hi!! i finally updated lol

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Qibli inspected the letter in front of him. It lay innocently on the table, but to Qibli, it felt full of danger. The royal Ice Kingdom family wants me to serve one of their princes? No way! He knew very well that he could never ever trust a royal. As a person living in the ramshackle city of Scorpion, a royal was the exact opposite of him, and he regarded them with mistrust.

Never trust a royal, he reminded himself.

He ran his freckled hands through his soft, curly hair. He read the letter again. He didn't trust this, but it was so much money. It would help him get out of the awful city he lived in. It would help him get away from his family. 

Qibli itched to get away from the life he lived here. He could find a better city. Live a better, safer life. But the way to get there was to get money, and he barely had any. Thorn was raising him now, providing him with money, care, and food. He wasn't an adult yet, but he didn't want to rely so much on Thorn.

Qibli sighed and grabbed the letter in his hand. He had to accept the offer. Working as a servant was one thing, but living in Scorpion was another.

---- 

Winter shifted in his seat as the teacher droned on about the boring history of the Ice Kingdom. He already knew this. He was supposed to be learning about the recent war that had just passed, not the past, which was years and years ago.

He wished he was in science class already. Winter wanted to learn more about biology and scavengers, which were small dragons that inhabited the world alongside humans. There were a couple of species of them, and he wanted to find about more about them. Not sit in a boring class all day.

He sighed with annoyance as the teacher came around the desks and handed out a sheet of paper to each student. The prince grabbed a pencil, eyebrows furrowed, face shadowed with irritated boredom. Then suddenly, as if the Great Ice Spirits answered his prayers, his mother opened the door to the classroom and beckoned for Winter to leave.

The teacher scowled at Winter's abrupt dismissal, but hid it before Tundra could see his disrespect for the royals.

Exiting the classroom, he fell in step with his mother, who he would normally dread seeing, but now he felt relieved for her appearance. They walked in silence down the shiny hallways, the clicking of Tundra's high heels and the bones attached to her necklace echoed in the quiet icy hallways. Tundra walked fast. Winter had to stretch his legs further to keep up with her stride. 

The two walked up three grand staircases, through clean, shiny hallways decorated with mirrors and glittery ice statues. By the time they had stopped by the Queen's room, Winter was out of breath.

His mother knocked twice on the huge, grand door, stepping back a space. The knock echoed through the halls. He stood awkwardly behind his mother, awaiting his aunt, Queen Glacier's arrival at the door. Then, it swung open, and a polite face appeared. The Queen smiled at the two, and they returned the smile back with an additional bow each.

"Your Majesty," Tundra murmured, then straightened her posture from her bow, and held a completely formal, proper stance. Winter repeated the greeting to Glacier, and the queen nodded slightly, an admirable smile on her face as she regarded the prince.

Tundra cleared her throat. "My son, Prince Winter, is here to attend the meeting and arrival of the outlaw servant of the Sand Kingdom," she said formally. Confused, Winter glanced at his mother and Glacier, but neither responded to his confusion. Instead, Queen Glacier invited them inside her throne room, where a long glass table had been set up.

The tall windows brought in the cold light of the Ice Kingdom, illuminating the large room. Below their feet was a long fur rug, sitting from the throne to the entrance doors. Glacier sat at the head of the table, and beckoned Tundra and Winter to sit by her, but not next to her. Shortly after, Winter's older cousin Crystal sat next to Glacier. Winter's father, Narwhal sat on Glacier's other side. Next to Winter, his brother Hailstorm, took a seat. 

After the group had exchanged polite conversation, a guard entered the room, calling for Glacier to escort the guests into the castle. The queen left, and soon after, she returned with the guests. They weren't as proper or well-dressed as the royals, and he remembered that they were outlaws.

He narrowed his eyes. Why did they have to come here and stink up the palace? Why did Glacier agree to this? He watched as a young teen his age, sat down next to him. Winter shifted away in his seat, expecting him to smell dirty or something, but he didn't. Then Winter realized that the outlaw wasn't even dirty in any way, and he was just assuming things. The tanned boy looked at him for a moment with strikingly dark eyes. Winter caught a glimpse of freckles painted all over his cheeks, and a scar bridging the outlaws' nose.

Now the boy was looking at his accomplice, a woman with a couple freckles, but not nearly as much as him. Glacier returned to her seat, addressing her guests with a nod. "Welcome to the Ice Kingdom," Queen Glacier announced, her voice echoing through the room, making her sound more commanding and magnificent than usual.

"Thank you for allowing us to come here, and your offer, Your Majesty," said the outlaw woman, nodding her head with respect. "Qibli and I appreciate this very much."

The freckled boy beside Winter nodded, and he assumed he was Qibli. He regarded him for a moment, studying his features. Brown skin, coated with freckles, dark eyes, and dark hair that looked soft and wavy. He wore a black tank top, a jacket on top, and an orange patterned bandana around his neck. He looked cold, judging by the unappropriate clothing and the blue tone to his lips. His body slightly shivered every now and then and he sunk ever-so-slightly into the warmth of his jacket.

Glacier swept a hand towards Qibli. "So, Qibli," she began. "How do you feel about our kingdom so far?" Before the outlaw could find an answer, she added, "After all, you will be staying here."

Ah, Winter realized. He's the servant.

Qibli paused for a moment to think. "Well, it certainly is beautiful. I could imagine living here," he said. "Um, will I always have this warmth bracelet?" He asked, holding up his arm to reveal the thick, heated bracelet on his wrist.

The bracelet was designed to keep people warm inside the Ice Kingdom. People who lived in had adapted to the cold weather more than any other human on the continent of Pyrrhia. But even they needed warmth bracelets, heating devices, and warm clothing all the time. To someone of the Sand Kingdom, their people had adapted the worst to cold conditions, practically unable to bear it. For Qibli, the bracelet would keep him alive while living in the Ice Kingdom.

"Yes," Glacier confirmed, which Qibli gave a sigh of relief to. "If you didn't wear anything warm, you would die of hypothermia here. So dress appropriately while you spend your days here."

Qibli nodded. "Will do, ma'am."

Glacier turned to Winter. "Prince Winter," she addressed, and Qibli looked over at him. "This is your servant we have hired for you. He has willingly agreed to these terms."

Winter met the boys gaze. "Nice to meet you," Qibli said, flashing a smile, extending a hand. Winter shook it. "You as well," he replied.

----

Qibli opened the door to his new room. It was small, but not too cramped. The bed looked comfortable, and there was a fluffy polar bear fur rug on the floor. He noticed a small heater sitting in the corner. He set his luggage down next to his nightstand, which held a drawer and a lamp. Qibli zipped open the suitcase, taking piles of clothes and assigned them a hanger in the closet. Once he was done, he sat down on his bed, unsure of what else to do, when a pale face appeared at his door. It was Winter.

"Hey," greeted Qibli. The prince didn't respond, and instead walked into Qibli's room, sitting down next to him on the plush bed.

"Have you unpacked everything?" The royal asked with a thick accent, but his mind seemed to be elsewhere, as he had a faraway expression on his face. Qibli nodded. Are all royals this weird and distant? 

"Then c'mon, I'll show you around the palace," Winter invited. "Your chores can wait. That's boring." He got up and walked to the door, Qibli following. He let himself smile at the prince. They toured the halls, and Winter showed him his bedroom. There were books and scrolls everywhere about scavengers, and little pictures of what he assumed was family and friends, covered his dresser. The room was very neat.

They left his bedroom and continued down the hallways. Winter brought Qibli to several grand rooms. One was the ballroom, one was the dining hall, and one was the throne room, which Qibli had already seen from earlier. They fell into casual conversation, awkwardness subsiding. The two boys returned to Qibli's new room, where Qibli collapsed on the bed, relishing in the warmth and comfort of the fur blankets. Winter joined him, but didn't lay down. Instead, he sat and looked around Qibli's room. 

"Do you have anything to do?" Winter asked. Qibli raised his head to look at him. 

"Huh?"

"Y'know, any activities? Books? Anything?" Winter explained. "It'll be boring for you here."

Qibli thought back to what he had brought in his suitcase. There weren't much things besides clothes and bags of snacks. Some pens, a stack of paper, his bongos, and a couple books. "I brought a couple things." He paused, then added, "aren't I supposed to be working?"

Winter shrugged. "Who cares? You're supposed to be my servant or something like that," he said. "I don't like using that word, but whatever," he muttered. "Anyways, I'll tell you what to do. But I don't have anything for you to do, and it's mean, so I'm letting you have no work."

Qibli's eyebrows were raised high. "Wow," he managed, then added, "thank you, Winter."

"No problem," Winter replied.

Qibli smiled. Maybe his time at the Ice Kingdom wouldn't be so bad.

And.. maybe not all royals aren't that bad either, he thought, his gaze resting on Winter.

----

Time passed, and the two became inseperable. Winter loved showing Qibli around the kingdom, proudly strutting around the snowy wonderland, his excitement growing when Qibli enjoyed it. They would often wrestle around in the snow, paint the gorgeous landscape onto canvas, dance to songs Qibli would play on bongos, and laugh the night away. 

Qibli had a smile like no other. Qibli had a personality like no other. He was smart, attractive, and oh so sweet. Winter loved seeing him smile. 

Winter wasn't sure exactly when he found himself falling for the boy, but he knew that his heart had chosen him sometime along the way.

----

One night, Qibli lay awake, wondering why he felt the way he did towards Winter. The boy wouldn't leave his mind. All he could think was, Winter, Winter, Winter, from his quiet demeanor, his soft voice, to his arms wrapped around Qibli, so wonderfully gentle and warm.

"Never trust a royal", he thought. It's funny how I never needed that advice. I should have told myself to "never fall for a royal" instead. 

He got up from his bed, hoping to distract his thoughts with a walk. When he stepped into the snow, he saw Winter already sitting out there. Flakes of snow powdered his jacket and covered his hair. He had been out here for a bit already. Qibli hesitated. Talking to Winter would definetly not soothe his thoughts. But the pull in his heart was strong. 

Before Qibli could make a decision, Winter turned, his soft gray-blue eyes meeting Qibli's. He looked distracted.

"Couldn't sleep?" The words left Qibli's mouth, but he didn't think much about them. Instead, his brain swarmed with admiring thoughts about Winter.

"Yeah," Winter replied, voice soft. "You too?"

"Yeah."

Silence passed between them. Winter beckoned him over to sit. Qibli obliged, pulling  his knees closer to his body. A shiver passed through him. It was cold. Winter wrapped an arm around his shoulder, gently pulling Qibli closer to him. He rested his head on Winter's shoulder.  The prince turned his head to him, eyes staring into each other. The moment felt tender and fragile, so perfect and comforting that he was scared to speak, afraid to ruin it.

"Your lips are blue," Winter pointed out. His breath formed clouds, billowing in the air. Qibli felt his heart stammer in his chest, wildly trying to steady itself after it skipped a beat. His breath felt caught and he might choke on it if he tried to speak.

"Are you just trying to find an excuse to kiss me?" Qibli said, barely a breath. It was supposed to be another dumb joke of his, but it didn't feel like one. He felt like he was drowning.

"Maybe." 

A sensation burned like fire in Qibli's stomach, eating him alive. It felt like fear, but he knew it wasn't. It was something else. It matched the desperation that clawed at heart until it ached. The smallest of smiles formed on Winter's lips, which weren't blue.

Winter was warm. Comforting.

His warm hand reached to graze Qibli's cheek, holding his jaw with soft fingers. Qibli swallowed, nervous yet excited. He surged forward like a drowning man and kissed Winter, delicate and desperate. Winter wrapped his arms around Qibli, holding them close. They seperated, still holding onto each other as if the other would disappear if they let go. Winter's eyes fluttered open and the two gazed at each other with such fondness that it made both of their hearts ache with admiration.