Can it be? Is that my mother? Snow stared at the woman who looked so much like her, yet possessed a wondrous, otherworldly beauty that no human on Earth could match. For a second, Snow thought her mother's eyes were growing wide upon seeing her own daughter in the flesh, but then she spun away. "Pan, over here! I've found him!"

Oh, how could I forget? It's just a memory. Snow bit her lip, her heart hammering in her chest. She tried to gently awaken Chow Chow, who was like dead weight in her arms, when a small but sturdy woman with a fiery mane appeared beside her mother.

"Good gods, Aoko, I can't believe you've found him," Pan said, staring agog at the black dog on the other side of the bars.

To Snow, the two were an odd couple – one wore dark robes and fitted trousers like a spy who lurked in the shadows; and the other dressed in flowing robes the color of unblemished snow. With a silver floral hairpin studded with sapphires in her ebony tresses, her mother looked like a celestial being made of ice, a snowdrop on a frosted lake.

"Quick, let's open the door." Aoko tested the cell door, which did not budge.

Pan pulled two long needles from her forearm guard, and bent one in the middle before kneeling to pick at the lock. "He's in bad shape. I hope he won't turn aggressive," she muttered, glancing nervously at the large dog.

"He won't."

Aoko stood, and Snow gaped at her gently curved belly in amazement. Heavens above. My mother was pregnant with me when she came to save Chow Chow. 

With her jaw set, Pan worked at the keyhole, the fireball beside her throwing light and shadows acrossher round face. A faint click sounded from the door lock, followed by another. "Almost there."

A dog barked from its cage. Snow followed Aoko's gaze as she looked warily to the side. Through the bars of the neighboring cells, she spied a wooden door at the end of the corridor.

"Someone's coming," Aoko whispered.

"What? Now?" Over the dogs' yelps, men's voices carried through the door. "Crap!" Pan scrambled to hide, but before she could move away, the door swung open, and a pair of burly men stomped straight towards them.

Shit! Snow nearly said aloud. She watched with horror as the men entered, dragging a dog in between them. She was about to shout for her mother and Pan to flee, but turned to find that they had vanished into thin air.

Huh? They were just here moments ago, where did they go? Even the fireball had disappeared with them.

In the corridor, the barking grew louder when the men dumped the visibly injured dog in the cell next to Snow's. They cursed at the other dogs in a foreign tongue and rattled the cages before picking two. In the light of the men's lantern, Snow saw the wild-eyed occupants smashing themselves against the bars to escape. The remaining canines continued howling long after the men had left.

Oh Gods, where are they taking them? Snow dreaded to think of the fate that awaited the poor dogs. She didn't realize she was gripping Chow Chow tightly until he rasped for breath by her neck. I'm sorry, she thought, as she relaxed her hold on him. She brushed his fair hair out of his eyes, which remained closed, like he was asleep.

A movement made her raise her head. The two women suddenly reappeared, as if a cloak that had rendered them invisible had fallen away.

Pan blew out her cheeks. "That was close. I nearly got stepped on."

"What are they going to do with those dogs?" 

"I heard they use the little ones as bait in the fighting pit."

Aoko swept her gaze over the cages, before turning back to Chow Chow's cell. Her lips were pressed in a thin line. "Stay focused on the mission."

Pan quickly resumed her effort of unlocking the door. There was a click, then another, and with a slight jiggle of her picking tools, a final click. She put her hand on a bar, ready to open the door, and looked up at Aoko. "No change in plan?"

"No change." Snow's mother tucked her hands inside her wide sleeves.

Pan patted the tools hanging from her belt. "Let's go."

Aoko entered the cell first, stepping slowly to the side. "Easy, Zhao Zhao. We're not here to hurt you." The black dog remained motionless, though its side continued to rise and fall. She took another step, and Pan followed closely, making herself as inconspicuous as possible.

It did not stir, and for a second, Snow thought they could get Chow Chow out safely. But when Pan shut the door behind them, it suddenly got up.

With blazing eyes, it barked ferociously at the intruders, its fangs brilliantly white against dark, bristling fur. Snow could almost feel the dog's hot breath against her cheek; like the time the Empress, in her fox demon form, grinned at her with a mouth full of sharp teeth. She froze alongside Pan, who, despite her best efforts to stay calm, looked ready to bolt out of the cell.

"H-he's very aggressive," Pan said, cold sweat beading on her forehead.

"Have courage, they can smell fear." Aoko drew long strips of white silk from her sleeves, and slowly wrapped them around her knuckles. Chow Chow continued growling, the rumbling making Snow's hair stand on end. Blood dripped from a gash on its head.

"We're here to help you, Zhao Zhao," Aoko said, her melodious voice comforting like the low notes of a bamboo flute. "Please, allow us to free–"

It sprang towards Pan.

She leapt out of the way of snapping jaws in a nick of time. Chow Chow went after her, a black beast chasing after a shadow. "Ah! Aoko!"

Silk bolts shot through the air. Like snakes made of gossamer, they raveled themselves around the dog's limbs and it crashed to the floor with its paws bound. Aoko pulled the fabric taut. "Now!"

Without wasting another moment, Pan jumped onto Chow Chow's back. It twisted its head around to get at her, but thankfully, its snout was tied shut. "Hold him still!" Pan wiggled a flat metal tool under its collar.

"Sorry, Zhao Zhao, we have no choice," Aoko said. It struggled under the weight of the duo – one pressing on its head and the other sitting on its back.

With her free hand, Pan removed a small circular saw from her belt. She pressed the blade against the collar and it whirred to life, sending a shower of sparks from the back of the dog's neck.

Chow Chow became frenzied at the keening whines and rising smoke. It raged and bucked to free itself from the silken bonds, nearly throwing Pan off, but she held on, teeth gritted in determination. "Almost. . . there."

Finally, the rotating blade cut clean through the thick metal, and the collar fell away with a thunk. Pan stumbled off the dog's back and stood beside Aoko, her breaths coming out in ragged gasps. They watched a strangely subdued Chow Chow stare at the collar.

"What happens now?" Pan said, echoing Snow's exact thoughts.

Grey mist rose from the dog's body, engulfing it like a shroud. Through the smoke, a transformation was taking place – its spine curved, paws turned to hands, and hindquarters lengthened to become legs. When the mist cleared, a young man garbed in tattered black robes laid on the floor, with his wrists and ankles bound by silk.

"Zhao Zhao." Aoko removed the bindings and helped him up. Blood streaked the side of his face from under his dull, white hair. A bruise ringed his pale throat, where the collar had been.

"Who. . . What are you doing?" he asked hoarsely.

"What does it look like?" Pan gesticulated with her tools in front of his face. "We're here to rescue you!"

"Pan!"

"He tried to bite me," she retorted with a pout.

"I know, but he was not himself." Aoko turned back to Chow Chow, who was feeling the canines in his mouth with the tip of his tongue. A slow smile graced her lips. "I'm Aoko. The Heavenly Mother sent us to find and rescue you. I'm sorry it took so long. Can you walk?"

With the women's help, he stood and took tentative steps. Snow watched them make their way towards the cell door, when the Chow Chow in her arms stirred. "Princess?"

"You're awake." Snow never imagined that she would be so happy to see the spark of life in his eyes.

He blinked up at her, brows furrowing with concern when he beheld her face. "You've been crying?" His cool fingertips brushed away the droplet from her chin.

"I, uh–" She wiped her cheeks and cleared her throat. His eyes darted around, as if he just realized how close he was to her, and he slowly sat up. "So this was how my mother found you?" she said, trying to break the awkwardness as he inched a respectable distance away from her.

He nodded, studying the cell surroundings before meeting her gaze. "Now you know. Shall we follow them?"

They found the trio beneath the window. The dogs, perhaps sensing that one of their own was making an escape, were whimpering and pawing at their cages.

"I'll go first and pull up Aoko, then you. Give me a leg-up." Pan bounded off Chow Chow's hands and gripped the window edge with ease. A pinkish light flashed bright, and in her place was a cat-like animal with tawny fur, white pointy ears, and a long ringed tail.

Oh, she's a red panda! Snow watched Pan scrabble up the wall. Her elation evaporated when the dogs' heart-rending cries reached a crescendo. Are they going to leave the dogs behind? But I guess they have no choice. There's no way they can rescue all of them.

"Come on!" Pan held her hands out to Aoko, opening and closing her fingers impatiently. Snow's mother took one last glance around the dungeon before turning to leave. Just as Chow Chow readied to help her up, she paused.

"I can't leave them behind, Pan."

"There are too many of them, we can't pull them all through the window," Pan protested.

"What's behind the door?" Aoko asked Chow Chow.

"Aoko!"

"A long corridor. . . A fighting pit on the right. There is a door on the left that goes outside."

Her mother returned to the window, blue eyes shimmering with hope. "I know it's not part of the mission, but we've got to try. Help us open the door from the other side."

Pan let out a sharp yowl of frustration. She lookedready to argue back, but then her shoulders slumped. "I knew this would happen."

"Hurry." Aoko bent to pick up a discarded metal rod from a corner, and struck at the lock of the nearest cage.

"Wait for me, keep it quiet! You! Don't just stand there, help her!" With another flash of pink light, Pan scampered away.

"Now you know where your stubbornness comes from?" Chow Chow said beside Snow with a small smirk. Normally, she would have been annoyed by his teasing, but this time, she didn't mind so much. She bumped her shoulder into his, causing him to chuckle. "It's going to get exciting soon," he said with a cryptic smile.

His younger, black-clad self had found a rusty hammer, and he worked alongside Aoko to break the locks in a cacophony of barks and clanging. For some, freedom had come too late. To Snow's dismay, they lay unmoving despite the opened doors, but most sprang into the duo's arms. Mangy dogs of all colors and sizes, some with missing tails or ears, gathered near the wooden door, eager to get out.

"I think that's all of them," Chow Chow said, when a howl sounded from one of the cells.

The dog that just came in! How are they going to get it out without Pan? Snow thought in alarm. Unlike the cages that were padlocked, the cells required a key.

"We have to wait for Pan," Chow Chow said.

"No, we can't. It might be too late. Stand back." From Aoko's sleeves, twin bolts of silk unfurled and wrapped themselves around the bars of the door. She pulled hard, and the whole iron door fell off its hinges and onto the floor with a deafening clang. "Oops, that wasn't quiet at all."

Around them, the yips of excitement turned to barking and the larger dogs started snarling at the door. Some of the smaller ones cowered behind Chow Chow and Aoko. Oh no, is trouble coming? 

The door burst open. Standing in the doorway, was a towering, enraged man.

Author's Note:

What do you think of Operation Save Chow Chow thus far?

What do you think of Snow's mother? And Pan? Thank you MoYun_ZJ for coining such a beautiful phrase describing Aoko as a snowdrop on a frosted lake!

Aoko is a Japanese name that means blue child. I chose a Japanese name for Snow's mother because the nine-tail-fox myth is told across Japan, China and Korea, and known by different names: kitsune, hulijing, and gumiho. From my research, I found that the kitsune is said to possess many powers but I didn't find similar stories from the Chinese and Korean myths. Hence, to be true to the source material, I decided to have Snow's mother from the Eastern Isles. 

Pan is just short for panda because I'm really terrible with names 😂 Anyway I like the name Pan and I love red pandas ❤️

Alright, we're ramping up the action next chapter! See you soon!