“That was interesting. There’s a story like that on my planet, too.”
“Really, Mihoshi-oneechan?”
“She’s making things up. Don’t lead people on, Mihoshi.” Ryoko, who had bailed on the standoff with Ayeka, floated above them. Ayeka, left behind, looked at her grumpily, then gave up and joined the conversation.
“Whaaat? But my great-grandmother said she saw her when she was little!” Mihoshi shrank back at Ryoko’s glare.
“Are you sure?” Ryoko demanded.
“I think so…”
Sasami and Ryo-Ohki came between them. “Mihoshi-oneechan, tell us the story of the Snow Queen! Ryo-chan, you want to hear it, too, right?”
“Meow!”
“I’d love to hear it as well.” The vote from Tenchi settled it. Everyone sat around to listen to Mihoshi’s story. They couldn’t work in the fields because of the snow, and the gloomy light made the atmosphere perfect for ghost stories.
“Okay, then…”
“Hold on,” Ryoko interrupted. Ignoring Ayeka’s teasing, she closed the curtains, lit candles to intensify the mood, and plunked a bottle of sake next to her. “Okay, I’m ready. You may begin, Mihoshi.”
“Uh, Ryoko, I’m not telling a ghost story or anything.” Mihoshi remembered the hullabaloo over the supposed ghost at the hot springs resort run by Tenchi’s relatives and made a pitiful, reluctant face. It was hard to blame her, as she had passed out from fear during that incident.
“Just get started already.”
“O-okay…” Mihoshi cleared her throat, paused, and started to talk quietly. “The planet Seniwa, where I was born, is covered in snow for almost half the year, even close to the equator.” Her voice was low, and she used it well for emphasis. Although she was the biggest scaredy-cat, she joined in the fun when people gathered, despite her complaints. “My great-grandmother had a stepbrother from her parents’ remarriage. He was six months older. She married him when she grew up, had my grandmother, and then…”
“We don’t care about your family tree, you idiot. Just get to the story!” Ryoko yelled, already drunk.
“I-I’m so sorry!” Misplaced attention to detail was very characteristic of Mihoshi. “Well, this story I’m about to tell you happened when my great-grandfather was five years old, and my great-grandmother was four.”
She spoke matter-of-factly, and the others listened intently. The snow continued to fall.
There was a room in a palatial mansion that was full of large antiques. The stately furnishings were austere and without embellishments, but experts would have recognized the materials as remarkably extravagant. The room looked subdued, but the shoes, clothes, and toys indicated that its resident was a child and not an adult. That child was sleeping in the large bed in the center of the room. She was lovely, with brown skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes. She seemed to have a cold and sometimes coughed painfully. A woman, apparently her mother, sat by her bedside, knitting with a practiced hand.
Knock knock. The mother noticed the reserved knocking and looked up towards the door. “Come in.”
The thick wooden door opened at her voice. A boy peered in. His pale skin and green eyes contrasted with the woman’s and the girl’s.
“What’s wrong?”
“Mother…how’s Miyuki?” It was obvious at a glance that the woman and boy were not biological relatives. The only thing they had in common was their beautiful blond hair.
“She’s fine. The fever’s gone down, and she’ll be good to go in a couple more days.” The mother looked at the boy kindly.
“Oniichama…” the girl whispered.
The boy began to approach, but the mother raised her hand to stop him.
“No! If you get this cold, too, it’ll be even longer before you can play together.”
“All right…” He cast his eyes downward.
The mother gently admonished him. “It’s getting late. You should get to bed.”
“I will… Good night, Mother. Get better soon, Miyuki.” He was about to close the door, when something outside caught his eye, if only for a moment. It was a human silhouette.
“What’s the matter?”
“I thought I saw someone outside the window…” As he spoke, the mother swiftly moved towards the window he pointed at. She did not intend to frighten the children, but the way she carried herself betrayed her military training. She peered out the window from the shadows and confirmed that the security system was functional.
This house belonged to one of the country’s leading families—perhaps even the most powerful in the country. They were equipped with a tight, multilayered security system for protection. Since the alarm did not sound, there should be no intruder… But the mother was clearly wary of something. Having confirmed that there were no malfunctions, she turned back towards the boy. “It’s all right… There’s nothing there. It must be a snow fairy who came to look for you, since you two weren’t outside playing. So you better work on getting better.”
Her soothing voice allayed the boy’s unease. “You’re right… Good night, Miyuki. Good night, Mother.”
The mother watched him leave the room and sat down by the girl’s side again. The little girl’s face was twisted in sadness. She missed the boy.
“You’ll be able to play again when you get over your cold.” The girl nodded, on the verge of tears. “Do you like him that much?” The mother teased the girl as if she was talking to her friend and not her daughter.
“You know what…? When I grow up, I’m going to marry him.” The girl half-hid her face in her blanket while she talked, embarrassed, and then covered her whole head.
“Is that so? Wouldn’t that be nice,” the mother murmured, somewhat sadly. The pure white snow showed no signs of stopping and continued to fall, as if it intended to smother everything…
The snow had stopped the next day, which was rare during that season. Reflected in the white crystals, the sunlight almost seemed to be dancing. The girl watched the charming sight from her bed. She had gone to sleep early the night before and therefore woke up at quite an early hour, too. Bored, and not knowing what to do, she sat up, feeling somewhat better. She glanced out the window and saw someone running in the snow. A boy was playing with a ball on the frozen ground.
“Oniichama…that’s not fair…” The girl got out of bed to go after him, but then imagined the worried look on her mother’s face, and quietly followed the boy with her gaze instead. Even from a distance, she could tell he was having a lot of fun. He had been cooped up for days, frustrated that he could not run as fast as he wanted when the girl was with him. Now, he ran quickly and furiously after the ball. He could kick it even farther, and run faster. Faster.
The girl watched him get farther and farther away, and an unspeakable anxiety suddenly welled up inside her. She felt like he was going to disappear into the snow, just like that.
The boy kicked the ball high. He ran after it, watching it rise in an arc in the blue sky. “Oh…” Running into a sudden plume of powdery snow, he stopped. He was buffeted by the wind swirling around him. In a few seconds, it passed. He opened his eyes and saw that the fallen ball had rolled close by. He went to go get it and then noticed a woman standing beside it.
“…!!” The boy stiffened, vigilant. This woman had appeared out of nowhere in the middle of a clearing, after all. I have to run away, he thought instinctively. This whole area was the property of his house. A stranger would not be out here alone without an escort. Since he was born privileged, he was taught as a matter of course that some people would try to make contact for ulterior motives, especially malicious ones. Although young, he knew what to do. Activate the Guardian System…and then… he thought, but did not move. He only stared at her.
An otherworldly beauty with striking red hair, dressed in black… What held his attention were her eyes, the same green as his. He did not feel afraid. On the contrary, he felt nostalgic. I know this person. I know her…
The woman picked the ball up and approached. “Is this yours, little boy?”
He shivered at her regal voice, almost moved to tears. If he shifted even a little bit, perhaps the tears would spill out. He could not move a step until she was right in front of him. With a gentle smile, she held out the ball. He took it, still staring into her eyes. “Thank…you,” he managed to stammer, then, as though he was coming to his senses, the nervousness binding him vanished. Was it because their hands brushed when he took the ball from her? Surprise remained on the boy’s face, but he was no longer wary.
Another pair of eyes watched them from the bushes a short distance away. It was the girl, who had snuck out of bed. She had spotted them, but for some reason, she could not call out to them.
Her mother treated the boy no differently, but even to the girl’s naive eyes, there was something off in their relationship. But this woman and the boy stood there together, perfectly natural, as if they used to be a single entity.
She’s the Snow Queen…
The girl remembered a bedtime story her mother told. A beautiful woman, shocked by the death of her child, disappeared into the snowy mountains. Without a body, she was a soul adrift, continuing to search for her child, who was no more. It was the tragic tale of a spirit who kidnapped children she saw playing alone.
From the girl’s position, she could not tell what they were talking about, but it was clear they were enjoying each other’s company. She could only watch.
“…?!” She noticed that something had changed. There was no sound of the wind or rustling trees. A hushed silence fell around them.
The woman reached out to the boy. The boy did not resist. He did not know what they had been talking about, but he knew that he wanted to take her outstretched hand. He reached back.
The Snow Queen is going to take Oniichama away… The girl had a gut feeling. She tried to stop him, but her voice would not emerge, as if time had stopped for everyone besides the woman and the boy. She’s going to take him away. No matter how the girl panicked, she could not move one finger. The sadness brought tears to her eyes. She’s going to take him away…
The moment the woman and her brother’s hands were about to touch, warm tears streaked the girl’s cheeks.
“Oniichama!!”
In that moment, time, which had been frozen in place, began to tick forward again. The boy came back to his senses at the girl’s cry. The desire to take the woman’s hand vanished, and he turned around. The girl stood there, wearing only a shawl over her nightclothes.
“Miyuki!” The boy, surprised, ran to the girl.
“Oniichama.”
“Mother told you to stay in bed.” He gallantly threw his cape over her.