"More, Princess, more. And don't bend your legs, that's cheating," Chow Chow said above her.

"I – I can't!" Snow wailed.

"You're almost there, your fingers are about to touch your toes. Here, let me help you." Standing behind her, he pressed down on her shoulder blades with two fingers.

"Aah!" she wailed even louder.

"This is easy, Princess. Wait till you have to do splits," he said with a sadistic chuckle.

"Why are you making me do all this?" she said in a strained voice, feeling the stretch in her hamstrings. It was only the third night of her training, but she was very close to giving up already. I regret agreeing to this, I regret everything! she thought.

"This is only the beginning, Princess, we're just getting warmed up. I haven't made you touch your forehead to your knees yet."

"What! That's impossible!"

"I can do it, I'm sure you can too," he said cheerily.

Over the next two weeks, he made her run at full tilt, correcting her running technique as he ran alongside her; walk across narrow tree trunks laid across the ground, and balance on one leg on a tree stump like a crane. When she complained of inhumane treatment, he said with barely concealed glee, "I haven't made you carry buckets of water uphill yet. Or balance teacups on your head and hands."

There were moments when she felt like she understood why there were so many stories of kungfu apprentices turning against their masters. Like he promised, her training was intensive.

"Harder, harder, faster!" he'd yell while she practiced punching and kicking, or when she's on all fours from exhaustion, he'd challenge her: "Is this all you've got?"

The physical training was one thing; the shapeshifting lessons were an entirely different matter altogether.

"Concentrate, Princess. Think of your fox form. Imagine yourself as a fox," he told her with his fingers pointed at his temples and such an uncharacteristically straight face that she couldn't tell whether he was joking or serious with her.

"I don't need to learn this," she balked, but Chow Chow was having none of it.

"You don't want to suddenly transform in front of everybody, right? How are you going to remain in your human form if you don't know what triggers you to shapeshift?"

But no matter how hard she tried she tried to imagine herself as a fox with white fur and a fluffy tail, she just couldn't do it. They went back to the fallen log where she had shapeshifted, and he made her run and jump over the log again and again, but to no avail.

"You're not trying hard enough!" he said with his arms crossed.

"I don't want to do this anymore!" Snow cried, sitting on the ground in protest. "You're too hard on me!"

"You cannot quit, Princess. You have to practice as if it's a life-and-death situation," he admonished. "Now, get up."

"No! I can't! I won't! You're a slave driver. I'm not a soldier, don't act like a drill sergeant."

He flinched at her words, and his stern demeanor wavered when he saw her glaring up at him, her cheeks flushed from all the running. They stared at each other for a while, before she turned away from him with her arms wrapped around her knees. "This has got to stop," she seethed.

She heard him exhale, and his silk robes rustling as he sat next to her on the grass. "There's a reason I push you so hard," he said.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'm just not meeting your expectations."

"It's not that. I pushed you hard, because I push myself hard." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his long fingers pinching at a blade of grass in the space between them.

"When I first started out, I was the skinniest, tiniest kid in my cohort. When we had to run, I was always the last, because I was the slowest. And during sparring, I'd get knocked down by everyone else because they were so much bigger and stronger than me. I'd go to bed every night with a new bruise or scrape somewhere. Sometimes, I'd hurt so badly that I couldn't sleep."

Her anger completely forgotten, Snow turned to face him, while he kept his gaze on the poor blade of grass he was worrying with his fingers.

With a humorless chuckle, he said, "It got to a point that they threatened to kick me out, because I was failing at everything."

"What?" she said. Kick him out of what? Where? The Heavenly Realm?

"Yes. That was the turning point for me. But you know what I did?" He raised his head to look at her. In his dark eyes, she saw the same flicker of steel she had seen the night he rescued her, only hungrier.

"When everyone else was resting or asleep, I'd get up and run some more. If we had to run ten miles that day, I'll run an extra five after that. I trained like a fiend every day, and practiced every waking moment. I wanted to be better than everyone else, so that nobody could knock down this small, skinny boy ever again."

"But you're not small anymore. You're tall and capable now – you can fight off so many soldiers at one go."

She saw the corners of his mouth twitch upwards in a smile, before he lowered his gaze in feigned humility.

"I'm not tall."

"Yes, you are," she said, frowning.

"Not when everyone else is at least a seven-footer. Most other male celestial beings are usually a head taller than me."

"If you're not tall, then I must be puny by celestial standards," she blurted, causing him to laugh.

"Height and reach do matter to some extent, but don't ever let that stop you," he said with a confident smirk. "Come. Let's take a break. I'll take you somewhere."

"But I didn't do anything today."

"It's alright. I admit, I have been too hard on you. Let me make it up to you, okay?" 

He held out his hand, and she gladly put her hand in his. If there was one thing she looked forward to every night, it was the prospect of travelling through the Hidden Realm to other parts of the world.

Just the other night, they landed in a lush rainforest the moment it started drizzling. "Err, why are we here?" she'd asked.

"There were supposed to be parrots and pretty birds but I guess we came at the wrong time," he said, sounding bashful for once.

Thankfully, he found a gigantic heart-shaped leaf that was large enough to cover the both of them. For a while, they stood shoulder to shoulder, listening to the chorus of croaking frogs, chattering monkeys and the rain pitter-pattering through the canopy. When the rain turned into a downpour, he whisked her back to the Hidden Realm – leaving their makeshift umbrella to drop to the forest floor.

On yet another night, Snow found herself on an island in the middle of a calm ocean, and Chow Chow eagerly kicking off his boots. Together, they ambled barefoot along a stretch of powdery white sand, while the skies turned pink and orange.

As the sun descended into the golden, glimmering sea, she breathed in the briny air, and dearly wished that Erden was there beside her. Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a splash of seawater on her back, and she turned to see Chow Chow scampering away with a playful twinkle in his eyes. Naturally, she chased him across the shallow waves.

That night, she wondered where else could he bring her to, that could rival the beautiful sunset she witnessed with him. Her only hope was that he wouldn't make her walk to get there – her legs already ached from all the running and jumping.

By now, she was accustomed to the sensation of the ground shifting beneath her feet when they moved through the Hidden Realm. As always, his hand was warm and reassuring on hers.

"Keep your eyes closed," she heard him say. An unrelenting roar soon filled her ears and she felt a cool spray of water on her face and hands.

"You can look now!" he shouted.

When she did as he said, she was stunned by the spectacular cyan-blue waterfalls cascading from great heights into the pool below her.

"Wow!" she exclaimed, and they were very quickly enveloped by mists churned up by the rushing water. Over the thunderous roar, Snow heard him laugh like he was happy to get soaked. She turned to look at him and giggled herself when she saw droplets of water on his lashes and dewy face. Awestruck, they stood on a rock by the waterfall for a long while, until it was time for them to leave.

After they slipped back to the Earthly Realm, she tried to catch up on whatever sleep she could, in a deep, dreamless state. But then, he roused her at yet another ungodly hour to let him out of the yurt.

Princess, he said as he gently nudged her shoulder with his snout.

"I give you. . . permission to shapeshift. . . to open the door. Just let me sleep, alright?" she mumbled groggily before pulling her blanket over her head.

Okay, Princess. I'll be leaving now, Chow Chow said, padding towards the yurt entrance. There was a burst of bluish light, and he stood in the middle of her yurt, suddenly feeling that the roof was much lower than before.

He pressed a hand on the side of his ribs. It was not completely healed yet, but it felt much better compared to the night he arrived on Earth.

He looked around her home with fresh eyes, taking in the colors and personal effects he had not noticed when he was in his dog form. Her home was compact, probably only big enough for two persons and a child, typical for a nomadic human tribe. It was a far cry from the opulence of her childhood home, but it was endearing – like her.

Silently, he treaded across the carpet and made his way towards the door. When he placed his hand on the handle, he turned to gaze at Snow, slumbering peacefully on her bed with her colorful, quilted blanket wrapped around her. He felt a stirring in his heart, followed immediately by a feeling of guilt.

The metal handle felt cold beneath his fingers. Geriel's warning sprang to mind. "Humans have an idea of a life or a future that we can never give to them."

He knew it was dangerous to wish for things he could never have. His princess had chosen someone else, and established a human life here on Earth, as she should. He was only meant to watch over her, and protect her from harm – not have her to himself. At most, he could be a friend, or a companion, but nothing more than that.

Initially, he thought he would be contented with just being by her side and teaching her, to make up for the years of her life that he missed. But with every night he spent with her, his own desires arose.

He cherished every smile from her, every time her cheeks turned crimson with embarrassment, and even the furrowing of her brows when she got annoyed by his teasing. He yearned for her touch, and to feel loved again.

Is it wrong for me to dream of a life together with you? Or wonder what life would have been like if you were mine?

Could I have given you all that you wanted? He rested his head against the wooden door.

If she were a mere human, he could wait fifty years or so for her. But if she lived a fox spirit's lifespan – he drew in a breath – he would be separated from her for centuries.

He scratched his thumbnail against the door handle as he ruminated. There was only so many times he could ask the Qilin or even the Azure Dragon for help. The only other way he could visit Snow, was to get down on one knee before the Heavenly Mother's gilded throne, and beg to be granted passage to the Earthly Realm.

Knowing Her Majesty though, such pleas come at a price. Would he be willing to do what was asked of him? Would he be able to? That was something he would have to deal with later.

With an exhale, Chow Chow turned the handle and stepped back. At the same time, he willed himself to return to his dog form. After ensuring that the transformation was complete, he pushed past the open door, and pulled it shut with his teeth.

Three more weeks with you, he thought to himself, before he loped towards the sheep pen to start his day.

Author's note: 

Did you like all the places that they went to? Special thanks to ScribbleYourThoughts for suggesting the waterfall location! I hope you liked it!

What did you think of Chow Chow's POV in this chapter? 

The Heavenly Mother, or Xiwangmu which translates to Queen Mother of the West, is one of the most ancient and powerful goddesses in Chinese mythology. She's said to be married to the Jade Emperor, who is considered the ruler of heaven. We'll hear more about her later on.

Next week, we return to Erden's POV in the chapter titled The Prince from the North.