❄️🔥The Ballad of Blood and Snow❄️ - Chapter 1: A Promise Beneath the Winter Sky
Chapter 1: A Promise Beneath the Winter Sky
That winter came earlier than usual.
Snow blanketed the entire Northern Kingdom like a vast funeral shroud. Icy winds screamed through the ancient castle walls, carrying a bitter chill into every corner of the royal palace of Arvendor.
The townspeople barred their doors as soon as dusk fell. Only the flickering torches atop the towering watchtowers remained lit, casting pale golden light across the thick snow below.
And yet, amid that freezing night…
A young woman stood silently in the western garden of the palace.
Elara.
She wore a white cloak trimmed with silver fox fur, while snowflakes clung to her shimmering golden hair. Her deep blue eyes were fixed on the old iron gate at the far end of the garden, as though waiting for someone.
This garden had long been considered cursed.
At its center stood an ancient maple tree that had withered years ago. Legend said that on the night the queen died, every leaf upon the tree turned black and fell before dawn.
Since then, no one dared enter this place.
Except Elara.
Because this was the only place where she could meet the man she loved.
From afar, the faint sound of horse hooves echoed through the snowfall.
Elara’s heart trembled.
A figure slowly emerged from the white mist.
Kaelen.
The prince of the Southern Kingdom wore a long black cloak dusted with frost from his overnight journey. Behind him, his dark warhorse exhaled clouds of white into the frozen air.
The moment he saw Elara, the coldness on Kaelen’s face softened.
He strode quickly toward her.
“I thought you wouldn’t come.”
His voice was low beneath the howl of the winter wind.
Elara gave him a sorrowful smile.
“I thought my father would have guards following me.”
Kaelen removed one of his leather gloves and gently touched her freezing cheek.
“Is he still forcing you to marry him?”
The smile faded from Elara’s lips.
She lowered her gaze.
“The treaty has already been signed…”
Silence fell between them.
Only the wind roared through the snow-covered trees.
The prince of the Third Kingdom — the man known across the continent as the Golden Wolf — was infamous for his cruelty. He had never loved Elara. To him, she was nothing more than a prize to strengthen the alliance between three kingdoms.
Kaelen tightened his grip on her hand.
“I won’t let them take you away from me.”
Elara looked up at him.
Her eyes glistened red beneath the cold moonlight.
“You don’t understand, Kaelen… If we defy this marriage, war will break out.”
“War began the moment they turned you into a bargaining chip.”
Kaelen’s voice was as cold as steel.
Elara shivered slightly.
Not because of the cold.
But because she knew he was right.
Since the day she was born, she had lived like a doll trapped inside a gilded cage. Every step, every word, every smile had to be flawless for the sake of the throne.
Only when she was with Kaelen…
Did she truly feel human.
Kaelen pulled her closer.
“If you want… we can leave this place.”
Elara’s eyes widened.
“Run away…?”
Kaelen nodded.
“In three days, a great blizzard will arrive. The soldiers won’t be able to track us.”
Elara stared at him for a long moment.
There was no hesitation in those amber eyes.
Only a love so fierce it was willing to stand against the entire world.
“Kaelen…” Her voice trembled. “What if we fail?”
Kaelen was silent for several seconds.
Then he gently drew her into his arms.
“Then I’ll die with you.”
The snowstorm suddenly grew stronger.
Elara rested her face against his chest, listening to the steady heartbeat beneath his cold armor.
In that moment…
She wished time could stop forever.
But fate had never been kind to those who dared to love.
It was late at night when Elara returned to the palace.
The long corridors glowed dimly beneath golden candlelight, silent enough to feel haunting. Her footsteps echoed across the freezing marble floors.
As she passed the grand hall, Elara suddenly stopped.
Her father stood before a massive window overlooking the snow beyond the city walls.
The king did not turn around.
“You met him.”
It was not a question.
It was a statement.
Elara tightened her grip on her sleeve.
“Father…”
“Do you understand what you’re doing?”
His voice was low and weary.
“Our kingdom is weakening. We’ve already lost two fortresses in the East. Without an alliance with the Third Kingdom… tens of thousands will die.”
Elara bit her lip.
“And what about me?”
The king remained silent.
And in that moment…
Elara understood.
In the eyes of a king…
There was no daughter.
Only the throne.
She turned and walked away.
Her eyes brimmed with tears, yet she did not cry.
Because her heart was slowly becoming as cold as the winter outside.
At that same moment…
Inside an old tavern beneath the southern mountains, Kaelen sat alone beside a crackling fireplace.
One of his trusted warriors approached him.
“Your Highness… do you truly intend to stand against three kingdoms for the sake of one girl?”
Kaelen did not answer immediately.
Silently, he reached into his coat and pulled out an old silver necklace.
A snowflake pendant.
The gift Elara had given him during the first winter they met.
Firelight flickered within Kaelen’s sharp, icy eyes.
He tightened his grip around the necklace.
“No.”
The warrior looked surprised.
Kaelen slowly raised his gaze.
“I will stand against the entire world…”
His voice lowered like a blood oath.
“For the woman I love.”
The fire in the hearth suddenly roared higher.
May you like
As though foretelling the bloody storm that was about to begin.
