Surprise!

"You must come at once!" Junayd insisted. His panting caused his shoulder to heave restlessly.

Rising from her seat Mairwen rushed forward. "Where is Renat now?"

Ashamed, Junayd looked at the ground. "He is still in the woods where I found him. I could not bring him back. Now, we do not have much time!" The advisor stepped aside to coax the woman forward.

"We need to notify the doctor!" Mairwen said as she left the room followed by the other two.

"Anna?" Junayd looked to the lady-in-waiting.

Anna nodded. "I will handle it." She unclasped her cloak and held it out to the princess. "This will keep you warm out there, Your Highness. Be careful!"

Mairwen draped the thick cape across her back. Strangely, the fabric was the exact weave and color as her own purple dress. It was like they were made for one another. However, the urgency of the moment did not allow the princess to dwell too heavily on this fact as she clasped it around her neck and lifted the hood.

She ran to the main entrance with Junayd on her heels. Although he was exhausted (and a little out of shape), he caught up and passed her as they headed toward the courtyard of the main gate.

Two horses, proud and strong, were already waiting for them. The one with the mandolin strung comfortably on the back of it was obviously Junayd's. The princess approached her mare and grabbed hold of the saddle firmly. Miraculously, Mairwen's fancy dress was flowy enough to allow her to mount the horse without difficulty. Quite a marvel!

Once out of the gate, the pair of horses raced at top speed toward the river and over the city bridge. From there they hurried into the woods, on a different trajectory from where the princess had gone hunting the day before. Her heart raced as the world of white and brown whizzed past her. This time, Mairwen had no time to appreciate the beauty of the trees and landscape.

"How...how bad is it?" the princess yelled so that the man leading her could hear.

"We haven't much time," Junayd warned her, unwilling or unable to give her more detail.

His horse was making great strides ahead of her when something suddenly changed in his gait. The man on the horse cried out in surprise and fell from the horse into the snow. Mairwen reined in her mare to check on him.

"Are you alright?" she asked as she started to dismount. Junayd sat up and motioned for her to stop.

"I am fine," he said quickly. "I think my horse threw a shoe. Hurry on ahead, and I will catch up! Renat is just beyond that rise. You cannot miss him!"

Mairwen could see he was not hurt, and so she decided to heed his words. "I will come back to you as soon as help arrives," she assured him.

With one last surge in effort, the steed broke over the final mound, and Mairwen found the man she sought. Expecting to find him half-dead and bleeding, the princess was shocked to see Renat standing in the snowy meadow and seemingly unharmed.

Before she could call out to him, he was engulfed in a whirl of snowy flurries and disappeared from view once more. Mairwen's horse shied back from the strange white wall and began to retreat. Despite the woman's best efforts, the mare would not comply. If Mairwen wanted to discover what was wrong, she would have to do so on foot.

Dismounting, she shielded her eyes with her hand as she pushed into the white void. The wind swirled in a circular motion, but was more of a tickle than a wail. "Renat!" Mairwen called, unintentionally filling her lungs with the icy air.

"Here!" The scientist coaxed her gently, his voice very soothing. "You've almost made it."

Mairwen held her hands in front of her blindly and Renat took hold of her fingers to lead her through. When the pure white of the veil parted, the princess found herself in a dome of white surrounding her on all sides. While she could feel the movement of the icy air as she passed through, now the whole ethereal structure looked still as glass.

The princess stared with her lips parted at the handsome scientist. Renat was dressed differently than when she last saw him. He had a grey cowl draped across his shoulders and was clad in a light violet tunic with gold trim. His determined face resembled some ancient hero complete with a winsome smile.

"You are alright!" Mairwen exclaimed as she threw her arms around the man. He welcomed her embrace and spun her around before setting her back in their snowy capsule. "Where are we?"

From the top of the dome, little snowflakes began to mingle with the air around them.

"Is it not obvious? It is a human-sized SnowBall." The man chuckled as he made the princess hold out her palm upward.

One of tiny flakes landed on Mairwen's ungloved hand. She found that the shard of ice was neither cold nor did it melt. Instead flake transformed to a tiny person in a white tulle skirt.

"A winter fairy!" The princess exclaimed.

"I may have used a little more magic than science for this globe, but don't tell Brinn," the young man winked.

I was truly a sight to behold, and with Renat at the center of it, she could easily have stayed there forever. However, she was confused.

"You did all this? Why?"

The young man shrugged and held his hands behind his back shyly. "Because I wanted you to be surrounded by your favorite things. I know you love purple," he indicated her cloak and gown and then the sky, "snow, and of course everyone knows your love music and dancing…" He took the princess in his arms and began to sway. On cue the sound of a mandolin filled the air with a sweet lilting tune.

"Is that Junayd? I guess his fall was not an accident after all." Mairwen looked at the crystal mist toward the sound.

The music stopped for just a moment. "Sorry for the deception, Your Highness!" The Emperor's advisor said loudly, then continued his romantic melody.

"He is the reason the SnowBall is not see-through," Renat said as an aside. "I wanted at least some privacy." He cleared his throat. "As I was saying, I wanted you surrounded by things you love. You love purple, snow, music, dancing, and me. I am most thankful for the love of that last one if I am being honest. And it is that love that brings me here today."

Pulling away from the dance, the young man got down on both knees in the snow and pulled out a small box with a loving smile.

"Is it another SnowBall?" Mairwen asked carefully.

"No, my love, it is much better." Renat took off the box's lid and revealed a golden ring with six purple gems inlaid in the band. It was perfect for the princess's dainty finger. "Mairwen, Princess of Valiant, daughter of Empress Aurora and Emperor Devrim, and woman I love, will you do the honor of spending the rest of your life with me?" Renat removed the ring from the box and held it out pinched between his fingers.

Mairwen looked at the ring and the face of the handsome man. "You really mean it this time?"

Renat chuckled and nodded. "Yes, will you marry me?"

Holding out her hand, the princess nodded. "Yes! A hundred times yes," Mairwen whispered with dewy eyes. The ring slipped on her finger, and she admired it momentarily before throwing her arms around the man in front of her.

The snow fairies' random motion around them became more intentional as the dainty snowflakes began a circular dance around the couple, glittering as the light caught them just right. Pulling away slightly, Renat threw a ball into the air that looked like a swirling storm of color inside. When the ball hit the frosty dome, it burst and the kaleidoscope of color took over the white bubble to surround them in a torrent of color and snow. Junayd whooped from outside at the display.

"I guess she agreed!" he yelled with an enthusiastic whistle. His playing became more rapid and celebratory. However, the couple did not notice anything but each other as they reveled in the moment with a passionate kiss.

Finally, Mairwen tilted back her head in need of both air and clarification. "Wait, you said Father did not approve."

"I did say that, and it is true," he paused. Then he called loudly, "Would you care to explain your position, Your Majesty?"

Motioning to the winter fairies, Renat signaled for them to dismiss the icy dome. The colorful dust was released like rain, coloring the snow around them in its powdery brilliance. If not for the quick move of Renat with his grey cape, the princess would have been covered as well. Instead, she remained untouched.

Into the mottled rainbow of colored ground stepped Devrim and Aurora. "The scientist is right, I do not approve," the Emperor confirmed with a grin. "No one will ever be good enough for my daughter. However, I accept that you love each other, and I want you to be happy."

Renat moved his protective arm and cape from above Mairwen so that she could approach her parents. The young woman kissed her father on her cheek. "Then I guess you will be giving the bride away."

Devrim reeled back and gripped his chest. "You have struck me with an arrow, my dear. But if you need me, I will bear the burden…" Aurora nudged him with her elbow. "I mean honor," he corrected himself.

The princess remembered the strange hand movements of her father and new fiance had made when they shook hands upon meeting. "When you two were being so stiff toward one another the other day, you were secretly exchanging notes!" Mairwen exclaimed. The men smiled, confirming her thoughts.

"We were afraid you might intercept anything we sent via letter, so we chose a more direct route and did it in plain sight. I am just glad you did not realize it sooner. You are usually so observant, so we gave you something else to observe: our hostility." Renat laughed. "I am not even sure His Majesty was acting."

"I wasn't," Devrim said with only a hint of a smile. "However, we hadn't anticipated you eavesdropping on our private conversation in the middle of the night."

"You knew?" Mairwen flushed with embarrassment.

"You did not think my guards would tell me? They are far too loyal to let a spying princess get by them. It made our plans have to be altered, and I had to double up on my disdain," Devrim held his nose high in the air.

"So then tonight's feast is really..." The princess was beginning to fit all the pieces together.

"It is an engagement feast, of course!" Aurora chimed in happily. "We knew you would be suspicious if you saw the preparations and had no reason for them."

"And your horse!" Mairwen rounded on the advisor-turned-musician. She would be very angry if an animal was hurt as part of this plot.

Junayd held up his mandolin in defense. "Jumper is fine. So am I."

"You named your horse 'Jumper'?" Devrim glared at the former soldier. "You won't be fine for long when we get back to the castle."

"Did I say Jumper? I meant Thumper..." Junayd backtracked quickly.

Mairwen ignored the drama that was unfolding between the Emperor and his advisor. "The dress and matching cape, the weary advisor who just so happens to have an instrument, even the bow and tiny SnowBall….you planned all of it very carefully so I wouldn't suspect."

"I hope you will forgive me. I might have been a little cruel during the hunting trip. You are very hard to resist, or I wouldn't have had to try so hard to put you off. I hope you will forgive me." Renat bowed to kiss the lady's hand. "I will answer any other questions but first will you answer mine? Did I manage to surprise you?" The young man wiggled his eyebrows.

"I am surprised," Mairwen agreed easily, "surprised you could keep it a secret!" She pushed his arm gently.

"This is the last secret you will have from me, my love, so I hope you have enjoyed it." Renat brushed his cloak and a spray of colored powder filled the air.

The princess relaxed and admired her new jewelry. "I liked this secret very much, so I suppose I can forgive you." She smiled coyly.

Aurora could not help herself as she dragged the young couple into a hug. "We get to plan a wedding!" she squealed.

It would be an event to remember.