I

In Litherrian, there's a myth that is passed down from generation to generation. The old women say it all the time: be wary of the first lone stranger you see while you're alone during winter – he may well end up being your husband.

Two centuries ago, Litherrian had a neighboring kingdom called Helliaras. Helliaras was a great rival of Litherrian's, both in economy and in size. The competition was so fierce that Litherrian merchants would refuse to trade with Helliarans, and vice versa. Adventurers from both countries would take great pains to avoid the neighboring rival, risking dangerous deserts just to avoid the other nation. These extreme measures often resulted in disaster.

All this changed during the reign of King Victor of Litherrian.

During Victor's reign, the king of Helliaras had only one child: a daughter named Selena. Selena was a sickly girl with a frail and haunting sort of beauty. She had plenty of suitors, as could be expected from the princess whose husband would soon be king. Plus, she was beautiful and sweet.

But her father was adamant: she was going to marry no less than a prince. Since most of her suitors were Helliaran nobles, this greatly narrowed down her choices.

Finally, her father fell gravely ill and demanded that she choose someone – anyone – to marry. He no longer minded whether or not he be a prince. All he asked for was someone competent, and a quick marriage.

Selena ended up marrying King Victor by a strange twist of fate. The once-powerful nobles from what used to be Helliaras said that Selena was tricked into the marriage. Apparently, Victor had threatened to crush the Helliaran army if she refused him.

How they ended up marrying, it didn't matter. Once his father-in-law died, Victor annexed Helliaras. It wasn't long before Selena was pregnant.

On a cool autumn morning, Selena gave birth to her son, Serafin. She loved him dearly, but Victor couldn't have cared less. He continued to attempt to annex Litherrian's neighbors to no avail. He spent less than a month at home - the rest were spent in battlefields. Selena and her son would greet him when he came home from war, but only Selena was acknowledged.

In accordance to Victor's orders, Serafin was trained in the arts of war at a young age. Victor was cruel to his son and showed him even less mercy than he showed his soldiers. It tore Selena apart to see Serafin being treated so, but she kept silent about it. She knew that Victor wouldn't refrain from using violence to get her to agree to his plans. After all, their marriage wasn't one born of love. He married her to annex her homeland, and she married him to stop the bloodshed.

"Love you, Dad."

"Goodnight, Cassandra."

Cassandra watched her father leave the room. She brushed out her burgundy hair one final time before climbing into her bed and glancing at the stars in the sky.

Her father had told her that her mother now lived in the sky with the stars. The five year old smiled as her eyes scanned the empty field below the stars. Suddenly, something caught her eye. It was a figure, shivering in the cold snow. A gasp escaped her and she clambered out of her window. She landed on the soft snow and felt the biting cold nip her skin. Suddenly, she wished she had brought a jacket with her.

With a determined expression, she began to make her way to the figure. She wore nothing but her woolen nightgown and walked barefoot in the snow but she plowed onward to the freezing figure.

It was a boy, probably a little older than she was. He had dark hair and eyes the color of the midnight sky. His skin was pale from the cold, and a dog snuggled up to him, trying to keep him warm with its thick, furry coat.

"Are you all right?" Cassandra asked, worried.

He looked at her, shivering from the cold.

"Come on, let's go to my house – my dad will make some hot chocolate for you." She held out her hand to the figure.

He took it, and his hand felt like ice in her warm one. It didn't matter; she began to lead him back.

The inn her father owned was a good five hundred meters away from the spot where she found him. They were halfway there when the sound of hooves reached their ears. Cassandra listened hard: it sounded different from the coaches that so frequently alighted in front of their inn. This time…it seemed to be fifty horses or so running in unison. The boy listened too, eyes widening in fear.

"Hurry!" He urged.

She raised her eyebrow, but plodded on. The thick snow in the area was difficult to walk on, and it slowed the pair down.

"Stop! Hey, we commanded you to stop!"

The horses have stopped running. Instead, Cassandra looked back and saw uniformed men alighting from the horses and running towards them. They carried lanterns and swords. She froze in fear.

"Who are you?" Their leader barked.

"Run!" The stranger pushed her towards the inn and turned to the men. She stumbled a bit.

"Run as fast as you can! Don't look back!" He urged.

"What about you? You're cold!" She protested.

He smiled a little, and his dog barked at the approaching men. "Thank you." He whispered. "But you need to go! They'll be angry. Father won't like this, and he might punish you too. Go!"

Cassandra ran and ran towards the inn, even though it wasn't easy. Her father greeted her fifty meters from the inn – he was about to go look for her after finding her bed empty. She ran into his open arms, tears flowing down her cheeks freely.

"Daddy, daddy, they got him!" She sobbed.

"Shh… It's okay."

"No, it's not! He said he's going to be punished!"

Cassandra's father looked at the little boy being carried away by the guards. There was no doubt in his mind as to who little Cassandra had tried to help that night, and he only prayed to the gods that they wouldn't be found out.