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Ike clenched his teeth and squinted, as he kept walking through the blizzard with a paw over his eyes. The storm had found them in the middle of nowhere, a few weeks after they had left the inn. The innkeeper had felt honored to have both the prince and the princess of the fehlar stay on his humble establishment, and had offered himself to do anything Ike and Kathreen demanded of him.

He had not been as pleased when he had been told that there was a corpse in one of the bedrooms, and the lion had been able to see the anxiety growing behind his eyes clearly. However, the innkeeper had promised them to get rid of the body without being noticed. He would do anything for their majesties, he had said.

Ike still found it weird when people acted like that. Somehow, he felt like he could ask anything from anyone and they would do it, only because he was his father's son. That was something that scared him from time to time: not being able to tell whether someone was doing what he asked because they wanted or because of his bloodline. He felt that holding that power over people required a lot of responsibility and sometimes he felt he was not prepared.

But, in the end, telling the innkeeper who they were had saved them a lot of trouble. As long as the man kept the secret for at least a few months, they would have nothing to regret. Ike was starting to think that Kathreen had had a good idea, for once.

A new snow flurry hit his face and the lion grunted, wishing the blizzard would stop.

'Ike!' Kodu shouted, a few meters ahead. 'Let's go to the mountains!'

After some effort, the lion could make a peak out in the middle of the storm. He turned back to Kodu, making sure that Kathreen had noticed the change in their direction, and then started to walk behind the cat. His sister's company still did not precisely excite him, but given that she had saved his life a few times so far, he was starting to appreciate her presence as some kind of a disgusting but valuable gift.

It took them a long while to get to the mountains, even though they had appeared to be close. The blizzard made every movement difficult, and even though Ike's body was covered by the winter clothes that they had been given in the palace, he was starting to believe that nothing could hide them from the cold in that place. His paws were practically numb under his gloves, and his ears, which he had hidden under a thick wool cap, had stopped hurting a long time ago.

Silently, Ike hoped they would arrive to Northundra soon; otherwise, he was not sure they could endure the cold. When they had left the Lands of the Barkinclouds far behind them, the lion had thought it would not be long before they arrived at Zèon's home. However, it seemed he had rushed into that conclusion and that they still had a long way to go.

Once they reached a small cave at the base of one of those mountains, Ike let out a long sigh. It was not the best refuge, but at least the walls would protect them from the icy winds. He watched Kodu as he took two pieces of charcoal out his bag and tried to light a fire. Kathreen arrived at the cave shortly afterwards, folding her arms across her waist.

'Uff,' was all she said, as she staggered towards the deepest part of the cave and slumped down, shivering.

Both brothers watched Kodu silently as the cat carefully lit the fire. Fortunately, they had enough materials to keep themselves warm in that place... at least for a few weeks.

'Look at that,' Kathreen said, smiling weakly, once the flames lit their face. 'You're such a convenient man, Kodu. We owe you our lives. I don't get why you're still single.'

The cat smiled.

'I don't know. Maybe I'm not that interested after all.'

'Oh, dear,' Kathreen replied, with a low purr. 'Everyone's interested. Speaking of which...' she added, turning to Ike, 'I hope your precious lover fox appreciates what we're doing for him. If he doesn't thank me personally, I'll let him starve to death.'

'Kathreen!' Ike exclaimed, as color faded from his face. He knew his sister knew about the arctic fox, but he had thought she did not know what tied him to the kane since he had told no one about it, at least directly. Maybe his father had guessed it when he had protected Zèon so stubbornly, but they had no way to prove it, that he knew. He turned to Kodu, a bit afraid of what he might find. The cat had raised his head and was looking at both, curiously.

'Lover fox?' he repeated, after a few seconds. A cold wind blew through the cave and the flames shook, but the fire did not extinguish.

Ike let out a sigh as he looked down, blushing.

'Didn't you know why we're travelling?' Kathreen asked, tilting her head. 'I mean, no one told me either. But I always have ways to find out.'

'Yeah,' Ike grunted, a bit annoyed. 'You always do.'

'No one told me anything,' Kodu asnwered, sincerely. 'But it was Ike who asked me to join him. I guessed there would be an important reason behind, but I don't need to know. If he asked for my help,' he added, looking at the lion, 'it was just because he needed it, right?'

Ike felt a warm wave of tenderness when he heard those words. <<Thank you, friend>> he thought, looking back at the cat. However, Kathreen just laughed.

'Oh my, that's so sweet! But not fair at all. Ike, you should tell him, you know. You should have told all of us. After all, we're risking our lives in this. It would be nice to know why, don't you think?'

'Yeah, you might be right. And since you already know, I don't see why I should keep it secret from him,' Ike replied, rolling his eyes. He took off his gloves and brought his paws closer to the fire, breathing deeply. He was not sure if he could confess everything in front of his sister and his best friend, but he had no other choice. 'There is... there is a kane in my room at the moment, in the castle.'

'Two, to be precise,' Kathreen pointed out.

Ike turned to her, perplexed.

'But how do you know these things?'

'I told you, I have ways to know what I want to know,' the lioness answered, giving him a charming smile. Ike decided to ignore her and kept talking.

'Well... the thing is that when I disappeared from the castle... I was not kidnapped. Not by the kane, at least,' he explained. 'We were abducted by... some beings that neither kane or fehlar had seen before. They called themselves humans and... they locked us in a place we called the Box, for about a year.'

He stopped when he noticed that Kathreen was looking at him, curiously.

'So I was right,' she whispered. 'Father was lying. You weren't kidnapped by the kane.'

'No,' he admitted, still looking down. He was about to add something, but then continued. 'In this place, the Box, I met some kane. We decided that it was better to join our forces if we wanted to get out of there. Then, I met Zèon.' He paused, for a few seconds. 'He was... so unique. He must be the smartest person I've ever known. And he was desperately trying to get us out of the Box. But, most of all, he forgave me.'

'He forgave you?' Kodu asked, without understanding.

Ike nodded.

'The fehlar have done terrible things to that kane. When he was a kid, he suffered more than you could imagine.' He tried not to give many details; after all, he did not have the right to reveal Zèon's disgraceful past. 'And still, he decided to talk to me. To be with me. And, eventually... to love me.'

'Oh,' Kodu muttered, surprised.

'He did that for me. And I know that it means that, given the chance, we all could forgive each other.'

'That's pretty idealistic,' Kathreen said. She had stopped smiling a while ago.

Ike shook his head.

'But together, we managed to set us free. Then, our captor did something to him. And now, he is alive, but his mind is far away. If I don't do anything, he will soon... cease to live,' he murmured, softly.

'That's why we're travelling to Northundra, right? It was the home of the Frostpaws,' Kodu said, looking at him. 'You want to find something that can bring him back.'

'His real name,' Ike answered, with a sigh. 'That's what we need. Those were taken from us when we were in the Box, and it's the only thing that will wake him up from his... state.'

After those words, a heavy silence fell upon them. Only the silent cracking of the fire and the agressive howl of the blizzard outside the cave filled that silence. After a few minutes, Kathreen giggled and shook her head.

'That sounds so... fantasy,' she said, smiling. 'Other creatures that are not kane or fehlar...'

'But it's true!' Ike protested, a bit bothered by his sister's tone.

'I believe you, silly,' Kathreen replied, 'but now I see why father preferred to tell everyone that you had been kidnapped by the kane instead. This story would have risen many questions.'

'That's not the reason,' Ike protested. 'He didn't even let me tell him the story, he didn't want to know. He just wanted to kill Zèon and Koi... and I had to promise him I would lie and tell everyone that kane had kidnapped me so he would let them stay at the castle.'

'Well... I am sure he didn't want the people to know that you've been seen making friends with the kane... again,' the lioness said, with a serious tone.

Ike's face turned pale.

'Again?' Kodu asked, confused.

'My brother has a special gift for making inconvenient friends,' Kathreen explained, grinning.

'Oh, yes. And you have a special gift for removing them,' Ike replied, accusingly.

Kathreen's smile grew cold.

'I never did such a thing, little brother.'

'What? Of course you did! You killed him!' Ike shouted, clenching his fists.

Kodu watched both of them as tension increased, silently, as if he was witnessing some kind of game. Kathreen held his brother's gaze calmly, her face a serene mask of hidden anger which contrasted with the lion's open hatred.

'I didn't...'

'You did! You killed him!' Ike yelled, trying to hold his tears back. 'An innocent kane who had done nothing to you! He was just a child and he trusted me! And you killed him in... in cold blood, right in front of me, as if it didn't even matter!'

The lion had stood up now and was trembling, his fiery gaze piercing the lioness to no avail. Kathreen, however, had not moved an inch, indifferent to her brother's fury.

'Oficially, you killed him. And I did it for you. The court was starting to talk about the weird friends of the prince.' She paused for a few seconds. 'What do you think the rest of the fehlar would do if they found out that the heir to the throne sympathises with the enemy?'

'He was not an enemy, he was my friend!' Ike replied, with tears in his eyes. 'He was seven years old at that time! I was ten...' he stopped, looking away, and then sat down, trying to hold back the urge to sob. 'He was my friend...' he managed to say.

He barely felt Kodu's paw on his shoulder.

'Stop, you two,' the cat said, firmly. Even though his range was lower than that of the other two, he still was the older one, and that gave him some authority. 'I don't care what happened in the past. Right now, we are in the middle of the coldest region of Lykans and arguements are not going to help us here. So, whatever problems your family had, I hope you're mature enough to see that we have another priorities at the moment.'

He stopped, giving them a long look, as if trying to make sure his words had caused the right effect. Neither Kathreen or Ike replied, however, as the eyes of both seemed to be focused on something behind Kodu's back.

'W... what's the matter?' he asked, turning to the entrance of the cave.

He had to contain a gasp.

The blizzard had stopped and the sky was lit by an ash-grey light, as clouds all spin slowly, fading away. Against the horizon, the silhouette of a white furred kane stood out proudly. His body was covered by a simple leather armor and his long fuzzy tail, whose fur was slightly black on its middle, sway softly back and forth.

He was holding a bow, with an arrow pointing directly at Ike's head.

'Dare move,' growled the arctic fox, 'and I'll kill you all.'