scarlet heart | exo

Warmth

Five months had passed since Xueyin's death. Her funeral had taken place, she had been buried, and the hundred-days of mourning had passed, after which the living were supposed to pick themselves up and continue with life.

Life went on, but for Xuefeng, time was still frozen in that fateful summer, even as autumn passed and winter descended, blanketing the entire Palace in white snow.

The quality of the tea that Xuefeng served everyday didn't change, but the Emperor noticed that she had lost her spirit, her spunk. Her movements had become practiced and mechanical, no longer did she give witty replies to his questions, and it was now Zhiyu who made the creative snacks that once brought smiles to everyone's faces.

Xuefeng was lost in grief.

Every night, when the sky turned dark, she was reminded of that night when she lost Xueyin. And fresh tears would flow once again.

It was one of those typical nights, when a knock on Xuefeng's door brought her out of her sobs. Quickly dashing the tears out of her eyes, she opened the door and peered out.

The figure was a stark contrast against the bleak white landscape.

"What, you're just gonna stand there? Let me freeze in this cold?"

"Zitao?"

She blinked the last of her tears away from her eyes, and stepped aside. Somewhere in her mind, she knew that it wasn't proper to let a prince into her quarters so late at night, but it wasn't as if she could chase Zitao away, was it?

He took off his long, black coat and placed it on a stool near the door. She stood there, staring at him.

"Shouldn't you be at home?" She was hesitant in her words, trying to keep the quiver out of her voice.

"Too many concubines. My head hurts from their wailing. You know what's worse than seeing a girl cry? Seeing a girl fake her tears."

Xuefeng stiffened, and her lips parted in a retort, but Zitao didn't seem to have noticed.  She debated whether it had been a jab at her or he was genuinely talking about his concubines, and decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Zitao only shook his head wryly.   "They can't even act, for goodness sake. They could have just shed tears anyway, instead of wailing to the high heavens about how much the people in the blizzard up north must be suffering right now. And they still have the audacity to throw themselves at me—"

Seeing Xuefeng's blank, questioning expression, Zitao frowned. "Didn't you hear? There's been a huge blizzard in the northern regions for a few days already." He chuckled, jesting, "You're so woefully under-informed."

Xuefeng couldn't help the small giggle that escaped her lips. She recalled now, Zhiyu had remarked to her just this morning about the blizzards and Emperor's new decree that the expenses of the Palace had to be cut down to save money for disaster relief. She had been living her days like a zombie, and she almost never registered anything anyone told her.

"That's right, laugh. You look prettier." She didn't realise what he said at first, but when she finally thought about it, her heart skipped a beat.

"Why did you come here?" She tried to change the subject.

"Because there's something about a girl's genuine concern and her shedding tears over someone she truly loves... Even after so long."

He eyed her carefully. Her hair, normally piled neatly on her head, was down, letting the light from the fireplace catch the shine of the obsidian locks so brilliantly that it shown. Her skin was pale, milky, and her thin nightdress had a slightly high collar, leading his eyes up to her jaw, her cheek and her eyes.

Those eyes. Beautiful, onyx orbs that looked at him. A little red rimmed, but gorgeous nonetheless. She turned slightly towards the fire, and he could see they embers reflected in them. Glowing, glinting, shining.

"It's been five months." He continued, tearing his eyes away from her beauty.

"And eleven days, I know," she added wryly.

"You have to let it go. She won't be happy in Heaven knowing that you are still so sad. She would've wanted you to lead a happy life, you know."

He'd had enough.

Literally, he had enough.

He drew closer to her, and since she didn't back away, took her hand in his. He brought her closer, and one of his hands came up, behind her neck, and she looked up.

Anxiety?

Worry?

Love?

She didn't know.

All she knew was, he leaned forward—

And pressed his lips to hers.

His arms went around her but his hand never left hers, squeezing gently, to remind her that he was there, he would be there, and he would always be there. Letting his hand untangle from his, he moved her even closer, pressed flushed against him, hands softly cupping her face.

They only broke away when the need to breathe became too strong.

He let his lips ghost over her forehead tenderly, and he felt her eyes slide close, burying her head in the crook of his neck.

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Written by FirelightShadow, edited by CrystallineSnow :)