Snow's gaze went to Chow Chow's open palm, then up to his smiling face. "I know what this is. You're pulling another prank on me, aren't you? You're going to spin me around and then say that we're elsewhere, right?"

He snorted. "No, but you're giving me ideas." He broke out in a charming grin, one that made his eyes crinkle at the ends.

Still, she regarded him with suspicion. "Promise it's not a prank?"

"I promise, Princess."

"Okay," she said, cautiously taking his hand. "But if this is another prank, you'd better watch out."

Only I am allowed to pull pranks, she thought. Poor Erden, he's always the recipient of my jokes, and he's too prim and proper to pull a fast one on me!

"Where are we going? And how are we getting there?" she said, pretending to close her eyes.

"You'll see. No peeking! I can still see you looking at me. And hold on tight, I don't want to lose you midway," he said.

"What?" She tightened her hold on his hand and screwed her eyes shut.

"Here goes," he said, and she felt a great force pulling on her whole body. Was she floating? Was she falling? She could not tell. The only thing she was sure of, was the reassuring sensation of his fingers gently squeezing her hand.

Is it too late for me to back out of this? Stealing a glance out of one eye, she saw her dim surroundings moving around her in a blur, and gradually becoming brighter. The motion was making her queasy, so she put a hand over her eyes.

"Okay, we're here," she heard him say.

Somewhere behind her, she could hear the sound of burbling water and birds chirping. She thought she heard a bee buzzing nearby. At this time of night? she wondered, her nose picking up a fresh, floral fragrance in the air.

"You can open your eyes now."

Snow lowered her hand from her eyes, and gasped at the sight of the most wondrous garden she had ever seen, filled with myriads of roses – in manicured bushes, climbing up brick walls, and hanging in graceful waves from wooden trellises.

Is this for real? Oh, the colors! she marveled. There were velvety roses in a seductive deep red, pom-pom-like flowers in vibrant orange and yellow; and sweet bunches of pink roses in every shade, from the lightest blush to the most intense fuchsia.

Other flowers bloomed in the garden too; tucked in between the roses, Snow spotted upright purple foxgloves, generous clusters of blue hydrangeas, and alliums bobbing their violet ball-like heads in the afternoon sun.

"Do you like it?" Chow Chow asked.

"Of course, I do! Where are we?" she said.

"In another part of the world, Princess," he said, beaming shyly at her.

"This garden is gorgeous!" she exclaimed, looking behind her at a tiered water fountain – the source of the sound of splashing water – framed by archways laden with white and pink roses. She turned back to him, and saw him kneeling by a rose hedge, looking like he was searching for something. After a moment, he stood up.

"Are these still your favorite?" Chow Chow said, holding a perfectly shaped rose between his fingers, in the shade of pink that she loved most.

"Yes, thank you." Snow took the offered rose, and noticed that he had snapped off the thorns beforehand. She brought the bloom to her nose and inhaled its heady fragrance. The delicate petals tickled her lips. "You remember."

"How can I forget," he said softly. "Walk with me?"

The two of them strolled down the garden path, stopping occasionally to admire the butterflies flitting from flower to flower. The lush creepers growing up the archways provided shade from the bright sun, and his white hair shimmered like spun silk in the light streaming through the leaves.

"So! Tell me, how did he woo you?" he said, walking with his hands behind his back.

"Woo?" she said, caught off guard by his question.

"Court. Seduce. Pique your interest," he said, glancing coyly at her and kicking his foot out as he walked. "How did he pursue you?"

"He? Oh! You meant Erden. No, he didn't pursue me," she replied, laughing nervously while twirling her rose.

"You did the pursuing?"

"I did not-"

Did I? Come to think of it, I've always sought Erden out. Did he ever come looking for me in the Palace?

"It's very bold of you to make such assumptions," she said hurriedly, giving him her haughtiest glare. Did the day suddenly get warmer? "You make me sound like I'm shameless and forward. I'm not that kind of girl."

"Oh?" His long lashes cast fine shadows under his eyes as he looked at her, while a grin threatened to break out on his lips. "If memory serves me right, you pulled me down by my sleeve – taking me completely by surprise, I might add – and kissed me. Is that not being very forward, Princess? Am I wrong to make such assumptions about you?"

Snow slapped a hand over her burning cheek. Goddess Almighty, she thought, realizing that that was exactly what she did in the Heavenly Realm. Oh, the shame! Such shameful, inappropriate behavior! she chastised herself.

"Nothing wrong with being shameless and forward if it gets you what you want." Smirking, he asked, "Was that your first kiss?"

She tried to form an appropriate response. "How dare you, I'm not. . ."

It was, and it was such a memorable first kiss, her traitorous brain averred. She buried her face in her hands – which was a mistake because the scent of the rose she was holding reminded her of him – and her mind started recalling his luscious mouth on hers.

No! Don't go there! Stop thinking, Snow! – His glistening lips had turned red and looked all the more inviting after they had kissed – No, girl! Don't think about his lips!

She wondered whether she could dunk her head in the fountain to halt her train of thought. It was a mistake; I was being rash when I kissed him. I shouldn't have done that, she told herself.

She heard him chuckle. "Alright, Princess, I'll stop teasing you."

Lowering her hands from her face, she saw that she was standing by herself on the garden path. "Where are you?" she said.

"Can you find me?"

Snow followed the sound of his silvery voice past a couple more verdant archways. She finally saw him peeking out from behind a cascading wave of ivory white roses. "Good camouflage, no?" he said, looking pleased with himself.

"Indeed," she said. He blended in with the blooms; if she wasn't looking hard enough, she might have missed him, Snow observed. "Were you playing hide-and-seek?"

"There's a place in the shade over here," he said, beckoning for her to come over. "You're looking a bit flushed. It's a hot day."

He led her to a wooden bench shaded by an arched canopy covered in round, pink roses the size of her fist. Noticing her eyes flicking from the bench – that was just long enough for two – to him, he sighed, then plopped himself on the ground. He leaned his back against one side of the bench and smoothed out his pristine white robes around him.

"You don't have to do that," she said, though she was grateful for his gallant gesture. After his teasing earlier, she didn't know how she could sit next to him without thinking about her outrageous conduct in the Heavenly realm.

She seated herself on the other side of the bench with her hands folded demurely in her lap. I'm a princess, and a married woman, she told herself. Well behaved, pure in thought and. . . She looked down, and saw that her knee was almost touching his shoulder. For some unknown reason, she felt sorely tempted to reach out and wrap his silky long hair around her fingers.

"Are you comfortable, Princess?" he asked, turning to look up at her.

"Yes. What about you?" she said, her voice squeaky to her ears.

"I'm alright," he said, resting his forearm on a raised knee. "I can sit anywhere, so long as I'm with you."

She harrumphed, and tried unsuccessfully to hide her smile behind the rose in her hand. "You're such a flirt," she said.

"So," he started to say.

Oh no, not more prying questions, she thought. She drew in a breath, readying herself to retort back or bolt from the bench.

"You can turn into a fox. What else can you do?"

"What?"

"List all the things that you can do, or all the strange, unexplainable things you've encountered."

"Why?"

"Your mother was a powerful fox. Have I told you that before?" His eyes, which remained black like obsidian in the sunlight, held her gaze.

"Uh. . . I remember you saying she could summon lightning, and that she could fly?"

"That's right. Do you remember I said that every fox has different powers?"

"Yes."

"Good. Let's try to establish your possible powers, strengths and weaknesses. List them all out for me."

Gods, you sound like a tutor, Snow thought crossly. All you need is a scholar's hat and a paper fan to smack the table with, she thought, recalling how Master Li used to do that whenever he caught her daydreaming or doodling instead of practicing her calligraphy.

"Firstly, how did we travel to this garden? Was that a special power?" she asked.

"Yes."

"I've done that before. I had this dream when I was running through a forest, then I turned into a bird and flew to the Palace," she said.

"Really! What happened?"

"I saw Erden in his room."

"Oh?" He cocked an eyebrow.

"Yes, I actually said, 'I'm here!' and it seemed like he heard me. I wanted to stay longer, but I felt something pulling at me. Then I woke up back in my body at the dwarves' cottage. Erden told me later on that he had a vision of the cottage. That's how he found me," she said.

"Ah," Chow Chow said, stroking his chin. "What else?"

She tapped the rose she was holding against her mouth. "You know there was something that I just couldn't understand or explain since childhood."

"What is it?"

"Do you remember there was an outbreak in the Palace, and all the other princesses fell sick?"

"Yes. I was with you then."

"The Empress said something about that. She said she had been trying to kill me for some time, but I was impervious to her poison."

She saw his dark brows rising. "So, you're impervious to poison. . . I should have known that. But yes, she had been trying to covertly murder you since you were a baby. The scorpions and snakes she sent were good target practice," he said, his hand throwing an imaginary dagger.

Ah, so that explains all those holes in my chambers, she thought. Her nanny had always accused her of using hairpins or some other sharp object to poke holes in the wooden floor near the door and windows. She had vehemently denied doing so, but as a child prone to breaking things or ruining the furniture, she was always the prime suspect.

No wonder you would skulk away guiltily whenever Nanny scolded me! she thought, looking at him out of the corner of her eye while he gave her an unapologetic smile.

"Anything else?" he asked.

I'll let this one slide, she thought, before returning to his question. What else can I do?

"Mmm, I can drink everyone under the table?" she said, unsure whether it was strange and important enough for him.

His finger paused over his chin and he blinked rapidly. "You don't get drunk?"

"I've never gotten drunk. And I've bested people who could really hold their liquor. Even Erden says he can't outdrink me."

At that, Chow Chow smacked his own forehead. Snow pressed her lips together to suppress a giggle. You can't blame me, you were the one who brought out the plum wine, though I admit, I forced you to drink the whole pot with me!

"And I thought something was wrong with me," he groaned behind his hand. "Right," he said, counting on his fingers, and Snow could see the red mark left on his forehead.

"You can travel through the Hidden Realm; you can implant visions in people's minds – not a common thing, I might add; you're impervious to most poisons, which means you're immune to the effects of alcohol," he concluded.

"That's a lot, right?"

"Erm, it's a fair number. Anything else?"

She racked her brains for a while. "I know when the Empress looked into my eyes, I saw her memories." The image of hunters slaying forest animals for their skins still haunted Snow in her nightmares.

"Okay, that's her power." He inclined his head to look at her. "You've not told me how you defeated her."

"I didn't defeat her!"

"That's not what I've heard. Everyone in the Heavenly Realm was talking about how a half-breed foxling defeated an eight-tailed fox spirit. That doesn't happen every day," he said. Snow thought she sensed a hint of pride in his tone.

"I didn't do anything. All I did was say to her that I wished the world could see who she really was. And somehow, she could not transform back into her human form," she said, avoiding his gaze. She dug her thumbnail into the stem of the rose.

It suddenly felt chilly in the shade despite the warm sun. Even the birds seemed to have paused in mid-song. Where had the butterflies gone?

"You said those words?" he asked.

"Yes. She said something about my words having no power over her. But then. . . I know I did not. . . that it was the palace guards who. . . killed her. But what I said, led to her demise," Snow said haltingly, her voice growing smaller and smaller.

Chow Chow placed a hand on the bench, the tips of his elegant fingers almost touching her silk robe. "You have a kind heart, Snow. For as long as I've known you, you've always been soft-hearted," he said gently.

She stared at the whitish crescents on the bed of his fingernails as he said, "Whatever happened to the Empress, is not your fault. If you knew all that she had done, you would feel no pity for her. You might even say that she deserved the end she received." His hand curl into a fist.

"I think it's time for us to go back," he said, getting to his feet and solemnly holding a hand out to her.

She nodded silently as she stood up, grateful that he was not going to question her any further. She slipped her hand in his, then took a final, parting glance around the garden. "Will we come back here?"

He smiled, and the pain that was in his eyes earlier melted away. "We can come back whenever you like. Though there are many other places I'd like to show you."

"That sounds lovely. I've always wanted to see other parts of the world."

Chow Chow gave her a long look, and for the first time since they sheltered in the cave, she could not read the expression on his face. "Do you. . . want to learn how to harness your powers?" he finally said.

"Learn? How?"

"I can teach you."

Author's notes:

Did you like the garden? I was inspired by the Mottisfont Abbey rose garden when writing this chapter (I wish I could visit myself). Here's more images, specifically of benches surrounded by roses:

Did you like the discussion about Snow's powers here?

Do you think Snow would agree to Chow Chow teaching her? Find out in next week's chapter titled 'Remember Who You Are'.