"Urgh, this medicine tastes as bad as it smells." Snow held the bowl of dark brown liquid away from her face.

"Your Highness, the doctor says you must drink the whole bowl in one sitting. It's to replenish the blood you lost." Lotus stood at her bedside with a tray. Her attendant knew better than to look away when it came to medicine.

"I've been drinking all kinds of vile potions for days, I can't take it anymore."

"These are the doctor's strict orders," Lotus said a bit more firmly.

Snow exhaled loudly. She had returned to the Palace exactly three weeks ago, and was already fed up of being told what was good for her and what to do.

The first week was spent sleeping the whole day, waking only when the royal doctor came to check her pulse and inspect her wound. "Your Highness shoul– I mean, could have died from this," he said.

Well, I did, but no one can know that, she had thought. Thanks to Weilong, none of the soldiers from Commander Tai's unit said a word about her coming back to life from a coffin, and any rumor about her being a reanimated corpse was quickly dismissed. Thus, when the doctor asked what had happened, she shook her head and pretended not to remember. He took it that she must have suffered so much trauma that her memory was affected, and did not press her further for the sake of her health.

It felt strange to sleep in a proper bed with silk covers, in a quiet room all by herself, and to have Lotus and Peony do everything for her. Her two attendants had been beside themselves when Erden carried her into her bedchambers. "The Princess is back! The Princess has returned!" they cried in jubilation, before scurrying about fetching hot water for her bath and setting out her clothes.

Snow did not realize how much she missed soaking in a hot bath and having someone bathe her. She was horrified at how dirty the bath water was when she was done, and how tattered her clothes were. After they had scrubbed her clean, the two spent a long time combing through all the tangles in her hair. When she caught a glimpse of herself in her looking glass, with the dark circles around her eyes, white lips and sunken cheeks, she cringed at the thought of Erden seeing her in such a state.

A few days later, when Snow could sit up in bed and stay awake longer, she made them tell her all that had happened to the Empress. She listened without interruption when they relayed to her what they had heard from the palace guards.

"It was so frightening, Princess, they kept shooting arrows at the monster but it wouldn't die!" Lotus said.

"They must have shot hundreds of arrows at it," Peony said.

"One of the guards told me that he still hears the screaming in his sleep, it was horrible!"

"There was so much blood, it was bleeding so much but still standing!"

"Yes! Until someone was brave enough to rush in and spear it through the heart, and then everybody else came in to stab it with their spears."

Snow did not speak for a long while. She finally asked, "Where's the monster now?"

"The exorcist arrived after the monster was dead. He chopped off its head with his sword, and ordered that the head and body be burnt to ashes or else it'll come back to life. I think the exorcist took the ashes with him."

Snow had sat back against her bedframe in stunned silence, then motioned for her attendants to leave her alone.

That night, she dreamt of a great funeral pyre in the middle of the Empress's courtyard, the flames and embers flying high in the night sky, and streams of blood flowing from the steps of the Empress's chambers. For many nights thereafter, the same scene repeated itself. Whenever she woke up with a start, she would blame the nightmares on her overactive imagination. I'm dreaming of these things because of what I've heard from Peony and Lotus.

But how did that explain the nights she heard bloodcurdling howls of pain, over the sound of heavy iron rods hitting flesh, and a voice shouting, "Two hundred and seventy! Two hundred and eighty! Two hundred and ninety! Three hundred!" Or the image of a person sitting in a dungeon so dark that she could not see a thing, except the outline of his arms and fettered wrists hung up in chains? She could not make out who it was, but she felt remorseful, like she was the cause of his suffering.

"There are dire consequences arising from your actions," a stern voice said over and over again. There was something else the voice had said. Something important, that she just could not recall.

Fortunately, not all her dreams were terrible. On some nights, she dreamt of cherry blossom petals floating in clear green waters, sunlight glinting off the ripples on the water surface, the scent of roses on the breeze, and warm lips on hers in a tender, passionate kiss. Why do I have such dreams, she wondered, running a finger over her lips and staring at her own reflection in her looking glass one morning. She had so many questions running through her mind.

Who am I? Who am I really?

"Your mother was a celestial fox," a mellifluous voice had said. "You know that I would do anything for you, Princess."

Who was it? Who said it? Why can't I remember anything? What did this person mean by celestial fox? Was that the white fox I kept seeing? Is the fox... my mother?

"Princess, you should drink the medicine when it's still warm," Lotus pressed.

"Oh." She had been lost in her own thoughts again. She tried to delay the inevitable. "Has there been any news from Captain Wong? It's been more than a week, they should have returned by now."

"No, Your Highness, there's been no news from him yet."

Snow looked down at her bowl of medicine. I hope my dwarf-brothers have received the food and clothes I sent. Weilong had allowed her the resources to do so, in addition to the chest of silver ingots he was sending to the dwarves as thanks for keeping her safe all these months. She had made sure they would receive warm jackets and clothing, boots, jars of rice wine, and enough food that would last them throughout the winter.

Along with the gifts, she had specifically requested that the captain informed the dwarves that she was safe and sound. She wished she had thought of it earlier when she was still at the campsite; by the time she woke up after sleeping for hours, she was already in a carriage en route to the Palace. While she was recuperating in bed, everyone was occupied with the enthronement of the new emperor and all its ceremonies.

Weilong had gone straight to work and made a number of edicts on his first day: Empress Lana was released from house arrest and installed as Empress Dowager; her father's previous ministers were allowed to return from exile; and the warrant for Snow's arrest was rescinded. All other edicts issued by Empress Hu were put under scrutiny.

"Your Highness!" Peony exclaimed outside her bedchambers.

"Peony, is Snow awake?"

"Yes, s-she is, but you can't come in, it's not allowed."

"Let him in, Peony. I can't get out of bed to see him," Snow said.

"Yes, Your Highness! This way please, Your Highness." Peony walked into Snow's bedchambers with blushing cheeks.

Erden appeared in her doorway, looking dashing in dark sapphire blue robes edged in silver thread and tied with a black sash belt. The way his eyes moved around her bedchambers and rested on her made her heart flutter. At that moment, she regretted not putting on a prettier outer garment before letting him see her in her plain sleeping robes.

"Erden."

"I came to see how you're doing," he said with a slow smile.

"I'll go make tea." Lotus curtsied and hurried out, taking Peony along with her. To Snow's annoyance, she noticed Peony's eyes lingering on Erden as she left.

"May I sit?" He gestured at a chair a few paces away from her four-poster bed.

"Come and sit by me," she said, moving her legs to make space and patting a spot on her bed. He looked startled by her bold suggestion, but did not object.

"What's that?" he asked, nodding towards the bowl in her hand.

"It's my medicine, it tastes horrible." She tried to pull her blanket a little higher before she realized that it would not budge under his weight.

"But it will make you better, right?" A playful smile curled on his lips.

She nodded. The look on his handsome face seemed to say, go on, drink it.

How could I say no to those eyes? I'll drink it for you. She tried not to gag or scrunch up her nose too much when she gulped down the bitter liquid. She showed him her empty bowl.

"Very good!" he said, taking her bowl from her hand, their fingers touching briefly. His glossy hair and silver-cuffed braid slipped over his shoulder like black satin when he placed the bowl on her bedside table. "How's your wrist?"

"The doctor says I might not be able to play the guzheng for a while. Too bad it's not my writing hand. If it was, I would have an excuse not to copy texts."

"I can't believe that after all that you've been through, you can make a joke out of something like this," he said, chuckling. He glanced down at her bandaged wrist, then looked into her eyes. "I'm very happy that you're back."

"You and me both," she said with a smile before peering at him curiously. "How exactly did you know where to find me?"

He glanced around at the needlework tapestries on the walls before his gaze settled on her guzheng by the window. "It's funny. You know, we combed every inch of the forest for you, and we found nothing except your horse and your hat. It was so strange, it was almost like the earth had swallowed you up. Your half-brothers said that you did not want to be found, and that we should stop wasting everybody's time looking for you."

His expression was solemn as he continued, "I never gave up. I just could not give up searching for you, though I have to admit that I came very, very close to breaking. But then, one night, I thought I heard your voice. I know it sounds crazy but I thought I heard you say, 'I'm here! I'm right here!' For a moment I thought I had lost my mind. But that night, I had this dream, or this vision, of the cottage you were at. And you know the rest."

She stared wide-eyed at him, contemplating whether to tell him that he was not crazy or imagining things. Do I tell him that I saw him in a dream? That I did say I was right there?

He took her hand in his, and the warmth of his hand, which was strong and masculine from all the years of sword training, flooded her senses. He kept his eyes down as his thumb stroked the back of her hand. "This whole experience, made me realize something."

"What is it?" She could hardly hear herself over the sound of her heart beating like a drum in her ears.

Before he could answer, Lotus returned with a tray of hot tea and cakes. She froze when she saw Erden sitting on Snow's bed with his hand on hers, but regained her composure quickly enough to set the tray down on the table. "Your Highnesses, your tea."

Color rose to Erden's face as he hurriedly retracted his hand and got up from Snow's bed. "Sorry that I have to leave you now. I'm on my way to see His Majesty."

"His Majesty? Why?"

His eyes met hers. There was something different about the way he looked at her. His gaze was both intense yet vulnerable. "There is something I wish to ask," he said quietly.

"What is it?"

He gave her a small smile. She understood that to mean that he would tell her when the time was right. "Get well soon," he said, before turning to Lotus. "Thank you for taking care of her, Lotus."

And then, he left. Snow sighed. She could never seem to get a moment alone with Erden. What was he going to ask Weilong?

Peony came running into her bedchambers. "Your Highness, there is a message from Captain Wong." She held out a sealed letter.

Snow tore open the letter. I hope they'll accept my invitation to visit me. Fourth Brother especially wanted to see the Palace.

'They thank the Emperor and the Princess profusely for such generous gifts...' she read. 'They are happy to hear that the Princess is well... However, they have to decline the invitation to the Palace, as they are in mourning for Fourth Brother, who passed away the night the Princess left...'

The letter slipped from her fingers.

"Your Highness, Your Highness!" her attendants cried above her.

"I'll get the doctor!" Peony said.

She finally knew what the voice had said. The words came rushing back to her: "A price has to be paid! A life, for a life."

Author's note: We're wrapping things up, the next chapter is the ending followed by the epilogue. If you've read this far, thank you so much!