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"What’s so important about this that you have to show me in the middle of the night?” Zoya grumbled as Nikolai pulled her arm. The palace doors opened and the chilly air of winter swept in. The ground was completely covered with snow like a thick blanket. “It snowed.” Zoya gasped. “When?”
“It started snowing this afternoon when you were in the meeting and I figured I’d show you now because you probably wouldn’t even notice.” said Nikolai. “Now come on!”
***
“Why can’t you just tell me where we’re going?” Zoya grumbled. She had been complaining throughout the entire walk to - wherever Nikolai was bringing them. Nikolai made a small snowball as Zoya complained and threw it at her teasingly. He chuckled loudly, seeing the irritated look Zoya sent him. She got down to her knees and began making snowballs all while cursing him out. “You want something to laugh over? I’ll give it to you.” she huffed under breath and tossed it at Nikolai’s face. It was her turn to laugh. “What was that for?” Nikolai shivered from the cold. Zoya threw three more snowballs at him aggressively as a response. “Alright! Alright! You win, you win!” he surrendered. “As I should.” said Zoya, flipping her hair back. She threw another snowball at him and he flinched. “Alright I’m done now. But I get that you didn’t bring me out here for me to throw snowballs at you repeatedly.” Nikolai grinned. “Well lucky for you, we’re already here.”
He pushed away a bush that was in the way, revealing a frozen lake in the distance. The trees surrounding the area had crystals hanging on their branches, giving a magical vibe to the place. “You brought me skating?” Zoya asked. She smiled then, a smile so bright and calm. One that she barely wore. “I figured that you liked skating when you were a child so I asked one of the servants to bring us skates and place them right over there.” He pointed towards the edge of the lake, where two pairs of skates lay. He beckoned her to follow as he strode forward. “The ice is strong enough, it won’t break. At least I hope it doesn’t.”
“I’m going to kill you if it does.” she shot him a teasing glare.
“It would be an honor.”
After putting on her skates, Zoya stepped on the ice, practically praying for the ice not to break. “It’s sturdy enough.” she told him over her shoulders. She began gliding over the ice ever so gracefully. Nikolai sat there watching her, his eyes sparked in awe as he saw her do tricks on the ice. She was skating with one leg in the air, spinning in circles rather quickly. It was as if she was one with nature. A saint she truly was. “Are you just gonna sit there?” she asked when she caught him staring. He got up, placing one foot on the ice slowly, and finally the other. He began wobbling and moving clumsily, skates moving out of control. Zoya caught him in her arms before he toppled over, laughing. “Does Nikolai Lantsov not know how to skate?” She teased. “I was hoping you’d teach me.” He said, clutching her arms rightly. Zoya’s laughter filled the air. “Guess Nikolai Lantsov doesn’t know everything after all.” she grinned slyly.
He was holding on to Zoya’s arms as she guided him across the ice. His skates were still going out of control. “Relax, my dear.” she instructed, “It’s not like you’re going to fall.”
“There’s a chance I will, love. I may hit my head hard. So hard that I would probably perish and you wouldn’t get to be the reason I leave this planet.” He grinned. Zoya rolled her eyes, debating whether she should just leave him wobbling or not. “Alright, alright. Relax and just stand.” She began and Nikolai followed. “Now just walk.”
“Follow me lead.” Zoya said softly. “Now slide.”
Nikolai tried to slide with his skates but fell over, sending another eruption of laughter from Zoya. She held out an arm to help Nikolai up. “You’re terrible at this!” she teased. Nikolai pouted in response. “Okay just hold my arms.” said Zoya.
***
“See? You’re getting a hang of it.” said Zoya, after an hour or two of Nikolai falling over and over again.
“Words of encouragement from Zoya Nazyalensky?” said Nikolai, placing his hand over his mouth, faking a shock. “I guess so.” Zoya skated off to the edge of the lake leaving him in the middle. “Now, skate over to me.” Ah, I should’ve known, he thought . “You can’t just leave me here!” he whined. “I just did and I’m the queen. I do as I please.” Zoya said, crossing her arms. “Come on, we’ve been doing this for an hour!”
“Fine.”
Slowly, Nikolai made his way to her. He was careful not to fall over this time. “I did it!” he said, relieved. “I can see.” said Zoya, “Now skate with me. We’ll go slow.” She pushed off and offered him her hand. “Alright, Your Highness.” he said, mocking a salute before he took her hand. And so, both of them slid around the ice, hand in hand, in sync as the stars above them shone. Smiles were plastered on their faces. Soft giggles filled the winter air. But, it occurred to her that she had forgotten to teach Nikolai how to stop because he was dragging them both to the edge of the snow unsteadily. “Nikolai stop! Let go!” she shouted. “I can’t!” he said, panicking.
Both of them toppled right into the snow. As he saw the irritated look Zoya sent him, he chuckled. “You didn’t teach me how to stop.”
“You didn’t have to drag me into the snow though with you.”
“I’ll drag you to wherever I go, my queen.” he said, offering her hand. Zoya took it and stepped on the ice once more, showing off her skills. “Show off.” Nikolai smirked, sliding off to her. Zoya nodded. “Of course.”
“Let’s try this again. This time I lead.” Zoya said, stretching out her arm to him. Slowly, they skated swiftly once more. Snowflakes started falling down from the sky gracefully, like angels descending from the heavens. “It’s snowing.” they said softly in unison, looking up at the sky. Both of them were left flabbergasted. When they turned to look at one another, they were both instantly lost in each other’s eyes. Awe glowed in their eyes for the sight of each other was far more beautiful than snow could ever compare. “Thank you for bringing me here, Nikolai.” Zoya smiled, breaking the silence, “ I probably wouldn’t have noticed until around next week.”
“You probably wouldn’t.” He laughed, “You’ve got snow in your hair by the way.”
“You too.” she replied.
“You know what would make this even more wonderful?”
“What?”
“If you kiss me right now.” he winked
“You imbecile.” she huffed under her breath. She leaned in almost too quickly before he could get another word out of his mouth, pressing her lips against his. Nikolai’s hand made his way to her snow-covered hair as the other wrapped her around him. He rested his forehead against hers once the kiss broke. “Happy now?” she sighed.
“Always, so long as you’re with me.” he said before pressing his lips to hers once more.
And so, the two of them stood there on the ice as snow fell gently. It was chilly outside but both of them felt warm wrapped around each other.