The winter afternoon sunlight streamed through the windows and into the private royal sitting area. A fire crackled softly in the hearth.

Atheline sat comfortably on one of the couches. A report rested open in his lap, fully finished. A cross from him, Lilith was reviewing hers for the third time.

He stared at his report, hurriedly rereading it for the second time before eventually closing it.

"I think we need a little rest," he calmly said, " we have another meeting in three hours."

He had already memorised their schedule thanks to Zelpher who had been a great help in helping him adapt fully to his role as the king.

Lilith didn’t look up.

"Go on."

"We need a little walk, the sun has finally graced us with its presence."

She chuckled.

"You should see the blizzards, magnificent."

"It must be a beautiful sight."

"No, it’s a disaster cleaning up after it."

Atheline chuckled slightly. "Were you baiting me?"

She didn’t respond but her smile confirmed everything. She was playing with him.

The room settled into comfortable silence again. Outside the windows, snowflakes drifted through the air. The first significant snowfall had arrived during the night.

The Court beyond the balcony was covered in white, much thicker than before. Winter had fully arrived.

Atheline watched the falling snow for a while then remembered something.

"The egg."

Lilith finally looked up.

"The egg?"

"The egg I got in the forest lord remains during the competition."

Understanding immediately appeared in her eyes. A few weeks ago it had merely become an unusual ice egg resting inside one of the palace incubators. Now it had become considerably more interesting.

She set her report aside.

"Has it changed?"

He nodded.

"I think so, I only got a glimpse though."

That successfully gained her attention. The two left the sitting room together.

The palace servants had long since learned not to ask questions when the royal couple suddenly disappeared. It had been happening for so long that they got used to it.

A few minutes later they arrived in one of the colder chambers inside the palace.

The egg sat inside a specially prepared nest.

Atheline approached first then squinted his eyes.

"Huh."

Lilith stepped beside him. For several moments neither spoke since tiny cracks covered the surface. It wasn’t enough to indicate immediate hatching but enough to show progress.

Lilith examined it carefully. Her fingers brushed lightly against the shell. A faint pulse of cold Aether responded. She nodded slightly.

"It’s reacting more vividly, without the need to inject my Aether into it."

Atheline smiled.

"So I wasn’t imagining it."

"No."

She looked toward the snow-covered mountain peaks visible outside the nearby windows.

"Any beast associated with ice, hatches during winter."

The king remembered her telling him about it when he brought out the egg. He had also read in a beast guide but most of them seemed convinced that providing useful information was beneath them.

He extended his arm toward it but only touched the nest around it. It was just as cold.

"They wait for snow."

She nodded. "The true first snowfall."

Atheline glanced between the egg and the four snow-covered peaks. A lump of snow fell into the court from the peak at the moment.

"Every species really have there own set of rules, huh."

"Yes, uniquely so."

He folded his arms.

"You think it will hatch soon?"

She considered and then nodded.

"Probably."

That was enough for him, it still held hope. Atheline immediately picked up the egg.

She raised an eyebrow.

"What are you doing?"

Several minutes later they stood together on the balcony outside the sitting room. The egg now rested inside a specially prepared nest positioned near the railing.

Snow drifted gently around it, occasionally touching it and instantly melting.

Atheline crouched beside it.

"There, little one."

Lilith stared, a little irritated. Atheline looked pleased with himself. She looked toward the egg then toward him then back toward the egg.

Eventually, she spoke.

"You do realise it’s an egg," she emphasised," it cannot appreciate the scenery."

"You don’t know that."

She fought the urge to pick up the egg and throw it across the railing. It was taking his attention away from her, again. She let a sigh. She was still curious what it was.

He smiled up at her at that moment. Any budding jealousy was gone in an instant.

The egg remained unhelpfully silent. The matter was apparently settled just like that. The two moved to a small table positioned near the balcony doors.

Servants soon appeared with tea, as they always seemed to do. Atheline sometimes suspected they possessed some form of tea-detection ability. The tea was set and the servants vanished.

Peace gradually returned. Atheline wrapped both hands around his cup, enjoying the comfortable warmth.

Outside, snow continued falling. Lilith sat opposite him. For once, neither held reports nor even talked about anything related to the kingdom.

It was just warm tea and peace. Atheline stared toward the Court that had been transformed by winter fully. The rooftops looked softer beneath the snow and the streets appeared calmer. Not many people were out of their homes. It was surprisingly peaceful except for the children playing in the snow.

Lilith followed his gaze.

"The Court likes you."

He nearly choked on his tea.

"What?"

She looked entirely serious.

"The court."

He blinked in confusion.

"Thats it impossible, it’s a place, inanimate, it doesn’t like people."

"They do."

He stared waiting for her to tell him it was a joke but she remained calm. He eventually laughed.

"I think you’ve been spending too much time ruling."

"Possibly."

The answer came immediately which somehow made it worse. Atheline shook his head. A moment later he looked toward her.

"You know."

She raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"I never asked," Atheline continued, "What did your councillors think when you got married?"

He had attended the final discussion but there were bound to be more meetings afterwards after they had done a thorough investigation of him.

She stared at him for a while then chuckled.

"They were horrified."

Atheline burst out laughing, especially at the exaggerated way she had said it. Her expression was on point.

"They argued for three days."

"Three days."

"Three," she repeated.

Atheline laughed harder. The image was far too easy to imagine. Several powerful councillors desperately attempting to discuss the appropriate amount to give for the negotiation with the increase in the groom’s status.

Lilith seemed entirely unbothered by the memory.

"They lost."

He nodded.

"I noticed."

Her gifts had been more expensive than the first. A comfortable silence returned. Atheline found that he liked these moments.

They were just quietly experiencing life in their own way. Everything felt strangely peaceful.

Then Atheline glanced toward the queen and an idea appeared.

She recognized that expression.

"What?"

He smiled. That made her sigh. Atheline leaned back slightly.

"You know, I’ve been thinking," he glanced at the mountain peaks," we never actually train together. We spar occasionally but actual training?"

Lilith considered it then realized he was strangely right. Atheline spent most of his time training alone and she did the same. Their schedules rarely aligned.

He smiled.

"We should fix that."