Winter had passed its darkest days, but outside, the snow still covered everything as far as the eye could reach in a thick, impassable layer. Which meant everything now took place within the confines of the Manor walls, even Furrow Brows' punishments.

  For a while, Katharina had felt that she had gotten better at flying under the radar, masking herself in a light aura that oozed of unimportance. However, that new woman, Sabuh, seemed to be able to look right past it and would always, in the subtlest of ways, let Furrow Brows know whenever Katharina was not standing straight enough, pouring properly, or otherwise underperforming. On Sabuh's part, it was a great tactic as now Furrow Brow didn't just like her, he adored the observant and obedient sweet talker. Katharina, on the other hand, was not a big fan, though she couldn't really fault her for finding a way to survive in this place.

  Apparently, it seemed so for now, and Katharina had once again been banished from the class. And now found herself running about the manor, instead of learning the cryptic ways of Furrow Brow.

  The trip around the indoors of the manor was, as expected, much shorter per lap than the usual run around the entire grounds.

  However, the number of stairs Katharina found herself running up now made for a challenge in itself.

  Her run took her through many of the usual hallways that she would walk to get to and from lessons, but it also took her through many of the finer interconnected rooms, where the brand would make her neatly open and close each set of French doors as she passed through, overall, this made for much more of an interval exercise than the full on marathon she had gotten so used to.

  The first fine room she entered was a neatly arranged drawing room with light furniture and flowy white lace curtains, letting the shadows of the snow outside play on the flowery wallpaper. It reminded her of her first time through the manor, where everything had been too dark to see; these were probably some of the rooms she had passed through on her way to the stables.

  The second room was similar in elegance but completely different in aesthetic. Here, a heavy desk was the centerpiece, and thick curtains made the already dim winter light seem almost as if dusk was already upon them.

  The rooms were cold as well. Apart from cleaning, they hadn't been used by anyone since the fall, and thus they had been left unheated. With each breath Katharina took, she could feel the sting of the cold air in her nostrils, and a white cloud would form with every exhale.

  Unsurprisingly, the first thing she noticed when stepping into the third room was the sudden change in temperature, warm and cozy.

  The second thing she noticed, however, was not at all something she had expected to see on her run.

  On what looked to be a rustic damask sofa woven in shifting green tones lay a person in slumber. For not even a split second was Katharina unsure of whom this person was, as his long blond hair flowed over the armrest, catching the tender light from the windows.

  She made her way through the room as quietly as possible, so as not to disturb the sleeping lion. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she felt a little voice begging that he would be gone by the second time she made her way around the manor, and a smaller one to know how his aura warped the space around him even in sleep.

  But, of course, the prince was still there when she came round the second time. However, now he had somehow manifested a book and a platter of snacks that sat beside him on a small table, Katharina was quite sure hadn't been there last time. He was leisurely flipping through pages, not paying any mind to her as she huffing and puffing from all the stairs hurried to the other end of the room.

  Each time she had made her way around the manor, new things seemed to appear by the Prince's side. The third time, three girls were occupying the other sofa across from him, and they were giggling and enjoying the snacks, seemingly just functioning as companions, though the Prince also did not pay them any mind, had Madam R?fna sent them? Or had he summoned them himself? Katharina was sure that no one was bold enough to join 'his highness' of their own accord.

  The fourth time, Sabuh had appeared and sat smugly on the sofa with the prince, smiling softly anytime his eyes came near her face. He was comfortable resting his head in her lap, still flipping pages, not even minding any expression she might make.

  The three others were now sipping tea.

  Katharina was utterly perplexed by the sight of the prince so casually resting in the Sabuh's lap as though she were no more than an attached cushion of the sofa. But Katharina did not dwell on it, as she was not about to once again be roped into something that would bring her into conversation-shot of the prince.

  On every pass, something new seemed to have appeared, and the situation got only odder, to the point where Katharina almost thought this was some elaborate prank on the prince's side to get some reaction out of her. But the continued indifference to it all on his part left her wondering if maybe he was the one on the receiving end of a prank, just pretending like he didn't care?

  The seventh time she entered the room, the prince was suddenly gone from the sofa. For a moment, a sense of relief stirred in Katharina, but it was quickly squashed by the sight of him leaning against the French doors on the opposite side of the room, completely blocking her way.

  Katharina froze as she felt every pair of eyes turn to stare at her. And the most intense stare of them all came from these crystal blue eyes, which cut through the room and deep into her soul.

  "Why always in such a hurry?"

  Katharina was about to answer, 'Well, I am supposed to run, your highness,' but her tongue got caught on the fact that she no longer felt the command of the brand for her to punish herself with endless running.

  Instead, she was surprised to feel a sense of curiosity taking over her body, accompanied by a desire to uncover something unknown. But these were not her own feelings; these were the curiosities and desires of whoever had made the brand stop and change its mind.

  And as his eyes bore into her, Katharina somehow knew intuitively, only someone far above her and everyone else at the manor in rank could change the flow of the brand like that, someone like him.

  He stared intently at her, still awaiting her answer.

  "I don't know, perhaps I-e want to go somewhere?" Katharina was thankful for her own discipline; she had gotten rather good at fending off the brand, allowing her to speak more freely, but she still added a "Your highness." At the end, just to be safe.

  There was a momentary glimmer in his eyes. Katharina could feel his musings tugging at her brand, but she stood firm, not about to approach a lion.

  "You wish to go somewhere? Well, do you mind that somewhere being here for a moment?"

  Everyone else in the room stared at how politely he was talking to her, asking a mere slave if she would like to stay. But Katharina knew better. That wasn't a question at all; this man before her so truly expected everyone to agree that he could afford to pose his orders like questions, because who would dare say 'no'.

  Katharina surely wouldn't dare.

  "If his highness wishes it." She bowed politely, while regretting not having done more to find a different path through the manor.

  As soon as she looked back up, the brand harshly dragged her over to the sofa, where she sat stiffly, nestled between the tea-sipping wallflowers who both gave way, as though Katharina was infected with the plague and shouldn't be touched.

  The prince, too, made his way back to his original seat. A wave of his hand, and the Sabuh who had been his headrest moved to the end, leaving the seat right across from Katharina open for him. For a split second, Katharina swore Sabuh shot her the dirtiest of glances, but now she sat demure and polite, minding her own business.

  As the prince sat across from her, Katharina couldn't help but feel her skin crawl as he blatantly studied her. No one in the room dared break the silence; all the observing eyes merely shifted slowly from him to her and back.

  "Drink."

  He suddenly pointed toward the tea kettle with an almost lazy flick of his fingers, a sinister smile tugging at his lips. The brand seized her spine at once, forcing Katharina to lean forward and pour herself a cup.

  She lifted the fine porcelain with both hands, painfully aware that shattering a cup like this would cost her dearly. As she took the first sip, her nostrils were filled with the warm and delicious scent of spices brought from far away. The one good thing that had come from these encounters with the prince was certainly the food and drinks she got to enjoy, even if for just a short while.

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  "Did they have tea like this in your Φ?∞Ω????"

  Katharina involuntarily spat the sip right back in her cup at the sudden shift in tone, moving from polite orders to soft intrigue.

  "Yes-e, your highness." She answered without thinking, but regretted immediately that she had inadvertently given up information about where she came from.

  "I see." The sinister look was slowly spreading to his eyes, taking over his entire face. "So you drank tea a lot in your Φ?∞Ω????"

  Something was hiding in the question, something he would gain from her answering, but Katharina wasn't exactly sure what she was losing in this exchange, just that she was, in fact, losing.

  Katharina lowered her gaze, hoping the polished floorboards might swallow her whole, so she wouldn't have to answer. The room felt unbearably warm now, as though his laser-focused gaze was heating the air.

  She felt a soft nudge of encouragement from an elbow poking her side. It was the girl sitting beside her who was visibly even more uncomfortable in the situation, and now egging Katharina on, as though it was Katharina's obligation to ease the tension.

  "Some-e-times I drink tea, your highness." The brand didn't allow her to lie completely, but she kept her answer as vague as possible.

  Every drop of sinister malice on the prince's face was immediately replaced by a bright curiosity, as though he had discovered exactly what he was hoping for.

  Then it dawned on her exactly what it was she had admitted. By her implying that she used to drink tea like this, and not just one but 'sometimes', she was also implying that she came from a background with the means to acquire such fine luxuries.

  It looked as though the prince was about to dig deeper, but before he could pose his next question, the door suddenly sprang up and let a cold gust of icy air in.

  "There you are," Master Ravnsund talked so bluntly to the prince that Katharina half-doubted who was higher in rank. "The snowfall does not seem to be letting up. It is either snowed in here, or ride for the capital now. Which do you prefer?"

  The prince didn't answer; he merely got up from the sofa, leaving them all behind without a second glance. As he passed the doorway, he paused for a moment. Katharina wondered if he was going to ask one last question, but nothing more was said, and the doors were closed.

  "Taking an active interest, are we?" Asbj?rn chuckled, a teasing undercurrent carrying his words as Leopold caught up. "Is it the prospect of joining my business, or are your eyes still on that girl?"

  Leopold didn't answer; his friend already knew the truth.

  "Well, you must let me know if you uncover something interesting about her."

  Leopold's thoughts lingered on the girl, how such a small sip of tea could make her foreign mind stir. It was mesmerising even if he couldn't understand it. For every little drop of her former self she let slip, he wanted to see a thousand more.

  Of all the little things he had learned about her, he wanted to share none of them. Besides, there was no reason to tattle on the girl when she so adamantly kept her mouth shut.

  The cold came creeping in not long after Master Ravnsund had fetched the prince from the room. And the other wallflowers were quick to start clearing the table. Katharina still sat in confusion of what the prince's questions and reactions were going to mean for her; would it matter? Or was she merely a distraction he enjoyed and soon forgot?

  Sabuh rose smoothly from her place, her gentle smile intact, but when she leaned in just enough for only Katharina to hear, the sweetness evaporated.

  "Next time," she whispered, sharp like an iron thread drawn tight, "why don't you just keep running and let me tend to my master?"

  Katharina wanted to roll her eyes, but she stayed still, not letting Sabuh have the satisfaction of rousing a reaction from her.

  "If that is-e what his highness wants." Katharina turned to leave before Sabuh could answer, and on her way out, she looked out into the thickening snow.

  Outside, the figures of the prince and Master Ravnsund were already becoming indistinct silhouettes swallowed by thickening snow. Within seconds, they vanished into white, and the courtyard returned to its usual, desolate stillness.

  Though Katharina was hopeful, she was not naive enough to be surprised that, after one long snow-filled month, both Master Ravnsund and his highness came riding into the courtyard a little past noon on the first sunny day in a week.

  Katharina, along with everyone else who did not satisfy the dance teacher's measure of poise, had been sent out to shovel snow, though she had a sneaking suspicion it was just their inattentive teacher's way of having to do less teaching.

  However, now that the weather was shifting and it seemed spring might be on the horizon, Katharina didn't actually mind being out in the cold for a little while. And for most of the morning, her otherwise desolate winter mood had been uplifted to a somewhat bearable state of 'okay'-ness. Until now, that was.

  She watched as a pair of stable boys ran to retrieve the horses while Master Ravnsund and the Prince, leisurely got off their horses and made their way to the front door through the newly cleared yard.

  They made it all the way up the stairs, but instead of stepping through with Master Ravnsund, the Prince simply remained at the top, turning around to watch the hard-working people in the yard.

  There was no way Katharina had forgotten the oddities of his last visit, but she wasn't entirely sure why his presence and peculiar actions were pissing her off so much. Maybe it was the entitlement of it all, the fact that he strolled around the manor so freely observing them like a child watching ants, seemingly keeping his insatiable boredom at bay. Or maybe it was the fact that somewhere beneath it all, she sensed he had an odd interest in her, not quite obsessive but certainly not healthy. Of course, Kathairna had no way of confirming this suspicion, other than the fact that he always seemed to appear where she was, or was it she that appeared where he was?

  All these thoughts and theories floating about her head had made her stop in her tracks, and now she felt the familiar stab of the brand telling her to get a move on.

  Katharina kept shoveling, and the prince just stood there observing.

  Nothing unexpected happened, which in itself was rather unexpected, but soon enough end was in sight, as most of the yard had been cleared, and Katharina knew she would be getting out of his sight.

  As she began on the first few square meters, Katharina suddenly felt a prickling in the air. Like when you enter a warm room after having just been in the biting cold. She stared down at the snow before her, which seemed to be shrinking away ever so slowly. She looked up to see other confused faces realizing the same odd phenomena that filled the yard.

  Then it hit them.

  Like a shockwave, a warm wall of glowing aura shot out across the yard, shimmering brighter than the sunlit snow.

  The heat of the wave completely melted any snow it came in contact with, and within seconds, the yard was cleared.

  Everyone turned to see the origin of this magical solution to their work, and at the top of the stairs stood the ever aloof prince, looking almost bored at his own display.

  Baffled at his indifference, Katharina tapped the soppy ground with her foot, looking for all the hard work they had done, which had now melted away, erased from existence, completely pointless.

  Around her, every other wallflower stood equally stunned, many unsure if they should continue working or return indoors. But the snow was gone, so there was no more work.

  For a moment, no one moved.

  The courtyard steamed softly in the pale sunlight, the snow melting so quickly it released a faint earthy smell, like spring whispering through the cracks of winter.

  Katharina dared to raise her head and look in the prince's direction, and exactly as she predicted, she met his waiting eyes that were already resting on her.

  A tug at his lips pulled his otherwise flawless indifference into a smile, as though he had heard her annoyed thoughts.

  Then he spoke in a low voice, but the words traveled to Katahiran as though transmitted directly to her.

  "Join me for a walk?"

  Katharina wanted to say no, go back to shoveling snow, but instead she felt how the brand had succumbed to whatever this annoyingly insistent prince wanted.

  Immediately, she went down into her mind's view and found her little spring.

  But her attempt at fighting the prince's will was to no avail; before she could even open her eyes again, she felt her feet moving toward the grand stairs. It was frustrating to be back in a position where she could not fight against the power controlling her, but if she could learn to fight the brand, she could learn to fight his power.

  Before she could ascend the stairs, her feet turned, steering her toward the rose garden. The prince casually joined her by her side, falling into a slow walk beside her, matching her step.

  The snow didn't have time to crunch under his boots as the heat emanating from him melted it before he could ever put his foot down.

  "You 木??ナ?∞??? me."

  Katharina had no idea what he was saying to her, but she was already in too deep now to start resisting, so for now she obediently played along without much thought in her mind.

  "I'm sorry, your highness." She said, "I-e don't understand."

  A warm chuckle made his aura vibrate. Katharina could quite literally feel his amusement at her ignorance.

  "What I am saying is, you are odd, different, ψ?ナ?χ??? one might say." He paused for a moment and plucked a small branch from a rosebush they were walking by. "And I like that. I want to see what you can be."

  He turned to her and held out the branch. Katharina was unsure if she was supposed to take it, and while she hesitated, playful, glowing strands of aura sprang from his palm and entered the branch at the broken end.

  It was as though the dry winter branch came to life in his hands, and literally fueled by magic, Katharina witnessed how the branch grew a bud. But before it could become a flower, the prince but off the flow of aura.

  Without hesitation, he handed her the budding branch. Katharina, on the other hand, was still rather apprehensive and now stood with what Madam R?fna would describe as a foul expression, staring down at this improbable twig in her hand.

  "I shall take it back once you have made it bloom."

  She looked up at the prince and his cryptic command, but he was already making his way along the path, leaving her with no explanation.

  She squeezed the twig in her palms, feeling the rose thorns dig into her skin. Part of her wanted to snap it in half and fling it into the nearest snowbank, pretend the whole exchange had never happened.

  But the brand burned faintly at the thought, a quiet reminder that whatever he asked of her somehow tangled itself into the rules that governed her life now.

  She tugged the branch into the sleeve of her overcoat and allowed her feet to catch up with the prince.

  His eyes dropped to look at the small trickle that had appeared on Katharina's hand; it was leaving a subtle trail of red drops behind them. Then he turned away, already letting his attention drift back toward the manor, and started walking back.

  "I will look forward to seeing you again." His hand shot up, and a glimmer of light danced in the air, reaching Katharina's palm and erasing any hint that thorns had breached skin. "I hope it won't be too long, ."