Orchidia was the last town she had departed from, and now, it was the first place she found herself returning to. During the time she vanished, Snowflake had lost touch with almost everything; the world, her friends and her guild. She felt guilty leaving without a trace, not even a word to her guild mates. She was probably undeserving of the master position of the guild, but for now, she didn’t want it—she didn’t want anything else, other than to collect the pieces and find herself once again. But, what was it that attracted her to this mundane little town?

Whatever sort of business that the young woman had chanced upon there were to be completely incidental, like many of the other eventful things that persisted to trail her uneventful appearance. 2 years flew by within a blink of an eye and so many things occurred, she could hardly keep track. First off, her body was no longer a host to a demon. A part of her was in dismal that the demon that lingered within her was gone. It wasn’t dear to her—not the least, but the demon was with her through everything that happened, despite how it may have been against its will. Nonetheless, having it gone; it was probably for the best, for herself. Her trusted companion and the blade gifted to her was gone. Snowflake couldn’t keep Drago, she couldn’t be responsible of someone else as well when she could barely look after herself. The dragon respected her decisions and regretfully, they had to bid farewell over the cliffs and mountains. For now, the whereabouts of her previous companion was unknown, and maybe, just maybe, fate might bring them together again.

And, the breakup.

Out of all the things, it was one that affected her the most and broke her character. The poised, calm and collected persona of herself was tainted, though not completely. She was still the Snowflake she knew, but much stronger. Those were the things she thought about as she edged through the dense flow of people that littered the streets of Orchidia. The snow fallen yesterday crunched underneath her wedged boots, the air frozen lace on her skin, delicate and cold, like winter waves on sallow sand. The sky was washed with grey, watery light illuminating thin patches to brilliance. In some moments, she gazes down to her boots over the frozen sidewalk, perfect concrete slabs, flat and square, and in others transfixed to the interplay of cloud and sun above.

Despite the years that passed, Orchidia was the same as ever; the roads were still the same, the buildings patched with ice and thaw. Wintry trees stand as ballet dancers poised to show the world their grace, strength showing in how they remain so still in the seasonal gusts. She noticed these things as she swept her gaze over her surroundings. Her icy blue eyes hidden behind the hood of her cloak and her hands fixed inside the pockets, she trudged through the snow. It was slippery underneath her, so much that she’d have to assert some strength in her legs so as not to lose balance. She saw a glimpse of pink within the corner of her eyes just across herself, and her mind would wander off immediately. A short gasp escaped her lips as her legs slipped beneath her, her eyes spreading wide from the sheer of shock. Everything was in slow-motion, until her bum came into contact with the hard ground floor.

Crack.

The frothy haired woman laid still on the patch of snow for a brief moment—it was as if she was stricken by the fact that she slipped over the icy concrete floor and fell flat. The snow was cold against her back, and while she laid, she would glance upwards into the endless sky, silently cursing under her breath for embarrassing herself among the swirls and eddies of townsfolk. Idly, she reached a hand over her buttocks, making sure her bones were still intact, but then she wasn’t that apprehensive about receiving any injuries, for she did have a bit of meat in the area. Jokes aside, after she was quickly cured of the pain, she staggered back on her feet. ”Ow,” she murmured, her breath steaming before her pale lips like a banner in the cold air.

The pink-haired woman that she’d noticed a moment ago paced towards her. Up close, she could finally witness how she looked like; the pink hair flowing behind her reminded the slayer of the beautiful cherry blossoms she’d see in the spring, and her turquoise hues looked as if she was staring into an ocean. She was stunning—no doubt—as the snowy beauty instinctively reached for the hand that was extended towards her and pulled her back up to her feet. As she allowed herself into the grasp of another, the other maiden would witness the white Blue Pegasus insignia engraved on her hand. ”Thanks,” whispered the female, her voice being nothing but a silver of a husky contralto. Puffs of snow lingered on her cloak and her messy blob of silver hair, whilst she dusted them off with her hand in an attempt to tidy herself.

Her lips parted to say something subsequent to the situation albeit, she was not permitted of the words to pass her lips and was forced to shut her mouth closed the instant she was bombarded with a series of questions by the other female. She blinked once, twice to recollect what was spoken and her mind would slowly register the words into her mind as if it was being printed out onto a paper by a typewriter. ”Yes, I’m alright. Thank you for your concern.” Her speech was polite yet stern, her humourless eyes gazing right through hers as if the chasm of life had drained out of her irises. It was like staring at the dead eyes of a corpse, lifeless. The emotions had left the beautiful eyes, and what replaced was a blank, empty pit of obscureness. Her eyebrows were raised ever so slightly, confused as to why she was being asked such intrusive questions, but she cared no further.

”I’m Snowflake. You may call me Snow.”

The beaut lifted her crown slightly, meeting the gaze of sapphire, fused with colours of diversity and it’d reveal her visage from behind the hood to be more visible in the sunlight; her silver strands brushing against her pale cheeks and her protruding rose lips. ”And yours?”

The loud neigh of horses behind awoke her from her reverie with a jolt, the thundering of hooves split the silence as a lone stallion galloped through the bleak landscape. The landscape before her didn’t seem merciless at first glance; in truth, the kingdom had a fairly comforting scenery, if not for the sense of restlessness here and there over the town.

”Faye,” she repeated, cerulean pools crossing over the gaze of sky blue as she registered the name into her brain along with a list of few others that she’d met recently. As much as she was a perfectionist, Snowflake was still a human with flaws, who tends to forget things easily and one of her faults is to actually listen to the names whenever she asks for one—though not this time. ”Faye and Hana,” she shifts her gaze back and forth between the girl and the doll.

It wasn’t as fascinating as it used to be when she was a child upon seeing a doll talk, considering how advanced the magic world has become these days, where non-living beings and dragons speak, and where animals could take the form of a human. Albeit, it was rather strange for a girl who was most likely around the same age as hers to be walking around with a wooden doll, though without any intentions of her to be judgemental. Perhaps it held a sentimental meaning to her.

Her brows archedelightfullighted surprise when she was informed of Faye and her doll being also a member of Blue Pegasus. ”Ah, I suppose this must be fate for us to meet then,” spoke the female, nodding in approval. Though the icy beauty may not be particularly idealistic nor had any strong convictions, she did believe in such things at destiny, fortune and faith. ”A long quest, huh?” she took a moment to ponder the thought. Perhaps if she had been on one, it might have stopped her from feeling miserable. It seemed as if the tragic event had caused her to stray away from her purpose of life, and her character for she was no longer the strong and resilient Snowflake like she had known before.  

”I was just travelling,” she lied. Part of it was a lie, the rest was just explanatory and she doubted Faye would be any curious to know about the details. ”I, once, used to be a master of the guild, though no longer—obviously. Perhaps you might’ve seen me before.” She enjoyed the conversation they were having; it was a simple introductory, but something about Faye told her that she could be a good comrade of hers. ”Anyhow, how’re you enjoying being a Pegasus member so far?”