The Legends of Kartas | Ongoing

28. UNSOLICITED ALTERCATION

To Snow, life was a game of minds, a checkered field crowded with pieces that moved and fostered tidal waves of repercussions. One misstep could end or start a life, so Snow kept her pieces close in her hands for as long as she remembered. But someone was threatening the balance and order on her playing field, and she didn't plan to just sit back and watch.

Two was a very peculiar addition to the game, a wild card that had no loyalty or moral, and Snow didn't like it one bit. There was no telling what Two could do. For all anyone knew, she could've grabbed hands with General Faelaux and started planning an insurrection right under Jungkook's nose. Honestly, that would be easier. What Snow soon learned was that Two was an assassin. Not any assassin, though: an assassin of the Dark Lotus.

The idea itself was laughable: allow an assassin of the Dark Lotus—of the organization that had sights on eliminating the royal bloodline—into the castle and ask for their aid. Jungkook was far from a fool—Snow, unlike most, acknowledged his intelligence—but his decision to bring Two into the castle was beyond her. And he wanted to let Two walk around freely until Snow advised him to form a blood contract. Imagining Two walking around Jungkook without any barrier to ensure his life sent shudders down Snow's spine. Fortunately, she succeeded in tipping the scales back into place before anything went amiss. That was until Jungkook suddenly released the seals on Two's elements.

It was the last straw. There was no turning back. Jungkook was officially compromised, so Snow had to deal with Two herself.

Her first encounter with Two wasn't memorable since Jungkook interrupted the conversation midway, but it was enough to tell Snow she was a problem. And her thoughts were proven ever so true when Jungkook informed her Two didn't have a name.

When Snow had heard it, she was bewildered. Jungkook was quick to believe Two, but Snow wasn't that naive. So on the same day, she had requested her close friend and confidant Nickelyn to investigate Two's upbringing and history. As Nickelyn busied herself with Two's past, Snow had observed Two's present actions during her first days in the castle. Admittedly, Two didn't make any attempts to attack anyone. All she did was stand on the balcony of the study Jungkook had cleared, watching the castle grounds like a hawk studying its terrain.

To anyone else, there was nothing wrong with standing on the balcony for hours upon hours—unusual, yes, but many people were. Snow, however, traced Two's line of sight and saw her watching Jungkook on the training grounds with Nickelyn, in the gardens by himself, and even in the library during Snow's lesson from a table on the second floor. There was no doubt about it; Two was planning something. And Snow was going to figure out what.

Based on what Jungkook had said about her, Two was powerful. Apparently, she had saved him the day the demon almost killed them in the alleys, but she had also nearly strangled him to death on the first night he ran into her. Taking her on with brute strength, then, was futile. So Snow resolved to outmatch Two with wits, expose her ill intentions with whatever means necessary, even if that meant watching her for hours on the balcony.

Snow idled around the gardens and training grounds, ignoring the clashes of swords around her as she fixed her eyes on Two from daybreak to noon when Two disappeared into her room. Snow expected to find Two in her usual spot at the library, but strangely, her chair was empty.

Only when Jungkook asked, "Is something the matter," did Snow snap out of her daze. She didn't even notice his arrival.

"Nothing," she replied, opening the history book in front of her. "Let's start with the Conquests of Light."

Two did not show her face anywhere the following day, so Snow visited her, knocking twice on her door to no response. After a long moment of silence, Snow reluctantly left, her nails digging into her palms as she muttered an oath under her breath to win this game Two was playing.