her hand, dust shimmering like she was ready to shoot it at him. She grinned proudly.

"Oh ho ho," he laughed. "Touché," he grinned and stopped in his tracks. "It seems we have a war." He crossed his arms over his chest, highly curious as to how she would outwit him, which he didn't doubt she would.

"It seems so," she smiled. "Surrender, Lord of Winter," she commanded.

"Or what?" he grinned, enjoying this game.

"Or I'm forced into taking drastic measures," she replied haughtily.

He looked up at the sky, pretending to contemplate.

She suddenly pulled off her cape, freeing her wings, and shot at him.

He was on his back with Clarion on top of him in a heartbeat.

He looked a bit startled, but she smiled down at him.

"Cheater! I can't fly!" he protested half-heartedly.

"And I can't build snow walls," she countered. Then her voice lowered. "I said surrender," she whispered and leaned down to brush her lips over his.

He kissed her hungrily but managed to pull her cape around her so she wouldn't get cold. "I think I'll always defy you if this is my punishment," he whispered between kisses.

She giggled against his lips.


Rosetta tore over to Tink and the rest of her friends. "I found him!" she practically screamed.

"Who?" Tink frowned.

"The winter fairy!" she screamed and covered her mouth with her hands. Then she started fluttering her muff in her face to fan her rosy cheeks. "Oh, he's positively gorgeous," she sighed dreamily.

"What's his name?" Fawn asked.

Rosetta blinked. "Oh. Oh, I don't remember," she frowned. "He walked up to me when I was fixing my hair." She clasped her hands together under her chin. "His voice is so deep and perfect. Oh, I wish I could have babies! I'd have a hundred of his babies!"

Fawn, Vidia, Tink and Iridessa looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"Laugh now, but you'll wish he was yours when y'all see him," Rosetta replied with her nose in the air.

"What does he do?" Tink asked, her laughter fading.

"Does it matter what he does?" Rosetta replied, completely not caring.

"You don't know, do you?" Vidia asked with a hand on her hip. "You fall in love with a winter fairy, whom you just met and don't know his name or talent? Yeah, this is a real love story," she snorted.

"Bust my bonnet, you're jealous," Rosetta gasped in shock.

"What?" Vidia replied dryly.

"Hey, where's Silvermist?" Fawn asked.

"I think she's with Sleet. He scares me," Iridessa answered with a shudder.


Silvermist flexed her hand as she walked on Sleet's arm through the Snowflake Forest a little ways from the party.

"Does it hurt, dewdrop?" he asked in concern, using his pet name for her because he admired her beautiful dewdrops that could create rainbows in the sunlight, and stopped to take her dainty hand in his, softly stroking up to her elbow. His eye searched hers.

Her eyes remained on their hands. "A bit."

"I think it was too soon for the cast to come off," he growled.

"The healer said it's fine, the muscles are just weak from disuse." She slowly pulled her hand away.

He stared at her for a moment. "Are you nervous of me?" he questioned with a furrowed brow.

"No..." she sighed and looked up into his eyes. "The Queen voiced concerns to me about you this morning, Sleet, and I don't know what to think."

His face became impassive. "The Queen and Lord must give their blessing before warm and winter fairies can be mates, mustn't they?" he demanded, eerily calm.

"No, but the Queen must for races to mix," she answered and looked up at him with big eyes.

He turned away with a huge sigh. "She does not favor me, or I her," he warned.

"Why? She is good and fair, Sleet. I don't understand. What has she ever done to you?"

Turning to meet her eyes, his hands fisted at his sides. "She damned me below all of you the moment she realized I'm an Alamur," he snarled.

Cocking her head, she walked up to him. "Then perhaps you should teach us about you."

"There is nothing romantic about being an Alamur," he growled.

She set a hand on his arm. "Stop. I'm not your enemy, I just want to understand. If you won't discuss yourself with her, then do it with me. Just for me to know."

He didn't move, his cold eye hard and unyielding.

"You don't want me to fear you, yet you keep yourself a mystery. I know nothing about your past. Sleet, I know you were born in the Alamur world and were raised by their ways. I know there is darkness in your past, but you are not like that now. Is it impossible that you changed? How were you born? Where are you from? What made you want to change?" He didn't move, and she tilted her head to study him. "I was born from a baby in Asia. No one knows that I speak Korean," she smiled to herself when she saw the surprise in his eyes. "I sometimes have trouble with our language and take things literally, so fairies write me off as a bit of a fluff head," she shrugged.

His brow furrowed. "You're not a fluff head! You are intelligent and a genius with water. You're the best water talent fairy," he scowled.

She giggled and reached up to touch his scruffy cheek. "You look so fierce, no wonder why everyone is afraid of you. Even your winter spies fear you."

"A dark reputation serves me well in my line of work," he replied tightly.

"It's a good thing it doesn't deter me," she smiled and wrapped her arms around him.

He sighed and his face softened as he wrapped his arms around her. "Don't hug me in front of the soldiers or they'll never take me seriously again."

She rested her cheek on his chest. "Tell me where you're from," she asked softly.

A sigh of anxiety escaped him. "Alamur are born from screams," he began quietly. "The more violent the scream from a human, the more violent the Alamur. I was fortunate because I wasn't born from a murder but a riot in the Middle East. I lived the Alamur way of life for thirty years, Silvermist. My hands did enough sugar shedding to shoot me up to the rank of Colonel in the Alamur army." He was silent for a moment, waiting for her horror. "I helped murder a queen so I could gain rank of General."

She didn't react but held him tighter. "What happened to her fairies?" she whispered, silent tears falling down her cheeks.

"They fade as soon as an Alamur takes the throne," he whispered and swallowed hard. "Bright Fairies cannot survive being ruled by such evil."

She took a shaky breath. "What made you want to change?"

He took her hand and led her to a boulder where she could sit. Then he knelt in the snow and held her eyes. "Years ago, I met a warm fairy. We fell in love. I didn't realize that my sugar would kill her, and she died the most horrible death," he explained sadly, grief still evident in his heart.

She stared at him in shock.

"Just a year later, I was part of the army that tried to attack the North Woods and Neverland. We captured Lord Milori when he traded himself for his men. I had never seen sacrifice like that, or soldiers who were willing to give their lives not for power but for their queen. I wanted a life like that. I wanted to experience selflessness and joy and friendship. I had a glimpse of those when I was in love, but I didn't fully understand them at the time."

She brushed at the tears on her face. "But why didn't the other Alamur want to change?"

"I think evil was so embedded in them that they couldn't. Many, many Alamur are born from laughs of murderers during murdering."

"So, there are more evil Alamur being born?" she sniffled in fear.

He looked down at their hands. "Yes," he answered softly. "But I'm in Lord Milori's spy army to protect the lands from more Alamur."

"But won't they find us again, right?"

He met her eyes. "They found us the first time because I led them to us," he answered in shame. "Alamurs can smell each other's sugar. I was a coward and tried to run from them. I felt a glimmer of hope in my heart and found the lands here. No Alamur can find it otherwise. I led Lord Milori to believe that I had been born in the North Woods, so he took me in as one of his winter fairies. I have not betrayed him since that war hundreds of years ago," he said softly, desperate for her to believe.

"The Queen said you betrayed him," she replied in confusion.

"And do you think they'd let me stay if they knew I was a coward and let the Alamur come?"

"Isn't it better than being a traitor? They believe you to be far worse than you are! If they have not exiled you for being a traitor, they will not for being scared!" she cried.

"Wouldn't they fear me getting scared again?"

She didn't have an answer for that. "How did you not smell Bernard here then?"

Holding her hands tight he answered, "Lord Milori knew that Alamur sugar was deadly, so I was transfused with Bright Fairy sugar after the war. Because of it, I can no longer smell Alamur sugar but can tolerate touching it. And Bernard probably had no idea I was an Alamur, there were so many of us. He probably came during the war and snuck in to be the queen's guard. He led the Alamur back here for the recent war."

She cupped his jaw and searched his eyes. "Are you hurt from having Bright Fairy sugar?" A tear ran down her cheek.

He caught it on her finger, wiping away her sorrow. "I adjusted long ago and am fine now. Don't cry. Are you afraid of me now?"

She shook her head. "I don't care what the Queen says. You have changed. And I love you," she whispered.

He pulled back slightly in surprise. And then tears gathered in his eyes. "Darling, I love you too," he whispered and then kissed her.

She was blushing when he broke the kiss.

"I know you deserve so much better than I, but I would do anything to protect you and see you happy. I loved you the first time we spoke, but I was afraid to love again and wanted to push you away. Sometimes I'm rough and unpleasant, but I love you. May I ask the Queen tomorrow for your hand?" he asked, his eye sparkling with happiness.

"That is the worst proposal," she said softly.

His face fell.

She slowly lifted his eye patch and looked into his eyes. "You must not hide when it's just us. I want you to ask me, not the Lord's Captain."

He swallowed hard with tears of happiness shimmering in his eyes. "Silvermist, may I ask the Queen to take you as my mate?" he asked in Korean.

Her face lit up as bright as the sun upon realizing he spoke her language and threw herself in his arm, crying tears of joy. "Yes!"

"We might be misfits, but we are not misfits together," he promised and held her in his arms. "I love you, my dewdrop."


Author's Note: I don't know about you, but Sleet is growing on me. He seems to keep his distance and be gruff to ensure it because he's afraid of being rejected by the fairies of Pixie Hollow; hence, perhaps he's more misunderstood than anything.