Chapter 5: The Winter Prince Lies

The crystal strawberry sat in the center of the bed now, pulsing faintly with warmth and hidden meaning.

Sora stood at his window, his cloak wrapped tightly around his shoulders. He stared out at the winter night. Snow fell gently, but the wind was sharp and biting. The broken glass had been hastily repaired with vines, but they were brittle and easy to move.

 “It’s freezing out there…” he whispered, staring into the white, glowing sky.

“But I can’t stay in here.”

He glanced back at the door.

Still locked.

The vines his mother had used to trap him in his room had faded, but the enchantment remained. There was no way she’d let him leave through the halls.

He turned back to the window.

 “I escape through the window, hmm." he whispered to himself.

“But first…”

He looked down at the basket of strawberries one last time.

 “We eat.”

He sat on the windowsill, chewing slowly, savoring the sweetness in each bite. There was something calming about them—like a promise that Spring hadn’t completely left him. When the last berry was gone, he brushed his hands on his cloak and stood up.

The vines creaked as he pushed the window open wider. Cold air rushed in, stinging his cheeks.

 “This is a bad idea,” he muttered, “but staying here is worse.”

He climbed onto the ledge, carefully balancing his weight. But what he didn’t realize—

—was how high he was.

The wind roared louder than before. The tower was far taller than he’d imagined. His foot slipped on a patch of frost.

“Ah—!”

He tumbled forward into the open air.

Snowflakes rushed past him like stars. The ground seemed impossibly far. He screamed.

I’m going to die—!

But just before he hit the snow—

Strong arms caught him.

Warm.

Cold.

Steady.

Bridal-style.

The wind settled. The snow slowed.

Sora blinked, breathless, clutching fabric that felt like woven frost and moonlight.

He looked up—

And saw him.

Hyōga.

Expression unreadable.

Snow in his hair.

Eyes as sharp and pale as glaciers.

“You really are the dumbest fairy I’ve ever met,” Hyōga muttered, voice low.

“Falling out of a tower window… for what?”

Sora stared at him in stunned silence.

Their faces were close. Too close.

And Hyōga’s grip tightened just slightly.

“If you wanted me to carry you,” he whispered, “you could’ve just asked.”

The snow had barely stopped swirling when Hyōga dropped him.

Not gently.

Not cruelly either.

Just… like someone tossing aside something they weren’t supposed to care about.

Sora landed on his feet with a grunt, stumbling slightly.

“Ow—Hyōga! What was that for?!”

Hyōga turned his back immediately, brushing invisible snow off his cloak with cold precision.

“Tch. What a pathetic little thing.”

Sora froze. His breath caught in his throat.

“What…?”

“What is a weak, disgusting creature like you doing out here?”

“Throwing yourself from a tower window? How desperate can one spring fairy be?”

Every word was like an icicle to the chest.

Sora’s hands curled into fists.

Hyōga didn’t stop.

“You’re still the same,” he muttered. “Naïve. Loud. Fragile.”

“You really thought running away would solve anything? Idiot.”

Sora took a step back, his lips trembling—but he quickly swallowed the emotion rising in his chest.

“I didn’t ask you to save me,” he whispered.

Hyōga turned slightly, just enough for the moonlight to catch the edge of his pale face.

And then, without warning—

He turned and walked away.

The frost beneath his boots crackled with each step.

Sora stared after him, cheeks burning from humiliation—and something else he couldn’t name. The wind bit at his skin, but he didn’t care.

He started to follow.

“Wait!”

His feet crunched over the snow, chasing after the silhouette fading into the winter fog.

“Hyōga—!”

Suddenly, he slipped—again.

But before he could fall, Hyōga spun and caught him.

Again.

Sora’s hand landed on Hyōga’s chest, right over his heart.

It was racing.

Wild.

Unstable.

Sora blinked.

So did Hyōga.

Their eyes met.

For a moment—Hyōga didn’t move.

Then…

A bright, furious blush exploded across the prince’s face.

His ears turned pink. His neck followed.

“Y-You—!” he stammered, flustered.

Sora tilted his head innocently.

“Your heart is beating really fast.”

Hyōga’s eyes widened in panic.

“Shut up!”

He pushed Sora away gently but quickly, spinning on his heel and storming into the mist again.

“Don’t follow me! Idiot spring fairy!”

And then he was gone.

Just the sound of his boots echoing through the cold.

Sora stood alone in the snow again, lips parted in disbelief.

And then softly—

He smiled.

“He’s such a liar.”

To be continued

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