~ The Four Affinities ~

Winter's room smelt and looked like a spring garden. Of course it wasn't only her room, Aiden and her still shared it. The King offered Aiden a separate room on more than one occasion, but Aiden refused each time. The idea of being away from Winter sent shivers down his spine and twisted his stomach.

"I refuse." Winter said while showering the dangerous wolf with kisses.

The King and Lysander were unwanted guests. She had been lazing around with Snowflake before they barged in her room. Aiden, who was peacefully sleeping under a mountain of blankets, was now grumpy because his nap had been rudely interrupted.

A few days had passed since the banquet and Winter's pet wolf had grown miraculously fast. The beast now towered over Winter, taking up most of the space on the twins' bed when he slept. Because of his razor sharp teeth and thorn shaped claws, King Caderyn insisted Snowflake wear a collar imbued with magic. Winter, however, sternly refused his demands.

"Winter." The King said angrily. "You can't keep a dangerous pet like that around."

The wolf's jaw was big enough to swallow her whole. The idea of such a creature roaming around his daughter freely made him boil with rage.

"Snowflake's a good boy." Winter retorted stubbornly. "He won't hurt anyone."

Winter tugged at the bottom of Lysander's shirt and raised her hands up. Lysander, taken aback by the sudden contact, lifted her up carefully. His heart flipped inside his chest. Winter had never let him carry her before.

"Right, Prince Lysander?" Winter said in a sickeningly sweet tone, "Tell the King that Snowflake's a good boy."

"Snowflake's a good boy." Lysander said half in a daze. He thought his heart was going to explode from happiness. He nuzzled his cheek into Winter's silver hair.

The King sighed. The Archmage was unable to find out where the wolf's supernatural power came from or why it had supernatural powers to begin with. There wasn't much he could do without getting close to the wolf or experimenting on it, but Winter make it painfully clear that she wouldn't allow him to touch Snowflake.

Winter, having swallowed her pride and fear of being touched, flinched in Lysander's arms. The feeling of being cuddled by someone other than Aiden made her want to throw up, but she knew she could get Lysander to take her side easily. Lysander stopped cuddling into her hair when he noticed she had a bright purple lilac tucked behind her ear.

"Where did you get that?" He asked her.

"Oh, this?" She asked, gesturing towards the purple flower. "It came from one of the bouquets Prince Henrik sent me. It's safe, don't worry. Snowflake already sniffed through them before I put it in my hair."

After the banquet, Prince Henrik began to send Winter flowers. His envoys would arrive everyday using a magic portal. The flowers came in waves of chaos. Several bouquets and vases would be sent in and the olds ones would be swapped out, even if they hadn't died. There were so many that her and Aiden's room began to resemble an unkempt garden.

The King clenched his fists in anger. At first, he burnt the bouquets upon their arrival and even considered closing the magic portals to the Empire. But Winter, having seen them for the first time a few days ago, instantly lit up with joy. It was the first time he had ever seen his daughter smile like that. After that, he eventually let her keep them and weighed the consequences of starting a war with the Aurosilio Empire. That stubborn Prince's advances on his nine-year-old daughter was a more than plausible reason for him to send his troops out to battle.

Furthermore there was something off about the necklace he had tried to give Winter at the banquet. Snowflake had a nose for sniffing out magic, so the King allowed Winter to keep the bouquets that the wolf determined were safe. He sent a team of spies to the Aurosilio Empire to gather information on magical relics. Perhaps the necklace was an ancient magic item of some sort.

Lysander plucked the tulip out from behind Winter's ear with a frown. The tulip then went up in bright red flames, instantly being burned to dust in his hand. Winter remembered reading about how all members of the Royal Family were vessels for the astral gods. She watched the embers and ash blow away in awe.

"Wow," Aiden said. "Will I be able to do that?"

"You will." Lysander told him as he put down a struggling Winter. "Our powers aren't innate. Instead we borrow them from the gods, but in order to do that your body has to undergo an awakening."

"An awakening?" Winter said while wrapping her arms around the warm silver coat of her wolf. "What's an awakening?"

"It's not something for you to worry about yet." The King said coldly. "You won't get an awakening until you're at least twelve, so you should focus on your normal magic classes for now."

Winter sighed and ran a hand through Snowflake's fur. The King arranged for them to start taking lessons tomorrow, so her days of lazing around with Snowflake and Aiden would soon come to an end.

~***~

Alexion could never get used to the sight of Winter walking her wolf. It was terrifyingly huge now, with an aura that gave him goosebumps. He couldn't take his eyes off the red murderous look in its eyes. From its long strides to its baring fangs, every part of his sister's pet made him uncomfortable. Alexion chuckled at the sight before him. The only person who seemed to be enjoying their walk was Winter.

Ezekiel fiddled with his thumbs anxiously by Winter's side and was blushing uncontrollably. He cast quick glances in her direction before turning his head away anxiously or scratching his neck. A clearly grumpy Aiden's hair was tousled in every direction as a result from his three hour long nap. He walked dragging his feet along the floor with eyelids half closed. Sir Emris lingered several paces behind them with an ashen face. His hand floated unsurely over his sword, as if he was expecting the wolf to attack him at any given moment.

"Sir Rothmore." Winter called while leaning on her wolf while she walked. "Do you know anything about the astral gods?"

Ezekiel hesitated. "I do."

"Can you tell me, please?" Winter said while letting out a long yawn.

"The four basic affinities of the astral gods are fire, water, air and earth. However, each affinity can be developed further based on an individual's mana capabilities. The King, for example, can use fire. He developed his affinity further to be able to use lightning and even light energy itself. He can also manipulate earth and plants."

"Ah, so the King's affinities are fire and earth?" She asked him.

"That's correct. He can also control air." He said nervously. "The capability to control more than one affinity is extremely rare, even among the Royal Family. I think your father is the first one in history to be able to control three affinities."

Winter glanced at him. Ezekiel was extremely handsome for a fourteen-year-old. His golden irises seemed to sparkle in the sunlight like jewels and his ebony black hair looked like flowing ink. If she wasn't mentally an adult, she would've already fallen for him.

"You're extremely handsome." She told him. His face instantly flushed red and he began to trip over his own feet.

"Hey." Aiden called grumpily with a pout. "What about me? I'm handsome too, right?"

Winter smiled. "Of course my twin brother is the handsomest of them all. You look like me, after all."

"And me?" Alexion asked with a slightly flushed face while approaching them.

Winter sighed. "Of course."

The men around her were such children. She leaned on Snowflake and sighed heavily. Just why did a world that exists within the pages of a book feel so real?